Dear Nick and John,
Thanks for your useful information about the adapter. I have heard a particular
name for this adapter but now forget it. Do you have any idea?
Best regards,
Raymond
==
John Allen john.al...@rdel.co.uk on 05/07/2000 04:48:22 p
Please respond to John Allen john.al...@rdel.co.uk
To: Raymond Li/DixonsNotes@DixonsNotes, 'Nick Williams'
nick.willi...@conformance.co.uk
cc: emc-p...@ieee.org emc-p...@ieee.org
Subject: RE: Cordset for EEC countries
Hi folks
As a point of interest:
The EN for the 2-pin flat profile european plug is EN 50075: 1991
Specification for flat non-rewirable two-pole plugs, 2.5A 250V, with cord,
for the connection of class II equipment for household and similar
purposes - (Applies to plugs without earthing contacts. For indoor use as
they have no special protection against ingress of water)
(Quoted from 1999 BSI Catalogue).
Presumably, being a 2.5A plug, the cable core size is no larger than 0.75
sq mm, and the fuse in the adaptor thus should be no larger than 6A (being
the general rating for this size of cord) but could be up to 16A since the
plug is designed to be used on Continental European distribution systems
where local protection is generally a 16A fuse or circuit breaker.
However for UK use, the standard BS 1362 fuse ratings are 3A 13A
(although a range of other ratings does exist, but only 5A and 10A are in
common circulation for replacement purposes). I would think that the 3A is
the most appropriate in most instances for UK use.
The above is the plug for which the adaptors to fit British sockets are
designed, but the phrase Europlug has informally been applied to a wide
variety of plugs, and some of these are the old CEE 7 dual earthing contact
types (can't remember the CEE 7 Standard Sheet numbers as it is so long
ago that I looked at the standard!) which have an essentially round
cross-section. The new adaptors cannot accomodate the plugs with earthing
contacts!
Regards
John Allen
--
From: Nick Williams[SMTP:nick.willi...@conformance.co.uk]
Sent: 04 July 2000 21:58
To: raymond...@dixonsasia.com.hk
Cc: emc-p...@ieee.org
Subject: Re: Cordset for EEC countries
At 15:09 +0800 4/7/2000, raymond...@dixonsasia.com.hk wrote:
In order to sell a product to all EEC countries, more and more companies
are
using a UK 13A plug adapter which takes a Europlug cordset in their
products.
The plug adapter is approved by BSI or ASTA, fitted with a BS1362 3A fuse
and
marked to use with CEE 7/16 EuropIug. I have a couple of queries and
seeking
advice from this group.
1. Is there any particular requirement/standard for individual or
complete
component?
If by this you mean is there a standard for the adapter, the answer
is yes, it is BS 5733:1995
Specification for general requirements for electrical accessories. In
the UK the appropriate standard for the cable would be BS 6500:1994
Specification for insulated flexible cords and cables (which is the
UK implementation of a number of CENELEC harmonisation documents).
I'm not familiar enough with the non-UK plug standards to give you
chapter and verse on this - IEC 83 defines the dimensions, but it is
not a full test specification.
Incidentally, I assume you are already aware that the plug adapter
_must_ be approved? BSI and ASTA are not the only people who can do
this - the DTI say any body Notified under the LVD can do it. (I'm
not sure I agree with them, but that, in the context of this
discussion, would be a digression.)
2. What is definition of Europlug cordset? I have some samples which
are in
fact of VDE approved cordset using in Germany. The two round pin plug,
the
mains cord and the figure 8 plug are all approved by VDE at least. Some
other
national agency marks are also marked on either plugs and cord. Is
it qualified
to meet Europlug cordset?
As I mentioned earlier this week in a reply to another message on
this forum, domestic plugs are outside the scope of the LVD so EU
countries (and others, of course) are free to set down additional
national requirements as they see fit. In practice I've never had
trouble with a VDE marked cord set in any EU country. (This comment
obviously only applies to two core cord sets- there are numerous
three pin plug types.)
3. Does the figure 8 plug must have approval of BS 4491? Some
samples have BS
4491 mark on the plug but most of them do not have. However, all have VDE
approval mark on the plug.
I doubt you will see any problems using a VDE cord set for this
purpose in the UK so long as the cable has the HAR mark. I would
expect to see this on any cable with a VDE approval.
Despite first appearances, cord-set selection is definitely a
non-trivial matter. I assume that you're dealing with the UK retail
market, in which case I'm very familiar with the sort of problems you
face. To avoid clutter on EMC-PSTC, drop me a line direct if you need
more help.
