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-   -   Buying new power cables (https://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/buying-new-power-cables-819631/)

Samiad Dec 29th 2013 12:06 pm

Buying new power cables
 
Hi,

Rather than take all my UK power cables (the mainstream ones like http://www.cables2u.co.uk/images/pro...ower_cable.jpg and http://www.crazycables.co.uk/catalog...s/l_50.139.jpg) and use loads of adapters I'm considering leaving all my UK cables behind and just buying a bulk load of US style cables.

Has anyone any good sources of these cables? Buying from a place that sells one at a time is probably going to be expensive, but if I could buy a bulk lot of 10 or 20 it would probably be workable. Has anyone else done this?

Pulaski Dec 29th 2013 12:47 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by Samiad (Post 11054336)
..... if I could buy a bulk lot of 10 or 20 it would probably be workable. Has anyone else done this?

Do you have that many appliances that will run on 110v/60Hz? :confused:

There is nothing to stop you chopping the plugs off and replacing them with US plugs that you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes.

mwdake Dec 29th 2013 12:50 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
The first one you have is a NEMA 5 type and the second one is sometimes called a 2-ear.
They are the kind of things that if you buy from a local shop might cost $10-15 in fancy packaging but buy online for $1-2 each.

Look on eBay, Amazon or Google search.

Here is one outfit that will supply both...
http://www.ascendtech.us/lot-of-10-p...nvpclot10.aspx

Guindalf Dec 29th 2013 3:55 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
Do NOT cut cables. It's dangerous and I don't think you can buy US- style plugs from anywhere! US plugs are usually molded at both ends and in 16 years, I've never seen one that has been screwed together!

You can get what you need from monoprice.com. I've ordered lots froom them (HDMI cables, mostly) and they have exactly what you need for reasonable prices.

Pulaski Dec 29th 2013 4:16 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by Guindalf (Post 11054553)
Do NOT cut cables. It's dangerous and I don't think you can buy US- style plugs from anywhere! US plugs are usually molded at both ends and in 16 years, I've never seen one that has been screwed together! .....

Not withstanding your exclamation mark, you are wrong. As per my above post, both Lowes and Home Depot sell replacement plugs (I know, I have bought some, from tiny two-pin ones for lights to giant four pin ones for cookers and dryers, and everything in between :rolleyes:), as do many other stores that sell electrical and wiring supplies. I have no doubt that they are not big sellers, and therefore "screwed on" plugs are not commonly seen, but wiring on a new plug is no more dangerous in the US than it is in the UK. (FWIW, tiny plugs for lights are made from soft plastic and pull apart and push together without use for screws to hold them together).

Samiad Dec 29th 2013 6:18 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
Thanks for the replies - looks like Monoprice is exactly what I need (cheap and with bulk discounts)

Swapping the plug is a good suggestion (completely slipped my mind) but I think it'll be a pain to swap out 20+ cables when they're so cheap at Monoprice.

tonrob Dec 29th 2013 6:35 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
I've bought and wired my own plugs in the US too. Piece of piss. Sometimes I like to do it while stood in a bucket of water for extra spice.

cranston Dec 29th 2013 6:50 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
Ebay...

S Folinsky Dec 29th 2013 7:11 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
BTW, the best source for HDMI cables is Amazon.

S Folinsky Dec 29th 2013 7:13 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by Samiad (Post 11054336)
Hi,

Rather than take all my UK power cables (the mainstream ones like http://www.cables2u.co.uk/images/pro...ower_cable.jpg and http://www.crazycables.co.uk/catalog...s/l_50.139.jpg) and use loads of adapters I'm considering leaving all my UK cables behind and just buying a bulk load of US style cables.

Has anyone any good sources of these cables? Buying from a place that sells one at a time is probably going to be expensive, but if I could buy a bulk lot of 10 or 20 it would probably be workable. Has anyone else done this?

Actually, the cable on the left will be quite inexpensive. That form factor goes back to the original IBM PC of 1981. They are so uniformly used that most people have spares around.

Also, the US is like the continent and does not have the fused plugs like the UK.

hungryhorace Dec 29th 2013 7:18 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by S Folinsky (Post 11054715)
BTW, the best source for HDMI cables is Amazon.

