BBC article about changing plugs

[pscandrett]

The BBC news site has published an article today, asking whether a) people can change a plug and b) whether they need to be able to any more. It can be found here: BBC article.

 

I think we've mentioned on the BR before now that you have the state of affairs where year 9 (3rd year) students are taught in physics how to wire a plug but not allowed to put that knowledge into practice in the drama hall/stage - for no doubt good reasons, H&S justifcations etc. However... should they even be taught to wire a plug in the first place when things come with either moulded plugs or ones already fitted?

 

My reply would be a resounding yes - they need to understand basic dom3stic wiring and the physics behind power distribution - what a breaker or fuse does - and this needs to be covered in science lessons. I guess it's just that this knowledge isn't put into practice often enough though so people forget about the plug wiring after a year or two, which results in shocking stories like this...

 

(Moulded plugs and prewired equipment is all well and good from a H&S point of view but it does mean higher wastage; computer companies in particular will include about two or three different IEC leads with their computers/servers to cover all the places it might ship to, but that means that there's always at least one unused cable left over! I know IT departments and computery friends who are awash in IEC leads, both foreign and UK ones - because, of course, even if the right lead is supplied with a server, it's often plugged into a UPS which uses an IEC-IEC cable, meaning that none of the supplied ones are used!)

 

Anyone else got any thoughts?

[back_ache]

I've often though you can tell some important things from the way a tech wires a plug.

[DC FX]

How ridiculous it is that someone can't rewire a plug, even with instructions

 

What is this world coming to??

 

Ladies excused - I couldn't paint your nails!!

[beware]

What is more worrying is one of the comments underneath:

 

 

How do you change a plug? Simple. Google "how do I change a plug" and click the first link.

Colin, Luton

[Captain]

All plugs I've bought in the last year or two had colour coded pins. Seems the manufactures are well aware of the lack of knowledge/skill in their customers.

 

In fact for the last 10 odd years most plugs came with those little card board things on them or a sticky label on the cable showing how to wire them anyway!

[Rob]

We got tought to wire a plug in junior school - One of the few useful things I suspect :wacko:

[Mr.Si]

Captain, your post leads me to quote this from the article:

 

We interviewed a dozen candidates last year for the post of apprentice electrician. Only two made a decent attempt despite us leaving the wiring instruction card on the plug.

Len Paget, Kilmarnock

 

It made me laugh in an astounded fashion.

 

Most things still come with the instruction card.

[pumphouse]

This is one of my pet subjects.

 

More worrying is the number of people who think they know how to wire a plug, but can't. I have seen some horrific examples - including ones done by so-called qualified electricians or experienced installers/technicians.

 

Interestingly, the pictures in the BBC article only show people being given a screwdriver. To do the job properly, you need to have cutters and strippers as well to get the wires the correct length. I was taught that the earth wire should be fitted with as much slack as the plug will allow, and the live should be tight - that way if the cable gets pulled out then the live will disconnect first and the earth may stay intact. If you give people a flex with the cores the same length, this doesn't work unless the plug is specifically designed for this (which some - but not many - are).

 

I once made a junior installer working for me wire the same plug 4 times before I accepted it. He knows how to do it properly now.

 

Plug-wiring is a job that many think is easy, but many also make a bad job of it. Hopefully the Darwin Theory will reduce such numbers eventually.

 

Jason

[bruce]

About 20 years ago, I shared an office with an American chap. This was in the days before it was mandatory to have a factory-fitted plug, and equipment was commonly shipped with bare wires.

 

We had some debate over the merits and demerits of the UK vs US systems. He acknowledged that one big benefit of the UK was the fusing in every plug, but his biggest criticism was that "you needed to pretend to be an electrician every time you bought something".

 

He had a good point.

 

But how many people, in a d0mestic environment, really need to wire up plugs these days? I don't think I've done any in the last 5 years. Even in a professional environment (I manage a large IT facility) I can't remember the last time the technicians had to do this sort of thing.

 

It's only in my "hobbyist" role that it's common :wacko:

 

 

(warning - we're in danger of straying into d0mestic 3l3ctrics here)

[handyandi]

Doesn't surprise me although frightening to think of some people efforts. I am surprised some people manage to get out of bed in the morning without injuring themselves.

 

We do in the UK seem to have a basic skills shortage. One major factor I think is the loss of true engineering apprenticeships. Spent over a year doing mine in a dedicated training school. Turning/milling/welding/fitting/wiring/electronics & drawing with a pencil!!! - yes a pencil. One task funnily enough was wiring a plug. Worth every penny BAe used to put into it. But they shut it down & sent them to a local college instead & after then you would be lucky to get an apprentice to identify a lathe let alone use one!

 

Here endeth my rant :wacko:

[pritch]

A few weeks ago, we lent out some lanterns to a local college who didn't have enough for a production. The chap returned them saying "I had to swap the plugs, as we've got little ones, but I didn't have time to swap them back."

 

He'd gone and made such an awful job of fitting 5A plugs onto these. Out of the four lanterns, two were missing cord grips, and on one of them, I didn't need to undo the screws on the pins to take the 5A plug off.

 

This was compounded by two things:

 

1. He still hasn't bought me the pint that he promised me for swapping the plugs back

2. When I was doing it, I managed to get live and neutral reversed on one plug. I realised that I'd done it before I put the cover back on the plug, but still... :wacko:

[Chiefy]

This is a basic 'life skill' I am always appalled with anyone who cant make an educated stab at wiring a plug, never mind a technician.

[pscandrett]

I think this is just confusing the issue. The point is that the man on the street doesn't know basic electrics - let's not muddy the issue by when neutral /could/ be the same as earth and when sometimes neutral might be live, etc. I find it astonishing enough the number of technicians I meet when I'm doing gigs (I'm talking professionals here) who don't know basic power calculations sometimes.

[Brian]

:)

As a couple of you observed this thread is going waaaaayyyyy off topic. So now, with a bit of post hiding, it kinda back on topic. Those of you who find their posts gone - don't worry, they are much happier where they are now.

:)

[Tomo]

Interestingly, the pictures in the BBC article only show people being given a screwdriver.

And more worryingly, in the photos in the article the outer sheath has been cut back too far and the cable grip is missing.

 

The 'How-to' is more accurate though.