Survey: Is your mains-powered gear mostly 2-prong or mostly 3-prong?

[ernestcarl]

Grounded 3-prong stuff mostly, except for some headphone DAC/amps and a miniDSP.

 

[bluefuzz]

As an EE myself it is surprising to see someone calling ground connection, which is paramount on human safety as “stink’in”.

I used to know a professor of electrical engineering and robotics who moved from Denmark, where at the time electrical sockets where universally unearthed, to Britain where all plugs are both earthed and fused. He was adamant that the British system was inherently unsafe and that the European system was far safer when implemented correctly. I couldn't say now exactly why he thought this but he was very convincing at the time.

 

[JSmith]

the British system was inherently unsafe and that the European system was far safer when implemented correctly.

Well... a differing opinion;

It's hard not to love the Danish. First of all, it's a nation that understands the importance of bacon. And second of all, it has a power socket that looks like a really, really happy face.

That's all. The only reason we didn't give the Danish system a higher score was that it's just not quite as good as the overall winner in our Plug vs Plug deathmatch. Who could that possibly be?

Score: 9 out of 10

The British plug solves some problems that don't exist in other plug-socket combinations. The British system is pretty much the only one in the world that is fused in the plug. This extra safety measure keeps you safe from too much current going through a mains lead and setting fire to it. But because there's a fuse on the live wire, you need to make sure the pins go in the right socket -- which is where the pyramid stack comes from. Brilliant: a problem solved that no one other plug needs to solve.

The fuse and sturdy construction prove the British plug is very clearly the safest in the world. But it's better than that, because the sockets also feature shutters that prevent children from inserting paperclips and getting a nasty shock. There's often shielding at the base of the live and neutral pins too, in case your finger slips between the plug and the wall and touches one of the pins. What's more, if you pull the cord out of a British plug, it's designed in such a way that the three inner leads disconnect in an order that prevents death.

The only time the good old British plug isn't safer is if you accidentally leave it on the floor, then stand on it while not wearing any shoes. This is a level of pain that can only really be beaten by standing on Lego, or someone giving your reproductive organs a sharp yank.

If Chuck Norris was a plug, he'd be the sturdy, kick-arse British plug. If aliens came to live on Earth, they'd almost certainly bring new types of gadget, and those types of gadget would only work when connected via a British plug.

There is only one possible criticism of the UK plug and socket system, and that's that it doesn't really look like a happy, smiling face -- the Americans can hold that over us.

Score: 10 out of 10

Plug versus Plug

We take a 100 per cent objective look at the plugs of the world, scientifically judging their attributes to decide which will come second to the mighty British plug. Oh, did we give it away?

www.cnet.com

A number of standards based on two round pins with centres spaced at 19 mm are in use in continental Europe and elsewhere, most of these are listed in IEC/TR 60083 Plugs and socket-outlets for domestic and similar general use standardized in member countries of IEC. There is no European Union regulation of domestic mains plugs and sockets, the Low Voltage Directive specifically excludes domestic plugs and sockets. EU countries each have their own regulations and national standards, for example some require child-resistant shutters, others do not. CE marking is neither applicable nor permitted on plugs and sockets.

Europe power cord standard

Specific information of Europe power cord standard provided by power cord manufacturer-Ningbo Yunhuan Group

www.yunhuanelectric.com

JSmith

 

[JJB70]

Most ships have insulated neutral electrical systems (at least for LV) with earth fault monitoring to measure leakage to the hull. The safety concept is based on maintaining essential systems, so an earth fault on a single phase will not take a consumer out.

 

[freemansteve]

The claims of the unsafe nature the British system are correct, but historical, going back to the days when the prongs on the plugs were exposed metal for their whole length. All UK plugs have, for decades, been part-insulated. See picture. The issue was you could get a finger trapped between plug and socket and touch live. You cannot anymore. See pic.

A second criticism from years ago was that appliances came with plugs that were assembled using screws, but they are all moulded now, so you cannot disassemble them. You can however buy "screw together" plugs to make you own mains cables or repairs - this is sometimes criticized as well, but we put that down to the "aggressive infantilisation" that has become common in the UK.

As stated above, the sockets are very good, in that you cannot insert anything into either live or neutral "holes", because they are blocked internally by a sliding cover that only moves when the larger earth pin is inserted, making them very child-proof.

 

[sarumbear]

I thought you had a degree in acoustics?

Please read my signature.

 

[sarumbear]

The claims of the unsafe nature the British system are correct, but historical, going back to the days when the prongs on the plugs were exposed metal for their whole length. All UK plugs have, for decades, been part-insulated. See picture. The issue was you could get a finger trapped between plug and socket and touch live. Y

Historical? I say pre-historical!

The standard that defines the UK socket is BS 1363 and it was introduced in 1947, just after the WW2. No other socket is allowed to be installed and no equipment is allowed to sold without the matching plug. You cannot even import an electrical device without the UK plug!

Whereas in US, the ground connection became a requirement about two decades later, in 1962 (NEC) but as with most standards in US. it was widely discarded for a long time. So much so that it is being discussed here.

