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Old 12th Dec 2012, 1:14 pm   #101
dominicbeesley
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Default Re: More old plugs!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ajs_derby View Post
In urban areas, the neutral and earth are tied together where the main supply cable comes in from the street (Protective Multiple Earthing).
It's only a few volts here in town (don't think we're on PME but not 100% sure) but when we lived in the country it could go ridiculously high sometimes. I seem to remember varying between 12 and 50V. I ran my Scalectrix off the neutral to earth when the transformer got borrowed!

Doesn't matter though even a few volts at such potentially high current are dangerous removing a fuse to protect a wire stub is a silly idea, just remove the stub!

D
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Old 12th Dec 2012, 1:37 pm   #102
Tractorfan
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Smile Re: More old plugs!

Hi,
I agree. It takes but a minute or two to un-wire a plug, and it could save years of grief. When we moved here I changed dozens of plugs and never cut any off except the moulded on type. These had the fuse & carrier removed and were then binned.
Cheers, Pete
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Old 7th Jan 2013, 10:07 pm   #103
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Smile Re: More old plugs!

Hi,
Further to the photos I posted in #59, I've just remembered that I once saw some large film-props MK plugs. They were made for the "Borrowers" film (1997). They were on display in a multi storey shop that was a converted mill near Chorley, Lancs. The plugs were about four feet tall and made from fibre glass and they were copied quite accurately, as I remember.
Funny, I don't think I saw them in the actual film, though.
Anyone else remember these?
Cheers, Pete
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Old 8th Jan 2013, 8:30 pm   #104
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Default Re: More old plugs!

Isn't there a huge MK plug in one of Adam and the Ants music videos?
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Old 8th Jan 2013, 11:42 pm   #105
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Default Re: More old plugs!

Correct! "Antmusic", 5 years pre my time but better music than modern offerings! Looks like a big MK plug perhaps, no shielded pins, shocking!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPjfD8ulnpw
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Old 27th Nov 2014, 5:20 pm   #106
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Default Re: More old plugs!

Found in a skip today
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Old 27th Nov 2014, 10:02 pm   #107
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Default Re: More old plugs!

Quote:
Originally Posted by BobGreen View Post
The house I grew up in had plugs similar to the roung pin 15A type but the earth pin was machined so the the socket switch was locked 'off' until a plug was interted and once it was 'on', the plug was locked in place. Very British and very safe!
Crabtree - the plugs were marvellous in MK sockets, the machined ring ensured they jammed in perfectly!
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Old 27th Nov 2014, 11:43 pm   #108
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Smile Re: More old plugs!

Hi,
I've got one of those Britmac 15amp iron clad switch-sockets too. Built like the proverbial brick outhouse!
The one in the previous post looks like the 5amp version.
Cheers, Pete.
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Old 28th Nov 2014, 5:14 pm   #109
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Default Re: More old plugs!

On the theme of disposing of plugs, when throwing away a moulded-on plug I twist the earth pin through about 45 degrees with a pair of pliers, so there's no chance of plugging it in. I usually keep the fuse and carrier for re-use, being a hoarder!
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Old 28th Nov 2014, 8:08 pm   #110
robin coleman
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Default Re: More old plugs!

It is indeed a 5 amp version I hope to aquired the others when the house and garage get refurbished
Regards
Robin
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Old 29th Nov 2014, 10:48 am   #111
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Default Re: More old plugs!

Here is a plug from around 1954,we moved into a house that year that my dad had built. I think its made of porcelain. It was fitted to a Regentone Multi99 we had when I was a kid and was given away by my dad after a valve failed cos "it wasn't worth repairing" my mother was furious when she found out it only cost 7s/6d, 37.5p to the uninitiated, to repair. I was not happy either as I wanted it,tho I was only 9 at the time.
It is now back on a Multi99 one of 6 that I now have
Steve
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Old 29th Nov 2014, 11:10 am   #112
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Default Re: More old plugs!

That is a very early one. I like the art deco detailing on the back. Is it by BICC? (even though it looks more like "Bill"!)
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Old 29th Nov 2014, 11:14 am   #113
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Smile Re: More old plugs!

Hi,
Definitely a 'Bill'!
'Bill' was usually associated with heavy industrial switchgear and domestic fittings might have been a side line. They did make domestic consumer units as well.
I've not seen a Bill plug for many a long year. I wonder if they ever made round pin plugs as I have never spotted one of those.
It's not porcelain, but could be urea formaldyhide, similar to ivory coloured radio cabinets.
Cheers, Pete.
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Old 29th Nov 2014, 11:19 am   #114
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Default Re: More old plugs!

So who was Bill then?
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Old 29th Nov 2014, 12:19 pm   #115
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Default Re: More old plugs!

The answer to that is here
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Old 2nd Dec 2014, 2:37 am   #116
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Default Re: More old plugs!

Here's an interesting plug, found beneath the floor boards in our 1890s terraced house! Made from rubber, still in surprisingly good condition. Any guesses on age?
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Old 2nd Dec 2014, 9:11 am   #117
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Default Re: More old plugs!

The colour is the giveaway, Hoovers were colour coded from the immediate post WWII era up to around the late 1970s. The Vac experts on here will know the exact dates but, from my memory, the chocolate/gold combo was c. 1947-1953, Blue/Cream 1953-1960, and I think your Pink one is mid 1960s. It was supllied with an adaptor to enable it to fit into a light socket. The adaptor had a raised rim at the 5A socket end which the Rubber Plug sort of locked on to.
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Old 4th Dec 2014, 3:57 pm   #118
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Default Re: More old plugs!

Ah thanks for that! So this plug that I have, what would that have plugged into if not using an adapter for the light fitting? The only 2 pin British plugs (with no earth) I've seen are those really tiny MK ones, like this.
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Old 4th Dec 2014, 4:32 pm   #119
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Default Re: More old plugs!

Yes, a standard British 5-amp 2-pin outlet to British Standard 372.

There was also a 15-amp 2-pin outlet in the same series, discussed here: http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD...HREAD.cgi?3412
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Old 4th Dec 2014, 7:28 pm   #120
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Default Re: More old plugs!

Quote:
Originally Posted by johnpriceuk View Post
Ah thanks for that! So this plug that I have, what would that have plugged into if not using an adapter for the light fitting? The only 2 pin British plugs (with no earth) I've seen are those really tiny MK ones, like this.
What you've pictured there is a 2 pin 2Amp socket; there were similarly designed, but larger - scaled up versions for 5Amp and 15Amp 2pin plugs. If you want a matching socket or a light fitting adaptor or even a 13Amp to 5 A 2pin adaptor I'm sure other members on here would be able to provide you with them (myself included).
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