Indeed, but it does seem rather odd. Don't forget that, just by looking at the Screwfix site, I was able to identify several other makes of similar products which do claim BS1363 compliance - so you could perhaps use one of those!
Kind Regards, John
IR testing a USB socket.
- Thread starter PrenticeBoyofDerry
- Start date
Kind Regards, John
I don't think I'd trust the Screwfix site for technical details of products!
Perhaps not, but I suspect that (as they did correctly for the MK product) they are merely 'copying/pasting' from manufacturer's literature. Indeed, in at least one or two cases, the BS1363 marking on the actual product was visible in photos.
Kind Regards, John
That still costs £234!
I meant the preview!
I see that BS1363 is being revised...
Can't see anything about USB in the drafts though.
Can't see anything about USB in the drafts though.
Sorry, I was looking in the wrong Part. There's a draft Annex to BS1363-2, "Annex I (normative) Requirements for incorporated electronic components" that deals with USB chargers incorporated in socket-outlets. I can't see a requirement for switching of the USB charger, but there is a requirement for a protective device.
IMHO These here USB sockets are a solution looking for a problem. Yes it is very pretty just having a USB cable plugged into the wall when you're charging your phone but at what cost- an extra £16 for a 2 gang 13A socket with 2 x USB ports when pretty much every USB appliance arrives with its own mains charger and if it doesn't you can buy a good one one for well under £5. Bag of *******s if you ask me- where are you when the USB bit of your socket karks it, drops the RCD and you can't clear the fault without pulling every socket on a ring final off the wall one by one until you isolate the socket that is causing the fault.
Keep it simple, cheap and easy- standard 13A sockets cost next to nowt and electrically make it very simple to safely and effectively deliver current at 230v to where it is required. Plug the esoteric add-ons in, when USB is superseded by whatever the next few years brings the USB-in-the-socket brigade are going to look almost as silly as their beards and excessively wordy coffee descriptions.
Though I do sometimes worry about the lack of fuse protection in any of the wall warts (not just USB supplies)- the things look very flimsy and totally incapable of safely absorbing any significant fault current, though that may be their saving grace (the internals would probably disintegrate at 5A, ideally without a fatal fire
)
Keep it simple, cheap and easy- standard 13A sockets cost next to nowt and electrically make it very simple to safely and effectively deliver current at 230v to where it is required. Plug the esoteric add-ons in, when USB is superseded by whatever the next few years brings the USB-in-the-socket brigade are going to look almost as silly as their beards and excessively wordy coffee descriptions.
Though I do sometimes worry about the lack of fuse protection in any of the wall warts (not just USB supplies)- the things look very flimsy and totally incapable of safely absorbing any significant fault current, though that may be their saving grace (the internals would probably disintegrate at 5A, ideally without a fatal fire
)Indeed - I recently made that very point (to explain why I'm never going to have any of these socket+USB' things in my house) - somewhere within this thread or the other recent 'USB' one!
Kind Regards, John
Going to look a bit incestuous, all this Liking and Thanking going on .
.The revised BS1363 will require a protective device for the USB charger.
Would I be right in suspecting that the required protective device will be one which protects against overcurrent, and therefore might not necessarily address oldbutnotdead's point about USB module faults causing RCDs to operate?
Kind Regards, John
Quite possibly, but if it is a fuse, it will be easy to remove it to address his point about fault-finding.
Edit: unless of course the fault is N - E.
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Someone's bound to say it, so I might as well get in first ... what about N-E faults (not that, I imagine, there will be much/any "E" associated with the USB modules!)? It also seems quite likely that that the fuse(s) would not be accessible from the front plate (they'd start running out of space!), so a degree of disassembly might be required.
In any event, for those singing the praises of these things and/or filling their homes with them, I take it that what you're saying suggests that they will fairly soon find their homes filled which accessories "which are not compliant with current Standards"?
Kind Regards, John
Ha! Edited while you were typing!
Maybe it'll be a non-replaceable fuse, in which case my comment about fault-finding is wrong.
Looks like it, if the draft remains unchanged. Non-conformity doesn't seem to worry many users though (or MK!).
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