Deadly Chinese plug adapter.
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- A common adapter supplied with many ebay products from China that has quite a few design flaws. This exciting device allows you to:-
Plug in upside down defeating the earth connection.
Plug in with pins hanging out posing a shock risk.
Plug in between live and earth posing a shock hazard on ALL electrical appliances on that circuit if the circuits earth is not intact.
The pins can be a non compliant size and damage sockets,
The brass coloured coating can flake off the underlying metal leaving metal flakes inside your wall sockets.
Defeats the safety shutter mechanism used on UK sockets, allowing metal objects to be poked into live metalwork.
Tends to make very poor physical and electrical connection with many plugs.
![Power Outlets PISS ME OFF [RANT]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pa6AHZSgR6g/mqdefault.jpg)
Mine came with the "For export only" sticker too. There's probably some convoluted legal reason.
Good info. Techmoan brought me here
Indeed! And there's so much more of this sort of thing here! Actually, I suspect Clive lives in one tiny room of a giant house and the rest of the house is crammed completely full of cheapo electronics and technical electrical stuff. Either that or he has an actual portal that goes directly to Shenzhen. That's also very possible.
I complained to a supplier of these horrors that they were lethal and illegal in this country but unsurprisingly was greeted with a deafening silence.
Or, if nothing else, insert the plug into the adaptor, then glue the two together permanently (unless you plan to travel and need the other plug, too).
BTW, I'm learning the "British/Scottish language" from your videos, as contrasted with American English, which I speak.
My favorite phrase? "I'm not 100% sure". (More people need to admit that!)
Have a blessed day.
+Chaplain Dave Sparks There's apparently a drinking game where people are taking a shot of liqueur every time I say "I'm not 100% sure.)
@@BigClive May there always be instances of you being not 100 % sure. Not only does it keep us drinking, in the worst case it also keeps you erring on the safe side, mate.
I used to love those little adapters because I know how to plug things in right and they seem to include the Protective Earth connection unlike most other adapters. But one day I happened to look closer and found out the PE hole is NOT connected to the PE pin, completely ruining the apparent benefit when using these to connect different European style plug systems that differ only in the type of PE pin.
the ones that aren’t ridiculously cheap do have a working earth, though. you can always check with the continuity setting of any multimeter
You forgot the best part! With these it's easy to plug the earth pin from a 13A plug into the large open live hole.
120mk078 That's exciting. I'll have to give that a bash when I get back to my workshop. I'm probably going to do another video on those adaptors, because I've since discovered there are two main variants. One of which relies on metal pressing against screw heads for its connection.
+Karim Kraku
Thanks! x3
+Karim Kraku You're right! c:
+Karim Kraku I
Oh dear... That'll make a whole appliance live... Death-daptor indeed!
Actually I consider this kind of deathdapter (of course one with earth continuity) as one of more useful little devices in my shop. I repair/restore old tube gear, mainly from Soviet Union block where they used two prong plugs with plastic over the whole circle so it can't be inserted into modern earthed socket (it's actually a feature, not a bug - standard practice was to put earthing only in "dangerous" places such as bathroom, so you couldn't plug in unearthed or non-double insulated device to an earthed socket). Of course I change the plug & cord to a modern one during course of repair but for a quick smoke test before I replace the plug it's nice to have an adapter that will accept anything that resembles a wall plug. And being trained in the old days I don't really understand it's "deathness" as I've never seen a person without serious mental disability that wouldn't know how you insert plug into the socket the correct way. I remember nearly everyone had these three-plug thingies you could put into your socket that also had some creative ways to connect yourself via some device to mains and strangely nobody did it;)
Not to mention that, on your newer videos, you mention that the ground pin often does not have continuity to the ground hole on the adapter. In these cases, an appliance that relies on a connection to ground for safe operation ends up defeating the ground. DiodeGoneWild also mentions this in some of his videos as well.
Devil's Advocate here,
Perhaps it's purposefully designed to eliminate those who would plug it into mains in such a fashion.
