Video: UK Folding Plug concept could flatten that bulky British adapter

[Chosen.]

Solution to UK Plug problem:



You can fit four of these in the same space as 1 UK plug, and there are 230v versions that don't take up any more room. Problem solved!

Nah, the italian solution to earthed plugs is more compact:

[[XC] MarioMaster]

I don't see how italian plugs are polarized though, kinda hard to tell from googled pictures though.

[soundood]

Solution to UK Plug problem:



You can fit four of these in the same space as 1 UK plug, and there are 230v versions that don't take up any more room. Problem solved!

again it would never pass stringent BSI standards, both live and earth have full lenghth pins, ours a half shielded, thats steel, ours have to be brass/copper.....the list goes on.

the point is that the european standards on this are much more lax as opposed to the UK.

and the point is really not about 'how many you can fit' as we are also governed by health and safety law (on top of BSI standards) that would never allow any more than two plugs to a wall socket, this way there has to be enough 'boxes' in the 'ring' to support the appliances.

this avoids overheating of wall sockets, and is the reason many households use '4 gang' extensions in thier homes. these also have to have thier own fuses fitted.

on a side note are the european 'plugs' fitted with fuses as standard? with fuses ranging from 3 amp to 13 amp, depending on what is needed? i think not....therefore no need for further discussion on my part

[FischOderAal]

I don't see how italian plugs are polarized though, kinda hard to tell from googled pictures though.

Ever heard something called alternating current?

[soundood]

Ever heard something called alternate current?

you mean alternating current ehh?

[FischOderAal]

you mean alternating current ehh?

I apologise that there are people whose mother tongue isn't english. Fixed for your convenience.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist :P )

[soundood]

I apologise that there are people whose mother tongue isn't english. Fixed for your convenience.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist :P )

sry i really didnt mean that as a language thing, in fact i assumed you were an english speaker, my bad.

its just a lot of english speakers, call it alternate current too, and i always correct them

i see you are German now, off topic i had to decide on a language to take this september (personal development thing) and i decided to learn german

i really cant wait, thats after a summer course of Makaton !!!

[[XC] Lead Head]

Ever heard something called alternating current?

Alternating current still flows from Hot to Ground/Nuetral. Some devices have Neutral and Ground wired together which would cause big problems if plugged in backwards. Why do you think most AC devices have different color wires going to the plug? For fun?

[Kai Robinson]

Well, personally, having dealt with English Electrics, and European Electrics, i'll take English everytime. The Ring Main system is brilliant, as is the Twin + Earth cable. Having to drag three spools of wire through conduit is ANNOYING as hell, when you can just unroll a length of Twin + Earth.

The only reason why the US doesn't use 240v AC, is due to the vast distances the powerlines have to travel, in comparison to more 'compact' countries like the UK.

I prefer the chunky plugs, they go in and out of a socket easily, they don't fall out the wall, the sockets don't fall out of, or off of the wall (pattresses for the win).

[[XC] MarioMaster]

again it would never pass stringent BSI standards, both live and earth have full lenghth pins, ours a half shielded, thats steel, ours have to be brass/copper.....the list goes on.

Ok, you could have part of the plug shielded, and the prongs made from copper. This is not a big issue.

the point is that the european standards on this are much more lax as opposed to the UK.

and the point is really not about 'how many you can fit' as we are also governed by health and safety law (on top of BSI standards) that would never allow any more than two plugs to a wall socket, this way there has to be enough 'boxes' in the 'ring' to support the appliances.

The point is not that US plugs are small, but that UK plugs are unnecessarily large, to the point of being obtrusive as seen in the video.

this avoids overheating of wall sockets, and is the reason many households use '4 gang' extensions in thier homes. these also have to have thier own fuses fitted.

US wall plates only have two plugs per outlet as well.

on a side note are the european 'plugs' fitted with fuses as standard? with fuses ranging from 3 amp to 13 amp, depending on what is needed? i think not....therefore no need for further discussion on my part

edit - character requirement

[Final8ty]

How about the UK changed to the same standard that the rest of europe is adopting

Imagine if all the world was 240V, 50Hz, same plugs as the majority uses. How much time and resources it would save. Simplicity and standards ftw.

