Simon_Catlin Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Hi, My first post so please be gentle...I have read the forum and know that I can change a plug from UK 3 pin to FR 2 and 3 pin depending on whether there is an earth wire and that you cannot guarantee the left pin is Neutral as in the UK (earth pin to the top)Knowing this, I bought about 12 plugs to change on some appliances such as lights, microwave and kettle, UK four gang sockets etc... but when I opened up the plugs, there was no fuse to be fitted.Surprisingly, this ommission of a 3A, 5A and 13A fuses etc in the plug is not mentioned on the forum anywhere.Am I right in assuming that the Mains Circuit Board handles all "fuse" issues? This is to be installed into a new build (get the keys on Thursday!!!). Should I assume then that the Live is on the left and Neural to the Right (Earth to the top) as this is a New Apartment? Hope someone can help and thanks in advance.Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Hello and welcome.Yes you assumption is right, the main circuit boar does the 'fusing' as it were and there are no fuzes in the plugs here. When we arrived I got the telly working first then spent a whole evening going through everything.You might look at the plugs on TV's and electronic items a bit closer. I had cut two off before I spotted that if you take the UK plug apart the cable actually has a EU plug on it that fits inside the UK plug, pull it out and you are ready to go. My laptop power leads were the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Very true, especialy IKEA lighting - but 'take apart' can be a violent process - they are not meant to be dismantled!If you are in a position to buy 2-pin French appliances and bring them back to the UK the plugs are available at a price... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Simon if you are like most people bringing a UK computer over I would suggest that you leave all the english plugs on and use a UK spec 'surge protector'. This then means that you only have to have one french plug for the whole of your computer setup.A surge protector is also an absolutely vital part of the equipment you need in France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 [quote user="Simon_Catlin"] Should I assume then that the Live is on the left and Neural to the Right (Earth to the top) as this is a New Apartment?[/quote]Simon,I dont think you should assume live left etc. Its a 'practice' not a 'rule'. Both live and neutral are switched at the disjoncteur, as opposed to UK where only the live is switched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 bugbearthanks for the tip about the surge protector. one more item for me to note in an increasingly long list of "MUST REMEMBER" before we move over for good .my poor husband is not great with changing plugs and so on (partly to do with arthritis and partly plain cack-handedness, i guess). i have resorted to buying a whole load of adaptors and have been using those with the uk appliances. fortunately, we have an abundance of points in our french property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_Catlin Posted January 7, 2007 Author Share Posted January 7, 2007 Thank you everyone - most informative - in fact it leads on to another question. How do you know if the cables are the wrong way around when you have wired the plug??? Again, thank you everyone for making me welcome. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 [quote user="sweet 17"] i have resorted to buying a whole load of adaptors and have been using those with the uk appliances. fortunately, we have an abundance of points in our french property.[/quote]You shouldn't put appliances which have a high loading through adaptors, far better to replace the plugs. Or make a small extension cable with a French plug on it and UK sockets.I must admit, I've never worried about polarity with 2-pin (what would be the point?) and in 3-pin there is a +/- mark inside the plug, and I take the fuse side to the +. Now someone who actually knows what they are doing will tell me that's the wrong way round! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonzjob Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Line or neutral, who the hell cares here. If you buy a double socket some of them are 'back to back' with the earth pins adgacent to each other and the live/neutral sockets (here the earth in a socket is a pin and the 'power connectors' are sockets) are outside the earth. The 2 on the left are common and ditto for the right. So if you wire up your socket as per U.K then one will be U.K. correct and the other will be live/neutral reverse. But as has been stated before the modern systems are live and neutral protected. The older places aren't though! The best practice is to check your sockets and find out for your self which way they are wired, because they may not all be the same in the house???Our house is 23 years old and has fuses and they only protect the line. We have been told that it is a VERY good quality build by all sorts of people who are not trying to impress us. I found that the carport, now my workshop, had a light in it that had the switch in the neutral line.. Novel! Also a tingelley feeling when I connected another light with only the original one switched off [:-))]! I should have checked of course!!!You will also find that the standard 2 pin wall socket is round! and the only difference between a 3 pin socket and a 2 pin jobbie is that the earth pin is missing from the socket. That means that you can go and push any of your 3 pin plugs, ones that NEED AN EARTH, into your 2 pin socket WITHOUT AN EARTH!In the U.K. you can have a unit that will have a 3 or 5 amp fuse. Here that unit will be 'protected' by a 16 anp fuse or breaker at the main board along with everything else on that circuit, but the French system is safer, we have been told so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonzjob Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 [quote user="Fluffy Kitten"][quote user="sweet 17"]i have resorted to buying a whole load of adaptors and have been using those with the uk appliances. fortunately, we have an abundance of points in our french property.[/quote]You shouldn't put appliances which have a high loading through adaptors, far better to replace the plugs. Or make a small extension cable with a French plug on it and UK sockets.I must admit, I've never worried about polarity with 2-pin (what would be the point?) and in 3-pin there is a +/- mark inside the plug, and I take the fuse side to the +. Now someone who actually knows what they are doing will tell me that's the wrong way round![/quote]My little furry mate you are obviously a doubter. The + is always on the fuse side sometimes. It's called a definate maybe?! [8-)]Oh gawd, wherez me nurse. I need me midekashon?/???????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_Catlin Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 I would like to thank everyone for their replies. Needless to say the "2nd home" (wife refuses to call it holiday home) move was somewhat traumatic, but thanks to everyone here, the electricty plug changes was one issue I needed not to worry about. I gambled and placed the Neutral to the left and Live to the right (Earth up) and hey presto - no issues. Did manage to trip everything out by having the oven, 4 rings on the cooker, dishwasher, some lights, towel rail, kitchen heater and stereo turned on.. Not to bad I thought. Need to find an emergency light source that comes on when the electricty fails. By the way, what is one of these called in French and do Carrefour or Darty sell them?Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deimos Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 [quote user="Simon_Catlin"]Need to find an emergency light source that comes on when the electricty fails.Simon[/quote]Many years ago when I rewired my then UK renovation I put one light on its own breaker and "outside" the RCB - the light beside the fuse box. Thus, should everything go (RCB) you can at least have a light to see what you are doing. Electrician who double checked what I had done had no problems with this but the electricity board guy who then came to connect it all up said "no" and made me change it so everything was protected by the RCB (though he allowed me to do it whilst he waited so he was not being "stroppy").Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh4 Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 [quote user="Simon_Catlin"]Need to find an emergency light source that comes on when the electricty fails. By the way, what is one of these called in French and do Carrefour or Darty sell them?Simon [/quote]Bougie et allumettes (SP) [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_Catlin Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Redman Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 If it is a new build it must by law have bi polar circuit breakers which break both live and neutral simultaniously. Valve based TV were the last UK domestic appliance which I remember being live and neutral reverse sensative/ less safe if they were the wrong way round..Unlike UK double sockets all French double sockets which I have seen reverse live and neutral for one of the two sockets !Was the electric hob and oven supplied with the build ?B and A above are candles and matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_Catlin Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 Candles and Matches - no good when the lights are off and it is pitch black and the shutters are closed. [:)]I was testing the load deliberatley to know if we had a problem. It is unlikely we are ever going to have all those on at the same time though and yes they were installed by the builders/kitchen fitters. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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