Unfused 13A plugtop "kettle" lead (UK)

why not just put a 3 amp fuse in the 13 amp plugtop

Erm, because it doesn't have a fuseholder to put the fuse into.. It is basically a solid lump of plastic with three pins and a cable coming out of it..

Only for non-domestic use.

Colin Bignell

Ask your local Trading Standards.

It is an offence under the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994...

"No person shall supply, offer for supply, agree to supply, expose for supply or possess for supply an electrical device unless [...] A standard plug shall contain or be accompanied by a fuse link which conforms to BS 1362. "

You should immediately inform Trading Standards, who will confiscate all the vendor's stock and prosecute. This is treated as a very serious offence. They may initiate a product recall too.

Assume not. If it's a loose mains lead, pick up a new one.

I'm not sure. It certainly isn't if it is supplied for domestic use, but I don't know whether the rules regarding appliances being fitted with plugs applies to business sales.

Cables don't generally have voltage ratings, they have current ratings.

Their t&c state:

"You undertake that any and all goods ordered by you are for your own private and domestic use only. The products sold are provided for private domestic and consumer use only"

Nope -- completely illegal to supply for any use.

In which case, it is definitely not legal to sell it without an appropriate fused plug.

Thanks everyone.

I have faxed the supplier. The lead was inside the sealed product carton and they may not be aware that the manufacturer/wholesaler is including a lead of this type.

If their response is less than enthusiastic about putting matters right for the customers they may have supplied with this item, I will notify the trading standard office.

Supplied by who - a trader, ebay merchant, employer ?

I bought one from ebay a while ago like this, and the power supply probably won't last long enough to matter - make yourself an external PSU using a cheap PC power supply :-}

You can have notched and un-notched kettle plugs - the notch denotes its for "hot" use IIRC

In Hong Kong, I believe it might well be...

There really must be a fuse of some sort somewhere, if not than as Andrew . It is possible there is one but is non replaceable. Similar concept to wall warts which have a thermal fuse built into the transformer.

Not even legal in Hong Kong. They have been a problem in Hong Kong with people bringing back cheap non-conformant products from Mainland China, but the Hong Kong authorities have been cracking down on these too recently.

This is a bit confusing Sue. what do you mean by a 'power brick' ?

Do you mean a wall-wart- transformer ?

I guess not as you also talk about a mains lead, so it's confusing.

Can you give a link to the product ?

Joe Lee

You need both, really. The voltage determines the thickness of the insulation, at leats in theory. In practice, though, the insulation needs to be thick enough to withstand being pulled around, and that's probably the limiting factor, rather than the voltage.

As Fred says, maybe there's a non-replaceable fuse moulded into the plug? I assume that would be legal although not a very helpful design.

Could it be Malaysian? They use the UK style plug and somewhere in the range 220-240VAC but probably (IMX, in fact, based on downright shoddy electrics in a 4 star hotel) have less stringent safety requirements.

Neil

The Plugs and Sockets (etc) Safety Regulations 1994 only apply to devices 'ordinarily intended for domestic use' - Paragraphs 4(1) and 11(1)(d)

Colin Bignell

One similar to this:

As with the Vaio unit depicted, its mains input is typically by a socket on the unit and the unit is supplied with a standard mains lead for the country.

Similar to a wall-wart, although invariably a switch mode power supply with electronics and a high frequncy transformer - rather than the

It isn't the brick that is the problem - it is the mains lead supplied. The latter does not meet UK regulations for mains leads.