USB Plug Sockets

[Tsmedley]

Hi There,

The son has sent me to this site http://www.usb-wall-sockets.com/ as he wants some of these sockets put in his room so he can charge his phone and ipad etc and get rid of his extension leads on the desk.

They seem pretty easy to fit, basically like replacing a socket, I just wondered if anyone had any recommendations as suitable ones to fit, all my sockets are MK ones currently, anyone got any advice on which brands are good to go with?

Cheers, Tom[/url]

 

[RF Lighting]

I've used the BG and lap brands both from screwfix and they both seem pretty good quality.

Have you ever replaced a socket before?

 

[Danturboc]

I have 3 Double Screwfix BG ones in my house, 2 in my bedroom and 1 in the kitchen. All work really well and fit well too.

One thing i will say though is if for example you plug in a big adapter plug in to the 240v socket it overlaps the switch so its constantly on as you cant push the switch.

 

[333rocky333]

Not used them personally but I think not all fit on a standard 25mm backbox as they are deep.
manufacturer would normally state if it fits a 25mm deep box or it needs a 35mm deep box.

Also the usb outlets vary and from what im aware, not all powerfull enough for certain items.

However they seem to be a thing thats improving quality fairly rapidly

 

[Tsmedley]

yeah, looking over the reviews and things a lot don't fit the smaller back boxes. I'm also not sure as to which are best for charging more than one device, there is a lot of variance in terms of the USB power output, anyone know what a suitable current output is?

 

[Danturboc]

Mine fit in a standard 25mm back box, they are no thicker than a standard socket.

 

[RF Lighting]

Yeah forgot that. Certainly the lap sockets would be a struggle in a 25mm back box. Can't remember what the bg ones were like.

I think a 2A charger will run two devices.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

BG's will fit a 25mm box.

 

[333rocky333]

I see some are now 2.5 amp, early days they were only about 1amp.
maybe if you look at your sons chargers or manuels you may get an idea what power his things need

((Q bas faulty towers pic))

 

[Taylortwocities]

A slight diversion re these.

Normally, when carrying out an installation we carry out dead tests before energising.
This includes insulation resistance testing where 500VDC is poked onto the circuit. As the USB charging part of the sockets will be across the line and neutral, I'm wondering if they will survive the IR test and/or if they will look like a L-N insulation resistance fault?

Does anybody know for sure?

 

[winston1]

With these you have a permanently switched on power supply. Rather wasteful in these energy saving times when we are urged to unplug phone chargers when not in use.

Also what is the long term reliability like? Presumably they have cheap capacitors which die just like most other switch mode supplies, especially when on 24/7.

 

[RF Lighting]

No you don't. The chargers do not consume any power when they are not being used. I've already told you this but it comes as no surprise to see you posting incorrect advice yet again.

I've had my hard wired USB charger for two years now used daily with no problems at all.

 

[ericmark]

I fitted one in house and one in caravan both work great I used the cheapest I could find seem to remember £13.30 LAP from Electricfix I see BG is now cheaper at £12.36 (think 20% vat shown at £10.30) think £13 at Screwfix side of counter. All seem to be listed as 2.1 amp for USB outlet.

For anything but Apple that's seems OK. Apple it seems do not follow rest of the manufactures we have USB 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1 and 1 and 2 are 500mA and 3 is 900 mA with some items drawing up to 3A when using dedicated chargers.

We are told there is some hand shaking between the charger and item being charged which stops too much current being drawn and my wife charges her Ipad from the LAP USB socket without any problems as to what would happen if we had two Ipads I don't know.

I would guess they are switch mode devices and use next to nothing when not in use and have over current protection.

Personally I feel happier with the charger built into socket than with the cheap china wallmart imports which seem to have a huge variation in charging rates.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

For anything but Apple that's seems OK. Apple it seems do not follow rest of the manufactures we have USB 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1 and 1 and 2 are 500mA and 3 is 900 mA with some items drawing up to 3A when using dedicated chargers.

http://www.extremetech.com/computin...ks-or-how-to-avoid-blowing-up-your-smartphone

We are told there is some hand shaking between the charger and item being charged which stops too much current being drawn and my wife charges her Ipad from the LAP USB socket without any problems as to what would happen if we had two Ipads I don't know.

Hopefully all that would happen is that they'd take longer to charge.

I went away last weekend, and took a small wall-wart charger with me. It actually came with a Plantronics Bluetooth earpiece but I know it works fine for my phone and a Kindle. I used it for the first time to charge a tablet, and it did work, but it took a l o o o o n n n g g time, and the poor little thing did get a bit warm (but not hot - I had no concerns about its safety).

I would guess they are switch mode devices and use next to nothing when not in use and have over current protection.

There are people here who possess all of these:

1) Socket(s) with USB charging outlets.

2) The equipment to measure currents down in the mA range.

3) The skills to temporarily dismount a socket and put it on a spur in series with such equipment without giving themselves an electric shock.

4) The nous not to plug a fan heater into the BS 1363 outlet when the ammeter is set to a mA range.

Maybe they could do a little test for us?

Personally I feel happier with the charger built into socket than with the cheap china wallmart imports which seem to have a huge variation in charging rates.

Just so long as you avoid cheap Chinese import sockets with built-in chargers sold on eBay. I've not looked, but I'd be more surprised to find there aren't any than to find there are.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

A slight diversion re these.

Normally, when carrying out an installation we carry out dead tests before energising.
This includes insulation resistance testing where 500VDC is poked onto the circuit. As the USB charging part of the sockets will be across the line and neutral, I'm wondering if they will survive the IR test and/or if they will look like a L-N insulation resistance fault?

Does anybody know for sure?

Good Q.

MK Technical Support will be able to tell you the answer for their sockets.