Any other plug collectors out there?

[Rubberfingers]

Here's some grotty back of the garage photographs of the grey one, with sleeved pins and branded Legrand.

[Alistair D]

Thanks for that photo. The Legrand website only lists current products so there are no mentions of the colour range that they came in.

Al

[merlinmaxwell]

I don't collect plugs per-se but do have some modern 2A round pin sockets in the lounge. These are connected to the three way light switch, middle is the main (ceiling) light and the other two alternate between the six 2A ones round the room. And my Magneta (PO36) clock system is powered from a proper vintage 5A job.

And before you ask the 2A sockets are supplied from a 2A MCB, the 5A one from a 5A MCB.

[Lancs Lad]

I have lots of those Legrand plugs, all in everyday use around the house. Both sleeved and unsleeved.

They're my favourite plug ever. Back in the 80s, my sister in law worked at Blackburn's premier independent ironmongers, and had a very generous staff discount, so I was able to buy rather a lot of these lovely plugs for very little money.

Ah! I miss those days....

And, my brother also had a red one on his welder. The outer cover of the cable was far too thick for the entry hole, so he he just stripped more of it off, and had the three inner cores clamped by the cord grip instead.

It used to get quite hot sometimes, but never melted at all. Unlike some previous good quality plugs did. He had an MK safetyplug on at one point, with a bit of metal bar in place of a fuse, which gradually burnt its way out through the top of the plug.

The things we used to do, eh!

[high_vacuum_house]

Originally Posted by Lancs Lad

Sorry if I'm missing something here, Peter, but wouldn't a 'normal' plug still fit into the modified socket you describe?

Surely it's the modified plug that wouldn't fit into a 'normal' socket?

We use the 13A plugs shown in post number 14 for our comms equipment at work which is on a separate 240V UPS supply.
The earth pin is T shaped with the shank width a reduced thickness. This prevents a normal 13A plug which could have a high current rated appliance being plugged into the UPS supply and tripping it. Also the T shape earth pin cannot fit into a normal 13A socket.

Christopher Capener

[Richard_FM]

De-La-Mere was another company that made coloured plugs.

I think my Mum had a Legrand plug on her hairdryer, certainly it was a square one.

[rambo1152]

I love those modern transparent plugs often supplied with table and standard lamps where you can see the value of the fuse and if the wiring has been done correctly, although I don't remember owning one myself.

[G6Tanuki]

I've got a 15-Amp round-pin version of one of those somewhere. I think it was originally aimed at the South African market.

[Tractorfan]

Hi,
Mention of coloured plugs reminded me of the red 'BHS' branded plug from British Home Stores. I'm sure I've seen a blue one out there somewhere.
It was unusual in that the three cores were routed differently form the 'traditional' layout, as shown in the photos.
I also have some coloured W&G plugs as well.

[G6Tanuki]

Another brand of coloured plugs was "Rock" - I've got a duck-egg-blue 13A Rock plug on my Philips B2X67U

[rambo1152]

Originally Posted by Lancs Lad

Oooh yes, Granada Graham! I have one of those aswell.

It looks, and is, absolutely lethal - everything about it is just so wrong. I was given mine by a well-meaning (I hope...) friend, but how on earth are these things allowed to be sold in this country?

There must be thousands of people using them who have no idea how electrically unsafe they are. It's frightening.

Indeed. If they are being supplied by British retailers they should be reported to Trading standards.
In my case the Deathdapter was supplied with a cheap hand-head transceiver ordered from China

The other thing that the general public would not necessarily perceive as a problem, are those slim moulded-on plugs on imported products that do not have a fuse.

I spied one on an LED window sign in a chemist shop where I was working and pointed out to the owner that the only protection was the 32amp breaker in his CU. To compound matters further, the mains lead connected to these plugs is very often a few strands of copper covered steel.

[Herald1360]

Originally Posted by Tractorfan

Mention of coloured plugs reminded me of the red 'BHS' branded plug from British Home Stores. I'm sure I've seen a blue one out there somewhere.
It was unusual in that the three cores were routed differently form the 'traditional' layout, as shown in the photos.
I also have some coloured W&G plugs as well.

These look like another variation on the "cut all wires to the same length" theme. Somewhat simpler to wire up neatly than the three different lengths varieties.

[Lancs Lad]

Hi Graham.

I have one of those transparent plugs. It came on a table lamp that I bought from Sainsbury's.

The flex is transparent too, and so is the inline switch.

Also, the flex doesn't have coloured cores, either, which I suppose doesn't matter too much as it's just a simple lamp.

It's a strange feeling, actually being able to see all those metal parts and the fuse, knowing that they are all live

[Refugee]

There are even one or two slim non-repairable plugs out there.
You would not think there is a fuse in it until you turn it over and see that it is there with a maximum rating of 5 amps emblazoned on it. The other end is a C-13.
It has been in use in a dusty location for some years and the camera flash sure shows it up.

[Lancs Lad]

Oh yes! I had one of those, too, Refugee.

It was bright orange, on a Flymo strimmer.

[Refugee]

I just used it where a gas igniter lead was too short and it was quickest to fit a screw terminal C-14 in place of the rewireable plug that was already fitted.
It was a lot quicker than stripping a gas hob down to fit a longer lead.

[Tractorfan]

Hi,
I've got one of those slim Legrand/BICC plugs which is marked 'MANWEB' - Merseyside And North Wales Electricity Board.
Also, an old Ediswan plug marked 'SWEB' - South West Electricity Board.
Cheers, Pete.

[Lancs Lad]

Quick question about something that's got me puzzled!

I sometimes see this little 'S' icon beneath various usernames.

Can anyone tell me what it denotes, please?

[Rubberfingers]

Originally Posted by Alistair D

Alas I don't think it will photograph well but I have just found a BICC plug. The logo is in a rectangular box in the same place as Legrand is in the newer ones. I say newer as the plug in question is a non sleeved version.

Grey is a new one on me. Now I am searching for black brown and grey. Unless you know different. Currently in my collection I have white, red, green, blue and yellow.

So the "known" colours are black brown red yellow green blue grey and, of course, white. That only leaves orange and purple to make the full standard colours as used for resistors etc. I wonder whether there is orange and purple as well?.

[Rubberfingers]

Originally Posted by Richard_FM

De-La-Mere was another company that made coloured plugs.

I think my Mum had a Legrand plug on her hairdryer, certainly it was a square one.

I've got a number of De La Mer plugs on and off different things, in Blue, Orange and Red. I don't know anything about "de la mer", it translates to "of the sea" in French, which is a strange choice of branding for an electrical accesory.