Which way European plug with UK Adaptor

grumbler

Spinybif said:

Therefore advising even a newbie to do so carries no risk.

To do what exactly? Did anybody really advise "to carry out a continuity test when plugged in"?

Section62

Spinybif said:

It is impossible to carry out a continuity test when plugged in, as the probe need contact with the pin.  Therefore advising even a newbie to do so carries no risk.

Not so with an adaptor like the one the OP has, or with a rewireable BS1363 plug.  It would be possible for someone who really didn't know what they were doing to attempt a continuity test while the plug was in a socket and potentially live.

There's always risk.  The important thing about being 'competent' is understanding what the risks are and adopting methods of work to aviod those risks becoming accidents.

Spinybif

Grumbler I suggest you reread opening paragraph of section62.   With sheathed pins as on all modern plugs the current would be disconnected long before a probe could make contact and in the 1 in a million chance they did manage it the RCD would protect them.  We have all had to learn, I'd be bankrupt if I called out a "competent" person every  time I needed to sort out an electrical issue.  Always remember Boots sending an electrician all the way from Nottingham to Manchester to change a light bulb - no ladder required. I and my colleagues were not allowed to touch in on Health and Safety grounds !

Section62

Spinybif said:

Grumbler I suggest you reread opening paragraph of section62.   With sheathed pins as on all modern plugs the current would be disconnected long before a probe could make contact....

That does assume that both the socket and plug conform with one of the more modern revisions of BS1363.  There are lots of older sockets and plugs which were manufactured to previous versions, and sadly a lot of products sold which don't comply with BS1363, despite being marked as though they were.

The sleeving on the line and neutral pins was originally primarily intended to prevent fingers from contacting the pins when live, it was only later that the specification required sleeving of such length which would (in theory) prevent any object coming into contact with a live pin.

I wouldn't like to guarantee that it was impossible for a slender test meter probe to make contact with a live pin of a partially inserted plug... the only safe way of doing a continuity test with a multimeter would be for the plug to be removed entirely from any socket.

Spinybif said:

....and in the 1 in a million chance they did manage it the RCD would protect them.  We have all had to learn, I'd be bankrupt if I called out a "competent" person every  time I needed to sort out an electrical issue.

RCD's don't provide 100% protection from shock.  They only provide partial protection within a defined set of circumstances.  This is one of the issues with non-"competent" people doing electrical work - i.e. people making assumptions about safety-related issues and then working in an unsafe manner in the mistaken belief they can't come to harm.

GDB2222

Isn’t it a bit fanciful to suggest that someone would plug a lamp into the mains to do a continuity test?  

One might as well suggest that using a multi meter is dangerous because the OP might choose to hit himself over the head with it repeatedly.  

Section62

GDB2222 said:

Isn’t it a bit fanciful to suggest that someone would plug a lamp into the mains to do a continuity test?  

No.  There's no limit to what people will do.

Most people using this forum on a regular basis have a fairly good idea of what they are doing, and consequently are likely to over-estimate the capability of the population as a whole.

It is worthwhile to Google the percentage of people who know how to wire a 13A plug to get a better idea of how rare it is to have basic electrical competence.

Understanding that the continuity test being suggested - using a multimeter - would use the meter's own internal extra-low voltage supply is knowledge that the average person on the Clapham Omnibus wouldn't know. It would be very easy to assume the appliance needs to be plugged in to do the test.... because *everyone* knows things need to be plugged in and switched on to work.

Ben1989

GDB2222 said:

Isn’t it a bit fanciful to suggest that someone would plug a lamp into the mains to do a continuity test?  

One might as well suggest that using a multi meter is dangerous because the OP might choose to hit himself over the head with it repeatedly.  

I was tempted to do this I must say, so never impossible.

grumbler

Ben1989 said:

GDB2222 said:

Isn’t it a bit fanciful to suggest that someone would plug a lamp into the mains to do a continuity test?  

One might as well suggest that using a multi meter is dangerous because the OP might choose to hit himself over the head with it repeatedly.  

I was tempted to do this I must say, so never impossible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3nqlXM6nOM

GDB2222

I will have to give in on that, then. I admit I thought it was just a straw man being set up, so it could be knocked down. 

Ben1989

So these are live and neutral yes? If so, I’ve identified them with a multimeter thank you