[Don[_10_]]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

Don.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article ,
Don wrote:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

You could add in the person who set up that pic in the article.

No one in their right mind would use a power screwdriver for that task -
far too much risk of damaging an 'ornamental' screw head.

--
*Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

[Tim S]

Don coughed up some electrons that declared:


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

Don.

Sigh... On the bright side, the survey might have been drawn from Daily Mail
readers...

For what it's worth, my Dad would tackle most things, slowly, but with a
high degree of competance. Gas, electrics, woodwork (he'd change a rotton
sill, not the entire window frame).

At the age of 4 I had some comprehension of bulbs and batteries. Learnt that
that 90V hurt (valve radio battery).

At 6 I was allowed to dismember a broken valve TV. I could put a plug on
flex from perhaps age 7 or 8 (2 pin lamp BC, round pin 2/5/15A and 13A. I
rewired a garage under supervision at about 14. Fixed a brick wall (only a
few bricks but it looked good and never fell apart) around the same time.
Made soakaways, pedastal for a water butt, basic plumbing etc.

Think I was about 13 when I was charged with replacing the cam controller in
a washing machine - had to label about 60 wires and get them back onto the
new part in the right order. And it worked.

My daughter could work either a soldering iron or the solder quite well (but
not both) at 4 years old.

Kids aren't stupid but you have to make the effort. I love taking mine down
to the Bungalow, to show them what a building looks like in various stages
of dismemberment. They get to see all the interesting things I buy like
CUs, light switches and various tools.

I don't know if it's due to:

1) Both parents working, so less time and more inclination to get trades in;

2) People really are more useless;

3) Society is getting dumbed down and discourages from being self sufficient
in the name of H&S.

Cheers

Tim

[Mark]

"Don" wrote in message
...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

Don.


I quite like the Sarah Beeny story on the same page.

mark

[Mungo \Two Sheds\ Toadfoot]

Don wrote:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

Don.

"Fantastic news! A survey of 3000 men of all ages has discovered that a huge
80% of them are perfectly capable of changing a plug. Furthermore a massive
93% of those asked found changing a light bulb easy. It was discovered that
those with more life experience found the tasks simpler. Who'd have
thought?"

Si

[Tim Downie]

"Don" wrote in message
...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

Anyone else think that the illustrated plug looks a bit odd? The earth wire
looks thinner than the others and appears to be solid cored. In fact, it
looks like it's been photoshopped in afterwards into a picture of a two core
wired plug. The live & neutral look to be tinned with solder which I
thought was a no-no.

Also it's a long time since I've seen one of those "fibre board" looking
cable clamps.

Tim

[Tim Downie]

"M" wrote in message
news
Following up to Tim Downie

The live & neutral look to be tinned with solder which I
thought was a no-no.

is that right? I didnt know.

Dunno for sure (I sure someone will come along who does) but I seem to
recall it causes the wires to come loose as the solder undergoes plastic
deformation with heating & cooling cycles.

Tim

[Dave Liquorice[_2_]]

On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:12:08 -0000, Tim Downie wrote:

Anyone else think that the illustrated plug looks a bit odd? The earth
wire looks thinner than the others and appears to be solid cored.

And not actually connected to the earth pin. At least it is a good length
so of the cable does get pulled it might be the last wire to part company
with its terminal.

In fact, it looks like it's been photoshopped in afterwards into a
picture of a two core wired plug.

Aye, it is odd.

The live & neutral look to be tinned with solder which I thought was a
no-no.

Yep and with quite a bit of exposed wire. I don't like that or having the
live and neutral cross over each other.

Also it's a long time since I've seen one of those "fibre board" looking
cable clamps.

Agreed, they are now plastic or the wings to push the cable between.

--
Cheers
Dave.

[Alang]

On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:38:35 -0000, "Tim Downie"
wrote:


"M" wrote in message
news
Following up to Tim Downie

The live & neutral look to be tinned with solder which I
thought was a no-no.

is that right? I didnt know.

Dunno for sure (I sure someone will come along who does) but I seem to
recall it causes the wires to come loose as the solder undergoes plastic
deformation with heating & cooling cycles.

Makes it brittle

[Bob Mannix]

"Tim Downie" wrote in message
...

"M" wrote in message
news
Following up to Tim Downie

The live & neutral look to be tinned with solder which I
thought was a no-no.

is that right? I didnt know.

Dunno for sure (I sure someone will come along who does) but I seem to
recall it causes the wires to come loose as the solder undergoes plastic
deformation with heating & cooling cycles.

