Mains Flexible cord labels

These days its a requirement to supply such items with a plug pre-fitted. Core colours are standardised. A fuse is pre-fitted. I don't know what the rules are, but there is no logical reason to require an additional label, that pretty well everyone will have removed long before they might need to change a fuse.

I thought this information was printed on a piece of thin cardboard attached to the plug. Is it not part of the instructions too?

Out of interest, and arising out of the legal requirement for new appliances in the UK to be fitted with a 13amp plug and an appropriate fuse, is anyone aware of a household still using 5amp or 15amp sockets?

I don't enquire about 2amp plugs (2- or 3-pin) because they were always supposed to be for lighting only.

I removed one five amp socket and one fifteen amp socket from my parents' house (neither had earth connections) in 1970. It would seem unlikely that any house still contains any today. Fifteen amp sockets are still in use for stage lighting, of course.

The last one I knew of, was my grandparents' bungalow which still had a mixture of round and square pins in the mid '90s

No, but my late neighbour had them until about 10 years ago. She used

Yes this information is/was on a label or card near the plug. What I am after is the Regs which required this and whether they are still in force. I surmise that the information is/was mandatory to allow for refitting a plug in the future.

"The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994" specifies the bit about new appliances needing to be supplied with a fitted plug (barring some exceptions)

It also revokes the previous "The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1987 and various "The Electrical Appliances (Colour Code) Regulations 1969/1970/1977"

It is the latter which specified the requirement for the label stating the "new" wire colours, but that had a sunset clause for 1977 anyway

I found this part of regulation 3.—(1) interesting:

“BS 646” means the British Standard Specification for cartridge fuse–links (rated up to 5 amperes) for AC and DC service BS 646: 1958 published by the British Standards Institution on 31st January 1958, as amended by Amendment No. 1 published on 31st January 1991;

I thought direct current had pretty much disappeared by 1958. Were 13 amp plugs (BS 1363) even used in DC supplies? Or were these cartridge fuses for the fuse box? Also, could the same fuses be used for AC and DC? I thought the ratings were different (for the same fuse) on the basis that DC is continuous and AC is not.

I use 5 for lighting. In S Africa its all 15

and so are 5A. Surrey CC insisted their use in schools since 5A is obviously safer than 15A, 5A is still in use in India & 15A in South Africa.

A bit of ancient history: when I worked at Decca Radar at the end of the

nib

True, but I've still got one. It might still be needed ...........

I spent a year at the University of Essex, doing a Master's, in 1973-74. The rooms *only* had 2A outlets, presumably to discourage the use of most equipment.

I went down to a local electrical shop [1] and purchased half a metre of 3 core cable, a 2A plug and a flying 13A socket. I was of course very careful not to exceed quite a low amount, but I wanted to use a few low current bits.

Most domestic installations which had 5 Amp & 15 Amp sockets, also used rubber insulated wiring. That would make longer term use a self-extinguishing feature (unlike the wiring).

Houses in those days tended to have _very_ few sockets which was a great incentive towards rewiring. My first home (built 1948) had only a single socket upstairs (5 Amp IIRC).

our first house, actually half a house which was divided in 1946, had one

I know of someone who has recently had 5amp sockets fitted. They are on a separate circuit for uplighters and things of that ilk and controlled by some "smart switches". The idea is to prevent "normal" items being plugged in. It appears use for lighting is common and a wide range is available, e.g.

Dave

There was a single, 2-pin socket in my bedroom as a child (born 1966). IIRC, it was upgraded to two 2-gang, 13-Amp sockets later.

I also added a couple of separately 2-way switched, spotlights, with the switches over the bed (for reading at night) and a 3-gang switch for them and the main light at the door ... all installed by me, when I was about 12. I even managed to do it all properly channelled, in the safe zones.

I put them in when I built our consvervatory - a 3-gang switch controls ceiling lights, a pair of spotlights (for dimmer lighting) and the 5A sockets.

There is usually only a single table lamp plugged in, but I made up a few 5A plug to 13A socket adapters, to allow Christmas lights, powered from wall-warts, to be plugged in.