UK is using 240v 50hz.

[Kai Robinson]

Dont forget, our sockets are switched, in addition to the plugs being fused.

And actually, we were using 240v, and europe was 220v, but, around 10 years or so ago, we dropped to 230v, and europe increased to 230v.

[soundood]

The point is not that US plugs are small, but that UK plugs are unnecessarily large, to the point of being obtrusive as seen in the video.

the reason they are large, and there is a reason is that they contain a fuse, something that US plugs do not, this fuse can be changed, by the user and is something we teach in lower school levels.

hers a pic of the fuses,



hers a pic of where it goes,




heres a wiki page stating the standard,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS_1363

pity the rest of the world didnt adapt to our system, many lifes would be saved

[[XC] MarioMaster]

+/-10% is fine for voltage variations so in my mind 220v = 230v = 240v.

The only reason why the US doesn't use 240v AC, is due to the vast distances the powerlines have to travel, in comparison to more 'compact' countries like the UK.

120v is actually harder to distribute as it requires more amps for the same wattage. The US could benefit from upgrading to only 220/240v service - heck it's already in the houses to run high load devices.

[[XC] MarioMaster]

the reason they are large, and there is a reason is that they contain a fuse, something that US plugs do not, this fuse can be changed, by the user and is something we teach in lower school levels.

hers a pic of the fuses,

hers a pic of where it goes,

heres a wiki page stating the standard,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS_1363

pity the rest of the world didnt adapt to our system, many lifes would be saved

I hadn't realized how exactly the UK power system worked - and it's really quite strange.

With your "ring" system it's no wonder each device needs fuses! With circuits of 32/50 amps a small short could easily cause a fire.

US homes have many branch systems usually 15 or 20 amps max for typical household loads. That way fuses are not needed in each device as a short would trip that circuit's breaker.

The US also has plugs with internal replaceable fuses.

[[XC] Lead Head]

again it would never pass stringent BSI standards, both live and earth have full lenghth pins, ours a half shielded, thats steel, ours have to be brass/copper.....the list goes on.

Why would you want hot and earth to have full length pins? On US plugs, earth has to be longer then all of the other pins. That way earth is guaranteed to be connected first. If earth and hot are the same length, hot has the potential to be connected first, and if there is a short in the device, you have the potential to be shocked.

on a side note are the european 'plugs' fitted with fuses as standard? with fuses ranging from 3 amp to 13 amp, depending on what is needed? i think not....therefore no need for further discussion on my part

The only reason UK plugs need fuses standard is because of the ridiculous electrical system. Ring circuits seem to have the ability to easily deliver more current then the individual socket is rated for that, that is not possible here, where usually one socket is rated at or slightly above what the circuit breaker is rated for. That kind of inherent danger would never fly here, not to mention if a lead on a ring circuit broke, you effectively have one wire trying to power every socket in your home. Real safe there.

[soundood]

I hadn't realized how exactly the UK power system worked - and it's really quite strange.

With your "ring" system it's no wonder each device needs fuses! With circuits of 32/50 amps a small short could easily cause a fire.

US homes have many branch systems usually 15 or 20 amps max for typical household loads. That way fuses are not needed in each device as a short would trip that circuit's breaker.

