Re: American and British (English)

J. J. Lodder wrote:


Back to the point.
The subject of the inherently unsafe UK system of home supply
(despite their ridiculous clunky plugs with fuses in them)
with ring mains has come up there several times.
Of course my comments on it were that it is backwards,
and should be abolished gradually.
OK, technical discussion on merits results.

I missed the earlier discussion about this -- I guess it first appeared in one of the cross-posted groups now snipped from the follow-up line.

I know it's OT for AUE, but I'd be interested to hear more about the grounds for your opinion, having heard an expatriate British electrician proclaim the superior safety of British domestic electricity regulations over those of other countries. I hasten to add I know very little about the topic, though I do know how a ring main works, and how to rewire a plug and all that (not that it's often necessary these days).

I certainly agree that the British 13A plug is a clunky object compared (say) with the tiny flat two pin device used in Japan and the US, for example. Could we safely make do with something a bit flimsier?
.

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