DIYbanter - View Single Post - Old-style plug sockets

(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