16amp to 13amp converter/adapter?

Question

I have a 230v/50hz generator with a 2-pin 16 amp socket. I want to plug in a standard (UK) 13amp 3 pin plug.

I have seen the following advertised, and assume they do what I want, however the large variation in price makes me wonder if they actually do different things. Can someone take a look and let me have your opinion as to whether they are the same or not...?

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(a 16 Amp to 13 Amp Adapter for £1.25)

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halfway down the page, a very similar looking device (SDMO R55, 16 AMP / 13 AMP ADAPTER ECONOMY for £9.46)

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(SIP 16/13 amp Socket adaptor £22.40 (RRP £31.00!)

Obviously there is a big difference between £22.40 and £1.25(!) which is why I'm wondering if they have some subtle difference... and if there is a difference is it something I should care about....?

Peter Andrews · Accepted Answer

> (a 16 Amp to 13 Amp Adapter for £1.25)> (SIP 16/13 amp Socket adaptor £22.40 (RRP £31.00!)Can't actually answer your question, but the £1.25 looks like a daily/weekly hire charge...Peter

anon418600J5 · Answer

oh yeah, guess I should have read the website first - I just landed on that page from a google search...

still, anyone else know the difference between the other two? one looks like a bit of cable with a different plug/socket on each end while the other looks like a little box of tricks - maybe there's something else in there?

sQuick · Answer

> (a 16 Amp to 13 Amp Adapter for £1.25)> (SIP 16/13 amp Socket adaptor £22.40 (RRP £31.00!)There is no difference between them, apart from one is for hire & the others are to buy.sQuick..

Don Kelly · Answer

Stormlighting 1.25 per week. You hire it.world of power -you own it.  Also they have a more rugged unit that is the same as toolsnstuff.

Mike Lamond · Answer

> (a 16 Amp to 13 Amp Adapter for £1.25)> (SIP 16/13 amp Socket adaptor £22.40 (RRP £31.00!)The subtle difference between the first link and the other two links is thatStorm Lighting appears to be a stage lighting rental company. The DailyPrice: £1.00 and Weekly Price: £1.25 are rental rates, not the price tobuy one.Being in the USA, I have no idea how good or bad the stuff is  from theother two suppliers. I will say that the Economy Adapter from World ofPower will probably have the receptacles hanging in mid-air by the cordif you plug it directly in to your generator, and that's not good for it. Ifyou have it plugged in to an extension cord and laying flat, that's not aproblem. I'll quit here before revealing any more ignorance of UK wiringregs.Mike

anon418600J5 · Answer

Possibly a stupid question but...Can I just take a device with a 13amp 3 pin standard household plug, hackthe plug off, and wire the cable into a 2 pin 16amp "industrial" plug?  Oris the 13amp to 16amp adapter doing something slightly more technical thanallowing a square plug to fit into a round whole as it were?

Andrew Gabriel · Answer

You lose the 13A plug fuse if you do that. In some cases that won't matter, and in others it will. In the UK, 16A industrial socket outlets are allowed to be protected at up to 20A in theory, although it's not uncommon to find them hanging from a 32A outlet without any such protection included. In such a scenario, your appliance cord is now protected by a

32A protective device, which is almost certainly in excess of what the appliance cord can safely handle. If the appliance cord is long or an extension cord is in use, a fault at or near the appliance end might well not draw enough current due to the cable resistance to trip the 32A device within the time required to avoid the cable failing in an unsafe way (e.g. smoking and setting fire to something nearby).

16amp to 13amp converter/adapter?

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