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Old 28th Jun 2015, 11:54 pm   #141
hannahs radios
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

I remember those Volex plugs. We had one on our freezer in the late seventies until it started to smoke one day. It was replaced and then given to me to play with.
I still have, and use, a VT branded adaptor. It's got 13 amp pins, a 13 amp socket on the front, and 2x5 amp 2 pin sockets top and bottom. Its those I use it for and yes, its fused at 5 amps.
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Old 30th Jun 2015, 8:37 am   #142
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Smile Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

Hi,
I have a variant of the Clix plug with another 13amp socket on top, therefore they could have been stacked! I'm not sure (without another look at it) whether the fuse protects just the flex, or the socket as well.
The final two photos show a Clix two pin 15amp plug with the same type of cord grip.
Cheers, Pete.
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Old 30th Jun 2015, 3:35 pm   #143
Leon Crampin
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

I have some of those Clix stacking 13A plugs still in use. Mine are white. The fuse protects both the load attached to the plug, and the socket which accepts a further plug. No chance of (n x 13)A loads...

I would only use these for low current applications, with no likelihood of cable strain.

Leon.
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Old 8th Oct 2015, 5:38 pm   #144
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

Quote:
Originally Posted by broadgage View Post
That is certainly one possible explanation, but I was told an alternative.
That the hole was to allow the user of an earthed appliance to verify, without dismantling, that the earth wire was still connected.
This could ell be the case. The earth connection has to be visible,in order to verify its integrity. When a 3core cable was fed though the case of an appliance,the earth was immediately brought back out to an external earth connection. The same with plugs, the earth was the outer shield.
This practice is not in use now, except for the Shuko plugs.
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Old 8th Oct 2015, 9:43 pm   #145
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

We have only come up with one batch of NOS plugs so far but I can manage a carton of five MK un-switched sockets in brown Bakelite. Yes they really are NIB.
They are a little bit shiny for the camera but still.

Also I thought it worth sticking up a Duraplug with RS branding and a NATO numbered BICC branded split live pin one in white Nylon.

Also with RS branding I have one of those ones with the emergency pull out handle on it for those chip fryers that used to catch fire and so on.

I am pretty sure the window above the earth pin was to allow an earth wire to be run the earth socket by the aerial connection on radios that used an external aerial.
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Last edited by Refugee; 8th Oct 2015 at 9:51 pm. Reason: To add a bit about earth pins.
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Old 8th Oct 2015, 11:13 pm   #146
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

Those duraplugs seem to leach something out of the rubber that coats the fuse and clips with black and are a favourite for having a nick in the lid for the cable! Weren't they part of MK?
My AVO RF generator has one of those military BICC plug on it. They were also sold as 'legrand'. I like them alot
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Old 8th Oct 2015, 11:32 pm   #147
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

AFAIK, the better quality fuses and fuse clips are silver plated, Sulphur is used in the vulcanising of rubber, and minute amounts leach out or outgas and turn the silver plated parts black due to the formation of silver sulphide.

If a fuse is removed after many years of use in a rubber plug, then that part of the fuse that was in tight contact with the fuse clips remains silver coloured when the rest has gone black.

(eggs contain sulphur, and it may be observed that a silver or silver plated spoon used for eating eggs will require much more frequent polishing than a similar spoon used for other foods)
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Old 8th Oct 2015, 11:33 pm   #148
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

I can't quite remember but think it was the rubbery white Duraplugs that used to get black fuses.
That orange one has a more solid feel to the top. It might be some kind of hard Vinyl stuff.
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Old 8th Oct 2015, 11:51 pm   #149
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

I collect those legrand plugs. They were available in white, red, green, yellow, blue and black. I have a selection of all but the black one. I was outbid on that at £8.00 so still looking.

Al
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Old 9th Oct 2015, 2:47 pm   #150
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Smile Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

Hi,
My parents bought a table lamp from British Home Stores back in the early 70s and they also bought a plug for Dad to fit. It's BHS's own brand, but I've only seen one other like it in blue. I've no idea who made these. Alas, both parents and the lamp are no more, but the plug survives!
Note the unusual wiring layout and early use of the 'ratchet' style cord grip.
Cheers, Pete.
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Old 9th Oct 2015, 3:52 pm   #151
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

Unusual indeed. I suspect the design was like that so that the wires could be the same length, a bit like the MK ones - or was it Ever Ready?
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Old 9th Oct 2015, 4:53 pm   #152
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

The same length wiring plugs were Ever Ready.
While I had the plug box out we can have a look at a Micromark one.
I have also found found two Legrand split live ones in blue and white.
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Old 9th Oct 2015, 7:32 pm   #153
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

I've seen the every-ready ones badged as 'Marbo'; maybe the original manufacturer?
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Old 9th Oct 2015, 8:06 pm   #154
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

The original "MK Safetyplug" also boasted about the convenience of the equal-length-wires thing.

The orange RS-branded Duraplug - I used to have one of them on a length of similarly-orange 2-core cable back in the days of the Flymo electric lawnmower (which was also orange!). It was just the cover part of the plug that was orange - the bit the pins/fuse fitted into was the traditional black.

Another brand of rubber plug I remember was "Hercules" - Woolworths clone of Duraplug. They didn't handle prolonged high current (3Kw fan heater...) well, giving off a distinctive pong to highlight their distressed state.
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Old 9th Oct 2015, 8:37 pm   #155
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

Quote:
Originally Posted by G6Tanuki View Post
Another brand of rubber plug I remember was "Hercules" - Woolworths clone of Duraplug. They didn't handle prolonged high current (3Kw fan heater...) well, giving off a distinctive pong to highlight their distressed state.
Very true! I wonder why, as they seemed fairly decently made, and used similar gauge conductors as the Duraplug ones?
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Old 10th Oct 2015, 2:04 am   #156
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

I remember the BICC / Legrand ultra-slimline plugs, and had a bit of a collection of them at one point. I think the requirement for part-sleeved live and neutral pins -- making it possible to push a plug out of the socket safely from behind -- killed off the design.

As for equal-length wires, isn't that a bad idea? I thought the intention was to have the earth wire longer than the live and neutral wires so if the cable was pulled, the live wire would come out of its terminal (and stop the appliance from working) before the earth wire came out of its terminal (and stayed unnoticed until one day a fault developed in the appliance).
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Old 10th Oct 2015, 4:35 am   #157
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

The Legrand version was definitely made with sleeved (with black plastic) pins fairly recently, well, actually, maybe 10 to 30 years ago... because there's one I bought at the time on something I made in 1987.
As regards equal cores, yes, they should have been cut to the correct lengths, but rarely were. You've also probably seen equipment from before the days of mandatory fitted plugs and noticed well over half are unacceptably badly done. The MK and Ever Ready/MB Marbo designs did help, but were very expensive and quite dear, respectively.
And the latter was prone to damage, leaving the top of the fuse exposed.
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Old 10th Oct 2015, 9:21 am   #158
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

Equal cut length wires doesn't preclude the earth wire being slack when the others are taut. The layout of the plug can sort that issue out.
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Old 10th Oct 2015, 9:58 am   #159
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

Exactly; look at the plug in post 39, and you'll see that the route to the earth terminal is straight, but those to the L & N terminals are more tortuous and longer. Well, that's what I like to think
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Old 10th Oct 2015, 10:15 am   #160
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Default Re: 13A Plugs old and not so old

Take a look at what they do if the earth wire is too short
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