Most of my plugs the wire entry point is on the end where there are two pins. Now I have some where the wire entry is at the earth pin end.
This means the plugs won't plug into a multiplier as there is no space next to the wall.
Is there a solution, adapter, work round ?
please no "don't use multipliers " responses.
Chris
Use a 4-way extension instead of a multiplier adaptor? It's a better idea anyway as there's less physical load on the wall socket.
Use a short extension cable with 4 sockets instead of the multipier?
I've seen this on those Chinese wall warts. I wonder why they do that?
Brian
Plugs like this?
or a similar (but crappy) version from the pound shop.
I suspect he is referring to wall warts, I don't think I have ever seen a normal plug with top cable entry.
On a related point, The Chinese wall-wart manufacturers do seem to seem to have this idea that our 13A sockets are mounted with the earth-pin downwards, because the regulatory labeling is often upside-down. I have several examples.
In some ways, for a wallwart, top cable exit is preferable. For the normal lowish level socket and device higher up (on a table) it means the cable just goes straight up it doesn't get bent as it leaves the wart.
another reason is that many older sockets are in the skirting board so low that ther isn't room for a bottom exit wall-wart. True in this house.
So are Chinese 13A sockets mounted on the wall earth pin down?
I doubt they have 13A sockets, but a Google Image search suggests that
3 pin outlets in foreign parts are often earth pin down, and the US in particular seems to have no fixed convention, and can be up, down or sideways.
Well, it seems more logical in most applications. After all the computer/disk drive/whatever is unlikely to be lower down than the socket in most applications.
I think you'll find they do:
Though not everywhere in the China.
When I lived in the US, I looked for the official way of mounting their sockets, and it turned out to be the illogical 'ground pin on the bottom', so that anything dropping onto a slightly unplugged plug would automatically short out the two power pins. And with no shutter mechanism, these pins would still be live.
- Davey.
The power pins aren't sleeved for the 1/4" or so adjacent to the plug body?
Even with the shutter the pins are still live but UK plugs should now have sleeved pins.
No! At least, not when I left in late 2010, and there was no talk of any sleeving then. And plugs don't have fuses, either.
What was the point of the shutter if it didn't kill power to the pins?
US plugs don't need to fused as the US wiring system is radial not ring.
To prevent easy access to the possibly live parts in the socket when there is no plug inserted.
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