Hi folks,

I recently moved into a flat that, as well as having 'standard' modern
plug sockets, also has some older ones, with holes for three round pins.
I have no idea whether these are live, and guess that I could use one of
those mains tester plugs in order to check whether they're wired up
correctly, but:

a) Are they potentially usable?

b) Are there adapter plugs available to plug in equipment with new-style
plugs ... or replacement plugs to connect to the equipment, perhaps?

Any advice would be appreciated -- my knowledge of such things is
sketchy to say the least!

Thanks,
Stuart.

In article ,
Stuart Bell wrote:
I recently moved into a flat that, as well as having 'standard' modern
plug sockets, also has some older ones, with holes for three round pins.
I have no idea whether these are live, and guess that I could use one of
those mains tester plugs in order to check whether they're wired up
correctly, but:

a) Are they potentially usable?

If the wiring is all recent, it's common to use this sort of socket for
table lamps etc switched from a wall switch off the normal lighting
circuit.

b) Are there adapter plugs available to plug in equipment with new-style
plugs ... or replacement plugs to connect to the equipment, perhaps?

You can buy plugs from a wholesaler - even some of the larger sheds. But
these sockets - and the wiring - are of a lower rating than the normal 13
amp type - either 2 or 5 amp.

Any advice would be appreciated -- my knowledge of such things is
sketchy to say the least!

If they are the remains of an old installation which used these for
'power', it should be checked properly - it will be very old, probably 40
years plus.

--
*Eat well, stay fit, die anyway

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

On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 11:23:08 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:


You can buy plugs from a wholesaler - even some of the larger sheds. But
these sockets - and the wiring - are of a lower rating than the normal 13
amp type - either 2 or 5 amp.


There was a 15A version too. IIRC it was common practise to run the 5A and
15A on radial circuits and the 2A as arealy mentioned came off the
lighting circuits.

2A have been put in as recently as the mid 60's (York University, some of
the college residences) and were off the lighting circuit - as proven when
too many kettles and hairdryers were plugged into them!

Timbo

On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 11:23:08 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Stuart Bell wrote:
I recently moved into a flat that, as well as having 'standard' modern
plug sockets, also has some older ones, with holes for three round pins.
I have no idea whether these are live, and guess that I could use one of
those mains tester plugs in order to check whether they're wired up
correctly, but:

a) Are they potentially usable?

If the wiring is all recent, it's common to use this sort of socket for
table lamps etc switched from a wall switch off the normal lighting
circuit.

b) Are there adapter plugs available to plug in equipment with new-style
plugs ... or replacement plugs to connect to the equipment, perhaps?

You can buy plugs from a wholesaler - even some of the larger sheds. But
these sockets - and the wiring - are of a lower rating than the normal 13
amp type - either 2 or 5 amp.

There was/is a 15amp version available as well.

sPoNix

In article , sPoNiX
writes
On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 11:23:08 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Stuart Bell wrote:
I recently moved into a flat that, as well as having 'standard' modern
plug sockets, also has some older ones, with holes for three round pins.
I have no idea whether these are live, and guess that I could use one of
those mains tester plugs in order to check whether they're wired up
correctly, but:

a) Are they potentially usable?

If the wiring is all recent, it's common to use this sort of socket for
table lamps etc switched from a wall switch off the normal lighting
circuit.

b) Are there adapter plugs available to plug in equipment with new-style
plugs ... or replacement plugs to connect to the equipment, perhaps?

You can buy plugs from a wholesaler - even some of the larger sheds. But
these sockets - and the wiring - are of a lower rating than the normal 13
amp type - either 2 or 5 amp.

There was/is a 15amp version available as well.

15 amp is widely used in stage/theatre lighting systems, so is still
available and has been updated to have sleeved pins on the plugs,
shuttered sockets etc.
--
Tim Mitchell

In article ,
sPoNiX wrote:
You can buy plugs from a wholesaler - even some of the larger sheds.
But these sockets - and the wiring - are of a lower rating than the
normal 13 amp type - either 2 or 5 amp.

