Talk:IEC connector

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[edit] Electric jug?

What is an 'electric jug'? Does this mean an electric kettle? Is it an Australianism? Edward 08:47, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC)


I live in Australia and have never heard it referred to as anything but an "electric Jug" or just a "jug". An electric kettle would be a good description I guess. (A "kettle" here is typcally a non-powered metal vessel with a spout on it, that is used on a gas or electric stove for the purpose of boiling water for coffee/tea etc. A "whistle" usually plugged into the spout, and when the water boiled and produced steam, the steam pressure would make the whistle would sound to tell you that the water has boiled)

Traditionally (until the 1980s when the modern molded plastic jugs came on the market) the Australian Electric Jug was a ceramic vessel with a flip-top plastic or bakelite lid, that looks like a water jug, and had an un-insulated 240v 1100w heating element inside it.

The arrangement of the lid, is that it cannot be lifted and opened when the electric cord receptacle is inserted, so you cant touch the internal live electric heating element when there is power present.

The special cord universally used on all these jugs (was also used on old toasters and some electric frypans that had a regulator built into the handle) was commonly referred to as a "jug cord". Jug elements are typically available in hardware stores etc for about $2 and you can replace them yourself.

this is a page of antique australian electric jugs (typical) http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=56815

[edit] Earth pin

Jeez, I have been searching the web for half an hour and still can't find the info I'm looking for: Which of the connectors are the Earth (ground) ?? I hope it's the middle one, cuz now I'm tired of searching and will hope for the best :-() —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.217.99.94 (talk • contribs) .

the connector in the photo on the right has the live neutral and earth marked on it (you look carefully to see it though). Plugwash 11:38, 16 January 2006 (UTC)


Safety ground is the center pin. notice in the article how the ungrounded version of this connector has no center pin.

[edit] All IEC connectors

At some point, we should turn this article into a description of all IEC 320 connectors. Photo or drawing contributions needed, preferably all with equal aspect ration (say 4:3), so they can be arranged into a table. Markus Kuhn 17:05, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Chassis plug and line socket

Aren't the images of the chassis plug and line socket exchanged? The thing labeled socket looks like a plug and vice versa...? --85.216.70.168 10:01, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

It depends how you define plug and socket. If you define plug as the part with pins and socket as the part with holes for the pins then the descriptions are correct and this is what the parts catalogs i use tend to do (though they often reffer to the panel plugs as inlets). Remeber as well as the chasis plugs and line sockets shown in this article you can also get line plugs and chassis sockets. Plugwash 12:34, 20 April 2006 (UTC)
The terms "male" and "female" are often used. Perhaps that would help clarify. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 129.78.64.106 (talk • contribs) 02:41, 19 July 2007 (UTC)
They have the same problem. jhawkinson 02:31, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
Except, here they really are reversed: the socket accepts the plug, not the pins. That's where people are getting confused. Where the pins are are somewhat irrelevant to the question. The C13 is the plug, not the socket. The C14 is the socket, because the C14 accepts the C13. Where the pins are doesn't matter. Ayengar (talk) 20:27, 14 December 2007 (UTC)
As I said all the parts catalogs i've seen listing theese connectors use plugs for the part with the pins and socket for the part with the holes. Remember you can plug a line plug into a line socket with no chassis connectors incolved. Plugwash (talk) 15:11, 17 December 2007 (UTC)
Which is irrelevant. Even if you are talking about bare connectors not attached to any wire, the C14 still accepts the C13. The shell on the perimeter of the C14 is an integral part of the connector. Ayengar (talk) 22:47, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Physical compatibilities not noted

My guess based on the pictures at the link: C13 fits C18, C15 fits C14 (as noted), C21 fits C20 and C24, C19 fits C24. Maybe C5 fits C4 (it makes electrical sense)? --Random|[[User talk:Random832|832]] 19:05, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Kettle leads

The article lists C16/16 for use in kettles, however my kettle uses a C13 lead. In fact every literal kettle lead I can remember using in the UK was a BS4491 (C13). I assume the main reason I couldn't use a computer cable in my kettle is that it would blow the fuse. --Zoganes 15:55, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

