Are these UK plug protectors safer than having nothing at all?
Posted by Friendly-Knee7677@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 808 comments
I want to start by saying I know nothing about electronics.
I may be wrong but as far as I am aware in the UK the live pin is only active if you insert the earth pin first?
So do these not basically open the live pin and make it more unsafe than having nothing in the plug at all?
The wife has these in all of the kids bedrooms so just wanted to ask somebody who may have a bit more electrical expertise if they are a waste of money?
Least_Mall_4604@reddit
Electrical Engineer here. These things are great at preventing the electricity leaking out of your sockets and onto the floors. This is not usually a problem but if left over time, pools of electricity on your floorboards will eat away at any glue or sealants it comes in contact with, producing chlorine gas. Fit these things just to be sure.
PartTimeLegend@reddit
They’re massively unsafe. The UK socket is the safest in the world.
There is a spring loaded insulator that requires you to put earth in before adding any current carrying pins. These things bypass this insulator and expose the current to easier contact. Also you can put them upside down for easier access to the current.
Bin them. UK sockets are already perfectly safe.
BigBlueMountainStar@reddit
Or you used them upside down to be able to plug in an EU plug if you forgot your adapter.
EventualContender@reddit
Just put a key in the earth, then plug in the European plug.
Commorrite@reddit
An electrical engineer showed me a flat head scredriver is the proper tool for that job.
BigBlueMountainStar@reddit
A key 🤣🤣🤣
I usually use the pointed pin from the lid of a pen, as I’m usually travelling for work so have a load of pens in my bag.
EventualContender@reddit
The key works well!
For safety’s sake only do this on an unplugged extension lead though, obviously.
John1v6@reddit
Or worse push bare conductors directly into the live and neutral openings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH0Kxjx0sEM
UnnecessaryStep@reddit
Not only that, most of the "protectors" don't actually have the correct size pins, so they can cause damage to the actual sockets. Old website, good information
luffy8519@reddit
I miss the 90s, when people would build an entire website with dozens of pages on one single, super detailed subject that only 3 people would ever read. It was a more optimistic time.
ozyman@reddit
I still remember when those rechargeable flashlights with the solenoids and capacitors all came out. There was like one or two good ones, and a ton of knock offs, and some guy bought them all and thoroughly tested them and posted them on his random website. I read it, bought the good one and still use it. My mom thought the idea was neat, bought some random one at the department store and it was garbage from the moment I unwrapped it.
Remote-Pie-3152@reddit
Which one is the good one? Share the knowledge!
sodaflare@reddit
They still do.
Common_Move@reddit
Nearly. Just swap out detailed for mundane.
sodaflare@reddit
you gotta dig deeper than medium.com tbh
RoughCartographer384@reddit
/r/oldinternet
YourLittleRuth@reddit
So true. One small-scale hero had made a site about Fords of Shropshire. It was one of the first I ever saw.
gadgetiom@reddit
And ultimately more useful.
nikadi@reddit
This website is fantastic! I used it when arguing with ofsted that I wouldn't be using them when I was childminding.
MattyFTM@reddit
My mum worked in a school, and ofsted are shit about stuff like that. One inspection they were critiqued for not having socket protectors, so they got them. Next inspection they were marked down for having them.
zappaguri@reddit
Sounds like a classic case of them not knowing what they actually want. It's frustrating when rules seem to contradict each other like that. Maybe they need to update their guidelines based on actual safety info.
Spank86@reddit
Maybe they did inspections just before and just after they spoke to the other poster?
nikadi@reddit
I wish that were the case! But it's been years since I registered (I stopped before my first inspection for carrots reasons) and I still hear of people being told to get them or downgraded for not having them.
RosaTheWitch@reddit
Carrots reasons?
ceestars@reddit
Even if that was the case, they should explain the problem with the stupid covers and that they've recently changed their policy regarding them. Not mark the school/ nursery down.
Spank86@reddit
More than that, they should have issued an industry wide update that they no longer recommend them and they shouldn't be used on safety grounds. Theyre remiss in their responsibilities for not.
But really I was just commenting because it would be funny if that was the case.
nikadi@reddit
It's ridiculous. It all comes down to the individual inspectors, and if the individual hasn't kept themselves up to date on their own time then ofsted isn't going to be going out of its way to.
abid_patel@reddit
It’s worrying that you had to tell Ofsted that! Just shows how out of touch they are!
nikadi@reddit
Ofsted are only as good as the individual inspectors, much like HVs. If they are not up to date in their knowledge of their own backs, ofsted aren't going to be offering much support in keeping their inspectors widely up to date.
WarningBeast@reddit
And they don't have any role in tge Form F process.
WarningBeast@reddit
Fostering assessments are not done by Ofsted. My wife recently retired from doing Form F's. She was a social worker, never connected with Ofsted in any way.
Dismal_Fox_22@reddit
I used to to present my case during adoption assessment. The social worker asked for my finding to take back to the office so she could present it to other families as she had had her mind changed completely.
nikadi@reddit
Brilliant result!
MattyFTM@reddit
My mum worked in a school, and ofsted are shit about stuff like that. One inspection they were critiqued for not having socket protectors, so they got them. Next inspection they were marked down for having them.
Pure-Kaleidoscope207@reddit
We did the same when doing our Form F for fostering - they wanted them and we pushed back and they approved without and changed their policies!
leaveitalone38@reddit
You've just convinced me as well, taking them out of my home now.
bugblatter_@reddit
As if Ofsted were advising you to keep these 💀
ocelotrevs@reddit
I miss websites like that.
All business without a stream of ads.
ceestars@reddit
Wonder how many lives and young families' £s that website has saved.
Sad to see it's started falling apart (some of the images aren't loading here), but great that the most important part- the text- is still good.
I have known about how safe UK sockets are since I was a kid (helped my dad rewire our house when I was about 10) and always thought these covers were ridiculous. When we had our kid it was, thankfully, an easy explanation to my other half of why we wouldn't be using covers.
Taken_Abroad_Book@reddit
Adam Hart-Davis
No-Suggestion-2402@reddit
I have a house in a country that uses UK sockets. In that country these are straight up illegal because they apparently are a significant fire hazard. Was told this by an actual fireman in that country.
SignNotInUse@reddit
The plastic goes brittle as it ages as well. I've had to replace countless plug sockets for my grandmother because one of the pins from a plastic plug "protector" has snapped off in the socket. Why the damb things haven't been banned yet I don't know. If your that worried about kids getting at plug sockets you can get covers that cover the entire socket.
Realistic_Sea_929@reddit
How many years do your children need them for plastic doesnt degrade that quick
SignNotInUse@reddit
I honestly think she's been using since her kids were babies. She keeps them in just incase any small children come to visit and she might miss a plug socket
SteamerTheBeemer@reddit
I dunno about killed but it does sound like you were trying to set a very mean painful trap on the floor 🤷♂️
NobleKorhedron@reddit
LOL, good one - LEGO caltrops! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
TheAlmightyProo@reddit
Worse still, for those with any familiarity with pen and paper role playing games and such... the humble D4, the pyramidal dice.
It's not sharp enough to break the skin, unless you go heavy and hard on it but it causes more pain than most LEGO's AND triggers a cascading cramp reaction from sole upwards, which makes it harder to lift your foot off it. It's not dissimilar to being tapped good in the nuts, if your nuts were in your foot.
Source: played the above games in my youth and was a shit of a D4 prankster.
southants82@reddit
Amazing how fucking dumb people are to just blindly believe a website that repeatedly says "this is safe, that is not, honest".
Ancient website says no covers were found that are the correct size? Wow, I guess everybody stopped changing their designs back when Geocities was a thing. Where's the guest book and sparkly cursor trial on this amateur website?!
Nobody ever came across an internal cover that was fucked before either I guess? They're not always robustly made (oh hi China). They fail. People don't replace them.
Nobody has the cognitive ability to think a step ahead? Kid pokes thing into hole 1. Kid pokes other thing into hole 2...
A socket cover provides an additional barrier when the internal barrier is fucked or the kid takes the extra step of shoving shit into multiple holes. Fuck me you people are dense.
BeagleMadness@reddit
Was about to post a link to this site!
I remember reading it when my eldest child was a baby and our health visitor gave us a big pack of 'socket covers', insisting we should use them to keep oru child safe. To her credit, when we showed her the site and explained why we wouldn't be using the socket covers, she read through it, conceded that it made perfect sense and said she'd raise it with her superiors.
Millsters@reddit
which.co.uk link on socket covers
Matchaparrot@reddit
Brilliant source, Which? Also did a video recently explaining how dangerous they are!
Mental_Status999@reddit
100% this...
Anubis1958@reddit
Previously young, inquisitive young boy of 6 or 7 here. I managed to wire up a meccano set direct to the mains by forcing open the isolators with a circular pole. The logic was if I could make a motor spin with a 9v battery how much faster could it go with 220v. Of course the experment was a disaster because a) obviously ac/dc - I know that now; and b) the motor was fryed the instant I applied power, caused a large bang and the smell of smoke. Also, the ring main went off.
Mum was very unimpressed with my experimentation, which would probably have been stopped by something like this.
hurricane_97@reddit
I hope you went into electrical engineering
Anubis1958@reddit
Took a degree in Electronics!
twofacetoo@reddit
Yeah I was going to say, I get that they're effectively useless just in general, but I always thought the main intent of them was to stop inquisitive / dimwitted children (of which we ALL were, don't pretend you weren't, you're on Reddit, that's proof enough) from jamming things into the sockets and getting electrocuted.
caffeine_lights@reddit
It's a redundant purpose, because UK sockets have shutters protecting the live contacts, with the specific intent of preventing children or anyone else from accidental electrocution due to pushing something conductive into the socket.
dartiss@reddit
Oh, I can beat this.
I was a toddler, found a metal ring (don't know where from) and found that it fitted over the pins of a plug socket. Plugged it in.
Cue loud bang, scorched wall and said toddler now the other side of the room not breathing.
twister-uk@reddit
Hence why the live and neutral pins are now partially insulated - the idea is that by the time the plug is inserted far enough into the socket for those pins to be connected, the remaining parts of those pins still accessible to anything slipped into the gap between plug and socket are insulated, preventing short circuits such as the one you created.
Some people love to criticize (sometimes jokingly, other times far too seriously) the level of apparent over-engineering that goes into a standard UK mains plug/socket, but everything about it has a purpose, and once you understand the whys, you very quickly realize just what a genuinely world class bit of design it truly is.
caffeine_lights@reddit
And the fact it was written in 1947 is even more impressive IMO. It's not a time that I would associate with high levels of preventative safety measures.
isdeceittaken@reddit
My favourite aspect is the longer earth pin, placed at the top to discourage removal by cord-pulling.
PeterJamesUK@reddit
I did the same thing with a fork at my grandparents house as a 3 year old. We still talk about how angry Grumps was...
Magic_mousie@reddit
I spent a day with a friend who has a toddler. Left wondering how the kid was alive.
Grunn84@reddit
If you able to work out how to hold the shutters open why do you think you would have been unable to pull a cover out?
They are not that hard to take out.
PerrierViolette@reddit
It depends on the brand. I bought some to use in an outbuilding to stop spiders nesting in the sockets. If I push them in enough to have the intended effect, I need some leverage tool to pry them out.
frymaster@reddit
OK, so they have one legitimate use-case
2521harris@reddit
Wouldn't 7 year old you just have used one of the flat bits of meccano to prise off the plastic protector thing, and then proceed as before?
LyKosa91@reddit
Exactly this. The socket covers are a smaller obstacle than the design of the socket itself, any kid savvy and/or persistent enough to get around the built in safety mechanisms would have no problem getting the cover off beforehand.
necrobrit@reddit
And the socket protector provides a perfectly shaped thing to put into the neutral hole to open the shutter. Just turn it upside down (usually the protectors have shorter prongs and are slightly flexible, unlike a real plug)
LyKosa91@reddit
Earth, not neutral. But yeah, you're absolutely right. I'd never even considered the fact that these are genery bendy enough to be easily inserted upside down.
That detail has elevated them from "pointless" to "potentially dangerous" in my eyes.
thegrotster@reddit
Electrical engineer here, seconding the above.
eelam_garek@reddit
Layman with no electrical knowledge whatsoever here. I second what the electricial engineer said
ApexHeat@reddit
I have literally nothing to add, I second your statement and the ones above
chalky87@reddit
Bored fat guy who has electrocuted himself over 10 times.
I third the statement.
FragileRunner@reddit
I haven’t even read it properly and I agree. With somebody.
randomswearword@reddit
It's probably better to just skip them entirely. UK plugs are designed with safety in mind, and these protectors can actually make things riskier. Better to stick with the original design!
EngineEar1000@reddit
I agree with the comments that will follow this one.
Western_Ad_5933@reddit
The above comment disagrees with me!
KamikazeB0B@reddit
Spanish inquisition here, bet you weren't expecting me!
htimchis@reddit
Nobody does....
Western_Ad_5933@reddit
No but now I do expect a comfy chair
justjealousC@reddit
EngineEar1000 made a big mistake leaving this comment so open for reply
EngineEar1000@reddit
Yes. I agree with you. Schoolboy error there. I won't make the same mistake twice, which the following comments will confirm.
PreferenceAnxious449@reddit
Electrocution is death by electricity. That fat may hold the secret to reincarnation.
ZookeepergameSilly84@reddit
We need to know how many times you electrocuted yourself for fun, out of curiosity, off your own stupidity, owing to someone else's stupidity, trying to impress the ladies/ lads, and any other reasons.
chalky87@reddit
Ha.
There is a story with this.
When I was 18 (many moons ago) I volunteered in South Africa on lion and Elephant conservation.
A surprising amour of that work was with electric fences that ranged between 5 and 15,000 volts. Sometimes these fences weren't turned off or were malfunctioning so I got a shock. I think about 12 times.
Though I got off lightly compared to the lad on my team who pissed on a live electric fence. I laughed so hard I was in physical pain.
9tails1969@reddit
I have horses, we electrocute ourselves on occasion. Once, I was refilling the water trough and leant over near the fence, it hit my arse and I jumped so high, I landed in the trough.
OkFan7121@reddit
I would strongly recommend never to intentionally apply electric current to human or animal bodies, individuals vary in sensitivity, and instant death is within the possibilities.
I've had enough accidental shocks at 230 volts to know the danger.
chalky87@reddit
Yeah I was young and stupid. It was a hell of a learning experience though. It was very low amps as well, I believe about 0.1-0.2A.
With the animals, accidents did happen, we'd occasionally find a porcupine or a rodent they had met a spicy end on a fence. The lions and hyena also Learnt that they could trap prey in a fence and then make the kill. Nasty way to go - getting your arse chomped whilst getting shocked.
It's the only way we could keep them contained though
OkFan7121@reddit
0.1 Amps is enough to kill, residual-current earth-leakage circuit breakers for protection against electric shock will trip out at no more than 30mA (0.03 amps).
FerretChrist@reddit
I feel like if you're in an area where electric fences are a thing at all, then pissing on any kind of wire fence, as opposed to just pissing a few feet away from it, is wilfully moronic.
chalky87@reddit
Yeah pretty much. He was a nice guy but not a smart guy. Every single fence was electrified and he had a large Toyota safari wagon to stand behind.
He got out for a piss and we assumed he'd go to the back of the wagon. He did not.
EngineEar1000@reddit
I'm not sure how effective a 5V electric fence would be. Although very useful if the elephants need to charge their LiOns. If you know, you know.
chalky87@reddit
Fair call, My mistake, I've corrected that.
EngineEar1000@reddit
But in so doing you've made me look like an idiot. Which is fine, actually. As I get older I find weaponised incompetence to be a superb strategy to maximise my free time.
chalky87@reddit
That's an important lesson to learn in life - be just good enough to not get sacked but not so good that they come to you with the hard work.
chalky87@reddit
To answer your questions - once or twice for fun (5k volts is tame when you've experienced 15k), many times out of stupidity.
QueenLizzysClit@reddit
19 year old obese alcoholic with various degenerative conditions. Recently urinated on a butterfly.
BRITTANY LET ME SEE MY SON AGAIN.
isdeceittaken@reddit
I second the statement of this bored ghost.
itsacutedragon@reddit
I concur.
A-flea@reddit
I feel like eelam gaearek is a great judge of character, so I'm seconding his trust in the electrical engineer.
Adhyskonydh@reddit
I spent 5 minutes searching the internet and am calling that electrical engineer out. He has no idea because a bloke on yourbue said those plastic things are safe.
I also believe the world is flat and paracetamol (Tylenol) causes autism.
Programmer-Severe@reddit
To be fair, I have consumed paracetamol from time to time and do feel a bit autistic occasionally
PrestigiousCompany64@reddit
Never EVER trust a Cardassian Tailor.
cthomp88@reddit
Who left someone with the distinct impression that if they meddle with the plug protector, it might explode. It's best not to dwell on such minutiae.
bedbathandbebored@reddit
Not even with just a TInnnnnyyyyy bit of espion…I mean, uh..
OkFan7121@reddit
I thought the 'Eelam' here was a reference to Tamil Eelam, the name given to the Tamil-speaking parts of Sri Lanka during the Civil War, but then I find Real Life more interesting than the later versions of Star Krap.
