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If I had to choose a plug to use all over the world, it would actually probably be the UK one (or perhaps a slightly less bulky version of it). See https://yout

If I had to choose a plug to use all over the world, it would actually probably be the UK one (or perhaps a slightly less bulky version of it). See https://youtu.be/UEfP1OKKz_Q https://youtu.be/UEfP1OKKz_Q

wongarsu 5y ago
The Schuko and Europlug have the same safety features as the British one: - the same shutters prevent screwdrivers - A plug half in isn't an issue because the sockets are recessed (but as an additional measure the Europlug has the half-way isolation like the British plug) The only real advantage of the British plug over Schuko is the fuse (a debatable feature) and the known polarity (Schuko and Europlug don't differentiate between live and neutral). Nice features that the Schuko variant has that the British plug is missing: - Ground connection is exposed in the socket, giving you an obvious way to reliably ground yourself (useful when working with electronics) - Recessed socket design allows plugs that barely stick out (those are not the norm, but are available for use behind furniture etc) - You have Schuko for "serious" use (ground wire, high current) and Europlug for things that don't need either, with Europlug fitting in Schuko outlets. This gives extension cords more flexibility, many have a mix of Schuko and Europlug outlets to fit more plugs in the same space.
- tentacleuno 5y ago
  > The only real advantage of the British plug over Schuko is the fuse (a debatable feature) Could I ask why a fuse is debatable? Seems like quite a basic security feature. There's a good video[0] on the design of UK plugs if you're interested. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q
  - wongarsu 5y ago
    If it's such a basic security feature, what is it actually protecting? In a standard (non-British) home, each room has a separate (10A or 16A) breaker in the breaker panel. That breaker protects the wires from overheating (preventing cable fires), and in more modern instances might protect the human from electric shock with an RCD. Then each device may have an internal (usually self-resetting) fuse to protect itself from failure modes. That fuse is tuned to the device needs, both in how fast it triggers and how much current it allows. What does a fuse in the cable buy you? It can't reliably protect the device, because the user might replace the cable or replace a blown fuse with one with a different rating. It can't protect wires because it's after the house wiring, a large number of functioning devices overheating your wires is at least as likely as a single malfunctioning device. The only context in which it makes sense it the one Tom Scott mentions: you have a copper shortage, so you put the entire flat or even house on one circuit with one fuse. And because you don't want to cut electricity to everything every time there's a short somewhere you put little fuses everywhere. It's a good design for the circumstances of post-war Britain, but we aren't living in a copper shortage right now.
    - JetSetWilly 5y ago
      Not everything has a 13 amp fuse in the plug. In fact most things have a 3 amp fuse unless they are kettles or something. There's also 5 amp fuses and it is possible (tho not that common these days) to have even a 1amp fuse in the plug itself. Surely it is better to have a lower amp fuse tailored to the device, than a high amperage fuse that's happy to send 3000 watts into your dodgy mobile phone charger without fusing.
    - tentacleuno 5y ago
