13Amp socket with USB Charger

[DerbyBorn]

Provided I get a decent make - are there any risks to consider? Any snags?

[newshound]

I have a couple of Screwfix ones, they seem to be OK

[Steve Hall]

Some of them are too deep to fit in a 25mm back-box. I've found LAP ones to be especially annoying to fit.

[DerbyBorn]

Steve Hall wrote in news:o3jd3m$k6c$1@dont- email.me:

Was thinking of this to match other stuff>

[Andy Cap]

Yes. I bought a double 10mm spacer and it looks OK. Unfortunately, the socket is next to a switched spur box and so I needed a single one for that just to even them up but they look all right.

[Steve Hall]

I tried selling the spacer idea to The Minister of the Interior, but she wouldn't have it. She also wouldn't consider having the charger socket elsewhere, or accepting anything other than a flat plate style. I removed the old BB, chiselled the hole deeper, replaced the box with a 35mm, and made good.

Finding a matching silver coloured usb lead was quite easy, though :o)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

And quite right too. ;-)

Luckily, I only ever use deep boxes. 25mm may sometimes work - but hardly ever save any work here so not worth the bother.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd go for one the same make as your existing sockets. So it has a chance of matching.

Apart from depth, they can be a tight fit to the back box. So may limit the direction the cables enter the back box. Especially if you have something spurred off the one you're going to replace.

[Alan Dawes]

I bought one of those but didn't fit it when I found that that the USB plug couldn't go in the socket if you also wanted a larger mains plug (eg with built in power supply) plugged into the mains socket.

Alan

[DerbyBorn]

Alan Dawes wrote in news: [e-mail]:

MK group the USB in the centre at the bottom.

[Andy Cap]

You require a cabinet reshuffle. Can't have minor ministers running the show. ;-)

[Graham.]

I did a job in a chemist shop in the Isle of Man once, and it turned out the owner was the Minister of Health.

[spuorgelgoog]

Put the furniture in front of it so she can't see it?

Owain

[spuorgelgoog]

Sit down before you look at the price

Owain

[Steve Hall]

It wasn't really that difficult to do. If I were doing it now, I might decide to hang on until usb-c models become commonplace, or even available - are they available now?

[Andy Burns]

TLC sell that style (not in Nickel though)

[Reentrant]

I have a couple of MK K5837 modules - these are twin USBs without a

3-pin mains socket.

The advantage is that the USB socket is shuttered, and if nothing is plugged in, the closed shutter switches off the power-supply circuitry completely. On "normal" cheapo socket+USB faceplates the switch-mode PSU / dropper is running constantly and you never know how good the insulation and separation is (see Big Clive's YouTube breakdowns).

I don't know if you can get a mains socket + shuttered USB version that switches off the PSU.

[Scott]

Is there an argument that if the technology moves on you are left with obsolescent equipment, just as a stand-alone satellite navigation device is easier to keep up to date than the one fitted by the vehicle manufacturer?

[Andy Bennet]

FWIW I think they are a horrible gimmick. They will permanently take power even when you are not charging anything - albeit a small amount. Eventually the smoothing electrolytics will blow potentially causing a hazard.

Andy

[charles]

what is the difference? When I had a stand-alone Sat Nav, I used a dedicated lead to plug into a USB socket on my PC. Now, with a built in one, I remove the SD card from the car and plug it into a card reader.