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I like the spirit of the idea. However, if you're going to do
any redesigning of the US electrical socket at all, you'd be
nuts to stop there. There are SO many problems that it's
totally understandable why the socket is sad. I had a
socket similar to the one in the picture except the outer
section was stainless steel. The screws were clearly junk
as they began to snap off at the head. This led the frame
to pop off and slide down onto the exposed live/neutral
pins. Big sparks and a trip to the circuit breaker cabinet. I
had to take all the faceplates off in the end, naked
sockets were safer. |
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You can mitigate the awfulness of the design by rotating
the socket 90 degrees to the right which at least puts the
live pin at the bottom. In truth, they should give up on
the whole mess, bury their cables move to 240V and get
proper plugs and sockets. |
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What [bs0] said. But, to be fair, the US can't switch to 240V
without updating their plugs and sockets and, equally, they've
no real incentive to change their plugs and sockets as long as
they use low voltage. Plus, to be honest, I have a sort of
liking for the olde-worlde ones they have now. |
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There are advantages to using 110V A.C. supplies. |
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When we think of one, we'll let you know. |
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Not having bloody-ass huge plugs that look like
Europe's round plug mess is one. |
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We do understand your need to have safety-
conscious plugs, though, what with being nearly
colocated and probably therefore inbred with
numerous Welsh who don't comprehend electricity. |
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You can at least travel this continent without the
need for 3 different adapters. |
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//We do understand your need to have safety- conscious
plugs// |
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As bad as the US system is, I've never actually got a
shock. I've seen a lot of sparks, In one room of the house
the lights dim when I use the printer, which is actually
quite entertaining. So I think the level of safety is roughly
OK. I do like having a bathroom with electricity in it,
that's nice. |
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//Not having bloody-ass huge plugs that look like Europe's
round plug mess// |
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European electricity is obviously a huge mess. This is
understandable. They're a fractious bunch without the
calm authority of say James Clark Maxwell, Michael
Faraday or John Holmes and as such they're prone to rash
and unwise choices. Take for example the ROUND pins. I
mean, round is a wonderful choice if you want to avoid
surface area. Sadly, surface area is kind of the point with
plugs and sockets. Now please explain the massive black
plug on the my good lady's hair dryer.... and the dreadful
half-voltage performance. |
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//Not having bloody-ass huge plugs that look like Europe's
round plug // |
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Don't get me started about European plugs either - they have
all the same failings as US plugs, but are meant to be used at
full voltage. One of the things we should have insisted on
before we decided to leave the EU was getting Europe to
adhere to the UK standard. And wouldn't that be "bloody
huge-ass"? |
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I thought US power outlets were just 110V, but we
found when we lived in California that they also
have 220V for washing machines and tumble
dryers.
Actually, from the title, I was
slightly worried that this would be a power outlet
that gave a gasp of pleasure when you plugged
something into it |
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You'd think that with having a size roughly that of a
butter knife and the spacing of a few fork tines we'd
experience an overall benefit from the Dawrin
mechanism. But sadly, we don't. Must be something
to the effect that all toddlers are equally uninformed
about Coulomb's Law. |
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60 Hz is a much more practical choice for a
frequency, I must say, being a convenient leg of a 3-
phase system has its benefits. |
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Your existing electrical standards - 50 or 60 Hz, 110 or 230V AC - are, like the "Four feet, eight and a half inches" rail gauge and 12V vehicle electrics, merely a legacy of a time when your species strugged even to make systems work at all, let alone make a rational choice of standards for equipment. |
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And now, with a huge installed user base, any sort of upgrade or modernization would be economically prohibitive. So you're stuck ... |
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Higher AC frequencies allow smaller, lighter transformers. Modern insulators are far more durable and have higher breakdown voltages for the same thickness. |
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Single-phase AC makes sense for small low-power appliances as a 2-core cable is sufficient. But eventually, superior energy distribution technology will diffuse down to consumers, as cellphones and digital TV have, initially augmenting and finally supplanting the legacy systems. |
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No doubt some consumers will purchase adaptors so they can still use Grandma's old angle grinder to entertain the kids on rainy Sunday afternoons, and a whole genre of Steampunk will develop around reviving old equipment redolent of the odour of warm Bakelite and overheated dust, but with all new build using newer specifications, and modernization and retrofitting eroding the desirability of older devices (plus natural wastage as things wear out and are replaced) eventually - like gas mantles, coracles and representative democracy - they'll just be historical curiosities. |
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Off topic, [8th] I must say I enjoy reading your annos
tho I can't help but wonder if they are the products of
your own nannites or of the entire hive? |
