Help identify this two pin plug ?

[newhobgirl]

Hi folks,

I bought a twin zone induction hob from a German company called Zaxx. It was described as having a european plug fitted but would come with a UK adapter. I made sure to email the company and ask if this could be plugged into a standard 13A socket to be absolutely certain, and I was assured it could. This is the item in question.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=200260281106&Category=71247&_trksid=p3907.m29

It arrived today all hunkey dorey.
However, the style of plug plus the adapter they sent means the whole plug assembly sticks out of the wall socket by about three inches, which is nasty and unsightly and gets in the way. So I am hoping to get one of those clamp in adapters I have seen on the net,
(like this for example http://www.powerconnections.co.uk/convert_eurotouk_scp.htm
but the problem is, I don't know what sort of plug this is. A look on wikipedia makes me think it is either a Schuko plug or a CEE 7/17 (if there is any difference, I dunno). Or perhaps a Europlug ? It's all greek (or european shall we say) to me !

So here I submit some pictures, taken by a woman with shakey hands and very poor eyesight and no knowledge of european plugs whatsoever, in the hope that someone can nail the identification of said plug and tell me where I might get an adapter that clips the plug safely in, and causes the cable to come out of the adapter downwards, as opposed to sticking out like a venus on a bunrock (as my nan used to say).
My dad has suggested rewiring the plug to a UK one but I suspect that would void my warranty, which I don't want to do.
Thankyou for your patience !

Adapter, and plug;

Untitled

• newhobgirl
• 8 Oct 2008
• 1

Untitled

• newhobgirl
• 8 Oct 2008
• 1

 

[ColJack]

cut the plug off and fit a UK one..

that is assuming the hob is rated correctly.. I believe that euro plugs are 16A ones ( and unfused at that.. )

you can also get euro sockets to fit over here.. I'm certain I've seen them on one website or another..

I doubt that cutting the plug off voids the warranty...

also, I like the fact that the e-bay advert says "safe - heat only in pot", but that the picture of the hob quite clearly states "surface remains hot after use"

 

[Steve]

That ebay advert is awful.

"power output EU 3400w, UK 2800w"

How is this possible? Its the same appliance. Just so happens 2800w takes it under 13A so it can be plugged in . . . .

Also, that adapter they sent you is awful.

It has no provision for earthing your new hob, and I doubt that its double insulated, which is a requirement for unearthed appliances (I cant tell if the hob's plug has a brass contact in the earth lugs on each side)

And the adaptor also appears not to be fused? Correct me if I'm wrong. Again, another non-compliance.

 

[plugwash]

That plug looks to me like a CEE 7/17, powerconnections reffer to this as "unearthed schuko" (which is a self contradictory name). The converter plug you have linked to is the right one. Unfortunately thier converter plugs can be a little tricky/expensive to get hold of in small quantities.

http://cpc.farnell.com/PL06731/elec...roduct.us0?sku=power-connections-scp-black-5a (I'm pretty sure the 5A only reffers to the standard fuse rating supplied with the plug, for some reason CPC don't seem to sell the ungrounded converter with a 13A fuse even though powerconnections apparently make it).

Unfortunately connecting this to a UK socket is overloading the socket a bit. The socket will probablly tollerate it but it's not ideal.

 

[luminaire]

I agree with Steve it can't be 3400w for one country and 2700w for another. I would be inclined to contact them(either phone or email) and ask how this can be. Also find out from them whether it is double-insulated or not, because if it not then a two-pin plug is no use.
You may in the end decide to return it, so I wouldn't snip the plug off until you get a satisfactory answer to these problems.

 

[newhobgirl]

If you mean by earth lugs, the two holes at 9 o clock and 3 o clock angles to the pins, then no, it's just blank there.

Spoke to my dad about this further - his view is that it must be double insulated (he hasn't seen it yet though). "Must be" and "is" are two different things though. How would I tell ?

Is rewiring this thing to a UK the safest thing to do under the circumstances ?

An email conversation with the seller prior to buying revealed they had sold many of these to the Uk without problem (the feedback suggests this also). The actual company website is here http://www.zaxx-elektronik.de/eng/index.html

I have fourteen days to return however, but twin induction hobs that don't require fitting in the worktop (a non starter for me due to the poxy size of my kitchen) are hard to come by. Though obviously I don't want a lemon !

Thanks for the advice folks.

 

[Steve]

Never realised it was a freestanding unit. My George foreman grill came with a power connections plug already attached to the schuko. It had been done en-mass for a cheap bulk import to the UK.

Being freestanding it probably is double insulated since it will have a plastic base etc. Normal hobs have a metal base and this is what my earlier advice was based on.

 

[newhobgirl]

Hi Steve,

Yes it has a plastic base. Sorry, if I'd have know freestanding was relevant I woulda said.

So, if I get an appropriate adapter that clamps the plug in, am I good to go ?
Is this a schuko plug then ? From what I read there appears to be more than one type that it could be.

 

[Steve]

Yes. They are all pretty much the same shape, but some countries have different variations. Spain has earth contacts at the top and bottom, the plug itself being totally round.

France and (it appears) Germany have the plug you see there, where their sockets have an earth pin that sticks out from the socket and goes into one of the slots on the plug. An earthed plug is a lot bigger, since it has to have a receptacle for the earth pin, whereas on yours the earth pin would stick through the plug and just be left exposed.

 

[BS3036]

There should be a little plate on the appliance somewhere with the specification - wattage and hopefully a little symbol with a square inside another square with means class II (not needing an earth).

Also - didn't you get a manual with it? That should also have information.

 

[BS3036]

Steve: As far as I remember France have the sticking out pin, whereas Germany use the bands round the side of the plug to connect earth to.

 

[Steve]

Steve: As far as I remember France have the sticking out pin, whereas Germany use the bands round the side of the plug to connect earth to.

Not sure, I've only been to France, I just assumed, given the design of the OP's plug (it looks like a French plug, designed for the protruding earth pin)

 

[BS3036]

Yeah, people in Germany travel to France. We bought a portable kettle in Germany which connected to either French or German sockets with different earthing methods. Probably the norm.

 

[RF Lighting]

To the OP, if you can upload a picture of the rating plate (probably on the back of the appliance) it may reveal more.

If the appliance is double insulated then I'd be inclinded to cut of the shucho and fit a standad BS1362 british plug.

Adaptors are never going to provide as good a connection as this, and sloppy connections and high powered appliances don't go together too well.

 

[newhobgirl]

There should be a little plate on the appliance somewhere with the specification - wattage and hopefully a little symbol with a square inside another square with means class II (not needing an earth).

Also - didn't you get a manual with it? That should also have information.

The manual doesn't mention anything other than it's 220-240v. It says it should be plugged into a socket that is 16A, - which is why I queried them about how they were selling them to the UK for use with a 13A plug. They said this was ok as the UK power for it was 2800W (which is what they say on the ebay ad). How, exactly, might that work ? Sorry, I am not electrically savvy when it comes to diy by any means (understatement of the century) so this does not come naturally to me.

On the hob's plastic under belly there is the double square symbol of which you speak. Result ! Ta for that tip. And a CE mark and a GS mark fwiw.


Soooo, I am looking for an SCP adapter, the non earthed type. Would it be one like this ? http://www.euronetwork.co.uk/acatalog/Euro_to_UK.html
6th one down, Schuko Converter Plug - No Earth (SCP)