Wiring a plug - making them safe in class

R

Ron Beardmore

Making 3-pin plugs unusable so that kids cannot plug them in once wired usually involves trying to bend the earth pin. I have used a 5mm diameter drill and pop-rivet like this...IMG_20191112_092245.jpg
You could do all three pins if you want belt and braces. They can't be loosened like little bolts and nuts and they stop the pins from falling out and getting lost.
 
Ron Beardmore said:
Making 3-pin plugs unusable so that kids cannot plug them in once wired usually involves trying to bend the earth pin. I have used a 5mm diameter drill and pop-rivet like this...View attachment 3505
You could do all three pins if you want belt and braces. They can't be loosened like little bolts and nuts and they stop the pins from falling out and getting lost.
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it's off-piste as far as the cleapss model RA goes though.
 
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I saw off the pins leaving about 5mm sticking out then glue and screw them on to a piece of wood drilled to take the pin stumps
 
Ron Beardmore said:
usually involves trying to bend the earth pin
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That's because CLEAPSS specifically suggest that we do that.

The best way to disable a mains plug is to ensure that the end of the earth pin is bent over so that it cannot be inserted into a socket (see pictures below). Information received on our Helpline indicates that all other preventative measures, e.g. removal of the earth pin, fixing rivets or bolts through the earth pins can be overridden, fail or be forgotten, with potentially fatal consequences of electric shock.
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See info in GL268 Wiring mains plug by pupils
 
When Steve Jones came here from CLEAPSS he said that even though we had rivets in our earth pins we had to bend them. If CLEAPSS are your H&S advisers this leaves you no choice, you bend the earth pins.
 
Don't forget to glue all the pins in place, as per Summer 2019 bulletin. I did see a more detailed CLEAPSS instruction document but can't find it at the moment.
 
Ok - all good points here - I will rivet them, glue them, bend them, saw them off, mount them on boards and finally encase them in concrete - tee hee! Seriously though, I'll go back and glue and bend as per CLEAPSS recommendation - ho-hum! Thanks folks.
 
Did anyone else have issues bending them? About 1 in every 5 just snapped when I did it, but they are very cheap plugs.
 
they only need bending to about 30 degrees, much more and they will snap. The brass has been work hardened during the manufacturing process.
 
MikeyB said:
Did anyone else have issues bending them? About 1 in every 5 just snapped when I did it, but they are very cheap plugs.
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I snapped one or two at first, but then found that if I took the earth pin out and put it in a vice, bent it a bit, then raised it half a centimeter before finishing the bend, the stress is spread over a larger area and it's less likely to snap. We have cheap plugs too! Hadn't seen the gluing notice though, need to sort that by the look of things.
 
Helen Jones said:
I snapped one or two at first, but then found that if I took the earth pin out and put it in a vice, bent it a bit, then raised it half a centimeter before finishing the bend, the stress is spread over a larger area and it's less likely to snap. We have cheap plugs too! Hadn't seen the gluing notice though, need to sort that by the look of things.
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Good tip for next time. I did try bending one outside of the plug then realised it wouldn't go back in. I didn't have the ideal blocks for holding the plug in place either so had to bend closer to the end than in CLEAPSS' guidance.
 
Don't do them any more as 99.9% of electrical good comes with plugs. Also is it really necessary?.
Also in years gone by (the past 30!) when we did do them, most came back in a complete mess, thus giving the pupils the false idea that they can wire a plug correctly.
Leave it to the professionals and i'm not talking about Bodie and Doyle as some older technicians might remember.
 
Blackadder said:
Don't do them any more as 99.9% of electrical good comes with plugs. Also is it really necessary?.
Also in years gone by (the past 30!) when we did do them, most came back in a complete mess, thus giving the pupils the false idea that they can wire a plug correctly.
Leave it to the professionals and i'm not talking about Bodie and Doyle as some older technicians might remember.
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I thought it was part of the national curriculum...
 
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