Wiring a new plug and there’s no earth wire

kissenger

kissenger

kissenger

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10 Apr 2008
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2,491
So our boy snapped the earth pin off our standing fan and I’m now trying to replace the plug with one from another appliance.

The snag is that the fan’s cable has no earth wire. Is it okay to go ahead and install the new plug without worrying about the earth wire or is that dangerous?
 
NoobCannon said:
As much as i dislike correcting people in this occasion i will.

the earth pin in a uk socket operates the shutters for the other pins. Without the earth pin you couldn't plug anything in :) uk sockets are of a superior design to anything else from a safety perspective.
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Thanks forgot about that aspect don't think it was always like that though I am sure as a kid you could see in the holes
 
Funny enough was chatting about this sort of thing with friends this evening, amazes me that these basic electrical basics are no longer taught at school. To some small degree I understand the health and safety worries but people really should be provided with the these life/home skills (or at least the fundamentals).
 
NoobCannon said:
As much as i dislike correcting people in this occasion i will.

the earth pin in a uk socket operates the shutters for the other pins. Without the earth pin you couldn't plug anything in :) uk sockets are of a superior design to anything else from a safety perspective.
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I was sure that was the case as well, so glad to see someone confirming.
 
I'm still rocking the old school cartridge fuses in my consumer unit (yeah, I know - add a modern consumer unit to the long list of things to do to this old house). Speaking of no longer teaching the fundamentals - I had to find an old person in B&Q to ask them where the fuse wire was; the young person I asked didn't know what I was talking about :)
 
Those child plug protectors are more dangerous installed than not at all. They can be used to bypass the shutters in the plug by putting them in upside down, allowing foreign object to be placed into the live/neutral.
 
neepheid said:
I'm still rocking the old school cartridge fuses in my consumer unit (yeah, I know - add a modern consumer unit to the long list of things to do to this old house). Speaking of no longer teaching the fundamentals - I had to find an old person in B&Q to ask them where the fuse wire was; the young person I asked didn't know what I was talking about :)
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You can buy MCB's to replace those old fuse cartridges. I only found that out the otherday, i wish i had done that instead of upgrading the whole board in my house, it would have saved me a fortune, the old wylex boards were bomb proof!
 
Tinders said:
You can buy MCB's to replace those old fuse cartridges. I only found that out the otherday, i wish i had done that instead of upgrading the whole board in my house, it would have saved me a fortune, the old wylex boards were bomb proof!
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Your new board should however have RCD protection which you can't retrofit to the wylex. Plug in MCBs don't really provide any more protection then fuses just more convenience.
 
neepheid said:
I'm still rocking the old school cartridge fuses in my consumer unit (yeah, I know - add a modern consumer unit to the long list of things to do to this old house). Speaking of no longer teaching the fundamentals - I had to find an old person in B&Q to ask them where the fuse wire was; the young person I asked didn't know what I was talking about :)
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Exact same scenario asking a youngster where they keep their Plumb bob's :rolleyes: not a clue, I'm only late 30's.
 
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