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BS 1363 British Plugs and Sockets
- aq9 2y agoThe "old" british standard is even cooler: https://www.plugsocketmuseum.nl/OldBritish1.html https://www.plugsocketmuseum.nl/OldBritish1.html
- crmi 2y agoYou can still get similar to those today. 5A sockets, for plug in lighting.
- pmyteh 2y agoYeah, those are the same standard - they're still legal. The large ones were used in theatre lighting until recently (wiring is radial and you don't want a fuse to blow 5m above the stage in any case). I think India still uses them, too.
- roytam87 2y ago2A plugs and sockets are just cute.
- ggm 2y agoI lived for 16 years in a house with all three: the older round pin in two sizes for different current draw, and the newer square pin. A lot of the round pin wiring was rubber/fabric insulated. The fuzeboard was scary. Tar insulated mains cables.
- mauvehaus 2y agoIt's amazing what you find in buildings old enough to have seen all generations of electrical standards. The oldest part of my sister-in-law's place dates to the 1790's (I know: in America 100 years is a long time; in England 100 miles is a long way) and it has receptacles that are a never-standardized bastard union of NEMA 1-15 and 2-15, which means you can't be quite certain if you've got an ungrounded hot and a neutral for 120v or two hots for 240v. God only knows why they were ever manufactured. I've never looked at their panel, but I assume it's a horror show. I've seen live cloth-insulated wire in older homes I've lived in, and found a mystery fuse box in a triple-decker in Boston. As far as I know, I've never lived anywhere with live knob and tube, but I've definitely had it abandoned-in-place. My all-time favorite was the house I had with a five-gang box populated with switches. I don't need to add that the multi-location circuit wired through that box was wired wrong.
- trebligdivad 2y agoJust don't let go of a BS1363 lead; they hurt.
- arprocter 2y agoTreading on the upturned plug also isn't the nicest It's pretty much impossible for a US plug to lie with the prongs facing upwards because there's no flat back
- wildzzz 2y agoWe have slim plugs here in the US that fit nicely when you have furniture up right against the wall but still need to reach the plug. They have a flat back that definitely allows you to step on it.
- gerdesj 2y ago"Treading on the upturned plug also isn't the nicest" No Brit ever used your turn of phrase or trod on an upturned plug. I've managed 54 years without doing it. US plugs have a habit of working loose ...
- Sullok 2y agoWell I'm British and I've stood on one at least twice in my life. Funny you think no Brit has ever stood on one when I've heard it joked about a bunch during my 40 odd years.
- gerdesj 2y agoIts a meme and not "truth". "Everyone" knows that our plugs have three large prongs and if you step on one then it will hurt. However, incidents of actual treading are very rare. Our plugs do have a shape that means they can lie with prongs up due to the flat shape of the plug. Other plugs tend to be cylindrical and hence will always lie horizontally out of habit. However, look at the size of the things! A US (for example) plug has two thin prongs. A UK plug has three thick prongs with one (earth) longer than the other two. If you actually leave one lying on the floor and it happens to be facing upwards and you step on it then what happens. Our feet are phenomenally sensitive. We are easily capable of stepping on something nasty and detecting it and reacting by lifting up before any damage is done. That assumes normal walking and not say jumping onto an upturned plug, or being pissed or whatever might impair your senses. Funny you should use an idiom like "a bunch" and describe yourself as a 40 years old Brit and have a new account. Your accent implies Casterbridge.
- amiga386 2y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q
- louthy 2y agoThis one has a few more details… https://youtu.be/139Q61ty4C0?feature=shared https://youtu.be/139Q61ty4C0?feature=shared
- Daub 2y agoBritish style sockets/plugs are the best. I find that two pin plugs are always falling out of the sockets. I just had my house in Vietnam fitted out with universal sockets that will accept all plugs tyoes. Life changing decision.
- laurencerowe 2y agoBritish plugs are however the worst to step on.
- delta_p_delta_x 2y agoI never understood this. Just don't ever unplug a device. That's why BS1363 sockets come with switches.
- gerdesj 2y agoHave you actually ever stepped on one? If you have, then why was it unplugged? A plug should be plugged in (in which case it is safe) or it is superfluous. I've managed to struggle through to the age of 54 without treading on one of our thrusting tri-pronged plugs. It is surprisingly easy to avoid stepping on them.
- laurencerowe 2y agoMaybe I’m just clumsy but I did it multiple times as a kid. There were never enough sockets (I helped my dad install a bunch when that was still legal in the 80s and 90s) and sometimes you move an appliance from room to room, like a hoover.
- usr1106 2y agoIs there any data about how many people die in electricity related accidents? 230 V sounds like a dangerous voltage to touch. On the other hand I read a long time ago 120 V causes way more home fires because of higher currents.
