Cyprus-Forum.com

[tonycosta]

sorry, to those that answered, is it three pin plugs that are used?

[demetriou_74]

in england we use a 3 plug

[cannedmoose]

Same as in Cyprus... Cypriots were bright enough to keep the earthed system as opposed to the 2-pin continental.

[demetriou_74]

when you are next going on holiday take a stereo and in the airport/hotel etc plug it into the plugs that the cleaners use. then you have a party in the terminal

[devil]

Same as in Cyprus... Cypriots were bright enough to keep the earthed system as opposed to the 2-pin continental.

The UK system, adopted by Cyprus, is downright dangerous. I'm an electrical engineer (C.Eng., MIEE), so I have a little inkling. I've lived in a number of countries with various systems and, if it were legal, I would rewire my house completely to a non-ring-mains system with the Swiss ASEV earthing system.

And for your info, continental systems do have earthing and they will accept two-pin plugs into 3-pin sockets, but appliances connected to 2-pin plugs must be double-insulated according to strict rules.

I've had two potentially dangerous faults in my house, one caused by an EAC engineer incorrectly wiring a meter and then hiding his fault with a cover protected by a lead seal, so I could not see it. This left everything live, even when it was switched off at the socket. I hate to think what would have happened if it had been an old dear and not an engineer who was the consumer. When I discovered the fault (the same day), I phoned the EAC and they sent somebody in 20 minutes. I explained the problem and he said it was not possible. I had to demonstrate that it must have been wired wrongly with a voltmeter before he believed it and took corrective action. This could not have happened in a continental system, as an automatic cut-out would have tripped. The other one was that the earth potentials for the electricity, the telephone and the water pipes were all different. Why? Because the distribution is 4 wire (3-phase star connection or 2 wire (single phase). On the continent, it is 5 wire or 3 wire. With the UK system, each house has its own earth (which is useless in this country where the dry soil in summer is non-conductive), so with distributed leaks, there is no standard earth potential. This means you can have voltages of up to tens of volts between the earth and the neutral, which is dangerous (in mine, it averages about 24 volts, but I have seen differences of nearly 100 V). This is simply not possible in the continent.

Household electrocution death rates in the UK are, per capita, the highest in Western Europe and this is partially because of the basic dangers, but also because of the strict wiring regulations in bathrooms. Rather than protect people by having suitable in-bathroom appliances, switches and sockets, they allow virtually nothing except fixed lighting/heating/ventilation/shaving through an isolating transformer, with the switching outside. The result is that they trail an extension socket for the hairdryer etc. in from outside the bathroom. This is plain stupid and dangerous, to boot.

Other points are that the ring main permits a smaller cross-section of wire as each socket has two ways of getting the juice. However, if a fault occurs and one way is disconnected, then the other way becomes overloaded and the wire can overheat, potentially causing a fire. On the continent, they have a spur wiring system and if a similar fault occurs, the socket becomes disconnected altogether. According to UK regulations, the earth wire can be of smaller cross-section than the current-carrying wire. If a fault occurs where the earth current cut-out fails, it means that the earth wire is the weakest part of a protection system.

Then there is the costly, over-engineered, fused plug, the biggest in the world, which is badly designed. In many cases, it is fitted with a 13 A fuse, where the flex it is connected to would start a fire if 13 A passed through it. I as each of you; do you have spare fuses of all adequate values for each appliance? Or do you prefer putting in a piece of aluminium foil if the fuse should blow? That fuse, in the hands of anyone without training, is a public danger.

Sorry, I cannot agree with you.

[demetriou_74]

Same as in Cyprus... Cypriots were bright enough to keep the earthed system as opposed to the 2-pin continental.

The UK system, adopted by Cyprus, is downright dangerous. I'm an electrical engineer (C.Eng., MIEE), so I have a little inkling. I've lived in a number of countries with various systems and, if it were legal, I would rewire my house completely to a non-ring-mains system with the Swiss ASEV earthing system.

And for your info, continental systems do have earthing and they will accept two-pin plugs into 3-pin sockets, but appliances connected to 2-pin plugs must be double-insulated according to strict rules.

I've had two potentially dangerous faults in my house, one caused by an EAC engineer incorrectly wiring a meter and then hiding his fault with a cover protected by a lead seal, so I could not see it. This left everything live, even when it was switched off at the socket. I hate to think what would have happened if it had been an old dear and not an engineer who was the consumer. When I discovered the fault (the same day), I phoned the EAC and they sent somebody in 20 minutes. I explained the problem and he said it was not possible. I had to demonstrate that it must have been wired wrongly with a voltmeter before he believed it and took corrective action. This could not have happened in a continental system, as an automatic cut-out would have tripped. The other one was that the earth potentials for the electricity, the telephone and the water pipes were all different. Why? Because the distribution is 4 wire (3-phase star connection or 2 wire (single phase). On the continent, it is 5 wire or 3 wire. With the UK system, each house has its own earth (which is useless in this country where the dry soil in summer is non-conductive), so with distributed leaks, there is no standard earth potential. This means you can have voltages of up to tens of volts between the earth and the neutral, which is dangerous (in mine, it averages about 24 volts, but I have seen differences of nearly 100 V). This is simply not possible in the continent.

Household electrocution death rates in the UK are, per capita, the highest in Western Europe and this is partially because of the basic dangers, but also because of the strict wiring regulations in bathrooms. Rather than protect people by having suitable in-bathroom appliances, switches and sockets, they allow virtually nothing except fixed lighting/heating/ventilation/shaving through an isolating transformer, with the switching outside. The result is that they trail an extension socket for the hairdryer etc. in from outside the bathroom. This is plain stupid and dangerous, to boot.

Other points are that the ring main permits a smaller cross-section of wire as each socket has two ways of getting the juice. However, if a fault occurs and one way is disconnected, then the other way becomes overloaded and the wire can overheat, potentially causing a fire. On the continent, they have a spur wiring system and if a similar fault occurs, the socket becomes disconnected altogether. According to UK regulations, the earth wire can be of smaller cross-section than the current-carrying wire. If a fault occurs where the earth current cut-out fails, it means that the earth wire is the weakest part of a protection system.

Then there is the costly, over-engineered, fused plug, the biggest in the world, which is badly designed. In many cases, it is fitted with a 13 A fuse, where the flex it is connected to would start a fire if 13 A passed through it. I as each of you; do you have spare fuses of all adequate values for each appliance? Or do you prefer putting in a piece of aluminium foil if the fuse should blow? That fuse, in the hands of anyone without training, is a public danger.

Sorry, I cannot agree with you.

you feel pretty strongly. about that extension lead idea i know some body who did it and when they went out the applience (clippers) and the extension lead has burned away and he was left with a ruined toilet seat. he could of died the stupid child.

[cannedmoose]

Blimey... only made a comment about a plug...

Think I'll stick to my Ph.D and leave electrics to tradesmen...

[demetriou_74]

Blimey... only made a comment about a plug...

Think I'll stick to my Ph.D and leave electrics to tradesmen...

whats it in moose?

[cannedmoose]

whats it in moose?

The plug? Or Ph.D.?

[demetriou_74]

phd.