MaskedBunny@reddit
Even a banished Cardassian Tailor?
Blyd@reddit
'Banished' ... sure buddy
WorthCryptographer14@reddit
especially a banished one.
WorthCryptographer14@reddit
Especially on a starbase that was previously owned by his own people.
eelam_garek@reddit
Well... It's the best way, isn't it?
crankyandhangry@reddit
Why? He's just a tailor.
CriticalMine7886@reddit
A _simple_ tailor ;-)
sp1z99@reddit
Guy who at 11 years old put a chopstick in the earth socket and then a looped bit of wire between live and neutral to see the magic smoke, I agree with this person
WhatsEvenThat@reddit
A-flea seems to have the right idea. I support his seconding of eelam gaeraek's trust in the electrical engineer.
TrainingUnlucky9814@reddit
I'm deferring my opinion to this flea who seconds the space tamil's second second of the electrical engineer. DOWN WITH PLUG PROTECTORS.
patriotictraitor@reddit
Layman with no electrical knowledge whatsoever and I don’t even live in the UK. I second this guy’s second.
TehMadness@reddit
I also choose this guy's wife
Lonely_Sausage_Giver@reddit
I'll have a go too
tsousa123@reddit
i honestly have nothing to add, however, i totally agree and second all of the second ones and thirds that were added here. completely agreed 👍
TheRook21@reddit
I have not laid this man, however I agree with him because he agreed with the alleged electrical engineer he laid.
jamnut@reddit
Contrarian here, I disagree with both of you, just because I can
hannahbernarnuh@reddit
Good user name 🖖🏻
eelam_garek@reddit
❤️🫵🏻🖖🏻
Significant-Ship-665@reddit
Layman here, with even less knowledge that the poster above, concurs wholeheartedly
Unlucky-Public-2947@reddit
Are they dangerous enough that we should ‘bin them’ though? And can you explain briefly why? For context I have an autistic four year old I currently use them to stop him from sticking things into the holes.
Financial_Potato6440@reddit
This is the thing. Yes, British sockets are perfectly safe. Yes, you have to put the earth in first to open the gates on the live and neutral holes. But, and this is a big one, it doesn't necessarily stop inquisitive minds. It wouldn't stop a kid from sticking something in the earth first, opening the others to then have something stuck in. And, being autistic myself, I know what it's like to have that insane level of curiosity and drive to learn and figure stuff out.
Don't take this the wrong way, it's not meant as an insult, just a fact, but most kids under the age of 8 or 9 are literal idiots with a curious mind, which is one of the most dangerous combinations for getting around things that are designed to be idiot proof. If the plug protectors are decent ones that are tight fitting where a child won't be able to remove them, I'd argue they are potentially safer for certain situations.
thegrotster@reddit
Your point is valid, but let's take the determined and curious kid with a screwdriver. In one scenario he could prod it into the earth pin socket and open the live/neutral pin sockets, but now he needs something to push into the live socket to get into trouble.
On the other hand, if there's one of these protectors in place the screwdriver is just as useful for prying off the protector, which provides him with the plastic cover to serve as a second implement that can be pushed into the earth socket - leaving him with a nice conductive screwdriver to push into the live.
Financial_Potato6440@reddit
If a kid is that determined to electrocute themselves they'll find a second implement anyway. You can invent a million and one scenarios in either direction, but, speaking from first hand experience, out of sight out of mind definitely applies in some circumstances when autism is involved.
And with modern flush mount socket fronts there isn't the free space for the live/neutral pins so you couldn't push the earth in far enough with the cover upside down unless you broke them off, which you could do with any plug and just jam the earth pin in there. Again, if someone is determined enough with enough logical reasoning, anything is possible. This is basically the fine line between 'young and too dumb to work out how to do something bad' and 'older and smart enough to realise/work out that it would be bad' which is a very small window in the majority of circumstances. Most kids the learning would go hand in hand, you've learnt how to work stuff out but also how to not do something you shouldn't. Austistic curiosity is a major difference though, it reduces the young and dumb age because of how observant and logical we are, but we're still kids who haven't learnt enough yet. I got into similar situations when I was that age because, for example, I was smart enough to work out how to change a light bulb (I had a reading light above my bed) but not smart enough to realise it would be red hot after being on for an hour before it popped (it took 2 months for my fingerprints to redevelop). Most kids would need to be shown how to change a bulb, which would include being told it will be hot and to let it cool down first.
I think the real argument is not having screwdrivers laying about for young kids to play with, teaching your kid to not mess with the sockets, and having an up to date fuse board with rcds that will trip before a lethal amount of current is delivered if the worst did happen, making the whole cover issue moot, and as much as anything, not having something jammed in that might damage the socket is all round the best situation.
thatsacrackeryouknow@reddit
I let my 5 year old cousin hold onto an electric fence at my Grandfather's Farm to teach him how unsafe electric is. One pulse and he was crying. Then I explained that tiny pulse is a fraction of the voltage and amperage that can go through a socket in a wall, don't play with sockets. I'm proud to say that he made it to adult hood without electrifying himself. He has, however, become an electrical engineer so I kind of expect him to turn into that spiderman villan now.
Financial_Potato6440@reddit
Yeah you 1000% gave him his origin story.
Unlucky-Public-2947@reddit
Thanks for the detailed response, I got them from a website for autistic kids so they should be ok.
Financial_Potato6440@reddit
I would hope so, I know theres very much a 'out of sight, out of mind' mentality with this kind of stuff, I've recently panelled my mates understairs cupboard out in his new house to hide the electrics from his autistic niece, and with them hidden and behind seemingly immovable panels, there's no risk of her getting curious about the fuse board.
Nellie-Bird@reddit
It holds the holes open making it easier to get a shock. When there is nothing in the, they are closed entrance if that makes sense. These override the inbuilt safety mechanism in the sockets
Also some of these are the wrong shape for the sockets and can damage the sockets.
Unlucky-Public-2947@reddit
Sorry I don’t really know much about how electricity works in circuits, are you saying you can still get a shock when they are in or using them increases the risk of a shock when the socket is empty?
Am trying to balance their use against the dangers posed by my autistic son stuffing cheese in the holes.
Ryanliverpool96@reddit
It’s impossible to stick anything except a plug into a British socket.
Don’t believe us? Go look at a socket yourself and shine your phone flash light on the two bottom holes, they will have a black plastic safety door inside them, every plug has a top prong that is longer than the bottom two, when sticking the plug into a socket the top prong hits a mechanism which raises the black plastic safety door of the live and neutral connectors (the bottom two holes, which contain electricity, the top hole is ground and isn’t electrified).
That’s how British plug sockets work and it’s why they’re the safest in the world.
Unlucky-Public-2947@reddit
Am not worried about him sticking something in that connects to the electricity supply, specifically I am worried about him sticking cheese is and my missus not noticing and forcing a a plug and some cheese and what might happen if that connects to the electricity supply.
Ryanliverpool96@reddit
Personally I’d rather risk a smelly plug socket than a dead child.
Unlucky-Public-2947@reddit
I was worried about moisture from the cheese, as I have said lots of times I know nothing about electricity, I am also on the spectrum as is my partner who I have recently split from so I am trying to find solution for when I am not I. The flat; no need to be a cunt about it?
stpizz@reddit
Using them makes a properly designed socket worse - it's better without it.
As long as you have real standards compliant sockets, it's not possible to touch live even if he sticks his fingers there (obviously still good to discourage it) - with these "safety" devices, it can become possible sometimes.
stpizz@reddit
Just realised I misunderstood, you want to avoid the cheese mess, you already understand the danger to the cheese mess operator. :D
I wouldn't, but if you're going to use them, make sure they can't be inserted upside down (so top pin in with the other two up instead of down), and that the thing is definitely sturdy enough to not get snapped in half or bent.
The increased risk comes from the idea that you might have the top pin inserted without the bottom ones - either by the thing breaking or bending, or being able to be inserted incorrectly. A surprising amount of them are vulnerable to this.
If you're sure yours can't do this, then it's probably not the end of the world, but personally I'd just accept the cheese I think.
CandidPayment2386@reddit
Yes if you turn them upside down the plastic pin that should be the earth will bend and allow them to be fitted upside down then opening the shutters on the line contacts ... seriously bin them.
SignNotInUse@reddit
Please swap them out for covers that cover the entire socket. This style is far safter. They can easily damage plug sockets and worse case scenario lead to electrical fires
Unlucky-Public-2947@reddit
That’s great thank you.
autmystic@reddit
Yes bin them today.
IochIan@reddit
if he sticks something in the holes below it doesn't electrocute him, but by inserting something into the top hole you're bypassing that safety feature
Unlucky-Public-2947@reddit
Sorry I don’t know anything about circuits, are you saying he can still get electrocuted when they are in or that using them increases the danger when the socket is empty? Currently all our sockets either have a plug in or one of these, for context he has tried to stuff food into empty sockets.
IochIan@reddit
I'm not an electrician but many of them have chimed in with better explanations throughout this thread
From my experience though the plug itself doesn't even work until there's something in the top hole
nikadi@reddit
Look at the fatally flawed website, it has some good videos demonstrating it.
Ambitious-Papaya3293@reddit
Am I right in saying these can - and potentially will - kill someone? I don't mean it to be hyperbolic
thegrotster@reddit
They pose a few risks. I have no clue what plastic they're made from - what's its melting point? Is it flammable? Are they even the correct size and shape so that they don't deform the socket? The key thing is that they deliberately bypass all the safety features of the plug/socket arrangement, which has been tested to death and found to be one of the safest means of delivering domestic electricity in the world. There's no use case where they improve things.
Ambitious-Papaya3293@reddit
Ty for the answer, I thought it'd be best to bug the EE in the thread
Hara-Kiri@reddit
Is it safer to turn the plugs of when not in use? My girlfriend goes around turning them all off when I go away.
sarbuk@reddit
Yes, otherwise all the electrons will leak onto the floor.
But in all seriousness… Yes, but the main reason for this is because when you plug in a load to a switched on socket, you can get arcing between the plug’s pins and the contact in the socket. This only happens when the load is already turned on and ready to draw power, eg a laptop charger, microwave, TV, etc, but not something switched off, like a kettle, toaster, vacuum.
Most things that we plug in on a regular basis are already active loads (like chargers) so it’s a good idea to switch off the socket when you plug and I plug them.
Arcing, while not especially dangerous in and of itself when isolated inside a socket, will lead to damaged contacts over time (when arcing occurs repeatedly), which reduces the quality of conduction between contacts over time and can, in extreme cases, lead to fires starting.
So your girlfriend is right to keep turning them off.
Hara-Kiri@reddit
Interesting, thank you!
Financial_Potato6440@reddit
Can't harm the situation, and, objectively speaking, should technically be safer because it means even if the gates got opened or were faulty and didn't close, the terminals themselves would be live.
_Dreamer_Deceiver_@reddit
Rando guy, thirding the above
EfficientAd8740@reddit
Solving a problem that doesn’t exist. Mainly relying on parent paranoia
Connect_Ad_466@reddit
I emigrated and live in another country with less safe sockets - they do make sense in less civilised countries where the plugs and sockets are crappier.
But knowing how a UK plug works, agree its a total waste of time in the UK
TechnologyFamiliar20@reddit
"The UK socket is the safest in the world."
Pardon me? xDD A socket that allows to touch live parts with a tool when inserting/ejecting is not safe. Yes, all have to have switches, but those are not fool proof. Schuko/French socket has that safety feature.
greatdrams23@reddit
PAT testing advice:
"These plastic ‘socket protectors‘ or ‘socket protective covers‘ are not made to any British Standard and the pin dimensions tend not to comply with BS1363, which often results in internal damage to the socket outlet contacts or their own pins braking off and getting stuck in the socket.
However, in reality – they’re actually really dangerous, pose a fire risk and increase the chances of a user getting an electric shock!"
TechnicianRelative85@reddit
Can’t anyone be PAT tester? Im sure a warehouse i worked in all those years ago uou only needed one person to sign off the paperwork and anyone competent could use the machine? Not a dig just genuinely curious
Sea_Warning_9140@reddit
Depends if your names Pat, that helps
Jeburg@reddit
Do you have to be called Pat in order to test Pats? Surely not being called Pat is an advantage because there is one more Pat to test?
Sea_Warning_9140@reddit
Yes unfortunately, it's a condition to join the Pat Guild.
It's a cultural custom going back millennia to also be postman
Intelligent_Prize_12@reddit
They would have sent one of their internal workers on a PAT testing course, you don't need any prior electrical qualifications to do this. When I was doing my electrical apprenticeship there was always a class of non electricians doing PAT testing courses.
It makes it cheaper for the company to do it in house than employ someone to do it. It's all a load of bollocks anyway and quite possibly one of the most mind numbing jobs I undertake.
Poonpatch@reddit
*breaking
Logical_Warthog3230@reddit
You can put them upside down! That is genius when you need to use your European style toothbrush charge plug :D
EngineEar1000@reddit
But they very effectively stop the electric leaking out if someone leaves the socket switched on with nothing plugged in. We used to suffer terribly with electrons all over the skirting boards and floor. We once went away for a fortnight and it was carnage when we came home. Were slipping on free electrons for months. They're harder to clean up than Christmas tree needles.
On a serious note, they are at best pointless. And definitely do not make a socket safer.
Dry_Gas_1433@reddit
I did actually once convince someone that they stop static electricity leaking out over the floor, consequently avoiding sparks when you touch metallic objects, or another person, or a pet. She was so convinced she went around telling everyone.
CNash85@reddit
You think that's bad, I once forgot to switch off my poison sockets.
Lonely_Sausage_Giver@reddit
Wtf
CrispoClumbo@reddit
I don’t know why this is so funny but I’m in absolute stitches imagining this
Daveddozey@reddit
Despite this being a U.K. sub, so all statements have implied sarcasm, far too many people would believe your first statement.
mayasky76@reddit
In the UK /s is short for /seriously dude
EngineEar1000@reddit
Good!
FerretChrist@reddit
I'd report that to the energy company, it sounds like you've got a problem with heavy electricity.
Subject-Syrup-9532@reddit
Yes they are very good to use european plugs in uk plugs
taconite2@reddit
UK plugs are lethal if you step on them 😜
PartTimeLegend@reddit
Would you rather walk barefoot up a staircase of Lego or a staircase of upturned British plugs?
DenormalHuman@reddit
Calm down satan.
Plasdah@reddit
Is it the same with sockets in Ireland? We have these in ours
fireantsarms2@reddit
Yup, bought these and binned them, uk plugs safe af, just keep your kids away from them ( harder than ya think but yeah they loose interest)
NoAnteater8640@reddit
This except don't bin it, it's really useful if you ever need to plug a European plug into a British socket
InfluenceEmpty3635@reddit
Agreed. The non profit Which also did a test on these plug protectors (I'm unsure what they're actually called) and confirmed they're unsafe because they can, mechanically, still open the actual plug socket which can be a huge risk to any child just "exploring" or fiddling with the socket.
Alarmed-Ebb-8078@reddit
Isn’t ’massively unsafe’ a bit of an over statement? Genuine question.
Wouldn’t the socket only become unsafe if someone manages to snap these in half and then only plug the top half in? Which if so, doesn’t feel like they are massively unsafe but just less safe than doing nothing?
AdAdministrative7804@reddit
Less safe than doing nothing is not a great thing for something marketed as a safety device
Also plastic bends so its very easy to only plug in the top half. I litterally did this as a child. Luckily I plugged in the bottom and poked the top not the otherwise around.
PeterJamesUK@reddit
You shouldn't be able to do that, the shutters on the live and neutral are supposed to lift only when the earth pin is inserted, part of the reason why the earth pin is longer than the other two.
AdAdministrative7804@reddit
Tbf i was a small child. I probably hadnt fully inserted it correctly or at all. But aparently its what i was trying to do
Dranask@reddit
QED
IdioticMutterings@reddit
No, if anything its an understatement.
These things need banning.
Alarmed-Ebb-8078@reddit
Ok, but in what situations is in massively unsafe?
kryptonick901@reddit
When people choose to use them. They literally add risk with 0 benefit.
Like crossing the road with your eyes closed.
Sheeepie2@reddit
Regardless of whether there's a benefit or not, adding minimal risk does not make them 'massively unsafe'. There are levels of advising people against things before suggesting an effectively guaranteed disaster.
TurbulentBullfrog829@reddit
I agree with you. Massively unnecessary and slightly unsafe is more accurate.
I'm now curious if there have been any accidents caused due to these things or if it's a theoretical risk. Still completely unnecessary, mind you.
potatan@reddit
There are documented instances of these being pried up, exposing the live/neutral socket holes becuase the earth "pin" remains plugged in, opening the shutters. Making them out of bendable plastics doesb't help.
Magic_mousie@reddit
How many cases of this vs of kids shoving something else in the Earth pin that could have been prevented by a cover?
Wouldn't use these covers just to make it clear, but genuine question, seems like there's a risk to both approaches cos kids be dumb.
potatan@reddit
shoving something into the earth hole is not dangerous as the only thing it will touch is a massive earth.
I mean, okay, maybe not completely 100% without risk as there may be unseen damage under the socket faceplate; but this is unlikely, and also a much lower risk than having a bit of bendy plastic exposing the live terminals
Magic_mousie@reddit
This is the exact concern with these covers though. That kids will take them out, turn them, and only plug in the earth pin. It's the same as shoving a pen in there.
