Most stupid comment of the day

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I think their name is an IEC C7.
I would be wary about buying cheap leads of eBay, maybe it is the camera angle but the plug doesn't look right to me.

Indeed I only posted it as that was the first thing that came up on google. I would never buy a cable of ebay, but a lot of IT suppliers also just sell the same crap.

Just out of interest where is a good place to buy these C7 cables from? I am short of them but I have always been too scared to use ebay. Been bitten in the past when I bought a CIT hard drive caddy from a reputable supplier and the flex started to melt, thankfully the client was in unplugged it before it set on fire. When I cut open the flex, there was just two very thin copper strands inside the cable, it was thinner than doorbell wire.

I am very quickly loosing in faith in many electrical items from China because too much fake stuff is getting to the country. I bought a laptop charger once from a reputable supplier who insisted nothing they sold was fake. It was a Delta complete with spelling errors and a plug which had about 1cm of insulation on the earth like the one at the bottom of this picture.

http://www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/html/other_dangers.html
 
Indeed I only posted it as that was the first thing that came up on google. I would never buy a cable of ebay, but a lot of IT suppliers also just sell the same crap. ... Just out of interest where is a good place to buy these C7 cables from? I am short of them but I have always been too scared to use ebay.
Maplin sell them ( click here ) - but how you can be sure that they are not also 'crap', I don't know - but just one and conduct an autopsy, I suppose!

Kind Regards, John
 
That is the problem, I would assume Maplin would be careful about where they get cables from as they have a lot more to loose than the dodgy trader on ebay who only sell what they can make a good profit on.

With chargers now I usually brands such as Anker and Lavolta as they are always good quality but the brands are not well known of to be faked.
 
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I think you may have confused SNM (and others, like me!) a bit - what you wrote implied that you were talking about 'figure of 8' cable/flex

Ah! yes. We're talking about the C7.

I was thinking, what we sometimes now refer to as shotgun flex. Remember when nearly all the table lamps and the like in our house had, was was basically flexible bell wire. No distinction for polarity And single insulated. Even wired all my first disco lights up with that stuff, nothing earthed, and no-one at the party died !
:eek:
 
I was thinking, what we sometimes now refer to as shotgun flex. Remember when nearly all the table lamps and the like in our house had, was was basically flexible bell wire. No distinction for polarity And single insulated. Even wired all my first disco lights up with that stuff, nothing earthed, and no-one at the party died ! :eek:
Indeed - it used to be ubiquitous (usually with transparent single insulation). I certainly still have some, and I also admit that if I hunted around the house, I'd probably still find some table lamps using it!

Kind Regards, John
 
I got door stopped by a neighbour, she had the single insulated flex on a table lamp, dog had chewed it up , so she stripped ends, twisted a core of each together and then sellotaped the 2 joints together, asked why it blew the fuse.
 
Moved in with new partner a few months ago. She asked me to take down some fancy lamp shades so she could wash them and I found this type of cable on 9, yes nine, brass light fittings! No earths on anything!

Offered the landlord to replace them all for £100 but she called in 'her electrician' who replaced all the fittings with standard rose+pendants fittings. Time taken just over 1 1/2 hour. Cost? £240 plus vat.
 
OK as I believe it the official line is portable equipment should have a fuse to protect the cable but fixed equipment the manufacturer can stipulate the fuse size.

I see there is a problem with lead sets IEC 60320-1 Appliance Couplers have some odd ratings C7/C8 rated 2.5A and C13 - C16 rated 10A which leaves us with a problem first we can't get a 2.5A fuse for our sockets and although the range goes from 1A, 2A, 3A, 5A, 7A, 10A and 13A the two preferred sizes are 3A and 13A.

Even if we do get 2A for the fig of 8 C7/C8 connector what happens with the C13 - C16 kettle type connector 10A fuses are in the main two small for a kettle but the connector is only rated at 10A.

C13/C14 often has a moulded lead which is not really rated for 10A common for them to be used with a PC and often a 3A fuse is fitted even when cable is big enough but when we test we test as a separate item not as part of the computer so 10A fuse could be fitted without failing a PAT test and in real terms likely 13A as nearest of the two preferred sizes.

C15/C16 and C15A/C16A have a higher temperature rating but fuse size is the same rated at 10A which is too small for a kettle and again 13A is the nearest of the preferred sizes.

With this in consideration "Well what ever fuse is already in it stupid." is likely the most sensible reply one could give. OK I do have the full selection of fuses at home but go to do PAT testing and I have a few boxes of 3A and during the day these will go down and 13A will replace them in my tool box. I do not carry the full range.

joydivision's comments shows how even people who should know better still think we should fuse to the appliance size even when the appliance uses a lead set which could cause problems as the leads get swapped about. I would agree where the cable goes direct into the appliance then even though not required fitting an appropriate size fuse makes sense but with lead sets to me it is either 3A or 13A which ever is closest to the connector and cable rating.

So how many would fit 2A in C5 to C8 and 10A in C13 - C16A should we carry 2 and 10 amp fuses for these connectors or since used in kettles and 3A is only 0.5A over the rating should we use 3A and 13A what does the team think?

And give the lady a pat on the back for a very sensible answer.
 

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