On 26/03/18 23:44, Roger Hayter wrote:
alan_m wrote:

On 26/03/2018 18:33, Andy Burns wrote:
Jethro_uk wrote:

Just vaguely wondered if the trend towards lower power lighting has led
to a reduction in fires caused by overloaded wiring ?

How many lighting circuits were overloaded to start with? more than 14
x 100W incandescents on a 6A breaker ...


Don't you have one of those light socket adapters when you plug in an
iron and a 3 bar electric fire?

My mum had an iron with a bayonet plug, and a bayonet Y adapter which
could be plugged into a table lamp with the iron in one branch and the
bulb in the other.

Indeed. I can remember my mother ironing using the ceiling light socket.
If it was during the day, the bulb was removed and the iron plugged in.
If the daylight was poor, a Y adapter was used, leaving the bulb on one
arm. I am not sure, but I believe the irons at those times were not very
big, and probably had a 1kW or less element. As far as I know the 5A
fuse never blew when the iron was used (and we did use the proper wire!).

As an aside, a few years ago, while clearing my father-in-law's shed I
came across an "asymmetrical" adapter. Instead of connectors at 120
degrees, one was straight through (ie 180 deg), and the other at .IIRC,
120 deg. Anyone else ever seen one of these?

--

Jeff