European to UK plug rewiring?

LondonLiverpoolFan · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:17 pm Post Subject: European to UK plug rewiring?

My missus' GHD straighteners do not power on when she plugs them in. By pushing the flex towards the plug they do start working. I'll be damned if I'm going to stand there each morning and hold this while she does her hair! I took the uk plug apart to find that there is a molded European plug concealed beneath it. Before I go out and spend £120 on a new set of straighteners can anyone advise me on how easy it would be to cut the European plug off, strip back the wires and rewire it to a UK plug? Anything I should look out for? I've wired a uk plug before but that's about it!

Thanks in advance

MasterAbacus · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:22 pm Post Subject:

Buy a Euro to UK plug adaptor..... or better still get her to buy one..... Think youll find em at most DIY sheds, or maybe even Argos....

LondonLiverpoolFan · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:26 pm Post Subject:

That won't work as it's the actual flex that is part of the european molded plug that is faulty. By pushing this back towards the plug the connection works. If I just plug it into an adaptor I'll still have the same issue.

If I cut the plug off the cable and switch plugs to a uk one this should (?) hopefully fix it.

jj4091 · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:27 pm Post Subject:

Not sure what you mean by a european plug under the uk one, but if the straightners run on 230-240Vac then you will be ok to fit a normal fused 3-pin plug, would think you will probably need a 3A fuse fitting instead of the usual 13A though.

MasterAbacus · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:28 pm Post Subject:

ah ok, well cut it off, and wire it up to a UK plug.... tell us what colour cable you have inside the flex first.....

PS, were gonna stuff UTD on Saturday

.....

LondonLiverpoolFan · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:59 pm Post Subject:

Just found this post on another site. I have no idea if he's being honest or not? What do you lot think?

Quote:

it isnt as simple as checkin the flex people ..the mains lead is only 2 core 0.75mm thick ..now what happens is with all the flexin that goes on the wires inside break ..sometimes they blow thru the outer black flex thus making it totally visible sometimes the wires just break inside so you dont see the problem straight away trust me im an electrician and ive been repairing ghds for about three months ..what i do with the lead problems is i take the ghds apart and i have my own style lead eventually over a few years this could happen again as the lead is small you cannot put a thicker lead on them as this makes the ghds heavy and your arm WILL start to ache ..when people wrap the lead round the ghds ,this is the problem that causes the wires to snap ..now ghd will now send you a replacement lead it takes about a month you have to pay a fortune ..
i normally fix these problems for about £20 plus £5 delivery and within 5 days not 1 month like ghd i replace the old lead with my own new lead ..for more info contact me on ***************************** thanks tony

Ta again

P.S I feckin hope so!

MasterAbacus · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 3:02 pm Post Subject:

ok, wire up a new euro plug to it, then plug that into the adaptor....

Both available online / DIY shed etc....

p.s.... 3.0 sounds about right to me..... YNWA....

sm1thson · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 3:23 pm Post Subject:

as for the other info you found, GHD's cables normally brake at the ghd end not the plug end (from users wrapping the cable tightly round them aswell as them getting tangled during use-worse on the first ones without a detangler) your lucky its at the plug end, try a new plug first!

FredFlintstone · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 3:29 pm Post Subject:

And make sure she never, ever, leaves them unattended when plugged in - GHD's have a habit of bursting into flames.

As for the fault, the most obvious points of failure from your description is a loose connection in the two pin plug of a dodgy connection between the two pin plug and the three pin adapter.

LondonLiverpoolFan · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 3:54 pm Post Subject:

The uk plug they came with has one screw that holds the European plug in place. They were bought fro Jason Shankey online (who are supposedly a big UK mail order haircare company)

This is a (grainy) image of the plug that I've found on the net.

The European plug, slots/plugs into the uk one from the bottom....

This make any difference? I'm pretty sure the problem is where the flex joins the European plug (crudely highlighted!) rather than where the European plug joins the uk one.

tim west · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 3:54 pm Post Subject:

just be aware when modifying any equipment that you take away any approval of manufacture it once had, If in the future the appliance is found to have been the cause of a fire and the modification is found you may find that your home insurance may not cover you. Generally it's best in the long run to only purchase equipment with the relevant approval stickers on them such as BSI or CEE approval for use in the UK.

sm1thson · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 4:29 pm Post Subject:

hmm, its important to be cautious, and definately dont chop the plug off anything in warranty because it will invalidate it, but i cant believe there has been an instance of an insurance company (in this country) not paying out because a faulty appliance had a DIY plug on it! plugs dont come under part p and changing them doesnt violate any regulations.

if youve not changed a plug before ask a friend that has to do it. make sure a 3amp fuse is used, all connections are tight, the cordgrip is used properly and the length of the wires is such that the live would get pulled out first and the earth (where present) last, if the cordgrip were to fail.

Steve · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 4:52 pm Post Subject:

Most electrical kit says, in the last page of the instructions, something along the lines of "if the supplied plug is unsuitable for the sockets in your area, chop it off and remove any fuse and replace with a suitable plug". Followed by a wiring diagram.

bernardgreen · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:26 pm Post Subject:

I have seen a couple of hair straigheners where the cable has failed at the point of flexing.

The cable was defective. The insulation on the wires should be free to move inside the outer sheath to make the cable flexible. There was white lubricant powder ( french chalk ?) but the solvent from the plastic had leached out and all but welded the insulation to the sheath making the cable far less flexible.

Manufacturer replaced the items and changed the supplier of cable.

plugwash · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 6:36 pm Post Subject:

jj4091 wrote:

Not sure what you mean by a european plug under the uk one

i'm assuming it was one of theese

anyway as others have said you should be fine just cutting off the plug and fitting a normal british one.