Sockets and switches from socket store

Our extensive collection includes sockets and spurs from popular and reliable brands such as timeguard, click scolmore, hamilton, smj, varilight and deta. With a wide range of options, you can choose the perfect fit for your electrical setup. Although still permitted by the uk wiring regulations, bs 546 sockets are no longer used for general purposes. Some of the varieties remain in use in other countries and in specialist applications such as stage lighting. At häfele, we stock a variety of electrical fittings and accessories for residential and commercial projects alike. Whether you are installing under cabinet sockets, cabling, or simply need batteries, we have something for every application.

The distance from any part of the line and neutral pins to the periphery of the plug base must be not less than 9.5 mm. This ensures that nothing can be inserted alongside a pin when the plug is in use and helps keep fingers away from the pins. The longer earth pin ensures that the earth path is connected before the live pins, and that it remains connected until after the live pins are disconnected. The earth pin is too large to be inserted into the line or neutral sockets by mistake.

Before the introduction of bs 317, gh scholes (wylex) introduced (in 1926) an alternative three-pin plug[28] in three sizes, 5 a, 10 a and 15 a with a round earth pin and rectangular live and neutral  pins. A fused 13 a version of this continued to be available after the introduction of bs 1363, illustrating that bs 546 was not used exclusively at any time. Plugs and sockets for electrical appliances not hardwired to o dien mains electricity originated in the united kingdom in the 1870s and were initially two-pin designs. These were usually sold as a mating pair, but gradually de facto and then official standards arose to enable the interchange of compatible devices.

Bs 1362 specifies sand-filled ceramic-bodied cylindrical fuses, with dimensions of 1 in (25 mm) in length, with two metallic end caps of 1⁄4 in (6.4 mm) diameter and roughly 1⁄5 in (5.1 mm) long.  The standard specifies breaking time versus current characteristics only for 3 a or 13 a fuses. Fuses are mechanically interchangeable; it is up to the end-user or appliance manufacturer to install the appropriate rating fuse.

In her 1914 book electric cooking, heating, cleaning, etc[26] maud lucas lancaster mentions an earthed iron-clad plug and socket by the english firm of a. The 1911 general electric company (gec) catalogue included several earthed sockets intended for industrial use. To reduce the risk of users accidentally touching energized conductors and thereby experiencing electric shock, plug and socket systems often incorporate safety features in addition to the recessed contacts of the energized socket.

Slimplug is available only as part of a complete power lead terminating in an iec c7 unpolarized (figure-of-eight) connector.[86] in 2009 the thinplug received a "Red dot" award[87] for product design. The first product, also a power lead terminating in an iec c7 unpolarized (figure-of-eight) connector[85] became available in 2011. Differences between bs4573 type c and europlug type c. The bs4573 plug has round 5.1mm contacts, spacing 16.7mm. In order to plug a europlug into a bs4573 socket, an adapter is required.