British Plugs and Outlets Are On Another Level

[@edc1569]

As a Brit, the switches don't cause any confusion when troubleshooting, they're pretty bullet proof and growing up with them, you know they're there.

[@davelordy]

Yep, it's a ludicrous idea . . . a lamp doesn't turn on so we start taking the bulb out and checking it, lol . . nope, no one does that, we make sure it's plugged in and turned on . . . it's like saying if your mouse won't wake up your computer from sleep mode then you start to unscrew your computer . . . nope, you'd check if it's actually switched on . . . I suspect your point about 'growing up with them' is why people who've not grown up with this system might think it's confusing for some reason.

[@JohnR31415]

The switch also means that we don’t ever leave plugs on the floor to trip over… The switches are also always on/off the same way up… so it’s trivial to check.

[@corneilcorneil]

@@JohnR31415 I agree. As a European, usedthem in Malaysia. Switch, fuse, dinosaur plugs, just perfect!

[@andyharris3084]

...and is always the first thing you'd check if a device doesn't work. Personally I always troubleshoot from the socket towards the device and not the other way around. Confirm you have power and then trace why that power is not reaching the device as it should.

[@brokeandtired]

The biggest design flaw is that you can step on the prongs hurting both the plug and your foot. We need a redesign that incorporates a 3 pin design, but also lies the pins flat. No one should copy our design, they should take the best FEATURES of our British plug designs but redesign the layout...They say "don't fix it if its not broken" but lets be honest it IS broken.

[@Richiecandylover]

Don’t think a British person has ever really had an issue with not switching on a socket, we all grew up with the switches! Similarly to how someone knows automatically to flick a switch to turn the light on! Also load balancing isn’t usually problematic- usually have a separate circuit for likes of cookers and washing machines!

[@MrPercy112]

👍

[@peterreed3104]

rather forget to turn on a socket than have it throw me across the room just a preference!

[@RandomNoob]

Not only that if you are unsure what's broken you just plug in something you know works to rule out a faulty switch/socket..

[@spetsnaz1014]

An electric cooker won't be on the same ring circuit as the sockets, it will be directly connected to the consumer unit by a higher gauge cable.

[@peterreed3104]

just turn it off at the wall before bed!

[@YelpBullhorn]

I’m British, and have never struggled to turn on a socket, nor have I ever struggled with their size. But I have trod on one though! And I’ve still got the scar on my heel to prove it! And even with that agony permanently seared onto my cortex, I'm still able to marvel at their incredible design. I rather took them for granted until I watched this vid.

[@johnburns4017]

Do you hit your head on low ceilings and doors as well.

[@Journey_to_who_knows]

Everyone will learn to stop leaving things on the floor, one way or another

[@mas_aco309]

3 prongs makes three points of pressure which distribute the force, it would probably have been a lot worse with a two prong plug

[@user-pn5cc4uj9w]

its worse then lego

[@AleK0451]

@@mas_aco309 one of them is longer than the other two, it's like stepping on a one prong plug at first

[@COMM_DUMPST3R]

I'm american, but when I was deployed to Iraq, we used these plugs. One thing I miss about these is how satisfying it is to plug these in and how secure they felt. Definitely wish we had these in the states!

[@David.L291]

I preferred the plugs when I was in Sweden tbh, Don't remember ever having a problem with a sagging cable neither unlike I've seen some saying on here with an American plug, I've also used a plug in Mexico, Perhaps it's similar to the US plug?

[@danielbliss8014]

In general I agree but I'm not thrilled about ring circuits.

[@paulgregory8973]

@@danielbliss8014 not all UK circuits are ring circuits, and installers are using radial circuits more commonly here now. Ring circuits are good for smaller gauge wire to be used, typically 2.5mm twin and earth. For a radial circuit 4mm twin and earth is commonly used (to allow for heavy loads), which is obviously more expensive. Can i just add, that standing on a UK plug is 10 times worse than standing on a lego brick :(

[@danielbliss8014]

@@paulgregory8973 I know all too well about the risk of standing on them.......I grew up over there. Thought US plugs were in that grey area between a practical joke and a dare when I came over here.

[@jovetj]

No.

[@rkirwan1]

Having grown up in Ireland I can attest that stepping barefoot on a 3-prong plug is one of the most painful learning experiences of my childhood. Great video.

[@TheSimCaptain]

Yep, that only happens in Ireland.😁

[@KZMShintaro]

Stepping on that. Made me start screaming and cursing in languages I don't even know i could say

[@pauljack174]

I jumped off my bunk bed and landed on one...it wasn't the best! 😞

[@tonyclifton265]

lol me too.. stepping on an upturned plug feckin hurts like a b4stard

[@jose-Maki]

Yeah, that and lego

[@relax_enjoy_English]

In the UK, we lift weights from the age of 3 in nursery/creche in order to manage the extra weight of our plugs. Also, we walk on hot coals every weekend in order not to feel pain when we walk on trailing plugs (which happens literally all the time). But seriously, it's unusual to feel proud to be British about anything at the moment, so thanks for the video!

[@Jack-he8jv]

bruh... guess whats the global human race language is.

[@misterdoctor9693]

@Colin Mitchell Please elaborate. I'm not a professional electrician or engineer, but I just spent all day trying to wire up my shed and then watching KZbin videos about how bad I did it and the English outlet/plug certainly looks better to me right now. I'm American.

[@Nvggs]

@Colin Mitchell Safety features that prevent potential death via electric shock aren't "over-designed". I feel terribly sorry for anyone who hires you as an engineer as you clearly have no regard for health and safety if you want things to be simple at the cost of danger

[@ۥۦۥ]

@@Nvggs Facts broski!!! 😳😳😳😳😂😂😛😛😛😛😛😛

[@residentelect]

@Colin Mitchell Yeah, but to be fair Australians need to save every penny they can on wiring in order to pay to fortify their houses against random animal attacks... Nobody wants a Kangaroo kicking their door through and punching them in the face, or dare I say, a dingo breaking in and stealing their baby!

[@dottyorb]

I've never had any problems with confusion about whether a switch is on or off, and I've never stepped on a plug because every plug is either plugged into the wall or put away, so it's never a danger. Honestly some of the things you listed made me go "Wait, America doesn't have that?" The switches in particular I was surprised about because it's something I always took for granted. Very interesting video though.

[@identity__thief]

I've stepped on plugs because my house doesn't have enough outlets for all the plugs (especially back before USB C laptops, the TV always seemed to have a few different laptop chargers on the floor near it) and it's bad, but you usually notice before putting any serious weight down and it's more of an "oh god that was scary and could have gone badly" than an "oh god that hurts"

[@UltimateDillon]

I wish I could say the same but I've definitely stepped on them

[@merlinmediagroup]

@@identity__thief Not to mention that as a consequence of their weight and "bulkiness" they pretty much always lay/rest on the floor pin sides up, so almost every Brit has experienced the profound agony that ensues from stepping on one at some point in their lives . Lego has nothing on British plugs. 😂

[@harrylangton3206]

I was spinning around on an office chair as a kid and fell off, hitting my head against an upright plug. Now my mum is pretty self sufficient so she washed the blood out my hair and patched me up herself, but for most people that would have been a trip to A&E :)

[@markrainford1219]

@@harrylangton3206 Thought you were going to say for the rest of your life you had three prong marks in the middle of your forehead.

[@ashleyjwheat]

As a Brit, the size of our plugs has never been an issue. I've lived in the EU and spent time in the US and am always baffled by how flimsy the connection feels with US sockets. I've also never ever had to think about load balancing in any house I've lived. Our electrics are pretty foolproof: plug what you need to use in and that's it. I have also stood on a plug once, in someone else's house, and believe me, once is enough, you learn to be tidier!

[@timbert4672]

Aye, I personally love that the lighting is on a seperate ring so that on the rare occasion where I have caused a load imbalance or a piece of equipment had an earth leakage, I don't have to feel my way around to find a torch in order to get the sockets back on.

[@clleo888]

Agreed with you that British plugs are very safe and foolproof. Sometime I even think the safety standard might be too high that used too much material.

[@webb2800]

The plugs fit flush to the wall as well which means they hardly take up any space when connected

[@kiyoponnn]

Yeah, I don't understand why load balancing was even brought up as an issue, as long as you don't exceed the ampere rating of the circuit breaker you never have to even think about it

[@Art-ij6lz]

Our plugs are always perfect, to the level that we go abroad and cant believe how bad other systems are.

[@SueMoseley]

I'm British and have taken these plugs for granted. Listening to this, I feel a new appreciation for them.

[@IR._]

The rest of the world just have to do everything wrong don’t they!

[@isaosauzedde5513]

As a french living in the UK, these plugs are one of the things I like the most in this country!

[@XtreeM_FaiL]

Let's talk about Brittish faucets next. Shall we? >:)

[@jonnyjackson6050]

@@XtreeM_FaiL you mean "taps".

[@XtreeM_FaiL]

@@jonnyjackson6050 Yes, but should they be called double taps?

[@SeriousClassics]

They really are a work of art. So many safety features that are taken for granted and most people wouldn't even notice.

[@holliswilliams8426]

That's really electrical engineering, it's a truly amazing subject but people just take it for granted.

[@80PercentScottish]

@@Fastnet72 has the Mona Lisa helped power millions upon millions of homes in a safe manner? She can smirk all she likes but she's done nothing on the scale of a type G plug.

[@festival3051]

@@Fastnet72 Calm down Peter. You'll get there in the end..

[@JhericFury]

Can confirm, am british, didn't notice.

[@jacksdjfam]

@@Fastnet72 its much better than the mona Lisa. Beautifully designed engineering which is taken for granted

[@naomisnelson5454]

Rewiring a plug was part of our science classes at like age 14, it's kind of weird to think that that's not a standard experience everywhere since it was a pretty good demo of how electricity works

[@THEonlyAEON]

Your lucky, don't think my school ever taught that, if they did I can blame the idiots of the class but also the punishment system for also punishing everyone else :p

[@Magic__7]

That's because back in the day you had to attach plugs your self

[@lennonhorrocks3754]

​@@Magic__7 I'm 19. I was taught how the plugs work via a diagram at school, but it was Dad who taught me the practical side of wiring them.

[@thecodingninjaisepic3561]

@@lennonhorrocks3754 im 20, i we learned how to wire them in phyisics in year 9

[@CAMSLAYER13]

School never mentioned it but at like 13 i found some old hifi equipment and needed to swap a plug to use some of it. Although these days more and more plugs come sealed.

