Installing a French electrical socket in a UK house?

If he's worried about polarity, then don't use a French socket at all. Granted you can't put a plug in 'upside down' as you can with the German version, but the French never never did bother standardizing which contact was L and which N (there was a convention the L was on the right looking into the socket - i.e. similar to UK) but then when they did try to write it into the standard they (allegedly) managed to put the wrong diagram in which in effect stipulated the reverse of the normal convention - so in practice it could be either. Their 2-pin plugs are reversible in any event.  No CE marked appliance intended for use with a European (or UK) plug will care anyway, or be any less safe.


As for BS 7671's requirements, it certainly tries hard to force people down the BS 1363 (13A) socket route - but there are a few get-out clauses that do allow other types for special purposes. If someone was determined enough they might be able to argue their way to justifying one. Just don't connect one directly to UK 32A circuit...


   - Andy.

Fine IMHO, provided that the French socket outlet is protected by a fuse or circuit breaker not exceeding 20 amps, as it would be in France. A dedicated 16 amp or 20 amp radial circuit would be fine, as would be connection to a larger circuit via a fused connection unit.

Agree that such outlets should not be connected to a 32 amp circuit, except via a fuse.


Polarity is a bit random in France, and there are still supplies with BOTH sides live. I would connect with live on the right, when viewed from the front, as with UK outlets.

The real problem is that there are many available adaptors which do not  meet any standard at all ,and some are down right dangerous, especially at or near full load, and even the nice ones tend to leave the earth off, many designs are unfused.


A good half way house is to buy a short French extension lead and then fit a UK plug to it.

However,  some of us have the odd permanently fitted  16A German schucko socket fed by UK mains,  ? and it needs to be on the  downstream side of a 13A fused spur or a 16A MCB.  Double back boxes that can take a fused spur in one half and a continental socket in the other are a good solution. When you move house change it for two 13A singles.


Current regs make such an installation non-compliant in the UK, but it is a lot safer than friends and relatives turning up with  one of these   (see pic below ) and much  less inconvenient that them blowing the 1A fuse in your shaver socket, both of which I have experienced more than once.



The 'export only' travel adaptor beloved of visitors with an Ebay account. really finger nipping good,

and although the continental plugs fit, and things do sort of work, at least for low curretns, there is no earth to that sort of plug,  and in my house nothing more than the 32A MCB.

Mike

So long as the socket has shutters it complies with BS7671 doesn't it?

Ha! from the same stable perhaps hotels should fit these on 16A radials.


universal, but shuttered

I have only ever found one Shucko socket hardwired in the UK. To be more precise it was actually in a bathroom in Wales, it had been installed for a plug in timer to supply under floor heating, it was one of those moments when you look at something and just think “What the ####”.


As one of the jobs on the sheet was to disconnect the UFH it wasn’t an issue as I just removed it, the customers said the UFH never did work and didn’t think it was worth trying to repair.


However just in the last year I have seen a couple of kettles with Shucko plugs rammed into inappropriate 13 amp socket adapters leaving them without an earth connection, when all the owners had to do was buy a replacement lead.


I cannot really see there much of a need for Shucko sockets in UK installations, most laptop supply’s and the like can just have the lead or the complete power supply swapped.

I'd agree there is little need, but that is not the same as no need, and much as you do not I suspect throw away all your 13A plugged appliances when going on holiday, families that have have members in more than one country (and I do not mean Wales...), will meet up and at some point someone's favourite thing will need to be powered - its not laptops, its things like hair curlers, or straighteners, or that funny shaver thing I dare not ask about that lives in the bathroom, and the smoothie maker (really ?) all of which have captive cables that drive all this. Now I agree, if moving country permanently, you'd cut and change the plug, but really it is not worth it for a few weeks in the school summer hols.

A legitimate route that did not involve nasty adaptors would be good, and places like airports and associated hotels for folk travelling through to another place could do with a good way of providing a sprinkling of sockets for both civilized voltages and perhaps the USA/Canada derivatives.

The fact that there is a thriving marked for the adaptors, suggests the problem is not well addressed.

Mike