N Cook wrote:
Micky Mouse is right - flimsy plastic adaptor case that allows the German
plug to move all over the place,X,Y and Z, hence no earth continuity.

We get lots of those plugs here. I cut them off and replace them with
proper grounded ones. At one time we used a three prong plug similar
to the Australian one but with the pins in the other direction
(top of the pins pointing out instead of in).

About ten years ago outlets came out that took those plugs and the
two narrow European ones. New ones take the old plugs and a new plug
that is a combination of the the two narrow pins and a third round
ground pin about the same size as the other two below them, in the middle.

Sort of (pardon the ASCII art):

old:

\ /

|

in between:


o o

|

new:

o o

o

As far as I understand all of the EU, except the UK is moving to those
plugs. The current UK outlets will take the two pin version of the
plug, without the saftey factors of a ground or fuse.

I assume that eventually the UK will adopt the new plug, modified to
include a fuse. Either that, or a combined outlet that takes the old
plugs and the new ones, and includes a fuse will become available.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
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