It's more that the solder deforms as the screw is tightened but has zero
springback as the screw changes slightly with temperature, leading to it
working loose. The copper on its own has a little elasticity.


--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)

[Man at B&Q]

On Dec 16, 3:03*pm, Alang wrote:
On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:38:35 -0000, "Tim Downie"

wrote:

"M" wrote in message
news
Following up to Tim Downie

The live & neutral look to be tinned with solder which I
thought was a no-no.

is that right? I didnt know.

Dunno for sure (I sure someone will come along who does) but I seem to
recall it causes the wires to come loose as the solder undergoes plastic
deformation with heating & cooling cycles.

Makes it brittle

Solder isn't brittle!

[Alang]

On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:01:50 -0800 (PST), "Man at B&Q"
wrote:

On Dec 16, 3:03*pm, Alang wrote:
On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:38:35 -0000, "Tim Downie"

wrote:

"M" wrote in message
news Following up to Tim Downie

The live & neutral look to be tinned with solder which I
thought was a no-no.

is that right? I didnt know.

Dunno for sure (I sure someone will come along who does) but I seem to
recall it causes the wires to come loose as the solder undergoes plastic
deformation with heating & cooling cycles.

Makes it brittle

Solder isn't brittle!

Copper wire and solder put under stress becomes brittle

[Tim Downie]

"Bob Mannix" wrote in message
...
"Tim Downie" wrote in message
...

"M" wrote in message
news
Following up to Tim Downie

The live & neutral look to be tinned with solder which I
thought was a no-no.

is that right? I didnt know.

Dunno for sure (I sure someone will come along who does) but I seem to
recall it causes the wires to come loose as the solder undergoes plastic
deformation with heating & cooling cycles.

It's more that the solder deforms as the screw is tightened but has zero
springback as the screw changes slightly with temperature, leading to it
working loose.

Um, that's what I just said. "Zero springback"="plastic deformation"

Tim

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article
,
Man at B&Q wrote:
On Dec 16, 3:03 pm, Alang wrote:
On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:38:35 -0000, "Tim Downie"

wrote:

"M" wrote in message
news Following up to Tim Downie

The live & neutral look to be tinned with solder which I
thought was a no-no.

is that right? I didnt know.

Dunno for sure (I sure someone will come along who does) but I seem
to recall it causes the wires to come loose as the solder undergoes
plastic deformation with heating & cooling cycles.

Makes it brittle

Solder isn't brittle!

Heating the wire to solder it seems to make it more brittle next to the
solder. Do this and flex it and see where it breaks.

--
*7up is good for you, signed snow white*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

[The Medway Handyman]

M wrote:
Following up to Don

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

25% cant change a fuse,jeez. Bloke next door is just like that, gets
SWMBOs dad over.

Lovely Jubbly :-)



--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

[The Natural Philosopher]

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article
,
Man at B&Q wrote:
On Dec 16, 3:03 pm, Alang wrote:
On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:38:35 -0000, "Tim Downie"

wrote:

"M" wrote in message
news Following up to Tim Downie
The live & neutral look to be tinned with solder which I
thought was a no-no.
is that right? I didnt know.
Dunno for sure (I sure someone will come along who does) but I seem
to recall it causes the wires to come loose as the solder undergoes
plastic deformation with heating & cooling cycles.
Makes it brittle

Solder isn't brittle!

Heating the wire to solder it seems to make it more brittle next to the
solder. Do this and flex it and see where it breaks.

It not the heat, its the inability of solder loaded wire to flex because
the strands cant slide over one another.

Its the sort of reason why we don't use large steel cables to replace I
beams and vice versa ;-)

And why cart springs are made of layers of steel (mostly)

Or why a car made out of floppy glass fibre cloth doesn't actually
handle like wet handkerchief once the glass cloth is full of resin.

[John Rumm]

Tim Downie wrote:

Anyone else think that the illustrated plug looks a bit odd? The earth
wire looks thinner than the others and appears to be solid cored. In
fact, it looks like it's been photoshopped in afterwards into a picture

Indeed, having just magnified it, it does look faked. The shadow from
the earth being cast in a different direction to that from the fuse
being another clue.

of a two core wired plug. The live & neutral look to be tinned with
solder which I thought was a no-no.

Yup, not good practice.

At least they show the earth as a little longer than the others...



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

[tim.....]

"Don" wrote in message
...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html


How can people not know how to change a light bulb?

It's a bit like saying they don't know how to unlock a door. I don't
believe it!

tim

[tim.....]

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
M wrote:
Following up to Don

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

25% cant change a fuse,jeez. Bloke next door is just like that, gets
SWMBOs dad over.