The covers my parents had weren't bendy, they were stiff plastic like you'd find on a calculator case (sorry, looking around my desk, not a lot of inspiration...). Are the new ones flexible then?
potatan@reddit
ahh sorry, I misunderstood - thought you meant there was a danger in poking a wire or a finger in the earth socket, as opposed to something else.
Interestingly though, the earth socket mechanism (that causes the Live+Neutral shutters to open) is itself cleverly designed as a ramp. This limits the ability of random obects, screwdrivers etc to open the shutters as the slope of the mechanism pushes non-earthpin shaped intrusions up and away from the dangerous parts.
Unfortunately the plastic covers have a rectangular shaped pin which, unlike a screwdriver, pen, or other object, is exactly the same shape and size as the earth pin on a plug, thus opening the safety shutters perfectly every time.
Magic_mousie@reddit
The designer of the UK plug really didn't take a day off didn't they?
For all the nuisance of the bulk of the UK plug, I really notice how wobbly and meh the sockets are in the EU and US. All hail that dude/dudette.
KesselRunIn14@reddit
They're have certainly been cases where they have caused sockets to catch fire.
Plus_Pangolin_8924@reddit
Well they are also made to poor tolerances so the socket fins get stretched leading to poor connections with plugs which could lead to overheating and eventually fire.
publiusnaso@reddit
Can you please explain that to the people on r/oopsthatsdeadly?
AnUnqualifiedOpinion@reddit
Like crossing the road with your eyes closed when you don’t even need to cross the road
mr-tap@reddit
You guys are exaggerating - it is more like crossing the road wearing a welders mask.
It isn’t that you can’t see anything at all, you would still know where the sun is for example.
jgs84@reddit
But why is no one saying what is extremely unsafe about them? Is it a secret?
Weird-Statistician@reddit
Kid pulls it out, turns it upside down and plugs the earth in. Now the protective cover built in to the live hole of the socket is exposed for a finger or fork to be shoved in.
RentTechnical3077@reddit
Even easier, kid finds them in the drawer... Rest of the story is the same
Plus_Pangolin_8924@reddit
Well they are also made to poor tolerances so the socket fins get stretched leading to poor connections with plugs which could lead to overheating and eventually fire.
itsapotatosalad@reddit
They’re flexible so you can pull the bottom pins out and leave the top pin in completely exposing the 2 open pins, or put it in upside down and open the pins at the bottom. With nothing in the top pin socket, the bottom 2 are sealed shut too.
atomicshrimp@reddit
The plastic earth pin can just snap off the flimsy plate and remain in the earth hole, leaving the live and neutral shutters wide open. This is made more likely because the supposedly 'child safe' design makes them hard to just pull out of the socket directly - it nearly always involves some prying and side to side nonsense.
They should be banned. The person who invented them should be tarred and feathered.
HeavenDraven@reddit
ALL! They create a potential live circuit, whereas there wouldn't be one if the dummy wasn't there (I refuse to call them "protectors") and particularly pose a danger if someone puts something down the back of it and/or tries to remove it.
They can crack socket pin slots, which makes the entire socket a potential hazard, have been known to melt in the sockets, or overheat, and cause fires.
Plastic_Length8618@reddit
My first memory is of my mum, passed out in the hall, having given herself an electric shock, prising one of these things out with a knife.
“Dad, is mum dead?” I remember asking. “No, she’ll be fine, go and play upstairs.”
mousearian@reddit
You can turn them around because they are flexible and expose the live pins below.
Magic_mousie@reddit
I mean, my parents had these in all the sockets and I never electrocuted myself. But I also didn't attempt to electrocute myself on open sockets either.
So yeah, they don't in and of themself cause damage, but they won't stop kids determined to electrocute themselves.
Plus_Pangolin_8924@reddit
Well they are also made to poor tolerances so the socket fins get stretched leading to poor connections with plugs which could lead to overheating and eventually fire.
brightgreyday@reddit
Depending on how far a socket sticks out from the wall (eg in a skirting board) these can sometimes be inserted upside down.
R0ckandr0ll_318@reddit
These safety plugs activity bypass the inbuilt safety systems
OnlyRussellHD@reddit
... Rotate, found this neat little trick out very quickly as a child.
Megatea@reddit
The ones I remember are fairly flexible. You can put the earth in upside down by bending it without much effort.
itsjustmefortoday@reddit
I'm not sure why they're even still available. My daughter is 9 and they weren't recommended when she was little.
Significant_Term_532@reddit
I fully thought they were still recommended and am about to go around taking them out of the wall
External_Violinist94@reddit
Probably because the injection moulding machines that make them in China are still working so they're still selling them.
caffeine_lights@reddit
Because most people don't know that they aren't recommended, they go into a shop to buy safety equipment when setting up a nursery or their baby gets to crawling age and it's for sale so they assume it's useful. Or they assume that unguarded sockets are inherently dangerous and buy them on amazon where they're probably even worse than the ones sold in shops.
Anyone who is chronically online has seen the Fatally Flawed website, but that is not most people. This group is overrepresented on reddit for obvious reasons.
Unless there is a major safety campaign and/or it's added into the info that health visitors give out on child safety in the home, there will be new parents who aren't aware all the time.
jc84ox@reddit
When I was 13 I drove to Spain with my friend's family and stayed in a static caravan. The caravan was British (for some reason) but all the provided electronics (hairdryer, etc.) had EU plugs. I remember his dad shoving a piece of plastic into the earth and then plugging in the hairdryer.
FancyMigrant@reddit
The UK socket was invented by a woman, too.
VolcanicBear@reddit
As an enjoyer of facts that don't have much bearing on the current conversation, I appreciate this information.
i-readit2@reddit
The current conversation. Slipped that one in didn’t you . Bright spark ⚡️
ScreamingDizzBuster@reddit
I thought I was insulated from this sort of thing, but that's a shocking response.
Marmalade43@reddit
It wouldn’t be so shocking if you remained neutral
ScreamingDizzBuster@reddit
Sorry. I'm trying so hard to be grounded and positive but I don't have the capacity.
i-readit2@reddit
Socket to them
Zentavius@reddit
Ohm y God. I think we've had amp-le puns now.
Embarrassed_Belt9379@reddit
I can’t resist
PM-me-your-knees-pls@reddit
Take my upvolt.
Mndsn@reddit
Hows that relevant?
FancyMigrant@reddit
It's Reddit, dear incel. Nothing here is relevant.
Mndsn@reddit
Incel because i dont force gender into random topics....okay wokey.
FancyMigrant@reddit
😂😂😂. The woke people are the good guys, dipshit.
ThereAndFapAgain2@reddit
And?
DangerousDisplay7664@reddit
That’s not actually true.
You’re referring to Caroline Haslett. I am a big supporter of female innovation and giving credit where it is due, but to say it “was invented by a woman” would be to ignore the input and hard work by the rest of the people on both the Electrical Installations Committee of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) and the British Electrical and Allied Manufacturers Association (BEAMA) (the IEE was the post-war committee that came up with the BS 1363 standard and whose report led to the development of the BEAMA inventing the 13 amp fused plug and socket system)
She played a part, but she did not “invent it”
_real_ooliver_@reddit
Was it just IEE at the time and then expanded to IEEE?
Tricksilver89@reddit
It was a committee that came up with the BS 1363 and Caroline Hasslett was the only woman on said committee. She didn't invent it. The shutter system was patented by MK Electric in 1928, some 19 years before the committee set the standard.
Necessary_Emergency8@reddit
She was making the sandwiches for the committee
Superspark76@reddit
So were cable rods, she wasn't an electrician either. She saw an electrician working and struggling and invented our rods
Embarrassed_Belt9379@reddit
Kinda makes sense
InsaneInTheRAMdrain@reddit
Yeh, not bad for something which isnt true.
Interesting_Pack_237@reddit
Get out of here! 😂
petantic@reddit
That explains a lot.
TawnyTeaTowel@reddit
If only it were true…
Zadokk@reddit
If you mean Caroline Haslett, then she did not. She was on the board of people who recommended the tripin design be made standard. Charles Arnold was the person who created the now familiar design (three pins with a spring-loaded shutter).
Swatch843@reddit
Why is this relevant?
Realistic_Sea_929@reddit
Clearly you dont have kids mate im an electrician approved and time served and if I cannot get them out without a driver then the kids can't but I can open the doors on live and neutral by poking the earth and there my kids so much like there dad . And when I do get them out the socket locks back again anyway .
If your lucky enough to have an rcd the kids will only get a little tingle but if you dont they could die .
Just think a little !
Peace
RichyWoo@reddit
Making your ground level sockets toddler proof is the only acceptable use for this device.
Strude187@reddit
I tried telling my wife this, but she didn’t believe me. I was so relieved when she agreed the kids were smart enough not to stick their fingers in.
External_Violinist94@reddit
My partner bought a load of them when we were expecting our first kid, told her they were nonsense and our sockets are already safe enough but she kept them. Was very happy when our first health visitor brought them up and said how dangerous they were!
SuzLouA@reddit
I was absolutely not smart enough to not stick my fingers in, but I still never managed to electrocute myself because British plug sockets are quite literally safe as houses (assuming it’s a house with British plug sockets obviously)
External_Violinist94@reddit
When we had our kid the first health visitor actually mentioned these plastic plug protectors and how dangerous they are for children. Like you say they bypass all the safety features we have in our plugs and make them way more dangerous. They're also cheap plastic and the top pin often snaps off because you have to push it through the safety spring and then you're left with a much more dangerous plus socket that's a pain to sort out.
AccomplishedBet9592@reddit
The whole engineering that went into both the plug and socket is amazing! • The L & N terminals on the outlet are covered until the earth has made contact • The plug is wired in such a way that if the cable is pulled the live is first to disconnect, then the neutral and the earth last • There's usually a fuse within the plug so if if the breaker fails the fuse should blow • the prongs have insulation on the live sections so if the plug is only partially pushed in, the exposed section is insulated
They're just the bits I can remember. It's a very well thought out piece of kit
RSLunarCanidae@reddit
Wait people shove them into the sockets?? My mum always said it was to protect the metal in transit [aka waste of plastic] and to bin/recycle it and never use it..
seabutcher@reddit
You're thinking of a different kind of protector. Some appliances ship with a plastic protector over the end of the plug. OP's "protector" is a device designed to fit into a plug socket and cover the front.
They're built to slightly different sizes and (unless something is designed really badly) can't be used for the other purpose.
RSLunarCanidae@reddit
Ooh thank you for the info, I never knew there were ones for actually inside the socket! I think i will stick to my mum's old "if its anything other than a plug it doesnt belong in a socket" lol.
If i may ask, what is the plastic meant to actually protect from whilst inside the socket?
caffeine_lights@reddit
Supposedly they stop children from putting things (fingers, forks etc) into the socket and getting shocked.
They are unnecessary because UK sockets are already built with protection against this kind of accident by children.
The ones used in packaging are more likely to prevent the metal bits of the plug from damaging the cardboard or other things inside the package, rather than to protect the plug itself.
RSLunarCanidae@reddit
Ive learned something else cool then, that the design anticipates the urge to poke the spicy socket with anything that isnt a plug, and protects against it by default design! Many thanks! :))
The stuff inside packaging deffo makes sense with how things get yeeted about, dont want your toasted coming with scratch marks like wolverine on it! I hadn't truly ever thought about the cardboard exterior also!
maddogscott@reddit
👆The only reply you’ll need. To add a bit, I work in the Fire Service and we used to give these out during Home Fire Safety visits. We stopped years ago when study’s showed how dangerous they were. Bin them.
Jonny_Segment@reddit
I'm sure someone has linked Tom Scott somewhere in this thread, but I couldn't see it. So here: https://youtu.be/UEfP1OKKz_Q?si=nFpo3oZKgQYpDZ74
Chunk3yM0nkey@reddit
/thread.
Mobile_Actuator_4692@reddit
Are these good for extension cables?
Plus_Pangolin_8924@reddit
No, only the bin
WaxWayneE2@reddit
https://youtu.be/UEfP1OKKz_Q?si=fcwpGKw2KCHSwT7l
UncleArfur@reddit
They stop kids that lick plug sockets for getting electrocuted
chalky87@reddit
But there's no current in the plug without the earth socket pushed back.
Marmalade43@reddit
That isn’t correct. The contacts are still live but there is a spring loaded shutter that prevents anything going into the live and neutral holes until the earth pin moves the shutter down.
FrozenPizza07@reddit
Shcuko would like to have a word
-Hi-Reddit@reddit
The sliding doors aren't standard on Schuko sockets, meaning children can insert things into them.
You have to buy "SafetyPlus" Schuko sockets if you want the safety of a standard British socket, where sliding doors are mandatory.
Additionally the UK fuse and ring circuit system provides additional protection to users, especially in regards to faulty appliances.
The radial system Schuko plugs into relies on the main circuit breaker, it is not as safe as a fuse on every plug.
xander012@reddit
Schuko doesn't guarantee socket shutters so are inherently less safe.
rileyvace@reddit
You are unequivocally incorrect.
SloppyGutslut@reddit
You re not in America. Do not cover UK sockets with protectors, they are not the same as American ones. The UK plug and socket are both meticulously designed for safety already, and putting this into your socket is actively bypassing its safety features.
Itachi-_-GOD@reddit
Chef here, im not a specialist in electrics but the only logical reason for using these is water leaking at least thats what my head chef told me use them to cover the socket when cleaning the back wall so no soap or water can get inside 🤷♂️
Successful-Oven9539@reddit
The UK socket is too small for fingers to get in, and they would have to jam something in the earth before they could get anything in a hole that's dangerous
aaa1305@reddit
I'd just like to add that as a toddler I was electrocuted because of these, as a curious baby I tried pulling them out and turning them upside down, as others have pointed out this results in the live contacts being exposed. I put something in the live part of the socket and was electrocuted, only being saved by my grandad pulling me off with a piece of wood... The ancient fuse box from the 70s didn't even flinch and kept the power flowing...
Don't risk your child's life, bin that shit!
AlGunner@reddit
My wife is a childminder. They used to have to use these. Now they have to not use them.
glenerd189@reddit
Unnecessary. UK plugs are incredibly safe, and I find it baffling that there is a ‘safety’ device which actually just overrides the built in safety feature. Ridiculous really.
TerribleWatercress81@reddit
I know, I've never understood these things!!! I'm a mum of 4 and I've never had a child go to stick something in a plug socket lol.
r-ndo19@reddit
Yeah, it seems like common sense, right? Kids are usually more interested in toys than sockets. Just keep an eye on them and you should be fine!
DannySkittles@reddit
Nope. Not only do they damage the socket they can also be used to expose live conductors on the socket.
The British Standard socket outlet has "doors" covering the live conductors opening when the Earth pin enters the socket.
Now as an example, if you had a surface socket that isnt flushed with the wall you could potentially put the plug in upside down opening these doors very easily.
idateyourmother@reddit
My wife forced me to buy these, even after I explained why they were pointless in the uk, showed her a diagram of how our plugs work, and a video demonstrating how they work. At the time I was basing "value" on quiet time, so it was worth it just to shut her up.
Tasty-Blackberry5120@reddit
Haha, I wouldn't use them for kids, but I use two to dissuade my wife from using a couple of sockets that are below a shelf that she always bangs her head on if she uses them... the alternative would be to make her always wear PPE.
I might just remove the socket...
flamingochills@reddit
Just want to say thank you for asking the question, my grandson is just at the crawling stage and my daughter has bought these (I used them when she was little) but she's not going to use them after this information.
TheClosetedCurtain@reddit
They seem useless honestly
Environmental-Eye992@reddit
No. They are inherently unsafe. The safety of uk plugs relies on the live terminals remaining shut when no plug is inserted. These things open the terminals. Don’t use
a-human-called-Will@reddit
In the words of a youtuber i watched once on this who i think was tom scott it takes a very inventive baby to stick one thong in the earth and another in the live and get a shock
Ultrasonic-Sawyer@reddit
No.
They make sense in the US and other countries.
However, our sockets have built in protections that do the same job as these. (Shutters Preventing things touching live parts of the socket)
By using these protectors then you actually bypass the socket protections and risk one of these getting broken in the socket, further breaking the in built protections.
damyell@reddit
Exactly. Those protectors can create more risk than just leaving the socket alone since they override the safety features that are already built in. It's better to trust the design of UK sockets, which are pretty solid in terms of safety.
therealhairykrishna@reddit
UK plugs are, probably, the safest in the world. You are correct about the functioning of the earth/live pins.
Don't stick anything in the sockets that fucks with the inbuilt safety.
Dependent_Board_378@reddit
Yeah, UK plugs are designed to be super safe. Those protectors can help keep kids from sticking stuff in the sockets, so they’re better than nothing. Just make sure they're the right type and installed properly.
Plus_Pangolin_8924@reddit
https://www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/ Looks like a conspiracy site but its just been around so so long! Bin them now!
Ancient-Bend@reddit
Yeah, those things can definitely cause issues. If they don't fit properly, they could damage the socket or even create a risk of electrical faults. Better to go for proper safety measures, like childproof plugs that are designed to be safe.