There was/is a 15amp version available as well.

Yes. But I've not seen them in a shed - they tend to be only used for
older theatre lighting etc these days. And I'd imagine any in a domestic
setting would look very old (and odd) - I don't think many make them in
modern styles.

--
*The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.*

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

In article ,
(sPoNiX) writes:
On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 11:23:08 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:
You can buy plugs from a wholesaler - even some of the larger sheds. But
these sockets - and the wiring - are of a lower rating than the normal 13
amp type - either 2 or 5 amp.

There was/is a 15amp version available as well.

and a 30A one, but you wouldn't have found that in residential properties.

--
Andrew Gabriel

"Stuart Bell" wrote
| I recently moved into a flat that, as well as having 'standard'
| modern plug sockets, also has some older ones, with holes for
| three round pins.

Are these *old* sockets, or new sockets with round pins? In upmarket
properties (or those rewired by people with cluefulness) round pin sockets
are sometimes used for table lights controlled by wall switches.

Or someone might have (re)used the old wiring for speakers, etc.

| I have no idea whether these are live, and guess that I could use
| one of those mains tester plugs in order to check whether they're
| wired up correctly, but:

| a) Are they potentially usable?

Potentially yes, but if they are old wiring there is probably good reason
for not using them and disconnecting them (ie the wiring is knacked, still
on old fuses, etc). Knacked wiring will not necessarily be revealed by a
mains tester plug; more extensive inspection/test would be required.

| b) Are there adapter plugs available to plug in equipment with new-style
| plugs ... or replacement plugs to connect to the equipment, perhaps?

2A and 5A plugs are available in B&Q. 15A plugs available from other places.
Especially if they are 15A plugs you should use a 15A
plug-to-extension-socket, so the appliance retains its 13A *fused* plug, so
that an appliance that requires a 3A fuse is suitably protected (assuming
you have the correct fuses in your 13A plugs to start with) rather than
relying on a 15A rewirable fuse in the fusebox.

Owain

Stuart Bell wrote in message ...
Hi folks,

I recently moved into a flat that, as well as having 'standard' modern
plug sockets, also has some older ones, with holes for three round pins.
I have no idea whether these are live, and guess that I could use one of
those mains tester plugs in order to check whether they're wired up
correctly, but:

a) Are they potentially usable?

b) Are there adapter plugs available to plug in equipment with new-style
plugs ... or replacement plugs to connect to the equipment, perhaps?

Any advice would be appreciated -- my knowledge of such things is
sketchy to say the least!

Thanks,
Stuart.

Id like to think they should be dead if they are Live it sounds like
ur installation needs a full inspection doing ASAP.
The small 2 and 5 Amp BS546 outlets are still used for supllying lamps
on lighting circuits but not for anything other in domestic
installations.

Jon.

Tim Mitchell wrote:

15 amp is widely used in stage/theatre lighting systems, so is still
available and has been updated to have sleeved pins on the plugs,
shuttered sockets etc.

Curiously, its still the standard in S Africa.

"Tim" wrote in message .. .
On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 11:23:08 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

You can buy plugs from a wholesaler - even some of the larger sheds. But
these sockets - and the wiring - are of a lower rating than the normal 13
amp type - either 2 or 5 amp.

There was a 15A version too. IIRC it was common practise to run the 5A and
15A on radial circuits and the 2A as arealy mentioned came off the
lighting circuits.

And even earlier than 3 pin round pin were the 2 pin 5A round pin
plugs. Have an old wooden 2 way adaptor where the metal sleeves come
so close to the surface you touch them without sticking a finger in
anywhere.

NT

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
In article ,
sPoNiX wrote:
You can buy plugs from a wholesaler - even some of the larger sheds.
But these sockets - and the wiring - are of a lower rating than the
normal 13 amp type - either 2 or 5 amp.

There was/is a 15amp version available as well.

