Wife's cousin is moving into a new house, thing is it has a round pin
plug on the water heater (fixed unit in a cupboard). Are round pin plugs
not out of favour now, and should a water heater not be hard wired
rather than having a plug and flex?


Have something in the back of my mind that the supply may be 15 amps
and 15 amp round pin plugs are allowed.
--
yours S

Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione

On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 17:32:43 GMT,it is alleged that "soup"
spake thusly in uk.d-i-y:


Wife's cousin is moving into a new house, thing is it has a round pin
plug on the water heater (fixed unit in a cupboard). Are round pin plugs
not out of favour now, and should a water heater not be hard wired
rather than having a plug and flex?


Have something in the back of my mind that the supply may be 15 amps
and 15 amp round pin plugs are allowed.

[personal opinion alert]

So far as I know they are still allowed, being compliant to the
relevant british standards, however modern practice would favour a
fused connection unit on a 16 amp radial if under 3kw, or a cord
outlet style 20 amp Double Pole switch on a 16 or 20 amp radial if
over 3kw (rating depending on the actual load).

The main question here would be the condition of the wiring and flex,
as it sounds somewhat old, also the circuit arrangements may be far
from optimal.

I am sure to be corrected if wrong, all information should be taken as
"this is the way I would do it" rather than "this is the way the
majority would do it" :-)

--
The government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short
phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if
it stops moving, subsidize it.
- Ronald Reagan

On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 17:32:43 GMT, "soup" wrote:

Are round pin plugs
not out of favour now, and should a water heater not be hard wired
rather than having a plug and flex?

Given the heat it has been exposed to over its life, I'd be worrying
about the state of the insulation before even looking at the plug.

Even if round-pin plugs are completely illegal (which I'm ignorant of),
that doesn't turn them overnight into a hazard. The insulation really
could be.


Get yourself an "On Site Guide" to the regs - some quids from any of the
wholesalers and an excellent source of such information.

Andy Dingley wrote:
Get yourself an "On Site Guide" to the regs - some quids from any of
the wholesalers and an excellent source of such information.

Thanks for that Andy however I have NO intention of actually doing
anything, this is a council house (has been in someones (non to active)
care for decades) but I didn't want to make a fool of myself getting her
to whinge to the council if this was legal/common practise.
Will probably go out later and "feel" the flex see if it is (as
others have said it should be )slightly "gritty" and softer than usual.
Have no recolection what the flex is like but seem to remember the plug
[1]cannot be taken fully from the socket [1]as the tank gets in the way.

[1] Sure those aren't the technical terms but they are the "standard"
terms


--
yours S

Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione

In message ,
"soup" wrote:

the plug [1]cannot be taken fully from the socket [1]as the tank gets
in the way.

[1] Sure those aren't the technical terms but they are the "standard"
terms

They certainly are the technical terms. It's only dimwits wot call a
"socket" a "plug socket" and a "plug" a "plug top".

Hwyl!

M.

--
Martin Angove: http://www.tridwr.demon.co.uk/
Two free issues: http://www.livtech.co.uk/ Living With Technology
.... Last yur I kudnt spel modjerater now I are won.

"soup" wrote in message
. uk...

Wife's cousin is moving into a new house, thing is it has a round pin
plug on the water heater (fixed unit in a cupboard). Are round pin plugs
not out of favour now, and should a water heater not be hard wired
rather than having a plug and flex?


Have something in the back of my mind that the supply may be 15 amps
and 15 amp round pin plugs are allowed.

yours S


These are allowed, as long as they are 15 Amps rated of course. So should
be large pins on large plug top. The flex will also be heat resistant type,
so that's fine as well. It should feel sort of gritty to the touch, and be
a bit softer in texture than normal flex cable.

It makes working on the heating element safer because isolating the system
is much easier than undoing screws and fiddling with fuses and things. It
is safe, so don't worry. :-)