Cheers!
+SilentS So it's a darwin award dispenser?
Yeah, because everyone knows that all curious children who love to learn and experiment should die. Survival of the three D's, right?
Dumb
Docile
Darwinist
Ok, for those who don't know, everything I said above is garbage. I'm NOT neo-Conservative like that.
SouthwesternEagle It is unfortunate that some curious people get injured and killed thanks to this type of shit and lack of guidance though.
You don't have to be DDD to accidentally plug something in off center in a hurry and then acquire a new hair style and a permanently tense facial expression when trying to fix it. Again, in a hurry.
Attempting to plug in, say, a bedside lamp or phone charger in the dark should not be worthy of a Darwin Award.
I have one of these. Dodgy plugs seem to come up often on ebay and with Chinese things.
Bare in mind also, that the distance between the edge of the pins, and the edge of the adapter is far too small, thus making the plug illegal for use in England. I've also heard of some, where the pins weren't quite straight.
It gets worse. I took one to bits recently and the plug side just has three screws which press against the socket contacts when it's assembled. Except the earth screw head doesn't actually make contact with the sockets earth contact.
I saw one of these recently. It wasn't functioning, but there was a crispy outlet that it was plugged into.
The version I saw didn't have a ground on it.
The proper way of using these adapters are:
1) Plug the connector of the appliance into the adapter first
2) Check to ensure that all the pins of the connector are securely connected to the adapter
3) Then connect the adapter to the power outlet (which should be powered off)
4) Power on the power outlet.
This is just basic commonsense.
I just bought some Chinese lights off ebay with these supplied in the box, to adapt from 2 pin chinese, to 3 pin UK and the bloody adapter did't have a fuse ! Binned it and will buy either some fused ones, or chop the chinese 2 pin off and wire it to a UK plug.
I may have to do a video comparison with the one I have. It's similar but it doesn't have any brass coating on the pins and the earth pin is too short meaning it doesn't open the shutters on the live/neutral holes on most UK sockets (which is probably a blessing!) It also has a sticker on the top saying "FOR EXPORT ONLY". It came direct from a supplier in China that I was considering using for audio amplifiers (which also turned out to be crap!)
Here in Malaysia we use this type of adapter all the time as a lot of our table lamps and phone chargers come with the Euro 2-pin plug. Calling them death traps is being a trifle melodramatic. It's not as if we're going to use then on kettles or vacuum cleaners.
No, this thing is absolutely a potential killer, it should never have been made.
"Thin bits of metal junk" - swarf, maybe? Very informative video, more people should be aware of what a deathtrap these adapters are.
I received one of those adapters when I imported a phone from China. It just looked dangerous so threw it away. Glad I did! Love your videos 👍
The folks at eBay and other web markets should watch all your videos.
As an American I'm sitting here like "or you could teach your kids not to screw with electrical sockets" now excuse me while I drop a penny on a loosely connected plug.
The childproof nature of the BS1363 socket mitigates most of the safety concerns associated with other socket and plug configurations
There's two plugs standardized through international boards. Number one the infamous twin bladed US style plug and receptacle for use with 125 V networks, and a newer one similar to the Euro two pin double insulated plug, but with a stronger earth pin offset 3 mm from the power pins. AFAIR the British BS 1361 was the first choice for 250 V systems, as it offered the best safety features. But it was found to be too bulky to be practical. so the new 250V plug combined the features into a small plug with round pins. 2 receptacles can fit into a single mounting space, very compact. Rated 16 Amp. Not as good and well designed, as the British, but close.
Exept South Africa and Brazil this 250 V plug has never been adopted by other countries. And in Brazil they have designed their sub- types, rated 10 and 20 A with different pin diameters than ISO/IEC standard. And that even use it in 110 and 220 V networks.
Theoretically it could be simple. Just 2 plugs, one for up to 125Volt, and one up to 250 V systems. No need for dodgy adaptors.
