Foreign flags and foreign fittings

[Lucien Nunes]

If you've read my posts and noticed that I'm flying an Estonian flag, you might also spot when it changes to Italian this weekend. You might also have noticed over time that I am quite keen on certain European wiring materials and methods. For a bit of fun I'll post a few things that I like in this thread as I travel. Most countries that have their own regs have something to offer that is better or easier or safer, unfortunately you can't just pick and choose the features to create a gold-standard system as some are incompatible. E.g. I like Schuko plugs and I like 32A ring finals, but the two can't be used together.

To start us off, here in Estonia the wiring is standard European fare with a German basis. I went shopping and bought some materials, here are some examples of things you would not find in the wholesaler in the UK. Can you see anything here you would use to wire a cooker? (not that I wire cookers)

JB wiring demo coming shortly...

 

[SparkySy]

Oops I must get my eyes tested again
Now where did I put my 1000v tester

 

[SparkySy]

Ah yes I see now it's nyy of some flavour

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Yes, no, sort of. The 5-core 2.5mm² cable is KH05VV-F, bog standard general purpose interior cable used where T+E would be used in the UK but available as 2, 3 & 4c +E. Solid core up to 10mm. NYM-J also bog standard and same principle, but heavier construction.

Then there's the Perilex 3P+N+E plug. These are sometimes said to be a bit old hat now but still fully compliant. In the UK we don't have a 'domestic' or 'light commercial' 3-phase plug but Perilex is exactly that. You wouldn't want to a 16A CEE17 socket sticking out behind a freestanding cooker because you'd never get it against the wall, but Perilex is just the job with a flush-mount socket and right-angle cable entry on the plug. Want to clean behind the cooker - unplug and move it out of the way. Pretty reliable at 16A (equates to 48A single-phase) and a doddle to wire with 2.5mm² compared with wrestling 10mm² into back boxes. As with Schuko sockets the contact base goes in first and gets wired, then the front plate is just a cover. You don't have to flex the cables to get access to check terminations etc. Of course you only get these luxuries with a 3-phase supply to your house, and that has drawbacks as well as benefits.

why do you prefer Schuko to BS1363

I didn't say that. I like them both for different reasons, they are very different connectors. Schuko has the great advantage that any decent socket and plug combo will actually carry 16A all day long in a way that BS1363 can't quite be trusted with 13A, thanks to the soppy little heating element built into every plug. If you don't need the fuse, it's a nuisance; we've got BS546 15A as an unfused alternative and I like that too, but Schuko (and as George says, if you care about polarisation which I usually don't, CEE7/5) is neater and comes in a much greater variety of flavours.

 

[pirate]

Seems like it's just me that fancies the "ribbed" conduit thingy which must have many uses...some of them electrical related...

 

[telectrix]

is the ribbed conduit thingy an expansion joint for plastic conduit?

 

[Dustydazzler]

is the ribbed conduit thingy an expansion joint for plastic conduit?

I think so , or to make a 90o angle bent

 

[Lucien Nunes]

It's a flexy bend for non standard angles. It's suddenly got busy so I'll post some stuff later. I have a DB in Finland for your consideration and some old Soviet street lighting overheads I snapped this morning.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

So here I am in Italy with a bunch of stuff with Schuko plugs on. Schuko is one of the options here, increasingly widespread, but for neatness and compactness (and it is very neat and compact) the original Italian CEI 23-50 sockets are still installed. These come in four flavours; 10A and 16A with or without earth, although most sockets are earthed. The pins of the 10A spina luce (=lighting) are on the same 19mm centres as Schuko but 4mm instead of 4.8, while the 16A spina forza (= power) has the larger pins but on (IIRC) 26mm centres. This prevents me cheating and plugging Schuko stuff in without the earth, although naturally Europlug fits the 10A gauge.

Historically, lighting and power were often on different voltages and tariffs, so the plugs were deliberately incompatible, stopping you plugging a 127V light fitted with a 10A plug into the 16A sockets of the 220V power circuit. Nowadays the voltage is standard and all from one supply, so manufacturers offer a dual-gauge 'Bipasso' socket which is now pretty standard. Also increasingly standard is the presa unversale or polyvalente which takes Schuko, 10A and 16A CEI plugs, although at two modules width it's twice the size of a Bipasso. It's also deeper because of Schuko's plug recess. Like BS1363, CEI 23-50 uses insulated pins to provide touch-proofing instead of a recess.

Two pics, one of a situation that will keep presenting itself for now: presa Bipasso, spina CEI che si adatta, e spina Schuko che non va bene. Plus one of the view along my drive to work.

 

[telectrix]

typical Italian. since Mussolini made the trains run on time, it's all gone to pot.

 

[westward10]

Salerno?

 

[Simon47]

With a previous hat on we had an office in Italy, so I'd come across those Italian plugs. When I went over once to install some gear, multi-way extensions and various adapters were very much in evidence
I vaguely recall the 3pin plugs being polarised by the earth being offset from a straight line between the other pins ?

 

[Lucien Nunes]

I vaguely recall the 3pin plugs being polarised by the earth being offset from a straight line between the other pins

That's Swiss, not Italian. The CEI 23-50 plugs have pins in a straight line and are not polarised.

Salerno?

Yes

 

[pirate]

Talking foreign, and flags and stuff...I suddenly realised my flag says I am back in UK.
Can I login via my VPN and pretend to be in Spain?
Let's see...


No, can't be bottomed tonight...I'll try tomorrow when tonight's mead has evaporated a bit!