Plus, they sell all the cables the OP wants as well. When I moved over, I just ordered 10x of each cable variety I needed. Cost me $30 maybe.

md95065 Dec 29th 2013 7:19 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
You probably want to avoid these :eek:

I had not realized that the insanity surrounding ridiculously over priced audio and video cables had also been seen as a "marketing opportunity" for power cords ... :ohmy:

hungryhorace Dec 29th 2013 7:39 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by md95065 (Post 11054722)
You probably want to avoid these :eek:

I had not realized that the insanity surrounding ridiculously over priced audio and video cables had also been seen as a "marketing opportunity" for power cords ... :ohmy:

Audioquest are a fantastic brand, I own several of their HDMI cables. Worth every penny. http://www.whathifi.com/review/audioquest-pearl-hdmi

Michael Dec 29th 2013 7:52 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by hungryhorace (Post 11054736)
Audioquest are a fantastic brand, I own several of their HDMI cables. Worth every penny. http://www.whathifi.com/review/audioquest-pearl-hdmi

According to just about everyone that tests HDMI cables, expensive HDMI cables such as Monster are no better than cheap $2 HDMI cables with the same speed rating. I've been picking up $1.99 HDMI cables from Fry's for the past 8 years and never had a problem.

md95065 Dec 29th 2013 7:53 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by hungryhorace (Post 11054736)
Audioquest are a fantastic brand, I own several of their HDMI cables. Worth every penny. http://www.whathifi.com/review/audioquest-pearl-hdmi

£26 for an HDMI cable, while not cheap, is not an unreasonable price in either the UK or the US.

$1,099 for a 10' AC power cord is insane.

I don't doubt that it is a good quality power cable - it just isn't worth over $1,000.

mwdake Dec 29th 2013 8:10 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

both Lowes and Home Depot sell replacement plugs
Have you seen how much they want for a replacement plug?
You can buy the ready made cable online for much less.

hungryhorace Dec 29th 2013 8:11 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by md95065 (Post 11054754)
£26 for an HDMI cable, while not cheap, is not an unreasonable price in either the UK or the US.

$1,099 for a 10' AC power cord is insane.

I don't doubt that it is a good quality power cable - it just isn't worth over $1,000.

Yep, completely agree there. I think that cable is aimed at businesses such as theater's, or millionaires who are kitting out their home theater.

Guindalf Dec 29th 2013 8:16 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
You could always get these speaker cables. :eek:

Markie Dec 30th 2013 4:13 am

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by hungryhorace (Post 11054777)
Yep, completely agree there. I think that cable is aimed at businesses such as theater's, or millionaires who are kitting out their home theater.

It's aimed at millionaires. No business would waste money on such a thing! It's just a joke.

Now, as for the person who said you can't get rewireable NEMA (Edison/US) plugs - you absolutely can! They're not cheap though, usually new moulded cables are cheaper.

US plugs are not fused because we don't use ring wiring here.

Pulaski Dec 30th 2013 1:23 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by markuhde (Post 11055120)
.... US plugs are not fused because we don't use ring wiring here.

"We don't use fuses in our plugs because the socket is connected to the breaker box by two different cables in parallel", sounds suspiciously like a nonsequiteur to me. Please can you explain?

I have a fair amount of cabling experience, including rewiring the ring mains in my house in the UK, but I can't immediately see the connection between ring mains and the need for fuses. :confused:

DexterBerkeley Dec 30th 2013 2:12 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
I would recommend holding on to a couple of the UK cables. I use my UK cables and chargers when going back to the UK, just seems easier to me than using adapters.

mwdake Dec 30th 2013 2:27 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
Ring circuits are capable of providing more amperage than an individual appliance cable can handle and the main fuse for the circuit will be much higher than a radial circuit like in the US or Europe. So, in order to protect each appliance and its cable the plug on a ring circuit is fused at a much lower rating than the main fuse on the ring.

Pulaski Dec 30th 2013 2:55 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by mwdake (Post 11055660)
Ring circuits are capable of providing more amperage than an individual appliance cable can handle and the main fuse for the circuit will be much higher than a radial circuit like in the US or Europe. So, in order to protect each appliance and its cable the plug on a ring circuit is fused at a much lower rating than the main fuse on the ring.