Even then, if the IEC regulations would be followed everywhere, I would foresee Chinese makers still to supply wrong plugs with adaptors.
For those after a cheap, yet safe version, try a UK visitor adapter from Poundland.
I didn't know about that! I actually bought these types of adapter in bulk once...
The other problem with those adaptors is that one of the earth holes is connected to bugger all.
i really like you videos because 1) you're definitely an expert 2) you choose interesting topics 3) you talk to us mere mortals in a way that we can understand but at the same time is stimulating 4) we learn a lot. i should have posted positive comments before, but unfortunately my first post is a bit of a criticism... These adaptors are very useful for people who travel a lot because they're small and any sort of male plugs will fit in - you just have to pick the one you need for the country you're going to, and not worry about the various pieces of electronic equipment you're carrying with you. you might have an american charger for your phone, a swiss charger for your laptop and a danish plug for your mp3, and they'll all fit in this one adaptor. you're criticizing these adaptors because someone really retarded might be able to incorrectly plug in a piece of equipment and it gets dangerous. this is a very minor problem... someone can also stick his tongue into a blender, but that doesn't mean all blenders should be tongue-proof.... But whatever, keep posting videos, you're fantastic!
Not to mention you would have to plug in a US plug upside down which would reverse polarity. Not a problem for most applications but can be catastrophic for some.
i use them on a permanent basis and its fine
i know uk pins are large but if both sides of the adapter are earthed you're fine
for reference i use hong kong (uk style) plugs in australia sockets because it is often fused and grounded unlike many australian plugs that only have live and neutral
also because sometimes they are imported and come with them
i mean even with non earthed 2 prong adaptors you can plug them in upsidedown when the prongs are symmetrical
nothing stops you jamming a 2 prong straight into a powerboard either you would only need to open the mains shutter with say another uk prong
So the idea here is five year old kids it's not really that your supposed to stop someone from creating a live exposed metal who is an adult and really really really wants to. It's to stop a child from just out of curiosity say seeing walking along and pulling a cord and realizing he unplugged something and trying to put it back in so the say fan will turn back on or whatever. Totally innocent but also ignorant. If a kid who didn't know better just tried jamming a plug in they could easily manage to get one pin in or put them in wrong. An adult would never make such a mistake but there is a reason plastic plug covers for un used sockets are a real thing.
now time to buy one of this bad boys for myself
I will use mine in the dark with the lights out just to make life a bit more interesting
Perhaps a safer alternative when it's just a plug and a cable (without an internal charging circuit) may be to simply snip the plug off and wire on a spare UK plug.
that won't really be safe.....
TheMiniGeek Why not?
+TheMiniGeek as long as you solder solid and heat shrink your connections what's the issue?
RippyTheRazer You don't even need to do that.
***** Exactly. I thought all school kids learned how to wire a mains plug.
why would you need a adapter for those european plugs? when i was visiting a hotel they had uk sockets. i could just push the ground pin in with a screwdriver and the eu plug goes right in
1marcelfilms because different frequency and voltage
We have UL in the states, you have SA. There's a good reason for them both.
Well I guess that european plugs are a Little safer... They are recessed into the wall. Hence you cannot plug it in any otherway...
and if you step on them you dont die :D
Barefoot? It's worse than stepping on Lego
Well you can make adapters for it that you can use in a dangerous way. But I am dubious how much one should protect idiots at the expense of others. I have an adapter that looks somewhat like this:
media.power.fi/images/products/647626/647626_1_600x600_w_g.jpg
Now to think you could connect the plug to just one of them holes but is that really a rational risk that one should prepare for?
Now that does have unsleeved pins which is more serious but I will hold in the power adapter anyway. Electricity kills about two people annually and that includes idiots who climb to the roofs of trains. About a hundred are drowned and thtraffic kills about 250. I think we are good on electricity. I could count only three cases since 2000 when someone has died for domestic electricity use inside. On the other hand 10 of the all 49 cases were idiots climbing.
