On 4/3/2017 3:09 PM, Martin Gregorie wrote:
> On Mon, 03 Apr 2017 12:20:54 -0400, Dennis Lee Bieber wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 3 Apr 2017 14:56:13 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
>>  declaimed the following:
>>
>>
>>> Uk 13A plugs are arguably the safest in the world.
>>>
>>> - square pins allow for better contact reducing risk of fire through
>>> overheating and arcing.
>>> - the earth pin is mandatory, not optional - unless the earth pin is
>>> inserted the live and neutral are not accessible.
>>
> There's a clue that the pins are too big: the sliding shutters inside the
> socket and/or the requirement for dummy blanking plugs to keep small
> fingers out of the socket.
>
> The NZ plug is better. The wiping area on the pins is similar to the UK
> plugs, because the side areas are similar, but the pins are only 1.5mm
> thick, so the holes are far too narrow for inquisitive fingers, or many
> screwdrivers for that matter, to go in.
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AS/NZS_3112

I don't see where these are really much different from other types
including the US plugs that are nearly identical other than the angle of
the blades and the US lack of insulation on the active and neutral pins.
  We have mandated the shutters on the socket which is a PITA as they
often don't work well making it hard to insert plugs.

One thing I noticed is there seems to be a switch requirement.  That is
not terribly useful as it depends on a user to turn the switch off when
nothing is plugged in.  However, there seems to be a version which only
powers the contacts when a plug is inserted.  Now that is a good idea.

--

Rick C

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