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Gavin John Hyde

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Been asked by a potential customer if i can replace their standard uk sockets for some Australian ones!

They have just moved back from down under and brought all their appliances and electrics with them in a shipping container. the tv just needs a new ac adaptor which has been sorted. By fitting sockets it will save them a couple of grand as they have a lot of music equipment and various other things such as kitchen appliances they are keen not to replace. they say their friends in London have replaced their sockets and had no issues.

I have seen socket plates when in Oz on holiday that had a UK socket on the faceplate next to an Australian one, so can not see why they could not be used in the UK... I guess the amount of Brits emigrating down there make it worthwhile for somebody to make and fit them.

Australia uses 240v @ 50 hertz so voltage isnt an issue but use them 3 pin plugs where the pins are very thin relative to uk plugs and angled differently. I think the australians generally use 10 amp rather than 13 amp for a lot of their stuff though, which is something i need to clarify

I cant find any particular reg that confirms if it is acceptable or not..

Would you just do a risk assessment?
Testing would still be possible and just involve either buying a australian plug in adaptor or testing behind the socket direct to cables in back box.

Anybody got experience of this or done this in the past?
 
Would it not be better to cut the plugs off and fit a UK 13amp plugs and fuse them accordingly?
Did consider that for some of the things they have but others i dont think they would want me to...
I would have to check and replug/refuse each item individually.

they are rather attached to some of this music kit they brought back with them, they both work in the industry and i do not even know what some of this stuff does! they want the basement room to be the music room where most of these proposed sockets would go.
 
Well I suppose you could install the Aussie sockets in addition to standard 13a sockets.....no different to some commercial buildings having the sockets where the earth pin is a T shape. But I wouldn't change the entire house for the Aussie type.
 
Well I suppose you could install the Aussie sockets in addition to standard 13a sockets.....no different to some commercial buildings having the sockets where the earth pin is a T shape. But I wouldn't change the entire house for the Aussie type.
it would not be all of them just some of them, sufficient so they can use their equipment.. if i do the job i might take the proverbial and fit them upside down as australia is down under so figured the wouldnt work if i fitted them the other way round and see what they say!!!
 
Have just googled the Aussie sockets! Would definatly cut the plugs off! Wouldn't trust them for 12 volts. They look similar to Chinese plugs as the Chinese students at the uni have them on their rice cookers and have to use adaptors and from what I've seen are poor quality.
 
i think i will suggest the replacing plugs and check fuses as there are too many variables . having looked into this online there are variants of sockets... depending on rating.. i have copied and pasted it below but why cant they just have one!
Variants[edit]
Standard single phase 230 V domestic socket outlets in Australia and New Zealand are usually rated at 10 A.
However, for heavier duty applications there are several variants having current ratings of up to 32 A.
The 15 A outlet has a wider Ground pin than the 10 A outlet.
The 20 A outlet has a wider Ground pin and wider Line and Neutral pins.
The 25 A outlet has an inverted "L"shaped Ground pin and wider Line and Neutral pins.
The 32 A outlet has a sideways "U" shaped Ground pin and wider Line and Neutral pins. From this it may be seen that any plug can be inserted into an outlet of the same or higher rating but cannot be inserted into an outlet of lower raring.
Hence, a 10 A plug will fit into all of the five types of outlets, a 15 A plug will fit into all except a 10 A (and so on) while a 32A plug will fit only into a 32A outlet.

In general, only 10 A and 15 A outlets are likely to be encountered in domestic or commercial installations. Higher rated outlets may be encountered in some industrial installations.
 
Also just twigged, the plugs are unfused, so the circuit would have to be protected with a suitable mcb. Similar to the old 15amp and 5amp unfused round pin plugs would be on 15amp and 5amp protective devices at the DB.
 
Also just twigged, the plugs are unfused, so the circuit would have to be protected with a suitable mcb. Similar to the old 15amp and 5amp unfused round pin plugs would be on 15amp and 5amp protective devices at the DB.
far too many things to change and fuse correctly and have to assess to do this properly. im sure if you plugged them in with a uk plug it would likely work okay but all it takes is one thing to go wrong and the proverbial hits the fan and i dont want to be the next grenfell tower..
It gets more confusing by the minute this potential job..
 
Hi - the AUS domestic plugs and sockets are 10A rated and so the flex on an appliance will likely reflect this. There is no fuse in the plugs, only the CU mcb for protection. The AUS outlets are generally not shuttered and also not BS type approved so they would be a departure, IMHO.

If you tread on an Aussie plug barefoot, the plug is busted. Try that with a UK plug and it's your foot that will be the loser.

I would replace the plugs and fit a 10A fuse (or less as needs be).
 
Last edited:
Agree with getting Aussie power strips and putting UK plugs on. I sometimes travel the world with racks full of equipment from different countries, it is not unusual to accumulate three or four different kinds of plugs along the way. Sometimes we will end up with 120V on USA U-ground power strips (NEMA 5-15), ordinary 230V on BS1363, UPS-backed 230V on Schuko etc. But so long as one has a good stock of 4-ways and 6-ways with alternative plugs one can avoid awkward situations where you can't plug any of it into the wall.

OTOH I wouldn't have any issues with fitting some Australian sockets to the wall, provided they were correctly fused (i.e. not on a 32A ring) as they afford a similar level of safety to 13A even if we find them a little flimsy since they introduced insulated pins. I would not sanction removing 13A sockets to make way for them, as that would decrease the usability of the installation overall.
 
Been asked by a potential customer if i can replace their standard uk sockets for some Australian ones!

They have just moved back from down under and brought all their appliances and electrics with them in a shipping container. the tv just needs a new ac adaptor which has been sorted. By fitting sockets it will save them a couple of grand as they have a lot of music equipment and various other things such as kitchen appliances they are keen not to replace. they say their friends in London have replaced their sockets and had no issues.

I have seen socket plates when in Oz on holiday that had a UK socket on the faceplate next to an Australian one, so can not see why they could not be used in the UK... I guess the amount of Brits emigrating down there make it worthwhile for somebody to make and fit them.

Australia uses 240v @ 50 hertz so voltage isnt an issue but use them 3 pin plugs where the pins are very thin relative to uk plugs and angled differently. I think the australians generally use 10 amp rather than 13 amp for a lot of their stuff though, which is something i need to clarify

I cant find any particular reg that confirms if it is acceptable or not..

Would you just do a risk assessment?
Testing would still be possible and just involve either buying a australian plug in adaptor or testing behind the socket direct to cables in back box.

Anybody got experience of this or done this in the past?
Simpler and safer to change the plug tops, I would have thought
 
i'd go with the Oz extension leads with the plugs changed for 1363's. that way...

1. you are not making the house installation non-compliant.

2, you are not modifying the equipment.

3. if they get pi$$ed off with the UK and return to Oz, the gear will still be compatible.
 

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