I noticed this myself years ago when we travelled overseas. Thought it was super dodgy.
*throws out box of deathdaptors*
Mine started melting and reeking burned plastic when i plugged it in, fire hazard
... not to mention, lac of BS1362 fuse ... I would always connect those adapters through 3amp fuse. Actually I even have a plug-in RCD with 1amp fuse fitted, to use when running these suspect chargers in general!
_Now_ I see why you call them deathdaptors!
You people and your goddamn shutters on plugs
Wow thats shockingly bad. Have you seen the mains leads that come supplied with the laptop chargers from Chinese sellers on ebay? They are supposed to be UK 13A plugs but are not the correct shape have 13A fuses instead of 3A and to top it off the brass L+N terminals are not insulated half way like they should be.
Thx i did know how to use mine until i watched you video
Very informative, thank you.
if its a china plug i just use a shaver plug, it fits in well and is fused too!
Mine is exactly the same type. Hasn't killed me yet. I guess it's cause I put it in correctly?
zainab shaban maybe it's deadly for the pple who needs warning like dont try to dry your pet in the microwave
Well not everyone is as safety-savi as you...Nor are they all grown adults.
Presumably you fee that electrocution to death is a deserving reward for your own child's curiosity?
Looking at it it looks like they made an adapter that can accept many different plugs so they can make one and send it out with all the crap they have no matter how the appliance is pinned
Yeah and you can also jump off the roof. How do you prevent that?
+Kauko Laurinolli yeah but you know there's a problem with jumping off the roof. an uninformed consumer could receive this adapter and assume it's perfectly safe. so, more like "Yeah, and your house could be swallowed up by a sinkhole. How do you prevent that?"
Very well put across, Clive, an eye opener, even to me, and I thought I'd seen some weird and dangerous stuff, but your 'creative' plug insertion methods are truly worrying.
I do believe I have one of those "deathdaptors" around here, somewhere....
you should show one opened up inside
This from your next superpower ladies and gents. Hope you enjoy them more than you did America...
That looks like it allows for NEMA plugs. Tons of fun inputting 240V 50 Hz power into a 120V 60 Hz device.
+Fire In The Sky A lot of adapters allow that as it's not a problem with most things like power supplies and chargers.
+Samuel Lakatoš Of course if it isn't, then it'll go boom, probably quite spectacularly.
kargaroc386 What do you mean? These are most likely supposed to be used for things like chargers which can accept 110-250V. It would be stupid to buy a converter (which as opposed to an adapter will step up/down the voltage) if you just need to plug in a phone charger.
Its so called Darwin adapter.
Goodness - we have China to thank for all sorts of lovely things, not just Covid.
I have one of these... it came with Chinese aquarium light. I plugged it in correctly and it works fine? I don’t have children. Am I still at risk?
It's a low load, so it's not a high fire risk. I'd still recommend a proper locally bought adaptor.
Am I still Alive ?
You missed the most important point. These Chinese knock offs that are used as EU to UK converter adapters do not have a fuse. They are lethal!
You can do this with almost any US extension cord.
I use a bs mark shaver plug instead
So, is the "deadly" part purely from plugging things in wrong? Is there anything in the actual inside or construction of the device that is dangerous?
Some of them have loose connection between the socket metal and the plug contacts, some like the one Techmoan has have sleeving on the earth pin that actually defeats the earth connection. The ability to plug the appliances earth pin into the live socket is possibly the scariest flaw, since it would make the entire appliance live if it had a metal case.
@@BigClive And considering that they're not fused, you'd have THIRTY TWO AMPS behind that live metal case...
When I get these from electric things bought online - I destroy them and separate out the metal for scrap 😉 when I first received one, was stunned to how dangerous it was ⚠️😱
I like the deathdapter, I use a few for various things. My 1200watt inverter has the same style fitted socket. If your to stupid to put a plug in a socket correctly then you shouldn't be let out of bed without a full time career.
Is it even fused?
No. Unless you include the 32A circuit breaker.