Scarred_fish@reddit
It's SO refreshing to see a properly designed website!
Clean, pleasant to look at, and functional. Todays web designers could learn a lot from there.
g0_west@reddit
Didn't ask me to accept cookies, didn't make me pay to not accept them, didn't have a popup asking me to sign up to a newsletter, didn't have a popup when I moved my cursor off the tab... Used to be the case if you had popups like that it'd be considered malware, now it's standard to have at least 2-3 popups on every website
djingo_dango@reddit
“Properly”. The fonts are barely large enough when viewed from mobile.
Obvious_Reporter_235@reddit
I’m just sad it doesn’t have a visitor counter at the bottom.
caffeine_lights@reddit
It probably would have flipped back over to 0 by now :D
BlackBerryCollector@reddit
Check out http://williamsmobile.co.uk
lost_send_berries@reddit
At last I can get Gemini AI on my Nokia featurephone!
dragonb2992@reddit
The website looks like it was designed by Alan Wagner
MalevolentSilhouette@reddit
Grow some thumbnails.
TheGoober87@reddit
You've answered your own question pretty well. It does exactly what you say. Massively unsafe. Bin them now.
Just be careful how you raise it with your wife. She's got the kids' interests at heart and you don't want her to feel like a fool.
Friendly-Knee7677@reddit (OP)
Yeah tried bringing it up before but didn’t have evidence on hand to back it up
Farasay12345@reddit
Next time you chat about it, maybe pull up some articles or guides on UK plugs and safety. That way, it'll be easier to show her the concerns without it feeling like a personal attack. Safety first for the kids, for sure!
RakeshKakati@reddit
nothing at all is safer, unless you count the spiky ones under the bed! 🚫🛏️
Turkish3909@reddit
Protection for the kids poking pointy objects in the plug housings
YourFavOliviaXo@reddit
no just protects them from things sticking in the holes x
Awkward_Customer_424@reddit
No
https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/throw-away-your-dangerous-plug-protectors-right-now-aRuwt5l3SxKQ
Land_Pirate_420@reddit
This 👆🏼 once the top (earth pin engages) live terminals become exposed) Modern uk sockets are safe
I am not an electrician this is how it was explained to me
Cuntinghell@reddit
I was an electrician and you're correct. This "safety" device makes it possible for the live conductor to be touched. When I say possible, I mean highly unlikely, in a very specific circumstance such as a child doing stupid shit because they don't know any better.
Morris_Alanisette@reddit
Kids are pretty resourceful. I managed to jam one screwdriver into the earth and then another into the live when I was 2. I'd have easily worked out to turn one of these upside down to get access to the juice.
ok66618@reddit
Right? Kids find the weirdest ways to experiment. It's wild how curious they can be, even if it leads to risky moves like that!
Not_Sugden@reddit
I do wonder what possess children to do something like that. I get that they do not comprehend the risks, but surely there are a hundred and one more exciting things to do as a 2 year old than jam 2 long pointy sticks into some holes in the wall. Whatever happened to crying and watching teletubbies
SouthernDame@reddit
You joke about that, but I used to put sandwiches into the VCR when I was a toddler to feed the Teletubbies. Kids just have crazy imaginations and lack of survival instincts
Land_Pirate_420@reddit
Of all the characters that did not need extra rations... are you responsible for the Tubbiness of the Teletubbies 🥪 😂
SouthernDame@reddit
I could be.. there was no famine in Tubbieland while I was on the case 🤣
Morris_Alanisette@reddit
I think I got bored easily.
I also set fire to an arm chair trying to work out how matches work. I set up an ant farm in a drawer in my room and caused an ant infestation in the house. I made my own gun powder using instructions from an Encyclopaedia Britannica. I took apart pretty much every electrical or mechanical thing in the house. Poisoned myself with toadstools.
Land_Pirate_420@reddit
I used to tinker dismantle, destroy & experiment 🫡 🍄 I still do haha just not as often...
AquarianViolist@reddit
that sounds so interesting - and very keen to know what do you now as a job?
Morris_Alanisette@reddit
Software Engineer. No danger at all so I make up for it at home. I did always fancy being a nuclear power station controller but I'm not sure I've got the right temperament for it.
Vivimir@reddit
Hazard mitigation
mentaldemise@reddit
We teach them to, don't we? Put this puzzle piece in the right place. What hole does this block fit in? Then they also potentially see someone else plug something in. They're learning things go inside other things and trying to join along.
Collooo@reddit
I did something similar, crazy.
Wholikesorangeskoda@reddit
Could you not have a device like this without the top 'prong' to make it an effective safety device?
Morris_Alanisette@reddit
You wouldn't be able to get the other two prongs in the holes. The earth pin opens shutters on the other 2 holes. Without the earth pin you can't get anything into the other two holes.
Wholikesorangeskoda@reddit
Ah got you. I obviously didn't play with the sockets enough when I was a kid!
SuzLouA@reddit
Fortunately my kids never do stupid shit because they don’t know any better. They do stupid shit despite knowing better 🤦🏻♀️
isdeceittaken@reddit
Liquid spilled or intentionally poured over the ‘protected’ socket may more easily ingress to the opened socket terminals. I’m confident there a non-zero count of infant-related socket-spillages.
ACatGod@reddit
My friend's child managed to put her fist in a tiny hole on a moving escalator in a split second. Luckily she only sustained bruising and a graze because a very fast acting passerby hit the emergency stop (my friend wasn't close to it and was dashing towards it) but kids can basically maim themselves in a hot second. These protectors feel like an accident waiting to happen. Kids are fascinated by things low to the ground and these invite little fingers to explore them.
Land_Pirate_420@reddit
Thank you 🙏🏼
Mukatsukuz@reddit
I'm also not an electrician but this is how Tom Scott explained it to me
Land_Pirate_420@reddit
Last sparky I was on a job with was called Tom 🤔 had a funny klien hardhat 😂
aeolusa@reddit
Forwarded this to my mother, she has them everywhere.
Thank you.
V65Pilot@reddit
UK plugs are safer without those. They have internal shutters to block access to the shocky bits.
PengisKhan@reddit
They're only safe if someone is likely to jam something in there.
GiddiestKipper3@reddit
There’s never been a single infant death from uk plug sockets … I think that’s a true stat?
-Lobster-Alert-@reddit
No. Bin em
fart_it@reddit
Feels safer than nothing at all, nothing at all, nothing at all
ikiteimasu@reddit
Unsafe, except for an unused socket near a sink where moisture can get in - then I’d use them there as you don’t want water in the electrics!!
Nice_Alternative_135@reddit
That sir, is only good for your pizza box!
SquidgeyBear@reddit
As a new dad with a four month old baby, boy am I glad to come across this post. I knew our plugs were the safest in the world but the over protective parent in me had it in my list to get some of these, not anymore!
Fyrespray@reddit
No
UK plugs are safe, these can be flipped upside down and pushed into the earth hole (top middle) which then opens up the guards that prevent you sticking objects into the love and neutral holes.
Try flipping it upside down to see what I mean, but do not do anything else apart from pull this out and throw it away!
TheBusThatWasSpeed@reddit
Nothing at all
Nothing at all
Nothing at all!
domini_taylor@reddit
came here for this. did not disappoint
the_duke_of_mook@reddit
Stupid sexy plug socket!
illarionds@reddit
Never use any sort of "protector" that is inserted into the socket - all you will do is interfere with the (excellent) protection designed into it.
If you really want more - though it's not necessary - you can get lockable plastic covers that go over the outside, a bit like an outside socket. Those at least won't make things worse.
thegrotster@reddit
I had another (probably paranoid and borne of being an elec engineer / project manager). Are these things CE or UKCA marked at all? Having had some bad experiences with home insurance I can't help wondering if these things might get used as an excuse if there was an electrical problem and insurance claim. Shoving anything that isn't safety tested into a mains socket doesn't go down well with insurers.
mrattapuss@reddit
I'm sure there's some specific edge case utility, but they aren't needed generally and are dangerous in general
Impressive-Head-9323@reddit
Waste of time at best. These things were all over my house when I bought it. Swiftly removed and chucked.
Bass_Baby236@reddit
No, UK sockets are the safest anyway and that thing is a useless gimmick that actually makes the socket less safe and can actually damage the safety mechanism. Don't use it, bin it in the recycling.
irish_horse_thief@reddit
I'm an electrician. You do not need these. They can offer more hazards than they solve. As others have mentioned, the UK wrote the regulations on safe installations and circuit protection cut off times, making electric shocks survivable.
adp192837465@reddit
Could work for extension leads. Uk wall sockets are safe already. Leave them alone.
Electrical_Wander@reddit
Nope they can comprise safety
topher2604@reddit
The socket is safer without having the bottom pins opened, so no, it's better not to use these.
normanriches@reddit
They make the already safe socket unsafe.
-auntiesloth-@reddit
Bin them. They're dangerous.
Infinite_Control_381@reddit
Definitely safer then a unearthed plug
user29092021@reddit
They're actually net worse than leaving the socket bare. UK's sockets are spring loaded, you can't get to anything dangerous unless you're really stupid and determined
itsjustlucas@reddit
I had not protected any of the sockets at home. My 2 year old played with switches but because I allowed him and didn't take him away he got bored of it quickly. Some of them I have covered with special cover so he won't rip the cables out. Link for the reference. Not sponsored.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BabySecurity-Electric-Socket-Proofing-Electrical/dp/B00GD7AXFG/ref=sr_1_9?crid=22P3WPVH1P157&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TESk0FezD8B3OVbIUf0EbRoukHaajzmIWrkJEOmhkaEQIQ2gcSIX1P9b_l1LKDnX2RGtqNkeK8htV1YBIhpgU780rZGsvOhUfxXhEVjdWPlBYEPommH_mVNUhWgcmrxNMqtNs-pxHSSk0XXkxeM6KdprWw6IzdVvMEZKQnEAtncbWjCEZt1a34WuceA1xZ8X5WU1dI00euTEpWirnZhafTyve1amo-pt7kvFmkqjfAjlqlQmF_uWSn58xjwMKBIPLRZCx5p5CUmvgmcp_SjFEPNn_Nk0Lg4lE5W4FTr9UcM.Y4DVG_DEwPXmg5KkCVCNPrYSQBBBWQZrBl98D9Z8xeo&dib_tag=se&keywords=uk%2Bsocket%2Bprotector&qid=1760351328&sprefix=uk%2Bsocket%2Bprotector%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-9&th=1
PossibleSmoke8683@reddit
They make good little tables for Lego dinner parties
TechnologyFamiliar20@reddit
Good protection against sticking anything into the socket. Kids are fucking stupid.
LightninLew@reddit
My daughter played with our sockets from the age she could crawl and because we didn't make a thing out of it, she no longer has an interest in them at 18 months. Just watch them and make sure they don't do anything dangerous like pouring water or sticking things in, but otherwise draw no attention and they'll just stop playing with them. Been ages since she turned the TV off while we're watching it.
DrDaxon@reddit
I used to do electrical work, I’ve tried to convince my wife many times that these are unsafe… but we still have them in every single socket 😰
RealLongwayround@reddit
Any reason you don’t just bin them due to them being unsafe?
Friendly-Knee7677@reddit (OP)
Are you married? Sometimes it’s worth being electrocuted than being in the dog house
Outrageous-Iron8109@reddit
I'll never understand the pesudo-boomer-humour of not liking your partner. But, to give genuine advice, maybe examine and reflect on communication styles, particularly as this does relate to safety. Using sentences like "I'm worried that the situation is a danger to our home, can we work through that?", may be useful. If they're not and you're dismissed then it really is a communication breakdown and not sustainable for a healthy existance (IMHO).
RealLongwayround@reddit
Yes, not however to someone who cannot cope with intelligent discussion.
Huirong_Ma@reddit
This invention is an example of 2 steps forward and 3 steps back. It disengages the safety mechanism by shoving something into the top pin hole.
Cheek-Tricky@reddit
It’s safer not but o have them. It’s possible to turn them upside down push it in and open the covers to the live making it easy to get shocked
pjf_cpp@reddit
Cringe.
These sockets are electrical, not electronic.
Electronics is related to devices such as diodes and semiconductors.
Abwettar@reddit
Are these safe to use as dust protection does anyone know? Dont need to stop things from being shoved in the sockets, just want to stop excessive amounts of dust from getting in the holes from my pets (they make some much dust its unreal).
Assuming a build up of dust inside the socket could be dangerous?
AnonymousDonar@reddit
WIll just chime in. these are utterly awful idea.
UK plug format is shockingly (heheheh) safe.
Bar50cal@reddit
Didn't these fall out of use once plug sockets started coming with built-in switches?
WarDry1480@reddit
Current best practice is Do Not Use.
GreyStagg@reddit
I'm confused though by all the people saying they're unsafe.
Not arguing, just asking for more info.
I thought the point of rhe 3 pronged plug was that the top prong was much longer, and only by pushing the plug all the way in would the top prong open the "shutters" allowing the bottom two to connect to live electricity.
So surely, with these plastic covers, as long as the top prong wasn't longer, and was just the same length as the other two, then they wouldn't have any potential to cause harm?
Adversement@reddit
They are unsafe as they provide the perfectly sized key to bypass the built-in safety shutters in the socket.
If you insert one upside down just to the protective earth pin (which is easy to do even for a child), you gain access to the live terminal.
Picture from supposedly high-quality shutters used on a child play area in a museum... Note how the text on the gadget is also printed upside down, almost asking for the abuse.
MabazaRichie@reddit
The plastic earth pin isn't long enough to activate the terminal. And the child would have to the cut off the other two pins.
TerribleWatercress81@reddit
Much longer? They're all the same size lol
binbongbingbongbing@reddit
No they are not. Its literally the point of them.
GreyStagg@reddit
Oh ok, I thought the top one was longer for the reasons I stated. Thanks for the answer.
As a side note, can you believe someone actually downvoted me for asking a question? Apparently we're all supposed to magically know everything and if we don't then asking others to educate us is bad. 😂
Is it just me or do you think that's ridiculous as well?
wotsit_sandwich@reddit
Then the prongs would all have to be quite short and probably wouldn't stay securely in the outlet.
GreyStagg@reddit
Ah ok 👍
dazedan_confused@reddit
Quick question, what about water, or, say, a thin spike?
I know those are two things you don't want to give a kid for different reasons, but how do the plugs protect them from that?
Ttggmmm@reddit
These things are both pointless and dangerous. The uk plug has built in safety features which are damaged by theses devices.
You kids can’t put their fingers or any other thing in the socket because the live and neutral are covered until the earth is slid in.
andyofredditch@reddit
Genuine question. I am just learning now how unsafe these are! We have a 2 year old who likes to mess with everything he can get his sticky mitts on! So, would these be better?
https://amzn.eu/d/7HihrDo
robputt796@reddit
Arguably these plug protectors make a standard UK socket that meets the specifications less safe. BTW MK make a socket that goes beyond the spec regarding shuttering "MK Logic Plus". If your concerned about small fingers get an electrician to fit these.
kl00t79@reddit
Waste of money.
leftintheshaddows@reddit
If you want to cover the sockets to keep little fingers out try these as it stops them turning plugs off aswell.
MaxMouseOCX@reddit
In your "fuse box" you should have some switch things in there, probably two of them (one for upstairs one for down) that also have little blue buttons on them.
Those are called RCBO's (the ones without the blue buttons are Mcbs) and are there to protect against a few things, including shocks. An RCBO will disconnect the power to the whole circuit in around 30mS it takes you 50mS to blink.
The socket itself is shielded also, so you can't just put things into it, with these two safety measures and others in place it's functionally impossible to hurt yourself in a UK house now.
Obviousky definitely don't try it, but you can lay in a bath and drop a toaster in it and you won't die, that's how far we've come.
Lambretta-Man@reddit
It stops kids putting things into the socket . So yes
NoWayBruh_@reddit
UK sockets are the safest in the world. You're making it unsafe using these 'protectors'.
Cheffysteve@reddit
I am so glad people are understanding why they are not needed .
Santik--Lingo@reddit
the only “protectors” worth having for uk sockets and plugs are the little plastic ones that go on, and usually already attached to, appliances. in my home gym, i have a big standing fan, but during any other time of year that isnt the hottest part of summer, i always just out it back on and move the fan out of the way. anything to do with the socket itself, is pointless. safest sockets in the world
cbr_kitten@reddit
One of most useless things ever created
WittyBritishUsername@reddit
Completely unnecessary
killer121l@reddit
Parents buy them to stop kids sticking paperclip into the power outlet, problem is the kid not the socket.
NiceCunt91@reddit
Less safe. Our mains already have safety built in. The reason the ground is a little longer on our plugs is because it pushes open a guard preventing anything being put into the power pins. You would need to actually go out of your way to electrocute yourself.
EngineEar1000@reddit
Opening the shutter is part of the reason the Earth is longer. The main reason is so that the Earth is connected first, and disconnected last, for insertion and removal.
NiceCunt91@reddit
Yes that's pretty much what i said mate.
EngineEar1000@reddit
No, you didn't.
NiceCunt91@reddit
Yes, I did ☺️
WiseFloss@reddit
We used to have these. Then removed them when we were advised some poorly made ones could break off the Earth pin in the socket - this then leave the Live (and Neutral) holes exposed. Better to leave these out.