- gerdesj 2y agoIn the UK we use both 240V and 110V (nominal). Our supply is at 240V. Our appliances are pretty safe out of the box - several standards. We also utilise 110V devices but that requires a step down transformer. I have one. My big hammer drill runs on 110V. Fire is not caused by electric current. Fire requires a source of ignition and that's not EMF. More details please.
- throw0101d 2y ago> Fire is not caused by electric current. Fire requires a source of ignition and that's not EMF. All electrical cable/wire is rated for so many amps and a certain temperature: if you mismatch the breaker and the cable ratings then you could allow too much current through, and because of I^2 resistance, a fire could happen. Do a search for "Ampacity Chart". * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampacity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampacity
- Symbiote 2y agoIf you're claiming the UK uses 110V, then you must also include that it uses 415V. Both of these are only used outside domestic settings. (Until recently, 415V for a car charger is becoming more common)
- gerdesj 2y ago110V is regularly used via transformers, generally for safety - 110V doesn't kick you as much as 240V. Perhaps I didn't emphasise that 110V is not grid delivered here. I have a 110V transformer and a 110V rated SDS hammer drill. The idea is that if I manage to hit an electrical cable then I will probably not die, with luck. We also have three phase which I think is normal in the US, for example and is why ethernet over power line is a bit fraught.
- JSR_FDED 2y agoWe have the same plugs in Singapore. Apple made a very elegant USB charger with foldable pins. It’s like a fidget spinner, impossible to stop playing with. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A4RxWEycdj4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A4RxWEycdj4
- ksec 2y agoI just want to mention it wasn't invented by Apple.
- delta_p_delta_x 2y agoThis is genuinely the best plug ever and no one can convince me otherwise. I've toured continental Europe (France, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy), the US, India, and ANZ, and all of their plugs are downgrades in comparison to the icon of engineering that is Type G/BS1363. The former somehow all tend to end up with loose contact, wiggling and sparking, degraded power/current, or a cable that sticks out perpendicular to the wall, or some other annoyance. People argue for the Schuko but it is as large as, if not larger than BS1363 plugs. The earthing setup is odd. The BS1363 is so massive that it shrugs off power loads of multiple kilowatts—British kettles and toaster ovens run at up to 3 kW or more. One could possibly even charge their EV with BS1363 without needing any automotive cable standard[1]. The BS1363 has a satisfying 'thonk' that no other plug has. It feels like you're powering up some futuristic space craft, not your vacuum cleaner. [1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricVehiclesUK/comments/1gta12f/charging https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricVehiclesUK/comments/1gta12f...
- deepsun 2y agoIt is genuinely the worst IMHO: 1. Too large and heavy to carry around. 2. Requires grounding (third pin), even when devices don't need it. Other standards let devices decide. 3. Doesn't allow the cord to go straight out of the plug, it always go sideways which makes it even clunkier, harder to plug (e.g. behind a nightstand at a hotel), and more prone to cord damage from bending. CEE 7/3 and CEE 7/5 (known as "French" and "German") are way better IMHO. I doubt they have problems with "wiggling and sparking" -- that wouldn't pass certification. And it's easy to make a plug to fit both of them, with or without grounding. CEE 7/5 can even be plugged upside down.
- delta_p_delta_x 2y ago1. There is little size difference between your choices and BS1363 plugs/sockets. They are large, I concede, but that is in pursuit of the many safety features of the plug. 2. Better have it than not. Plus, it makes for a single uniform plug design and specification that is straightforwardly adhered to. 3. IMO this is a good thing as it allows furniture to be set up considerably closer to the walls. Funny you mention hotels, because I was in one in France not two weeks ago and it had the worst sockets I've ever seen. My phones took forever to charge, half the sockets didn't even seem to have power, and they all had this unintuitive setup where there was a spring loaded panel in the socket that needed to be twisted to get the plug in. Now, I've seen some odd BS1363 setups, but never one this strange.
- throw0101d 2y agoObligatory Tom Scott video on the topic: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q Bonus: "Why Britain Uses Separate Hot and Cold Taps": * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHgUu_8KgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHgUu_8KgA
- cranky908canuck 2y agoAgree with comments below, am observing that the British (commonwealth etc) plug standard is a good common denominator (and a perfect calthrop. grin!). Living in North America where the 110 V is standard... the GBR plug/socket is a lovely standard, my brother-in-law gifted us a UK power bar for travel a few years ago, worked great. [[1]]. Since then, it's become common that wallwarts handle 100-240, so recently I just use physical adapters, and if need be wallwarts with multiple charging ports and/or feed-through mains sockets. [[1]] use whatever physical adapter to power it -- we know that it's ok for 240 V. Then use whatever adapters to charge. I did have a bagful of physical adapters.
- NoImmatureAdHom 2y agoGod these things are horrible. They're huge, they can't fold away, and they require fuses. And the receptacles all must have switches, and must be exactly the same. Leave it to the British to shoot themselves in the foot for no reason. Why not Schuko / Europlug? Because we have to have our own standard that's worse, that's why.