[@petewebster9531]

Great video, thanks. Another correction from an old British electrician, the ring main itself is also protected using either a large 30A fuse or more modern circuit breaker so the total load cannot exceed design criteria (nominally 30 amps). Cable sizes for the ring main are not small at all at 2.5mm sq (twin + earth) and have double insulation over singles used on lower voltage systems. Load balancing has never been a consideration in normal homes as large appliances, such as an oven or hob, have their own dedicated high current rated circuits; as do other large loads, such as air con units. Lastly, we also use dedicated radial circuits for specific purposes. For example, central heating boilers, tumble dryers, washing machines etc. to keep the high load appliances off the ring main.

[@robertbradley1133]

Excellence is expected 🇬🇧

[@unclemick-synths]

Separate rings for the lights too IIRC.

[@raymondpassell8079]

@@unclemick-synths radials for lights in uk

[@shaun1293]

32A is the standard

[@TheEulerID]

@@shaun1293 You can find British sockets on 16A radials, 20A radials (on 2.5), 32A ring finals (on 2.5) and 32A radials (on 4mm). All those are common, but there are other variations too.

[@JDBD13]

As someone who has lived my entire life here in the UK I am shocked to hear that you don't have switches at the sockets. It's just such an alien concept from my perspective.

[@rasta77-x7o]

As an Aussie i agree.

[@pencilme1n]

I’m in the UK and there are no switches on any of my sockets. They are optional.

[@Ushio01]

@@pencilme1n Same though to be honest the amount of plug-in gadgets I have is far less today than when I was a kid at least outside of the kitchen. 'Fondly remembers all the separate parts the stereo system and VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and SKY boxes under the TV'. Now it's all just USB charging mobile devices.

[@Hilts931]

Shocked indeed

[@Al-Hunt-acrylic-painter]

Multi sockets and extention leads don't commonly have switches though.

[@musicjunk8266]

I grew up stepping on these. Brilliant for this purpose. The pain is pure and exquisite, the endorphin rush that follows sublime.

[@W0lf_91]

It is quite uniquely painful isn’t it? Still - I wouldn’t recommend it!

[@duncanbryson1167]

Be more careful then.

[@steveh100]

Yes, you know when you've stood on one of these bad boys with bare feet

[@willatwell7411]

There is no pain like it, it's not even pain, it's like an out of body experience, it's like being so cold that you don't even notice how cold you really are

[@CorvoFG]

It’s up there with stepping on Lego at 3am while trying to find your way to the toilet in the dark.

[@ChristopherFonseka]

Very true - stepping on a plug is one of the most painful experiences. However, since all our sockets are switched, it's an unusual situation. Most of the time you'll just leave the socket plugged in, and switch it off from the wall

[@offshoretomorrow3346]

I've actually never trodden on one. Unless it was so painful I've blanked the memory.

[@ImmAdam]

@@offshoretomorrow3346 I have - the Apple phone chargers with the removable USB cable, the cable comes out, plug ends up face up, I forget I've dropped it and... well... you can see how it ends

[@adamhorton9759]

Usually a light plug when your wondering round to the toilet at night with no foot protection.🤬🤬

[@adamhorton9759]

Comment came to soon!

[@ianip6]

As a kid I Jumped off my bunk bed straight on to a plug. I remember there was blood but its was about 40 years ago now :(

[@ClaudioParraGonzalez]

I love how the downsides of the G-plug are totally irrelevant things, while its fenefits are complete game-changers

[@shahtayyib]

Yeah. It's a fair evaluation, but the conclusion is that British plugs are, in fact, undefeated

[@andirutherford2615]

I agree, and their size means easy to grasp

[@fynkozari9271]

Lol USA greatest country uses 120volt 8:46 while the rest of the world 230volt.

[@davejulien]

With everything going low voltage seems completely overkill to have every outlet capable of 230v.

[@MrIbib]

@@davejulien 110v systems need larger diameter cables to avoid volt drop, so a 230v system uses less resources.

[@coolerdude42]

I grew up in a former British colony and we use these plugs. Didn't think much of these while growing up. Then I went to the US to study for 3 years. I've been literally shocked 4 times (vs 0 previously and since) mostly when pulling out plugs and accidentally touching the live point. Definitely have a greater appreciation for these plugs now

[@Angelsilhouette]

Lived in the US nearly all of my life. I've literally never been shocked plugging or unplugging anything unless the cord going into the plug was frayed.

[@DAN.eight6]

@@Angelsilhouette Yeah but this guy got used to the additional safety features of the UK plug so has never really needed to take much care whilst inserting or pulling them out... prior to his trip to the US.

[@rajisg]

@@DAN.eight6 yep exactly :)

[@ShakTMT]

@@Angelsilhouette these comments are why people think americans are...let me not be rude nvm

[@nebula5063]

@@ShakTMT We might have good plugs, but they built the most advanced and powerful country in just around 250 years.

[@kirstyd8909]

Coming from the UK, a pet peeve when travelling (especially in Asia) is that the plugs are so wobbly, connection drops as soon as it's moved and sometimes they just fall straight out of the wall. No idea how you could hoover with 2 pin plugs and not go crazy. Definitely don't take them for granted now!

[@tomboychick]

If it's something your used to, I guess you don't take any notice.

[@JoeyRhubarb]

@SeekCraft No she's right. They don't handle weight well either. Try plugging some wall adaptors in and tell me how you get on.

[@RYNOCIRATOR_V5]

you know you're a Brit when you say hoover instead of vacuum lol

[@macman30331]

your suposed to pinch the prongs together a bit so they hold in

[@monopalisa619]

Maybe travel to Hong Kong the next time you are in Asia and you will feel right at home! With these plugs, I mean.

[@rundattmedia2106]

As British born, London in 1985. And an electrician since I was 18 I can confirm we do have great plugs.

[@bucketheadothers2384]

Until you stand on one 😄

[@PaulingtonGoose]

​All those safety features meant we had to swap character-building electric shocks with character-building foot impalement!

[@user-nr2cs2rq7h]

@@bucketheadothers2384 Why would we stand on them?

[@bucketheadothers2384]

@@user-nr2cs2rq7h 99% of brits will have done at some point when they are left unplugged and you unknowingly stand on it, followed by a few cuss words 😄

[@diddybopper2052]

Swear* words.

[@Redsunns]

From Singapore, whenever i went overseas, i'm blessed that we have G-plug in Singapore. It's so safe and the flexibility to change the plug ourselves. We always remember and make sure to switch off all irrelevant switches before we leave home, except the one for the fridge.

[@peteredwards2318]

On the subject of size, you'll note that despite the chunky plug size, the standout from the wall of the plug and cable, is LESS with the larger, British style plug. Because the cable sticks straight out of the wall in the US version, its stand out is larger, meaning that you need more space around your socket in order to use it. In Britain, its fairly common to see certain devices plugged into sockets that are behind bits of furniture, like sofas, tv cabinets and bookcases, without those furniture items themselves standing off the wall by much. This means rooms can be arranged to make maximum use of floor space, without having to spend a lot of effort or time accounting for the positions of sockets. With regard to the switched sockets, it absolutely doesn't make trouble shooting more difficult, it just makes it different. And on load balancing ... Nearly nobody has to worry about that. Most peoples homes concentrate the majority of high use items in the kitchen, the kettle, the oven, the refrigerators and freezers... All that load heavy stuff is ordinarily in one room, but kitchen wall wire is often beefier itself, to account for that load intensity.

[@Isnt_that_Aaronic]

First time an American has complained about something being too big. As a UK home owner the large draw items like cooker, water heater or car charger are on independent circuits. My house has a few loops all feeding back to the panel. But the cooker is its own loop.

[@Conservator.]

Other systems have 90° plugs too. The European style plugs usually have straight plugs for small power devices and angled plugs for higher power devices. Your comment has made me aware of this. 😁

[@paulchartley]

Indeed. In the UK homes will be wired with ring mains for the lights and electrical sockets with something like a 3-6 amp breaker for the lighting circuits and a 16 amp breaker for the circuit with the electrical sockets. The rings for the lighting is usually done by floor so all the lights on the ground floor will be on one ring and all the lights on the upper floor will be on another. The electrical sockets are often a hybrid of radial and ring with all the sockets in a room being on a ring but each room being connected to the breaker box radially so there will be a single wire from the breaker box to the kitchen but all the sockets in the kitchen will then be on their own ring. The same will go for all the other rooms with all the sockets in that room on a ring but that ring being fed with a single spur from the breaker box. High power electrical items such as electric ovens, hobs, electrical shower heater units, and immersion heaters for hot water tanks will all be on their own individual spurs usually with 30 Amp cable that goes directly from the breaker box to an isolating switch that has an indicator light to show that power is being supplied to the appliance. This is so that if the appliance has to be powered off for some reason it can be powered off with a switch close by without needing to switch it off at the breaker box. For instance, in the kitchen an electric cooker and hob will be on their own 30 Amp spur that is independent from all the other 13 amp sockets that will be on the kitchen's 16 Amp ring main. The 30 Amp spur will come into a faceplate with a 45 Amp switch for the cooker and hob and a 13 Amp socket that can be used to test that there is power to that faceplate from the 30 Amp spur. The switch can turn the power to the cooker and hob on and off while not effecting the 13 Amp socket. Under the counter appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers and larder fridges or appliances such as floor to ceiling fridge freezers which will be plugged into sockets that are inaccessible will usually have a fused switch in an accessible location that controls an unswitched that is located behind the appliance. As has been stated elsewhere, in all cases fault finding will start at the switch first with this either being a switched socket or the fused switch in the case of appliances that run off a switched spur. These will usually have an indicator light to indicate whether they are supplying power or not. Finally, because power outlets in the UK have individual switches in them, an appliance can be electrically isolated by simply setting the switch on the outlet to the off position so there is no reason to unplug the device and so having stray plugs laying around the room with their pins in the air to step on is not really an issue as the socket does not need to be removed from the outlet to power off the device.

[@bassplaya69er]

@@paulchartley UK domestic ring mains are usually 32A. Domestic lighting tends to be a radial (not a ring) between each light fixture with a live and switched live dropping down to the light switch ( no neutral)

[@progamertom7878]

@@Isnt_that_Aaronic the cooker will be on a radial circuit

[@alanjohnston1199]

I knew the potential for foot injury would be among the cons. As someone born and raised in the UK, I can attest that we only ever step on a plug once in a lifetime. It's so horrible that you never repeat it. I'm sure we have a more tentative shoeless-in-the-dark shuffle than anyone else in the world (along with the other Type G regions mentioned in this video) due to this plug design.

[@Thurgosh_OG]

This Fact has been proved so many times. Step on a UK plug once and scarred for life with 'The Fear'.

[@N1NJAKIDD]

It's up there with kicking a bed leg with your little toe barefoot

[@davidpevalin6075]

after your first time your feet will never leave the floor with the shoeless-in-the-dark shuffle.