Wannabe_dogger@reddit
I hate these things ..... as an electrician they are so unsafe our sockets have a built in saftey function that you have to depress the earth catch before the live and neutral become accessible.... hence the longer earth pin amongst other reasons last to withdraw etc...... these crappy bits of plastic defeat that mechanism and IMHO should be banned.
FrankDrebinForever@reddit
Stupid sexy U.K plug protector
AgeOk2632@reddit
In my opinion even a basic white sticker over the socket not in use is safer than nothing at all so sure this will be perfect 👌
JohnJones1017@reddit
If it does the job!
Huffers1010@reddit
They open the safety shutters which are there to prevent things being inserted incorrectly in the first place. They are often so flexible that the earth pin can be inserted then the rest of the thing bent out of the way, keeping the shutters open and allowing things to be inserted into the live terminal. They are often the wrong size and some have been shown to damage the connector with the risk of creating a high resistance and therefore heating and an increased risk of fire.
What do you think?
UK sockets have safety shutters anyway.
bobo5195@reddit
UK sockets are admired for their safety. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abqMLqHwqpo
I think they give people a defeat device (earth pin) and make them more risky than having nothing there.
NoCan3822@reddit
Only good these things do are stop toddlers from sticking crayons down the holes
free_booter@reddit
No. They're actually dangerous as they open the plug up and allow fingers to probe the socket. Don't ever use them, and remove them if you find them anywhere.
LemonCollee@reddit
So I just leave the plugs blank? I'm in Ireland but we have UK plugs. I bought these because I have two year old twins. One has a plug right by her bed, I need them to be safe
No_Equipment6587@reddit
I work in a nursery setting and our care inspector doesn't allow these, we'll be marked down if they are in the playrooms
AdOutrageous1751@reddit
These actually bypass the second line of defence of the UK sockets
Icy-Train2130@reddit
I have one in the spare socket behind my milling machine to keep metal swarf out of the holes. It's 2 doubles, one for the mill one for the light and one for the dro, therefore one unused.
According-Ordinary-3@reddit
If you’re worried about uncovered sockets in your children’s room, don’t use these, use the ones that box off the sockets. Like these https://amzn.eu/d/9WZCSKx
Tommy6770@reddit
Put your wet finger in a turned on socket, Then try again with the protector. Let me know the results.
tightimagination1@reddit
Do not tred on these ! Worse than a real plug
ZeldaFan158@reddit
No reason to use these.
Jolly_Text_7740@reddit
There are some videos and explanations as to why UK plugs and sockets are good. Tom Scott did a short video about them and i know there are others out there too. This link is Tom Scotts video on you tube https://youtu.be/UEfP1OKKz_Q?si=e1PbQTrSynStTtIW
notminlum@reddit
england sockets are some of the best ones for safety id just say get rid of them
DragonTvBack@reddit
5 years using similar one. Nothing happend. Bunch of usles comment only.
Important-Pitch8483@reddit
Not safe, our plugs are the safest going but if your worried over the whole socket
ArcticSailOx@reddit
They’re an absolute con.
UK plugs already have a mechanism which prevents things being pushed into the holes.
andykn11@reddit
One of our cats sometimes pees in the sockets, trips the RCD and the freezer goes off, inconvenient when on holiday.
These prevent the pee seeping through to the connections.
TCristatus@reddit
Basically if a kid is messing with the socket, one of the likely things they'll do with this is jam it in upside down, opening the live holes. So that's worse than no protector
Powerful_Shop_1346@reddit
My understanding is that they're more dangerous than not using them
TivRed@reddit
Sounds like they’re less safe, I didn’t know that before. Is there a good way of keeping dust from getting in to exposed sockets?
Ant1292@reddit
As an electrician your better not using these. The line and neutral pins are shuttered as long as nothing is in the earth.
These get put in and because the earth is longer that one snaps off leaving them dangerous
ikilledacrab@reddit
Just leave it in the pizza box, mstr
TopRelationship7941@reddit
Stupid sexy flanders!
AirconGuyUK@reddit
They're more dangerous.
Cute_Bagel@reddit
no, they actively make UK plug sockets less safe
Alert_Elderberry3938@reddit
these are completely useless, they do nothing at all
671DON671@reddit
Putting this in makes a safe socket unsafe. Uk sockets are really safe already, the safest. To simplify: The two pins on the bottom are the dangerous electrical pins and the big long pin on top turns on the socket. The socket won’t put electricity out unless that top pin is pressed in.
And you should see if you look at the wall socket the bottom 2 holes are blocked. You can’t put anything in the bottom holes unless something is in the top hole. And the top hole doesn’t have any electricity supply. So having these in probably isn’t a big deal as they are blocking the holes but it’s essentially making the wall sockets live/turned on when before they would’ve been inert.
NuancedBook4890@reddit
Children will find a way to remove them, they are young but not compeltely devoid of intellect and the desire to explore
DOPEYDORA_85@reddit
No do not do it.
GallusTom@reddit
Feels like I'm plugging in nothing at all.....nothing at all....nothing at all
plasticmarketer@reddit
As a kid in the 80s, I got an electric shock when I was about 6 or 7 playing around with the electrics
I did it once, I learnt quickly not to do it again
Educational_Skirt_81@reddit
I saw a thing years ago from an electrician who said not to use them as kids can stick into the top pin, leave the others open, then it’s activated. I think that was the gist of it.
ThatBurningDog@reddit
Pretty much.
The way it works is that the earth pin is a bit longer than the live and neutral. There are shutters over both, which open when the earth pin is inserted, so without anything plugged in at all it is almost impossible to get electrocuted.
If you were to somehow get the "earth" pin of the plastic cover in and break off or bend away the "live" and "neutral", you have the shutters open and any metal objects going in and making contact could become live (assuming the socket is switched on).
It's a similar story with many extension cables. You can often turn the plug upside down so only the earth goes in, which opens up the safety gates. The strip is supposed to be tall enough that you can't do this but they're often not.
simulacrum500@reddit
I mean you can also use europlugs in a type g because they’re both 220 and pin compatible. Just got to lift the little cover with an insulated screwdriver and you don’t need a travel adapter.
K14_Deploy@reddit
Don't do this.
-While the pin diameter is the same, the distance between the pins is smaller on the Europlug. The Europlug is designed for this to some extent, however it can damage the contacts near the center of the plug.
-the pins are also round instead of rectangular, which can cause bad contact (round peg in square hole is really not ideal electrically). This combined with point 1 has been shown to be the cause of several fires.
-the UK typically uses 32A (newer houses can be higher) ring circuits for normal plugs instead of 10-16A radial circuits used in most of the rest of the world. As this is significantly above the 13A max current of the UK plug it has to contain a fuse, which the Europlug does not. That means a shorted cable would be far more likely to start a fire, as instead of blowing a 3A fuse in a properly rated converter it would be at full 32A (or higher) potential. This isn't quite as bad on an extension cord but still by no means safe.
Just buy a converter, they're not even expensive.
Prestigious-Speed-29@reddit
Please don't do this. The EU plugs have a wider diameter so while they'll make good electrical contact, they'll widen out the contacts inside the socket, so you'll end up with a bad/intermittent contact (high resistance, leading to heat buildup) when used with a UK plug later on.
simulacrum500@reddit
Negative both are 4mm specification. Not sure where you heard that europlugs are wider but if you check schuko catalogue radius of a euro=width of a type g.
Emyr42@reddit
The contact area between the round pin and the part of a plus that expects a flat surface will be small and may get hot.
Positive_Passion4817@reddit
Is you can insert a plug in upside down and open the shutters then the socket is not meeting the British standard. This is a common problem with single and multiple socket extension leads made in China.
tttkkk@reddit
What if a curious child with 3 forks puts one in earth first and then two others into live and neutral, though these things were supposed to prevent this scenario.
lost_send_berries@reddit
It's going to be very difficult to hold the shutter closed with a fork.
Now if you have a bit of plastic the exact right rectangle shape for the earth pin which is attached to a convenient large grip, then it could be easier.
Which is exactly what an upside down socket cover is!
tttkkk@reddit
Very easy, speaking from experience - having multiple EU plug devices and not enough adaptors.
JustUseDuckTape@reddit
Any child determined enough to grab a pair of implements and start prodding away is perfectly capable of removing the cover first.
tttkkk@reddit
I would disagree, most of these are pita to remove even for an adult
Academic-Gate-5535@reddit
FUN FACT!
If you turn a plug upside down and you can put the earth in on it's own, it's not BS compliant. As the BS is designed so that the plastic above the earth pin is too wide to fit the gap between the pins
caffeine_lights@reddit
It's the extension cable which is noncompliant in that case. (I think you know this but just clarifying in case others are unaware.)
Beware of made-for-export specials such as the brands you've never heard of from amazon etc, but older extension cords bought in brick and mortar stores sometimes have the same issue.
oktimeforplanz@reddit
I assume this is for the socket rather than the plug itself? I've got an extension on my desk right now that I can do this with! But thankfully, I have no children in my house other than cats.
Academic-Gate-5535@reddit
Yeah the socket size, the plug has to be a defined size to fit!
But if the plug can go into the socket upside down, nuh-uh!
oktimeforplanz@reddit
If I hadn't had this extension for like 3 years so far, I'd be inclined to go and have a moan about it. I have, however, just checked all my other ones in my office and they're all compliant, so that's good! That also explains why some of them felt like they were chunkier than necessary. I can now see that it's really obviously for this exact reason because they're just chunky enough to stop that.
SuperHeavyHydrogen@reddit
It’s the socket that isn’t compliant in that case. The plug pins are all the same but the extra height above the socket’s earth point prevents an upside down earth pin going in by colliding with the L/N pins. You’ll find a lot of cheap extension cables with very slim sockets that allow this.
You do see a lot of noncompliant plugs, mostly too small, often with a partially insulated earth pin that doesn’t actually make contact when fully inserted.
jamesterjlrb@reddit
BS 1363-2 to be precise. (It's not often I get to use my incredibly niche knowledge in this area, having designed a mass market BS 1363-3 product)
Academic-Gate-5535@reddit
Neat!
I only know this by my vague watching of electrical related Youtube, especially Big Clive. I just find his voice so soothing I can literally watch him for hours!
SuperHeavyHydrogen@reddit
The guys a national treasure fr
elbapo@reddit
They have to invert it upside down. Which is the ype of thing kids would do with them. But that does in all fairness render them only about as unsafe as a US socket is normally. You would still need to jam something in both positive end negative to recieve a shock. And the switch be on.
That said these things should probably be banned for being more dangerous than literally having nothing.
StereoMushroom@reddit
...just with double the voltage!
elbapo@reddit
Fair. But the switch has two settings on and off so an average of those two states is the same!
StereoMushroom@reddit
haha touché
spudds96@reddit
Plugging this in literally activates the socket
Tim2100@reddit
they are unsafer than having nothing in. UK sockets are safe with no plug in.
Laser493@reddit
When I was a little kid, I used to pull these out because I thought they were stupid. I would also switch off any unused sockets because off and without anything obstructing the socket was the correct way that they should be.
Xicsukin@reddit
These comments are the only place I have heard people say they're bad and dangerous. Other websites talking about child safety that I read in preparation for my child told me otherwise.
Better save than sorry imo.
twister-uk@reddit
These comments and the websites referenced by several of them, you mean...
You can choose to believe sites who claim to be experts in child safety, but who may well be no more educated in the matter than any of us - exactly how do you determine the qualifications of those who write such sites? Or you can choose to believe the decades of ongoing engineering efforts that have gone into the initial design and subsequent refinement of the UK plug and socket, something which anyone with a genuine understanding of electrical safety is able to appreciate as an exceptionally well engineered and intrinsically safe design.
Better safe than sorry means NOT using socket covers in UK sockets, that is literally the only truth in the matter here, and any site you find which says otherwise is quite simply wrong.
I-am-sosa@reddit
Just protect me from ur thumb
OutOfSight89@reddit
ThomasRedstone@reddit
As has been said many times, they're awful.
In theory significantly shorter pins could be used to cover the socket without opening the socket, which probably wouldn't be making things any worse.
But why bother?
Are plugs and sockets are perfect.
eedd220099@reddit
Completely agree with you I've always thought they made a socket less safe, and when my wife bought some years ago they went straight into the bin.
AbeFruhman@reddit
British plugs suck. They’re so big and stupid. Euro and even American ones are way smaller, and safe too. Fuck those ugly Brit plugs.
Discuss.
dglcomputers@reddit
Bin them in the fires of hell, they are not needed and are banned in all NHS owned buildings for a good reason. You can only stick something in the live pin of a correctly designed UK socket if either the earth pin is inserted or on certain older MK sockets by inserting the live an neutral at the same time (that MK designed was changed as it made it all to easy to fit a Europlug in to a socket which is quite dangerous).
Another issue some of them can have is that in order to be tight in the socket, so they can't be easy to remove, the pins might actually be a different size to standard ones, this will stretch the contacts in the socket out over time and could result in a loose connection, a loose connection and a high wattage device is a recipe for fire.
Why they are still allowed to sell them is above me.
I stomp on any that I see so they can't be used again before binning them.
Icy-Direction-852@reddit
These used to be recommended however safety advice has been updated and it's now recommended to use nothing at all.
Beneficial-Rough538@reddit
You are right these make it more unsafe.
is0mer_@reddit
Well, as a child (in the 1970s) I got hold of two keys from a suitcase. I pushed one into the earth and the other into the live to 'test' it. Maybe I was about 5, and I still have the burn marks on my finger. I flew quite a long way - twice. Nowadays, we have earth leakage detectors in consumer units, so I assume that would not happen anymore. I suspect as a kid I would have pulled off a cover. So, overall, they are probably pointless in the UK now. However , when I was a parent of young kids, we used them. An anecdote, rather than an answer!
Far_Section3715@reddit
These are lethal and should never ever be allowed to be used. Thing should be illlegal
nixtracer@reddit
They are (well, their sale is). But Trading Standards is wildly underfunded and doesn't have the resources to stop this sort of thing.
nukklear@reddit
Bin them. Some years ago, I pointed out to the kid's nursery management that these are dangerous and they shouldn't use them - they replied with something about national nursery guidance saying they should or something like that. Absolute dangerous nonsense...
dingo_deano@reddit
Insert it upside down. Tell me what you see
Barryburton97@reddit
No they're pointless. Don't know why they're allowed to be on sale at all.
banisheduser@reddit
People understand the reasoning why they're unsafe but absolutely refuse to even consider their uses or why some of the reasons for them being unsafe are a little far fetched.
Pugs-r-cool@reddit
what are their uses, exactly?
nixtracer@reddit
Electrocuting your enemies' offspring?
Barryburton97@reddit
Those things have utility, those plugs are placebo at best
Commander_Red1@reddit
No. They actually make it more unsafe
FewAnybody2739@reddit
They block the kids from sticking something into the earth while leaving the live and neutral accessible. They also remove (some of!) the temptation for kids to poke stuff into very visible holes. You don't want crayon in there, for example.
Obviously only works on younger kids who don't have the dexterity and strength to pull them out.
Legend_Of_Booman@reddit
I really don't understand why people buy them, when you get them free on delivery pizzas 🍕😉
Legend_Of_Booman@reddit
I really don't understand why people buy them, when you get them free on delivery pizzas 🍕😉
Hopeful-Counter-7915@reddit
Well seems like time to get them out of our plugs
Freakum86@reddit
As an electrician I have replaced more sockets because of the safety plugs than for any other reason. Just can’t dig the pin out sometimes. A standard UK socket is shuttered meaning without the earth pin being longer you don’t have access to the live pins. A uk socket is safest as standard
As you can see just about the bottom pins are blocked. Not the best example as these sockets have black gates
Goodrich-Digital@reddit
My son at the age of 2 looked at these and just pulled it out 🤷🏻♂️ Never bought them again.
Clbull@reddit
The only dangerous things about UK plugs are that stepping on them hurts like a motherfucker.
LovelyRita90@reddit
Today I learned
Argietroglodite@reddit
Absolutely not. They are banned in schools and nurseries for a reason.
MCRBusker@reddit
In nurseries they used to be required, until they were found to be a risk... better not to have them.
DjChatters@reddit
It is possible to poke something in the earth pin then something else in the live. These just cover the entire ug so the little kiddies can't poke things in holes as they do. Yes they make them safer to unknowing and curious youngsters, are they necessary for a fully functioning adult, I would hope not.
InflatableSexBeast@reddit
They stop heavier electricity from dripping out of the live terminal. If there’s a thunderstorm, the resultant electrical gush can weigh as much as two or three squirrels.
Now that’s scientific fact. There’s no real evidence for it, but it is scientific fact.
Jassuu98@reddit
UK sockets are incredibly safe; UK plugs in the dark are the worst, worse than lego!
sarahlizzy@reddit
They actively make the socket less safe. Don’t use them.
ElectronicBruce@reddit
Don’t bother, it’s a solution EU and American companies thought the UK needed, it’s not. If you are really worried, get a box that goes over the whole socket, but it really isn’t needed.
APithyComment@reddit
Do you have many people who lick plugs?