      > What does a fuse in the cable buy you? It can't reliably protect the device, because the user might replace the cable or replace a blown fuse with one with a different rating. Ehh. While I see the logic in the rest of your argument, I don't see how being able to change the fuse means the device on the end of the fuse can not be reliably protected. If anything, being able to adjust the fuse to the needs of the device is even better, e.g. if you go from a high-load bulb to something like an LED. I'm not saying anyone runs around the house checking every fuse in every wire, but this does seem like a consideration you've not really made. > It can't protect wires because it's after the house wiring I don't see how it can't protect the wires, could you give an example? If a device with a 13A fuse is drawing over 3120W, the fuse will blow to protect the device itself and the house wiring. Could you elaborate on this, please? > so you put the entire flat or even house on one circuit with one fuse. Yeah, and we still use that system today. In most residential houses in Britain, we have a main fuse coming into the house. The rating of the fuse depends on what the house can take, e.g. 60A, 80A, or 100A. The main high amperage circuit in most homes in the UK would be the shower, which needs more than 3000W. Mine is a 6.5kW shower with 32A wiring (and the respective RCD). I personally think fuses in plugs also serve as a common sense mechanism: if your computer monitor is drawing 13A, there's obviously something wrong. That's where the fuse comes in. It's just another protection.
    - iso1631 5y ago
      So you have a 16A fuse/breaker, and a wire that will take 16A. Then you plug in your lamp with a thin wire that can only take 3A. In the UK that's fine, as you have a 3A fuse, the lamp develops a fault and starts pulling 10A, the fuse blows, job done. Without that fuse though, the wire overheats, and you get a fire. Looking at the fairly new soldering iron plug next to me, with a 3A fuse that wire does not look anywhere near thick enough to qualify for passing 13A.
- Vinnl 5y ago
  > Nice features that the Schuko variant has that the British plug is missing: It also doesn't land with the sharp side up, saving a whole lot of people from accidentally and painfully stepping on it.
tentacleuno 5y ago
The UK plug is honestly one of the best things the UK has ever done. It's reliable, hard to pull out via the cable, running at a sensible voltage, and they just feel so sturdy. Rectangular contacts also hold a grip much better than round ones (in America and friends). I've heard horror stories about American plug sockets. It's just way too easy to shock yourself. And then you have all the other weirdness, like 240V on the grid being stepped down for 120V for appliances. Wouldn't it be easier (and more energy-efficient), to use 240V instead of stepping it down and having to pull more current at the appliance level to make up for the voltage?
- jakedata 5y ago
  Here in the states we do not step 240v down to 120v. Typically a home has 240v split-phase service with 240v available L1 to L2 and 120v by using L1 or L2 to neutral. Our circuit breaker panels alternate L1 and L2 bus connections internally so a column of single breakers will alternate between L1 and L2 for balance while a double breaker will get 240v by connecting to both busses. A 240v double breaker has a physical connection between the trip levers so that an overload on either leg will trip both.
  - kruador 5y ago
    Relevant video: Technology Connections, "The US electrical system is not 120V", where there is a (long) discussion of how the breaker panel works and how you get 240V. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMmUoZh3Hq4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMmUoZh3Hq4
    - teddyh 5y ago
      By the same definition, the European electrical system is not 240V, it’s 380V.
      - frosted-flakes 5y ago
        Europe does not have split phase electrical service. Three-phase service is ultimately how the US system works, same as Europe; it's just that entire neighbourhoods or streets will run off a single 240 V phase rather than each house getting all three phases (industrial buildings commonly have three-phase service).
Kaibeezy 5y ago
A serious problem with UK fused plugs is when you buy a device so inexpensive it ships with a molded, un-fused plug. Mostly I've had that with removable cords, which can be replaced, but still.
- BoxOfRain 5y ago
  I recently bought a variac for testing some old audio gear, it had a Europlug but contained an adaptor for UK plugs. The only thing was despite having an ordinary metal earth pin the adaptor never actually made contact with the existing plug's earth connector. That could have been dodgy!
- Symbiote 5y ago
  Those are probably illegal, and a general problem with anything you might buy from Ali Express etc.