- hollerith 2y ago>Why not Schuko / Europlug? Probably because the Brits had electrical appliances before the continent did.
- jwilliams 2y agoThat and because UK uses a ring circuit, which was seen as a solve for a copper shortage at the time. Ring circuits generally way higher in power - and a lot more than a single appliance needs or could handle. Hence the need for a fused plug. The upside is each socket can take a 13A plug (circa 3kW), whereas a standard US socket maxes out closer to 1.8kW.
- ninjin 2y agoMaybe true, but BS 1363 dates to the late 40s and the Schuko illustration below is from the early 30s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SCHUKO-Patent.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SCHUKO-Patent.svg Rather, I think the British decided to iterate (for better and for worse) on their earlier design that looks a lot like BS 1363. Personally, having lived for an extensive amount of time in places with Schuko ("Europe"), NEMA ("US"), and BS 1363 ("British") plugs/sockets, I will take Schuko any day over the other two. Schuko stays in place, is grounded when it needs to be, is flexible when it comes to how it leads the cord out of the plug/socket, and so on. For all the touting of safety, "no sparks", etc. that we hear about BS 1363, I have never seen it out of a Schuko (NEMAs on the other hand...). Yes, BS 1363 improves upon NEMA, but that is a very low bar.
- howerj 2y agoI find those Schuko / Europlugs terrible, they never fit correctly (wildly different manufacturing tolerances between countries) and break easily.
- gbraad 2y agoIf only the Europlug or Type F had a fuse they would obsolete this terrible plug; worse to step on than a Lego brick ;-) (sarcasm; I prefer the euro style over these bulky ones. Fuses should not have to be necessary. The us/china blade plugs are terrible; easy to fall out of a socket)
- 112233 2y agoWhy would you need a fuse in the plug? What purpose would it serve? (edit) as correctly pointed out in the reply, fuse in brittish plug is because of peculiar way brittish homes are wired. Putting fuse in type F sounds weird.
- gbraad 2y agoIt was for the odd ring topology they have. The fuse in type F was sarcasm, as this is unnecessary. Although some plugs in China, used for boilers and aircos, do come with one or a resetable fuse.
- realityking 2y agoIn the UK (and some former colonies) houses were wired differently to save on copper making fuses in plus necessary. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_circuit https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_circuit
- thebruce87m 2y ago> The reduced diameter conductors in the flexible cords connecting an appliance to the plug intended for use with sockets on a ring circuit are individually protected by a fuse in the plug It sounds like the appliance cord is the driving factor for the fuse.
- pmyteh 2y agoIt's a theoretical benefit even with radial wiring, I think, for some smaller devices. A lamp that's designed to draw an amp will have a small, low-current flex which will fail before the main circuit breaker trips (while a 3A fuse would have protected it). In reality I don't think it matters, and even on a ring main the MCBs often trip before the device fuses blow these days.
- Tabular-Iceberg 2y agoIt’s absolutely ridiculous to require a single phase AC plug to be plugged in with one particular polarity. The device doesn’t know or care if its power is 180° out of phase or not, you’re just making the user experience worse for absolutely no reason.
- chipsa 2y agoExcept the live wire is the one that’s switched. So if you plug it in backwards, the neutral is the one that’s switched. And if they aren’t careful with how the wiring is done, you potentially have live voltage on the outside of your metal cased device. For another example, your standard e26 bulb can have part of the thread exposed. If the neutral and live are swapped, that threaded bit is hooked to live, instead of the proper neutral.
- the_mitsuhiko 2y agoNeither one of this are issues. Devices need to be manufactured so that you cannot touch potentially live connections if they are connected to sockets.
- thebruce87m 2y agoYou think all the knock off overseas manufacturers are adhering to this religiously? Belt and braces works fine for me in this case.
- the_mitsuhiko 2y agoI also saw British plugs from China that had no fuse in it (just a plug adapter that was attached to the charger).
- 112233 2y agoIrrelevant. If neutral gets disconnected, your hypotetical device will have hot case anyway. That is why devices without grounding have to be double insulated
- dboreham 2y agoSomeone should tell Trump that US plugs are weak and wimpy. He'll order the country to convert to 220V. No, 240V! Every transformer has to be re-tapped.
- muteor 2y agoIt does double up as emergency mace if you happen to get into some medieval combat while at the office.
- nullc 2y agoBig plug plus the little switch means that when stuck in London without an adapter I can just just loop some paperclips into my laptop's US type-a plug then jam them in a socket with confidence.
- Gud 2y agoI don’t get the patriotism people from the UK exhibit over their plug. I’ve lived and worked in total 1 year in the UK, two years in Dubai. I’m originally from Sweden were we use Schuko. Now I live in Switzerland. The UK plug is easily the worst. It’s three times the size of the Swiss plug. You can literally connect three Swiss appliances in the same place you can connect one UK.