Reminiscence: Remember the excitement of getting a new electrical appliance and buying a brand new 13 amp plug (Paying extra for white!) and taking a lot of pride in fitting it really well?
Then there was the Xmas present without a plug - shall I use matchsticks - or borrow a plug off something else until I can get to the shops.
Ah the '60's
60s? I remember doing that as little as 10-15 years ago :-)
(there are still a few old lamps around in the cellar at my parents' house without plugs on because they were needed for shiny new things)
John.
I am so sad. I cannot bring myself to throw away pld plugs, as they were always needed. Now I have a bagful, and I still add when I have another appliance to throw away. such a sad old bu**er.
You and me both... I can't throw *anything* away; when I was a kid I had a Blue-Peter-esque 'useful box'; now I have a 'useful garage' and a 'useful attic' instead.
However my Old Plug mountain was at least partially solved one day by making the momentous decision to at least divest myself of all the really old substandard ones, ie those without partly-insulated live and neutral pins.
Does that help you at all?!
David
Plugs with uninsulated pins are now illegal.
sPoNiX
How about, for starters, throw out any which don't have sleeved pins?
I'd go through it a chuck out any without sleeved L and N pins. It is fairly easy to stick your fingers under a plug just as you push it in and get a belt...
Whats the point of keeping moulded plugs? B-) Everything these days and for quite a long time has had a moulded plug.
To sell or to use?
Well, obviously you can't buy them, but AFAIK the Electricity Police don't come round people's homes checking to make sure there are none there. There must be millions still in regular use around the UK, and probably many people don't appreciate the safety aspect and remove them from broken appliances to retain for future use.
As I don't ever refit plugs with uninsulated pins myself, TBH it wasn't really a particularly momentous decision to bin mine (as in, why the hell did I ever keep them in the first place!!??)
David
It is illegal to sell an electrical appliance with an old BS1363 plug with unsleaved pins. However, it is not actually a cause for PAT test failure, although they will often be replaced during PAT testing. The very much older 13A plugs without the widened body or flange near the live and neutral pins to discourge finger wrap-a-round would be a PAT test failure though.
"Dave Liquorice" wrote | Whats the point of keeping moulded plugs? B-) Everything these | days and for quite a long time has had a moulded plug.
A lot of stuff nowadays has a rewirable plug - probably because it's cheaper to have a Chinaman with a screwdriver than it is to buy a putting-on-British-plugs machine.
Anyway, if moulded leads are cut off close to the discarded appliance they can be reused to make custom length extension or BS1363 -- IEC leads.
Safety note for any children listening - any moulded plugs/leads should have the fuse removed or otherwise disabled to prevent accidents from plugging in a lead with bare live ends.
Owain
I cut off moulded plugs (at the appliance end) when throwing them out. (the fuse is then removed, and the cord wrapped tightly round the plug and tied, to avoid accidents).
I find them handy for many things. For example, a couple have been made into temporary lights, simply by soldering onto a bulb.
(2l plastic coke bottle, appropriate hole in top, knot to stop cord being pulled out, slit down the side to poke bulb through, taped up afterwards. (fluorescent only of course)
Produces a (fairly) waterproof inspection light.
On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 07:27:03 GMT, "John" strung together this:
Yep, I remember the first time, I got a Matsui SX5420 for my 9th birthday, (or was it Christmas), and got a red plug because I like red. The radio still works and is used daily and the lead and plug are one of the best quality figure of 8 leads I've ever come across.
I never did that, I was always aware of electrical safety from an early age.
What? This would have been 1987 for my memory lane story.
Just had that with a Neff Microwave. Apparently in the RoW you get a plug but in UK and Australia they want it solidly wired in.
Republic of Wales?
In message snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com From: Lurch ( snipped-for-privacy@tiscali.co.uk) On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 07:27:03 GMT, "John" strung together this:
matchsticks -
There are still folks sticking bare wires under pins to get things going. Came across this a couple of years ago, had almost forgotten that trick. Some people just couldnt care less, or dont have a clue. Makes Harry look responsible! Well, ok not quite.
NT
Assuming that's a genuine question ... "Rest of World"
To sell, not to use.
No - bought a Chinese DVD recorder from the Savacentre and was pleasantly surprised to find a rewirable one - since I use IEC on my set up to save space.
Only to sell or pass on surely?
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