Interesting. So the US system is pretty much dependent on there being a breaker box with dozens of breakers, and wiring many more sockets onto a thicker cable with a higher value breaker would cause safety issues. Hmmm. :huh:

Markie Dec 30th 2013 2:58 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by Pulaski (Post 11055570)
"We don't use fuses in our plugs because the socket is connected to the breaker box by two different cables in parallel", sounds suspiciously like a nonsequiteur to me. Please can you explain?

I have a fair amount of cabling experience, including rewiring the ring mains in my house in the UK, but I can't immediately see the connection between ring mains and the need for fuses. :confused:

As mwdake explained, I highly oversimplified. It's not the fact they're ring circuits per se, it's the fact the circuit breaker is a much higher current rating.

In US wiring, the circuit breaker is usually 20A. While much higher than the rating of appliance zip cord, the zip cord can handle that for a tiny amount of time in the case of a gross fault - just long enough for the breaker to trip.

In the UK, the breaker rating is usually 32A - a current appliance cord shouldn't be subject to even instantaneously, because it's more likely it won't carry that much current, overheat, and start a fire than it is that it will actually let that much current through for an instant to trip the breaker.

Hope that helps!

P.S. ring wiring has safety issues too - mostly if half the ring breaks, you won't know until you've overloaded the other half and started a fire. Both systems have pros and cons. Both are equally safe when in good repair, and both can fail in different, equally catastrophic, ways.

Pulaski Dec 30th 2013 3:10 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by markuhde (Post 11055709)
...... ring wiring has safety issues too - mostly if half the ring breaks, you won't know until you've overloaded the other half and started a fire. .....

I realised that a few years ago, while explaining the British ring-main system to a licensed electrician here in the US, who was doing some wiring work for me. .... When I rewired my house in the UK I tested the completeness of the ring before connecting it to the fuse box. :)

Markie Dec 30th 2013 3:16 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by Pulaski (Post 11055722)
I realised that a few years ago, while explaining the British ring-main system to a licensed electrician here in the US, who was doing some wiring work for me. .... When I rewired my house in the UK I tested the completeness of the ring before connecting it to the fuse box. :)

Well, obviously you test things at install time. The problem is wiring can and does fail. All the time. British wiring fails in a very silent way - you don't necessarily realise it fails until the whole ring is overloaded and the result can be catastrophic.

The wiring in the rest of the world (let's not just say American here, ring circuits are pretty uniquely British and places heavily British-influenced thing - Republic of Ireland, Indonesia, Singapore, etc) aka radial circuits, well, failure can be just as catastrophic but you'll usually know closer to the time of the failure. IDEALLY, it won't be quite as catastrophic since if you are lucky the circuit will break completely instead of coming loose, thus won't get overloaded and cause a fire. That's often not reality though, the truth is both systems fail in deadly ways.

S Folinsky Dec 30th 2013 3:58 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by Pulaski (Post 11055704)
Interesting. So the US system is pretty much dependent on there being a breaker box with dozens of breakers, and wiring many more sockets onto a thicker cable with a higher value breaker would cause safety issues. Hmmm. :huh:

This has been a topic of discussion in the past. There are a fair number of on-line articles -- Google is your friend. There are historical reasons for the differences.

The UK ring circuit was introduced as a method of using less copper in the wiring. [BTW, be careful when purchasing houses wired with aluminum wire in the US from the late 60's to mid-70's].

Markie Dec 30th 2013 4:00 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by S Folinsky (Post 11055782)
This has been a topic of discussion in the past. There are a fair number of on-line articles -- Google is your friend. There are historical reasons for the differences.

The UK ring circuit was introduced as a method of using less copper in the wiring. [BTW, be careful when purchasing houses wired with aluminum wire in the US from the late 60's to mid-70's].

Ah, aluminum wiring, now THAT is some scary stuff!

