Wiring from plugs

[neate]

Is there a reason why electric plugs have their power leads coming out either from the top or bottom?

 

[JohnD]

Yes

What do you mean by the top?

 

[Lower]

It keeps them flatter to the wall

 

[Munroast]

do you actually mean the sockets in the wall and the mains wiring that feed them ?

its so subsequent tradesmen will have a good idea where they are and not drill holes into them.

 

[winston1]

BS1363 plugs always have their leads coming out the bottom, though wall worts often have then coming out of the top or occasionally sides. They never come out of the back supposedly so that one cannot pull plugs out by their leads.

Elsewhere, the US, Australia, Europe leads often come out of the back. Perhaps they never they to pull their plugs out by the leads!!

 

[neate]

I should have explained in more detail.

Consider a 3-pin plug that reduces the voltage down to say 9v. It's usually a squarish block.

The lead from this 3-pin plug can sometimes come out from the top or the bottom. Just curious to know this should be so.

 

[crystal ball]

Probably easier to manufacture

 

[John D v2.0]

Probably because of convention at first, then now that speckle sockets are side by side, as are multi way adaptors, it would be silly to go off piste and change it.
We have a phone charger where it comes out the side, it's basically a pain because of that as it takes two slots if it's not on the end.

 

[winston1]

I should have explained in more detail.

Consider a 3-pin plug that reduces the voltage down to say 9v. It's usually a squarish block.

The lead from this 3-pin plug can sometimes come out from the top or the bottom. Just curious to know this should be so.

Read my post 5 especially: They never come out of the back supposedly so that one cannot pull plugs out by their leads.

 

[AndyPRK]

Well call them wall warts

 

[John D v2.0]

Read my post 5 especially: They never come out of the back supposedly so that one cannot pull plugs out by their leads.

Yes stops people found it as a habit, although treading on the lead does a pretty good job of pulling the plug out.

 

[mattylad]

Generally wall sockets were installed low down near the floor (although can be higher now) so the output lead of a wall adaptor/power supply (not a bloody yank wall wart!!!) would exit via the vertical/top direction so it went up to whatever it was supplying.
This is generally the most common exit direction.
You can get some with other exit directions though, generally the only other direction is down, some appliances may have a pathway within it's plastic molding that allows you to route the cable to another direction should the default not be to your liking.

The only ones that your likely to find the cable exiting the back are USB chargers and pulling he cable is going to release it from the charger rather than remove the charger from the socket (allegedly).

 

[FrodoOne]

I should have explained in more detail.

Consider a 3-pin plug that reduces the voltage down to say 9v. It's usually a squarish block.

The lead from this 3-pin plug can sometimes come out from the top or the bottom. Just curious to know this should be so.

That is NOT a "Plug".

It is a "Switch Mode Power Supply" - mounted on a "base" with pins which will fit into a socket (and, hopefully, leave room to operate the switch and utilise any adjacent socket.)

 

[winston1]

That is NOT a "Plug".

It is a "Switch Mode Power Supply" - mounted on a "base" with pins which will fit into a socket (and, hopefully, leave room to operate the switch and utilise any adjacent socket.)

Not necessarily, it could be simply a transformer with AC output, or it could be a conventional DC power supply with a transformer, rectifier and smoothing capacitor.

 

[ericmark]

Read my post 5 especially: They never come out of the back supposedly so that one cannot pull plugs out by their leads.

Are you sure?