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Plug vs. Plug — Which Nation's Socket Is Best?
CNETNate writes "Is the American mains socket really so much worse than the Italian design? And does the Italian socket fail at rivaling the sockets in British homes? This feature explores, in a not-at-all-parodic-and-anecdotal fashion, the designs, strengths and weaknesses of Earth's mains adapters. There is only one conclusion, and you're likely not to agree if you live in France. Or Italy. Or in fact most places." (For more plug pics and details, check out Wikipedia's list of the ones in current use.)
8 fucking pages with two small paragraphs on each page? fuck. off.
There already is an international standard. The problem is that no one is going to invest a ton of money to scrap their current system (pun?) and switch over to it.
http://gizmodo.com/5391271/giz-explains-why-every-country-has-a-different-fing-plug
UK plugs are about double the size, have significantly thicker pins and have a fuse built in.
Other than that, identical.
As a British person living in the USA I notice that the majority of my sockets outside kitchen and bathroom are not GFI protected (either at the socket or the fuse panel) and that most appliances do not use an Earth Pin.
I also am in awe that socket adapters are legally sold that convert non earthed sockets into earthed sockets and light bulb sockets into earthed sockets, the safety implications are huge. I think it is a fair assessment to use 110V non earth sockets as many home have them.
I also notice that no appliance I own in the USA uses insulation on the live pins of the plug to prevent accidental shocks when the plug is slightly out of the socket, none of the sockets contain safety shutters and that 110V cords to high wattage appliances such as vacuum cleaners get warm and the lights change brightness when I switch such appliances on and off. IMO the British home electrical system is much better than the USA system and I have tried to view it impartially over the years.
and the plastic guards across the power pin sockets that only open when the earth pin is inserted.. prevents little fingers etc.
oh, and they always (almost always, not on really old sockets) have a switch next to each socket so you can turn them on/off.
I dunno when you last heard that from someone. Bare wire appliances haven't been sold since the 70's or early 80's in my memory (no doubt there's an exception somewhere). And the 100 plug thing is just bizarre. It's a single UK standard plug and that's it and has been since I can remember (I'm 40).
Min-Kyu Choi's Folding UK style plug. All the goodness of the UK plug, none of the bulky crap. http://www.minkyu.co.uk/Site/Product/Entries/2009/4/20_Folding_Plug_System.html
The 2008 NEC requires shuttering outlets in the US. It's just a matter of time.
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
They'll only potentially save you if they are GFCI, standard breakers will let you complete the circuit quite long enough to fry you.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
A device with a high current plug needs more current than a low current socket can deliver. Allowing the user to plug it in would be(at best) useless and at worst result in firey death.
A device with a low current plug needs substantially less current than a high current socket can deliver. Allowing the user to plug it in works just fine.
It's like SAS vs. SATA controllers. SAS controllers can handle SAS or SATA devices and the keying is such that either can be plugged in. SATA controllers can only handle SATA devices, so they are keyed to prevent SAS drives from being plugged in.
Think about it for just a minute and it might dawn on you - you don't need to be an electrician to get this. A 15A appliance will work in a 30A socket, but a 30A appliance won't work or will cause safety problems in a 15A socket. You don't want people plugging 30A appliances into 15A sockets and the socket design ensures this. It's kind of like backward compatibility - it only works one way and it should only work one way.
Circuit breakers are not fast enough to save any lives, just fast enough to prevent a short.circuit from starting a fire. You need a ground fault circuit interrupter for a cutoff quick enough to save lives.
They can handle it - it's part of the job description. We have the same thing in Australia and I have yet to have a switch fail anywhere in my house (or houses I have lived in throughout my life). It works on high current kitchen appliances like kettles and toasters and it works on lights.
When a socket is for higher current, it doesn't mean that it always provides such high current. It means that it supports it if the device you plug requires it. So when you have a low current plug (and hence a low current device), you might appreciate being able to plug it into a higher current socket.
The opposite is not true, tho. When you have a low current socket, it can melt and cause fire if you try to use it with high current devices. Of course, your breakers will probably disarm first, but in any case you don't want to try that.
That's why both directions is not an option, while one direction is.
http://dilbert.com/2010-12-13
and you do realize that the National Electric Code in the USA REQUIRES all circuits in Kitchens, Bathrooms, and Rooms which contain Water sources (like utility rooms) to have GFCI grounded circuits, and that a single GFCI outlet can protect all outlets wired in series after it..... right?
