KUALA LUMPUR, 19 April 2017: British Standard BS 1363 AC power socket at the wall. BS 1363 Standard British power Plug Socket isolated over white background vintage.

• Bs 1363 Outlet

Chargers PlugSafe Protecting BS 1363 - the world’s safest mains plug and socket Chargers This page is dedicated to the late Connor O'Keeffe of Walworth, SE London, who died on December 30 2006, aged 7. Connor was electrocuted while holding a counterfeit Gameboy charger. Tests on the device found it had serious defects, with the wires within it dangerously close together, meaning it could become live and electrocute a user.

The gap between the primary and secondary circuits was 1mm wide, compared with European standards that require a 4.6mm gap. For more about Connor and what caused his death please see this. Chargers for mobile phones, games and other devices are often built into BS 1363 type plugs. Such chargers need to conform to the pin dimensions of BS 1363 in the interests of safety, and also to ensure that BS 1363 sockets are not damaged by their use. There are many instances of chargers which do not meet these expectations, especially when they are counterfeits. Sadly, although 8 years have passed, there is still a major problem with sub-standard and counterfeit chargers. A very useful document on the dangers of counterfeit and aftermarket chargers has been prepared by Buckinghamshire Trading Standards, we recommend it to you, see: We also recommend the:.

For the technically minded, here is a well researched article: Three examples of a very common charger type which is illegal to sell in the UK. The one below, intended for a Nintendo, was found on at least two websites operated by major high street stores. Chargers.

A typical BS 1363 plug BS 1363 specifies the most common type of that are used in the, and many former. Of these, and have equivalent standards—IS 401 & 411, MS 589, and SS 145, respectively. The standard was introduced in 1946, shortly after the, as part of a new standard for. Legislation in both the UK and Ireland requires that all domestic electrical goods sold in either country should be fitted with a BS 1363 or IS 401 (as applicable) plug. Other plug types used in the same area include, only used in industrial and some outdoor applications, and, limited to old installations and specialised applications where either the BS 1363 plug is unsuitable or where mateability with the standard variety is not desired (for example, where lamps are controlled by a switch or dimmer).

BS 1363 type electrical socket. Note the closed shutters (red) blocking entry of foreign objects. This style of plug appeared in 1946, shortly after the. Britain had previously used a combination of 5 and 15 amp round pin sockets, where each had to be wired to the distribution board and each provided with its own fuse.

As a result of high wartime demands, Britain suffered from a chronic shortage of copper. Further, as a result of enemy action a considerable amount of housing stock had been destroyed. Britain was in the position of having to rapidly rebuild housing for its population and electrically wire it using as little copper as possible. The solution was the system (often informally called 'ring main');, where, instead of each socket being individually wired, a cable was brought from the fuse or circuit breaker in the distribution board and wired in sequence to a number of sockets before being taken back to the distribution board and wired to the same fuse or circuit breaker.

This provided considerable savings in the copper required to wire the circuit. Since the fuse or circuit breaker had to be rated for the maximum current the ring could carry (30 A or 32 A for breaker), it was required that the plugs used to connect to the ring each contained their own fuse rated for the appliance that it connected. At first there were several competing designs of plug, but the BS 1363 design displaced all of the others. Although the need to economise on the use of copper has long passed, the ring main system has proven so successful that Britain retains the system to this day, even in new build houses.

Fuses were originally available in 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 13 amps but by the 1960s, this range had reduced to 2 (blue), 5 (grey), 10 (yellow), and 13 (brown) amps. Plugs are normally supplied fitted with a 13 A fuse, and householders tended not to replace them with a more appropriate size. Eventually the range was officially reduced to just 3 (red) and 13 (brown) amps. 5 amp fuses have remained freely available but are coloured black (which does not denote a 5 amp fuse but an unofficial size) and may be used for appliances that draw a large current at switch-on but a lower steady load (for example older CRT television sets). Other fuse sizes remain available albeit hard to find.

Bs 1363 Outlet

Internal wiring. There is more slack in the neutral wire than the live, ensuring that if the lead is forcibly removed, the live wire will disconnect first. 1 - Cable grip; 2 - Neutral terminal; 3 - Earth terminal; 4 - Live terminal; 5 - Fuse A BS 1363 plug has two horizontal, rectangular pins for phase (commonly termed 'live') and neutral, and above these pins, a larger, vertical pin for an earth connection.