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They are a Collective effort, of course. Those components with specifically relevant technological and biological distinctiveness contribute more than others. |
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//products of your own nannites// Yes, I'd heard he has small
ones too. |
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You shouldn't believe anything other members of your family tell you. |
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Do you ever find the challenge of integrating ever
biologically-diverse species to fit into a-Borg-
standard compatability interface to be simply
taxing? I would think the collective would be well-
adept to dealing with seemingly incompatible
interfaces. Like females, for instance... |
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I'm well aware of the benefits of higher voltage
systems. |
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// Actually, from the title, I was slightly worried that this
would be a power outlet that gave a gasp of pleasure when
you plugged something into it // |
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If [beanangel] had posted it… |
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I think this idea fits my criteria necessary for me to label it
BRILLIANT. Happy outlets, I'm always on the lookout for them. |
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Probably preferable to Harpy Power Outlets, anyway ... |
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Thank you Blissy, you always make me smile. :) |
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//60 Hz is a much more practical choice for a frequency,
I must say, being a convenient leg of a 3- phase system
has its benefits.// |
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//Higher AC frequencies allow smaller, lighter
transformers.// |
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Just use 3 phase for everything, people will get used to
it. So many advantages, 3 phase at 60 Hz/phase would
shrink your standard wall-wart by at least 3 fold just from
the transformer size. You could also get away with
smaller diodes and capacitors. For lighting, you could run
a fluorescent lamp between each phase and neutral,
triple the flicker speed would be well, well above human
perception. |
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// you could run a fluorescent lamp between each phase and neutral // |
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Do you mean three lamps, in a star formation ? |
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If you have three lamps, you can run star or delta, no problem. |
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Just one lamp is going to mean running unbalanced, which is Very Naughty. |
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Surely they won't all fail simultaneously, though, leading to
an unbalanced condition? |
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Yes, it would. However, either the lamp - or more likely, the fitting - could have a circuit to force an immediate shutdown when one component failed. |
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Ideally, the supply would always run as a delta (no neutral), allowing a 4-pin connector to be used (L1, L2, L3 and Earth). If you want neutral as well, that's an extra pin, and if the design and loading are right it should never carry any current. Some motors start as star and switch to delta when at speed, but that's crude and messy. |
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Star or delta, [8th]? Context, please. |
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[Pertinax] delta star are the 2 ways you can wire a 3 phase system
Delta you conect the loads in a triangle or delta with one phase at
each point. Star or Y connections you have loads go from the phase
to a neural conductor at the center. Hear is Canada we can mix
match them a Y system will let you conect delta loads. A tipical
example would be a 208/120 4 wire. delta loads will have 208v
phase to phase and Y loads 120v phase to neural. |
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Well as to the comments about the traditional 15A 120v pluge
according to the specs there supposed to be mounted ground pin
up but this is almost never done because people think they look
better right side up. Personally I would rather the industrial
standard round twist locks plugs... |
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[8 of 7] Y delta start may be cude but compared to a soft start it
cheap and effective I've started many 60-300hp motors that way no
harmonic problems, no igbt's to short out and blow fuses just 3
contractors and a timer. No substitute for a proper drive but in a
pinch it works and you usually have the parts. |
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// No substitute for a proper drive but in a pinch it works and you usually have the parts. // |
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Well, OK, you have a valid point there. It's cheap and cheerful. |
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// delta star are the 2 ways you can wire a 3 phase system // |
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Actually, there are many more than two ways to wire up a 3-phase system; but almost all of them are wrong, and suddenly it all gets very loud and bright and expensive. Oh, and smoky. |
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We are sure that [dev45], who clearly has extensive experience with 3-phase and knows what he's talking about, will concur. |
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//Just one lamp is going to mean running unbalanced, which
is Very Naughty.// |
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No need, 4 wire high-leg delta, run the light between high-
leg and neutral, all 3 phases contribute. |
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Please don't high leg 4 wire delta is a mess is work with. I see it's
use but no just no. |
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//Please don't high leg 4 wire delta is a mess is work with. I
see it's use but no just no.// |
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The chances of me influencing the real word in this matter
are none zero, but very very close to zero. |
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