wongarsu 5y ago

The Schuko and Europlug have the same safety features as the British one: - the same shutters prevent screwdrivers - A plug half in isn't an issue because the sockets are recessed (but as an additional measure the Europlug has the half-way isolation like the British plug) The only real advantage of the British plug over Schuko is the fuse (a debatable feature) and the known polarity (Schuko and Europlug don't differentiate between live and neutral). Nice features that the Schuko variant has that the British plug is missing: - Ground connection is exposed in the socket, giving you an obvious way to reliably ground yourself (useful when working with electronics) - Recessed socket design allows plugs that barely stick out (those are not the norm, but are available for use behind furniture etc) - You have Schuko for "serious" use (ground wire, high current) and Europlug for things that don't need either, with Europlug fitting in Schuko outlets. This gives extension cords more flexibility, many have a mix of Schuko and Europlug outlets to fit more plugs in the same space.

tentacleuno 5y ago
> The only real advantage of the British plug over Schuko is the fuse (a debatable feature) Could I ask why a fuse is debatable? Seems like quite a basic security feature. There's a good video[0] on the design of UK plugs if you're interested. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q
- wongarsu 5y ago
  If it's such a basic security feature, what is it actually protecting? In a standard (non-British) home, each room has a separate (10A or 16A) breaker in the breaker panel. That breaker protects the wires from overheating (preventing cable fires), and in more modern instances might protect the human from electric shock with an RCD. Then each device may have an internal (usually self-resetting) fuse to protect itself from failure modes. That fuse is tuned to the device needs, both in how fast it triggers and how much current it allows. What does a fuse in the cable buy you? It can't reliably protect the device, because the user might replace the cable or replace a blown fuse with one with a different rating. It can't protect wires because it's after the house wiring, a large number of functioning devices overheating your wires is at least as likely as a single malfunctioning device. The only context in which it makes sense it the one Tom Scott mentions: you have a copper shortage, so you put the entire flat or even house on one circuit with one fuse. And because you don't want to cut electricity to everything every time there's a short somewhere you put little fuses everywhere. It's a good design for the circumstances of post-war Britain, but we aren't living in a copper shortage right now.
  - JetSetWilly 5y ago
    Not everything has a 13 amp fuse in the plug. In fact most things have a 3 amp fuse unless they are kettles or something. There's also 5 amp fuses and it is possible (tho not that common these days) to have even a 1amp fuse in the plug itself. Surely it is better to have a lower amp fuse tailored to the device, than a high amperage fuse that's happy to send 3000 watts into your dodgy mobile phone charger without fusing.
  - tentacleuno 5y ago
    > What does a fuse in the cable buy you? It can't reliably protect the device, because the user might replace the cable or replace a blown fuse with one with a different rating. Ehh. While I see the logic in the rest of your argument, I don't see how being able to change the fuse means the device on the end of the fuse can not be reliably protected. If anything, being able to adjust the fuse to the needs of the device is even better, e.g. if you go from a high-load bulb to something like an LED. I'm not saying anyone runs around the house checking every fuse in every wire, but this does seem like a consideration you've not really made. > It can't protect wires because it's after the house wiring I don't see how it can't protect the wires, could you give an example? If a device with a 13A fuse is drawing over 3120W, the fuse will blow to protect the device itself and the house wiring. Could you elaborate on this, please? > so you put the entire flat or even house on one circuit with one fuse. Yeah, and we still use that system today. In most residential houses in Britain, we have a main fuse coming into the house. The rating of the fuse depends on what the house can take, e.g. 60A, 80A, or 100A. The main high amperage circuit in most homes in the UK would be the shower, which needs more than 3000W. Mine is a 6.5kW shower with 32A wiring (and the respective RCD). I personally think fuses in plugs also serve as a common sense mechanism: if your computer monitor is drawing 13A, there's obviously something wrong. That's where the fuse comes in. It's just another protection.
  - iso1631 5y ago
    So you have a 16A fuse/breaker, and a wire that will take 16A. Then you plug in your lamp with a thin wire that can only take 3A. In the UK that's fine, as you have a 3A fuse, the lamp develops a fault and starts pulling 10A, the fuse blows, job done. Without that fuse though, the wire overheats, and you get a fire. Looking at the fairly new soldering iron plug next to me, with a 3A fuse that wire does not look anywhere near thick enough to qualify for passing 13A.
Vinnl 5y ago
> Nice features that the Schuko variant has that the British plug is missing: It also doesn't land with the sharp side up, saving a whole lot of people from accidentally and painfully stepping on it.

tentacleuno 5y ago

The UK plug is honestly one of the best things the UK has ever done. It's reliable, hard to pull out via the cable, running at a sensible voltage, and they just feel so sturdy. Rectangular contacts also hold a grip much better than round ones (in America and friends). I've heard horror stories about American plug sockets. It's just way too easy to shock yourself. And then you have all the other weirdness, like 240V on the grid being stepped down for 120V for appliances. Wouldn't it be easier (and more energy-efficient), to use 240V instead of stepping it down and having to pull more current at the appliance level to make up for the voltage?

jakedata 5y ago
Here in the states we do not step 240v down to 120v. Typically a home has 240v split-phase service with 240v available L1 to L2 and 120v by using L1 or L2 to neutral. Our circuit breaker panels alternate L1 and L2 bus connections internally so a column of single breakers will alternate between L1 and L2 for balance while a double breaker will get 240v by connecting to both busses. A 240v double breaker has a physical connection between the trip levers so that an overload on either leg will trip both.
- kruador 5y ago
  Relevant video: Technology Connections, "The US electrical system is not 120V", where there is a (long) discussion of how the breaker panel works and how you get 240V. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMmUoZh3Hq4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMmUoZh3Hq4
  - teddyh 5y ago
    By the same definition, the European electrical system is not 240V, it’s 380V.
    - frosted-flakes 5y ago
      Europe does not have split phase electrical service. Three-phase service is ultimately how the US system works, same as Europe; it's just that entire neighbourhoods or streets will run off a single 240 V phase rather than each house getting all three phases (industrial buildings commonly have three-phase service).

Kaibeezy 5y ago

A serious problem with UK fused plugs is when you buy a device so inexpensive it ships with a molded, un-fused plug. Mostly I've had that with removable cords, which can be replaced, but still.

BoxOfRain 5y ago
I recently bought a variac for testing some old audio gear, it had a Europlug but contained an adaptor for UK plugs. The only thing was despite having an ordinary metal earth pin the adaptor never actually made contact with the existing plug's earth connector. That could have been dodgy!
Symbiote 5y ago
Those are probably illegal, and a general problem with anything you might buy from Ali Express etc.