I am in the UK and was wondering if there was any merit in cleaning the brass pins of my three-pin mains plugs.
In many cases the pins look tarnished and I must have had some of these plugs for 10 or 20 years.
The plugs all seem to work well and they do not heat up. But I thought it would be good practise to sandpaper the pins so they were shiny.
Am I wasting my time?
In this group (uk.comp.vendors), probably...it's massively OT. Perhaps you meant to post to uk.d-i-y ?
Yes.
Alun Harford
ROFL !!
Yeah I reckon you should sandpaper them. It's extremely important that they look good and fit in with the decor of the home whilst they're plugged in. ! LOL
Unless you finish off with Brasso yes. and don't forget to do the wire inside too
| I am in the UK and was wondering if there was any merit in cleaning | the brass pins of my three-pin mains plugs. | | In many cases the pins look tarnished and I must have had some of | these plugs for 10 or 20 years. | | The plugs all seem to work well and they do not heat up. But I | thought it would be good practise to sandpaper the pins so they | were shiny. | | Am I wasting my time?
Why not just buy a shiny new plug and replace the old tarnished one?
And fit the sockets near the ceiling, because gravity will help the leccy come down the cable. (it gets pumped up there by those miniature pumps they call MCBs).
But don't forget, if they are very clean and make better contact - they will use more electricity, which in turn will lead to global warming. You have been warned and if we are flooded in the UK we will lay the blame at your door.
Under the terms of The Clean Pins Act 2003, you are legally obliged to ensure that all 3 pins are exempt of any deposit whatsoever and shine to BS 6907 specifications. The newly formed Pin Inspection Special Squad (P.I.S.S.) has power of entry to inspect all your plugs, whether connected to the mains or not.
And further more the Pin Inspection Special Squad have the power to remove offending items to be safely disposed of. This is known as taking the P.I.S.S.
PC
Malev wrote: | On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 19:18:44 +0100, Piotr Makley | wrote: | || I am in the UK and was wondering if there was any merit in cleaning || the brass pins of my three-pin mains plugs. || || In many cases the pins look tarnished and I must have had some of || these plugs for 10 or 20 years. || || The plugs all seem to work well and they do not heat up. But I || thought it would be good practise to sandpaper the pins so they || were shiny. || || Am I wasting my time? | | Under the terms of The Clean Pins Act 2003, you are legally obliged | to ensure that all 3 pins are exempt of any deposit whatsoever and | shine to BS 6907 specifications. | The newly formed Pin Inspection Special Squad (P.I.S.S.) has power of | entry to inspect all your plugs, whether connected to the mains or | not.
But doesn't BS 6907 specify leakage tests for condoms ? You will also need to make sure that your mains plugs comply with the Specification for Home Insulation Testing (S.H.I.T.) white paper, and that your mains sockets comply with the Connection Receptacle Accessability Parameters (C.R.A.P.). Kevin.
Someone named "Kevin Lawton" Proclaimed on Mon, 26 Apr 2004 00:21:27 +0000 (UTC),
Ahhh .. British humour (notice the "u") .. how refreshing :)
On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 19:18:44 +0100, Piotr Makley put finger to keyboard and composed:
Not long ago my brother's [very old] rented flat could have burnt down had he not been at home. The power plug for his washing machine overheated in the GPO, causing both to melt and catch fire. The problem was most likely due to fatigued, high resistance connections. Had he been able to inspect the mains plug prior to the incident, he may have noticed some tell-tale darkening of the pins. Some of my cables have shown similar signs. I have also had a 20A timer melt in the fusebox while supplying its rated load. Fortunately it went OC and nothing else was damaged. Anyway, I've just made my coffee and noticed that the kettle's detachable cord is arcing. Time to change it ... and the kettle, perhaps.
- Franc Zabkar
}I am in the UK and was wondering if there was any merit in cleaning }the brass pins of my three-pin mains plugs. } }In many cases the pins look tarnished and I must have had some of }these plugs for 10 or 20 years. } }The plugs all seem to work well and they do not heat up. But I }thought it would be good practise to sandpaper the pins so they }were shiny. } }Am I wasting my time?
Of course not!!! although you may be wasting the time of all of the people in all of the newsgroups you cross-posted to.
Polish those pins super-bright, gold-plate them (and all the other plugs in your home), and then, for extra longevity, give them several coats of spray-on laquer to prevent tarnishing!
HTH. HAND.
Stan.
The audiophile/hi-fi community know the importance of clean connections but I do not now if it affects PCs or other applicances.
I wonder how much resistence there is in a tarnished brass pin compared to a shiny one.
Can't imagine the tarnish has no resistence at all.
Ah, yes. They sell cord sets in that circle than can cost over US$1000. And some of them aren't even cryogenically treated!
-VN
-I am in the UK and was wondering if there was any merit in cleaning
-the brass pins of my three-pin mains plugs.
-Absolutely! It's vital, however to polish the Live and Neutral to the same degree, else a small imbalance in the Fermi velocities could cause everyone in China to jump up and down at the same time.
And whilst you're there, putting earth on the Earth pin will increase its effectiveness.
-Rob robatwork at mail dot com
No, and once cleaned get them Gold Plated as this will prevent future tarnishment.
So the patina of tarnish on brass pins has no resistence whatsoever?
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