If a Schuko (CEE 7/7) plug is marked with say an =D6VE in an ellipse, indicating it meets Austrian standards, where else in Europe may it be used? Obviously, it can be used in a lot of places, but is there some kind of agreement between countries recognising each other's standards? If so, is there an easy cross-reference table?
Also - I recognise a lot of the conformance marks, but does anyone know what the bold capital K with a horizontal lightning bolt/spark underneath it signifies?
Well, there's usable and usable. For example, Denmark doesn't have side contact earth connectors in its sockets, and a lot of sockets Europe wide are two-hole - so don't have an earth at all, although the hole diameters, separation and depth are usable with a Schuko. As the Schuko doesn't have partially insulated pins, it may not be a good idea to use those either, as the two-hole sockets are not usually indented.
I obviously didn't make myself clear, for which I apologise - perhaps I should have said, where they can be used safely; or perhaps, where they can be used in accordance with local standards. Is it legal/ within regulations/insurable to use a Schuko plug marked solely with the Austrian conformance mark in Germany, for example? I don't think for one minute you'd know of the top of your head, but you might know where this kind of thing is documented. Sorry again for not making myself clear.
As for the K-mark, thanks, that makes sense. I haven't been able to Google up a piccy 'though :-( They are not always easy to guess or look up - it took a while for me to determine that the B in a triangle is Poland; and the thing that looks a bit like a caltrap in a circle is the Ukraine.
Schuko isn't CEE 7/7. Schuko is CEE 7/4. It's very common to get the two mixed up though.
...and with the exception of France and Belgium and Denmark.
CEE 7/7 is a bastardised Schuko which will connect to both Schuko (CEE 7/4) and the French/Belgium socket outlets. However, it isn't strictly permitted to be used in all the European countries where it fits the socket outlets.
I should have said CEE 7/7 and left out all mention of Schuko. Sorry.
I looked into this because I'm travelling round Europe with an old Dell Latitude D600 'laptop' which uses a Dell PA-12 power supply. The power supply says that is has to be grounded, which is incredibly irritating, given the lack of grounded sockets where I travel, and even more so as the flex uses an unusual connection so I can't just buy a commonly available standard IEC connector/flex with the correct plug on the end. One of the options is to cut off the BS 1363 plug and add a rewireable CEE 7/7 plug I have hanging around instead, and then I started musing about the conformance issue. I could use a converter plug instead, but that's one more thing to mislay. Given the number of power adapters I have to carry, I may even end up taking a 4-gang trailing socket, put an inline RCD in the flex, and a CEE 7/7 plug on it.
It would be nice to have a single, non-bulky standard for low-voltage (IEC defined) connectors Europe wide. As I understand it, people have tried and failed. Sigh.
Buy one of the Dell "Auto/Air/AC adapters" they only use a 2pin mains lead and will also run from a 12v cigarette lighter socket and airplane empower socket, I have one for a D800, they are also smaller/ligher than the standard PSU.
On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 11:08:05 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@mail.com mused:
Bet you can.
You must be about the only person that takes any notice. The whole of the property you are staying in is probably powered from some bell wire jammed in next doors outdoor socket with matchsticks. ;)
Usually the easiest option. I have a 4 gang lead stuffed in the laptop bag, I could just as easily fit one in with a built in RCD and different plug on it.
Easier to buy a new laptop than buy a travel adapter? You are a strange individual!
For just travelling around EU, I would worry about conformance. It matters if you are a manufacturer or importer supplying EU. I might worry a bit more about running the PSU with no earth connection when it's designed to have one though.
You could look for a double-insulated third party PSU with the right output and connector.
There were lots of attempts, but they all failed. I'm not up- to-date with what's happening now, but I did follow it out of interest/amusement when I was secretrary of an ETSI technical committee some years back. They did actually get very close to standardising on a connector for low current appliances in earth free locations, but that was mainly because there were only one or two countries which permitted protection by means of earth free zones (Holland, IIRC), so that standard would not have applied to most of the EU anyway.
The DELL laptops require power on the inner and outer surfaces of a barrel connector with a coaxial central data pin, they refuse to work with 3rd party chargers.
As Andrew posts later on in this thread, running a power adapter that designed to be grounded/earthed off an unearthed supply is not optimal. I might be able to get a different power supply, but it is a Dell weirdo supply, with +, -, and a data pin.
Or the exception of France, Belgium and parts Eastern Europe (earthed sockets, with a pin rather than side contacts). You can use a CEE 7/7 "hybrid" plug in these as well as in a schuko socket, legally and safely. I guess this is also a "schuko" plug, but what I'd assume (to be on the safe side) the OP means by an original "schuko" would be the CEE 7/4 non-hybrid, which won't physically fit in an earthed French socket. OTOH, most modern plugs are CEE 7/7 rather than CEE 7/4
It is a Dell standard (i.e. non standard), with +, - and a data pin. The laptop refuses to work with the wrong PSU. Dell may possibly offer a different PSU - as someone else in this thread has prompted me to look. It's the air/auto adapter, but I'm not hopeful.
Well there is progress of sorts - Denmark is allowing French standard sockets from July 2008, which means CEE 7/7 plugs on equipment requiring an earth will work in the new sockets from then, and, as far as I know, all new installations in Denmark have to have earth connections now. All they need now is a fuse in the plug and ring mains. :-)
Europe. A civilised place, it has earths. Even Spain and Italy (most of).
I find that hard to believe, give that it's a US maker and there isn't a decent earthed socket in the whole country. Check with Dell - this may just be (by which I mean "of course it fecking is, but no-one's allowed to say anything useful these days") some boilerplate that's added when they throw the Euro lead into the packing case.
Probably not _that_ unusual, just a "Mickey Mouse" IEC C5 They're fairly common on laptop PSUs, certainly on Dells.
Yes, you are quite right there. I remember an experience many years ago where some IT equipment installed in Denmark wasn't working properly. The penny dropped on touching the chassis and receiving a tingle because the mains filter caused it to float at 110v.
I don't know for sure on that one. Generally the situation doesn't arise because of CE marking. That makes it legal for the product to be offered on the market (i.e. distributed and sold) and is on the supplier's responsibility.
If it's typical IT or domestic equipment, most suppliers include $3 Chinese power cords with approval stamps from the major countries.
There are some equipment classes such as medical where more care is needed.
If you are talking about product manufacture or distribution, all of this is a discussion for the product liability insurers.
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