Is There A Grounded Plug It Cord For The US?

[alltracman78]

I saw someone selling a 240 volt domino with a plug it. Looked like a 3 prong UK plug.
Which got me to wondering, is there a US 3 prong plug it available?

 

[bobtskutter]

Most electrical items are Double Insulated.  The plug-it cord attaches to the machine via a 2 pin plug, there is no earth connection.

The UK electrical outlets have shielded connections for the live and neutral carriers.
The earth prong on a UK plug is about 5mm (probably 1/4") longer than the live and neutral prong, so it enters the sockets first and then lifts the shielding mechanism from the live and neutral connections.

It's very hard to push a screwdriver into the Live and Neutral connections on a UK power outlet because of the inbuild protective shield.

So...UK plug-it cords need 3 pin plugs to be able to connect to a UK socket.

Regards
Bob

 

[luvmytoolz]

That's interesting Bob. So all UK products must have an earth pin, but for double earthed there's no earth wire or they just don't connect it at the tool end?

 

[AstroKeith]

Quite often, if it is a moulded plug/cable combo, the earth pin is plastic. For economy and flexibility, if an earth isn't needed then 2 core cable is used.

 

[bobtskutter]

Yes that right.  You need a 3 pin plug but the earth pin is often not connected.
There are some exceptions, sockets for shavers / electric tooth brush chargers are often 2 pin plugs / sockets - I've never really understood why.
Most devices with moulded plugs (factory fitted) also have an insulation barrier on the live and neutral pin so people with small fingers can't touch the conductors if the plug isn't fully inserted into the socket (i.e. children).

Bob

 

[AstroKeith]

Yes that right.  You need a 3 pin plug but the earth pin is often not connected.
There are some exceptions, sockets for shavers / electric tooth brush chargers are often 2 pin plugs / sockets - I've never really understood why.
Most devices with moulded plugs (factory fitted) also have an insulation barrier on the live and neutral pin so people with small fingers can't touch the conductors if the plug isn't fully inserted into the socket (i.e. children).

Bob

The 2 pin socket used for shavers etc, is made different to stop 'other' appliances being inserted. The socket is isolated via a transformer and often dual voltage 110/230 and is low power. So it it is the only socket type allowed in a bathroom and close to a sink etc.

The shielded pins on L & N are now a requirement. (Since 1984) So if you still have a bare pin plug it's 40 years old!

There is no requirement to replace old plugs, unless they are being resold, hired out or used in rental accommodation. However, the shielded pins must have saved countless lives especially inquisitive children.

 

[Coen]

Yeah in the UK you need the 3rd pin to serve as a key to open the gates of live and neutral.

They trade the saved lives and prevented injuries from electrocution for people injuring their feet when stepping onto a plug, that in the UK almost always lands on it's back instead of on it's side like most other plug designs.

The UK is big in rules on what you have to do and what you can't do with electricity, but I will just tell you there is a reason it's all Germans and Englishmen on Youtube showing endless "rewire" jobs and not the Dutch. We just mandated conduit so a complete house rewire is a 1-man 1-day job instead of 2-man 1-week + plasterer job.  [tongue]

Our downside is that a plug with ground fits perfectly fine in an ungrounded socket and leaves the parts what were supposed to be grounded floating (or at 115V in case of modern computer power supplies). The ungrounded outlets were only banned in 1996  [crying] and that still only applies to new builds. So half+ of existing residential buildings have only grounded outlets in the kitchen and garage, plus one for the boiler and one for the washing machine.

 

[alltracman78]

Interesting.

Always good to learn new stuff.

I wonder if it would take a regular plug it cord....

 

[Coen]

Interesting.

Always good to learn new stuff.

I wonder if it would take a regular plug it cord....

As far as I know there are 3 different plug it versions on the machine and end of cord;
One for all 230V machines
One for low-amp 110V machines
One for high-amp 110V machines

The cord for high-amp 110V machines fits the low-amp 110V machines. Not the other way around.

 

[squall_line]

...I will just tell you there is a reason it's all Germans and Englishmen on Youtube showing endless "rewire" jobs and not the Dutch. We just mandated conduit so a complete house rewire is a 1-man 1-day job instead of 2-man 1-week + plasterer job.  [tongue]

I only recently learned that the City of Chicago (Illinois, USA) is the same way, and many of the surrounding suburbs and counties have similar building codes requiring conduit even in the walls.

My parents happen to live in a far-enough out area that they aren't required to have conduit, which causes all sorts of interesting conversations with electricians who come over to bid work for them, some of whom are immediately disqualified because they can't wrap their head around having to buy/install NM sheathed cable.