Lovely Jubbly :-)

If I thought that I'd could make a living out of doing numpty jobs for
people I'd join you

But I'm sure that I'd get more than my fair share of clearing out gutters
and digging out trees.

tim

[Mark]

"Don" wrote in message
...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

Don.


Probably the same ones that can't wrap a Christmas parcel:

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/a...-youd-sir.html



mark

[Michael Chare]

"Don" wrote in message
...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

Don.
In days gone by you used to have to fit a plug to every electrical appliance
that you bought, so many people could do this.

Today nearly all (all?) appliance come with a plug so knowing how to fit
one is hardly an essential skill..



--
Michael Chare

[Mike]

On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:12:08 -0000, "Tim Downie"
wrote:


"Don" wrote in message
...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

Anyone else think that the illustrated plug looks a bit odd? The earth wire
looks thinner than the others and appears to be solid cored. In fact, it
looks like it's been photoshopped in afterwards into a picture of a two core
wired plug. The live & neutral look to be tinned with solder which I
thought was a no-no.

Also it's a long time since I've seen one of those "fibre board" looking
cable clamps.

Of course it's been photoshopped, their biggest mistake is that the
earth core stops short of the brass terminal!

Soldered ends were common on new appliances until they started factory
fitting plugs. The fibreboard clamps are still around, some cheap
plugs in B&Q I saw the other week are like that.

I usually only use MK plugs with the push in plastic cable grip which
for some reason have now gone from their logical all wires trimmed and
stripped to the same length with an offset earth terminal to something
with two wildly differing strip lengths and an earth terminal directly
over the earth pin. I'm not impressed as they now take much longer to
terminate.



--

[chris French]

In message , Michael Chare
writes
"Don" wrote in message
...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-Millions-men
-idea-rewire-plug-change-lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

Don.
In days gone by you used to have to fit a plug to every electrical
appliance that you bought, so many people could do this.

Today nearly all (all?) appliance come with a plug so knowing how to
fit one is hardly an essential skill..

Indeed, I recently rewired a plug (it was a flex being passed through a
hole) but I can't remember the last time I did it before that.

IIRC, Kids to get taught it at school as part of science, but unless
it's a skill you get to use occasionally I can see how you would forget
the details

Odd to think it was considered sensible to sell things without a plug.
--
Chris French

[John Rumm]

chris French wrote:
In message , Michael Chare
writes
"Don" wrote in message
...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-Millions-men
-idea-rewire-plug-change-lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

Don.
In days gone by you used to have to fit a plug to every electrical
appliance that you bought, so many people could do this.

Today nearly all (all?) appliance come with a plug so knowing how to
fit one is hardly an essential skill..

Indeed, I recently rewired a plug (it was a flex being passed through a
hole) but I can't remember the last time I did it before that.

IIRC, Kids to get taught it at school as part of science, but unless
it's a skill you get to use occasionally I can see how you would forget
the details

Odd to think it was considered sensible to sell things without a plug.

If you were a manufacturer selling the same product all over europe it
probably made lots of sense!


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article ,
chris French wrote:
IIRC, Kids to get taught it at school as part of science, but unless
it's a skill you get to use occasionally I can see how you would forget
the details

Most replacement plugs come with instructions.

--
*If you lived in your car, you'd be home by now *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article ,
Mike wrote:
Soldered ends were common on new appliances until they started factory
fitting plugs.

IIRC they were soldered to allow easy connection for testing - I've also
seen brass sleeves fitted. But both should be cut off before fitting the
plug - the wires were usually too long anyway.

--
*Why are they called apartments, when they're all stuck together? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

[The Medway Handyman]

tim..... wrote:
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in
message ...
M wrote:
Following up to Don

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the
'Professional Handymen' then.

25% cant change a fuse,jeez. Bloke next door is just like that, gets
SWMBOs dad over.

Lovely Jubbly :-)

If I thought that I'd could make a living out of doing numpty jobs for
people I'd join you

But I'm sure that I'd get more than my fair share of clearing out
gutters and digging out trees.

Plenty of work about matey, even in a cwedit cwunch. You would be amazed.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

[clot]

Don wrote:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.


A prime example of gutter press IMHO. The first photo with the actor set up
for the photo rather than doing the job using a powered screwdriver! The
second including all the failings that other posters have referred to.

Sadly, though both my kids in their early to late 20s have seen me change
fuses, install sockets, remove light fittings, do Prat P jobs, etc. with no
disaster to date (!), they do not have a go themselves, aided by the Elfin
safety crew. Also, as alluded to by another poster, all purchased equipment
comes with effectively sealed plugs so that they are like black boxes under
the bonnet.