Cardienscarf Dec 30th 2013 10:19 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by Samiad (Post 11054336)
Hi,

Rather than take all my UK power cables (the mainstream ones like http://www.cables2u.co.uk/images/pro...ower_cable.jpg and http://www.crazycables.co.uk/catalog...s/l_50.139.jpg) and use loads of adapters I'm considering leaving all my UK cables behind and just buying a bulk load of US style cables.

Has anyone any good sources of these cables? Buying from a place that sells one at a time is probably going to be expensive, but if I could buy a bulk lot of 10 or 20 it would probably be workable. Has anyone else done this?

I just left a bunch behind - we could've done a swap. There have been a few occasions when I've thought how useful it would be if the MBTTUK people and the About to Move Abroad people could co-ordinate swapping useful gear.

steveq Dec 30th 2013 11:40 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by Pulaski (Post 11055722)
I realised that a few years ago, while explaining the British ring-main system to a licensed electrician here in the US, who was doing some wiring work for me. .... When I rewired my house in the UK I tested the completeness of the ring before connecting it to the fuse box. :)

If you're interested, I have a very interesting discussion paper on ring v. radial circuits presented at the IEE a couple of years ago. Its not terribly technical, but comes down in favour of modern circuits being radials.

tipex Jan 2nd 2014 11:10 am

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by tonrob (Post 11054680)
I've bought and wired my own plugs in the US too. Piece of piss. Sometimes I like to do it while stood in a bucket of water for extra spice.


:lol: haha

Nutek Jan 2nd 2014 2:40 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...ilvin/Pool.jpg

tipex Jan 2nd 2014 2:51 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
:eek: wow better you than me.

Markie Jan 2nd 2014 6:25 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by Nutek (Post 11059795)

I REALLY hope that was a GFCI-protected circuit! Or just a staged photo. Otherwise, a couple people could be winning the Darwin Award :(

Nutek Jan 2nd 2014 6:26 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by markuhde (Post 11060102)
I REALLY hope that was a GFCI-protected circuit! Or just a staged photo. Otherwise, a couple people could be winning the Darwin Award :(

I'm assuming it's fake, but it makes me laugh either way. :)

Markie Jan 2nd 2014 6:29 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by Nutek (Post 11060106)
I'm assuming it's fake, but it makes me laugh either way. :)

Indeed! I trust GFCI's more than the UK government does (yay for not being able to use a hairdryer in the bathroom :ohmy: ), but not quite enough to try THAT.

steveq Jan 2nd 2014 6:32 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by markuhde (Post 11060102)
I REALLY hope that was a GFCI-protected circuit! Or just a staged photo. Otherwise, a couple people could be winning the Darwin Award :(

They wouldn't be in any danger. Clean Water is pretty insulating. If they got out there might be enough conductance to be a hazard...

steveq Jan 2nd 2014 7:49 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by markuhde (Post 11060108)
Indeed! I trust GFCI's more than the UK government does (yay for not being able to use a hairdryer in the bathroom :ohmy: ), but not quite enough to try THAT.

You CAN use a conventional socket in a bathroom. It just needs to be a bathroom rather bigger than the convention in the UK.

mwdake Jan 2nd 2014 11:06 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 
It is not the water that conducts electricity but the stuff in it like salts etc or the salts on your skin.

I used to live in a city that if you took regular tap water and hooked up battery and lamp and placed the leads in the water it would not conduct and light the lamp.

Markie Jan 2nd 2014 11:18 pm

Re: Buying new power cables
 

Originally Posted by mwdake (Post 11060538)
It is not the water that conducts electricity but the stuff in it like salts etc or the salts on your skin.

I used to live in a city that if you took regular tap water and hooked up battery and lamp and placed the leads in the water it would not conduct and light the lamp.

Correct, but salt water makes a great conductor, and we are talking a backyard pool with sweat, etc.

Regardless, NO ONE would call this a bright idea, so let's all just get a laugh from it and move on :)

As for a conventional socket in a UK bathroom - how? Every one I've ever seen is transformer-isolated low current. Which strikes me as stupid, to be honest - it's no safer than a GFCI yet is very limiting in usefulness. But UK electrical code is very strict - you can't even have a light switch in a bathroom. It has to either be in the ceiling on a pull cord or outside the bathroom where your little cousins turn it on and off while you're in the shower (okay, that probably just happens to me).


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