A reminder to everyone - FatallyFlawed - Child Plug Socket Covers Campaign

[JoWW]

They give socket protectors out in some of bounty packs you get after having a baby ... scarey stuff

 

[Knobhead]

They give socket protectors out in some of bounty packs you get after having a baby ... scarey stuff

Unfortunately this is one of the biggest stumbling blocks for the campaign.

We can only keep on at the health care trusts and education authorities to get rid of the covers.

 

[scammell man]

Target bounty?

 

[Knobhead]

Target bounty?

Peace of mind that children are better protected, what more do you want?

Edit:

Engage brain before opening gob.

Sorry SM.

 

[DPG]

I think he means target 'Bounty', the people who send the packs out Daz

 

[scammell man]

Yes as dpg states. Win one battle, avoid thousands of minor confrontations with people who don't understand

 

[Knobhead]

Sorry SM, do you have an address for them?

The problem comes if they are a private organisation they will be on a retainer (back hander) from the manufacturers and loathed to loose it.

I’m willing to start another fight, it seems to be my role in life.

 

[UNG]

Tony it's one of these packs that has the offending items in can't remember which one

Bounty Packs | Bounty.com

 

[Knobhead]

I’ll have a word with David at Fatally Flawed first. See if Bounty are already on the hit list.

Thank you every one that’s helped.

 

[ChrisElectrical88]

IKEA Warrington name and shame... Was there the other day these things everywhere, brought it to customer services attention, not arsed in the slightest told me there safe.

 

[FatallyFlawed]

New Material - FatallyFlawed - Child Plug Socket Covers Campaign

Hi all,

Some of you may have seen an article in the last edition of "Wiring Matters" which talks about pin dimensions and their importance - it explains that sockets are made to fit plugs, not the other way round, which is why anything inserted into a BS 1363 socket must conform to the dimensions of a BS 1363 plug. There is also a new page on the FatallyFlawed website which covers the same issue, with detailed pictures and descriptions of the damage that incorrectly designed objects (like socket covers) can cause!

I hope that you find these two sources useful.

Best wishes, and thanks for all the support,

David

 

[Matthew168]

Re: New Material - FatallyFlawed - Child Plug Socket Covers Campaign

Spotted a variation on socket covers today in Tesco, are they a new product? Think they were called Xtra Guard made by Lindam looked like they could be locked in place somehow

 

[FatallyFlawed]

Re: New Material - FatallyFlawed - Child Plug Socket Covers Campaign

Spotted a variation on socket covers today in Tesco, are they a new product? Think they were called Xtra Guard made by Lindam looked like they could be locked in place somehow

These are probably the most recent covers on the market, they were introduced a couple of years ago. Like all other designers of socket covers for the UK, this guy clearly has not understood the importance of complying with BS 1363, the pins are not shaped correctly and this one is particularly prone to "pop-out" making it very easy for a child to remove. They imply that they are lockable, but there is no way of locking a cover into a socket. The mechanism is simply an ejector, but as they will pop out of many sockets all by themselves that is not particularly useful. We have a review of them at FatallyFlawed.

 

[Matthew168]

Re: New Material - FatallyFlawed - Child Plug Socket Covers Campaign

Thanks for that information.
With a 7 week old baby daughter at home I've now become more interested in the fatally flawed campaign, have passed on details of fatally flawed to our health visitor and the local sure start who still hand out socket covers to new parents

 

[FatallyFlawed]

Update on the position of 'Which?'

Back in 2009 'Which?' undertook some limited testing of socket covers in reaction to the revelations of FatallyFlawed. They published these results and some recommendations, saying:

"Which? believes plug socket covers designed to stop children putting their fingers in electrical wall sockets may be a waste of money.

Which? tests showed that, in a worst case scenario, some could actually increase the risk of your child being electrocuted."

Unfortunately, at the time, the Which? researchers did not appreciate that "testing" covers by plugging them into sockets was not a valid way of evaluating them, they did not understand the basic principal that sockets are made to fit plugs, not the other way round! the fit of a non-conforming socket cover into a proper BS 1363 socket can vary a lot, for instance, many socket covers "pop-out" of some sockets, but not others.

As a result 'Which?' did make recommendations of a few socket covers, including the Clippasafe / Boots / John Lewis type which notoriously suffered from pop-out in some basic sockets (although not in MK sockets). Since then, the design of the Clippasafe / Boots / John Lewis type has changed, they introduced the strange cutaway "earth pin" mentioned in my recent post. The people at 'Which?', have read the recent article on BS 1363 and the related FatallyFlawed page, they have now withdrawn their recommendations and said that they will look at the issue again.

Well done 'Which?'