School system overloaded?

[ianknight]

 

And PAT monkeys really need to be told that there is nothing illegal about 5 amp or 15 amp round pin plugs and sockets. They are still made and installed for a variety of purposes, not JUST theatre lighting.

 

Yes... but...

 

The British Standard for 5a round pin plugs was withdrawn around 2015 (if memory serves) so there are no manufacturers in Britain making 5a stuff - it has to be imported from South Africa. Because 5A round pin plugs no longer have a British Standard, any new installation can't use them as the installation won't comply (most contracts/T&C's will have a clause saying that all relevant fittings must comply to current standards etc).

 

The standard being withdrawn doesn't mean existing installations have become "illegal" just by having 5a plugs & sockets (except there are some money grubbers who will insist that is exactly what it means) but it can make things more fraught when telling a customer that those new lighting bars they want can't be 5a.

 

As for PAT testers making or carrying adaptors for round pin - yes they should if they profess to be any good but then for some of them, it will just mean a smaller plug for them to wrap the test wires of their megger around :P

[alistermorton]

I wonder where that leaves the many pubs which use 5A round for table table lamps, to stop the punters plugging their phone changers in.

 

That said, the likes of CPC are still selling 5A 3 pin round plugs "suitable for industrial applications" marked as manufactured to BS546.

Edited June 24, 2021 by alistermorton

[Yorkie]

The British Standard for 5a round pin plugs was withdrawn around 2015 (if memory serves)

BS546:1950 is still current https://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030001587

Edited June 24, 2021 by Yorkie

[sunray]

The British Standard for 5a round pin plugs was withdrawn around 2015 (if memory serves)

BS546:1950 is still current https://shop.bsigrou...000000030001587

Thank heavens for that, I purchased a box from CEF not very long ago for a customer.

[adam2]

I have installed a number of 5 amp and 15 amp round pin socket outlets in the last few years. Including.

 

15 amp outlets in a private school for wall mounted electric heaters. 13 amp not used as the heating sockets are time controlled.

15 amp sockets in a local café kitchen for heavy loading appliance that tended to burn out 13 amp plugs.

 

5 amp sockets in a friends home, for table lamps. Controlled by wall switches unlike the 13 amp sockets.

 

And in an off grid house, both 5 amp and 15 amp outlets for 25 volts DC. 5 amps for lighting, refrigeration, TV, laptop PC, desk fans, Christmas lights and other low loading appliances. 15 amp sockets for kettle, microwave oven, and induction cooking ring. These sockets have become an unofficial standard in off grid premises for 25 volt circuits.

 

The similar style plugs and sockets rated at 2 amps, should not in my view be used in most modern installations. They were designed in the days of small twin twisted lamp flex with single insulation. They are too small to readily accept modern 0.75mm insulated and sheathed flexible cords.

[Junior8]

Quite right - it would be a shame of those were withdrawn as they are ideal for the two 240V purposes mentioned. Indeed 15A for wall mounted heaters used to be pretty standard in such settings as the heater could be replaced from a stockpile already fitted with a plugtop quickly by the premises staff.

[sunray]

 

The similar style plugs and sockets rated at 2 amps, should not in my view be used in most modern installations. They were designed in the days of small twin twisted lamp flex with single insulation. They are too small to readily accept modern 0.75mm insulated and sheathed flexible cords.

It's sad that you say that, I agree they don't have much space but if correctly prepped I find them to be just about OK. They seem to be a fashion item at the moment and are being used more and more in new builds.

However I'll still advocate 13A for switched lighting as table lamps are currently supplied with 13A plugs.

 

 

With a suitable lable of course.

[sandall]

The similar style plugs and sockets rated at 2 amps, should not in my view be used in most modern installations. They were designed in the days of small twin twisted lamp flex with single insulation. They are too small to readily accept modern 0.75mm insulated and sheathed flexible cords.

When #1 son was at Uni a few years back the student rooms only had 3-pin 2A sockets (probably to stop them bringing their microwaves). Fortunately, having grown up in very old houses, I already had a collection of plug-tops .

[Stuart91]

15 amp outlets in a private school for wall mounted electric heaters. 13 amp not used as the heating sockets are time controlled.

 

There was a church hall near me that had 13amp wall sockets which were installed to use with heaters. The building was later upgraded to gas central heating, so the original electric heaters were removed but the sockets remained. More than one event came to a crashing halt when the thermostat kicked in and cut the power.

[sunray]

15 amp outlets in a private school for wall mounted electric heaters. 13 amp not used as the heating sockets are time controlled.

 

There was a church hall near me that had 13amp wall sockets which were installed to use with heaters. The building was later upgraded to gas central heating, so the original electric heaters were removed but the sockets remained. More than one event came to a crashing halt when the thermostat kicked in and cut the power.

Are you sure it's near you?

Or to put it another way are you near me?

The place I first discovered it we used powered speakers with radio links and convinced ourselves the problem was radio based when each side kept going off. During the interval we found the thermostats and removed the covers to turn up to maximum.

 

 

In a council owned/run community hall we found the same thing and offered to remove the contactor arrangement FOC before our next use.