@@BigClive 32A?
Sounds about right for an air freshener. 😀
what other countries make this same adapter?
So is it better off buying a UK made adapter for these electronics made in China?
The best solution is to snip off the incorrect plug and re-wire it with the proper UK plug, assuming you'll be permanently using it in the UK. And normally cheaper than a good quality, compliant adapter.
energymc22 can you do that? Good idea!
Meanwhile, in America
the sellers should be reported
That would be a lot of people to report. Almost every single Chinese seller sends a variant of this out with their mains products.
+bigclivedotcom Can you please elaborate on this?
Exactly the reason with it is prohibited to sell in China, lol.
That is what happens if a country refuses to use new standards
Should probably mention that where you insert a plug with one of the pins exposed, that's not a hazard in itself because that would never exceed 5 volts and rarely is it higher than 2 volts
frankiesparkes If you insert a plug with one of its pins in the live position, the voltage present on the exposed pin will be full mains voltage. The only thing limiting the current if you touch it is the load of the appliance, and even a small load of a few watts will pass enough current to kill a human.
How come that black plug doesn't have earth?
+viperz888 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appliance_classes#Class_II
It's weird I used to go on ebay ALL THE TIME but stopped for about 5 yrs. I just recently went on and 90% of everything Is from China!
oh yes and not fused.
OMG i had the same adapter and it exploded on me. it was so scary !!
You can't stick U.S plugs in like that so I'm guessing we're safer
+The Minecraft Expidition Incorrect. You can and american plugs are not that safe compared to european plugs
Sorry, the UK plug is considered the safest.
***** yep
+computeruser75 Maybe, but they're big and ugly. And since we don't really have people being killed by electrical plugs where I live either, they're addressing a problem which doesn't exist.
Or get a life insurance on your wife, then replace all the electrical devices at your home into European with these adapters. Thank me later when you are rich.
You criticise this travel adapter for not having the shutters that open when the Earth pin is plugged-in, but: 1. No other electrical system does this shutter thing, it's simply not required in today's age of RCDs. 2. It would be totally brain-dead to put the shutter mechanism on the adapter because it is designed to accept plugs from other countries that don't necessarily mandate an Earth pin. I bought a travel adapter in Singapore (which uses UK sockets) and tried to plug in my AUS phone charger, which doesn't have an earth pin (doesn't need one). It wouldn't go in because of the shutters. I had to defeat the shutters with a wooden coffee stirrer jammed into the earth socket. Truly stupid design for a travel adapter.
Bridging live and neutral will not trip an RCD. RCDs are also not infallible and can be defeated by DC leakage from any appliance in the house.
I, me, have reviewed endless reams of safety data. You, Clive show me one EX of your imaginary horrible show. Do it or cork it.
Crocellian Are you saying that this thing is safe? I'm slightly confused about what you meant, but you have to agree that this is not up to any electrical code in existence. And what do we call a device that is not up to any electrical code? A "Mystery 240V electrical deathtrap".
230 v
@bigclivedotcom >>> Maybe it was intentionally made that way to fulfill China's _two children per household_ mandate...😊
For once I don't see the problem. (Most of these cheap and nasty monstrosities make me cringe so hard my testicles start to retract.) As far as I can tell these adaptors are no different in principle from the double adaptors and extension leads that are in general use around the world. I just tried it with an Australian plug and double adaptor and in both cases the wrong and dangerous was possible with just a little force. (The plug flexed a bit but wasn't damaged.) It might be a good idea to require a minimum size (and I do think shutters are a good idea) but I find it hard to believe that people are killing themselves doing this. I also don't understand the perceived need for a fuse in the plug. Wikipedia suggests that these were necessitated by the infamous ring circuit which in turn was adopted because of post-war shortages of copper. Are these still a thing in the 21st century. In any case if you are not in the UK or a third world country you shouldn't need them.