Oh and it has required these for many many moons....
I think you fail to understand the difference between a fuse and a surge protector. A fuse protects from over current only. It offers very limited protection for over voltage. A surge as you're describing comes from a sharp increase in voltage (from 120 to several hundred or thousand volts). A surge protector typically defeats a surge via a zener diode (One that only lets current flow if the voltage is over a threashold) shorted to ground. So if the voltage rises above the clamping voltage, all current is redirected to ground.
This also differs from a GFCI in operation. A GFCI detects ground faults. That means current leaking from the primary to the ground pin. In normal operation, this shouldn't happen. But if a circuit is shorted, or becomes damaged, the ground (which is usually connected to the chasis on metal items) can be connected to the primary lead. So the GFCI detects this leakage, and kills power. Surge protectors, GCFI and fuses are very different systems, each designed to protect from a specific hazard.
Now, a circuit breaker is a fuse. Their very nature only protects against excess current only. There are two important differences however. A breaker is a lot faster at disconnecting current than a fuse (it's designed to be fast), and it's resettable. So to say that the UK version is better because it has a fuse shows me a lack of understanding of practicality or safety. Fuses are designed to protect the wiring. That's it. Nothing else. A fuse prevents a short circuit from melting the wiring in the house and causing a fire. With the excess current required to trip a fuse, the damage to the equipment is likely damaged already. And it will be more than enough current to kill a person (It only takes about 0.015 amps to kill someone, regardless of voltage).
If a man isn't willing to take some risk for his opinions, either his opinions are no good or he's no good
Sorry, what?
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gadgets/0,39029552,49303764-4,00.htm
These cables can only carry currents of up to 2.5A
WHAT? Where the hell did the author get this information?!
Here's a random picture that I found through Google, for those of you who don't know how European wall sockets look like: http://www.goodlogo.com/images/extended.info/b/bcc/wall_socket_NL_GE.jpg
Here's the miserable excuse for the British wall socket: http://www.made-in-china.com/image/2f0j00PvutNFZDbIcQM/Socket-A091-.jpg
1) The European socket has a plastic outside cone for insulation. If the cable is partially unplugged, you cannot touch it with your fingers. The British version has nothing.
2) The European socket allows you to plug the cables upside down (which is extremely helpful in certain situations).
3) Contrary to how it's portrayed in the article, the European socket *does* have grounding. In fact, it has two grounding pins, top and bottom.
4) Some people have mentioned the size of the plugs themselves. Here's the one with the grounding http://www.advin.com/uv-eraser-plug-FE-W512.JPG and here's the one used for small appliances and gadgets http://www.tuxgraphics.org/electronics/powersockets/power_plug_euro.jpg
What a stupid article... Stupid British arrogance.
Technically, the IEC power connector, as found on the back of most computers, is one of the best. You usually see a chassis-mount IEC male connector and a cord-mount female connector, but the reverse forms are available. IEC "wall sockets" are sometimes found in rackmount server outlet strips. The plug is shrouded, and the socket has an enclosing slot for the shroud, so at no time are energized pins exposed. The shroud engages the enclosing slot before the pins make contact. That's a key safety feature. It allows a smaller plug; if exposed pins are energized while the plug is being plugged in, the plug has to be made larger to keep fingers away from the pins.
IEC is a flat-pin design, which is good. Getting a large contact area on round pins is hard, so round-pin connectors of a given size usually carry less current. Flat-pin contacts just slide between two flat spring-loaded blades, which can accommodate wear on both surfaces. The split-cylinder contacts of round-pin female connectors have to match closely, so as they wear, the inside radius of the cylinder increases and no longer properly matches the pin. Round pins vs. flat contact blades are sometimes used; they wear better, but the the contact area is small.
The older round-pin European connectors are only rated for 10A, sometimes only 7.5A. At 240V, this is adequate. IEC connectors are rated for 15A, and there's a 20A form.
Today we expect connectors to just work, but it took considerable engineering to get to that point. As late as 1980, computers had serious problems with connector unreliability.
Nowdays the code is requiring Arc Fault Circuit Interceptors, (AFCI) which are even more sensitive to sparking.