 

[freemansteve]

Historical? I say pre-historical!

The standard that defines the UK socket is BS 1363 and it was introduced in 1947, just after the WW2. No other socket is allowed to be installed and no equipment is allowed to sold without the matching plug. You cannot even import an electrical device without the UK plug!

Whereas in US, the ground connection became a requirement about two decades later, in 1962 (NEC) but as with most standards in US. it was widely discarded for a long time. So much so that it is being discussed here.

The standard did not define the insulation on the prongs the plug - that was my point. See the picture.
Anyway, nitrated Danish bacon kills far more people than electricity

 

[sarumbear]

The standard did not define the insulation on the prongs the plug - that was my point. See the picture.
Anyway, nitrated Danish bacon kills far more people than electricity

 

[Suffolkhifinut]

Historical? I say pre-historical!

The standard that defines the UK socket is BS 1363 and it was introduced in 1947, just after the WW2. No other socket is allowed to be installed and no equipment is allowed to sold without the matching plug. You cannot even import an electrical device without the UK plug!

Whereas in US, the ground connection became a requirement about two decades later, in 1962 (NEC) but as with most standards in US. it was widely discarded for a long time. So much so that it is being discussed here.

Not quite correct! 3 Pin 2 Amp socket outlet can still be installed on a lighting circuits and then we have the two pin socket outlet on an electric shaver isolating transformer.
On the posts about a 50 / 50 split on HiFi equipments mains leads, exactly what’s the Point? Has anyone bought a piece of HiFi to balance up this? We can argue all day long about subjective judgements think the mains lead argument has never surfaced. Did buy some ECC82s of a bloke who advised me all HiFi mains leads must be 1.5 metres long to get the best out of your HiFi?

 

[sarumbear]

Not quite correct! 3 Pin 2 Amp socket outlet can still be installed on a lighting circuits and then we have the two pin socket outlet on an electric shaver isolating transformer.

The shaver sockets are labelled clearly for shaver use only, hence outside the scope of this thread. However, how do you differentiate a lighting circuit from a "power" circuit?

 

[mhardy6647]

Mostly vintage componentry, mostly two-prong.
Some modern stuff is three-prong, including the SE 2A3 amp (which is all modern, 'cept some of the tubes in it).

All equipment's transformer-isolated, though... 'cept for a few "AA5" radios

 

[Suffolkhifinut]

theThe shaver sockets are labelled clearly for shaver use only, hence outside the scope of this thread. However, how do you differentiate a lighting circuit from a "power" circuit?

Quite easily, it’s protected by a 6 Amp circuit breaker and the 2 amp socket outlet is connected to the same circuit supplying the luminaires. If in doubt it’s clearly laid out in BS7671. A 6 Amp circuit breaker is needed to protect the conductor with the smallest CSA connected to the circuit. The fixed wiring is solid core 1MM squared or 1.5 MM squared, while the flexible cord used from a ceiling rose to the lamp holder is usually 0.5 MM squared. Radial and ring power circuits are used to supply free standing luminaires and again the flexible cord is usually 0.5 MM squared, protected by a 3 Amp fuse in the plug. BS1362 fuses are made with a maximum carrying capacity of 1,3,5,7,10 & 13 Amps. To avoid consumer confusion the recommended ratings are 3 & 13 Amps.

 

[JJB70]

Something to note is that contrary to what many believe the Type G three pin plug is not just a British plug, it's actually used quite widely.

 

[theREALdotnet]

"Majority" should a clear concept to anyone, shouldn't it?

Say, you had 1 respondent with more 3-prong devices, 5 respondents with more 2-prong devices and 5 respondents with the same amount of 2- and 3-prong devices. Your poll would end in 6:5 saying that they do not have more 2-prong devices.

That’s all I’m trying to say.

 

[Suffolkhifinut]

Something to note is that contrary to what many believe the Type G three pin plug is not just a British plug, it's actually used quite widely.

Seen 13 Amp socket outlets in clinics and hospitals in a few countries. Maybe it’s because they are wired for polarity, it could be some medical equipment needs the correct polarity?

 

[JJB70]

Seen 13 Amp socket outlets in clinics and hospitals in a few countries. Maybe it’s because they are wired for polarity, it could be some medical equipment needs the correct polarity?

They're the standard plug in Singapore and Malaysia. They're quite widely used in the Middle East and Africa too, though some of those countries seem to have several sockets. A few years ago when I used to spend a lot of time in China it wasn't uncommon to see multiple socket types in the same room.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

I made up this special AC adapter cable so I can power my gear on either side of the pond.

 

[Suffolkhifinut]

I made up this special AC adapter cable so I can power my gear on either side of the pond.

View attachment 199654

The sight of it makes me cringe, please buy two made up leads. Do you realise when one plug is connected two of the other plug‘s pins are live? Is your equipment dual voltage 110/230 Volts, the US plug is 110 Volts, the UK plug is 230 volts.

 

[freemansteve]

I made up this special AC adapter cable so I can power my gear on either side of the pond.

View attachment 199654

You do know that sticky black PVC tape will ruin the audio signal!