Unlike with most other types of sockets, the earth pin is necessary for use of the BS 1363 plug, as it is needed to push open a shutter in the socket to allow the live and neutral pins to be inserted. It also polarises the plug, ensuring that the live pin is connected to the correct terminal in the socket. Moulded plugs for unearthed, appliances may substitute this contact with a non-conductive pin to open the shutter. Most non-fixed domestic equipment is connected using the BS 1363 plugs, the main exceptions being equipment requiring more than 13 amps (e.g. Larger, which are hard-wired); remotely switched, non-fixed lighting (which use proprietary or plugs); and low-power portable equipment, such as, which may be used in several countries. Many, particularly in, have 2-pin standard 'shaver sockets', which usually accommodate both European and US 2-pin plugs. Because typical British circuits (especially ) can deliver more current than many appliance power cords can safely handle, BS 1363 plugs are required to carry a cartridge.

The fuse is manufactured to BS 1362 and are normally rated at 3, 5, 10, or 13 amperes. The maximum load that can be placed on a socket is 13 A; triple and larger sockets are fitted with a 13 A fuse of the same type used in the plugs. The plugs and sockets are designed to carry up to 250 volts AC, 50.

Shuttering British power outlets incorporate shutters on the phase and neutral contacts to prevent someone from pushing a foreign object into the socket. Sockets from most manufacturers have shutters which are opened by the earth pin alone. This is longer than the others and must always be present (though on double insulated equipment it may be plastic). Sockets manufactured by MK use a proprietary system which requires that both live and neutral pins of correct dimensions must be inserted simultaneously. On older versions of MK sockets the latter condition was sufficient, but current versions also require that the earth pin is inserted. The requirement for sockets to be child safe and include a shutter mechanism dates back to a wartime committee which resulted in the publication of 'Post War Building Study No.

11 – Electrical Installations' in January 1944. British Standard 1363 followed in 1947 as a result of this initiative. Dangers caused by Socket Covers.

Extraction hole in domed socket cover allows access to live parts (cutaway cover). Despite the built-in shuttering, socket covers are sold and marketed as preventing children from inserting objects into sockets. Unfortunately the majority of these plug-in devices can be inserted upside down, which serves to disable the internal shutters and result in decreasing safety, not improving it. It has been demonstrated that some of the most popular types on the market actually allow objects such as paper clips to be inserted alongside the line pin of the socket cover. The FatallyFlawed.org.uk campaign was founded in August 2008 to raise awareness of this issue and publishes photographic and video evidence of the dangers. Multi Way Extension Shuttering. Shows how an inverted plug can open shutters in a multi-way extension to expose live parts.

BS 1363 places no restrictions on the distance of the earth pin to the top edge of the socket faceplate (although there is a minimum distance specified between the power pins and the lower edge of the faceplate). As a result there are many designs of multi-way extension sockets (and also the older multi-way adapter blocks) which allow a normal plug to be inserted upside down. This completely defeats the correct operation of the safety shutters. Dimensions The live and neutral pins have a rectangular cross section 6.35±0.13 mm wide and 3.975±0.075 mm height. They are 17.7±0.5 mm long and their centre lines are horizontally 11.115±0.065 mm on either side of the symmetry plane of the plug. The protective-earth pin is centred on the symmetry plane, is 22.73±0.5 mm long and has a cross section 3.975±0.075 mm wide and 7.925±0.125 mm height. The centre lines of the live/neutral pins and the protective pin are vertically 22.23±0.13 mm apart.

(These dimensions may be more easily remembered in the original, which are not mentioned in the current standard: 1/4±0.005 inch wide by 5/32±0.0025 inch high, and 0.695±0.02 inch long. They are 7/8±0.005 inch horizontally from each other, and the same distance vertically from the earth pin, which is 0.895±0.02 inch long.

The pin lengths were presumably originally 0.7 and 0.9 inches, and assigned an asymmetric tolerance of +0.005/−0.015.). Other safety features.

The plug base is broadened near the pins to help keep fingers away from the pins (this was a very early modification to the standard, which was later improved by the use of the insulated pin bases described above). The plug sides are shaped to improve grip and make it easier to remove the plug from a socket without placing fingers behind the plug where the pins are. The plug is polarised, so that it cannot be inserted with the phase and neutral pins reversed. This feature is important to make sure the fuse is in the phase side of the supply.

The longer earth pin ensures that the earth path is connected before the live pins, and remains connected after the live pins are removed. The design of the earth pin being of a larger dimension prevents it from being inserted into the phase or neutral sockets should this be attempted in error. The plug is firmly fitting and therefore difficult to dislodge by accidental knocks or strains on the cord. The cable always enters the plug from the bottom, thus making it difficult for people to unplug the plug by tugging on the cable. This practice, possible with many other plug designs but difficult with BS 1363, can be hazardous as it can damage the cable insulation causing shorts or tear the conductors, leading to overheating or even internal arcing across the resulting break in the conductor. On the other hand this tight fitting and bottom entry of cable means that the stresses on the cable when it is pulled hard (by for example tripping over it) are even higher.

