I think he was joking It's only fixed wiring that they apply it to, and all plug packets have a warning on them about it, but light bulb/globe packets don't.

I've also never known anyone get an electrician to change a light bulb/globe.

after hearing i couldn't change my own plugs .. i wasn't too sure !!

i was thinking of putting an advert in the local rag offering my services as an experienced light bulb fitter and tester. If everyone can do it then i now don't see the point.

Its not tagged beause your original plug is a sealed unit - check it out!

Here's my experience over the last year or so.

I brought lots of UK 4-way adaptors with me so that I could change one plug and run British equipment - especially mobile phone chargers etc. which don't have a separate plug. I also brought travel adapters for plugging in odd items when I need to.

Things I've found out over the last year:

1) When you try to set up equipment and you have a mix of UK and Aussie kit, it gets a bit confusing planning to have enough of each type of socket to plug into each other. This is especially true when I'm using, say, a British extension reel with an Aussie vacuum cleaner to clean the car. {Aus socket -> UK Travel adapter -> Extension reel -> Aus Travel adapter -> Cleaner}

2) The kind of plug you can buy in the supermarkets won't fit over thick 13A cable on British appliances. You can buy ones in Bunnings that do.

3) The normal maximum current rating in Australia is 10A. Running too many heat producing British 13A appliances from the one wall socket makes you run the risk of overheating the cables behind the wall, or the live pin of the socket itself. In Australia the "live" pin is called the "active" pin.

4) You can buy 15A Australian plugs, sockets and cables which are thicker. They look the same as the 10A plugs, but the middle Earth pin is just a little bigger, so it won't plug into a 10A socket. (this one caused more than a little swearing!)

5) I brought a bag of British 3A, 5A, and 13A plug fuses with me in case mine blew over time. I haven't needed any yet. Any of you guys need some?

6) I whinged about the inferior, flimsy, aussie plugs for a while until I got the knack of them. Then I realised a) They grip the inner wires better if the flex gets tugged than British plugs do. b) The screw terminals are much easier to get the wires into. c) The clear ones are really reassuring.

7) Where I live, summer lightning storms knock out the power for a few hours on a regular basis. I got a 900W generator from an auction house for about $130 (they sell them in Supercheap Auto for $300). I've found this is just enough to run one fridge freezer, one light, one TV, one fan, and the water pump for the house. My cooker is gas. I've run an extension cable down through the floor to the generator from the kitchen to the shed so that when the power goes off I nip downstairs, fire it up and we can continue the evening in relative comfort.

8) Now that I'm a year into here, I find I've got about 3 or 4 travel adapters in regular use. I'm now getting uneasy about having them there for so long. They do pose a greater fire and shock hazard, so I'll probably do something about it soon.

The number of small black transformers I have to power bits of electronic equipment means I had to use British multi-way adapter boards anyway. As a result, this hybrid electrical system I have works well for us. Where I feel the need I change plugs, but in most cases I don't bother.

I hope this helps anyone else who, like me, finds that there are never enough electric sockets in any house!

Running a 13A appliance (say a 3kW fast boil kettle) on a 10A circuit will trip the MCB after a short while, thereby protecting the circuit. I'm not too familiar with Aussie wiring regs but I would think that the house wiring 'behind the walls' would be rated so as allow it to take 13A. It would be pretty crap wiring if it wasn't.

I know what you mean, and I haven't burned my kitchen down either. The cable runs would be OK, but you could get hot spots at weak points without tripping the circuit breaker. I've certainly had a socket singed at the live pin, but that was in a very (nice but) shonky rented house on the Gold Coast. I guess I'm suggesting that adding heavy duty British appliances will use up your comfort zone faster than adding Aussie ones.

Some people also think that they'd be able to tell if the UK appliance was causing an overload because the flex would get hot, or the plug fuse would blow. It might help someone to realise that the UK appliance will happily draw as much power as it wants, and it's the house wiring that will feel the stress. As you say though, hopefully the circuit breaker will prevent that, and I haven't met anyone who has had any problems.

Anyway. I haven't really posted much since I moved over here, so I just thought I'd put something back ... in fact I did all my posting before Karma was invented. As a result I must look like some kind of pariah with 500-odd posts and zero karma! lol

?? what the ....? The man in Bunnings gave me a demo on how to change from a Brit one. Said it was so easy even I could do it! (patronizing t**t)Never mentioned anything else.

Not anymore, or not if you want to sell your house anyway. We had to confirm in our solicitors documents that no electrical work had been due by anyone other than a qualified permitted electrician since 1st Jan 05 and a friend who spent a couple of years doing all the exams and training to be an electrician at nightschool discovered he couldn't actually do anything more than simple bits without having prior submission of a plan to the local council and confirmation from them that he could do it or a few years experience or larger electrical work in the home.

Don't worry mate, you'd only be done for manslaughter, not murder.

ADL

I've changed all our plugs and we're still alive. Don't pay anyone to do it, just change them.

The law only states that you can't do electrical work around your house and you need a sparky in (eg installing a shower). This is what it's for.

Hope this helps!

We had to get a Plumber to do ours !!
Sorry, sorry, sorry... But I just couldn't resist

Not many Electric showers in Australia

The Above statement is incorect!
You cannot legally change your own plugs in Qld. Yes everyone does it but it is still against the law. Just the same as speeding, failing to stop at stop signs, overloading your car and loads of other laws people break everyday. This topic has been discused many many times on the forum and I've read loads of silly and downright sarcastic posts upon the subject. Some U.K appliances are simply too big to plug into the 10 amp sockets we have here, quick boil kettles and washing machines/dryers to name a couple.
The legislation is here for anyone who's interested:

"What is electrical equipment?

Electrical equipment is more than just appliances. There are two main types found in a home or small business - electrical accessories and fixed wired electrical appliances. The following lists give an indication of the types of products.

Electrical accessories

Fixed wired electrical appliances

junction boxes
light switches
light fittings without a cord
power points
plugs
cord extension sockets
flexible cord
ceiling fans
some light fittings
split system air conditioners
stoves and ovens


What should I do?

It is not against the law to purchase electrical accessories or fixed wired electrical appliances, but a licensed electrical contractor must install them.

Electricians or electrical contractors can be found in the Yellow Pages, the classified sections of local newspapers or by contacting an electrical industry association."

Just for the really cynical heres the link

http://www.dir.qld.gov.au/electricalsafety/index.htm
http://www.dir.qld.gov.au/electrical...ctricity/home/

That's one nanny state law that really needs to be broken.

One more reason to choose WA over Qld.

I don't see what the problem is. You would have to be doing something pretty weird to get water into a wall socket. I mean, it's not as if this is easy to do in the first place.

As for touching the switch with wet hands - in my experience, switches are usually surrounded with waterproof plastic, and the wiring inside is insulated with same. How much water can you get into a waterproof switch by runninng your finger or thumb over it for less than two seconds?