Hi All
Is there a definitive legislative statement that says whether a mains operated electrical appliance (say a small table fan) should be supplied with a standard 3-pin plug, or if it is fitted with a 2-pin plug then an adaptor must also be supplied? Ta.
I believe yes if provided to consumers. I have not ploughed through: The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 but it might be there.
Yes, it must be supplied with a BS1363A plug.
It is acceptable to supply it with another type of EU plug plus an adaptor, but the adaptor must meet UK regs (e.g. fused, shuttered or a snap-shut design to encase the EU plug, but not a typical travel adaptor which conforms to no regs).
Thanks (both). If the supplier does not provide an adaptor, and I wanted to be arsey, what can you do?
In article , Andrew Gabriel writes
I've just bought an electric toothbrush and was surprised to find it equipped with just a 2 pin shaver type plug and no adaptor.
That's OK for shavers and other bathroom appliances under 25W, which are expected to be plugged in to a shaver socket. (A UK shaver plug isn't the same as a continental EU plug, although sloppy sockets on adapters and UK shaver outlets are usually designed to take both.)
Also, IIRC, a shaver socket will accept one of the old 2 pin 5A plugs.
When I met thhose circs I phoned Consumer Direct who passed the issue on to local Trading Standards who acted fast.
That said, I in many ways I wish we didn't have such strict regulations as it seems to mean a lot of low-end goods are simply not marketed to the UK since it'd cost too much to provide the different plug or the adapter.
But a UK shaver plug will not fit in a 5A socket (unfortunately), I tried.
In article , Andrew Gabriel writes
Thought it might be allowable, I was mightily piss'd off for 5mins or so until I realised I have a shaver socket in my bathroom (never used it so had forgotten it was there).
1 quid adaptor from toolstation made the charging position more convenient in the end.In article , Grumps writes
You can reject the goods, they're not legal for UK sale.
As a double whammy it would fail the "Fit for Purpose" element of SOGA.
Buying and adaptor and seeking the cost from the supplier would likely end in tears & frustration.
I have used it as one (of several) reasons for rejecting a monitor from Dabs/BT and didn't receive any arguments but if that was my only reason I could have been stuffed by them providing the correct lead.
34p/ea for 10+ ...
Not that much. I've bought a few products where there is a base 'plug' and two or three slide-on fronts with different pins. Pretty low cost and also quite compact.
Is the bathroom (shaver/toothbrush) socket specifically a UK thing? I've encountered superficially similar sockets in cruise ship bathrooms, but on closer inspection they will accept only the narrower pins of a 'continental' plug and therefore (annoyingly) not shavers or toothbrushes.
Richard.
Never tried that, never had reason to. Must dig out an old 2 pin 5A socket and investigate. :-)
Presumably you mean a 3-pin 5A socket. A UK shaver socket *is* the old 2-pin 5A socket. For some reason, they left that as the only regs-compliant use of these original British sockets when they phased them out for everything else.
I'll bet they will. Elderly widowed neighbour bought a fish tank heater from a local pet shop with a two pin plug, and when I approached them about this they supplied a clip on adaptor free - said they'd forgotten to do so.
Cynical me thinks if she'd noticed when buying it and asked for an adaptor she'd have been charged for it.
The legislation is the The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations
1994 (Consumer Protection Act 1987) 12.=97(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, no person shall supply, offer for supply, agree to supply, expose for supply or possess for supply any appliance unless that appliance is correctly fitted with a standard plug which=96(a) complies with the requirements of regulation 8 above [that plugs of that type conform to BS 1363;] and
(b) is fitted with a fuse link which conforms to BS 1362 and is rated in accordance with the appliance manufacturer=92s instructions, provided that in the absence of such instructions the fuse link may be rated in accordance with Table 2 of BS 1363.
(2) Paragraph (1) above shall not prohibit any person from supplying, offering to supply, agreeing to supply, exposing for supply or possessing for supply any appliance which does not comply with the requirements of that paragraph but which=96
(a) is correctly fitted with a non=96UK plug which complies with the safety provisions of IEC 884=961; and
(b) is fitted with a conversion plug which complies with the requirements of paragraph (3) below and which encloses the fitted non=96 UK plug and can only be removed by the use of a tool.
There are exceptions for shavers, toothbrushes etc intended for use with Shaver Supply Units.
Owain
...
When I was a councillor I had an interesting chat with our Trading Standards chap and persuaded him that those plastic socket covers
As "an item designed to be inserted into a BS1361 socket outlet", they must comply with BS1363, ie line and neutral must be brass, non-conducting earth pin must be plastic to specified hardness, casing must be required thickness to allow removal with fingures and not with a tool, body must be at leat 9.5mm wider than pins, etc.
Unfortunately, I was deselected and wasn't able to persue it any further.
JGH
Blackberry power supplies are similar.
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