If the cable is forcibly pulled from the plug, the phase wire disconnects first, the neutral second, and the earth wire last. This is ensured by forcing the different wires to have varying amounts of slack in them by design of the internal channel of the plug. BS 1362 fuses (for BS 1363 plugs) All plugs with the exception of some plug top are fused. This is in addition to the fuses or in /. Prior to the introduction of the 13 amp plug the BS 546 2 A, 5 A, and 15 A plugs were used.

With this system, the only fuses were in the consumer unit. 15 A sockets were generally given a dedicated 15 A circuit, while 5 A sockets might be on a 15 A circuit with multiple sockets or on a dedicated 5 A circuit. 2 A sockets were generally connected to the lighting circuit, which was fused at 5 A. Adaptors were available to use 5 A plugs in 15 A sockets and to use 2 A plugs in 5 A sockets, so it was quite possible for an appliance with the smallest size of to be protected only by a 15 A fuse.

When the practice of using 30 A ring circuits was introduced (to save copper while also allowing more flexibility), it was considered unsafe to allow appliance flexes to be connected to such a high rated circuit with no further protection, and the plug/socket combination had to provide the fuse. It was decided to place the fuse in the plug and to use a new plug configuration so that older, unfused plugs could not be used. Putting the fuse in the plug also allows a range of ratings to be fitted, providing superior protection for smaller flexes.

This is especially useful for long small flexes or for that are not rated at the full 13 A. Fuses for fittings to BS 1363 must conform to BS 1362. This specification describes a sand-filled -bodied cylindrical fuse, 1' (25.4 mm) in length, with two metallic end caps of 1/4' (6.3 mm) diameter and roughly 1/5' long. BS 1362 specifies breaking-time/current characteristics only for fuses with a current rating of 3 A (marked in red) or 13 A (marked in brown). Examples for the required breaking-time ranges are. For 3 A fuses: 0.02–80 s at 9 A.

Euro converter plug, empty, europlug inserted and closed Some manufacturers/distributors use a special type of plug for conversion of appliances from mainland Europe which are fitted with moulded. Unlike a travel adaptor these plugs when closed look fairly similar to normal plugs, although larger and squarer.

Inside are two metal clips into which the metal ends of the europlugs pins are clipped. The body of the converter plug is shaped to grip the europlug. The hinged lid is then shut to cover the connections to the europlug and is screwed shut.

These plugs have a plastic earth pin and a fuse accessible from the outside and in some cases are fitted with screws that are made to be difficult to unscrew. Similar converters are available for a variety of other plug types but do not seem to be seen much in practice. These adaptors are usually supplied fitted on all recent Class 2 electrical products with fixed wiring (and not cables) sold in the British Isles instead of typical moulded plugs, probably as a measure to reduce costs by fitting the same plug for all European markets. Adoption The BS 1363 design is not only in use in the and, but also in, and. BS 1363 is also standard in several of the former British Caribbean colonies such as, and. It is also used in in 230 V installations, although 110 V installations using the are more common.

The ( NSAI) issued the Irish Standard 'I.S. 401 Safety Requirements for Rewireable 13A Fused Plugs for Normal and Rough Use Having Insulating Sleeves on Line and Neutral Pins', which is largely similar to BS 1363. Any relevant plugs originating or sold in the country must pass the Irish Standard or an equivalent standard of a member of the, which includes BS 1363.

The UK, and some of these other countries, also use the older round-pin socket standard. In some continental European countries (e.g., Germany), the BS 1363 system is today often used for Extra-Low Voltage (12 V or 24 V) DC connections in systems, because it provides easily available high-current connectors with fixed polarity that cannot accidentally be connected into higher-voltage system and sockets.

Variants Several manufacturers have made deliberately incompatible variants for use where intermateability with standard plugs and sockets is not acceptable. Examples include filtered supplies for computer equipment and cleaners' supplies in public buildings and areas (to prevent visitors plugging things in). The most commonly seen variant is one made by that has a T-shaped earth pin. Sockets made by MK use a proprietary method of opening shutters that seems to depend on the shape of the phase and neutral pins and does not depend on the earth pin.

The Walsall Gauge 13 A plug was used by the for technical supplies, and sockets for these plugs can be seen in some stations. MK 13 A Plug with a T-shaped earth pin Other devices in the standard BS 1363 specifies 13 A plugs and sockets. It also specifies the following devices:., which permit two or more plugs to share one socket. Switched and unswitched fused connection units, which take the same BS 1362 as the plugs. These are the standard means of connecting permanently wired appliances to a socket circuit (most often but not always a 30 A ). They are also used in other situations where a fuse or switch (or both) is required, such as when feeding lighting off a socket circuit, to protect spurs off a ring circuit with more than one socket, and sometimes to switch feeds to otherwise concealed sockets for kitchen appliances (20 A DP switches are also sometimes used for this, but doing so can easily violate the rule of no more non-fused spurs than sockets on the ring).

See also. Footnotes.