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Old 14th Apr 2018, 9:17 pm   #21
G6Tanuki
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

I'm happy using the MK ToughPlugs - they don't need pre-threading on the cable.

My local supplier has plugs branded "PMS" - they're cheap and seem to work OK.

These days though I generally replace legacy mains-leads with an IEC309-to-13A lead of decent quality [speak to anyone in the IT industry if you want a batch of these free: they've always got thousands of them!] with the IEC309 cut off and wired in place of the old lead.
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Old 14th Apr 2018, 9:36 pm   #22
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

Some of the cover plate screws on the grid range are indeed smaller than M3.5, the screws holding the yoke to the back box are M3.5 but the ones that hold the plastic, or metal cover are actually smaller and can be a real pain if you lose them.
Both MK and Crabtree are not as good as they used to be years ago, I remember working for 2 large companies, one only allowed Crabtree, and the other MK, I remember on one job having to replace a Crabtree twin metal-clad socket, there were non in stores and non at the wholesalers, so I replaced it temporarily with an MK one and ordered a Crabtree, Boy did I get hauled over the coals over it.
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Old 14th Apr 2018, 10:08 pm   #23
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

Over the years, I've purchased the Pro Elec plugs from CPC which I'm very pleased with their quality.
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Old 14th Apr 2018, 11:28 pm   #24
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

I have so many ex-equipment 13-amp plugs that I haven't had to buy any for ages. The last time I bought some was when my mother-in-law moved from her old house (which still had 5-amp and 15-amp round-pin plugs) to a newer property. I bought a box of 20 Crabtree plugs and found them to be perfectly OK, but that was back in about 1978.

I'm sure China is capable of making good quality products, but it is very sad that so much Chinese-made electrical equipment that appears to be deliberately fraudulent makes its way onto the UK market. A few years ago I recall an alert about Chinese-made MCBs that looked perfect on the outside, but contained nothing more than a pair of mechanical contacts.
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Old 15th Apr 2018, 12:58 am   #25
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

With the Chinese you need to send them a tech spec and a drawing and be prepared to buy one shipping unit of product (30 foot container) and pay a bit more but not as much as a western product.
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Old 15th Apr 2018, 9:38 am   #26
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

China will make any product at any quality for a specified price. It's wrong to dismiss something as 'oh, it's made in China...'

The biggest grump folks have with Chinese manufacture is about ethics: employment issues; forced labour; environmental responsibilities, etc... But that goes out of the window when the price is right in many cases.

No doubt any reply to this post will be thumped out on a Chinese manufactured computer supplied with electricity via a Chinese manufactured cable and observed on a Chinese monitor.
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Old 15th Apr 2018, 10:37 am   #27
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

Indeed, Chinese manufacturing has come a long way these days. There are some very good engineers in China. Even some British companies can churn out cheap at cheap quality, as are there some very good manufactures in Britain and this is the same case with China.
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Old 15th Apr 2018, 11:51 am   #28
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

The components of an item made in China are like the 'back-office' that toils away, un-noticed and unglamourised, almost to the point where it's a dirty little secret. Contrary to the splurging of the Union Flag logo (or appropriate national flag) in an effort to sell the design, creation and marketing as indigenous.

It happens all the time to the point where it's meaningless. I first noticed it a couple of decades or so ago with NAD amplifiers, with a big Union Flag proclaiming their 'Britishness' when the small print said 'made in China'. Accurist watches, camera straps... The list is endless. Even 'Which' magazine gave up on countries of origin as irrelevant many years ago.

The last time I bought any MK stuff those elements that weren't made in the UK were made in Europe - Belgium I think. But it's been a while.
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Old 15th Apr 2018, 5:11 pm   #29
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sinewave View Post
Indeed, Chinese manufacturing has come a long way these days. There are some very good engineers in China. Even some British companies can churn out cheap at cheap quality, as are there some very good manufactures in Britain and this is the same case with China.
My feeling about Chinese companies and their products is that you get what you ask for. If you ask for precision engineering they can do that. But at a price. If you ask for 'cheap' they will do that too, but it won't be 'good'. Much the same as any other country actually.
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Old 15th Apr 2018, 10:19 pm   #30
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

Quote:
Originally Posted by russell_w_b View Post
China will make any product at any quality for a specified price. It's wrong to dismiss something as 'oh, it's made in China...'

The biggest grump folks have with Chinese manufacture is about ethics: employment issues; forced labour; environmental responsibilities, etc... But that goes out of the window when the price is right in many cases.

No doubt any reply to this post will be thumped out on a Chinese manufactured computer supplied with electricity via a Chinese manufactured cable and observed on a Chinese monitor.
How right you are, one of my ex business partners has gone into a different field and has a production line in a large factory in China, there are two main ways to have stuff produced out there, either buy a quantity, or hire a production line, which is better if you want a constant supply of the product.
In the factory where he has his line, there are many lines each producing a different item, the stuff produced on his line is made for him and him alone.Well, he was over there recently discussing a new product and the manager took him to see his line, he was horrified, the machine was water cooled and water was splashing onto a control panel, also the operator was stood in a large puddle of water, wearing only flip-flops. He pointed the issues out and asked why there wasn't a drain installed, and a shield over the panel to protect it from the water, it would only cost a couple of quid to fit a piece of plastic.
The manager was at great pains to show him that there was no risk to his product and insisted on showing him something, he led him to the front of the factory, there was a line of men stood outside, all wearing flip-flops and coolie hats, "please do not worry sir, if your worker gets electrocuted, we can have one of these men running your line within minutes, so you see, you have nothing to worry about"
It makes you wonder when you hear British workers complaining about working conditions.
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Old 16th Apr 2018, 7:28 am   #31
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

As pointed out above, there's very little that's glamorous or nice about Chinese manufacturing. The country culture regarding health and safety is comparable with the UK a hundred years ago. But its cheapness is appealing to manufacturers who want/need to compete at the lowest level. What gets me is, when 'health and safety' came in in the UK in the 60s, the associated costs meant that many small companies were forced into closure, not being able to afford the sometimes massive, disproportionate costs of upgrades and rebuilds. So, point one, we lost production and jobs in the UK. Point two is, we now quite happily buy goods from the likes of China where H&S is often none existent! How hypocritical is that?

On a practical note, my biggest gripe with Chinese products is the very poor quality of its plastics. From a dustpan to a storage box, it all splits in a short amount of time. Annoying when companies like Dupont and ICI created good, strong, stable plastics decades ago. Similarly, those hardened, chrome vanadium Chinese screwdrivers round off at the first slip.

Also, overrating seems unheard of, with many electrical items barely meeting their stated rating, let alone surpassing it by a percentage point or two.

The pendulum has to swing one day. The question is, where to? Another country where manufacturing ethics echo those in China, or back to Blighty?
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Old 16th Apr 2018, 9:58 am   #32
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

Back on topic please.
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Old 17th Apr 2018, 12:55 pm   #33
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

Hi.

Thank you for all of your replies.

Even though the conversation went off topic, I have found it all very interesting.

The new MK safety plugs I bought, are made in Malaysia. The fuse is 13amp SEM, which are made in China I believe. I personally would not use any BS1362 fuses that were made in in China, as there are many counterfeit fuses around. I once bought what I thought were genuine Bussmann plug fuses, and I broke one open out of curiosity, and found it had no sand filling. Very unsafe.

Looking at the MK plug, it has me wondering how much better it would be if it was manufactured in the UK. The old vintage MK plugs were much better quality.
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Old 18th Sep 2018, 4:16 pm   #34
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Default Re: MK Safety Plugs

Continued overleaf: https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...55#post1076055
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