Talk:Schuko

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A nice aspect of Schuko sockets are the touchable ground / earth contacts. So if you want to have ground potential on your body, for example when working with static sensetive electronic devices such as ICs, you can touch the ground contacts on Schuko sockets easily. --Abdull 15:07, 23 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Dimensions

If someone with an SVG editor (e.g. Inkscape) and some spare time wants to have a go at redrawing a diagram, here are the plug's dimensions. Markus Kuhn 21:41, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

Well anyone can download and use Inkscape, just incase you didn't realise... //Ae:æ 23:40, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Schuko socket in US box?

A remodeling contractor recently told me that there is a version of the Schuko socket which will instlall in a US size electrical box. If anyone can find evidence (and better yet a photo) of this it would be well worth inclusion in the article. The only way I managed to do it was to buy an outlet in Germany, modify the heck out of it, cut an opening in a US size box blanking plate, and munge the whole mess together. With designer kitchens and a mobile public there are occurences now when people have a 240V European appliance which they want to use in a US kitchen. --StuffOfInterest 12:20, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes such an animal exists. South Korean wall sockets are both Schuko or standard non-grounded and are designed to fit in American-sized boxes. StephanieNYC 15:30, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
I'd have thought you'd run into regs issues with a european socket in the USA, wouldn't it be simpler to just use a NEMA 6 and change the plug on the appliance? Plugwash 22:50, 10 September 2006 (UTC)
Not if you'll be going home again some day ;-). (Just speculating.)
Atlant 01:26, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
What is the American standard for electrical installation boxes for sockets and switches, i.e. the U.S. equivalent of the German DIN 49073 and the British BS 4662 standards? Markus Kuhn 11:15, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
It's the National Electrical Code (US). But you'll need someone who knows it better than I do to determine exactly what it says about what "wiring devices" are acceptable to the code. And then there's the further problem that local government agencies (states, counties, cities, etc.) don't necessarily adopt the NEC in its entirety; sometimes they "tweak" its requirements for good or bad reasons, so the NEC isn't the absolutely final word on what's legal to install.
Atlant 11:48, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
I don't think that answered my question. The National Electrical Code (US) defines safety requirements for electrical installations. It is the U.S. equivalent of the German DIN/VDE 0100 or the British BS 7671 wiring regulations. But it does not define the exact dimensions of particular products at a level that guarantees compatibility. German or British installation boxes may well fulfill the NEC safety requirements (e.g., minimum volumes and clearances, flamability tests, grounding requirements, etc.), but they still will be mechanically incompatible with the types of installation accessories most commonly sold in the U.S. (exact shape and dimensions, position and type of fixing screws, etc.). For these, there must be some other product-compatibility standard. Markus Kuhn 13:31, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
Perhaps that would be National Electrical Manufacturers Association? As in NEMA connectors? Atlant 13:39, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
ANSI/NEMA OS 1-2003: Sheet-Steel Outlet Boxes, Device Boxes, Covers, and Box Supports and NEMA OS 3-2002: Selection and Installation Guidelines for Electrical Outlet Boxes sound like plausible starting points. Sadly their PDF download mechanism seems broken for the NEMA OS-3 document. Markus Kuhn 14:06, 12 September 2006 (UTC)
Back to the original question: It seems that International Configurations is a U.S. manufacturer of Schuko sockets that might have what you are looking for. Markus Kuhn 14:21, 12 September 2006 (UTC)
Wow, if they don't have it I doubt that anyone will. Thanks. One thing that did jump out right away is that they have a plug adapter to take a Schuko (CEE7) plug to a US NEMA 6-15 receptacle (catalog page 117). Mention of a product like this might make sense in the article as it shows the compatability between US and European standards. --StuffOfInterest 14:32, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Countries using Schuko plugs

I do not believe that shuko plugs are standardised for new installations in 40 countries. Could you please add list of such countries into the article? List of countries where shuko was used in the past (mentioned Ireland) would be interesting too. Probably there could be misunderstanding regarding the former Soviet republics they used very similar plugs but with smaller contacts although many of them changed to shuko recently. I have found that shuko is currently being used in Germany, Austria (probably often confused with Australia?), Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Portugal (?), Spain (?), South Korea. Links:

--pabouk 07:34, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

We have already List of countries with mains power plugs, voltages and frequencies, which lists even more countries, though I don't know how authoritative that list is and it may be difficult to get good data that meets your qualification "for new installations". IEC/TR 60083 might be the most comprehensive resource on this, but sadly I still don't have access to a copy and is a bit expensive. The Merlin-Gerin guide might also be a good source (quoted under the avove list). Markus Kuhn 10:11, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
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