Using a 220 Volt Power Pack on 110 Volts

[Jon898]

Doug:  If that's what Wards sold, then that's what I probably had.  I don't remember.

I've never been to England, but remember, years ago, reading that they didn't have a standard electric socket, as the US does.  Different regions used different sockets, and plugs, although they were all the same voltage.  So, many of the cords did have just the wires, and the user supplied a plug to fit the local sockets.  I don't know how true that is, but it is plausible.

Back when I was growing up in the UK, all domestic appliances were supplied without the plug.  This was because there were several "standard' sockets in use both in terms of type of pin (round or square), number of pins (2 or 3) and size.  The size used to designate the maximum amperage of the circuit - for example in the (boarding) high school I went to the sockets were all tiny 3-pin 2-amp un-fused ones.  The plugs have now standardized on the 13A grounded square pin design, usually with a built-in fuse.  Most brits learned to install a plug on an appliance early on and I remember my lab partner in college caused a walk-out in Lucas Industries one summer because he put a plug on an oscilloscope himself instead of waiting for the union electrician to do it.  I've been gone for 40 years now, but suspect it was either the EU or the "Elf-n-Safety" rules that has basically put a stop to the loose-plug system.

Jon

[nkalanaga]

Jon:  Thank you!

Another factor is probably globalization.  Companies want to be able to sell their products worldwide, and it's easier to make the appliance cord in one piece.  To do that, there has to be a standard socket for each voltage/frequency combination.  Meanwhile, purchasers move more often today, especially with portable devices, and wouldn't like having to change plugs every time they change locations.

On the other hand, having the UK and US plugs different is essential, since devices intended for one usually won't safely work on the other.

[Doug G.]

Yeah, thanks for the info, Jon. I felt safe going from 220 to 110 with the Treble-O-Lectric Power Controller, since it is a transformer-based unit from years ago, but I wouldn't going the other way around!

I don't think any of us in the USA have ever seen any kind of an appliance or device with just stripped leads for the input from the mains.

Doug

Doug

[Steveruger45]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the color verification. Red and black seem so much more natural for hot and neutral than do brown and blue.

Were devices over in England often supplied with just stripped wires for the power cord? This Lone Star controller is that way and it doesn't look like it was ever changed from original.

Over my long history with Treble-O-Lectric, I got to know some of the guys over there also involved with it. I became friends with Geoffrey Ambridge, son of one of the co-founders, Sydney Ambridge, of Die Casting Machine Tools Ltd., makers of Lone Star trains, and I helped him with his website and touched up some of his photos for a better appearance. Sadly, Geoff passed away in May of 2015.

Doug

Hi Doug
Yes, it was normal practice way back that electrical appliances did not come with a plug.
You had to put your own on.  Like this one https://www.electricalworld.com/en/us/Greenbrook-13A-White-Plastic-Electrical-Safety-UK-Mains-3-Pin-Plug-Top/m-1549.aspx
This one was the 13 amp plug with rectangular pins and still used today.  Plugs were/are fused too, they came with a 13 amp fuse as standard but you could change that to 3 amp or 5 amp if you wanted for low current draw appliances.  There were also 15 amp plugs Still in service in the 60’s and even into the 70’s as well.  These were Similar but with round pins and was from an earlier time. They got phased out.
I’m not sure exactly why the plugs were/are fused but I think it was to do with the electrical wiring set up in buildings being a “ring main” formation.

I actually remember the Lone Star 000 trains etc for sale in Woolworths stores, which were in every town in the UK and somewhat similar to but not identical to an old five and dime in the USA.  You could buy pick and mix sweets (candy) by the ounce in Woolworths, so these stores got a lot of kids coming in to spend a couple of pennies on candy.  The Lone Star 000 trains were always close by the candy as I recall.  Smart retailing.

[nickelplate759]

Yeah, thanks for the info, Jon. I felt safe going from 220 to 110 with the Treble-O-Lectric Power Controller, since it is a transformer-based unit from years ago, but I wouldn't going the other way around!

I don't think any of us in the USA have ever seen any kind of an appliance or device with just stripped leads for the input from the mains.

Doug

Doug

240v Electric dryers are sold without plugs way in the US, precisely because there isn't a single standard plug for them.  However, there are binding posts to attach a pigtail and plug, rather than stripped leads.