If it’s more than 1 then maybe use these.
lunchtime-stroller@reddit
I would have yes said until reading the comments on this thread. Turns out the weighted response to no maybe more accurate than 79 year old Roger from b&qs view was when I filled my house with these.
AlteringEnzics4Fun@reddit
Is this a joke?
Pedantichrist@reddit
They are less safe than nothing at all. Much less safe. Throw them away.
Sweet-Pay8539@reddit
No. Ask any competent electrician. UK sockets are already the safest in the world. They have a shutter system that prevents access to the Live and Neutral sockets unless a plug is inserted. By inserting these so called protectors you are opening the Live and Neutral so it’s dangerous.
IainMCool@reddit
Nothing at all. It actually bypasses one of the UK socket's best safety features.
SixtyNineFlavours@reddit
It’s more of a key to danger
inthepipe_fivebyfive@reddit
I read the last three words as Ned Flanders
HandofKhaine@reddit
You dont need them in the UK. As UK plugs already have a safety cover over the Live & Neutral, that is uncovered by the Earth pin.
Any child old enough to work out how to jam something in a UK plug, is old enough to pull out one of those covers!
AndrewHinds67@reddit
When I was a small kid, about 4 years old, I remember playing with a plug in a socket. I kept pushing it in, pulling it out, pushing it in, pulling it out repeatedly until it made a bang and a flash and it scared the hell out of me.
achymelonballs@reddit
Odd concept, let me insert something into a live plug socket that before I did this was completely inaccessible, now this safety idea has in fact made connections to the live system but we can call it a safety option so safety for children inspectors can ask for them to be fitted!!
apcyberax@reddit
Nothing is safer. The UK has some of the safest sockets in the world.. them devices open up the safety shutters and have been known to allow kids to stick metal objects around them. They can also be unplugged and in most extension leads and sockets plugged in upside down to open up the shutters and expose the live connectors..
Also bear in mind most UK homes have RCBO's or residual circuit breakers which will trip at the first sign of something being stuck into a socket that shouldn't be it's going to hurt but it might not kill.
I always throw them away when I see them.
realborislegasov@reddit
Meanwhile, your pizza box is sagging and ruining the toppings :(
WaveyDaveyGravy@reddit
A dangerous solution to a safety problem that doesn't exist
Odd_Cress_2898@reddit
I swear they only exist to take money from sensibly concerned adults that vaguely remember having them as a kid. Then the cycle continues.
I years ago bought some to prep for my nibblings visiting before I fully understood how the UK socket works. It was just what one did.
Good intentions and lack of general knowledge about household electrics keep those businesses going. It's just a waste of money and plastic.
Fuckspez42@reddit
This constitutes the very first time I’ve ever seen someone use the word “niblings” outside of a discussion on what collective noun to use for nieces & nephews.
Odd_Cress_2898@reddit
When your sibling has offspring without matching genders "niece(s) and nephew(s)" gets old quick :)
harbourwall@reddit
The problem exists in unsafe foreign inferior sockets, and solutions from there have been blindly applied to the UK by weasels who only care about profiting from other people's fears.
EveningHere@reddit
The Philippines have probably the most dangerous design I’ve seen. A US-style socket with no earth and 220V.
LochNessMother@reddit
I’d say it’s more the challenge of an globalised world.
In the states (or any other country that doesn’t have UK style plugs) these are absolutely necessary. It’s just that we have the safety built in. M
K14_Deploy@reddit
They're not just a waste of money, but a dangerous waste of money.
A properly working socket will cover the live and neutral when nothing is inserted. If it doesn't (for example of the sockets are old and the shutters no longer close), get the sockets replaced. The reason these are so dangerous is because they can be inserted as only the earth pin, which on a lot of sockets will expose live and neutral. Some sockets (particularly more recent ones) no longer open the shutters when only the earth is inserted, and so will not have this problem.
So yeah, completely useless is a best case scenario, with the worst case being an introduction of very real risks.
EdmundTheInsulter@reddit
It stops a baby going up to it and slobbering into it.
-blankfrak-@reddit
Nothing at all is safer. The UK safety plug is the safest in the world. Those things can actually introduce a hazard, especially if they are cheap ones. A child could potentially take it off, bend it and put it on upside down exposing the live socket.
virtualnoski@reddit
Ya nail is fucking clapped g
mekquarrie@reddit
I recall they were removed from a lot of hospitality/public bathrooms a few years ago. Something about the risk of the prongs snapping..?
mh1ultramarine@reddit
Of couse not, you can't execute yourself with a socket that's not there
OldAnalyst5438@reddit
Can someone more tech savvy insert the clip of Tom Scott here?
sgrass777@reddit
As long as your sockets are modern and have shutters on they should be fine on their own without these.
Steve_The_Mighty@reddit
For many years we’ve had a massive problem I. The UK with our plugs being too safe. Thank Christ these grifters came and provided a solution to that problem.
acezoned@reddit
Nope inside the socket are shutters on the live pins so you can't touch them
Having these in long term causes the shutters to stick open so when removed and not put back the live parts are exposed
Also kids have little fingers they can grab the edges more easily to remove them
pikapikawoofwoof@reddit
I thought these were to make sure babies don't stick anything in the sockets
Matt_Moto_93@reddit
Sockets are far less safe with these in.
Realistic_Sea_929@reddit
Yes Its safe . I can't get the fuckers out without a screw driver and when I do they lock again anyway .
Renso19@reddit
I did primary school cleaning for a while, and they always had these, which were not only annoying to keep track of when unplugging and moving my hoover, but some kid or teacher had a habit of taping them down, which was just uncalled for
So eventually I started hiding them in the cleaning cupboard after reading something like this
No one called me out on it even though it had to be me, because that would require admitting they were taped every day, as well as impossible to prove they were in my possession because even the head teacher doesn’t have a key to the cupboard because technically it’s not school property as were independent contractors
Nice to know what I read wasn’t complete bullshit
Driver_no_1@reddit
I think it might be safer if you have babies or toddlers around. If not , I think they serve no purpose
BurningmonkeyGTR@reddit
You can't have nothing at all because UK sockets are overbuilt beyond all belief and have a better version built in, all the inferior version here does is bypass the better version
phocuser@reddit
Depends on your IQ. If you're smart enough not to stick your fingers in it, you should be fine without them.
Mysterious_Bag_1819@reddit
They are more dangerous
SiteRelEnby@reddit
No, they are extremely dangerous. UK plugs are the safest design in the world. There are shutters covering the live and neutral that only open when the earth is inserted.
It is possible to insert one of these upside down into the earth, at which point you now have open live neutral/earth terminals.
Soap_Distant666@reddit
When I was a kid (in the late 60's & early 70's), my grandad would twist the wires from 4 sets of Xmas lights together, poke them into the L & N holes as far as they'd go, then pound the telly plug into the socket, where they'd stay for 2 weeks.
That was safer than these plug "protectors".
Genericc0ntent@reddit
Stupid sexy flanders
Interesting-Cash6009@reddit
These are to stop toddlers sticking their little fingers into the socket. Older kids understand not to do that.
The_Real_Giggles@reddit
No, these are actually way way less safe than just leaving them alone. The British plugs have an isolator which is open by the top pin
If you put this plug in there it's going to open that up and you're more exposed to what's inside of the plug than you are then if you just left it alone
British plugs also tend to have switches on the outside if you want the plug to be safe and completely off, just flick the switch
The UK plug is the safest plug in the world as it is, it was designed by a genius, you are not making it safer with a piece of plastic tat, quite the opposite
Grand-Professor-9739@reddit
For bonus points you can use a European plug on aa British socket by taking the guts out of a bic biro and inserting the plastic body into the top hole of a socket.
Purple_Monkee_@reddit
Nothing at all.
TedWasler@reddit
I absolutely agree with everything said here. I remember the Adam Hart-Davies campaign.
That said, I was a determined young child growing up in the UK 50+ yrs ago. I remember being fascinated by the 'shutters' that were raised inside the socket when the earth pin was inserted. So, sure enough, when I was about 8 I think, I opened the earth with one screwdriver, and stuck another one in one of the other two holes to see what would happen. Bang, flash, scorched socket, blown fuses in the fuse box, but I'm still here to type this. I have only one finger left to type with though...
Only kidding. UK can still be proud of a few things I guess, and domestic electrical safety is up there.
Less_Mess_5803@reddit
Never bothered with anything
Leading_Bumblebee144@reddit
Downright dangerous and should not be used. There are some good YouTube videos explaining exactly why.
Scrublington@reddit
Many other comments have explained why these are unsafe, I'll just add that I was recently in a museum which had these in all the sockets and one of them was snapped with the earth pin still in the socket and the live pins exposed. A real world example of the danger they cause
krappa@reddit
I thought these were put there to keep the product clean before being sold, and had to be thrown out after purchase.
delish_donut@reddit
You're thinking of the protective cap that comes on the prongs when you purchase it. These are to plug into the wall socket to try to prevent something being plugged in that shouldn't be. As you can see from the comments they are both unnecessary and unsafe.
krappa@reddit
Ah, alright. I've never seen these, then.
AdCharacter1715@reddit
Provided that your sockets are manufactured to the British Standard safety regulations for sockets then do not fit those. The sockets are safe enough without them.
CMDR_Arnold_Rimmer@reddit
Depends.
Having an extension lead on the floor will collect dust and that dust can short your equipment when used, I know so they are safer than not having any if we are talking about extension leads.
EngineEar1000@reddit
Only if the dust is conductive and the shutter isn't working. So yes, if you leave an already defective extension socket trailing on a floor in a metalwork shop that produces small swarf and filings, maybe it will make an infinitessimal difference. But that's a double fault condition, and pretty niche.
I would say your comment is unhelpful to pretty much everyone.
CMDR_Arnold_Rimmer@reddit
Fair, I did realise that after posting but I haven't bothered to wipe it.
Don't have to now.
SavageRabbitX@reddit
No need. The Standard plug and socket is perfection from a H&S standpoint
AdCharacter1715@reddit
It's not electronic, it's electrical
Additional-Guard-211@reddit
I work for children’s social care. We advise against them. Bin them immediately.
AdPale1469@reddit
no they are less safe than nothing.
Like bike helmets.
sloth_ers@reddit
Wut?
zonked282@reddit
I'm bracing for a wild explanation
AdPale1469@reddit
These plugs are worse than nothing. They are something for kids to play with, which they inevitably turn upside down opening the doors to the live wires, which is a bigger risk than having the wire doors closed.
Bike helmets are less safe than nothing because drivers take greater risks around cyclists in helmets, and helmeted cyclists take greater risks in the road leading to greater number of deaths.
Anybody with an anecdote like "my helmet saved me when I was riding down a hill at 35mph and I slipped and almost died" would not have had that anecdote had they not wore the helmet, why?
because riding down a hill at 35mph without a helmet is a stupid thing to do, so they simply would not have been riding down at hill at 35mph for the crash to occur. They would be riding down a safer hill at a safer speed or walking.
RealLongwayround@reddit
You know that many of us have ridden downhill at 35 mph without helmets quite frequently? And that helmets are not designed to withstand impacts at speeds above 5 mph?
independent_observe@reddit
You have decided, fuck science? Because scientific, peer-reviewed research has shown bicycle helmets save lives.
WillBots@reddit
Do you drive? The best way to make you a safer driver is to put a big spike in the middle of your steering wheel that's pointed straight at you. It makes you drive extra cautiously because if you crash, you're going to die. Give. Your thoughts on bicycle helmets, I expect you also have a spike of death in your car?
coreyhh90@reddit
The problem with bike helmet safety isn't that the helmet itself is less safe. It's safer than no helmet in cases of falls/accidents, and you really want it in cases of falls or accidents.
The issue is that the rider themselves and others around them, act/drive less cautiously due to the perceived notion that the helmet will protect the rider, which tends to cause more accidents.
One of those cases where the "obviously true" outcome ends up being false due to unforeseen external inputs.
Funny enough, similar problems were highlighted around arm and knee pads, but in those cases it was primarily the rider themselves being less cautious because they didn't get the same negative feedback from a fall or accident, which made them less cautious of falls. This would lead to an increase in falls where the consequences of more frequent falls outweighed the benefits of being protected from falls.
Car safety around seat belts, airbags, and auto controls like auto-break have similar problems that are constantly being researched on how to improve safety without causing people to be more reckless.
lilacarcanist@reddit
I'm assuming there's no issue with something that covers the socket but doesn't go into it? Like a plate lifts up
Responsible_Ebb3962@reddit
Electrician here. Plug sockets are already safe. Not only by design but any installation has to have multiple layers of protection to ensure safety to meet standards.
Cables have insulation on them and the electricity passes through a circuit breaker at the point of supply. Meaning that any strange disturbances or shorts caused by abnormal use of the circuit will likely cut the breaker to prevent harm and damage to the circuit. So the circuit is already safe to use.
Putting these weird things into the socket is not going to provide any level of protection whatsoever.
BloodyStupidJonSon@reddit
Completely unnecessary for UK sockets. They already have built in protection via the earthing pin on the plug. Access to the live and neutral connections is blocked until a plug is inserted.
realelcee@reddit
In terms of kids these don’t do shit, kids will just pull them straight out
Cyber_Pingu@reddit
If you are going to do anything for kid safety get one of the socket boxes that just fits over the top
Tauorca@reddit
Those only make the socket unsafe, a child can't get into the live or neutral holes on a real UK socket so putting this only give the risk of it breaking and been able to access to live and neutral sockets
Axiom620@reddit
In addition, if a child inserts one into the earth upside down they open the shutters in front of the live and neutral, making risk of an electric shock much much higher.
AlphasInsanity@reddit
The top pin is a safety pin. When thats engaged, when a pin push in. The bottom two pins become active. Please get rid of these. My mother law brought loads of these because we had a new baby. When an sparky came in to do our yearly check. He took them all out and threw them in the bin. He also told us how unsafe they were.
Primary_Choice3351@reddit
Never use them. They are dangerous. All UK sockets have shutters integrated but these can actually defeat the shutters.
See https://www.bs1363.fatallyflawed.org.uk/
(Yes the website is safe to look at, it's just a http site, not a secured https site).
natpoa@reddit
I like that you're decrying something as harmful because it bypasses built-in safety measures, while telling people it's fine to bypass built-in safety measures.
Albert_Herring@reddit
It bypasses added on safety features. HTTP came first, HTTPS just has an extra layer of encryption covering the live wires. BS1363 was safe from the start.
(But a good spot all the same)
Due_Tailor1412@reddit
Uber pedant here .. BS1363 was very safe from the start, but there was an issue that a VERY small child could put their fingers between the plug and the socket when it was half way in. So they changed it slightly to insulate the top part of the pin to make it EVEN SAFER than VERY SAFE.
caffeine_lights@reddit
I think the theoretical risk from this is more that something like a metal blind could potentially fall down behind the socket and become live. The dimensions of the plug are large enough to avoid accidental finger contact with partially inserted pins.
I've seen a picture demonstrating this somewhere but can't remember where now.
natpoa@reddit
There's a similar argument though that HTTPS was 'safe from the start' ha
Albert_Herring@reddit
If you think of HTTP as a round-pin plug I guess that's an arguable position.
Primary_Choice3351@reddit
Oddly enough, web browsers never used to "warn" people that a website is not running HTTPS until recently. It just means the data between you and the site is not encrypted. It was only recently that started happening, as most people online are lemmings who know no better. Given the website does not process transactions or personal data, there is no real risk.
danabrey@reddit
As a head of tech in my day job, this is absolute rubbish. Big warnings have been present in major browsers since at least 2019, and for good reason.
Most people online are not 'lemmings', they just understandably don't know as much about what HTTPS or HTTP means as you or I. They needed to be taught that HTTPS with a valid certificate, on a trusted connection, is the only way to protect from certain types of malicious attack.
PerrierViolette@reddit
The risk of a man-in-the-middle attack isn't just that it can read what you send, it's that it can also re-write what you receive. So it can inject malicious javascript into the webpage you're looking at. Browsers have become better at limiting how much damage that can do, but there are always vulnerabilities and it also depends on your browser settings.
I'm not saying the risk is huge, just that it's a misconception to say that websites don't need https just because they don't ask for your data.
lost_send_berries@reddit
But you can't trust a random website anyway. Unless it's an organisation you trust like gov.uk or your bank, the fact it's https isn't adding anything to a random domain.
Even with https, those issues you mention often come through ad networks and end up on ordinary news websites. I remember NYtimes and MSN.com having issues like that.
SuperHeavyHydrogen@reddit
One of these things can kill your child, so the maths
banisheduser@reddit
Not all sockets...
Jamwow12345@reddit
So can I let my 11 month old baby stick her fingers in the socket?
bryntripp@reddit
She can’t, as you’ll quickly realise.
One, chubby baby/toddler fingers don’t fit very well in the shape.
Two, the only one she can access is the top one, which is earth and which won’t shock her.
She would need to wedge something in the top properly, which opens the bottom live and neutral shutters, then get her finger in far enough in either of the bottom ones. Something that fits well - like a plug socket cover, for example.
If you have covers, try turning them upside down and inserting the top pin. You’ll see the shutters lift on the bottom two openings.
It’s just about impossible to do with a plug, but you’re providing her a tool to do it by having socket covers.