Yes. But I've not seen them in a shed -

I was looking for a couple of 5 A plugs and sockets in B&Q Warehouse
the other day. They had 15A ones there. But then they have all sorts in
that one, including various things specialists don't always have

--
Chris French, Leeds

In article , Tim Mitchell
writes
In article , sPoNiX
writes
On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 11:23:08 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Stuart Bell wrote:
I recently moved into a flat that, as well as having 'standard' modern
plug sockets, also has some older ones, with holes for three round pins.
I have no idea whether these are live, and guess that I could use one of
those mains tester plugs in order to check whether they're wired up
correctly, but:

a) Are they potentially usable?

If the wiring is all recent, it's common to use this sort of socket for
table lamps etc switched from a wall switch off the normal lighting
circuit.

b) Are there adapter plugs available to plug in equipment with new-style
plugs ... or replacement plugs to connect to the equipment, perhaps?

You can buy plugs from a wholesaler - even some of the larger sheds. But
these sockets - and the wiring - are of a lower rating than the normal 13
amp type - either 2 or 5 amp.

There was/is a 15amp version available as well.

15 amp is widely used in stage/theatre lighting systems, so is still
available and has been updated to have sleeved pins on the plugs,
shuttered sockets etc.

Sleeved pins, shuttered sockets etc are only required for a domestic
environment. If you go to a theatrical-type supplier you can buy the
real thing in its original deadly form :-)

In fact, 5A round pin plug/socketry is occasionally still specified for
new installations in small school/amdram situations. All these are
radial circuits with fast-blow (to protect triac-type dimmers) fuses in
the dimmer pack, which is (usually!) located in a more convenient place
than 30 feet above an audience...

Anybody remember 10A round pin plugs/sockets? I only vaguely remember
references to them as somewhere between (obviously!) 5A and 15A sizes.
At one time you could buy a card of fuse wire with three bits of wire
labelled as 5A for lighting, 10A for heating and 15A for power (whatever
"power" was!).


--
Frank Erskine

On Thu, 2 Sep 2004 22:58:44 UTC, Frank Erskine
wrote:

Anybody remember 10A round pin plugs/sockets? I only vaguely remember
references to them as somewhere between (obviously!) 5A and 15A sizes.
At one time you could buy a card of fuse wire with three bits of wire
labelled as 5A for lighting, 10A for heating and 15A for power (whatever
"power" was!).

Yes, I remember all those! And having DC mains....

1) Setting fire to a pile of newspapers (and an armchair) when
experimentally removing a plug from its socket without switching off the
electric fire it was feeding. Nice arc!

2) Having a Tri-Ang train set powered by a rotary converter; then, one
day, changing it for this silent red box that apparently did the same
job...

--
Bob Eager
begin a new life...dump Windows!

a) Are they potentially usable?

If the wiring is all recent, it's common to use this sort of socket for
table lamps etc switched from a wall switch off the normal lighting
circuit.

Ha ha...we found this out recently. We had rented this fantastic flat done
out very swedish in style (not ikea ...which had no centre lights
throughout. On the landlords flat inspection b4 we left...he said "You do
know that those wall switches work the rounded three pins for turning your
lamps on and off?"....oh dear.

1 whole year of coming home in the dark and fumbling about for lamp
switches. Doh!!!

Glen

In article , Frank Erskine
writes
In article , Tim Mitchell
writes
15 amp is widely used in stage/theatre lighting systems, so is still
available and has been updated to have sleeved pins on the plugs,
shuttered sockets etc.

Sleeved pins, shuttered sockets etc are only required for a domestic
environment. If you go to a theatrical-type supplier you can buy the
real thing in its original deadly form :-)

Not true, the regs say you must use shuttered sockets and sleeved plugs
on a new theatre install. You won't find any theatrical suppliers
selling the old type of plug or socket as the manufacturers have all
started producing safer versions.

Even if you could still get "dangerous" versions, it would be unwise to
fit them when safer designs are available.

The only disadvantage to the safe versions is that some of the 15A plug
designs include a fuse in the plug. You really don't want this in a
theatrical situation as everything is protected at the power source and
the plugs can be extremely inaccessible.
--
Tim Mitchell

(John Southern) wrote in message . com...


