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It's largely because the old BS546 system was replaced by something totally incompatible. It's easy to recognise an old UK installation because the plugs don't fit. On the continent the old obsolete sockets were still able to accept modern plugs so they stuck around for a lot longer as people...

Good luck on Monday! If they do not come up with an acceptable solution, definitely go legal. Accept nothing short of a full and immediate resolution. You've paid good money to get this done and, frankly quite a high price given the scale of the job. If they care about their reputation they'd...

If you've paid these guys you would have every right to pursue them through the courts for a refund and compensation to have that stuff put right. The wiring is not only illegal it's lethally dangerous. They look like they can't even wire a plug, never mind do serious electrical work. Look at...

I managed to remove a plug with the complete socket in a hotel in London recently! + the light switch gave me an electric shock!! I think it just means that you haven't paid enough for your hotel hehe

Regardless of which European standards are being used, they're only safe if they're correctly implemented and inspected. I would go as far as saying that in general all of the European systems that I've ever seen are extremely safe once they are implemented properly and to the appropriate codes...

It's amazing though all these ingenious methods of preventing people from burning their houses down will always be bypassed by the determined idiot. There's only so much nannying that you can do, if someone's going to bypass a fuse they'll do it. Whether it's wrapping a diazed fuse in foil...

The Diazed/Neozed fuse system originates as a Siemens product and is commonly used right across Europe other than in the UK and France which had their own approaches. The system has one huge advantage over other fuse systems. Each of those bottle-shaped fuses has a different diameter tip. It...

Ireland's electrical systems are very heavily German and Swedish influenced since the very start of standardisation here. We standardised on 220V (380V 3-phase) 50Hz back in the early 1920s. This was simply because Siemens, AEG and Asea (Sweden) were ESB (Electricity Supply Board)'s key...

The IEC / CENELEC plug depicted above is however polarised and could be easily rolled out in the UK and Ireland. The only difference would be that UK and Irish sockets would need to be fused where used on ring circuits. The original proposal for the UK (and Ireland) was pretty simple...

The European CEE 7/7 plug, i.e. the earthed 16 amp plug actually connects to two different types of socket outlet. 1) CEE 7/4 - Germany (and most of Europe). In this type of socket it uses the scraping contacts on the top and bottom of the plug to make contact with the earth springs on the...

Under European law *ALL* electrical appliances sold in the EU must meet a common set of European standards. So, unless you're talking about some 1950s appliance that's wired up with twisted pair exposed cables there's absolutely no problem wiring it to a schuko plug. They all meet the same...

You certainly can provided you observe the maximum rating of the US socket outlet i.e. 15 amps at 110V as a rule of thumb never exceed 1500Watts The only downside is that US socket outlets don't really support all that much weight and adaptor pins are often rather more flimsy than normal US...

To me it looks like the dimmer may be electronic and needs the neutral as it has to power electronics in the unit. It does not appear to be switching the neutral, otherwise you would have four terminals ... i.e. Live in, Neutral in on one side and Switched live and switched neutral on the other...

Hi, and thank you for your welcome message. However, The last poster on this thread asked a question Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:25 pm Post Subject: adaptor Don't worry, I won't be bothered providing free pointless information again. All the best!

Is it possible that your house is wired for 3-phase power? Many European cooking appliances are connected with 400V 3-phase supplies. There are 3 lives, typically rated at 16Amps each. a neutral and an earth. Sometimes, it's hardwired, sometimes it uses a special plug. If your...

To answer the last poster, yes, the socket outlets used in the UK and Republic of Ireland are totally different from those used in North America. More importantly, so is the voltage. The UK and Republic of Ireland use 230V 50Hz, the same as the rest of Europe, only the plug is different. So...

There are a few issues here: It sounds like a TN-C system if the earth and neutral are bonded together just before the meter at the ESB (power company) connection. The other issue is that if the supply is currently de-energised (i.e. switched off). ESB Networks will require an official...

If there are no earth pins on the socket, your wiring is absolutely ancient. You absolutely need to get a local electrician in to review and upgrade your entire house. That sounds very dangerous. There are plenty of cases of very bad cheap DIY jobs and 'handymen' doing jobs they're...

You really do need to get a proper local registered electrician to check the wiring in that place. It sounds like some 'handy man' or 'diy' clueless person had been wiring. The socket in the bathroom's perfectly safe, however it's supposed to be fully protected by a fast-acting RCD. You...

Hotpoint in Europe and Hotpoint in the US are completely different companies. Hotpoint in Europe is owned by the Indesit Company (Italy) It's being merged with their Ariston brand to become Hotpoint-Ariston. The company has been marketing indentical appliances under both brands for...