[@hellothere2808]

I would never wish someone to go through that pain, not even my worst enemy.

[@lukeboy61]

I think stepping on one of our UK plugs is the only real negative. The size makes no real difference. In fact with the cable running down from the outlet you can have furniture far closer up against the plug than with a US version. We do a lot of things in a mixed up way here (like our odd mix and match of metric and imperial) but our plugs are just objectively better.

[@andyhowlett2231]

Brit here. Although I'm not an electrician (I'm in radio/electronics), I can honestly say that although 'load balancing' is a theoretical concern it is not something that bothers 99% of people at all. I've never seen an instance of it anywhere. As for treading on an up-turned plug, we Brits are sensible people and we don't have plugs lying about in the middle of the floor! Finally, if an appliance fails to switch on, we don't automatically think it's faulty, we just check it is plugged in and the wall-switch is on.

[@jackmack322]

also, yes it big and bulky but it sits flat against the wall with cable coming down which is great if a plug is behind somthing like furniture

[@miles7374]

As a Brit you’re lying if you say this has never happened to you 🔌 🦶

[@LoFi3]

As another Brit, I refute your claim that we never step on plugs. I have done it a few times. It’s even worse than stubbing your toe on the coffee table.

[@andyhowlett2231]

@@miles7374 No really, I've never stepped on a plug! Maybe I'm lucky, maybe I look where I'm going or maybe we don't leave plugs lying around the floor! But really, I suspect I'm like the majority of Brits who have never stood on one, and I've just asked my wife and she tells me she hasn't either! Please don't accuse someone of lying just because you have a different experience.

[@andyhowlett2231]

@@LoFi3 I didn't say that. It would be a foolish claim.

[@Mega_Xenomorph]

I live in Ireland and, just like the use of the metric system, I love the G plugs. As you said, they always point downward which is great when you have something plugged in snuggly against a cupboard or a dresser and you don't have to get an extender/brick to corner off the plug as you may have to with the A type. I love it's safety and will happily risk every night of potentially stomping on one to keep it in my home every single time. Honestly it's one of the greatest inventions Britain has ever produced

[@leneanderthalien]

@R Voit make me laught...the metric system was adopted in France in 1799, and some years later was use on all the european continent, inclusive germans who was not realt friendly against France in that times... but the US, despite they recive a significative help from France to access to independance in 1783 which was signed in Paris, did not adopt the metric system from he's friends and hold to the imperial system from they colonist and the weird farenheit t° scale , that's was alway considered in France as a realy strange attitude...all the more strange that the 2 first US embassadors in France was Benjamin Franklin and he's successor Thomas Jefferson, both founding fathers from the USA...

[@GeordieAmanda]

As I'm British, I took these features for granted. I knew of all the safety features mentioned, but had never paused to think what a great job somebody did when they put the specification together. It's like most simple, but brilliant designs, you just don't realise they are so well engineered because they almost never give cause to notice them. Thanks for the video, I will not take our humble plug for granted again :)

[@williams4434]

@@GlennHoddleSucksSocks Never known anyone to step on one, I think a tad of cynicism

[@ontheroadagainwithvinny931]

@@GlennHoddleSucksSocks I'm sure someone somewhere in the UK (or anywhere using these plugs) has stood on one, but I've never come across anyone that has - and I'm not young!

[@Nvggs]

@@GlennHoddleSucksSocks Pro-Tip, don't chuck a plug on the floor when not in use. Better yet, leave it in the socket and switch it off! Can't step on it if it's in the wall. I'd rather have a small chance of hurting my foot at my own error than the 101 safety flaws of the ones in the US.

[@Tschemba]

Now I want to see a comparison to EU plugs. I grew up with them and was shocked about the lack of safety on US plugs.

[@stixinst5791]

Exactly....everyafety feature he likes on british plugs is done better by EU ones xD -the switches

[@lewiskidd9568]

@@stixinst5791 what do you mean the switchs?

[@RealJichealMackson]

@@lewiskidd9568 he wrote "minus the switches", meaning the eu plugs don't have switches

[@stixinst5791]

@@lewiskidd9568 minus the switches

[@iFireender]

@@stixinst5791 aand then there's the swiss plug, which is better than the Schuko plug (can't mix up live and neutral), and also the smallest one.

[@georgemacdonald3087]

It may have been mentioned already, but the plug also has extended "wings" sticking out on ether side at the base so that your fingers are kept away from the pins. They make it difficult to wrap your fingers around the base of the plug when inserting it into a socket.

[@brandonlee7382]

Our UK plugs are so cool lol so many features we take for granted

[@codname125]

European plugs have that too

[@roomrunner07]

T'is actually especially useful because I have some plugs that don't have these "wings" and whenever I try to plug them in, the skin on my fingers wrap around the plug and when I press down on, It basically just turns into a pinching machine between the socket and the flush plug. So, yes. it does have more implications than just the fingers touching the pins.

[@N1NJAKIDD]

I'm from the UK and didn't know that🤣🤣

[@marcokrueger3399]

@@codname125 The European Type E/F plug is pretty cool, too. I think it looks better, but type G has more features. Both are pretty safe

[@jonasezeanya1382]

Nigerian here, and I can confirm that the UK type-G plug is the common type around here. We only usually see the type-B and type-A coming in with laptops and printers and such. And, yes, the issues you raised about the straight-out direction of the cables are legitimate headaches. Nearly everything else - fridges, washing machines, electric irons, electric stoves/cookers, televisions, set top boxes etc - all come with 3-pin type-G plug. Never stepped on one of those, but I think I have enough reflex memory experience from stepping on other stuff to keep me from EVER making that mistake. The mere thought of it is giving me the creeps. Yikes!

[@glo0115]

You've never stepped on one, don't worry son one day your coming of age ritual will be achieved 😉

[@ReynaldoJAbreuR74]

I grew up in South America where the US standard or its variations are ubiquitous (127V). After I moved to the UK, one of the things I fell intensely in love was tthe electrical sockets/plugs design (the other is roundabouts). Its design and network is so vastly superior that there is not even a comparison - and should have been adopted worldwide.

[@rhysblaney3121]

Believe us, if the Empire had its way, everyone would be speaking English and using 3 Pin Plugs (pretty sure they were our main objectives). But everyone wanted their independence back so here we are. I mean, it was definitely our fault...

[@ReynaldoJAbreuR74]

@@rhysblaney3121don't get too high on that nostalgia - if that was the case, we'd also have very bad food everywhere

[@lees6057]

@@ReynaldoJAbreuR74 hey, you can't beat a Sunday roast 😋

[@fatbroccoli8]

@@lees6057 he wouldn't know

[@AngelEmfrbl]

@@ReynaldoJAbreuR74 no we wouldn't, the British eventually adopted good aspects of a culture

[@LamboGallardo560]

They are much larger than the North American plugs, but interestingly since they're a 90 degree plug they actually take up less space in your home. You could shove a piece of furniture up against it easily, whereas our plugs need several inches of space to give the cord room.

[@MrSimonmcc]

Flat design plugs are now becoming more readily available.

[@LRN2DIY]

Excellent point! I’m currently traveling in Scandinavia and noticing the same thing: flatter plugs = furniture tighter to the walls and less risk. The US has these as well but they’re just now getting some traction and it will be a while before they’re common.

[@shiijei2638]

The first thing I thought of when he mentioned the size is the number of times I've had to squeeze a plug through a gap. I could never do that with the UK plug.

[@soundspark]

@@LRN2DIY Is it still a lot easier to mold inline plugs than 90 degree ones? Most US plugs are molded unlike the assembled plugs in the UK, but I still agree the 90 degree plug is wonderful when working with furniture.

[@davelordy]

Annoyingly, in the UK most plugs sockets are a few inches above floor level (except for the kitchen where they are sometime installed at work-surface level) . . . so having a cord that exists the plug go downwards is rarely ideal . . . for example you've got a radio or computer or TV, and the plug will usually be plugged in 4 or 5 inches off the ground and the cord exiting it then heads downwards, only to then need to go upwards, I see this as somewhat of a design flaw - I 3D printed myself a bunch of plugs where the cord exits from the top, which are much more practical if you want your leads out of the way or to better fit behind things. Another solution is to mount the sockets upside down.

[@spookybuz7803]

Hi, I've been an electrician in the UK for 30+ years, and the load balancing 'issue' is a one in a thousand problem, and that 'one' is almost always the copper loom. Some people always think volts when they should be really thinking about amps 😉

[@ThePuterMan]

On that you are absolutely right. You can also think in watts. A standard 32amp ring can take 7000 watts (i think I am correct) so if you don't know the amperage of your kit you can calculate in watts as most equipment has at least that written on it. For a spur socket, should you happen to have one, that should be capable of handling about 2800 watts. A lighting circuit can handle 1100 watts but if you use LED lighting there are no concerns you will ever get up to that. By the way I am not an electrician. This is just knowledge I have garnered over my many years. Always consult a professional electrician if in doubt. All wattages here assume a voltage of 220 volts.

[@spookybuz7803]

​@@ThePuterMan That's decent knowledge for a non-electrician, nice one. I wish there were more basic courses on conduction/resistance in schools and colleges, just so more people were aware of the processes. For example, most construction companies use the minimal safe amount of wiring to pass the safety inspections. But 20% more copper would give more than a 200% increase in safety for little cost, but they don't because they don't have to and no one seems to care enough to change regulations.

[@MattChan8]

@@spookybuz7803 Thanks for sharing! Tell us more about the 20%! What spec cable is typically installed, and what do you recommend?

[@stevewatson6839]

With Americans it is neither the volts or the amps; it's the thinking part in my experience.😏

[@kanedaku]

PREACH

[@andreejor]

As a visitor to the USA, I was impressed by the solid quality of the plumbing, amazed at how small the stall doors are in public toilets and how loose the electric sockets are in the wall.

[@VyktorAbyss]

Brit here... just to say here in the UK we're particularly proud of our ability to hair dryer our clothes while ironing our hair at the same time from the same socket.

[@DraftySatyr]

Agreed. Think it's one of the qualifications required to enter 'extreme ironing' competitions.

[@wranglerboi]

@VyktorAbyss - I think you've been watching too much Monty Python! That sounds like one of their comic routines.

[@RetroReminiscing]

🤣👌

[@DraftySatyr]

@@wranglerboi " ... watching too much Monty Python." Sorry, not familiar with that concept.

[@catsandcrafts171]

Also running a space heater because the window's open to let out the cord for the hedge trimmer. (true story... hangs head in shame). :D

[@ChosenHandle]

A safety feature in the design that you didn't mention is how the plug is internally partitioned so that even if the live wire were to come loose inside the plug, the partitioning (and what with the live wire being the shortest as you mentioned in the video) makes it unlikely that the live wire will come into contact with the neutral or earth wire/terminal.

