I've just cut a bog standard IEC power lead with moulded plugs so I can shorten it. There is no earth wire, and no indication that there is no earth wire.
I'm aware that most things don't use the earth, but can this be legal?
Cheers
it is unless used in an appliance with a metal chassis that is connected to IEE socket earth...
depends which tye of IEC lead it is. If it's a 3 pin connector, no. If 2 pin, yes.
NT
Yes, normal 3 pin with moulded 13A plug and moulded three pin C13 IEC socket. All the usual BS approval markings, just no earth wire. Looking at the cable, it does say, among other things, 'KEMA-KEUR
300/300V 2X0.75mm2'Of course, I don't know where it came from, it's one of many.
Cheers
not safe & legal
NT
Metal earth pin or plastic?
With a hole for an earth pin?
2x0.75mm2 = 2 core but does seem highly dubious. I'd expect a two core lead to not have a hole for the IEC earth pin making it impossible to use with a device expecting an earth. The 13A end needs some form of earth pin to open the shutters.
Thanks for drawing our attention to the existence of such things. Apart from the potential electrocution danger, using one when expecting an earth could lead to all sorts of problems with signal circuits, including audio, and perhaps unexpected ESD problems. I am tempted to go and check all mine immediately.
No - it's a fail.
It isn't one of these is it?
I have half a dozen more hanging up, they're all ok though I haven't checked the ones in use. The illegal cable is noticeably thinner than the others, at about 5.5mm diameter as opposed to 7mm.
Cheers
No, it looks perfectly normal and of good quality.
Cheers
I've a couple of hundred at least. yes really they are in a box in the lab, they have all passed a PAT test and visual inspection. Most are just 6 amp leads rather than kettle leads which is the name most people use when requesting one.
I do not know, but I have a CD player with an IEC socket on it and it has no earth pin at all, so maybe it was made for this sort of appliance, but it would be a little bad if that was being used on a normal computer which has an earth and a metal case if the psu shorted out as I have had more than one do over the years by having an internal melt down shorting to the case. Brian
I think the point is though, without some indication to the user, we all keep a box of these leads from old devices and when we need one, maybe a little longer we just fish one out. If they are not going to be all containing an earth wire and do not show a plastic earth pin like a wall wart, how would the user know? Brian
I think the majority of the two core ones normally show the extra hole for the earth is blocked up. some look like a kind of glue others are obviously moulded that way, but either way, now you know you need to pump some glue in its earth hole in case its used for something else later on. Brian
Not uncommon, but pretty obvious as most usually flat, rather than round, cable.
Why wouldn't it be legal? Up to the user to select the correct one for a job. In other words, use the supplied lead.
Think the regs have changed since such leads became common. All the ones I've seen these days are capable of the full rated current of the connector, regardless of how little the appliance uses. Rather the same as with many flexible chords to appliances.
That's a C18 inlet, rather than a C14, my AV amp is the same
You can use a C13 lead and it won't use the earth pin, but it's designed for C17 lead.
The two-core C13 lead is clearly wrong, I've never seen that in any I've cut open.
Because it's a 13A plug to three pin IEC C13 socket.
Cheers
With 0.7mm^2 cable, it's probably (hopefully?) only a 5A fuse in the plug.
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