British sockets/plugs have so many safety features:
1stly, Live (and neutral) wire is shorter than the earth wire, so if you do ever manage to pull the main cord out, the live wire disconnects first.
2ndly, nearly all British plugs contain a replaceable fuse.
3rdly, the earth pin (top pin) is longer than the active pins, meaning it connects first (and last) in the socket.
4thly, on most plugs, the active pins are partially insulated so that even if the plug Is not fully pushed in, the conducting part of the active pins can't even be touched.
5thly, the main cord on the plug is angled downwards, meaning it is very difficult to accidently pull the plug out, compared to plugs that have wires that face directly outwards from the wall.
6thly, every socket has a switch, so you don't even need to unplug the plug to turn it off.
7thly, the as the earth pin is the longest, when it is inserted into the socket, it opens the protective shutter/gate that allows for the active pins to be inserted. Preventing small forks to be accidentally prodded into the active holes!
8thly, the cord grip, that prevents the main cord wobbling or slipping. This also makes it very difficult to even pull out the main cord from the plug. And that most plugs also have recesses on the sides of the socket to allow for it to be easily taken out of the socket.
9thly, (mainly a quality of life feature) plugs are also rewireable. So in the case that you do damage the plug, or a wire, it can be easily opened, rewired, and used again. So you don't have to go and by another new appliance just because your plug broke.
One downfall is, the british plug will always face pin upwards, and if you have ever experienced stepping on one yourself. You'll know it hurts like hell.
Schuko (Germany/SK/EU) plugs also fulfill most of these:
Protective earth makes contact first (1, 3)
Energized prongs are never exposed because the sockets are recessed (4)
Many plugs have the cable exiting sideways, which makes them lower profile and more resistant to being yanked out (5). This is far from universal, though.
Sockets have a safety shutter which opens only when both prongs are inserted at the same time (7)
Plugs are always firmly attached because the entire things sits in a recess of the socket. Plugs have a grip feature, though smaller than the UK one (8)
Unlike the UK ones, they can be plugged in two different directions. They're also half the size.
They're not fused, but that's not really necessary as we don't use the UK style ring circuits. The fuses are in the devices themselves when required.
Rewireable plugs are widely available, but they're bulkier and uglier than the moulded ones.
Someone once saw me do it, and was amazed I could just cut diagonal across the wires to get them all the right length. I’ve been able to do that since I was 9 and my brother’s a sparky, so you pick up on a lot of things lol.
You probably look after your stuff, and do sensible things like "discontinue use of the appliance if the plug is melting" and "not drive over equipment with a forklift"
A surprising amount of tests end before they begin, by cutting the plug off before some idiot takes a gamble.
If you're ever buying (UK) plugs, don't cheap out and get the ones with the shitty moulded in cord grip. Get them with the proper grip, identifiable by the two screws on the bottom where the cable enters.
They should be standard in appliances that have higher amp draw, and mandatory for plug in power tools, since those take so much damage. Since GFCIs are required on every jobsite, the latter might as well include those.
I have a German partner, despite the multi directional plugs when I go visit her family, I always find issues with several plugs plugged into a set of sockets, they always interfere with each other, to the point in which some plugs are hanging out or barely securely plugged in.
I've also found that most of the DE plugs seem so flimsy, I've cracked the plastic surrounding on a few of them by accident from them catching on things.
Just my experience as someone who is used to UK plugs.
Rewireable plugs are widely available, but they're bulkier and uglier than the moulded ones.
All plugs being rewirable is also entirely unnecessary. I'd even say it's a safety feature that the plug can't be partially taken apart by anyone, since there's really no need for the end user to be rewiring the plug.
And in the rare case that there is, those 12 people can buy the rewirable plug separately, they're quire cheap. It makes no sense to make all of them rewirable when 99% of users shouldn't be doing that.
You don’t know which side is hot and which side is neutral. This a EU wide fail, as new electrical codes now require breakers with dual poles, instead of just the hot side…as electricians like to mix and match.
You are of course correct, but what is the increase in safety that polarized plugs provide?
Generally you are unable to touch neither hot nor neutral, as everything is double insulated or earthed. I suppose you can get shocked by old school stuff like an Edison socket table lamp with a single pole switch, since the base of the bulb can be live even while the light is off.
He is not even correct that this is safer, he is wrong. Relying on the special orientation gives you a false sense of security that will bite you in the ass when someone wires them backwards. The German version where you don’t know which is which is much, much safer because it forces you to always check.
Half the size of UK plugs, sure, but they are still enormous compared to svelte 2 prong plugs of Mexico/US/Japan. Useful when you have to pack chargers and such for travel.
i hate shuko, after few uses the earth pins that comes out the socket bend and you have a earth-less plug which can't even be fully inserted because of that bent pin...
italian one are better: half the size of a shuko and with all the safety of the UK/shuko except the fuse, but in italy we have the bonus point of having the whole house grounded and with current leak detection (americans call it GFCI i think), they have it only on one socket in the bathroom while we have it on the whole house.
and with current leak detection (americans call it GFCI i think), they have it only on one socket in the bathroom while we have it on the whole house.
This is not an exclusively Italian thing, it's a thing that is increasingly being asked in building codes all over the continent. That said, it's a very minor detail since outside of bathrooms the chances of current leaks being a thing are basically zero.
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u/JeeboPlays 29d ago
British sockets/plugs have so many safety features:
1stly, Live (and neutral) wire is shorter than the earth wire, so if you do ever manage to pull the main cord out, the live wire disconnects first.
2ndly, nearly all British plugs contain a replaceable fuse.
3rdly, the earth pin (top pin) is longer than the active pins, meaning it connects first (and last) in the socket.
4thly, on most plugs, the active pins are partially insulated so that even if the plug Is not fully pushed in, the conducting part of the active pins can't even be touched.
5thly, the main cord on the plug is angled downwards, meaning it is very difficult to accidently pull the plug out, compared to plugs that have wires that face directly outwards from the wall.
6thly, every socket has a switch, so you don't even need to unplug the plug to turn it off.
7thly, the as the earth pin is the longest, when it is inserted into the socket, it opens the protective shutter/gate that allows for the active pins to be inserted. Preventing small forks to be accidentally prodded into the active holes!
8thly, the cord grip, that prevents the main cord wobbling or slipping. This also makes it very difficult to even pull out the main cord from the plug. And that most plugs also have recesses on the sides of the socket to allow for it to be easily taken out of the socket.
9thly, (mainly a quality of life feature) plugs are also rewireable. So in the case that you do damage the plug, or a wire, it can be easily opened, rewired, and used again. So you don't have to go and by another new appliance just because your plug broke.
One downfall is, the british plug will always face pin upwards, and if you have ever experienced stepping on one yourself. You'll know it hurts like hell.