Luca Olivetti wrote: >> I find US and European outlets scary as heck, because they usually >> have no on/off switch. It's fairly rare to find an outlet int he UK >> without a on/off switch. >> > > Maybe that's because your huge plug it's too difficult to unplug we > just unplug them ;-) > Our pugs are actually safer because you can't pull them out by the flex, so you don't stress the chord or pull the wires out of the plug. All plugs are easily removed though. They just pull out. The switch turns off the power when not in use. Otherwise the outlet is live, even with nothing plugged in. That is just insane. It's pretty hard for a child to electrocute themselves with a UK plug socket because of this and the shutters. People still use covers, but need them a lot less than in the US/Europe. I can also walk in to any hardware store an buy a replacement plug and fit it, should I want to. European and US plugs always seem to be molded. > >> The fuse will blow before the fuse in the fusebox at the mains >> dispatch board, so yeah, it does protect the device. >> > > Only if the device is less valuable than the fuse, otherwise the device > will blow up stealthily protecting the fuse :-D > > http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=4526&doy=20m3 Yeah, really expensive ;-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS_1363 >> This is ignoring >> any internal fuses that might exist in the device to protect US and >> European users ;-) >> > > We in the continent are well protected by these gizmos: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_breaker > much more effective than a fuse and a plug dimensioned to power a > small factory ;-) > Yeah, we have those too. You did read about the limitations though? >Limitations > A residual current circuit breaker cannot remove all risk of electric shock or fire. In particular, an RCD alone will not detect > overload conditions, phase to neutral short circuits or phase-to-phase </wiki/Three_phase_electric_power> short circuits. Over-current protection (fuse </wiki/Fuse_%28electrical%29> or circuit </wiki/Circuit_breaker> > breaker </wiki/Circuit_breaker>) must be provided. So, really you need a fuse too :-) Adios!