[@RACE.TV1]

Not to mention the size of the plug helps those with disabilities. You put that sucker in the palm of your hand and ram that thing into the socket. You probably don't even need fingers.

[@gssf.gr29]

@@RACE.TV1 A smaller, lighter plug would most likely still be easier though.

[@flashlightning6742]

@@RACE.TV1 it’s better for some, worse for others. Probably great if fine motor skills are your problem, but it would also be very clunky to manipulate for others

[@gssf.gr29]

@@deletemedeleteme43 Some people still find them harder to use than other types of plugs. Ask any of the millions of people with arthritis in their hands.

[@NXNX7]

Used to hate these when I just got to the UK, but later realised how amazing they were. Travelling to the states and using those basic ones feels like going to a developing country.

[@mostwantedsol]

Brit living in Mexico currently and I feel the same, they feel so fragile also!

[@JivanPal]

The US _is_ a developing country.

[@SsKaySs]

I'm in a developing country and we use the British plug & wiring standards.

[@tannhauser5399]

@@JivanPal - no, not anymore. Considering the lack of a public and normal/proper health care (after all, you can be bankrupt because of one accident and pay a couple of thousands for a simple ambulance), declining education levels (easy to prove), lack of employee protection (what happened with a paid 25+ days of holiday each year (with 5 unused days each year going forward), a paid maternity leave longer than 6 months+, paid sickness days longer than a few weeks, normal 35-40 hours working week so you can have a proper balance between work and your private life, 1-3 months notice if you going to be fired - based on a particular job role)... and plenty of more examples. At the end: even based on info from this year from "Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development" and PIAAC, and description of the education levels in US: - half of US adult can't read a book writen at the 8th grade level - 2% have a high literacy level - and in this year, for the first time ever, PIAAC combined the fourth and fifth literacy levels. That's because there were no longer enough people at the highest level to count. Just sad, as this could have been a great nation. Now it is just a laughing stock, and it is just... sad to see that. And that is not even talking about, Uvalde or Sandy Hook (which should have been an eye opener for people) or whatever US is doing with gun issues... Pretty much the country run like a corpo with people being treated like commodities. Nothing more.

[@JivanPal]

@@tannhauser5399 I think you misread my comment. I said the US is a _developing_ nation precisely because of all the things you mention and more; not that it is a _developed_ one.

[@meeprophone]

Not mentioned here, the fuse in the plug is intended to be rated for the flex/cable and appliance together, so a smaller cable gets a smaller fuse. Therefore even under fault conditions insufficient to trip the main breaker, you still can’t melt the wire, because the fuse blows first. Typically a 13A fuse on a 3kW kettle, a 3A fuse on a lamp. An additional important safety feature!

[@David.L291]

I think it's great that new items already come with a fitted plug as standard long time nowadays and now that actually makes me wonder why and if you can still buy plugs? What would be the actual point ha

[@Dosedmonkey]

@@David.L291 yes you can still buy plugs. I often convert foreign equipment to plug type G. Its also still possible to damage a plug, say crushing it when the equipment is in storage. Or pins wearing with very heavy use over 20 years.

[@capn_chris]

Unfortunately, most plugs are automatically sold with 13A fuses. In reality you should be asked what the plug is for then be provided with the appropriate fuse.

[@laurahall3094]

The fuse in the plug trick is in most USA dangerous gadgets that are not directly wired like afurnace. Blow dryer, clothing dryer, clothes washer etc.

[@markirvine7671]

We were challenged in an engineering course to find as many safety features on a uk plug as we could. Every team was easily into double figures!

[@mindblown42069]

Growing up with British plugs has made me suspicious of dodgy looking plugs when i travel XD i'm feeling quite proud following this video in a weird way though :) On a side note, nobody has ever in history failed to notice the switch isnt on at the plug. They rarely get used anyway, but it would be the first thing you checked. The switches have little red squares on them so you can visuallly tell if its switched on, and often a red light so you know power is moving through.

[@hydrochicken9854]

I have a newfound appreciation for our plugs after this video. Always took them for granted. Troubleshooting isn’t really an issue most times as the plug is normally the very first thing you check.

[@myyoutubeviewsfeed7533]

As someone know these for the first time. I in fact love the way they design plug in the uk and it has multiple safety features

[@kenjohnson762]

You didn’t mention that the colours of the leads in Britain were specified by the Electrical Appliances (Colour Code) Regulations 1969. From 1 July of that year the live lead was brown, the neutral lead was blue and the earth lead was green and yellow. These are the colours least likely to be indistinguishable by a colour-blind person. Before that date the colours were red, black and green respectively, which all look the same to many colour blind viewers.

[@NEEEBODY]

When I served my time as an industrial sparky back in the 90's, the flex colours were indeed, brown, blue & green/yellow. Standard house wiring cable (from distribution board to sockets, light fittings etc. were red, black and green or green/yellow sleeve. Three phase cabling was red, yellow & blue with the neutral being black. If you were wiring ring mains in singles cable in an industrial setting, you would often find the live cable would be either red, yellow or blue, with the black neutral. Times moved on and we standardised on the mains wiring being the same as the flex wiring, brown, blue and green/yellow, with 3 phase colours changing to brown, black & grey with a blue neutral.... Many older buildings can have a combination of wiring colour standards and a label has to be placed on the distribution board stating that both colour schemes are in use from that board. Complicated or what? 😆 Final point, you can get un-switched sockets in the UK, not as common as switched ones, and often used as a means of disconnection behind built in appliances or washing machines etc, but with a separate disconnection switch above the counter...

[@brooke1639]

They are also that colour because bLue - for Left. bRown - for Right yeLLow for middLe

[@kenjohnson762]

@@brooke1639 No, that was a mnemonic. The colours were chosen because most people who are colour blind can distinguish them.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

Confusing the red and the green is rather unlikely unless you're trying to splice into it from the middle somewhere. And even then, you'd likely not have problems as the live lead is going to be carrying voltage when the neutral and ground aren't. It's something that you'd test for regardless of whether or not you're colorblind as you'd want to make sure that no numbskull wired it backwards. Which, for many applications wouldn't be an issue as the current does flow through both of them when in use. It is better not to use colors that are easily missed by those with colorblindness, but it's more of a convenience and extra measure than anything else.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

@@brooke1639 Except, that it would still work with the hot and neutral reversed, this is an AC circuit after all. You wouldn't do it because it isn't standard and can result in issues if somebody does come along later and assume that there's standard wiring going on.

[@djpalmer31]

You should see the Apple version of the UK plug (for charging an iPhone). They tried to make it smaller and flatter and succeeded in making virtually impossible to get out of the socket

[@smithychris8537]

They redesigned them a couple of years ago… they don’t have that problem anymore

[@RYNOCIRATOR_V5]

apple bad (obligatory Android user comment)

[@josh_1518]

@@RYNOCIRATOR_V5 your wrong (typed on iPhone)

[@thefastmeow]

@@josh_1518 yore grammar are bad

[@RYNOCIRATOR_V5]

@@josh_1518 *you're _puts shades on, in defeat, you explode_

[@chipesh]

My late brother was BSc and first engineer for the CEGB. He admired the UK plug. It's an amazing device regarding safety.

[@thisnameislongjustlikemysh9584]

@@TD75 yes. It is

[@-GS-]

@@TD75 the guy in the video literally tells us how he has been shocked multiple times. That's just not something that happens in the UK. Why design something poorly when it could be done better?

[@KosturKos]

sorry for your loss

[@SeanStrain]

@@TD75 Your anecdote is not data. Remember that your experiences are not universal - just because you haven't heard of it happening doesn't mean it doesn't happen. An easy google search tells me there are 400 fatalities caused by electricity in the USA per year, while the UK has only 30, despite the increased voltage. That's 0.41 per million in the UK and 1.2 per million in the US. This plug saves lives.

[@nieyM]

@@TD75 You've never heard of it? You can find many video compilations online.

[@spudthedog245]

The black insulation on the live and neutral pins has not always been there. It was introduced because of the amount of people pushing metal objects like cutlery and other metal objects behind the plug. The plugs can be hard to pull and the amount of people with arthritis and children that were killed trying to prize them out of the wall was the ultimate reason that they are now insulated.

[@scootergrant8683]

Consider it a live service update. One of a few in fact.

[@jasonquigley2633]

As someone from Ireland who grew up with these plugs, I can confirm the extreme level of pain that comes from stepping on one them...

[@stinkywinky2010]

Yes I agree.

[@bertionoone]

People always complain about Lego until you remind them of that time they stepped on a plug.

[@struanpeat5116]

Only stepped on one once and i learned my lesson No plug is outside of a socket unless it's bundled or spooled together

[@andrewgodwin460]

Why would you unplug something and then leave it were you going to be walking? You probably deserve sore feet.

[@holliswilliams8426]

I've done that once or twice, thanks for reminding me lol.

[@adrianbridge3474]

I’m a master electrician in Canada and was the equivalent in the UK. The ring main is protected with a 32A breaker, never heard of the balance issue. The wire size is 2.5mm² this is 14AWG, not a thinner gauge. With a ring main, the receptacle is fed from both sides of the ring; there isn’t any issue with loading up one area of the ring. The max plug fuse size is 13A the smallest is 3A the fuse can be tailored to the device. The maximum area for a ring main is 100 square meters, usually, the kitchen has its own ring main to cover the heavy loads associated with a kitchen. There is double the power available from a 220V plug vs. a 110V plug. A 1kW kettle will use 4A at 220V and 8A at 110V. The breaker box in the UK has 2 x 32A Residual current circuit breakers - RCCB one for each ring main. 6A breaker dedicated to lighting using 1.5mm² wire. The 32A receptacles will trip if a 30 mA fault occurs and must trip within 40 ms, but the lights will stay on. But the receptacles and plugs are expensive compared to North America, but you get what you pay for.

[@dingers35]

He did say Master electrician. And then proved it!! The rules here are very strict regarding electrics and although DIY electrics is allowed there are a lot of situations where a qualified sparky is necessary to be compliant with the regulations. Doesn't matter much - until you want to sell the house...

[@manolisgledsodakis873]

I'm fairly sure that 1 Amp fuses are available for the type G plug.

