Re: upside down????

An old style plug without the plastic sheath is better (for some value of "better"). I wouldn't do it these days its easy to pop a new plug on or a proper EU to 13A convertor and they are pence.

You can often get away with poking a low-current EU 2-pin plug Type-C (2.5A max) in a UK socket (provided the thin pins make contact - which they usually do).

However, never Never NEVER insert the 16A Type-E (the normal sort of European domestic plug) and similar. The diameter of the pins tends to be a bit more than the height of the slots in the face of a UK 13A socket, and it's usually an obvious tight fit when you try to insert it.

But the real danger is what it does inside to the 13A socket fingers. There's a good chance that they will be permanently splayed - and if you later insert a UK plug, the fingers may make no (or very poor) contact with the pins. Back in the 1980s I recall a cable TV 30-channnel headend where the customer kept complaining that some of the channels kept going off and on - to the constant annoyance of the customers. It turned out that much of the original equipment was of European manufacture - and the Type-E plugs that everything was fitted with were simply forced into the UK multiway strips sockets. When the headend was later updated, and the old equipment replaced with new units fitted with 13A plugs, it was act of God what, whether and when anything worked (or not).

I don't think that the point is to save money. It is because people need to plug something in straight away and either nowhere is open or they just don't want to make a trip out to get an adapter there and then. Equally, they don't want to modify the existing lead, as they need that intact when they are travelling.

SteveW

The likelihood of damage using a shaver plug is pretty low. They are narrower than the proper pins, so shouldn't splay the contacts; they have rounded ends, so shouldn't catch on the contacts, even at an angle; and the current is low, so a poor contact shouldn't cause damage by heating. Even more so, it is usually something that is only done once or twice before a proper load or adapter is obtained.

SteveW

That should have read "lead", not "load."

I see its BS o'clock.

NT

a mains plug beats matchsticks, it used to get used in lieu of a 2 way adaptor, or when something had no plug.

NT

That may be your concern. I explained many posts up why it doesn't happen. If you don't wish to accept that that is your right, but not my concern.

NT

they're more rounded than a 13A plug's pins :)

NT

To be fair, 13A plug pins don't need to be rounded. You can't put them in at an angle and the tip is much thinner than the gap between the contacts, so two flat, sloping faces work fine and are cheap and simple to make.

SteveW

That would be why I keep spares.

Well you are the expert.

Might I suggest you go study figure 4a an on in BS1363-1.

You will note that the dimensions, profiles and tolerances for plug pins are very carefully specified - such that they will mate with and make good contact with matching sockets reliably without risk of damaging the contacts.

If you believe that you can go stuffing foreign objects into a socket, and have them make a good and safe contact, then you would be right - sometimes.

If you believe that you can however do it repeatedly without any risk, then you are deluding yourself.

Figure 4a describes plug pins as being from 3.90mm to 4.05mm thick. This implies that BS 13a sockets must connect reliably to pins 3.90 to 4.05mm thick. I'd say that's a pretty good match for 4mm diameter round pins wouldn't you?

Having seen the innards of numerous 13A sockets, I've never found a BS compliant one that fails to make a secure connection with a 4mm pin. I'm not recommending doing it for a few reasons, but it certainly works. If you think a socket that grips 3.90-4.05mm pins can't handle a 4mm pin, I'm sure you're entitled to your opinion but to call anyone that disagrees with it delusional is a tad silly.

NT

Why are you assuming 4mm?

So far "continental" 2 pin plugs, shaver plugs, and bare wires / screwdrivers have been discussed.

Shaver plugs to BS4573 have a pin diameter of 5.1mm and a spacing of

With a bit of determination you could stuff them all into a BS1363 socket.

Ah yes, Reductio Ad Absurdum - nice try.

That would be a woosh then...

I'm not assuming 4mm, the plug pins in question _are_ 4mm.

they don't fit

can't say I've tried other types.

just pointing out the facts

oh yeah.

NT