Plug rule
Plug rule
You may not like it but this is what the perfect mains plug looks like /j
76 comments
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imagine not having the full metal exposed and worryingly close to your fingers
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Also, when they're lying on the floor as shown, they make walking on Lego feel like a foot massage with a happy ending.
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Just like everything British, their colonies have done it better. Aus plugs are just UK plugs but better.
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Aus plugs are not requierd to have a fuse in them however
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But Aus plugs suck compared to Euro, especially German where it's like Usb micro to USBC comparison.
UK with USB B.
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Not being able to plug them in the other way around would drive me nuts. I prefer Schuko.
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I think while the British plug is good, there's lots of great design globally.
Arguably time to adopt all of them for a global standard that rocks
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Well yes, but also no. I think the plug designs should be unified, but based on the network's power and frequency. We all know that with truly unified plugs things would blow up constantly because people plug 115V devices in 230V outlets, or are pissy on social media due to 230V 50hz not being the same as 230V 60hz. "But the plug is the same!!" (angry electronic fizzling in the background)
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Step on one and you quickly change your mind.
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It is a very good design from an electrical and safety point of view.
Sadly it's also larger than a lot of appliances it provides power to in 2025.
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Here is a multi socket plug, you can plug 3 things, its 3m long
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Name 3
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3
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Also internally, there is extra slack on the lead connecting to the earth pin. So if you pull too hard on the cable, the live wire will break before the ground wire.
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That is standard for all rewirable connectors though.
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Yes, also its rewireable!
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The live and neutral ports commonly lack the shutter andthe fuse is not always present (edit: on low power devices). Some devices for whatever reason also feature a plastic earth prong which serves only to release the shutters to allow a connection.And if the earth is not present or is broken then the plug will sit loose in the socket.Another "feature" of these plugs is that they lay flat on a surface and hurt to step on.Otherwise they serve their purpose really well.
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The plastic prong is on devices that don’t get their protection from having an earthed case but by having double insulation. They should have a square with a square inside symbol.
If an item has exposed metal that might become live then they connect it to earth to prevent this.
If an item has no exposed metal, what would you connect the earth to?
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The live and neutral ports commonly lack the shutter
Do you have a source for this? Because I have never once seen such an abomination.
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Turns out I was wrong on that one. My bad. Some of them don't really look like they have shutters but apparently they all do and it's enforced too. I guess that makes even more sense why there are those plastic earth connectors on some plugs then.
Well it turns out I don't know what I'm talking about at all despite using these sockets every day. They're a lot more technical than I realised. Shows what we take for granted I guess.
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Being big, cumbersome and annoying is what makes them special.
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Rather like half the users in this thread tbh
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It's not bad. SchuKo also has its merrits, though.
And all other systems are basically crap compared to these two.-
The Swiss standard, which is basically Europlug with a staggered earth pin, seems a step up from Schuko. You can fit three of them in the space of one Schuko socket.
There’s a newer standard which is meant to be international, and which is like a slightly smaller version of the Swiss plug, but only Brazil has fully adopted it (IIRC, South Africa is in the process of moving to it)
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SchuKo!it's way superior to the rainy place thing.
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Schuko lacks the fuse but other safety features are there and it's much simpler, a bit smaller and can be plugged in in two ways. I'd go with schuko for the win
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Schuko can have a fuse as safety feature (Schutzkontaktstecker mit Gerätesicherung), but you have to set the fuse below the fuse that'd be behind the socket (which means your fuse would be below 8A if you want to be safe, though because 16A fuses are more common, so a common fuse to actually be installed is 10A).
In most cases, the fuse is just in the device itself rather than the cable. Ideally then that fuse is also replaced easily.
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The most important bit: SchuKo are recessed, hence they hold up the plug itself instead of having it dangle. Also this prevents funny business with the prongs.
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It’s great in a world of electrical appliances which need to be earthed for safety, but the mandatory earth pin and extra-chunky dimensions take up much more space than required for unearthed devices (such as most modern electronics). There should be a Europlug-style 2-pin variant.
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Also square pins make better contact than round ones
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Uhh... is this drax propaganda? Seems like this "meme" was made by the UK’s single largest carbon emitter....
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No, it's a plug propaganda infographic that was made by the UK's single largest source of deforestation
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From all I read so far, the UK plugs are indeed superior to EU and most other plugs. Still I feel like I'd miss the option to plug things upside down.
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Live and neutral are typically not interchangeable. fuses should be on the live cables so that over current is stopped on the way in. Plugging in the wrong way means that a blown fuse might stop current, but the device could still be at live voltages and be dangerous.
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that's why you put fuses in central fuse box, not in the plug. appliances should be designed in such a way that it shouldn't be a problem. nobody else does this because it's not necessary if your installation is sanely built
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Polarized live/neutral is still insane to me. All it takes is one cheap electrician or overconfident DIY to introduce a potentially lethal false sense of security.
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The rest of the world has chose your own adventure plugs
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• Carry electrical current
They could have thought of a better sales point than that.
As a side thought, while ground shouldn't normally carry current, it's probably the most important prong when it actually needs to.
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Na that shit is way too big and not dangerous enough I love the adrenaline rush of trying to pull out a cord that is stuck and having to get my fingers right next to the live without touching /s
I do stand by the too big tho them shits are massive
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Has British electronics gotten better then? Used to be rubbish to the point it was a running joke in movies.
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I must have missed this, I don't even think we have electronics if you mean like consumer electronic equipment, just stuff made in the far East with a brand slapped on it
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I know we still make the Henry Hoover but I can't for the life of me name an electronics brand with a factory here.
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Dyson and Raspberry Pi. Just to name a couple British companies
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James Dyson campaigned for the vote leave campaign citing the ability to create (UK) jobs without EU interference.
He then promptly moved his main factory and head office to Singapore and recently cut 1,000 UK jobs.
Fuck that guy and his over priced vacuums.
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I mean... pretty much anything british made. I don't know how an island known for rain makes cars that easily take on water (land rover IIRC)
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What an electrifying post!
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I want to both upwote and downvote this at the same time
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76 comments
I come from the land of suicide showers (good ol' Lorenzetti, iykyk) and I find the UK plugs overengineered to the max. But I like them, they make me feel safer. I would like some place inside the bathroom to plug my hairdryer, though.