[@jonsouth1545]

@@manolisgledsodakis873 They are but they are super rare it's normally 3, 5, 13 I've only ever seen a 1 in Christmas tree lights

[@daklakdigital3691]

@@manolisgledsodakis873 The best fuse is a piece of aluminium foil , twisted around the failed fuse and inserted carefully into the clips. :))

[@Nickcooper625]

@@jonsouth1545 There are also 10 amp fuses, although they're not very common, and of course they're all colour-coded: 3A - Red 5A - Black 10A - Dark grey 13A - Brown

[@ScottF-hh5yj]

In most modern British houses, anything that would be heavy on load, such as your oven/washer/dryer, dishwasher, or shower would tend to be on a separate fused circuit of their own anyway. So that particular negative doesn’t really apply. The one thing he misses about the switches at the outlet/socket, is that most display a red tab when they are in the on position. It makes it real easy at a glance to know if the switch is live, and is very handy if you have little ones running around.

[@applejuice5272]

Or they have ON printed on the upper face

[@chatteyj]

@@applejuice5272 They still confuse me though, if you can see the word 'ON' it means the outlet is on/ live correct?

[@IISocratesII]

@@chatteyj Yes

[@redshep4318]

Some even have red led that get turn on when you switch the power on.

[@Long-Horse]

British, what a fkin disgusting word.

[@aaronmdjones]

A nice benefit to the cable exiting the bottom (rather than the front) is that no matter how thick and heavy it is, the plug will never sag in the socket. I've seen brand new type A/B plugs in brand new sockets sagging and falling out of the socket just from the weight of the cable on them.

[@electricpaisy6045]

And you can put furniture right infront of the outlet and still have something plugged in.

[@srjt1684]

@@electricpaisy6045 I was going to comment that too, the cables sitting flush to the wall is very convenient

[@laszu7137]

It baffles me that people are baffled by plugs with angled cables. In continental europe both types are in common use.

[@jovetj]

A receptacle that allows a two-prong plug to sag is defective and should be replaced.

[@roaduser6438]

One of the benefits of the removable plug that isn't mentioned is that you can remove the plug to pass the cable through a small hole and then reattach the plug. This can be useful and is far better than having to cut a massive hole to pass an entire plug through.

[@thornbottle]

I did this when connecting up my offgrid solar to my home office, got a big extension cable, put the cable through a vent (60s house) and reconnected, no need to require a massive drill to drill a big hole through the wall

[@infideluk]

We can take the plug off and have an even smaller hole😉

[@FirstNameLastName-hahaha]

@@infideluk They really don't get it, do they

[@zimzimph]

@@FirstNameLastName-hahaha who is/are they here?

[@sowts5157]

Good shout

[@imlanding]

As a Brit, I love that the downsides are that, they're big, you wouldn't normally check the switch, and you can stand on it 😂😂😂

[@darracqboy]

Ikr? I’m also a Brit and checking the switch is a pretty common thing to do, not a flaw. It’s just Americans aren’t used to it 🙄

[@1815matt]

Yeah, but I HAVE stepped on it, and it is excruciating. Still not as bad as an electric shock though 😂

[@imlanding]

@@1815matt I think every Brit knows the pain of standing on a plug! It normally happens at 3am on the way to the toilet 😂

[@ediblemanager]

Reckon he tried a bit too hard to find downsides!

[@Teribus13]

@@imlanding when you're trying to be quiet... but the barrage of expletives you let out when you step on one is never quiet 😂

[@jeffwalker7185]

Another feature of the British plug is the fuses also come in various capacities such as 3 amp, 5 amp, 10 amp and 13 amp. Electrical items will come with the correct amp fuse relevant to the load it will be under during normal operation.

[@RandomNoob]

Most think the fuse is to protect the appliance too but this is false, the plug fuse is to protect the cable and should be sized as such.

[@moopet8036]

The downside to this is that when people casually replace the fuse, they almost always slap in a 13A one regardless of what the requirement is.

[@lewisparry4992]

@@moopet8036 I do like for like everytime.

[@anne_frank_]

@@moopet8036 assuming they bother with a fuse and don't go for rolled foil from their last pack of smokes.

[@syrea793]

​@@anne_frank_lol a pack of ten assorted fuses is £1. I keep a couple of packs in a drawer 🤣

[@yanwuncheung6233]

i am from Hong kong and im gonna show this to my colleagues in the US, as they were always laughing at how chunky the plugs we use in HK are, i am so not educated, and even though my user experience is much better, I cannot explain how it is much safer to use and all the advantage it has😂 British Plugs yeah~!

[@caffeineted]

Singaporean here and we use this plug. 40 years of my life, I've never heard of anyone stepping on the plug. It's just common sense that we don't leave them lying around. Also load balancing is not a concern to most of us. Yes it's bulky but it sits almost flushed on our wall. For travel oriented items, we have ones with folding prongs.

[@roadtof1.]

I have stepped on the plug once and it is incredibly painful especially as I was running around

[@caffeineted]

@@roadtof1. I can imagine. Stepping on a lego is already too painful. This must be worst.

[@stLtBilko]

I live in the UK & I nearly stood on a 3 pin plug once so have made sure to leave them in the socket or just put the appliance back in the box so that my family don't feel such agony

[@1Thunderfire]

As a Brit, I am honestly baffled by the amount of people who have stood on plugs. I mean, how exactly? Also, yeah, the folding plugs for travel are very useful indeed.

[@kennethkeen1234]

@@1Thunderfire You forget that Americans use this site and so we are confronted with the lowest intelligence possible, disregarding the monkeys in Kenya and they are not allowed into houses without certificates or identity cards showing that they are not American.

[@GreenJimll]

Having a larger plug is useful if you have poor grip/dexterity. Indeed in the UK we have versions of the standard plug with a hoop on the back so that you can put a finger through it to pull the plug out. My late mother had arthritis in her hand and I replaced several plugs she would need to swap over every so often with these larger hooped versions to make it easier for her.

[@stuknox7468]

For plugs which don't come with a loop grip you can buy a thin plastic loop which anchors from top and bottom on the live and neutral pins to create a pull loop. My grip is staring to get a bit dicey and they are really useful for removing a tight plug.

[@dlarge6502]

@@daviddou1408 well pulling the cord wouldn't help anyway.

[@jamie7664]

Breville appliances sold in the US have that. It’s very cool 😎

[@MichaelWilliams-tv1bm]

The other feature of the replaceable internal fuse is that you can match the fuse to the load. Fuses are available as 3Amp, 5Amp or 13Amp and are colour coded to prevent confusion.

[@2Sorts]

7a and 10a are available to British Standard too. Rarely seen.

[@flat-earther]

Williams I suggest watch a 13 part series called _What on earth happened_ by Ewaranon to learn that the earth is not a globe. Link in my about tab.

[@2Sorts]

@@flat-earther You just want a free trip into space

[@seraphina985]

@@2Sorts You can get 1A and 2A ones also, but yeah mostly need to shop online or at specialist stores to get them as most brick and mortar stores don't carry them.

[@2Sorts]

@@seraphina985 This is also true. 1st I saw those was at Bacton Gas Terminal. They used to fit the absolute smallest value fuse to any plug-in equipment that went out to the rigs. Even new stuff had to be opened, examined, re-fused and then PAT tested by the maintenance shop on site, before I was allowed out to the rig.

[@harveypalfreyman-rose4544]

One of the minor features about the plug that often gets overlooked is that if you are colour blind you can wire it correctly as the colours are designed so that one is black one is white and the earth is black and white and the colours where chosen for both the letter reminder and again with partial colour blindness they could never get mistaken

[@fufu6070]

They call it the type G because it's the type "Great". We have this as the standard kind of plug in Malaysia. The downsides are a bit hard to relate to and do sound a little tenuous though because we've always grown up with switched sockets and extentions so isolation is easy and you never really have to unplug anything save for a portable vacuum which gets put away anyway. Awesome video nonetheless for bringing to light many of the technical and safety features we take for granted.

[@AndrooUK]

It makes it easy to reset routers, too. No need to look for some annoying power button hidden somewhere on your router, you can just switch it off and on.

[@123Andersonev]

it's one of those rare cases where an actual engineer designed it instead of someone in sales.

[@firstnamelastname6202]

Never been more proud to be British then now knowing we have good electrical plugs 😆

[@jamiehughes5573]

Except when you accidentally stand on them barefooted, most painful thing

[@uvwuvw-ol3fg]

@@jamiehughes5573Agreed, hard to avoid any cognitive biases but it seems like we all had a some form of tribalistic/ethnocentric indoctrination, and if the plug is other way around then the plastic earth or metal live/neutral pins which are made out of brittle metal keep braking off when stepping on them. On all of the other plugs pins just bend and can be straightened out.

[@dc-4ever201]

The size of the plug is actually a bonus, it helps older people and those with physical limitations easily grab it as it is a bit more substantial also it's shaped so that the sides have two ridges (which you missed) these ridges fit easily between the thumb and fore finger on it's side when you want to remove it from the socket. But yes I totally agree our plugs are literally adult caltrops if you leave them on the floor pin side up.

[@stettan1]

I always thought they looked overly big, but you are right, Swedish standard plugs can be very hard to remove. Especially the grounded type with contact plates on the sides.

[@IainPurdie]

I've even seem some products aimed at the elderly which have plugs with an added "ring" on them. This lets the user slip a finger through to pull the plug out should they not have the grip to remove the plug normally.

[@greenaum]

@@IainPurdie Silly question... you're not Iain "Mad Mosher" Purdie who once wrote to 2000AD and studied in Bradford? Cos it's a small world...

[@EdwardChan.999]

When using NA plugs, often I have to pull on the cord to get the plug out, which is quite dangerous tbh. Never had any issues pulling out British plugs.

[@kennethkeen1234]

Why would anyone leave the plug lying on the floor? Aha, you mean the people who leave knives wrong side up on the sofa. Yes, those people are not cared for properly and should ask the care ladies to tie them down tightly at night.

[@nimbas9824]

One of the benefits that you fail to mention. Because the cable exits parallel to the wall you can place a piece of furniture such as a side cabinet in front of the outlet without the risk of either kinking the cable and or damaging it in the process.

[@MaticTheProto]

We have those kinds of cables in the eu as well

[@pikachuchujelly7628]

You still need lots of clearance regardless if you want to plug something in and out because of how long the pins are. Some North American plugs have the cord parallel with the wall, but it's not a standard.

[@obscure.]

@@pikachuchujelly7628 once plugged in what remains on the outside is very minimal, you can definitely push your furnitures right against the wall and have a very minimal gap

[@wr2899]

@@pikachuchujelly7628 usually things that are being plugged in and out don’t go in sockets behind furniture so it’s a non issue. Things that remain plugged in long term such as a lamp or television do not need much clearance.

[@davidcardew6853]

I never thought I would enjoy a video about how great the design of a British plug is but here we are. I will admit stepping on a plug in the UK is painful haha! Great video.