If they turn out to be several decades old, theres little point in
inspecting, they will have no possibility of passing anything.

NT

Most other posts apply but in summary:

If it 5A (or possibly 2A but I suspect not) and is switched by a fixed
light switch somewhere nearby then it is probably safe to use for a light.

If it is anything else then it probably isn't safe.

Mike

Stuart Bell wrote:
Hi folks,

I recently moved into a flat that, as well as having 'standard' modern
plug sockets, also has some older ones, with holes for three round pins.
I have no idea whether these are live, and guess that I could use one of
those mains tester plugs in order to check whether they're wired up
correctly, but:

a) Are they potentially usable?

b) Are there adapter plugs available to plug in equipment with new-style
plugs ... or replacement plugs to connect to the equipment, perhaps?

Any advice would be appreciated -- my knowledge of such things is
sketchy to say the least!

Thanks,
Stuart.

In article , N.
Thornton wrote:

And even earlier than 3 pin round pin were the 2 pin 5A round pin
plugs.

I remember some seriously lethal versions of those as a child in the
1950's. The plugs had round covers with a central flex outlet and a
moulded thread fixing them to the base. You could easily unscrew the
tops from the plugs without unplugging them :-(

I've also come across 2 peculiar type of plugs in the distant past,
probably also 1950's or very early 1960's era:

* One type were 13A with round pins. They were about the same size
as 5A ones but the earth pin had a groove running along it's
length (presumably so the socket could be keyed to prevent a 5A
plug being used) and the cartridge fuse was threaded at one end
and screwed into the plug to form the live pin. I think they
were a proprietary Reyrole design.

* There were some really weird plugs with a central round earth
pin and flat power pins to either side of it. They came in 2 (or
more ?) different sizes and ratings. The larger ones had a
socket for a lower rating built into the cover so you could
piggy back a smaller plug off them. ISTR the plugs had cartridge
fuses and were designed in such a way that the lower rated ones
could also be inserted into higher rated sockets.


--
Mike Clarke

In article ,
Mike Clarke wrote:
One type were 13A with round pins. They were about the same size
as 5A ones but the earth pin had a groove running along it's
length (presumably so the socket could be keyed to prevent a 5A
plug being used) and the cartridge fuse was threaded at one end
and screwed into the plug to form the live pin. I think they
were a proprietary Reyrole design.

D&S. Lethal things. Sometimes when you unplugged them, the fuse would be
left sticking out of the socket - it had unscrewed itself. The natural
reaction was to pull it out. Live...

They also had a near useless cord grip.

Often found on council estates.

--
*There's two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither one works *

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

In article ,
(John Southern) writes:
The small 2 and 5 Amp BS546 outlets are still used for supllying lamps
on lighting circuits but not for anything other in domestic
installations.

In Italy, the 2A ones are the telephone outlet -- ouch!
I'm sure someone somewhere must have plugged an Italian
phone into a 240V 2A outlet...

--
Andrew Gabriel

Mike Clarke wrote in message ...
In article , N.
Thornton wrote:

I remember some seriously lethal versions of those as a child in the
1950's. The plugs had round covers with a central flex outlet and a
moulded thread fixing them to the base. You could easily unscrew the
tops from the plugs without unplugging them :-(

ah, Clix plugs. The wires were pushed under the folded pins, and
screwing the top on pressed the pins onto the wires. no cordgrip. I
think theyre famous for worrying people.


I've also come across 2 peculiar type of plugs in the distant past,
probably also 1950's or very early 1960's era:

* One type were 13A with round pins. They were about the same size
as 5A ones but the earth pin had a groove running along it's
length (presumably so the socket could be keyed to prevent a 5A
plug being used) and the cartridge fuse was threaded at one end
and screwed into the plug to form the live pin. I think they
were a proprietary Reyrole design.

hospital plug?

