To change plugs or not?

[MrBungle]

I'm going to be honest here and I'll univesally fit an IEC socket in the chassis if it'll go in. If it doesn't I'll replace the entire lead and plug with a snipped off moulded IEC lead (usually Volex). The moulded and sleeved plugs are the safest out there. The old brittle plastic ones tend to crack and fail, sometimes disintegrating when plugged in I find which is a bad situation.

Safety first!

Incidentally, proper plugs cost proper money: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/mains-...ckets/1999119/

[G6Tanuki]

That's the "non standard pins" version you linked to - the ordinary MK646 is available from RS for £2.871 each (in packs of 10)

[MrBungle]

Well spotted! Didn’t see that.

[kalee20]

Originally Posted by Richard_FM

I remember my Mum's Kenwood mixer was the first thing we had with a moulded on plug.

Once it went to be fixed & came back with a different plug on because the engineer couldn't sign it off with unsleeved pins.

That seems strange - a modification to the original item! And what would he have done if it had been sent for repair with a round-pin 5A or 15A plug on - because that's what you have in your house - would he have changed that for one with sleeved pins?

Originally Posted by MrBungle

I'm going to be honest here and I'll univesally fit an IEC socket in the chassis if it'll go in.

And that seems to be a pretty sensible solution. IEC leads are everywhere; detachable leads make for easier transporting. If you can make a neat workmanlike job, go for it! All the same, I shan't be replacing the 2-pin connector on my DAC90a for IEC! The down side is that I like to put 1A or 2A fuses in the plug, which is OK for an attached lead, but obviously can't be guaranteed if you go cable-swapping.

The point about modern moulded-on plugs being pretty resilient, yes they are, whereas MK Bakelite ones, regrettably, do shatter if dropped. So, while I like them, they do have limitations! But then I don't cart my equipment around much!

[MrBungle]

And that seems to be a pretty sensible solution. IEC leads are everywhere; detachable leads make for easier transporting. If you can make a neat workmanlike job, go for it! All the same, I shan't be replacing the 2-pin connector on my DAC90a for IEC! The down side is that I like to put 1A or 2A fuses in the plug, which is OK for an attached lead, but obviously can't be guaranteed if you go cable-swapping.

I also add a 20mm fuse holder as well

[Richard_FM]

I like it when devices come with a detachable cable, it makes installation & carrying them around a lot easier.

When my parents had their kitchen fitted the man who did it said he used to have to cut no end of moulded plugs off appliances so he could thread cables to the nearest socket without drilling a hole big enough to let a plug pass through.

Luckily with my parents kitchen they were having the sockets moved around so could position them in the right place.

[G6Tanuki]

ISTR somewhere there was someone making 'faceplates' that could be used to replace the old big 3-pin Bulgin chassis-connectors with an IEC chassis-plug without the need to do any chassis-modifications. I.E. the modification is reversible.

Given that the Bulgin connectors are now considered a fail for mains service [because live parts are accessible without use of a tool - the cover on the line-socket just unscrews by hand to expose live parts] I can see the justification for IEC-izing any 'vintage' kit with Bulgins you may work on and then resell. Put the original chassis-connector and free-socket in a bag and stash it inside the equipment in case a future user wants to reverse your modifrication.

IEC chassis-mount inlets are available with integral common-mode chokes and RFI-capacitors. Could be a good way to keep the growing mains-noise nuisance out of your gear?

[The Philpott]

I did have an incident some years ago where an old electric fire tried to start a real fire. Ever since this i check inside the plugs when i acquire high drain appliances (unless they are moulded on.)

All but two or three of the copper strands had pulled out of the + terminal and the + pin had heated to the point where it burnt my hand when the plug was removed from the socket. The fuse hadn't blown, of course, since the problem was outside it's remit.

[Richard_FM]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

That's the "non standard pins" version you linked to - the ordinary MK646 is available from RS for £2.871 each (in packs of 10)

This seems to be one of the few non-standard connections still around, the Walsall plug with the pins at 90 degrees seems to have been discontinued.

You can get Hospital Property red rubber MKs.

[GrimJosef]

Originally Posted by kalee20

And that seems to be a pretty sensible solution. IEC leads are everywhere; detachable leads make for easier transporting. If you can make a neat workmanlike job, go for it! All the same, I shan't be replacing the 2-pin connector on my DAC90a for IEC! ...

... and we're back again to the difference between the two parts of the forum's title - repair and restoration.

Oversimplifying somewhat, repair might be about equipment which will be returned to Joe Public who cares only about watching Match Of The Day/Strictly Come Dancing on it. He values it almost entirely in terms of its function and he has to be protected against the consequences of treating it carelessly because he simply knows no better. When he's done with it he might well pass it on to his teenage daughter who (statistically, at least) is even less likely to understand it than her father.

Restoration is about equipment whose value is largely historic. Its owner loves it precisely because it reminds him of how things used to be and its originality is very important in that regard. He understands that it will have to be treated with care and respect and the fact is that when he parts with it its next owner is overwhelmingly likely to be just as knowledgeable and careful. Upgrading it with new parts will bring no significant benefit and will immediately devalue it.

