Re: American and British (English)

Fred Springer wrote:

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?

Oh, I don't know. The total-paranoid approach to electricity seems such a
vital part of the British identity and personality: Ring mains (so there
are TWO paths to ground at every outlet), a plug massive enough to supply
electrical service to an entire village, a fuse in every plug, and a switch
on every outlet, and then, in the unlikely event of an electrical fire
starting, houses that aren't built of wood, so they won't burn down.

The truly paranoid can turn off the appliance, turn off the switch at the
outlet, and remove the plug from the outlet just to be sure. Some will
probably remove the fuse from the plug as well.

Yes, you could make do with less, but it just wouldn't be Britain, would it?

--
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