* There were some really weird plugs with a central round earth
pin and flat power pins to either side of it. They came in 2 (or
more ?) different sizes and ratings. The larger ones had a
socket for a lower rating built into the cover so you could
piggy back a smaller plug off them. ISTR the plugs had cartridge
fuses and were designed in such a way that the lower rated ones
could also be inserted into higher rated sockets.

not heard of those before.

NT

"N. Thornton" wrote in message om...
Mike Clarke wrote in message ...
In article , N.
Thornton wrote:

I remember some seriously lethal versions of those as a child in the
1950's. The plugs had round covers with a central flex outlet and a
moulded thread fixing them to the base. You could easily unscrew the
tops from the plugs without unplugging them :-(



ah, Clix plugs. The wires were pushed under the folded pins, and
screwing the top on pressed the pins onto the wires. no cordgrip. I
think theyre famous for worrying people.

You ain't wrong there about worrying people. When I was about 14, I plugged one in once that was connected to our table
lamp ontop of the small cupboard next to the chimney breat and had to go to hospital suffering from severe burns to my
hand. Letheal things. Dad soon got rid of those
--
troubleinstore
http://www.tuppencechange.co.uk
Personal mail can be sent via website.
Email address in posting is ficticious and is intended as spam trap

View my items on eBay:-
http://cgi6.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....&since=-1&rd=1














I've also come across 2 peculiar type of plugs in the distant past,
probably also 1950's or very early 1960's era:

* One type were 13A with round pins. They were about the same size
as 5A ones but the earth pin had a groove running along it's
length (presumably so the socket could be keyed to prevent a 5A
plug being used) and the cartridge fuse was threaded at one end
and screwed into the plug to form the live pin. I think they
were a proprietary Reyrole design.

hospital plug?

* There were some really weird plugs with a central round earth
pin and flat power pins to either side of it. They came in 2 (or
more ?) different sizes and ratings. The larger ones had a
socket for a lower rating built into the cover so you could
piggy back a smaller plug off them. ISTR the plugs had cartridge
fuses and were designed in such a way that the lower rated ones
could also be inserted into higher rated sockets.

not heard of those before.

NT

In article ,
N. Thornton wrote:
ah, Clix plugs. The wires were pushed under the folded pins, and
screwing the top on pressed the pins onto the wires. no cordgrip. I
think theyre famous for worrying people.

Later versions had a cover secured by a screw and a decent cord grip.
Which of course sort of defeated the idea of being able to fit one without
tools.

--
*When you've seen one shopping centre you've seen a mall.*

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

In article , N.
Thornton wrote:

Mike Clarke wrote in message
...
In article , N.
Thornton wrote:

I remember some seriously lethal versions of those as a child in the
1950's. The plugs had round covers with a central flex outlet and a
moulded thread fixing them to the base. You could easily unscrew the
tops from the plugs without unplugging them :-(

ah, Clix plugs. The wires were pushed under the folded pins, and
screwing the top on pressed the pins onto the wires. no cordgrip. I
think theyre famous for worrying people.

That's the ones. They sometimes tended to loose their grip in the
sockets unless you prised the split ends of the pins apart a bit from
time to time. I think they might have had a very rudimentary attempt at
a cord grip in the form of a lump in the centre of the bakelite base
that pressed against the hole in the cap, but the caps didn't always
stay on tight.

--
Mike Clarke

On Sat, 04 Sep 2004 10:41:16 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
N. Thornton wrote:
ah, Clix plugs. The wires were pushed under the folded pins, and
screwing the top on pressed the pins onto the wires. no cordgrip. I
think theyre famous for worrying people.

Later versions had a cover secured by a screw and a decent cord grip.
Which of course sort of defeated the idea of being able to fit one without
tools.

You could also get plugs that would fit a bayonet light socket and
then a Y-shaped adaptor for it and the bulb

At one time, these were popular as a way to connect the iron.

No earth of course......


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

N. Thornton wrote:
Mike Clarke wrote in message ...

ah, Clix plugs. The wires were pushed under the folded pins, and
screwing the top on pressed the pins onto the wires. no cordgrip. I
think theyre famous for worrying people.

