Two devices wired into a single BS1363 plug?

[Scott]

Very observant for a young child, I must say.

[Scott]

Thanks. After posting I changed it to a 2 amp fuse. Of course I would not have done it with a high current appliance. I don't even approve of connecting them via adapters or power strips.

[spuorgelgoog]

At university (where we were provided with one double socket) I had the Atari and monitor leads wired into 1 13A plug (the cord grip was possibly better not looked at too closely) and the desk lamp and clock radio into one of the 4-flex Masterplug plugs.

Owain

[Scott]

... and in the really old days I only used MK plugs for high current appliances as I thought the contact was better because it wrapped round the screw.

[Andrew]

If it is, it should have fire doors anyway.

[williamwright]

Mark isn't like other humans.

Bill

[williamwright]

At Doncaster College of Education each room had one 2A socket.

Bill

[williamwright]

They often have smoke and rate-of-heat-rise sensors in them as well.

Bill

[tabbypurr]

something like a watt or 3 IIRC. It's basically a synchronous electric clock mechanism.

NT

[tabbypurr]

It doesn't, the many wires just lay down beside each other and none are effectively gripped. The only way to get those cordgripped that I found was to wrap them round the cordgrip so they were squashed twice.

NT

[tabbypurr]

Is the cordgrip effective on both flexes? Is the combined load under 13A?

NT

[Dr S Lartius]

So say 2W; a year is about 8 kilohours, so 16kWh/y; assuming Economy 7, 1 kWh costs about 18p; of the order of £3 a year, of which I pay a fraction. As I thought - not worth calling an electrician out for, but worth asking the management to get it done next time they send one. I will not be touching anything in that cupboard myself.

To answer [e-mail] : (1) The cord grip is not important, since the cords are short, go to fixed items nearby, and are shielded from the public. The cords probably have not been flexed since installation. (2) Only signal wires leave the (narrow) cupboard. If anything like 13A were coming from the plug, the cupboard would have caught fire many years ago.

[Scott]

In the example I gave earlier, the combined load is under 2 amps and the two flexes are probably gripped better than one would be. Nothing so far has persuaded me to change this.

[williamwright]

About twenty years ago I got an order from a local council that I had never worked for before and have never worked for since. They gave a list a of communal TV systems that they wanted checking for fire safety. Apparently it was in response to something from central government. I purchased a street map of their area and went along. What I found was a lot of 1950s terraced rows of council houses. Every house had an aerial. High up in the gable end of each row was a little door that led into the loft of the end house. There were also the remains of 1950s VHF TV aerials bolted to the wall. In the lofts I found valved TV distribution amplifiers. Most were still nice and warm. Out of curiosity I knocked on a door and asked to look at the electric meter. No signs of an unmetered supply being teed off before the tenant's meter.

Bill

[spuorgelgoog]

Unusual in itself :-)

Owain