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Dodgy power adaptor: safety

Sorry, I lack some detail here that people may have appreciated.

I witnessed a near miss last night at a gig, a guy was messing with some stage lighting that's nothing to do with my outfit, it used those stackable

3-pin plugs, with a male mains connector one side, a female on the other, and a load cord coming out the side. He was plugging and unplugging live - as you do :-/ - and as he pulled a plug out, the cover on the female side popped off, leaving the plug side inserted and the live female stabs fully exposed. I was close enough to yell at him to put it down, turn off the power and to not try to refit the cover, which he was about to do. We were on stage at the time, and by the time I was free to do any followup the gear had been removed and the crew gone.

The adaptor involved was one of those clear polycarbonate ones where you can see all the guts inside, I don't know how the cover was attached, but given what happened, it might not be a very robust setup. If I can find any more out I'll repost.

Reply to
Bruce Varley
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Are they even legal these days ?

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Reply to
atec77

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Those are not good. Or the ones with the clear plastic backs and side entry. They must be old, you haven't been able to buy these rewirable piggy back (AKA gay) plugs for many years

Reply to
kreed

I vaguely recall seeing a similar plug, the cover was held in place by a single central screw. The contacts and body shape prevented rotation.

I can't find a pic of one like this but someones flogging used ones as antiques.....

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Reply to
Dennis

Those are not good. Or the ones with the clear plastic backs and side entry. They must be old, you haven't been able to buy these rewirable piggy back (AKA gay) plugs for many years

Someone should tell Clipsal, from their website...

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I thought that transparent polycarbonate fittings are a relatively recent thing.

I'd say that this is the fitting I observed.

Reply to
Bruce Varley

Yes, but as I understand it, you need to specify which outfit you're from, your papers, rank, serial number and then they'll sell them.

If you're a Joe Bloggs, you wouldn't have been able to to buy them off the shelf for ~20 years or so?

But yes, I've seen the two part versions break if mistreated. But that wasn't the problem. It was Joe Bloggs who was using two of those back to back to create an extension cord because they couldn't be bothered buying the correct plugs and sockets (which are still available today off the shelf easily).

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Reply to
John Tserkezis

I know I can buy a moulded piggy plug already on a lead but I refer to the units described, those I can currently buy and able to be installed and sealed shut with a metal clamp on a clam shell hinged body , a very different creature and difficult to break in a like manner

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Reply to
atec77

As Bruce pointed out, these hermaphroditic plugtops are a current product and I have not been aware of any other status since their introduction. While there has been minor change to the style, the front (socket) plate is still held in place by a single screw.

Reply to
who where

All I have seen either have a single screw in the middle of the pins, or near the cord inlet (clipsal). I have not had one come apart, but could see how it would happen if someone tripped over a cord, or pulled it hard enough in a direction at right angles to the face of the power socket.

Reply to
kreed

"Bruce Varley"

** Had the exact same thing happen in my own workshop one time - very bad.

The clear, polycarbonate (?) Clipsal 463s were a disaster and should never have received type approval.

AFAIK thee are long off the market and replaced with one made from a less brittle material.

IME, the event that causes the back to come off is simply tugging sideways on the lead of the plug in the back inlet.

I still have one or two left and they look cool - but beware !!

.... Phil

Reply to
Phil Allison

BTDT and IME they rip out of the wall first or tear a plug ot further down the chain. Caveat, Aus made models from a few decades ago.

Reply to
terryc

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