The dreadful 'Clix' was not the only sort of 5 A plug with a top that
could be unscrewed by hand. I still have some WG (Ward & Goldtone)
brand ones I bought from Woolworth's as a kid, and which had a similar
feature. These at least used screws to hold the wires in place :-).
Another tendency of the Clix plug was for strands of wire to free
themselves from the pins over time and eventually cause a short-circuit
when you moved the flex - nice.

* There were some really weird plugs with a central round earth
pin and flat power pins to either side of it. They came in 2 (or
more ?) different sizes and ratings. The larger ones had a
socket for a lower rating built into the cover so you could
piggy back a smaller plug off them. ISTR the plugs had cartridge
fuses and were designed in such a way that the lower rated ones
could also be inserted into higher rated sockets.

not heard of those before.

That's the Wylex design that was a serious alternative contender to the
13 A 'square pin plug' (as people called it then) in the late 1940s for
use with the new ring circuit system. Yes there were stackable versions
and I believe they were widely used in government scientific
establishments at one time. Who first designed what we now know as the
BS 1363 plug and why it was chosen over the Wylex versions are questions
I've never seen answered - although a good guess might be that it was
considerably cheaper to produce than the Wylex.

--
Andy

"Andy Hall" wrote
| You could also get plugs that would fit a bayonet light socket
| and then a Y-shaped adaptor for it and the bulb

I remember them being used for christmas lights at kindergarten. We all made
little paper lanterns to fit over the hot electric bulbs...

| At one time, these were popular as a way to connect the iron.
| No earth of course......

Somewhere I have a lovely advertisement advocating their use in the bathroom
for the electrically heated shaving mug.

Owain

Andy Hall wrote in message . ..

You could also get plugs that would fit a bayonet light socket and
then a Y-shaped adaptor for it and the bulb

At one time, these were popular as a way to connect the iron.

No earth of course......

yep, those were still being sold till, what, 70 or 71. Used long after
of course. They gave the added features of:

* a dangling cord to run into (sometimes the plugs were held by
string)
* flex draping over the lightbulb
* lots of mechanical loading on the light fitting flex, which of
course often had no effective cord grip
* making sure the user would regularly handle the live perished rubber
cord on the light socket
* and when you did get caught up in the wires, while standing on a
chair and reaching up, you'd pull on the whole thing, the light would
go out, and youd grab hold of the hot bulb to try to steady yourself
in the sudden darkness.

Other than that they were quite a clever idea.

Regards, NT

Andy Wade wrote in message ...
N. Thornton wrote:
Mike Clarke wrote in message ...

ah, Clix plugs. The wires were pushed under the folded pins, and
screwing the top on pressed the pins onto the wires. no cordgrip. I
think theyre famous for worrying people.

The dreadful 'Clix' was not the only sort of 5 A plug with a top that
could be unscrewed by hand. I still have some WG (Ward & Goldtone)
brand ones I bought from Woolworth's as a kid, and which had a similar
feature. These at least used screws to hold the wires in place :-).
Another tendency of the Clix plug was for strands of wire to free
themselves from the pins over time and eventually cause a short-circuit
when you moved the flex - nice.

The hard plastic ones at least had a bit of resistance to coming
undone, and real screws for the wires. The Clixes (I had) were made of
soft plastic, and came undone regularly, leaving eseentially nothing
holding the wires to the pins. But even compared to Clixes I've seen
worse, occasionally, wooden mains plugs and adaptors that make Clixes
look reassuring. Possibly going all the way back to the 20s or 30s.


* There were some really weird plugs with a central round earth
pin and flat power pins to either side of it. They came in 2 (or
more ?) different sizes and ratings. The larger ones had a
socket for a lower rating built into the cover so you could
piggy back a smaller plug off them. ISTR the plugs had cartridge
fuses and were designed in such a way that the lower rated ones
could also be inserted into higher rated sockets.

not heard of those before.