GFCI sense current to ground. AFCI can detect short circuits between two hots (on opposite legs of the 240 volt entrance), or one leg and neutral.
Neutral tends to be tied to ground at the main panel, which is why GFCI works for most cases.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
there's no "objectivity" in that article.
Shoot...just look at the Dutch plug (no pun intended): Two paragraphs, one sentence each. The UK one, it's like reading a biography.
That and there were some facts missing.
Japan uses 100V not 110V
GFCI sockets exist in the US
The British mains (aka 230V mains) are much more potent so they needed shutters 'cuz it was killing kids (oh will someone think of the children!)
Besides, the shutters are in the socket not the plug and guess what, shutters exist for other types OTHER than the British type (aka Type G).
Here's another kicker: just because there's a fuse in the plug, doesn't make it safer. A 13A fuse (the max) can fit in a 3A cord. In order for the fuse to cut the power, it has to melt but in this case, the cord will melt and catch on fire before the fuse does. FAIL
A GFCI socket (which is fair to claim as the article brings in shutters on the Type G socket) will detect current even small amounts leaking to ground (a fault) and shut the power off immediately. There are even sockets that have other kinds of resettable circuit breakers as well.
And some appliances have a fuse box on the back that's connected directly to the cord.
Now as far as shuttering goes, guess what...they have 'em for Type B too, known as tamper resistant meant to protect children from shock!
Grounded North American plugs generally don't bend that easily.
Some bending is designed in, so that a sharp sideways yank on the cord will bend the blades and allow the cord to disengage the outlet without tearing out the outlet and potentially shorting it.
The sooner we outlaw two prong plugs in North America the better.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
US plugs are safer because they only carry 110v. That, in and of itself, makes US wiring safer. 220v is much more deadly than 110v. Since all of my appliances work just fine on 110v, in what way is 220v better?
From the stats I can find, UK deaths by electrical outlets are .486 per 100,000 and US rates are .015 per 100,000, more than an order of magnitude safer, even without massive numbers of safety features. I have grabbed live wires at a plug a few times in my life, and it just jolts your arm a little bit. I suppose it's possible to die that way, but I don't know anyone who has personally. I've never even heard of it in the US but I guess it does happen (faulty wiring in the home or workplace was included in the stats above). Bottom line, I am seriously not worried one bit about grabbing live outlet lines. It hurts a little, so I don't do it for fun, but I'm really not worried about dying or anything.
I like having very small (polarized) plugs for small appliances. Who wants to carry around a ginormous brick in your bag just to plug something in? For serious appliances like microwaves, there are serious 3-pronged grounded plugs. This gives options based on the appliance rather than a one-size-fits all system of massive plugs.
If my pins get bent, I just bend them back. This happens so infrequently, it's amazing that someone even mentioned it. Also, I have NEVER had a plug "fall out". Seriously? Fall out? If someone kicks it, I would RATHER it come out of the wall so they don't go flying head over heels and really injure themselves. I have lived in the US for almost 40 years now, and I can count on one hand the times a plug was kicked out or bent.
Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
And to clarify what fiery death means, the wire running to the outlet will try to deliver the demanded current, and it's typically too small a gauge to supply it without heating internally. The wire heats up, and either a breaker trips (or fuse blows), or a fire starts, somewhere in the home walls where you can't see it at first.
You can get this with a typical room heater, drawing about 1750 Watts. at 110 volts, that's nearly 17 Amps, just a smidge more than the standard 15 Amp circuit is rated for. Put a couple of 150 Watt bulbs on the same circuit, and the circuit wiring will heat up. A 20 amp fuse or breaker on line only graded for 15 can be quite enough to let that heat get serious.
There are tolerances built into the ratings - if you're not an electrician (or an EE who actually has some practical experience), please forget I said that, and believe there are NO tolerances built into the ratings.
Don't get me started on aluminum wiring in mobile homes, and various other criminal practices still within the older codes.
Who is John Cabal?
How many lives do the more dangerous smaller plugs cost? I'm having trouble finding any solid statistics; but most of the literature I have been able to dig up suggests that electrocution deaths are not all that common, and are heavily concentrated in occupational contexts(electricians and their minions, people coming into unexpected contact with overhead lines in agricultural and construction situations, and some industrial/mining incidents) rather than end user scenarios, where the shrouds and shutters might make a difference.
