A quick European wiring puzzle with a simple answer

[Lucien Nunes]

Following from a recent thread mentioning some continental electrical practice, I made this mock-up of something you might see in an older installation in a certain West-European country. It's not standard practice now but is widespread enough to have a specific name. What is the name of this specific circuit arrangement in the local language? Not sure if we have any sparks from the country in question on here but please let the Brits have a try!

 

[Petej999]

Following from a recent thread mentioning some continental electrical practice, I made this mock-up of something you might see in an older installation in a certain West-European country. It's not standard practice now but is widespread enough to have a specific name. What is the name of this specific circuit arrangement in the local language? Not sure if we have any sparks from the country in question on here but please let the Brits have a try!

View attachment 93075

Seen lots of stuff like this in the three years plus vI spent working and living in the former USSR during the mid 1980s

 

[timhoward]

Yes, what kind and function?

Wild guess - back of a schuko socket?

 

[DPG]

Wild guess - back of a schuko socket?

The wiring of the plug appears to come straight out of the bottom though. Cant picture what sort of plug that is.

Reminds me of one of the 8 pin Bulgin 'disco light' connectors - am I close Lucien?

 

[Lucien Nunes]

It's not Schuko but it's derived from that. It's not got 8 pins like the Bulgin but it has got more than 3.
Domestic / light commercial usage. Available in 16A and 25A versions.

 

[timhoward]

??
(cross post, sorry, I did post before I saw yours!)

 

[Dustydazzler]

3 phase and n

or

2 phase and n

 

[Lucien Nunes]

TP+N or sometimes cheekily 2P + 2N (not an official configuration but used today)

And it goes by the name of...?

 

[DPG]

I like the look of those.

 

[timhoward]

TP+N or sometimes cheekily 2P + 2N (not an official configuration but used today)

And it goes by the name of...?

Perilex I think

 

[Lucien Nunes]

@tinhoward you win this round, 16A Perilex, often used as a cooker plug in domestic 3-phase installations that are common in mainland Europe. 3x16A = equivalent to 48A single phase so plenty of juice for any kind of cooker. Increasingly though, where you have a single-phase oven, and a hob that can use 2 phases out of 3, Perilex gets used on single-phase installations with two line pins and two neutral pins. A bit naughty, I've seen it done with either L1 or L3 as the second neutral, usually marked on the front in sharpie.

The 25A version is not as widely used, the two are distinguished by the orientation of the flat, central earth pin, horizontal = 16A, vertical = 25A.

I like them too although the contacts on some of the basic sockets are not as well engineered as many Schuko sockets of the same rating.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Oude stoppenkast. Wat zijn de stroomwaarden van de twee zekeringen?

 

[timhoward]

@tinhoward you win this round, 16A Perilex, often used as a cooker plug in domestic 3-phase installations that are common in mainland Europe. 3x16A = equivalent to 48A single phase so plenty of juice for any kind of cooker. Increasingly though, where you have a single-phase oven, and a hob that can use 2 phases out of 3, Perilex gets used on single-phase installations with two line pins and two neutral pins. A bit naughty, I've seen it done with either L1 or L3 as the second neutral, usually marked on the front in sharpie.

The 25A version is not as widely used, the two are distinguished by the orientation of the flat, central earth pin, horizontal = 16A, vertical = 25A.

I like them too although the contacts on some of the basic sockets are not as well engineered as many Schuko sockets of the same rating.

I've never quite understood the size and 'b*ggeration factor' between a UK 13 amp socket and a UK 16 amp socket.
This seems to confirm that we we have gone way over the top....!

 

[DPG]

Oude stoppenkast. Wat zijn de stroomwaarden van de twee zekeringen?

View attachment 93100

I'm guessing the colour of the centre pin is a clue?

 

[timhoward]

We are now in Holland?! ..
Little aside -in my old IT job I learned OK and Cancel in most languages fairly rapidly as I was doing support for people all over Europe.
Actually visiting Holland didn't help. The shops have Uit over the exit. So I assumed Uitwerken was cancel. Ooops. I was told it means Out-working (OK!)

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Ja, aber diese Art von Sicherung hat ihren Ursprung in Deutschland