That's the Wylex design that was a serious alternative contender to the
13 A 'square pin plug' (as people called it then) in the late 1940s for
use with the new ring circuit system. Yes there were stackable versions
and I believe they were widely used in government scientific
establishments at one time. Who first designed what we now know as the
BS 1363 plug and why it was chosen over the Wylex versions are questions
I've never seen answered - although a good guess might be that it was
considerably cheaper to produce than the Wylex.

I expect price ruled. But of course that does make our present plug an
odd choice, as it is remarkably inefficient from a material use point
of view. Compare to the standard american plug for example.


regards, NT

In article ,
(N. Thornton) writes:
Andy Hall wrote in message . ..

You could also get plugs that would fit a bayonet light socket and
then a Y-shaped adaptor for it and the bulb

At one time, these were popular as a way to connect the iron.

No earth of course......

yep, those were still being sold till, what, 70 or 71. Used long after

They were all killed off sometime around 70/71 when it became illegal
to sell electrical fittings which didn't conform to a relevant
British Standard.

of course. They gave the added features of:

* a dangling cord to run into (sometimes the plugs were held by
string)

Yes, somewhere in a junk box, I still have one of the ones with
string to stop the plug falling away.

* flex draping over the lightbulb

although in fairness the rubber flex could withstand higher
temperature than today's PVC.

* lots of mechanical loading on the light fitting flex, which of
course often had no effective cord grip
* making sure the user would regularly handle the live perished rubber
cord on the light socket

Whilst the rubber might be perished now, that's actually very much
less likely back then.

* and when you did get caught up in the wires, while standing on a
chair and reaching up, you'd pull on the whole thing, the light would
go out, and youd grab hold of the hot bulb to try to steady yourself
in the sudden darkness.

and kiss goodbye to your lath and plaster ceiling, literally (at
least the plaster part of it), as it passes you on the way down...

I still have a baynet plug, which gets used annually to plug some
decorations into a lampholder instead of one of the regular bulbs.

--
Andrew Gabriel

(Andrew Gabriel) wrote in message ...
In article ,
(N. Thornton) writes:

* flex draping over the lightbulb

although in fairness the rubber flex could withstand higher
temperature than today's PVC.

it could, but non-rubber was in widespread use too. If your chosen
item had a plastic cord, it was uhoh very quickly.

With rubber it just made it hard and brittle, and led to bare wires
being exposed fairly quickly.


* lots of mechanical loading on the light fitting flex, which of
course often had no effective cord grip
* making sure the user would regularly handle the live perished rubber
cord on the light socket

Whilst the rubber might be perished now, that's actually very much
less likely back then.

I though badly perished rubber installs were widespread then, but I
could be mistook I guess. Seemed like bare wires on lampholders was
common. Along with round bakelite switches, round pin sockets,
threaded conduit, bare heater elements, and melting socket wiring. Oh
and homemade adaptors to enable bigger round pin plugs to be plugged
into lower rated sockets.


* and when you did get caught up in the wires, while standing on a
chair and reaching up, you'd pull on the whole thing, the light would
go out, and youd grab hold of the hot bulb to try to steady yourself
in the sudden darkness.

and kiss goodbye to your lath and plaster ceiling, literally (at
least the plaster part of it), as it passes you on the way down...

ha, not seen that before!


Regards, NT

"sPoNiX" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 11:23:08 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Stuart Bell wrote:
I recently moved into a flat that, as well as having 'standard' modern
plug sockets, also has some older ones, with holes for three round
pins.
I have no idea whether these are live, and guess that I could use one
of
those mains tester plugs in order to check whether they're wired up
correctly, but:

a) Are they potentially usable?

If the wiring is all recent, it's common to use this sort of socket for
table lamps etc switched from a wall switch off the normal lighting
circuit.

b) Are there adapter plugs available to plug in equipment with
new-style
plugs ... or replacement plugs to connect to the equipment, perhaps?