The classic "baby sticking a fork in the socket and dying a sizzly death" scenario seems remarkably thin on the ground.
Unfortunately, you'd be wrong on both accounts.
First of all, current kills, not potential difference (=voltage). Both 110 and 220V are plenty to overcome the resistance of the human body so from that perspective there's hardly a difference.
Secondly, many appliances can *really* do with 220V (actually, it's even 230V). For example: tumble dryer, oven (electrical), washing machine, dish washer, electrical stoves and basically anything that needs to heat water. Nearly all of those are manufactured to draw about 2000-2500W maximum, which makes for a current of about 10A (at 230V). Ovens and stoves may even draw much more - induction stoves can often draw about 7000W. Good luck doing that at 110V...
Every expression is true, for a given value of 'true'
Going to have to politely disagree here. Appliances such as coffee makers, toasters and electric kettles most certainly benefit from 220.
There's a reason you don't see many electric kettles in the U.S... they take longer than the stove to almost boil a pot of water, compared to the 20 seconds or so you get in the UK for a rolling boil.
I also quite like the switches on UK outlets, although the size of the sockets is somewhat ridiculous.
I'll never forget my first trip to London (about 15 years ago)... the flat I stayed in was in a 150 year old building. Switches on all the outlets, and a central touchscreen that controlled the AC, heat and scheduled the water heater to kick on and off. Hot water in the kitchen sink was on-demand (much like the "electric showers" you see in small flats now).
At the time, it was absolute magic to my teenage American brain, and I began wondering why we don't do more in the U.S. to curtail wasted power.
Then there was the ubiquitous gas broiler on every stove I came across...
But the combo washer-dryer deals that take 5 hours for a load suck. And they're generally in the kitchen for some reason.
"GFCI sense current to ground"
Nope, it's a toroid which generates current to trip a switch when there's a difference in the current between the hot and the neutral. It works just fine with no ground at all. The only time you'd have a difference between these at the outlet, is if current escapes the system through a path other than the outlet.
I looked into it when the electrical code forced me to replace the illegally retrofitted three conductor grounded outlets in my house with ground-fault circuits. It didn't make any sense to me without a ground... but lo and behold, they do indeed work with no ground at all.
Nope. The electrician didn't fuck up.
If you take a look at the electrical code, and at the 15 amp outlets you're talking about you'll notice two things.
1. That 15 amp outlet is rated for 20 amps pass thru current.
2. The electrical code permits a 20 amp circuit to have multiple 15 amp outlets.
So if you want to see if the electrician did things correctly, check
1. Is the 20 amp circuit wired with 12 gauge copper wire or heavier?
2. Are there multiple 15 amp outlets on the circuit?
If both answers are "yes", he did things according to code.
Yes, I said that in my post. It's not hiding:
Other appliances, generally those with electric heating elements (such as a range, water heater, furnace, machines such as a tablesaw) run off dedicated 220V circuits.
Every appliance you mention, with the exception of the washer (which receives hot water from the water heater) runs on 220V in the US.
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
The shutters on UK plug sockets are built out of distilled Chuck Norris.
That's why the metal bits on the plugs are so fat and butch.
You can kill someone with a UK plug, and not only by leaving it lying around for someone to step on barefoot.
However it is a big plug, and a big socket. Someone did design a thin version though.
I liked Denmark's happy face design myself.
> Well, he also thinks that a country that loses many times more people to cancer than the USA-- and has people with life-threatening conditions on waiting lists for months-- has a great health system.
Well, it's better than your free healthcare!
Seriously though, the really fantastic thing about the UK system is that it provides a baseline that you can't fall past. However bad things are, it's always there. Want better? Get medical insurance. For example, I pay Bupa ( http://bupa.co.uk/ ) £35-ish/month, which covers any tests I need done, and any surgery. That's not after an employer contribution, that's £35/month all in.
in other news, Canadians invented basketball, the minivan, the donut, and perfected bacon. Where would y'all be without us!
Practically all generators on the grid are three phase. In most urban areas the lines outside your house are three phase so it's not that much of a stretch to bring it into the house. The electric utilities would be much happier because they wouldn't need to worry about phase imbalances any more.
We could use 16 phase, but it doesn't really give you any advantages over 3 phases and it makes you use a lot more wires.
Three is special because it is the lowest number that provides all the benefits that you get from going polyphase.