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Old 31st Dec 2021, 5:33 pm   #1
Lancs Lad
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Default Fitting a mains plug.

I put a plug on today.

Not stupendous news, I know.

But I haven't needed to do it for about fifteen years, and I'd forgotten the sense of pride when looking at the careful and precise wiring and knowing that I've done it safely and well.

And made a damned good job of it! It's a lost art, I reckon.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 5:39 pm   #2
paulsherwin
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

Certainly few people under 50 will ever have wired a BS1363 plug.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 5:45 pm   #3
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

It is indeed, especially getting the conductors to the exact individual lengths needed to enable them to be easily terminated but with still some outer sheathing available for the cable retainer to grip. Personally I prep my conductor ends double length needed and fold them over to fill the mounting hole better and more copper for the screw to grip. I then check that the fuse holder has good pressure on the fuse. And yes, the correct fuse fitted. I have seen many nightmare attempts to wire a plugtop!
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 6:00 pm   #4
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

One time every electrical item one purchased had to have a plug attached when it arrived home. If you forgot to buy a plug you had to rob one off an old table lamp to put on the kettle, if you were lucky it would have a 13A fuse in it.

Now as stated I can not remember the last time I fixed a plug. If I make something that needs a plug and lead, I cut the lead off a broken printer, toaster ETC.

Many years ago I received a batch of audio equipment to repair from a council establishment. You would not believe the number of combinations to mix the three wires in the plug, bare wires just out of the plug and crossing inside the plug!! all had 13A fuses.

Tinned wire cable ends are sometimes found. I always when possible cut the tinned end and double the wire back to fill the hole. Tinned ends can be subject to cold flow and lead to the screw loosening.


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Last edited by 60 oldjohn; 31st Dec 2021 at 6:18 pm.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 6:01 pm   #5
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

I remember the sense of annoyance when you forgot to put the cord through a rubber plug before wiring the connections.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 6:10 pm   #6
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

Quote:
Originally Posted by paulsherwin View Post
Certainly few people under 50 will ever have wired a BS1363 plug.
I taught my son, daughter and granddaughter how to fit plugs when they were each about 8 years old. Son is now over 50 and ggd is 30 and about to teach her eldest daughter (8) to fit one and use the correct fuse.
So many kitchen appliances come with a very short lead and those often need to be replaced so as to reach the wall socket.
They have all thanked me for teaching them so they can get items correctly connected.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 6:11 pm   #7
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

For the last few years, all the CPC catalogue entries for leads with a plug or socket on one end only, have included a notice saying something like

"Warning: Only for use by qualified personell. Bare ends must be correctly terminated to another connector or piece of equipment before connection."

No such warning is given for plugs or free sockets that do not have cables fitted .

I actually fitted four 13A plugs in the week before Christmas. Three were for me, when extending the mains cables of fairy light sets using non-plug and socket flex connectors, and one for my neighbour, when I fitted a new, longer, flex for his table lamp.

Last edited by emeritus; 31st Dec 2021 at 6:31 pm. Reason: typos, emphasis added
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 6:13 pm   #8
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

When I was but a lad (maybe 10 or so, 1970) I was the kid on the close that put plugs on for housewives, the "man" of the family being a bureaucrat or some other skill less job and incapable. Mum used to bring me round to their houses, I think the fee was tea and cake, yum. I also showed the lady how to do it, MK plugs could be done using a metal nail file, mother said all plugs should be doable with one, insightful woman.

When I was an apprentice a few years later I did a short course (an hour, called a course these days) on how to put a plug on. Me! a qualified plug putter onerer.

It is indeed a joy to do something practical and well.
 
Old 31st Dec 2021, 6:36 pm   #9
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

When I was 10 years old my teachers realised I was interested in anything electrical. The headmaster gave me a microphone and one of the teachers brought a big box of old mains plugs cables and fittings. He taught me the importance of making sure there are no stray wire strands, leaving the earth wire a little longer / slacker than the rest, and making a tidy job in general. On wet days during breaks I would be making up extension leads, all good practice for later life.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 6:53 pm   #10
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

Quote:
Originally Posted by wireman View Post
I remember the sense of annoyance when you forgot to put the cord through a rubber plug before wiring the connections.
No problem, you just take a pair of wire cutters and cut through the offending part of the rubber plug. We did it all the time at Thorn.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 6:54 pm   #11
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevehertz View Post
Personally I prep my conductor ends double length needed and fold them over to fill the mounting hole better and more copper for the screw to grip.
Depending on the thickness of the wires, I would do the same to ensure that the thinner conductors presented sufficient surface area for the screw to grip. I have seen plugs with thin conductors where most (or even all) of the wires have slipped into the space alongside the screw, resulting in an insecure connection.

Quote:
Originally Posted by wireman View Post
I remember the sense of annoyance when you forgot to put the cord through a rubber plug before wiring the connections.
This usually resulted in a slit being cut to enable the lead to pass through the collar.

edit: Steve beat me to it.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 7:07 pm   #12
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

I worked at Crabtree for a while as PR Officer and they're officially known as plugtops.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 7:11 pm   #13
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

Here it is!

Correct fuse for a table fan.

Legrand plug with unsheathed pins just because I really like those plugs!

So, now I'm in the firing line. What do you all think?

Tidy job, or not?

Go on, let me have it...
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 7:16 pm   #14
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

Other than for MK plugs, I now fit ferrules to the wire ends when wiring plugs. CPC now stock them at a reasonable cost, and I already had a suitable crimping tool.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 7:19 pm   #15
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevehertz View Post
I worked at Crabtree for a while as PR Officer and they're officially known as plugtops.
I think this dates back to early terminology when the 'plug' consisted of the thing with pins on it ('plug top') and the thing with holes in it ('plug base'). Even today you still hear sparkies talking about 'plug tops' and 'plug top fuses'.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 7:23 pm   #16
Malcolm G6ANZ
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

One of the tests for prospective employees was to wire a 13A plug. Also to fit the correct fuse for a given load. This was mainly to see how they handled tools and what their dexterity was like. The choice of fuse showed they knew power to current calculations.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 7:25 pm   #17
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lancs Lad View Post
Here it is!

Correct fuse for a table fan.

Legrand plug with unsheathed pins just because I really like those plugs!

So, now I'm in the firing line. What do you all think?
Personally I think the neutral wire should have been left a bit longer, but I've seen much, much worse, and it's not obviously dangerous.
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 7:32 pm   #18
Lancs Lad
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

Oh, this drives me to fury!

A 'plug top' is the lid that fits on top of a plug, secured by one or more screws, to stop the person plugging it in electrocuting themselves by touching the terminals inside.

How much longer must we endure having a PLUG referred to as a 'plug top'?
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 7:38 pm   #19
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

Thanks for your verdict, paulsherwin.

Maybe you have a point, but I've always liked to keep my cores as short as possible.

Each to his own, eh!
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Old 31st Dec 2021, 7:57 pm   #20
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Default Re: Putting on a plug.

Absolutely, no serious criticism intended. It's certainly a neat job.

Ideally it should be wired so that the live wire disconnects before the neutral, but it doesn't really matter if the cord grip is used correctly (as in this case.)
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