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Author
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Topic: 13 Amp Plug - A Warning
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Maurice Leakey
Film God
Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted February 20, 2014 05:23 AM
The flat-pin 13 amp plug is the bane of life in the UK. It's too big for a start, it doesn't often fit in neatly in a projector's original box. The wiring is a nightmare, each of the three wires being of different lengths, cut just a bit too much and you have to start all over again, too long and the wires will not fit in the very restricted channels.
I say all this because I've just taken delivery of an RCA 1600 off eBay, and as usual, the first thing I did was to check the plug top, the RCA uses a captive mains lead.
Utter horror. All three screws were loose, the ends of the wires were not twisted and bent over, and there were "whiskers" protruding. Worst of all, the black neutral had been trapped under the cover (not in its channel) with the bare wire exposed. Last of all, one end of the fuse had been arcing due to loose fitting in its clip.
It took over 30 minutes to cut it all off and strip back sufficiently to start again.
When a lovely new projector arrives it's only natural to want to plug it in and see how it runs. But resist the temptation. First of all take off the plug top to check the wiring and also to see if a correctly rated fuse is fitted.
When all that's done, sit back and enjoy your new purchase.
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Maurice
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Martin Jones
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1269
From: Thetford , Norfolk,England
Registered: May 2008
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posted February 20, 2014 05:43 AM
"The flat-pin 13 amp plug is the bane of life in the UK......The wiring is a nightmare, each of the three wires being of different lengths,...."
Not if you use a quality plug Maurice!. The classic MK Plug used wires ALL the same length.
"....cut just a bit too much and you have to start all over again, too long and the wires will not fit in the very restricted channels"...
And it had a paper diagram which fitted over the pins when new showing you not only how long the cut the leads but clearly which colour went where, how the cable clamp worked and how the fuse fitted.
".....the ends of the wires were not twisted and bent over, and there were "whiskers" protruding. Worst of all, the black neutral had been trapped under the cover (not in its channel) with the bare wire exposed".
Twisted, YES. Bent over, NO. In the channels, YES.The MK Plug diagram shows it all. And most other makes had similar diagrams.... but then, like TV sets and other appliances, the first thing one should do with something new is throw away the Instructions!
A penny for every one I've fitted over the years and I'd be a very rich man now.
"Tongue-in-cheek", Maurice! Yes, they can be frustrating.
Happy New Year!
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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Retired TV Service Engineer
Ongoing interest in Telecine....
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