[@adrianfisher3349]

It was nice to see a video of an American recognising excellence away from their shores ☺️

[@kieronimo1]

One great thing about the switched outlets (or sockets, as we call them) is that you don't need to leave things unplugged (where they can be stepped on). You just leave them plugged in and switched off. You learn very quickly not to leave British plugs on the floor. Interestingly, we do have sockets without switches, but they are pretty rare these days. Although, they are usually used behind kitchen counters for appliances. Then we have fused switches on the walls to isolate the appliances.

[@fivish]

My house built in 1972 has no original switched sockets. I have replaced some over the years with switched sockets though unswitched are still available. Either meets code.

[@jonathanbuzzard1376]

You can still get unswitched outlets, they are generally used for things that you never want to be accidentally turned off. A classic example would be a freezer. They are also sometimes used on things like a washing machine or dishwasher with a remote switch so you don't have to move the appliance to isolate it at the mains.

[@gavinminion8515]

In fact, wiring regulations make it difficult to have unswitched sockets. Every appliance has to have an obvious point of isolation and the switch is the easiest way to achieve this. Even the freezer will have a switch - but it should also be labelled to reduce the chance of it being accidentally switched off.

[@jonathanbuzzard1376]

@@gavinminion8515 where does it say that in the regulations because I have not seen it.

[@gavinminion8515]

@@jonathanbuzzard1376 BS7671 chapter 53 mandates isolation for every circuit. The on site guide also says (under 5.1.1) - "Means of isolation should be provided for every item of equipment". Whilst I don't think there is a specific mandatory requirement (hence the word 'should') it would be difficult to defend the use of unswitched socket outlets.

[@TaoistYang]

You forgot to mention that: 1) each & every plug comes with a printed card teaching you how to rewire & change it. 2) All you need to fix your plug (barring possible a new fuse) is a small flat-head (electrical) screwdriver which we can pick up almost anywhere. Heavy usage devices like cookers & washing machines usually have their own circuits. Oh, and we also have fuse boxes which have our rings (lights, sockets, cooker, kitchen, etc...) on them separately as well as a main breaker. I actually have a mixture of ring & radial circuits depending on the usage & that's just in a basic single flat, nothing special. Regarding the down-sides, The size is no issue - it's plugged into the wall & in fact less also likely to be tripped over or kicked that the US plug. I've never had to 'load balance' nor do I know anyone (untrained) who has - in fact most wouldn't even know what you were talking about. And, how often do you leave a plug lying on the floor? Maybe if you could switch it off without unplugging it would help. 🙂

[@Panj0]

The downsides mentioned are a real stretch, but thanks for playing. Switched sockets mean plugs are rarely left on the floor anyway, their size is a non-issue - especially given they don't stick out as much because of the cable orientation (one of your + points), and no-one here gets confused about something not working before checking if the switch is turned on. Snarky comments aside, good video 🙂

[@Nikolai508]

I found it interesting about when you were talking about plugging multiple things in. I've literally never thought about it. I've always just plugged whatever I want in wherever and everything works fine.

[@Kcii-99]

yeah it would only be an issue if youre running multiple 1kw+ machines near each other

[@iangoldie6396]

@@Kcii-99 not really, most kitchens will have their own 32a ring circuit which is perfectly capable of handling 2kw dishwasher, kettle, toaster etc at the same time. Even when the circuit is overloaded they are designed in such a way that they don't trip instantly, so short term load spikes by kettles or whatever wouldn't necessarily trip the breaker

[@thomasfoster5879]

This reckless cavaliar attitude is why the world is on fire! (As a brit I also never thought about it too much - I do try not to run the kettle and toaster at the same time as they're both connected on the same double wall socket)

[@alanclarke4646]

@@thomasfoster5879 it'll be fine. We run both. Wall cable will be rated for 30 Amps. Toaster and kettle will each pull less than 13 Amps, as that's the maximum size fuse you can put in a plug, and as it's a ring, not all the current comes down the same section of cable.

[@UltimateDillon]

It used to be an issue but hasn't been for a while. Most appliances are quite efficient these days

[@RachelCM74]

My dad was an electrician in the UK for years. I must have been taught to wire a plug aged about 5! Crazy to think ours are still so much safer than elsewhere after all these years. Not many reasons to feel proud to be British at the moment, but the humble type G plug is one of them! 🤣

[@EdwardChan.999]

In Hong Kong, we are still being taught about wiring plugs in grade 7 science classes XD Even tho all appliances come with a plug pre-attached nowadays.

[@catsandcrafts171]

I could wire a plug from a young age too. My mum went to work in electrical repairs for the Telephones during WW2, and then she was widowed when I was only 6 so she taught me all the basic electrical stuff around the house. I'm with you, not very proud of our country at the moment, and not terribly proud of our colonial heritage either, but one good thing we did export around the world were good engineering systems.

[@nitePhyyre]

"safer". You've over engineered every single plug in the country to compensate for the fact that your grid is inherently dangerous. In NA, we just made the entire grid safe. Don't need to be concerned with the safety of literally every single plug.

[@PhoenicksUK]

@@nitePhyyre But you can't run a decent kettle to boil water rapidly for a brew with 110v, so hurrah for 230v :-D

[@ShiroCh_ID]

i wonder about australia(similar to UK) and EU one that has circular 2 pins with ground in top and bottom as some sheet(with pins oj the port instead of plug)

[@TankEngine75]

I live in Malaysia (which uses British Plugs) and yeah, I don't understand other plugs, I will always stand by British Plugs!

[@DEN8Y]

As a Brit it is wild to me that you can’t plug in a hair dryer and a iron at the same time 😂

[@RuddsReels]

Yeah! I thought the same!

[@thornbottle]

haha yea, I have offpeak electric at 9:30pm to 2:30am, At 9:30 I charge my electric car, put on the dishwasher, put on the washing machine and also the kettle to make hot water bottles or cups of tea, not had any issue

[@staticgrass]

OR making a brew and toast at the same time! Talk to me about load balancing lol.

[@ThisMarv]

Not only as a Brit, this is the case in the EU as well. That's just a normal thing for a western country with 230V

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

Out old house had a 1940s dual amp age wiring system this predated the square pin system and had 3 pin round pin plugs. You had a 5 amp circuit for lights etc and a larger socket 12 amp circuit for electric fires, hairdryers etc. Such set ups could still be found into the 1980s but have pretty much been replaced with modern wiring

[@countertony]

In most cases, the presence of the switch on the socket means you need rarely unplug non-portable devices, so it's very uncommon to encounter the upturned-prongs problem. The other reason it's uncommon is that once you've trod on a plug prong *you remember*.

[@countertony]

Actually, one major exception - when the devices are plugged into a multi-way extension cord, the sockets on those are often unswitched (especially on the cheaper models). Yet another reason cheap multi-way cords are Satan himself. (There are also unswitched wall sockets in the UK.)

[@CrispyTheCongueror]

@@countertony tbh it’s easy to find extension cords with switches just don’t get cheap deathtraps haha 😂

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

@@countertony The only time I ever see that are on ones that are intended to just be used with low voltage applications. The vast majority of the ones I see at any price point do have a switch, a lot of that has to do with the likelihood of not being able to easily reach where it's plugged in and the tiny cost of adding the switch to what is probably going to be a surge protector with a bit of extra circuitry anyways.

[@countertony]

@@SmallSpoonBrigade Could be I've hung on to mine (from before surge-protected extensions were much of a thing) for too long :D

[@SyedMohdHafeez]

You don't remember, you gain your six sense...

[@murphydaveelte]

Interesting video - I'm a 50 year old British guy so never really took the time to appreciate such an everyday item. Got to say though that in terms of the criticisms in all my 50 years I've never had a problem with load balancing (never heard of it before tbh!) and never known a socket switch to fail. Stood on enough of the buggers though!

[@serpentgod9861]

standing on a plug is a very British thing to do I do it half the time

[@abedfo88]

Its the only time I've ever heard my mum say the F word

[@precepts6097]

@@abedfo88 Unholy amounts of pain

[@king1and]

In my 50 plus years not once have i stepped on a plug never heard of anyone else doing it either. When the plus is pulled out, it is placed on the device, underneath the socket never in the middle of a floor.

[@abedfo88]

@@king1and good for you 👍

[@pssed]

Most of my life I used EU plugs, and there is something really satisfactory about how the UK plugs fits to a socket that you don't get with the EU ones. Flat plug, flat socket, everything flush and tight. Never the slightest wobble.

[@_helmi]

As a Malaysian using the same UK plugs, I can confirm on the satisfactory of punching and snapping the plug to the outlet. It’s like “yup, done ✅” Think flip phones.

[@-_James_-]

EU plugs are utter garbage. They should be outlawed.

[@davelordy]

If you think our plugs are chunky, imagine a Brit coming over to the US, when I was over there years ago the plugs seemed so flimsy, almost scary, sort of like just sticking some bare wires into the holes and hoping for the best 😂it really felt precarious, the whole deal, how easily you can pull them out, how easily you could stick a bit of metal in them, the unprotected prongs when not fully inserted, no fuse, no switch . . . and so on, I'm sure you're are all used to it and they are safe, but to someone brought up in the UK it's a little concerning, lol : ) . . . . by the way, annual deaths by electrocution in the US average ~350/year . . . in the UK it's ~30/year . . . so even though your population is around x4.8 larger than the UK, you have nearly x12 times as many deaths by electrocution.

[@danlux4954]

They make tamper proof plugs in North America as well.

[@johnburns4017]

People unplug in the USA by pulling the cord, seeing a big arc. Yikes! Arc fault detection devices will trip out each time.

[@danlux4954]

@@johnburns4017 i never seen an arc

[@johnburns4017]

@@danlux4954 I have when there is a load running thru.

[@seraphina985]

A lot of them happen when people are trying to plug things in probably, if your hands are even the slightest bit slippery things get painful rather quickly as you are pushing towards the pins while inserting the plug. Happened to me once over there fortunately the outlet was GFCI protected so it was just painful. I took to using a dry cloth or something to avoid the risk of touching the uninsulated live portions of the unsafe little buggers after that.

[@wisteela]

Hi from the UK. We used to have everything on a separate fuse, but one of the reasons we went to ring circuits was to save on copper after WW2.

[@NoNameEst1992]

That's fascinating, I didn't know that.

[@LordOfLight]

I didn't know that either.

[@SpiritmanProductions]

The plug-left-on-the-floor argument doesn't really hold: Thanks to the switches on the sockets, we don't _need_ to unplug things. If you do unplug something and you're too lazy to tidy it up, you _deserve_ to step on it! 😉

[@thhc1744]

Ordinarily I'd agree with you, but having lived with someone who didn't tidy up after herself, the plug left on the floor does hold 😅

[@Teeb2023]

Have you met many humans? They're capable of a wide range of careless actions, and the person stepping on it isn't necessarily the one who put it there.