(Daughter of a spark and parent of a now toddler who has always had a love affair with the sockets)
EngineEar1000@reddit
Not either of the bottom ones. Only the live ('phase' to us pros!) is spicy in most installations. Neutral (the clue's in the name) is largely safe enough (in many, but not all) installations it's bonded to earth at the meter anyway.
I mean, I don't recommend poking about on any of the connections in an electrical installation, but I am a massive pedant, with autistic tendencies, and my life is a constant battle to enforce accuracy of detail, while not alienating the people I like to have around me (whilst also alienating those I don't like to have around me).
baby-or-chihuahuas@reddit
It would be much safer for them to stick their fingers in, than to use these socket covers. If you are really worried you can get these lock boxes that go over the top, but they are bulky and in my experience make the plug more enticing to a baby.
GreyStagg@reddit
I love the fact you wrote this clearly thinking it was an outrageous thing to say because the answer would so obviously be no.
But actually the answer is yes. Yes you can.
b-ees@reddit
yea
Primary_Choice3351@reddit
Well if they did' the inbuilt socket shutters would prevent their fingers from touching any live contacts. Naturally, if you are a responsible parent you would still discourage this behaviour.
Plus_Pangolin_8924@reddit
https://www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/ directly its HTTPS enabled. :)
potatan@reddit
JOHNNY BALL! That's all the convincing I need
mantolwen@reddit
Ah, this website makes me nostalgic for the early internet
m1bnk@reddit
Bare socket is safer
Former_Elk_7690@reddit
0 need for them ever
MercuryJellyfish@reddit
They absolutely are not. They unnecessarily open the gates to the live pins, and have a non conducting earth pin
SirPooleyX@reddit
I don't think they're meant to be used as 'protectors' are they?
I've always considered them things you put in inactive sockets.
LemmysCodPiece@reddit
They are death traps and I don't understand why their sale hasn't been outlawed. Also, electricians should be duty bound to remove them if they see them being used.
MuchDrawer6538@reddit
“Feels like I’m wearing nothing at all”
Short_Golf73@reddit
This is what I was looking for.
DevilishRogue@reddit
I remember an A&E doctor once telling me that they'd dealt with many more injuries from these, from sprained wrists to torn of thumbnails, than they ever had from electric shocks.
smith4jones@reddit
Plug is safer without,
copypastespecialist@reddit
No, they lift the safety cover for prongs
Chrelled@reddit
Useless thing, there is built in security and this white thing is just making the original security pointless
CharmingManUK@reddit
NO. They arw actually more dangerous. The UK plus socket is extremely safe
squigs@reddit
You're absolutely right.
It's possible to flip them and shove the top pin in (by bending or breaking), thus negating a safety element. Granted, the kid would have to do this, and switch the socket on, and shove their finger deep enough to get a shock, so it's probably not a major concern but technically they're more dangerous than leaving the sockets alone.
Vegetable_Leg_7034@reddit
It's not really about getting a finger into the live terminal.. a metal screw or toy with a small metal pin on it is the problem.. but yes never bypass the earth pin gate. Also current between the live and neutral, even across plastic... that's a fire hazard on it's own.
LastPrinceOfDarkness@reddit
Don't those belong in the top corner of your pizza box
Kwayzar9111@reddit
Young children can / could play with these and plug it back in upside down and thus exposing the live circuit and one little finger or something in the wrong hole…bazzzzttttt
-suspicious-badger@reddit
Not required generally as UK plugs are very safe, but very small kids can get their finger in, so wouldn’t hurt.
Colonel_Khazlik@reddit
They'll stop dust and debris getting in, however, opening the contacts with the earth pun it's less safe.
If you were going to turn off the breaker box and leave a house vacant for years or decades, yeah, probably a good idea.
I'm general? No.
Renatasewing@reddit
Local recycling centre has a box for hard plastics rather than landfill
Lassitude1001@reddit
You'd be better off having the covers I think tbh. Easy to fit and fairly cheap. They also still let you use the sockets at the same time.
MarrV@reddit
And make the plug more dangerous by bypassing the built in safety features that cannot be bypassed easily otherwise.
Lassitude1001@reddit
I'm talking about socket covers, not these pictured. Probably should have made that clearer.
Rexel450@reddit
Do not use!
WatcherX2@reddit
People saying this is more dangerous than not using them, how exactly are you envisioning something coming in contact with the live terminal when it's blocked with the plastic, non-conducting plug?! Are you planning to magic this out the way?
I would say it's unnecessary in the UK (on new sockets, some old ones are dodgy and stay open), but it's also not unsafe.
Asaxii@reddit
I am guilty of using these. My son’s first year of life was a tough year all round for my little family, and by the time he started crawling, he had already had two additional spells in hospital. I was over protective and despite actually knowing how our plugs worked, I bought a bunch of these and put them into the low reachable unused sockets. I just kinda pushed all common sense to the back of my mind.
I didn’t know how unsafe they were for being made out of non-flame retardant material, learned that today. Had removed them and left them in my cupboard for a while. Binned them now.
Sensitive_Meringue23@reddit
yes unless you tread on one 😁
cluelessLassie@reddit
If the socket is close to a tap, could these help protect against accidental spray? Or am I overthinking? I added one a couple of months ago, now wondering if I shouldn't have.
WafflingScot@reddit
I work in a nursery and we were told to get rid of them quite a few years ago. Reason being children are likely to play with them as they are fairly easy to yank off etc. never had an issue nor do we ever notice children going near the sockets
Mikeytee1000@reddit
UK sockets are intrinsically safe we don’t need these which make the socket more unsafe
thethirdbar@reddit
No absolutely not, they're totally unsafe for exactly the reason you've suggested.Get rid of them all. They just prey on new parent paranoia.
Tall-Nectarine-5982@reddit
Much more dangerous than nothing at all. The sockets in accordance with BS7671 are already fitted with a shutter system for safety. Throw this thing in the bin.
bedbathandbebored@reddit
Threads like this make my entire day.
Clear_Bit_215@reddit
No you don't need to child proof UK sockets as they already have shutters that prevent objects being put into the live sockets.
Chuck_The_Lad@reddit
They're pointless
TacetAbbadon@reddit
All this is doing is defeating a safety system to implement a less safe solution.
It would be like ripping the seatbelts out of your car because you want to use their attachment points to tie yourself to your seat using some rope.
ZakalaUK@reddit
As many have commented, UK sockets are way safer than most, however it's possible to defeat any interlock with enough stupid.
As someone who remembers the public information films of the 1970s, a foolish workman without a suitable plug can force the socket open with the wires wrapped around matchsticks (spoiler: he gets electrocuted). This, and the perceived inability of the public to wire up a 3 pin mains plug correctly, is the reason that all domestic appliances now come with moulded 13 amp plugs fitted and most, if not all, are double insulated.
However, I still expect someone somewhere has looked at a bare mains cable and one of those socket protectors and thought "I wonder..."
bennett346@reddit
They’re less safe because they defeat the built in safety features of the socket
Far-Display99@reddit
yep. as a wise man once said “if it aint broke, dont fix it”
Prestigious-Speed-29@reddit
If it ain't broke, I ain't fixed it.
helen269@reddit
"Ohhhh, wise guy, eh?"
:-)
EngineEar1000@reddit
If it are broke, I ain't fixed it.
ApexHeat@reddit
This is why I pay for Reddit
Comprehensive_You42@reddit
Wise WOMAN
/s
BadahBingBadahBoom@reddit
I use them not for safety reasons but to prevent dust etc going into the socket. That being said I've always cut off the top plastic pin myself before using to the cover never disables the earth protection cut-off.
potatan@reddit
This is the opposite of what is happening
fruitbaticus@reddit
This makes no sense.
Without the earth pin, the shutters won't open, and so you wouldn't be able to insert the other 2 pins.
The shutters also prevent dust getting into the socket, so what's the point?
sihasihasi@reddit
Agreed. Sounds like utter bollocks written by someone with absolutely no idea how UK sockets work.
nacnud_uk@reddit
These are worse than nothing.
Adversement@reddit
No. They are much, much worse than not having them.
You add no safety as the socket already has shutters for the dangerous live terminal (and also for the neutral return so the protection also works for mis-wired but seemingly working ones).
And, you add two huge new risks: That piece of plastic contains the perfectly sized tool to open these shutters. (The safe third prong of the plug is the key to the shutters.)
If the plastic piece ever breaks ... the shutters remain open if the third prong remains in.
Most of the time, such protectors are flexible enough to insert them upside down, which allows opening the shutters. A plug will not do this (well, other than for some extension cords that are too narrow to prevent it).
Attached is an example of (seemingly high quality) protectors used on a not-to-be-named museum in Midlands, on a socket that they deemed to be too reachable on child's play area. I was not entertained & decided to see if the point 2 applies even to this pair.
Note: If I would not plug the “protector” there would be a pair of plastic shutters covering the two terminals at the bottom! So, rather than protect the kids, they add the key to give the little fingers access to the dangerous end...
goldchest@reddit
I always wonder why there's no variant of this where the pins are only a few mm deep so it can fixed in place without actually opening the socket
PapajG@reddit
I wanna counter everyone saying this particular one is unsafe, these prongs (is that the right word) do not seem to be long enough to engage the earth hole safety to uncover the neutral and live below, this would simply sit in the plug as a cap and nothing more.
Ill-Ad-2122@reddit
So its plastic waste then, providing no benefit at all
NobleRotter@reddit
They are much worse then nothing.
UK plug sockets are not live until the top pin is inserted. Whilst the open holes look dangerous they are not live and therefore safe.
Pushing one of these in makes the whole thing live and ready to use. Much worse, particularly if one gets broken and exposed a now-live hole.
Bin them
Mysterious_One9@reddit
Uk plugs are live all the time unless they are switched. This only opens the safety mechanism to stop people poking things in the live or neutral.
TheCarrot007@reddit
Who has unswitched sockets these days?
I mean I fitetd 2 for washer and dryer in my previous house but I had a remote switch above the counter.
Probably should be banned as I cannot think of a good reason not to, including my previous scenario where having them on would have changed nothing about the remote switch.
MingePies@reddit
Also typically common on extension leads. Speaking of, if you have a shitty extension lead, the gap between the earth pin and the outer edge can be small enough so you can insert one of these socket protectors upside down into the earth, thus opening the shutters.
NobleRotter@reddit
Yeah, you are right. I think I veared off course a. It there trying to get the main point across. Might edit
General_Scipio@reddit
Grab a screwdriver and spend 5 mins trying to zap yourself without taking off the faceplate.
I mean don't do this. But actually sit down and have a think about it. You literally can't (obviously you can, but it's so unlikely)
Fragrant-Reserve4832@reddit
As an electrician. No.
There are guards in place to prevent anything from entering a live hole. Putting these in opens those gates and fills the hole, but if that top one breaks off, it leaves a very dangerous situation.
Uk plugs are safe, they are all designed to prevent little fingers touching dangerious bits.
Luna259@reddit
Zero reason to have these. Putting those in the socket then opens the protective shutters meaning the socket is now live because the live and neutral pins are now exposed and able to be touched.
Kenri_HYS@reddit
UK sockets are the safest in the world, very ugly and bulky, but safe
no need to put these things on
AlternativeAd1984@reddit
I’m glad I’ve seen this post as I’m literally at the stage of baby-proofing my house before my son starts crawling!
MasdenPlay@reddit
How I had it explained to me is that the top pin is a key that goes in the top keyhole. It pushes the electrified metal parts down to meat the two bottom pin that actually conduct the power and makes it live ln B.
That way without the top pin there is no electric parts to shock you in any hole. So kids are safer if they stick something in.
Those covers just give your kid the perfect shapes key to make sure the electricity is accessible to them.
Deadly.
In countries with just two pins and they’re always live these can help. In the uk they are a death trap.
Throw them all away. Even if it means an argument with your wife.
Joroars@reddit
Plug “protectors” are unsafe. Never use them.
But you’ve forgotten about the poison sockets! Poison sockets are full of poison! Switch them off!!
https://youtu.be/oXi35VowjMI?si=5fNILGHxRb6cIuut
Brave-Lifeguard-9712@reddit
I work in a SEN school, they're banned there. If the top pin breaks off inside the plug socket the terminals will be permanently exposed.
just_some_guy65@reddit
Pointless
Kubrick_Fan@reddit
Ask my feet in about a month and I'll let you know
tibsie@reddit
These are more dangerous than having nothing at all. You are giving a child a tool to defeat the shutters and expose the live terminals inside the socket.
Toddlers have the dexterity to remove these and put them back in.
Other countries need them, UK sockets don't.
Careless-Tradition73@reddit
I knew a person who had one of these but the bottom 2 prongs had snapped off leaving the 2 sockets at the bottom exposed for their child. They said it was okay because current only flows through the top prong like wtf?
Able-Thought3534@reddit
I live in Canada and we have unsafe outlets.
In a province of 16 million people there are 14 electrocution deaths per year, including industrial accidents and lightning strikes.
You don’t need plastic caps.
BoiledEggOnToast@reddit
The ones we have are so hard to get out that my boys don’t even attempt to mess with the sockets at all. Hopefully the same for you.
EngineEar1000@reddit
They're probably hard to get out because the pins are oversize and they've made your sockets more dangerous as they may have opened up the prongs inside.
This is not a sarcastic comment. If the connection inside the socket is degraded then the plug pins can heat up due to increased contact resistance. Not so much a problem with low power devices, but heavy loads (heaters, hair driers, large appliances, toasters, microwaves, and other things) can pull enough power to get hot enough to cause a fire.
BoiledEggOnToast@reddit
But after reading advice from others. We’ll be removing and throwing away!
Educational_Skirt_81@reddit
The risk is low, but you need to be a little careful removing them. The ones that are hard to get out, very tempting to fetch a butter knife for leverage but you shouldn’t lol.
BoiledEggOnToast@reddit
Great advice, instead of using a butter knife I used a pair of scissors instead. Way better to pry them out lol.
Land_Pirate_420@reddit
Use a plastic scraper credit card anything non conductive
ThatBurningDog@reddit
After catching me trying to stick a fork into the socket, my parents got these on all the unused plugs around the house. Not to be deterred, the next time I decided to attempt auto-electrocution I just grabbed a butter knife to prise them off.
So... yeah, maybe keep an eye on them.
BoiledEggOnToast@reddit
This is exactly why I just removed them, my boys constantly grab utensils and cutlery to pry things out lol.
TheNorthernMunky@reddit
I used one of these in my daughter’s bedroom, it’s worked very well. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BJ19ST48
tutike2000@reddit
I think UK people VASTLY overestimate the dangers of mains current. We don't have these in Romania, we don't even have sockets that cover the line and neutral terminals.
Heck until the late 90s we didn't even have grounded sockets.
Yet everyone is alive and well.
Left-Foundation-3289@reddit
No, they are dangerous. You are better off using nothing. UK sockets are designed to be safe due to the earth connection.
Informal_Reward5063@reddit
I find Childs fingers fit really well instead of those
henrydog12@reddit
There really dangerous because it turns on the plugmaking it so the House's electricity can short circit
YouCanShoveYourMagic@reddit
These devices make UK sockets less safe. Their recommendation is due to "safety" committees sheepishly following American advice for their own, poorly protected power outlets.
ExplorerExtra9152@reddit
Thesr are primarily designed do that very young children, who might see you plug plugs in atent encouraged to put other things into empty sockets, its very rare thst kids would fiddle with the sockets. Mostly they give comfort to 'nanny' to know they aren't going to do it behind their backs.
Thay said that one looks typically cheap, chinese and nasty.
Lewis19962010@reddit
Those things were a pain in the arse trying to get the back out of the socket.
MrAjAnderson@reddit
Unsafe. It is usually Duct Tape or WD-40 and in this case it would be Duct Tape over the socket.
Large_Department_571@reddit
Bin them and just make sure your sockets are not damaged.
Morg1603@reddit
El_Moochio@reddit
At best no different, likely a less safe.
Slight-Narwhal-2953@reddit
They're banned from UK schools as they're a bigger choking hazard than they are protector.
Capable-Mulberry4138@reddit
Short answer: No.
They are not safer than nothing at all.
Nothing at all is -better- than pluging those plastic things in.
Boggyprostate@reddit
I hear the great advice from electric guys, but they are saving us from a massive carpet beetle infestation in our new home! Somehow they are in the cavity walls and coming out of the sockets, so I have shoved these in every spare socket to stop them coming out! Treated for them all over the house but they were still alive and kicking in the walls. Exactly how unsafe are they? I don’t push them fully in, because they are hard to get out! Does this make them more unsafe.?
Majestic_Carrot9122@reddit
Utterly pointless, UK sockets have spring loaded shutters that don’t expose live parts until the plug is partially inserted and the live parts are blocked by the pins on the plug. Literally a world beating design
jbreaper@reddit
Most people have already told you about uk plugs being really safe, but I would like to add that you should double-check the shutters on your sockets. Some sockets have shutters that don't comply with the standards.
twopeasandapear@reddit
The sockets are safe themselves without them. My mum purchased some for her house and I asked her to just return them, she had no idea sockets are perfectly fine on their own.
I just teach my son that we don't play with them, and he just forgets about them. There's the odd day he wants to flick the switch, but again, I just tell him "no thank you" and he stops.
all_die_laughing@reddit
UK plugs have built in protectors
KaiKamakasi@reddit
All you're doing using these is providing your child a convenient way to engage the top pin and expose the live, ready and waiting to stick conductive items into.