Though having seen me and aided me to change engines and gearboxes,
radiators, brakes, et al. in cars in their younger days, if a fault appears,
it's off to the commercial garage!

Journalists using stats to such good effect for those that do not read
behind the words. It's no wonder that journalists have such a bad
reputation. Sorry, I do not read such rags and having just come across such
tripe, I'm a mite wound up by the tosh. Is there some way we can persuade
folk not to look at (and possibly for the limited literate few) assist them
into a more informed existence?

[Don[_10_]]

"Clot" wrote in message
...
Don wrote:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.


A prime example of gutter press IMHO. The first photo with the actor set
up for the photo rather than doing the job using a powered screwdriver!
The second including all the failings that other posters have referred to.

Sadly, though both my kids in their early to late 20s have seen me change
fuses, install sockets, remove light fittings, do Prat P jobs, etc. with
no disaster to date (!), they do not have a go themselves, aided by the
Elfin safety crew. Also, as alluded to by another poster, all purchased
equipment comes with effectively sealed plugs so that they are like black
boxes under the bonnet.

Though having seen me and aided me to change engines and gearboxes,
radiators, brakes, et al. in cars in their younger days, if a fault
appears, it's off to the commercial garage!

Journalists using stats to such good effect for those that do not read
behind the words. It's no wonder that journalists have such a bad
reputation. Sorry, I do not read such rags and having just come across
such tripe, I'm a mite wound up by the tosh. Is there some way we can
persuade folk not to look at (and possibly for the limited literate few)
assist them into a more informed existence?


As Benjamin Disraeli said, "Lies, damned lies, and statistics".

Don.

[clot]

Don wrote:
"Clot" wrote in message
...
Don wrote:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.


A prime example of gutter press IMHO. The first photo with the actor
set up for the photo rather than doing the job using a powered
screwdriver! The second including all the failings that other
posters have referred to. Sadly, though both my kids in their early to
late 20s have seen me
change fuses, install sockets, remove light fittings, do Prat P
jobs, etc. with no disaster to date (!), they do not have a go
themselves, aided by the Elfin safety crew. Also, as alluded to by
another poster, all purchased equipment comes with effectively
sealed plugs so that they are like black boxes under the bonnet.

Though having seen me and aided me to change engines and gearboxes,
radiators, brakes, et al. in cars in their younger days, if a fault
appears, it's off to the commercial garage!

Journalists using stats to such good effect for those that do not
read behind the words. It's no wonder that journalists have such a
bad reputation. Sorry, I do not read such rags and having just come
across such tripe, I'm a mite wound up by the tosh. Is there some
way we can persuade folk not to look at (and possibly for the
limited literate few) assist them into a more informed existence?


As Benjamin Disraeli said, "Lies, damned lies, and statistics".


sadly so and the Gubbermint this week regarding injuries to police at a
proposed power station development in Kent!

[The Natural Philosopher]

John Rumm wrote:
chris French wrote:
In message , Michael Chare
writes
"Don" wrote in message
...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-Millions-men
-idea-rewire-plug-change-lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.

Don.
In days gone by you used to have to fit a plug to every electrical
appliance that you bought, so many people could do this.

Today nearly all (all?) appliance come with a plug so knowing how to
fit one is hardly an essential skill..

Indeed, I recently rewired a plug (it was a flex being passed through
a hole) but I can't remember the last time I did it before that.

IIRC, Kids to get taught it at school as part of science, but unless
it's a skill you get to use occasionally I can see how you would
forget the details

Odd to think it was considered sensible to sell things without a plug.

If you were a manufacturer selling the same product all over europe it
probably made lots of sense!


as also it did in this country when there were one of four possible
plugs that might need to be fitted.

[dennis@home]

"Clot" wrote in message
...
Don wrote:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lightbulb.html

It looks as if there's going to be a boom time for the 'Professional
Handymen' then.


A prime example of gutter press IMHO. The first photo with the actor set
up for the photo rather than doing the job using a powered screwdriver!

I have used an impact driver to fit light fittings before now, its not a
problem with the Ryobi one+.

[[email protected]]

On 16 Dec, 23:57, "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
* *Mike wrote:

Soldered ends were common on new appliances until they started factory
fitting plugs.

IIRC they were soldered to allow easy connection for testing - I've also
seen brass sleeves fitted. But both should be cut off before fitting the
plug - the wires were usually too long anyway.


Umm - why should brass sleeves be removed? My thought was that they
were crimped on, rather than soldered, so would be ok for fitting into
(brass) screw down terminals. If they are not advised (and if so, I'd
like to _understand_ the reason why) then I have some plugs to rewire.

