On Tuesday, 30 July 2019 09:15:17 UTC+1, wrote:
Brian Gaff presented the following explanation :

Both my sheds nearly always had some 2 pin plugs, very handy with those
plugs that you just poked the wires under loops and did the lid up to clamp
them.

I well remember those two pin plugs - like a brass split pin, for the
contact pins. You just stuck the bared wire through the top loop and
the tightening of the threaded cover, forced the 'split pins' tight
onto the bared wires. I also kept a 5amp socket and such a plug in my
workshop for years, as a quick connect. Then along came those made for
the quick connect job things - three clips (L+N+E) mounted in a plastic
body, fused, where contact to the supply was only made as the lid was
closed up.

for some vague value of tight. Clix plugs etc. At least the nylon ones gripped better than the bakelite did. And no cord grip or earth.

Scarier were the IDC mains plugs. Each plug pin had a prong on its side, and moving them from splayed out to operating position skewered the mains flex. But there was nothing firm about it, the connection was I'm sure abysmal.. I don't recall the name of those ones.


NT