Unearthed extension leads

There's quite a lot of double-insulated equipment about - power drills, strimmers, mowers, etc. The garden equipment, in particular, often has a fairly long lead attached (5 - 10m). When the equipment goes south and can't be repaired, I usually cut off the lead before taking the remains to the tip for recycling.

I'm getting a small collection of leads, usually orange coloured but sometimes yellow, which can make useful extension leads for strimmers, etc, when a plug and socket are fitted. But, being twin-cored only, they aren't of course earthed and that makes them unsafe to use with equipment which has to be earthed. Other than scrawl in indelible pen on the plug and socket "NO EARTH", is there a better way of limiting the use of these extension leads?

Reply to
Jeff Layman
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Only fit them with two-pin connectors, rather than a BS1363 socket, fit any equipment used with them with the mating connector.

Reply to
Chris Bartram

I use Duraplug LCP102P plugs on all my power tools (except cement mixer and pillar drill which need earth so have LCP103P) most of my extension leads are 13A->LCP102S made of old orange leads like yours, but I have a couple made from heavier arctic flex with LCP103S ... one with an NVR switch mid-run.

The 2 pin plugs fit the 3 pin sockets.

Reply to
Andy Burns

The normal approach is to fit a connector at the appliance end (or both) that will only mate with a two pole connector of the type used for garden tools etc.

Never fit a standard 13A trailing socket to the end of one of these.

Reply to
John Rumm

Don't know about limiting, but I have seen plugs with plastic earth pins used on some extension leads, but the socket on the other end has been non standard and only two core.

Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

'No earth' would likely mean nothing at all to some. Kids or whatever.

Garden appliances usually have a two pin coupling plug near the handle - to allow a two core extension to be inserted.

So if you are worried about others using an unsafe extension lead, don't fit a two core lead with 3 pin plugs and sockets.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

As an aside I have found that some of the really cheap Chinese extension leads with the multiple outlets that find their way into countless thousands of homes in the UK have totally inadequate earthing and in many cases, no earth connection at all due to seriously poor quality internal contacts. On average, at best only 50% of the outlets had a working earth connection. How can this rubbish be allowed to be sold in this country is what I would like to know. There seems to be no official oversight in place to ensure this cheap-but-deadly Chinese junk is kept off the shelves. :(

Reply to
Cursitor Doom

Other than scrawl in indelible pen on

Thanks for all the answers pointing to the 2-pin solution. That makes a lot more sense. I hadn't seen it because those connectors don't seem to be available from my usual source - TLC.

Reply to
Jeff Layman

I think TLC (along with B&Q) discontinued the Duraplugs a couple of years ago, they do sell BG 2-pin and 3-pin plug/sockets.

I've never used them, so don't know if the BG 2-pin plugs mate with their 3-pin sockets

Reply to
Andy Burns

Thanks for those links. But the Duraplug connector gets good reports, so even though a bit more expensive I'll get it from Amazon.

Reply to
Jeff Layman

En el artículo , Andy Burns escribió:

fitting the correct one to the cable, of course ...

I've seen that done with the plug fitted to the supply side!

Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

You've gotta be careful with Chinese domestic leads. I cut a 3-core lead o ff some appliance and found (a) the earth wire wasn't connected at the plug top and (b) the fuse in the plug top was present but not connected to anyt hing at either end, just floating. Still marked up CE as I recall.

Reply to
therustyone

Not a problem really, I presume the cable was rated at 32A? :-)

Compared to the uninsulated inline shower heating elements they produce, the mains cable is tame stuff!

AB

Reply to
Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp

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