American electrics

You are the clueless one, how do you think anyone else in the world survives if the UK is the only country that has a safe (what ever that is) electrical system.

What is so dangerous about radial circuits that make them such a non-starter, if there was anything don't you think they would have been banned by now?

fault

breaking,

And a very dangerous way of over-loading a single 2.5mm length of cable, the most dangerous fault that could be caused by a break in a radial is a break to the earth - anything else will cause the circuit to fail and unusable.

haven't. The

Which won't happen on a modern radial circuit [1], at worst you are going to take out the room, OTOH a fault can and has taken out a whole house were a ring circuit is in use...

when a fuse could have just dropped out the

BTW, and

How come that anyone is left alive in the US or other countries that use radials, the problem is not the circuit but those who miss use them - as is the case with any circuit.

Yep. It was the late 1980s/early 1990s that plugs on cords became the norm. I recall, a TV I bought in 1987 that never had a plug.

That is possible, yet highly unlikely, and definite minus point to a ring.

The point about a ring and fused plugs is that they can suffer more abuse than radials and still be safe.

The death rate in the UK by elecrical systems is very low.

It's actually not that bad because you have more circuits. A trip only takes out 2 or 3 sockets.

Gerd.

Compared to where though?

It's 11% of 411 in the US in 2001 :

G.

How is protecting a 3A rated appliance at 30A more safe when some idiot wraps a bit of wire around the blown fuse?...

More by education than circuit design, the fact that appliances now come pre fitted with plugs and the correct fuse I suspect.

But is it not a failing of the design to allow such a thing, it's a dammed sight more difficult to over-ride an MCB on the distribution board than wrap some wire around a BS1363 type plug fuse.

flex

unfused

A FCU with a 'BS1363' type plug fuse in it can be over ridden, leaving the appliance protected at 30A, a 15A fuse-less socket would have to be a radial anyway.

When the current round of nanny-state electrical regs changes were being discussed, I seem to recall a figure of around 10 deaths was widely quoted. As it was reckoned that perhaps 90% of those (either direct electrocution or from resulting fires) might be put down to misuse such as overloading sockets or trailing extensions, the regs were scornfully labelled as being necessary to maybe prevent 1 death per year due to poor installations. Especially as making it more difficult to carry out d-i-y work or get a qualified and affordable electrician in, might lead to more use of extension leads etc.

They came in after WW2 as a material saving exercise, as well as other benefits.

You think wrong.

More bollocks from our guessing 'expert'.

Well, you are with your claims for your water softener which has softened your brain.

And just why should a radial be better or worse for 'magnetic fields'? Have you any idea how such things are created?

The only way you'd 'improve' on this would be to have one radial circuit per socket with its own MCB.

Total madness and completely unnecessary.

You seem to thing plug fuses blow regularly. I can't honestly think of the last time I had to replace one which has failed for no reason. And if an appliance has a fault, that fault has to be corrected anyway, so it makes little difference if the fuse is in the plug, the appliance itself or non at all but simply an MCB.

Some were still extending or modifying the old 5/15 amp radials later than that.

You might well use radials where a known load is being imposed - like say in a workshop. That makes sense.

In domestic premises, the actual load can only be guessed at, and rings are ideal for the myriad of low current appliances found in the average house today. With the proviso of a separate ring or indeed rings where heavy fixed loads are likely to be like the kitchen and utility room.

Then it was wired by the same sort as the plumbers you criticise for not liking condensing boilers.

Dinosaurs aren't new.

No one has said they are. As usual, you've misunderstood things.

You'd have to define common. But then that's something you never do.

Everyone here will take Andrew's word before you anytime.

Ah - D&S 13 amp plugs. The spawn of the devil. Dreadful cord grips too. The BBC used them for years for technical supplies before changing to Walsall gauge. Other nonsenses used to keep technical supplies separate from GS ones were the Cannon EP4 which was an even bigger danger and then the 'XLR' LNE. Then IEC 'kettle plugs' and now at last a decent mains plug/socket, the Neutric 'Speakon' based mains.

Words fail me. Is there no limits to the inventions of this fool?

Yes, I nearly suggested to drivel that ring circuits should avoid the need for magnetic water softeners, but then thought better of it -- he would probably believe it and quote me forever more ;-)

You don't say..

They always have as incoherent babble always emerges.