[@jakubmastalir3557]

It does hold up. We are humans, if something can be solved the excuse to not do it can't be lazy like that.

[@salty1977]

I get people saying humans are fallible and will leave the unplugged ones lying around... its true. But only once, until they stand on one ! Then never again.

[@jakubmastalir3557]

@@salty1977 why should they experience it even one. Just design it so it doesn't stay with the prongs up like eu sockets

[@alvinlee1981]

Hi there! I'm from Singapore. We're using the UK plug and I feel really safe using the UK plug. The massive earth pin really gives a big sense of security (other than serving it's intentional purpose). Having stepped onto these plugs a few times in my life, it is not fun at all!

[@islowclick]

Agreed. I also live in singapore and feel very safe with these plugs

[@David.L291]

Be careful, Shouldn't leave plus lying around but yeah good plugs I guess but I much preferred the ones when I was in Sweden tbh

[@r.a.6459]

Stepping on it is a painful experience but we can avoid it altogether by placing the unused plug in an area where there's ZERO chance of stepping on it.

[@A190xx]

Great video. I would add: 1) All electrical appliances sold now come with a molded plug by law, so they cannot be opened but the fuse can be replaced, though one can always cut it off and wire in a new one; 2) The blue neutral wire is dog-legged back as further strain protection; 3) The ring main was needed because of a shortage of copper following WW2; 4) It is not uncommon in the UK to have extension packs with a multiple sockets in to each wall socket, so one wall socket powers 2-8 items with varying power demands, especially in older houses where few sockets were provided.

[@A190xx]

Adolf. You may wish to check your statement as a ring uses less copper especially as wire diameter is much thinner.

[@AndrooUK]

I'm so glad we don't have the US's low voltage and current nightmare so that we can use 3,000 W kettles and portable heaters. 😎

[@GraemeSPa]

The plastic sleeve on the live and neutral pins had not been thought of when my then toddler son tried to prise a plug from the socket using a dinner knife. The knife did not survive, but my son did and the flash gave him a surprise he didnt like, but it ignited his curiosity and he is now a full time electrician. And yes, standing on a UK plug with bare feet is an experience never forgotten.

[@archstanton5603]

"standing on a UK plug with bare feet is an experience never forgotten" and we only do it once! 🙂

[@GaffGiff]

@@archstanton5603 I did it one time and cut by foot open with a deep cut, one thing to know is that I’ll never do it again

[@robertfitzjohn4755]

I recently sorted through some boxes and threw out a few old plugs that didn't have the plastic sleeves. I probably bought them in the 1980s. (Yes, I'm a hoarder!) Whenever I unplug something I make sure to tuck the plug out of the way so I can't step on it.

[@prestonburton8504]

EXACTY - this was a fairly recent development - prior to 2005, they had the WORST MOST TERRIBLE PLUGS IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!! They Killed CHILDREN

[@sroberts605]

How extraordinary! I feel sure he pays very close attention to the safety aspects :)

[@JohnIrwin]

As a kid in the UK I recall being very proud of myself for discovering how to lift the guard from the live pins in a socket, shortly before my dad saved my life.

[@joeasher2876]

I use a plastic pen lid to do it so that I can use US plugs without an adapter (assuming the device is 220v compatible).

[@Logarithm906]

@@joeasher2876 disturbingly that trick also works with European plugs... I wouldn't recommend it though.

[@blaser80]

@@joeasher2876 I used a matchstick - when the plastic 'ground' prong on my gameboy power supply snapped off.

[@randomperson5946]

I used to british plugs.. i put the earth from one plug only connected to the earth then i connected the other 2 pins with the other adapter then i took out the earth and plugged my dwvice in and i was suprised when it charged

[@lbfourtwenty4163]

you wouldn't have died

[@Iskandar64]

The thing I like about this design is that you can leave the plugs, plugged into the sockets and switch off on the socket if you want to isolate some equipment. Like you do when you go on holiday, for example. Also, by leaving them plugged in you don't step on them. And the downward cable means the plugs and cable are flush with the wall so can place furniture up against them.

[@beardedchimp]

"Like you do when you go on holiday". This is exactly what I've done for a couple of decades. You are going on holiday and don't want devices draining power or presenting an electrical fire risk, you just go round switching off the sockets. With a TV for example, we would have a dvd player, vhs, sky, speakers... plugged into a 4 way extension. Simply flip the switch and you can be certain that it is isolated. Mid 90's we were on holiday in France and we had a call from a neighbour (we lived in rural Ireland), the house alarm had been going off for days. Turns out we hadn't turned off the fax machine and my Dad (a Doctor) had been receiving faxes which are printed using heat (fax/receipt paper turns black when heated) that triggered the infra-red motion sensors. The alarm would finally turn off just for another fax to arrive and set it off again. Hahahahaha. Our neighbour was a couple of fields away but it had been annoying them for days until my Dad told them where a key was hidden so that they could go in and flip the switch.

[@wobaguk]

Another major benefit of the switch on the socket, is some devices dont have off switches at all, eg hair curlers, irons and some soldering irons (maybe they do in the US, but in the UK they heat up just by plugging them in), in which case, you can leave these devices plugged in if you want and turn them on and off as required.

[@PalpatinesPlumber]

EU plugs for the win, every safety system and more than British plugs have, but more compact and you can put them on either way.

[@sutenjarl1162]

@@PalpatinesPlumber The EU plug mimics little power it has to the chad UK plug bro

[@user-ed7et3pb4o]

@@PalpatinesPlumber Disagree

[@ivorproblem1332]

@@PalpatinesPlumber The Earthing of the EU plug is inferior to that of the UK plug.

[@Nvggs]

@@PalpatinesPlumber Dude just got ratio'd on a plug review D:

[@crispindry]

You missed out a couple of extra features - the plug itself is only serviceable when removed from the power outlet (the screws being set on the inside face. Also the pins cannot be located incorrectly in the plug assembly - they won't physically fit. The plug cover won't close unless the pins are correctly located and the wires (if pulled free) can't contact one another because they are of different lengths. It's a very well thought out design. Oh and the earth pin is slightly larger than the others so you can't accidentally shove it where it's not supposed to go. 😀

[@Teeb2023]

It is an amazing little bundle of safety precautions. Fantastic design.

[@Drobium77]

can American plugs be put in the wrong way? ie pins of live to neutral and visa versa?

[@AndrewAHayes]

Apart from it not being servicable when in use that was all explained in the video

[@UnlimitedRun]

@@Drobium77 Yes, some type A plugs aren't polarized. Mostly device chargers and "plastic" appliances, I think. My plastic-bodied slim PS3 uses a non-polarized plug, but my metal-bodied speaker amp uses a polarized one, for example.

[@benmorr]

@@Drobium77 there's a video by technology connections about old toasters which goes into this, and yes, some appliances are polarised. The effect this has on the toaster example mentioned is that the heating elements are constantly being fed electricity, so you can shock yourself even if the toaster isn't 'on'

[@thomasace2547]

In the U.K. we learn pretty quickly as kids not to step on a plug, because they sure do hurt But when all your wall sockets have switches, it’s nothing out of the ordinary to check to turn them on/off

[@stickykitty]

CVtech got me to come to here and watch the original Thanks for taking the time to show off Our awesome plugs! 🇬🇧 ❤

[@Magnumaniac]

Interesting point on the relative size... the UK plug, despite being much larger, is actually more space efficient due to it not protruding as far out from the wall socket as a type A/B (mostly because of the downward cable trajectory). You are also much less likely to introduce a wire-damaging bend into the cable for the same reason.

[@jeffo83]

Just don’t step on one

[@WeMuckAround]

I spent some time in Canada and tried to plug a lamp in behind a bedside table. Because it sticks out so much the table was a good couple of inches away from the wall! Not the case in the UK.

[@pintpullinggeek]

@@jeffo83 Because we have the switch on the socket we tend to leave them plugged into the wall so it's super rare to step on a plug

[@lukemclellan2141]

As everyone else has already said, the "negatives" disappear once you've had any life experience with these plugs.

[@Faliat]

Except for the stepping on them thing. That's always a curse

[@lukemclellan2141]

@@Faliat a result of untidiness, nothing else.

[@lukemclellan2141]

@@_rtj the switch on the earth pin you mean? A downside to these plugs is the difficulty of removing them for people with arthritis or some other issue with their dexterity.

[@ewanholmes8283]

@@Faliat I would say not even that. Due to the switches on the plugs themselves I always just turn them off at the wall - virtually never unplug something and leave it on the floor. If I’m unplugging something it’s normally because I’m going somewhere and taking the plug with me.

[@fachim-t8480]

@@lukemclellan2141 there is a clamp available at mobility stores that allows full hand grip to remove, less than £5 last time I bought one

[@davetdowell]

That "step on it in the middle of the night" thing is a safety feature. You only need to do it once to learn the safety tip of putting the cable out of the way when you unplug it, thus keeping your cables from suffering crush shorts after you've stood on them in hard soled shoes.

[@Monkeh616]

What are your shoe soles made of, stanley blades? I've driven forklits over normal cables without damaging them..

[@britishneko3906]

@@Monkeh616 well mine is a snow shoe or whatever they're called and they have spiky bottom

[@davidjames2145]

🤣 So true. 🇬🇧

[@shauntbarry]

Try standing on one in bare feet in the middle of the night.. Trust me I've done it.. Yes it hurt .. Bigtime

[@gumgumgnn1788]

The best thing I learn from the design is that the cord always came out from the bottom of the plug, so if you have water leaking from the appliance the water never flow into your wall socket. Very nice design.

[@PCthesecond]

For the size draw back I think it’s still better because the cable comes out facing down, not straight out which makes it easier to push furniture etc up closer the plug. It also wont damage the cable

[@sharonclaridge]

Yeah I don't think size really matters.... Unless it's something you want to take out with you but if it's a phone or a tablet, I'll not need a plug as their's usually a USB socket to charge those in hotels/office etc so the 3 pin USB adaptor can stay at home.

[@FluxLabsProjects]

As a Brit, watching you discuss our beloved plug made me very happy and was 10 minutes well spent. You didn't get everything 100% right but an excellent video none the less. Thanks for uploading.

[@peoplethesedaysberetarded]

This is the video that the now-shill Tom Scott did well.

[@adon8672]

Please what did he get wrong?

[@effervescence5664]

@@adon8672 The circuit type used, ground pin always being metal ie present, all sockets having switches.

[@jasonearley1872]

@@adon8672 all the negatives - no-one leaves a plug lying in the room like that.. we can isolate them when plugged in - they are super safe and can handle up to 13 Amps - the old 15 amps round pin ones are awesome.. just not as safe . and Lego or pin tacks ( drawing pins ) are waaaaay more painful than a UK plug - tested!

