What is the best Power Outlet, and why?
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I see the left side of just slightly bigger than the right, so I expect one of those sides to be the ground
Nope, the ground is a separate wire that just dangles there and never gets connected. Over the last 25 years I don't think I've ever seen a utilised ground wire.
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UK uses type G. Type E/F plug has both contact for grounding pin like in type E and two sliding ground contacts on side like in type F. Sockets are either E or F, and i've mostly seen E
E is only common in five countries, F is more widely used.
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I've seen E in France.
Not really the point, what I'm saying is that F sockets are definitely still "a thing".
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This is one of those things I can't believe hasn't been standardized. Why???
As for the question, the one I grew up with type B. All others seems weird to me.
it's been standardized multiple times! the Italian outlets look like that to be backwards compatible with their older standard, where different amperages had different plugs.
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UK uses type G. Type E/F plug has both contact for grounding pin like in type E and two sliding ground contacts on side like in type F. Sockets are either E or F, and i've mostly seen E
Oh you mean the plugs, as opposed to the sockets? Then I misunderstood.
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Why? It doesn't make any difference with AC
The actual electrical device can be designed such that it depends on exactly which direction is live and which is neutral.
Imagine a circuit loop that, as you follow along the circuit, has an AC power source, then a switch, and then the electrical appliance, leading back to the AC source it started from.
If you design the circuit so that you know for sure that the live wire goes to the switch first before the actual load, then your design ensures that if there is a fault or a short somewhere in the appliance, it won't let the live power leak anywhere (because the whole device is only connected to the neutral line, not the hot live voltage that alternates between positive and negative voltage). It's safer, and is less likely to damage the internals of a device. Especially if someone is going to reach inside and forgets to unplug it or cut power at the circuit breaker.
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J. They look good and the plug is small
wrote last edited by [email protected]You fit three of these in the same surface of one EU type
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Not really the point, what I'm saying is that F sockets are definitely still "a thing".
Oh, yeah, absolutely. The best thing. I just wanted to say that E type plugs are also in use.
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I thing it is about the cord vs the plug. The plugs are as they are in the picture, but most cords are in F+E configuration. That is, there is the ground plates on the side of the cord (F) and there is a hole in the cord with a springplate to connect to the ground thingy in thr plug (E). I have two extension cords at home of the same brand, one in E and one in F configuration, but all my cords are compatible with both. I'm a bit unsure on this, but I may have seen a plug with E+F configuration in a country which usually goes E, but definetly never in a country with F config.
I think you mean plugs vs sockets. I was talking about sockets, but I mistakenly wrote plugs. I think I misunderstood the original comment in that regard.
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Oh, yeah, absolutely. The best thing. I just wanted to say that E type plugs are also in use.
The best thing
Yeah they are pretty great. Admittedly I am biased 
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This is one of those things I can't believe hasn't been standardized. Why???
As for the question, the one I grew up with type B. All others seems weird to me.
Type B is objectively inferior. This is not anti-americanism either, Technology Connections has my back here. But it's not bad enough to replace three big countries worth of plugs and outlets. The only way to have a global standard would be something like Italy's plug orgy system where you can fit multiple different types but that would kinda defy the purpose.
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I like the USA type-A plug. That's probably not a popular answer since I see lots of comments about safety features in the other plugs, but my focus is on convenience.
The plugs are small, making it much easier to design folding-plug devices like this one. It also means that cords don't have a bulky knob on the end, and splitters and power strips can be smaller than other plugs - much smaller than Schuko type-C or UK type-G.
The most common objection is that it's possible for live pins to be exposed when a device is partially plugged in. That's true, and most people who grew up around them has been shocked that way once. Few have been shocked twice, as the lesson to be careful with electricity usually forms a lasting memory.
I think that type A plug would be greatly improved in terms of safety and mechanically if it was put in a grounded metal shroud, in style of DIN connector https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_connector it still would be compact, smaller than type F
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And your adult toys must be licensed, of course. To protect the kids.
Its important you don't allow them access so you need to keep them on your person in a place thats very hard to access. So hard.
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Type K. I mean how can you say no to that face?
why would you shove things into it's mouth?
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A useful source:
https://worldofsockets.comAs someone who travels a lot and has used all these sockets regularly, my vote is for Type G. The European ones seem like they would be the winner, but I've had trouble unplugging some devices. The recessed hole means some shitty cable designs don't have enough to grab on to to yank out. I can imagine some people with dexterity issues having a lot of problems.
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are house fires and electrocutions common occurrences?
Grounded devices are only important if it's something that can build up charges or has a metal exterior that can become part of the circuit. Even then, it just takes something like a GFCI circuit to make something ungrounded near perfectly safe. House fires happen because of shitty house wiring or unattended or misused hot appliances, almost never because of ungrounded devices.That's more just a general shock risk that can be mitigated in other ways.
Especially these days with so many things being lower voltage DC past an ac to dc converter that should have a ton of protections in itself.
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Huh, I never knew Australia shared the same power point as china, thought we were on our own. Good to know not EVERY country is suffering through inferior plugs
wrote last edited by [email protected]Australia's plug isn't bad, in fact, it's one of the best.
- The angled blade pins ensure polarity will always be the same.
- The ground pin is longer than the live pins, meaning it'll always make contact first, and last when you pull it out.
- The Earth pin is located on the bottom, meaning when you pull down on it, or if something drops on the plug, it'll pull away the live pins first.
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A useful source:
https://worldofsockets.comEasy. Type G. For safety. If you're worried about night-time attacks from ninja you can leave a few plugs by your bedroom door and windows with the pins upward. They will rue the day they entered that room in the dark!
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Type B is objectively inferior. This is not anti-americanism either, Technology Connections has my back here. But it's not bad enough to replace three big countries worth of plugs and outlets. The only way to have a global standard would be something like Italy's plug orgy system where you can fit multiple different types but that would kinda defy the purpose.
wrote last edited by [email protected]The criticisms of type B are so minor, it reaches so hard.
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In my opinion it's Type-F
Because:
- It's bi-directional
- It's grounded and ungrounded plugs use the same socket
- It's already widespread (50+ countries) source
- Your fingers can't touch the live wire as you're plugging in a wire
- It's recessed
- Low footprint
- Accepts Type-C
Accepts Type-C
It took me a few seconds to realize you werent talking about shoving a USB Type C plug into there.
