3 Prong *Plug* with no ground connection?

[clare]

"double insulated" means the handles are all plastic and there are no metal parts that are connected to the "chassis" that could become "hot" and shock the operator.

[clare]

Those switches were so the plugs would not "leak" electricity according to some poorly educated Britts I ran across 40 years ago.

In reality they did tend to eliminate the arcing associated with disconnecting a somewhat inductive (load) device from a relatively high voltage supply.

[clare]

Correct. No way to get 120VAC on a Brit mains connection.

[The Daring Dufas]

It looks like a sensible wiring system but the darn plugs are the size of a fist. I like my little American plugs. Limey to Yank, "My plug's bigger than your plug!" ^_^

TDD

[Nate Nagel]

Hmm.. that actually prompts another question now that I think about it. I know they use 240 over there. is it two opposing phases of 120, or is it hot/neutral as we use here for 120? If the former, there's no point in enforcing polarization in any case.

nate

[Nate Nagel]

Ah, thanks, just needed to keep reading :) So polarity could be important in some cases (radios etc.)

nate

[Nate Nagel]

Whipping out the British English to American English translator:

hot = live neutral = well, neutral earth = ground

so you'd both right :) (unless you're both wrong...)

nate

[Percival P. Cassidy]

My late mother always insisted that the TV had to be unplugged every night because some "fire chief" (or whatever his actual title was) had said that electricity could build up in the set even when it was turned off and cause a fire. Fortunately, their TV was old enough that it didn't have settings that all went away when the set was unplugged (as is the case with a Panasonic we owned).

Perce

[bud--]

UK plugs have fuses because they are typically on "ring" circuits rated

32A. You don't really want a cord on a 240V circuit protected by 32A.

Back to the US, most receptacles in a residence are now required to be "tamper proof" (child proof). For most of us that means replacement receptacles should be tamper proof.

Switches don't need ground wires unless they are in a plastic box (as someone said). The ground is for metal plates.

The code doesn't care if ground plugs don't have a ground wire. It is unlikely that anything that is UL listed would have that. Again as someone said 2 prong plugs are polarized so that would be unnecessary.

[Jules Richardson]

No, it was just the use of 'line' I was really commenting on; I've only ever heard it referred to as 'live' in the context of domestic UK AC supply. 'line' is used, IIRC, for HV transmission lines, but what's found in the home is always 'live'.

And yes, ground = earth; it's always earth in an AC supply context... after 4 years in the US I've just about got used to saying ground (and talking about wrenches instead of spanners etc. ;-)

cheers

Jules

[micky]

They got a deal on 3-prong plugs. By buying just them, instead of two kinds, they save.0.01 farthing per plug.

just kidding.

[Don Phillipson]

The correspondent means only that British double-insulated devices with 3-pin plugs (universal in the OK for the last 40 or

50 years) do not ground the 3d pin in the plug. The wall socket 3d hole is of course grounded. British plugs are larger than is usual in the USA and often have fuses inside and/or on/off switches at the top edge of the plug.

[Stormin Mormon]

Next, please translate the entire thread to "Larry the Cable Guy". For our droll ammusement, chap?

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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