Fitall plug bin it sell it save it.

[mark24374]

Came across this plug not seen one before.

[Boater Sam]

Popular in the late 60s & 70s. I used lots of them on equipment for groups because there were still many places that did not use 13 Amp sockets on stage power. Did 5 and 15 Amp round pin and 13 Amp (BS 1363)

Not a good idea on metal faces sockets. Sometimes the spare pins could slide out and short to the socket face, loud bang ensued! Of course the fuse was no protection in this event, in fact I don't remember there being a fuse in the plug at all.
Probably collectable now.

Boater Sam

[camallison]

I used one in the 70s and 80s when I was doing international sales of electronic control equipment. They tend to become a bit sloppy with regular use and arcing can start internally. I was never 100% happy, but it saved time changing plugs.

Maybe you can still purchase them new?

Colin

[EDIT - more information here: http://fam-oud.nl/~plugsocket/Fitall1.html ]

[broadgage]

I would certainly not throw it away.
Either keep it or sell it, perhaps to a collector. Such items are of doubtful safety by today's standards and I would think twice about actual use as distinct from keeping it as a curio.

Not certain if it would be ethical to sell it via ebay or other auction site due to the risk of someone using it, but sale or donation direct to a collector should be OK.

[Alan Stepney]

I had one when they were new and it did save time in finding a suitable plug, particularly for a soldering iron.
Even then, it wasnt very good and tended to be a sloppy fit and soon I stopped using it.

I still have it and will keep it "for old times sake", but don't plan to use it.

[AC/HL]

I've got one kicking around somewhere, if anyone wants it for the postage, PM me.

[Nicklyons2]

I agree with Alan; I found them to be at best unsatisfactory, at worst potentially lethal. I too keep one for 'curio' purposes but wouldn't dream of using it. The loose pins shorting to the faces of metal sockets was a frequent and hideous hazard and they were frequently unusable in the domestic environment too because old houses which still had 5A sockets usually had them on the skirting board; the MultiPlug being so big couldn't fit in the socket without fouling the floor - the 'overhang' at the flex end being so great.

I just put a 5A plug on my soldering iron and carried jumper leads or adapters for all the sockets I encounterd and, believe me, there were quite a few!

[Station X]

When I started work the guy I worked with had one of these plugs fitted to his soldering iron. It was the mid 1960's and a variety of socket outlets were to be found. However there was one socket, or maybe it was a light socket it wouldn't fit. To get round this the guy wired the other type of plug in parallel with the Fitall and encased the unused plug in a plastic bag to provide insulation.

[Peter.N.]

I used to have one on my 'Primax' soldering iron

Peter

[AndiiT]

Hi,
I have a couple of Fitall plugs in my collection I seem to recall that the instructions suggest squeezing the body of the plug together when using the plug in 2 pin 5 or 15 amp sockets.
As the body is quite sturdy it would be easier, but certainly very dangerous, to squeeze the actual plug pins together
I wonder if anyone actually ever tried this and received a nasty shock from doing so....


Andrew

[robin coleman]

I have had a few shocks from these as we had them on the benches at Quad, for quoting for repairs.
They were cited to the rat trap test blocks.
Regards
Robin

[MrElectronicman]

I had one of these too, used for my LapTop when I traveled the world.

The last time I tried to use it the selector stuck, and when I tried to dismantle it, the plastic disintegrated.
I kept some of the metal parts as I thought the pins might come in handy some time.

[Lucien Nunes]

If you want to see a more 'precision-made' multi-standard plug, have a look inside the 'Crater.' I took mine apart and Oof Oud wrote up a page on it here:
Crater multiple-BS-gauge plug

It's not without faults: the small creepage distance between the brass contact plates and the reverse-polarity of the 5A 3-pin. But as far as security of contacts, retention of unused pins etc it's pretty good.

[G6Tanuki]

My only real plug-issues were the days of going to site and finding the place was wired with "Walsall Gauge" 13A sockets, or a 1950s-vintage public-sector site with Dorman&Smith or Wylex outlets. I had a set of adaptor-cables with an appropriate plug one end and a standard 13A "Duraplug" rubber-cased socket the other. I also had one such lead with a metal-clad "Niphan/Clang" 15-amp plug for theatres and British Rail sites who seemed to have a persistent attachment to such outlets.

[threeseven]

My father bought one of those home when they were a new concept. My recollection is that I couldn't get the pins to lock in place, is there a trick to it?

[vidjoman]

I thought they screwed in place - pull the pin out and turn it anti-clockwise from memory.

[unabridged]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

My only real plug-issues were the days of going to site and finding the place was wired with "Walsall Gauge" 13A sockets, or a 1950s-vintage public-sector site with Dorman&Smith or Wylex outlets. I had a set of adaptor-cables with an appropriate plug one end and a standard 13A "Duraplug" rubber-cased socket the other. I also had one such lead with a metal-clad "Niphan/Clang" 15-amp plug for theatres and British Rail sites who seemed to have a persistent attachment to such outlets.

I still have a Walsall to 13a adaptor, used it last year at the midland hotel in Manchester when I was working on an event there. Can't believe I actually had a Walsall plug in my tool box, let alone actually found somewhere that actually had a live socket for one

[Rhgbristol]

We had a peripatetic music teacher who used to visit our school in the early 1970s who had one of these on his portable tape recorder - which he said he needed as some of the schools he visited still had the old 5 Amp and 15amp round pin sockets.

This fascinated be somewhat more than the music being taught!!!!

[keithinuk]

I still have the odd round pin plug a socket about.