As for rewiring plugs, I recently had the pleasure of rewiring a CEE
7/7. Ugh. The earth connection is set closer to the cord-grip than the
terminals, and the plug I rewired had terrible terminal screws - it
looked like they were made by taking standard Philips head screws and
(badly) grinding a slot into them so a standard bladed screwdriver
could be used. Whatever they were made of was very soft - not the hard
brass used in BS1363 plugs, and the live and neutral terminals and
screws were made of dissimilar metals to the earth terminal and screw.
I still can't work out how those things are rated to 16A when BS1363
plugs are 13A.

Cheers,

Sid

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article ,
dennis@home wrote:
A prime example of gutter press IMHO. The first photo with the actor
set up for the photo rather than doing the job using a powered
screwdriver!

I have used an impact driver to fit light fittings before now, its not a
problem with the Ryobi one+.

So you don't bother lining up the screw slots. Figures.

--
*You can't teach an old mouse new clicks *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article ,
M wrote:
Following up to

When I showed him that the card
that came with the plug had a drawing on it to follow he was
surprised,said he had never bothered to look at it over a decade or
two of wiring plugs.

i never looked also!

I don't look because I don't need to, having done so many. Plus the fact
they never show leaving a loop in the earth wire so it will be the last
one to break if the cord grip fails.

However, if I didn't know how to fit a plug I would look at the
instructions.

--
*I used up all my sick days so I called in dead

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article
,
wrote:
IIRC they were soldered to allow easy connection for testing - I've
also seen brass sleeves fitted. But both should be cut off before
fitting the plug - the wires were usually too long anyway.


Umm - why should brass sleeves be removed? My thought was that they
were crimped on, rather than soldered, so would be ok for fitting into
(brass) screw down terminals. If they are not advised (and if so, I'd
like to _understand_ the reason why) then I have some plugs to rewire.

They're simply adding another possible poor connection - and serve no
useful purpose. And as I said the chance of the 'tails' being the correct
length for your particular plug is rare.

--
*Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article ,
M wrote:
Plus the fact
they never show leaving a loop in the earth wire so it will be the last
one to break if the cord grip fails.

ahhhh, good idea.

BBC training. ;-)

--
*Xerox and Wurlitzer will merge to market reproductive organs.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

[dennis@home]

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
dennis@home wrote:
A prime example of gutter press IMHO. The first photo with the actor
set up for the photo rather than doing the job using a powered
screwdriver!

I have used an impact driver to fit light fittings before now, its not a
problem with the Ryobi one+.

So you don't bother lining up the screw slots. Figures.

You leave screws that show!!?

[[email protected]]

On 17 Dec, 13:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
wrote:
On 17 Dec, 10:07, "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article
,
* wrote:

IIRC they were soldered to allow easy connection for testing - I've
also seen brass sleeves fitted. But both should be cut off before
fitting the plug - the wires were usually too long anyway.
Umm - why should brass sleeves be removed? *My thought was that they
were crimped on, rather than soldered, so would be ok for fitting into
(brass) screw down terminals. If they are not advised (and if so, I'd
like to _understand_ the reason why) then I have some plugs to rewire..
They're simply adding another possible poor connection - and serve no
useful purpose. And as I said the chance of the 'tails' being the correct
length for your particular plug is rare.

I did a quick look back on uk.d-i-y, and wiring plugs has generated
some discussion previously.

Previous threads are titled:

"PAT visual checks, or How To Wire a Plug" - Nov 2004
"The correct way to wire a plug " - Aug 2006 (Not entirely serious)
"What's the best way of wiring a screw-terminal plug with flex?" - Jul
2007 (kicked off by me).

In the last, Andrew Gabriel opined that bootlace ferrule crimps were
the way to go if expense were no object, and Dave Plowman gave
typically good down-to-earth advice.

I should eat more fish to improve my memory, obviously.

Cheers,

Sid

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article ,
wrote:
In days gone by you used to have to fit a plug to every electrical
appliance that you bought, so many people could do this.

Many people could attach a plug to a flex, not so many correctly.


Today nearly all (all?) appliance come with a plug

Because of the number of lplugs fitted dangerously, or even wires poked
in with match sticks (or conductive materials), a law was passed so that
all new appliances had fitted plugs.

Most other countries were used to buying equipment with plugs fitted for
many years before it became compulsory here - but then they probably
didn't have the vast range of different ones we did. Even after the 13 amp
ring was introduced, there were at least 4 types of non compatible plugs
for that - let alone the older 2, 5 and 15amp in both two and three pins.

--
*If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.