BS 1363 plug on a two conductor cord of a lamp.

[Peter Easthope]

Hi,

Does installation of a BS 1363 plug, with a ground pin, on a two conductor cord of a table lamp, violate wiring regulations? I don't imagine an unconnected ground pin posing a hazard.

Does a lamp in Britain ever have a cord with a ground conductor?

Thanks, ... Peter E.

[pf...@aol.com]

Yes, it does. And for very good reason - it *MAY* give the impression that the device is grounded. Keep in mind that if there are people stupid enough to put a three-pin plug on a two-conductor cord, there are those stupid enough to believe that the third pin does something.

Play to the worst case scenario, not the best.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[Martin Crossley]

No, and yes, respectively.

BS1363 dates from 1947.
All rewireable BS1363 plugs have a metal earth pin.
Class 0 table lamps were banned from sale in about 1975.
Class I (earthed) and class II (double insulated) are permitted.
Only moulded plugs for class II equipment may be made with an ISOD (
Insulated Shutter Operating Device) which is a plastic earth pin.

Martin.

[Andy Burns]

pf...@aol.com wrote:

> Yes, it does.

Rubbish!

It's perfectly normal to have a 3 pin plug on a 2 core flex to a lamp
... unless the lamp has any metalwork, in which case it must be a 3 core
flex to earth that.

[Peter Easthope]

On Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at 3:02:15 PM UTC-7, Andy Burns wrote:
> It's perfectly normal to have a 3 pin plug on a 2 core flex to a lamp
> ... unless the lamp has any metalwork, in which case it must be a 3 core
> flex to earth that.

OK, thanks.

A Luxo L-1 lamp in Britain would have a three conductor flex. All such lamps I've seen in North America have flat two conductor lamp
cord. The width fits closely in the square Luxo tubes. A L-1 in Britain has a round flex; correct?

Thanks again, ... Peter E.

[pf...@aol.com]

Try that in the US, and you would never pass UL (or CA in Canada). Betcha you would not get past Euro CE either.

[Andy Burns]

Peter Easthope wrote:

> A Luxo L-1 lamp in Britain would have a three conductor flex. All
> such lamps I've seen in North America have flat two conductor lamp
> cord. The width fits closely in the square Luxo tubes.

Don't know, I've hankered after one, but don't own one.

> A L-1 in Britain has a round flex; correct?

I notice the manual shows the double-insulated symbol, so 2-core flex
could be used which would normally be flat, though you /can/ get round
2-core flex.

While most UK plugs and sockets are BS-1363 square 3-pin, the older
BS-546 round 3-pin plugs and sockets are still acceptable and available
brand new.

The even older BS-372 round 2-pin are marginally smaller and belong in
museums, the same smaller spacing is used in BS-4573 plugs which are
typically only seen in moulded-on versions, and exclusively used on shavers.

Other than that, there are proprietary round 2 and 3-pin inline
connectors not intended for plugging into wall sockets, which conform to
the general BS-5733 safety standard, I use them on all my power tools,
annoyingly these are similar but not mateable between manufacturers, e.g.

<https://www.mkelectric.com/en-ar/Products/WD/PortablePower/duraplug/Leadconnectors/Pages/LCP102.aspx>

[N_Cook]

It depends on whether the handleable part of the lamp is metal or
metal-finish, then must be grounded and whether there is a gooseneck or
other movement containing the flex and therefore chaffing possibility .
All quite sensible really

[Andy Burns]

pf...@aol.com wrote:

> Try that in the US, and you would never pass UL (or CA in Canada).
> Betcha you would not get past Euro CE either.

I don't claim much knowledge of US power regulations, given you have
separate NEMA 1-15P and NEMA 5-15P connectors, it probably makes sense
to mandate that the former must use two conductor cables, and the latter
must use three conductor cables.

In the UK it's not as though the IET are lax on electrical standards,
the fact is the only available 2-pin plugs nowadays are dedicated for
shavers. For everything else there's no harm in having an unused earth
pin, but (as Martin mentioned) a few devices use a plastic not-earth
pin, which is necessary to open the shutters protecting live/neutral pins.

[Baron]

Andy Burns prodded the keyboard with:

+1
--
Best Regards:
Baron.

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo <ceb32434-7965-4c87...@googlegroups.com>,
Peter Easthope <petere...@gmail.com> escribió:

>A Luxo L-1 lamp in Britain would have a three conductor flex.

if it has exposed metalwork, yes, unless it is double-insulated, in
which case it can have a two-core flex.

> All such lamps
>I've seen in North America have flat two conductor lamp
>cord.

because your electrical system is vastly inferior.

> The width fits closely in the square Luxo tubes. A L-1 in Britain has a
>round flex; correct?

flex in Britain can be flat or round. Round is usually three-core;
phase, neutral and earth.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) systemd: the Linux version of Windows 10
(")_(")

[Martin Crossley]

Unless it is (as is probably more common) of double insulated/ class
II (square within a square symbol) construction, in which case it will
have a 2-core sheathed flex (typically type H03VVH2-F) and no
provision for earthing.

(Ignoring the rare class 0 ones made before about 1975 that are still
in service, which cannot legally be sold and are probably lethally
decrepit by now anyway.)

Martin.

[Martin Crossley]

Andy Burns wrote:
> Peter Easthope wrote:
>
>> A Luxo L-1 lamp in Britain would have a three conductor flex. All
>> such lamps I've seen in North America have flat two conductor lamp
>> cord. The width fits closely in the square Luxo tubes.
>
> Don't know, I've hankered after one, but don't own one.
>
>> A L-1 in Britain has a round flex; correct?
>
> I notice the manual shows the double-insulated symbol, so 2-core
> flex
> could be used which would normally be flat, though you /can/ get
> round
> 2-core flex.
>

Agreed, I looked at the same manual. It is also "CE" marked.
(3-core flex is probably not allowed on double-insulated equipment.
It certainly is not commonly used, if at all.)

> While most UK plugs and sockets are BS-1363 square 3-pin, the older
> BS-546 round 3-pin plugs and sockets are still acceptable and
> available brand new.
>

But portable domestic equipment rated up to 13A must be supplied with
a fitted BS1363 plug.
Or fitted with an equivalent approved BS1363-5 "conversion plug"
permanently enclosing the original (e.g. EN 50075 europlug) but not an
ordinary travel adaptor.