Old MK bakelite safety plug

[marconi]

I had to change the lamp in my wife’s bedside lamp and was reminded of this pioneering mk safety plug attached to it.

 

[nicebutdim]

Sprung sleeves?

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Yes. And as a result, one of the deepest plug bodies ever made, as there has to be room for them to retract into pockets in the base moulding.

A good idea but a bridge too far for most users. I have not found any consistency to where they turn up, nor evidence of a site with enough of them to suggest that they were once the preferred plug type in that organsiation.

 

[westward10]

I suppose with a moving part there is always a chance of the sleeve failing closed.

 

[brianmoooore]

I'd bet that would take the 3kW load of the EV charger in the current thread with no problems.

 

[westward10]

I'd bet that would take the 3kW load of the EV charger in the current thread with no problems.

My exact thought earlier old MK plug with an old socket from EBay.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Yes. Look at the nicely plated fuse contacts in an MK plug like this, feel how the fuse snaps in and how the contact pressure is controlled and maintained by the embossed details. Compare with many modern plugs that offer a rather approximately bent strip of wannabe phosphor bronze that almost sags under the weight of the fuse. And the same goes for the socket contacts.

 

[westward10]

An MK plug of old does really grip the fuse.