[@Graham_Langley]

@@effervescence5664 A few omissions too, such as switches on less cost- conscious outlets being double pole, switching L & N not just L, and fuses being available from 1A to 13A with 3 & 13A being the most common. [Edited to correct the 'not just N' goof.]

[@56postoffice]

When I was younger, I thought our plug system was standard worldwide until I went to America first time. I think our three pronged design is wicked. Subbed.

[@harryjones4167]

It’s also in Ireland and Hong Kong too.

[@heshangunarathna3262]

I thought that too until seeing this video....😅

[@frglee]

Having American plugs spark when you pull them out of the wall or when they get loose is pretty alarming. That can't be safe surely?

[@DTronicsUK]

i have a few issues with your negative points 1. Load Balancing - Load balancing isnt really an issue since cables are rated for the use there going to be used, also we use RCD with Overload to protect our cables. the rating on the RCB is tied to the max rating of the cable it feeds. For example, the ring main to the sockets in your front room may have a rating of 26A or a max of 6000W, that is considered more than enough however the RCD to your kitchen sockets will more than likely use thicker cables and be rated for 32A since thats where a lot of your power hungry devices will be. the kitchen sockets and cable for the electric oven will most likely be 6mm and be rated for 32A. if you have a electric shower then it will have its own dedicated cable that nothing else uses and be 10mm in thickness and most likely protected by a 42A or 50A RCD since most electric showers can consume anything from 8KW to 12KW 2. Switches - The switch is never an issue and seems your just looking for negative things to say 3. Plugs landing prong side up - again its another thing your just trying to think of, this is another case where its never an issue, i mean who leaves unplugged cables in the middle of the floor

[@johnburns4017]

He was scraping the barrel trying to find negatives to the point they were silly.

[@REC_CER]

I live in Singapore and these kind of socket and plugs are commonly used. I guess troubleshooting had never been a problem for us since we are so accustomed to switching off the mains. By switching off at the mains, we also safe electricity. Thanks for the educational video!

[@DragN_H3art]

having the wall plug switches also means we can fully cut power without have plugs lying on the ground, they all stay where they're supposed to which helps with cable management

[@AndrooUK]

I often will first switch off the socket before removing a plug, which I think a lot of people do, so that enhances safety even further.

[@jonhodges6572]

The switched sockets are really useful when leaving the house for a vacation. Just go through each room and turn everything off but the fridge and you know nothing is left on standby

[@simonfreeman8233]

the very british thing on turn off everything except the fridge. So why do you trust your fridge?

[@terrygoodwin]

@@simonfreeman8233 it’s not a question of trusting the fridge so much as not wanting your stored food to spoil…

[@tagKnife]

@@simonfreeman8233 You need the fridge to stay on otherwise when you come back you have to go shopping to replace all the food that has gone rotten.

[@simonfreeman8233]

@@tagKnife yes that is the 'practical' reason but my question was purely asked in jest as there is a very British thing to turn off every electronic device including the toaster and kettle to reduce the risk of fire but they trust the fridge to just sit there and do it's thing

[@jonhodges6572]

@@simonfreeman8233 If you’re going away for more than a month you may want to empty your stores and shut down the fridge, but for just a week or so no need to chuck all your freezer food away. Also not just about safety but saving a little bit of money by not having electronics on standby.

[@corneliusencyclopedia39]

Having stepped on a plug here in the UK, I can safely say that there is nothing more painful.

[@Strawman333]

😂

[@ukp42]

I'm nearly 60, and I've never stepped on a plug! Usually, they are un-plugged near walls, where the socket is. So less chance to be stood on. Love from Scotland :D

[@JustTheFactsYall]

@@Kiss4cooper Fact Lego 😂

[@lukeevans3742]

@@Kiss4cooper lego is nowhere near as bad as 3 metal prongs sticking in your foot

[@peteoconnor7576]

@@ukp42 57 and never stood on a plug in my life. Why would you leave them lying around, ever?

[@T4NK3R4L1F3]

Genuinely don't think the negatives even come close to making an argument against our plugs. Amazing invention

[@jovetj]

I'm happy for you.

[@andrewstewart8704]

As an Australian, I would have to agree and have to say that this whole system with ring main, individual fuse and plug is pure genius! However, To improve this would be to have each power outlet RCD protected with a lower tripping current than of the main.

[@jovetj]

@@andrewstewart8704 How do the RCDs in Australia work?

[@andrewstewart8704]

@@jovetj trips the circuit if there is an earth leakage. AKA earth leakage detector safety switch

[@jovetj]

@@andrewstewart8704 No, sorry, I meant how much leakage current do they allow there? Are they installed only as MCBs or are there receptacle versions like in the States? Or?

[@douglasmackallor]

Very informative. Small correction needed. It is Malaysia, a former British colony, that uses the G-plug system. Indonesia, a former Dutch colony, uses the two round pegs system found on the Continent.

[@koruspring1519]

I lived in Indonesia and can confirm parts of Indonesia uses G plug.

[@MyNameIsNot9]

nerd

[@douglasmackallor]

@@koruspring1519 Hi Koru. I gave you a thumbs up. Thirty years ago, old homes in Jakarta sometimes had multiple wiring with different currents that used different standards. So, I would not be surprised. Could you please tell me which city (is)/regions had these plugs as well? I have a hunch that it might be Medan, North Sumatra, because trade across the Straights would have lead to the adoption of Malaysian standards. But this is just a guess. Thanks!

[@koruspring1519]

Hi @@douglasmackallor, I lived in Sumatera area. Specifically Batam city. I’m not sure what other region uses it as well. Love your insights!

[@douglasmackallor]

​@@koruspring1519 The Riau Archipelago? That's a two-hour ferry cruz from Singapore, another ex-British Colony. (Singapore used to be part of Malaysia until 1967.) That doubles down on my theory on steroids. Of course, all the building materials and prospective guests are just a stone's throw away. Of course, it makes complete sense to align with Singapore's standards for just about every reason possible. Thanks for letting us know!

[@rogerhale6895]

Interesting. As an ex-UK and ex middle east resident these are the plugs and sockets I like the most. As a child I lived in the Caribbean where we had the US system - one indelible memory is my sister sticking a hair pin into an outlet and having her fingers bandaged for a couple of weeks after the resultant flashover ! Now building a house in Philippines which has 220V system with USA plugs - I brought boxes of the UK outlets and plugs back from middle east to install around the house as the safest system. The USA style plugs always seem to fall out of the outlets.

[@johnburns4017]

Very wise. Put the correct rating fuses on the plugs. Buy boxes of different values: 3, 6 & 13A. They will cover most.

[@catsandcrafts171]

Parts of the Caribbean have UK plugs... depends on heritage of whoever invaded them. I visited Grenada and was astonished to find my british plugs worked just fine, even in the very rural place I was staying at.

[@kennethkeen1234]

"Seem to fall out", my experience is that they USUALLY fall out. Just a cheap way of doing things - fast and cheap - USA.

[@kevindubuisson7906]

Indeed, North American plugs are very flimsy and often get loose and fall out and sometimes have to be bent to stay plugged in.

[@WisdomRose]

We use these same plugs in Malaysia too! Hence whenever we travel to the UK, we Malaysians don't need to worry about bringing a travel adapter along.

[@shay4261]

i will keep this in mind if i decide to go to malaysia

[@favoritemyvideo]

I just want to point out, not every Southeast Asian country uses the same plug. ex. In Taiwan, they use U.S. plugs. Type A, B. Best to do your research on plugs before traveling to any country.

[@silphone]

Surprised that you didn't even *mention* the Schuko plug CEE 7/4 and CEE 7/7. Apart from serviceability, it is basically identical in terms of safety features - in small details, arguably even better. Especially if you consider the differences in which the european power grid and houses are set up in the most parts of Europe compared to the UKs. - Two ground clips that always engage first, while all ungrounded Europlugs (2 pins) i've seen so far have this "9mm" protection even tho it's redundant here due to RCCB and being unpolarized in the first place. - Beefy pins - 240v - Most Schuko plugs also have the sideways orientation for the cable, only the compatible Europlug is straight most of the time - Internal order of destruction exactly the same - While the UK uses ring circuits, the rest of Europe uses radial circuits, together with the excessive breaker setup and RCCB that each house here has having fuses inside the plug isn't nessecary, the same goes for turning off individual sockets. You may still find sockets that you can turn off occasionally, but it's redundant and doesn't serve any security purpose here. Some security features that are built into UK plugs are actually built into our power grid and houses instead, yet are still partially present on some versions of our compatible plugs anyway. It is surprisingly hard to electrocute yourself on a Schuko outlet, even on purpose. - Bonus: the CEE 7/7 standart of the Schuko plug is even compatible with french sockets, that have the ground pin in the socket rather than the plug. While of course retaining the ground pins for non-french outlets.

[@dirkbecker2961]

You can't expect that Britons will admit that something from Germany is better. They already have a hard time with german cars. 😂

[@nevmiku]

Went to Spain and used them before. Horrible experience with socket stability and how it just seems to want to come out of the socket with a little cable weight. UK plugs have never failed me and always plugs in tight into the socket.

[@silphone]

@@nevmiku I personally never had that expierience with a Schuko plug, only some Europlugs here and there - but those usually don't have heavy and long cables attatched to them in the first place. The full size Schukos (round with ground pin contacts) sit so tight in the socket, that one has to really put some force in when pulling them out, at least in germany and france. Did you use an adapter that was UK Type G to Europlug? That's the only scenario i can imagine where this would happen. If you adapter only had a slim, 2 prong plug then it was definetly a europlug adapter and no proper Schuko adapter, so sadly it makes sense as those were never designed to have much weight on them in the first place. But since they are compatible with more outlet types, those adapters are also more common than a proper UK type G to Schuko adapter.

[@mijp]

@@nevmiku In Spain sometimes there are still type C installations. They look like type f but the lack protective earth. what you describe sounds like type C.

[@SampleTracks2224]

All good points and a fine example of a plug that is engineered to suit its environment, as the G-plug is. But there's no need to defend it; just because it wasn't mentioned, doesn't mean the presenter wouldn't think it was well designed. However it is not standard. Several plugs can be inserted into the corresponding socket, whereas the Type G is the only type, it is not cross-compatible with anything else. The Schuko does not have a separate fuse, and can also be found corded dead straight, i.e. easy to pull out. Nor are shutters part of the core specification. Then again, it doesn't need a separate fuse, as the radial circuit is commonplace in Germany and elsewhere. BTW it would be interesting to go into why the UK historically has used a ring circuit. I know why, not sure everyone does though!