Text 32310, 70 rader
Skriven 2009-05-11 11:35:29 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
     Kommentar till en text av Stewart Arnett (3:772/100)
Ärende: Power plugs (was: TV Systems)
=====================================
Hello Stewart,

On Monday May 11 2009 16:44, you wrote to me:

 MV>> You are exaggerating. Again..  I have that plug here on my desk
 MV>> right now. It is bigger than a "Schuko"plug, but saying that they
 MV>> "fill a hand" is putting our fellow readers who have never seen
 MV>> such a plug on the wrong foot. The 15A BS546 plug is 45 mmm wide,
 MV>> 55 mm long and 26 mm high without the pins. Three of them would
 MV>> easily fit into my hand.

 SA> I though British Standard 546 died thirty years ago after I left
 SA> England.

Yes, they have switched to BS1363 in the mean time. a plug that is about the
same size as the BS546 but it has rectangular pins and a fuse build into it.

BS546 is still in use in many other places, among them South Africa, which is
what Bob was (com|la)menting on.

 MV>> Saying that it is bigger than a plug used in Germany for 600 Volt
 MV>> lines is misleading as well. There is no "German 600 Volt plug".
 MV>> 600 Volts is not a voltage that is used to connect equipment. The
 MV>> closest is the 230/400 Volt Perilex plug.

 SA> Ratings are for peak voltages not RMS, the insulation has to stand the
 SA> peak voltage applied plus a bit for safety, 600volt is the minimum
 SA> rating for a 400/230 volt plug top.

You are absolutely right, but that is not how the labeling system wirks. Plugs
designed for 230 Volt lines are labelled 250 V AC. Plugs designed for other
line voltages are labelled with the RMS volktage, not the peak voltage.

 SA> Here in New Zealand our standard cable for mains has to have a 600
 SA> volt rating for two core and earth 1 phase flex and 1000 volt for
 SA> three phase or mains use.

I must assume that it is actually the same here and that is how they rae
terted. But they are *labelled* with the RMS voltage. Probably to not confuse
the public that have no knwoledge of these technical details... ;-)

 SA>  I had some fool Hifi shop owner prosecuted who refused to stop
 SA> selling American standard "hifi" powerleads as thick as my thumb. They
 SA> were good leads but 240volt rated insulation just isn't good enough.

Contrarty to pugs, cables here carry codes that reflect the peak voltage. A
standard "outdoor" cable for monophose 230 Volts is coed H05RN 3G1.5.

Meaning 500 Volts, rubber isolation, Neporene outer sheath and three wires of
1.5 square mm of which one is gree/yeelow.

Cable gor three phase 230/400 are H07xxx minimum. (700 Volts)

 MV>> If you attach a metre of cord to it, it might be quite effective
 MV>> as a sling...

 SA> The old thirty two amp three phase metalclad plug tops made a handy
 SA> weapon when attached to a metre and a half of flex too ;-)

The 32A IEC 60309 is quite effective too... ;-)

We had quit a variety of three phase plugs in the past. Now they have all been
phased out (except for the Perilex) and are replaced with the IEC 60309 series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60309


Cheers, Michiel

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