I've seen kettles that use both types. I suspect it depends on the design of the particular kettle (in particular how much heat can get to the socket area. Plugwash 01:23, 26 May 2006 (UTC)
All of the kettles I've seen in the UK are the C16 type (although cordless ones are far more common than them) KevS 18:08, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

The article currently says the c15 and c16 cords have been obsoleted by the "appliance plug" the appliance plug page sayse the appliance plug has been obsoleted and replaced by IEC C15 and C16 cord. I'm a Yank and I dont even know anyone who owns a tea kettle, so I'm not going to try to correct one page or the other, but they can't both be right. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.53.93.234 (talk) 18:29, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reqphoto

 It is requested that a photograph or photographs be included in this article to improve its quality.
The Free Image Search Tool (FIST) may be able to locate suitable images on Flickr and other web sites.

There should be a photo for every plug type.

[edit] Squared C7 name?

I have seen several C7 type connectors that have the left side squared off. (The one photographed shows a rounded left and right hole). Does anyone know what the squared varient is called? --24.249.108.133 22:08, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Some vendors refer to this as "C7 Polarized," e.g. Quail Electronics. Apparently this connector is used on Sony's Playstation 2. jhawkinson 02:30, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

I'm sure the PS-2's i've seen have used a normal figure eight lead and i don't remember the socket being squared either. Plugwash 02:45, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
A quick Google Image Search turned up this photo of a PS2 with a polarized C7. My PS2 (Model SCPH-39001/N) is polarized as well, as is my old PS1 (Model SCPH-9001). The other end of both cables is a standard NEMA 1–15P. —Wulf 05:34, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Current mismatch?

It is extremely common to find power cords with a C13 on one end and a NEMA 5-15P on the other. The C13 is rated at 10A while the 5-15P is rated at 15A. How is this allowed? Is the C13 allowed to carry 15A when operated at 120V? Similar situation with 5-20P (20A) and C19 (16A).

The 5-15P has a 'maximum' current of 15A, but any device that draws <=15A and needs a ground will use it. So it is fine for a 1A device to use a 5-15P. I can't speak to the 5-20P issue. jhawkinson 16:20, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
Lets say that we have a cord with a C13 on one end and a 5-15P on the other. We plug it in and draw 14A. This is OK for the 5-15P, which is rated at 15A, but the C13 is passing more current than it is rated for. I assume this is bad. This setup is so common I am wondering if there some kind of exception allowing it.
The same applies if you plug a 15A multi plug adaptor into an outlet on a 20A circuit and then load it down with big appliances. The fact is that most wiring systems do not provide absoloute protection against being overloaded (and even when the protection rating matches the rating of the connectors fuses and circuit breakers respond *VERY* slowly to small overloads). Most of the time however this sort of thing isn't too much of a problem because short term overloads don't really do that much damage and long duration high loads are fairly unusual in domestic and light commercial settings (and in industrial settings there really should be someone qualified keeping an eye on the electrics). Plugwash 18:09, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

The maximum current rating for a lead should be no more than the current rating of the weakest part of the lead.

So, if a lead is made up of a 13 amp plug (as in a standard UK 13A 3-pin mains plug) at one end, a 10 amp C13 plug at the other end, joined together with a 3 core 0.75mm2 cable (which is rated at 6 amp) then the lead should be protected with a 6 amp (or less) fuse in the 3-pin plug. If the plugs were joined with a 3 core 1mm2 cable (rated at 14 amps) then the fuse can be up to 10 amp.

I am in the UK where our flex leads use a 3-pin plug with a fuse carrier in the live connection in the plug, the fuse should be rated to protect the lead from over heating if a fault arises in the lead or the connected appliance. Brannocks (talk) 22:56, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] History of IEC Plugs

What is the early history of the IEC-320 connectors?


What is the firt use of IEC-320 C13 connectors?

They were in "common" use before 1980

Please give any early examples, thanks


68.27.164.147 18:28, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] More on polarised C7s

It would be interesting to know whether there's any compatibility between the polarised and unpolarised versions of the C7 and C8 connectors... will an unpolarised ("shotgun") C7 plug into a polarised C8 receptacle for example, and if not what stops it. There could be safety issues both ways, but it looks from the pictures as if it might work one way around and not the other. Either way, it would be good to know. Andrewa (talk) 12:22, 14 April 2008 (UTC)