In reality as well as these two extremes there is also a spectrum running between them. It's there that some of the more difficult questions arise ...

Cheers,

GJ

[dseymo1]

I'm surprised (if such be the case) that new table lamps don't have to be fitted with the 'self switched' type required for newly-installed pendant lights.

Re IEC inlets - they are, of course, available with integral fuseholders. A neat solution, although not quite as easy to find space for than the standard type.

[turretslug]

IEC recessed panel plug fan here, too- apart from being difficult to find, many old line socket/panel plug combos have all sorts of shortcomings such as brittleness, poor cable retention, lack of space for safety slack, sloppy terminals with unconvincing clearance, easily unscrewed covers.... And don't get me started on the Plessey Mk4!- double Marigolds and dry Wellingtons, lol. Occasionally, there isn't enough space for a panel plug IEC inlet, a blanking plate/grip-grommet and short lead with moulded IEC line plug is the option here. Anything that might be carried around with a captive trailing lead is a hazard and a pain. Yes, the "kettle" plug/socket is a tad bulky for our typical low-current use and the rectangular aperture is quite large and less convenient to cut than a circular hole but it's recognised and accepted world-wide and the moulded line sockets grow on trees.

I used to be very unforgiving re. unsleeved pin 13A plugs- but seeing that the '60s MK ones (pre- the current type, if you get my drift) seemed to be some of the best of any type around, I allow them house-room and there are still quite a few to be found around the vintage stuff scene.

[G6Tanuki]

Originally Posted by dseymo1

I'm surprised (if such be the case) that new table lamps don't have to be fitted with the 'self switched' type required for newly-installed pendant lights.

Surely that only works for the old-style bayonet light-sockets? Everything I've bought in the last five years (pendant or table-lamps) has had either standard- or small-Edison-Screw or the 4-pin "G24q" connectors for 'low energy' CFLs (which I hate because you can't get 'daylight white' 6000K bulbs to fit).

[Nickthedentist]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

ISTR somewhere there was someone making 'faceplates' that could be used to replace the old big 3-pin Bulgin chassis-connectors with an IEC chassis-plug without the need to do any chassis-modifications. I.E. the modification is reversible.

See also this thread: https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=80092

[dseymo1]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

Surely that only works for the old-style bayonet light-sockets? Everything I've bought in the last five years (pendant or table-lamps) has had either standard- or small-Edison-Screw or the 4-pin "G24q" connectors for 'low energy' CFLs (which I hate because you can't get 'daylight white' 6000K bulbs to fit).

That's quite true, but the risk of severe shock from these is lower IMHO. SES is rather small for an adult finger (assuming correct polarity), and even ES would be quite difficult to touch without bridging L and N terminals - potentially painful, but unlikely to be dangerous. I notice that shrouds tend to be deeper than they used to be, too. There's always the possibility of jewellery chains etc entering the fitting, though. The 4-pin type is relatively safe.

[kalee20]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

IEC chassis-mount inlets are available with integral common-mode chokes and RFI-capacitors. Could be a good way to keep the growing mains-noise nuisance out of your gear?

A good idea on the face of it - but I'm dubious about having RFI capacitors active, 24/7, without knowing what type. Buried in a sealed filter, they could well be the dreaded golden-epoxy Rifas!

GrimJosef is dead right about destroying originality, but for something which has already seen a bit of butchery, a neat IEC socket for a detachable lead enhances the usefulness. And Turretslug is right, the leads do practically grow on trees!

[MrBungle]

Yes the line filters, particularly Schaffner ones, are notorious for blowing up and destroying the device they are in. KISS. Cheap film X2 across the inlet and you’re done.

[AC/HL]

Evolution gradually removes unsafe equipment from the gene pool, except amongst enthusiasts like us, where the knowledge to use them safely tends to survive. Bayonet fittings are just too numerous to do anything about, but I suspect the obvious danger presented is generally understood as changing bulbs is so commonplace. Even those must eventually succumb to the inevitable.

[emeritus]

I understand from a post on this forum a little while ago that the present UK wiring regulations allow ES sockets to be wired up either way round, so that the threaded socket could be connected to Line rather than Neutral.

Most of the modern ES sockets I have come across in table lamps and BC-ES adaptors have a Bakelite threaded socket fitted with a narrow brass strip for the electrical contact. It is generally only ceramic-insulated lampholders that have had a brass fully threaded socket.

[turretslug]

One would hope that anyone wiring an ES holder would realise the wisdom of connecting the neutral side to the outer threaded sleeve- but then again, human nature intervenes and I've come across even highly qualified people who overlook apparent common sense. The modern ES holders I've encountered seem to follow a trend whereby the outer contact is a narrow crescent down adjacent to the centre pin contact and isolated from the metallic threaded ring, i.e. contact is only made in the last fraction of a turn as the bulb is done up- whether this is an explicit safety requirement or simply a widely-followed trend I'm not sure.