You can buy plugs from a wholesaler - even some of the larger sheds. But
these sockets - and the wiring - are of a lower rating than the normal 13
amp type - either 2 or 5 amp.

There was/is a 15amp version available as well.



15A ones are still very widely used in the theater now. We have fusing at
one point (at the dimmers) for each circuit and fuses per plug etc would be
a total nightmare!

About the only manurfacturer for them is Duraplug. Plugs are around £3.50ea
and the trailing sockets £5.

Tim..

In article ,
Tim \(Remove NOSPAM. wrote:
15A ones are still very widely used in the theater now. We have fusing
at one point (at the dimmers) for each circuit and fuses per plug etc
would be a total nightmare!

About the only manurfacturer for them is Duraplug. Plugs are around
£3.50ea and the trailing sockets £5.

TLC list 'ordinary' plastic types at 85p plus VAT.

--
*When companies ship Styrofoam, what do they pack it in? *

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

Andrew Gabriel wrote:

They were all killed off sometime around 70/71 when it became illegal
to sell electrical fittings which didn't conform to a relevant
British Standard.

Slightly later than that I think. The big change was the coming of
"Council Directive of 19 February 1973 on the harmonization of the laws
of Member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use
within certain voltage limits (73/23/EEC)" - generally known as the
low-voltage directive (LVD). The UK implementation was the Electrical
Equipment Safety Regulations of 1973, subsequently revised in 1975, 1989
and 1994.

--
Andy

In article ,
Andy Wade writes:
Andrew Gabriel wrote:

They were all killed off sometime around 70/71 when it became illegal
to sell electrical fittings which didn't conform to a relevant
British Standard.

Slightly later than that I think. The big change was the coming of
"Council Directive of 19 February 1973 on the harmonization of the laws
of Member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use
within certain voltage limits (73/23/EEC)" - generally known as the
low-voltage directive (LVD). The UK implementation was the Electrical
Equipment Safety Regulations of 1973, subsequently revised in 1975, 1989
and 1994.

The 70/71 date is because I changed schools at that time, and I
happen to recall all these strange adapters vanished about the
same time. Maybe it was in anticipation of the legal changes?

--
Andrew Gabriel

"Andy Wade" wrote in message
...
snip

Slightly later than that I think. The big change was the coming of
"Council Directive of 19 February 1973 on the harmonization of the laws
of Member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use
within certain voltage limits (73/23/EEC)" - generally known as the
low-voltage directive (LVD). The UK implementation was the Electrical
Equipment Safety Regulations of 1973, subsequently revised in 1975, 1989
and 1994.


Was that the same set of regulations that changed the colour code for non
hard wired cable ?

:::Jerry:::: wrote:

Was that the same set of regulations that changed the colour code for non
hard wired cable ?

No, that happened during 1970. The UK legislation was the Electrical
Appliances (Colour Code) Regulations 1969 (SI 1969/310).

--
Andy

Andrew Gabriel wrote:


The 70/71 date is because I changed schools at that time, and I
happen to recall all these strange adapters vanished about the
same time. Maybe it was in anticipation of the legal changes?

Could well be. As another poster has reminded us the colour code
changes also came in before the LVD.

--
Andy

On 5 Sep 2004 13:12:39 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
Andy Wade writes:
Andrew Gabriel wrote:

They were all killed off sometime around 70/71 when it became illegal
to sell electrical fittings which didn't conform to a relevant
British Standard.

Slightly later than that I think. The big change was the coming of
"Council Directive of 19 February 1973 on the harmonization of the laws
of Member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use
within certain voltage limits (73/23/EEC)" - generally known as the
low-voltage directive (LVD). The UK implementation was the Electrical
Equipment Safety Regulations of 1973, subsequently revised in 1975, 1989
and 1994.

The 70/71 date is because I changed schools at that time, and I
happen to recall all these strange adapters vanished about the
same time. Maybe it was in anticipation of the legal changes?


There was a much more serious problem. Mars bars went up from 4d to
4p in about three months......

Then they announced (with a fanfare) their new size.

It was smaller.


..andy

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