Contacts inside an American socket?

[Commander Kinsey]

These sorta plugs:

With the terrible thin pins (which aren't even sleeved, no wonder you guys are obsessed with breakers).

My point is, in an adapter I have here in the UK, they always fall out, go a bit squint, don't make a decent connection. Is it because it's an adapter which also takes other countries, so it's a compromise inside? I'm looking for a picture of the insides of a USA socket, or a descriptions of one. Do they grab the pins from BOTH sides? My adapter doesn't which might be the problem.

[invalid unparseable]

We run at half your voltage and most plugs include a ground plug. The holes you see in plugs are used for gripping the plugs inside sockets

[Commander Kinsey]

Wouldn't help, in the adapter I have here it's physically loose.

I guess that would help hold it steady.

I'm surprised you bother with grounds, since you don't bother with sleeves on the hot/live. Plug something in with your fingers wrapped round the edge of the plug and you get a shock (not to ground, so the breaker won't trip).

Those grips are probably not present in an adapter.

I'd like to see the inside of a USA socket.

[invalid unparseable]

Check this Patent drawing

[Dean Hoffman]

You're probably out of luck.

. Scroll down about half way. The article talks about Underwriters Listing. Does your adapter have UL on it anywhere?

[Tricky Dicky]

This explains the purpose of the holes, it is just a manufacturing process

Richard

[Jeff Gaines]

I wonder if that was specifically made for 5 year olds with learning difficulties of if it's just American style?

[Commander Kinsey]

Perfect, yes I see the pins are gripped on both sides. That's not true of my UK to anything adapter. The other side of the grip would be in the way of the EU pins.

[Commander Kinsey]

No, there are no markings of approval of any kind.

[Commander Kinsey]

Somebody patented it? But aren't they now made by many manufacturers? Has the patent expired?

[Commander Kinsey]

Huh? It was extremely well explained and very funny.

And I agree with everything he said, especially NEMA making a f***ed up stupid design. And then having 20 other versions of it to add ground, polarization, different voltages, different currents. Just move to the UK and have one sturdy safe plug, with sleeves, that stays in even if worn out in a hotel, and always has earth and polarization. And only one current. And voltage.

Just don't stand on one. Apparently that happens more often than an electric shock.

The other stupid thing the UK did was change from 15A and 5A plugs to.... 13A. Why?! Why not make it 15? Why go backwards?!

[Commander Kinsey]

Odd how UK plugs don't need it.

[Rod Speed]

It actually shows that the professional 'presenters' are a lot more skilled than you would expect.

Hate his very busy background too.

[Rod Speed]

Thats because your adapter needs to be able to handle thick and thin pins.

My anything plug boards do grip the thin US pins very solidly but they aren't cheap so I haven't opened one up to see how they do it.

[Rod Speed]

Or the australian ones which have just as thin pins as the US pins.

[SteveW]

Funnily enough I watched a Youtube video, by an American, talking about the design of UK BS1363 13A plugs. During his lengthy video, he did disect US sockets for comparison - out of a number of sockets, only one happened to grip the hole in US plug pins at all and that appeared to be fortuitious. The US standard for plugs actually specifies the holes as optional and for manufacturing purposes ... probably to hang the pins, for the rear end to be encapsulated.

[SteveW]

UK plugs started as loose pins dropped into an already solid Urea Formaldehyde moulding, so holes weren't part of the standard. US plugs have specified the hole (as optional) for manufacturing purposes, from the start.

[Clare Snyder]

There are many extention cords - the ones I have run across designed for outdoor or power tool use, that DO have a latch assembly that secures the plug in the outlet using a "pin" in the hole - you need to push a plastic tab on the outlt cord end to release the plug.

See

for a good example. Another one: And it's not just gimmik manufacturers - "Canada's Hardware Store"

-

[Clare Snyder]

Except US plugs were also origionally separate brass contact parts connected to the wire with screws and fastened to a phenolic cap with separate screws or rivets. Most industrial grade plugs are STILL made that way - substituting nylon or other durable high dialectric plastics for the phenolic and integrating strain relief clamps into the clamping design of the cap. - similar to this:

[Commander Kinsey]

So how come UK plugs don't need the pins hung?