Who else came here from memer man?
but there handy
20 minute video on a some weird lamp that 4 humans will ever buy. 2 minute video on a travel adapter that millions of people use. Without any infor.
I don't know why Techmoan did you such a diss showing the worst video of yours.
wait what?
The problem be your UK sockets - in every other European Country, in Asia and Africa use 2 socket style or 3 socket style with safed earth! So you can use an correct adaptor UK socket male to EU socket female with power line between. Or use only Transformators with UK socket male! This is not the problem of the china reseller - they only save money ...
+Andy Merrett Possible do you should first looks the video before do you comment a YT comment? Then do you can understand the problem how is never a problem if you understand the UK power socket system. Hint: Where are the fuse?
No Andy is right, your comment makes little sense.
I understand the UK system very well. The dangerous adaptors supplied are not compliant with BS1363. This means they are illegal and cannot be sold in the UK.
+cjmillsnun Why do you BUY adaptors same this in UK if you not know that power lines are dangerous? We people from the european mainland, Asia and America know it is dangerous - we never put things into or the plug after an adaptor wrong. Why do use 2-pin connectors if you know that this you can't use it inside your power connector system without an adaptor? I think do you can buy same thing _with_ 3 -pin UK plug too! The UK power connector sockets with fuse in _plug_ do you use only in your country - so you should buy only in UK produced products. If you shopped at internationally market ...
well they are too cheap to buy good one in UK and that is why there is market for those sh1t. and btw even china banned this kind adapter. and i hate those UK socket as well, its a huge pain in the ass when im moving between HK and china and and the power block is so huge but only provide few socket.
+Ryu Song Mainland China banned this adaptor - really? And so they send it into every other country, I found it often at weekend market or at shop here in Greater Bangkok, Thailand. Germany is not the true market for it but you can order it in internet (e.g. Amazon).
Yeah, I think you brits stress about these thing a bit too much. Nowhere else in the world are shutters and fuses mandatory on sockets and plugs. I think that idiot who plugs their stuff incorrectly to the adapter like you’ve shown deserve their own Darwin Award.
Or just stop using your weird European styles, and go to the American standard with no way to plug in wrong. USA > uk
+Jo Wh You cant insert the european standard sockets wrong. Both the UK and American sockets are awful ;)
This helps evolution, which is next to dead anyway. Too many stupid people alive.
3 pins UK socket should not even exist, EU plug is the best
I really don't understand why the rest of the world's plugs are not earthed. Ya'll crazy. xD How is the UK the only place who have this?
+danner253 i'm 99% sure all of my outlets are earthed here in California USA, many of them also have GFCI built in. whether or not the manufacturer decides to take advantage of that earth is another story... I have a clock, an oscillating fan, a cell phone charger, and a lamp here in my bedroom that don't have an earth pin. but my TV, Stereo, Subwoofer, and computer charger are all earthed. so it really depends on the application and cheapness/greed of the manufacturer
+RippyTheRazer I suppose in the countries where rules are being followed a bit more strictly, and not like in China, the things that should be grounded are grounded. :-) Seems like how it is in Sweden at least!
+danner253 Almost everything here in Australia is grounded as well for that matter, except for Double Insulated Devices, and ALL Outlets have a Ground as well. All Circuits including lighting circuits (in new / recent builds) must have RCD / ELCD's fitted to them, Some products also have them built in, and one can buy leads with them built in as well.
Most of our appliances in the USA don't need to be grounded because our home wiring usually accommodated it. We specifically engineer appliances to ground themselves.
I have a non-polarized 8-track tape player from 1976 that can somehow ground itself through the Live wire or Neutral wire!
I have a 1972 GE microwave made in Japan (Shōwa 46) that has a very early 3-prong plug during a time when non-polarized was the standard, so when our appliances absolutely have to be externally grounded, they will be through the third prong.
Britain's electrical grid looks simpler in that everything there must be grounded.
+danner253 Here in Sweden we have both. I mostly use the earthed ones, but for example my phone charger isn't.
..Or try not living in the UK...