Can Schuko plugs be wired to UK bought electrical items?

[gizmo1990]

A relative in Norway has a lot of electrical items which have been bought in the UK. Since moving back to Norway they now have to contend with having loads of (UK to Euro) adaptors.

Is it possible (and safe!) to buy euro/schuko plugs and wire them to the appliances?

 

[breezer]

no.

them things do not have fuses in. our UK plugs do

 

[plugwash]

The appliances sold here are generally no different from those sold on the continent. So putting a schuko plug on a uk bought appliance shouldn't be any less safe than using an appliance bought on the contient with one.

 

[breezer]

I have to disagree plugwash.

as the plugs have no fuses suppose an appliance develops a fault, over here the fuse would blow, if there is no fuse what will happen?

Yes i know often they are radial sockets with around a 16A fuse or even mcb, but the flex for the appliance may not be rated for that. hence my first statement.

I also appreciate it is unlikey to happen but the OPs friend may be the poor unlucky person it does happen to., so by keepin the adaptors there is no reisck since the flex is protected by the UK plug top fuse.

 

[plugwash]

as the plugs have no fuses suppose an appliance develops a fault, over here the fuse would blow, if there is no fuse what will happen?

exactly the same as would happen if the appliance had been sold with the schuko plug on.

Yes i know often they are radial sockets with around a 16A fuse or even mcb, but the flex for the appliance may not be rated for that. hence my first statement.

The fact is that appliances whose flexes are exactly the same as those we use in britan are sold all accross europe and beyond with non-fused plugs. If the countries regulatory bodies thought it was a significant safety issue surely they would have done something about it by now.

I also appreciate it is unlikey to happen but the OPs friend may be the poor unlucky person it does happen to., so by keepin the adaptors there is no reisck since the flex is protected by the UK plug top fuse.

true, but those adaptors have problems of thier own. Only one of the two earth clips is used contacting directly to the uk plugs earth pin in a way the uk plugs earth pin was never meant to be used. The main pins are 4mm rather than 4.8 mm this allows them to be inserted in russian sockets making the adaptor a poor fit.

 

[Leccy758]

If the electrical equipment is close together and low power usage ie TV, Stereo,DVD and does not equal more than 13A then I generally use a short UK four way trailing socket with a schuko plug fitted allowing the normal UK plugs to be used (offering the close protection of the UK system).

All other equipment I would change to schuko plugs (the kit is exactly the same in the rest of Europe with no difference in cable size)

 

[gizmo1990]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

From the looks of it, changing the plugs to schuko ones will be ok then.

Can anyone tell me where I can buy wireable schuko plugs? The ones I see are always moulded ones.

 

[plugwash]

farnell have them but they seem a bit pricey, I would have thought electrical suppliers on the continent would probablly have them cheaper.

 

[TicklyT]

Different wiring practises prevail in different countries. The UK adopted the ring final circuit as a standard rarely used elsewhere.

The relatively high currents that can safely be carried in a UK ring final circuit introduced the need for plug top fuses to protect individual appliance flexes etc.

This protection is deemed unnecessary when wiring is based on individually fused spurs prevalent in other countries.

 

[mattylad]

I would have thought "Norway" would sell them quite cheaply.

 

[rudzion]

Are English and American AC outlet different ? I ask because many foreigners asking for a different kind of adaptor.

 

[solair]

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, you simply need to use a pin adaptor / fit a UK/Ireland plug.

UK (BS1363) plug and socket / Ireland (IS401 & IS411)

US/Canada outlet:

The US/Canada uses 110V 60Hz, totally different from Europe. If you're travelling there you need to ensure that your appliances can function on 110V 60Hz or get a transformer to step the power up to 230V. Even when you've stepped it up the frequency will remain 60Hz which can cause problems for some types of equipment. On top of that, you'll need a pin adaptor.

As for changing UK plugs for Schuko plugs, yes that is absolutely no problem. ALL appliances sold within the EU are approved to a harmonised European standard. Using an appliance with a correctly wired Schuko plug will provide the same level of protection as a local appliance has.

To be quite honest, my experience of UK/Ireland plug fuses is that they do not react very quickly to an over-current fault. For example, where I have had a short on an appliance in my house the 20amp circuit breaker blew before the plug fuse had time to blow!

British plugs are fitted with fuses because of the ring-mains systems historically used in the UK. This means that the typical British socket outlet is connected to a circuit protected with a 30 amp fuse or a 32amp circuit breaker. The appliance cord is protected by the plug fuse.

In other systems such as those used in the rest of Europe or the US, the circuit is protected sufficiently to deal with any local short circuit. These circuits will typically be protected by a 16 or 20 amp fast tripping breaker that would actually trip before a 3amp UK plug fuse had time to melt.

Just change the plugs for CEE 7/7 (Schuko)

 

[breezer]

solair, nice but pointless answer.

welcome to the forums. may i suggest you read the date a post was made before you reply. anything over a month is considered old on this forum.

gizmo1990 (The OP) never came back since mid june (his last post on this topic) which is nearly 2 months ago.

Often on this forum people will make one post and never come back

 

[solair]

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

Are English and American AC outlet different ? I ask because many foreigners asking for a different kind of adaptor.

Don't worry, I won't be bothered providing free pointless information again.

All the best!

 

[breezer]

yes, but he hi jacked it, hijacking is against forum rules, and the best thing to do is to ignore hi jacked posts, before the mods see it and delete it