The US also has plugs with internal replaceable fuses.

what you see as strange, is really the excelence of the system, with higher voltage we need less amps per appliance, so there is really no appliance that needs more than say 10 amps,

the loop or ring system also distributes power evenly, and doesnt overload any one part of the system (due to regs) therefore our house 'breakers' usualy only have 4 or 5 rings.

the US i believe, uses branching, that can have an uneven load on one 'trunk' as such.

but please correct me if i am wrong

[soundood]

Why would you want hot and earth to have full length pins? On US plugs, earth has to be longer then all of the other pins. That way earth is guaranteed to be connected first. If earth and hot are the same length, hot has the potential to be connected first, and if there is a short in the device, you have the potential to be shocked.

my mistake, earth is longer, and only live and neutral are half shielded

The only reason UK plugs need fuses standard is because of the ridiculous electrical system. Ring circuits seem to have the ability to easily deliver more current then the individual socket is rated for that, that is not possible here, where usually one socket is rated at or slightly above what the circuit breaker is rated for. That kind of inherent danger would never fly here, not to mention if a lead on a ring circuit broke, you effectively have one wire trying to power every socket in your home. Real safe there.

for that very reason it is safer, you on one hand have the possibilty of 'overloading' one socket, causing a fire hazzard, we dont.

we can attach many differant appliances to one socket and wont cause a major hazzard.

in the end people are stupid, and if its easier they will do it. no matter how much you 'educate' them in electrical safety.

if they need to put 5 lamps and a computer in one corner, they wont runs a cable from another socket, they will put a 10 gang extension in, i persoanly have this at the moment.

2 x 13 amp sockets running two computers, 2 monitors, a projector, a router, a phone, speakers, a 5.1 amp, external hard drive. printer, three mobile phone chargers........i may have missed something, but you get the idea

[[XC] Lead Head]

what you see as strange, is really the excelence of the system, with higher voltage we need less amps per appliance, so there is really no appliance that needs more than say 10 amps,

The strange is not the 230v part, its the ring circuit.

the loop or ring system also distributes power evenly, and doesnt overload any one part of the system (due to regs) therefore our house 'breakers' usualy only have 4 or 5 rings.

Your ring circuit is capable of delivering more power then any one socket can handle, if for whatever reason a fuse within the socket failed closed, or the socket was not fused in the first place, its just asking for a fire. If a part of the ring fails, you risk dangerously overloading the wires, or the possibility of losing power to every socket on the ring (which can be many apparently)

the US i believe, uses branching, that can have an uneven load on one 'trunk' as such.

but please correct me if i am wrong

Each "trunk" has a relatively small circuit breaker on it, usually 15 or 20 amps (7.5-10 amps 230v equiv), and usually will only power a few individual sockets in parallel. The wire is ALWAYS rated to carry more current then the circuit breaker is rated for, and each socket is rated at or below the circuit breaker rating. Nothing can ever be over loaded without flipping a breaker in this system, as the circuit breaker is always rated LOWER then the maximum current carrying capability of the wire and sockets.

[[XC] MarioMaster]

If you overload an outlet in the US, the breaker trips. With a ring system, it doesn't. How is that safer?

[soundood]

If you overload an outlet in the US, the breaker trips. With a ring system, it doesn't. How is that safer?

the same here, if any one ring has a plug and the fuse blows, the 'breaker' senses this and cuts circuit, also the circuit will not 'reset' until that appliance is removed from the loop.

it really is a neat system

[Final8ty]

If you overload an outlet in the US, the breaker trips. With a ring system, it doesn't. How is that safer?

We have breakers as well.
If the fuse fails the breakers trips.
And sometimes the fuse blows & the breakers still trips.

[Mats]

That large UK plug is far from the worst thing over there. How about separate taps in the bathroom (come on..), or water pipes on the outside of the house (which easily freezes when it's cold), or soft carpets in the bathroom (ever heard about mould(mold)?)

[[XC] Lead Head]

We have breakers as well.
If the fuse fails the breakers trips.
And sometimes the fuse blows & the breakers still trips.

Say for whatever reason the device starts drawing 25 amps, like someone stuck a piece of metal in the fuse holder because it blew a fuse and they didn't have one to replace it with(stuff like this is not all that uncommon, unfortunately). Not enough current to trip the ring circuit breaker, but enough to potentially cause a fire hazard? Yes unlikely, impossible? No.

[ToTTenTranz]

European plugs are terrible, they come out of the sockets if you breathe on them.

LOL

And the prize for Biggest Nationalist Bias goes to..