Dizzy Mich

Hi
Does anyone know if the wiring of a spanish mains plug is much the same as in UK?
Dont wanna trip out the electrics, wont get the SKY back for a few days.

Cheers

jdr

Similar but only two pins, the earth goes to a screw that links to two probes on the side of the plug.
Live can be either hole in the socket, depending on which wire was closest to the sparkies hand at the time.

This may help

Unexpat

It's worthwhile going through your home with a proper polarity tester and checking for earth faults, live leakage, etc. I bought one in the UK with several neons on it that give you a quick indication of the state of the wiring at any socket (using the appropriate adapters).

At the same time, if you are ambitious enough, you can swap live over so that it is always on the right-hand side as you look at the socket face on. Then, mark your plugs accordingly with a top-side (and any plug-in leads at the other end) - assuming you can identify which should be which on the appliance.

Most earths on older (and some newer) properties are inadequate, but can be corrected relatively simply with half a day's work, or so.

Solarwhizz

I think perhaps this is over the top, There really isn't an issue with the way the Spanish wire their sockets, as these days most appliances are double insulated and have double pole switches, All modern appliances in Spain have double pole switches( IE it switches on/off both the live and the neutral as the power enters the machine) so there is no issue when you switch off as the power at the machine is killed on both cables entering. However there may be an issue if you have bought an older appliance from the UK which may have only a single pole switch ( In the UK it was common until recently to only switch the live on appliances) therefore wiring correctly was necessary to prevent a safety problem. Secondly in some houses in Spain there may be no earth available at some of the sockets and this would be an issue in the event of an earth fault on say a washing machine that has a metal outer casing. Then again the use of residual current leakage trips offer protection and should take the mains out if there is an earth leak in the system somewhere. In my view in some respects the Spanish regulations insist on higher standards than the UK. Certainly the radial type socket circuit offers more over current protection than an equivalent ring main in a UK installation.

Unexpat

I agree, to an extent. I was aware of the practices of double-pole isolation, but even today you can buy a lot of new appliances here (in Spain) that don't conform (lamps, heaters, toasters, ovens) and it only takes one faulty appliance to kill you. Over time, switches can become faulty too.

Yes, call me paranoid, but paranoia keeps you safe sometimes

True, I have had some bad experiences with mains power when I was younger. At 13, my sister's feeble attempts at wiring a plug nearly killed me. Needless to say I forbade her ever to wire anything in our house ever again. I also recall getting a nasty bolt in my grandmother's house from the old valve radio that acted as the only means of communication to the outside world. Thank God it was only 120 volts, in those days.

I agree that the radial system and the use of residual current leakage trips are certainly safer than the average ring mains system, assuming that they have been properly installed. And therein lies part of the problem - making assumptions can be dangerous. Unless you have had all your wiring checked and certified, you might find that your 16A radial circuit is only actually wired with 10A cabling and if your earth isn't up to scratch and you happen to be making a circuit between two faulty incorrectly polarised appliances, then AFAIK the current trip won't help you much. Maybe all double-failure scenarios, but then we are talking about the safety of people here.

In general, yes, Spanish regulations do appear to insist on a higher standard of installation - but, call me a cynic if you like, practice can often differ from regulations.

It's a shame that the practices of polarising and fusing end appliances were not combined with the current Spanish system. I still believe that these all have something to offer and contribute to overall safety.

The earth connection on Spanish sockets can leave much to be desired. How many sockets have you seen with flattened, or broken earth contacts (this usually happens a lot where UK to Spanish style adapters have been used and often forcibly inserted into sockets).

On a closing note, I haven't checked, but I am willing to wager that the statistics for death by electrocution are higher for Spain than in the UK. I'm basing that on the fact that I never personally knew, or heard about anyone in th UK that died that way, yet here in Spain, I have known two people that did and heard of several more.