Milam1996@reddit
I swear these things exist purely from American brain rot mummy content on social media. They serve literally no purpose and are actively harmful.
Ok-Way7122@reddit
They are purely manifested in the UK from the internet they were never available that I remember before the mid 90s
I remember seeing them at my friends house in the 90s and he said he'd bought them because someone was yapping about them being the most important thing to buy to protect your kids on IRC
We looked online on an UK electrical safety guide in the services section on HotBot (which I just found still exists) and lo and behold it was some sparky showing the horrors of using one and making a perfectly safe socket unsafe, people simply don't know how safe a UK socket is in comparison to nearly every other one in the UK
Grunn84@reddit
I can assure you we had them pre internet my parents had them in the late 80s and early 90s.
I presume the original use was for sockets in houses built before the 1940s that were not updated.
sayleanenlarge@reddit
They were around. I remember them in the 80s.
sayleanenlarge@reddit
I remember them from the 80s, so they've been around way longer.
HarMonocles@reddit
No, I remember my mum using these long before social media. A lot of useless to harmful things are marketed to parents because they FEEL safer.
DarkNinjaPenguin@reddit
My parents used them 30 years ago as well, but that's likely due to them themselves growing up with less safe sockets.
There's no excuse to use them nowadays.
HarMonocles@reddit
I completely agree, just pointing out that they aren't a result of social media as the other poster claimed.
It happens all the time, parents are told a new product solves a problem that it can't (and often problems that don't exist), preying on their fears.
FatBloke4@reddit
No socket covers meet the relevant standards e.g. BS1363 => It is illegal to sell or use them. Socket covers can fail in a way that overcomes the inbuilt protection of BS1363 sockets, thereby introducing a risk of electrocution where none existed. The plastic from which they are made doesn't meet the fire safety requirements of BS1363 => they increase fire risks.
Throw away your dangerous plug protectors right now
Socket safety – why do we use socket covers when they’re not needed?
alltorque1982@reddit
Wow, I'm 43 and had no idea about this. I had them for my children as I was sucked into safety features etc, but am really amazed that this isn't widely publicised.
I guess the new parent who is panicking is an easy target for marketing. I was one of them.
Deviant-Killer@reddit
Get rid of them. They make a safe socket potentially unsafe.
xxDeadEyeDukxx@reddit
Pointless and just become a hazard for my feet when they get left on the floor. Up there with stepping on Lego pieces when you aren’t prepared for them when crossing your sons bedroom battlefield at 2am in the dark trying to find where he has hidden his school uniform this time
sandieeeee@reddit
Yes, there’s no point in this and actually does make it more unsafe.
Tomm1998@reddit
This might genuinely be one of the most useless and pointless inventions ever created. They make a safe system unsafe
JustLinkStudios@reddit
They open the prongs inside the socket that are built in to protect it. Letting two bits of flammable plastic sit mm from melting electricity. I have no idea why or how these things passed any kind of safety certs.
mx20100@reddit
With the uk sockets it’s safer to not have anything plugged in. One can’t just poke one of the live connections in a socket. Without first having to poke the earth connection
CherryLime_Boo@reddit
No, nothing is better, I bought these when my baby started crawling then found out they make the plugs riskier for little inquisitive hands.
BCMM@reddit
Absolutely right. "Sticking a fork in the outlet" is a notion we've got from American media - you can't do that here. I mean, get an unplugged extension cord and try it; it's not happening even with an adult's dexterity, unless you know the secret.
The live contact in the socket is "active", in the sense that it's connected to the ring main, any time the switch is on. The earth pin mechanism doesn't duplicate the functionality of the switch, it just physically blocks you from getting at live and neutral. (Shine a torch at an empty socket -there's no shiny metal; just a plastic gate.)
The major problem with those socket protectors is that they provide a convenient earth pin-shaped tool while not being built to the same standards as a real plug. They're usually pretty flimsy, making it easy for a kid to break off the "earth pin" part. Forcefully inserting it in to the socket upside-down will do it, for some designs. A lot of them don't even cover the area that a plug is mandated to cover, do even without damaging it, you can just go around the side with something like a paperclip. The list goes on - there are actually quite a lot of important details to making a proper plug, and these things ignore all of them.
2521harris@reddit
As everyone with an ounce of sense knows, these things stop the electricity leaking out of the socket at night.
Not only does this save money (obviously) but also, if you have a well insulated house, the electricity can't escape outside to the "earth" and instead will collect in the lower rooms of your house.
Some people think that they exist to stop you putting your fingers in the holes but that's obviously nonsense - UK plugs have safety features to make this very difficult to do.
Pizzagoessplat@reddit
Wow!
I'd imagine them to be dangerous because they're making the plug socket think that something is connected when its just a piece of plastic making a perfectly safe plug socket live.
Why does your wife think these are necessary? Your kids fingers can't be that small
themcsame@reddit
Our safety standards mean there shouldn't be any way for a child to stick their finger into an electrical socket.
Everyone has already stated why, but as more 'ammo' Which? rather handily, put out an article at the start of the year
Specific-Sundae2530@reddit
It's safer to not have them.
TheDaveCalaz@reddit
... nothing at all... nothing at all... nothing at all....
Stupid Sexy Flanders!
fizzysmoke@reddit
I had these all over my house when my kids were babies. Never knew how bad they were up until now. If my kids have kids I'll be recommending they don't use these things. Schooled today
Vast_Figure1450@reddit
They are pointless , even if you could put your finger in the socket you could never get a shock because there would be plastic in the way. When you put the plug in it opens the connection, otherwise plastic is blocking the path . And obviously plastic doesn't conduct electricity
Proof_Team4642@reddit
Nope, very dangerous, biggest scam going for parents
77GoldenTails@reddit
These are some entrepreneurs way of making money out of risk adverse parents and milking their fears.
Snake oil and chocolate fireguards are also great purchases.
FelisCantabrigiensis@reddit
No. They are worse than nothing.
UK plugs already have moving shutters that shield the live and neutral connections if there is no prong in the earth connection. That's why the earth prong is longer than the others: it is to move the shutter out of the way and to connect earth before connecting power.
These covers make it possible to pry the cover off, breaking the plastic earth prong in the socket and leaving the live connection exposed to anything else poked in the socket.
They must not be used.
TheMadHistorian1@reddit
"Nothing at all, nothing at all"
pokemebiffinbridge@reddit
I'd like to thank OP for asking and those who answered, as I've learned something today, and have just gone and removed all of these that my wife put in a few months back.
FumbleCrop@reddit
They're a terrible idea – advice inappropriately transmitted from countries with poorly designed power outlets. UK plugs have good safety features, and the cover is a tool a child can use to bypass them.
Even overseas, I'm not convinced of the covers' value. I've seen a curious one-year-old pull them out.
Sufficient-Cold-9496@reddit
These need throwing in the bin, or recycling if possible.
Lots of reasons as to why they are dangerous, one of them is that over time they can damage the contacts in the wall socket which means that there could be a poor electrical contact between the socket and the plug resulting in overheating/electrical arcing and a fire risk.
Not only that, but the UK Wall socket has a shutter built in keeping the live parts closed off until a plug with a longer earth pin is inserted.
On top of that, not only is there a shutter in the socket closing off accesses to the dangerous live parts, the live/neutral holes were designed to be large enough to allow a sturdy enough conductor pin ( as part of the plug) to be inserted, but small enough so that a crawling baby couldn't insert their fingers.
The Whole socket/plug set up is massively over engineered, from shutters on the outlet sockets, the length of the wires inside a plug ( if the cord grip is broken and you forcibly pull the wire out of the plug the first one to be pulled out would be the live, then the neutral and finally the earth) to the plugs only having the tips of the live/neutral as bare metal, the end closest to the plug is insulated so that if you partially insert a plug you can not touch any live parts.
If you notice these in a professional/care setting such as at your child's/your relative's nursery or school or at your workplace you should bring it up as a health and safety concern and ask them to review their risk assessment and remove the dangerous items/devices
TheArduinoGuy@reddit
These are totally unnecessary. The UK socket is 100% safe and tamper proof.
Various_Artistss@reddit
Shocked these things still exist honestly
TerribleTadpole1042@reddit
These covers are literally dangerous by design! Do not use them. The type G socket and plug are the safest amongst those across the world.
That's about selling plastic tat.
nobodygottimeforthat@reddit
Why aren’t these made illegal?
rustyjoe1972@reddit
The only use these have is you can scatter them on the floor and wait for a victim to stand on one
thatlad@reddit
Every nurse of child safety class we went to said to get rid of these. You basically give a child a tool to defeat the tried and tested safety measures
Alcapina@reddit
Pointless - UK sockets require what we refer to as shuttered sockets. You need the top pin to open
Dranask@reddit
IMO they are unsafe. You’re giving a child a pkg they might pull out and by putting it back upside down with the top prong still in the top hole, they make the socket live for other things to be put in.
ThatGothGuyUK@reddit
Kids can shove them in upside down exposing the live and neutral pins.
None is better.
Embarrassed-Fault973@reddit
They’re totally unnecessary in the UK or Ireland, or anywhere that uses sockets that have built in safety shutters and are just adding risks that aren’t there.
The familiar BS1363 “13 amp sockets” we’re all familiar with have had universally mandated shutters since they’ve were introduced in 1947.
Basically those blanking plates are an adaptation of something used in North America and some continental countries that don’t or didn’t have universally shuttered sockets.
A lot of continental countries also mandated RCDs much earlier as their approach to safety, so shutters were less of a priority, but they’re a good safety feature in the U.K. design and have been adopted into European design practice more widely.
They can’t be approved as the product doesn’t exist in the standard so they’re made to unknown standards. Some use deliberately enlarged pins to wedge themselves in the socket, which in turn can damage the contacts too.
Key_Seaworthiness827@reddit
No. You should never put anything in a socket except a plug with the appropriate BS approval. These things are a hazard. They are not assessed against any appropriate safety standards and provide kids with something to fiddle with. The UK socket is designed with gates to blank the live and neutral, opened by the longer earth pin. Break one of these (and crap plastics do break) and the pin is a perfect fit in the hole which opens these gates and exposes live metal.
falafelspringrolls@reddit
I'd say no. The live and neutral pin have a spring activated shutter. Its very difficult to reach the live contacts unless the ground pin is inserted.
Also look at extension leads. Some are so narrow they allow you to plug the ground in with the plug upside down, thus exposing the contacts to the open.
Ziazan@reddit
They do make it a bit more dangerous, because it gives the kid something to fiddle with and something thats the perfect size and shape that, if you turn it upside down and put it back in, that removes the safety shield over the live and neutral terminals.
It's not that the live isn't active when the earth isnt in, but the live and neutral are covered by a bit of plastic by default, and that is pushed out of the way when you put the longer earth pin in the socket.
They can also damage your sockets by their pins being the wrong size, basically loosening the terminals inside, making your sockets get sloppy and increasing the risk of arcing due to bad contact, which leads to fire.
It's not really that likely to cause a problem, but it does increase the risk for no good reason, with the intention of decreasing it.
matomo23@reddit
They should have been banned from sale decades ago.
HanAVFC@reddit
Less safe not only for electric reasons but it actually encourages children to play with it because they try pull out, realize it's hard and because we've taught them to be curious and problem solvers, they try prize them out with tools. Which is really dangerous!
Seqqura@reddit
Complete waste of money.
4x6x8@reddit
The British type G - finest plug socket in the world!
Starlinkukbeta@reddit
Plenty of great replies. I’m not adding to the plethora of advice. Leave well alone
PistachioElf@reddit
They are unsafe. Best to get the protectors that are basically covers across the entire socket. Easy to install and little hands lose interest as it’s very fiddly and difficult to open.
Noctale@reddit
It amazes me that these things are still legal. The only thing they do is make sockets less safe. They're a hazard and a scam and should be banned.
Euphoric-Brother-669@reddit
They make a plug unsafe as it bypasses the safety features do not use
gothdoodreal@reddit
UK plugs are one of the safest designs in the world, partially due to plate which drops over the live and neutral when nothing is inserted into the earth. "Protectors" like these break or bend easily leaving you with a pin in the earth exposing the live.
GreyScope@reddit
When I was in school in a physics lesson I stuck a key in the live hole and got a shock because the earth had jammed in…probably because another stupid child had done something to it lol
Ok-Excitement3794@reddit
Helps keep the cheese from touching the roof of the box
DanLikesFood@reddit
I think I can remember seeing these in sockets in my GP surgery before they were understood to be unsafe.
TerribleWatercress81@reddit
I've never understood the point of these stupid things. Absolute waste of money. Teach your kids not to stick things in plug sockets instead. Everywhere you go won't have these.
Its_not_a@reddit
No quite the opposite. Of the top plastic pin snaps off in the socket, it can leave the safety gate open when the cover is removed.
DeezRedditPosts@reddit
Stupid sexy Flanders
InternationalGlove@reddit
Came here for this comment :)
twonaq@reddit
Having nothing at all is safer. Look up the design for uk sockets, they’re the safest in the world.
No-Extension7016@reddit
Stops you putting anything in The holes gotta be better than being able to
quite_acceptable_man@reddit
UK plugs already have this feature built in. You cannot insert anything into the live and neutral sockets. When you insert a plug, the earth pin moves the little shutters out of the way. It's why the earth pin is longer
fullmoonbeam@reddit
They are shite, you don't need them
MarvinGankhouse@reddit
The socket is always going to be live, you can't switch one off and it already covers the sparky side unless you stick something in the earth hole. Putting that thing in is about as safe as not putting it in so it's basically unnecessary and might be worse. Whatever Chinese injection moulding megafactory who made it is subject to much less strict safety standards than the company that made the socket.
Visible_Account7767@reddit
These allow children to bypass the safety mechanism inside the socket. With these socket covers you are basically giving children a piece of a puzzle that allows them to electrocute themselves.
If a child inserted this cover upside down, ie the earth pin at the top but the other 2 pins of the cover above the earth. They have just deactivated the safety covers and are now free to insert anything into the live pin holes.
I hate these covers and have been successful in getting them removed from my sons school nursery after explaining what I've said here.
TheLightStalker@reddit
Their sale in the UK should be illegal.
the_duke_of_mook@reddit
Stupid sexy plug socket.
West-Ad-1532@reddit
No is the best protector for children having mishaps with electricity... Educate your children...
Lynex_Lineker_Smith@reddit
The only ‘ safety ‘ feature is that it stops little kids jamming forks, knives or other things into the socket .
quite_acceptable_man@reddit
The sockets already have this safety feature built in though. It's why the earth pin is longer - it moves the little 'shutters' out of the way to allow the live and neutral pins to enter the socket. The British plug and socket is an absolute genius piece of design.
NitroDion@reddit
They are a waste of money and basically a scam preying on less knowledgeable parents who want to protect their kids because the live pin sockets have a cover over them that only gets pushed down when the ground pin is inserted into the socket
oompaloompagrandma@reddit
British plug sockets are designed according to the BS1363 standard, which is without doubt the safest, and most over-engineered, plug socket in the world.
The reason why one pin on plugs is longer than the others is because there's a physical block in place of the two live pins. The longer pin activates the mechanism that moves the block out of the way, and then the live pins can pass.
So to electrocute yourself with a British plug you need to insert something in the ground pin to push the block out of the way, and then something else through one of the live pins, making it a two handed and rather fiddly job.
The plug already has an incredible safety feature built in. There is zero need to use anything like this that bypasses the plugs own in built safety mechanism.
AshaAsha123@reddit
They're more dangerous. UK plugs have like shutters on the live connectors which are opened by the earth pin. The shutters stop things from being put into the socket. The plastic covers aren't particularly strong so could be broken by a kid playing and then put back on wrong opening the live connectors.
Digital-Sushi@reddit
Completely pointless and arguably making the socket more unsafe by bypassing that safety system built-in to the UK plug socket
Academic-Gate-5535@reddit
It actually degrades the safety, it opens up the "Gates" of the Live+Neutral pins.
You can accidentally snap the earth pin off and leave it lodged in the socket. Meaning that it's always open (Happened to two of the plugs in my house due to the shitty plastic earths on DC PSU's
Which_Ride_3770@reddit
Don't eat them....may cause choking
Arbycutter@reddit
You shouldn’t bite your nails
RevenantSith@reddit
These are dangerous.
If you insert these into a plug, it opens the shutters on the two live mains ports.
juanito_f90@reddit
They’re less safe than a standard socket which has live and neutral gated.
Marble-Boy@reddit
If you had nothing at all, you wouldn't have plug sockets. :/
Potential_Try_@reddit
No, do not use them. The plug socket is designed to be safe, the top most ‘peg/pin’ for want of a better word. Is longer and does the job of opening the socket below for the live and neutral pins.
Heypisshands@reddit
They are there to stop a stuipd kid sticking their fingers in or sticking something else in. They are are a great idea for protecting young kids.
Chris935@reddit
Kids are already unable to stick their fingers in, until you provide them with one of these things and they use it to defeat the safety mechanism.
ElegantOliver@reddit
Not correct. Read some of the other comments - these make the sockets less safe.
Abject_Ad3773@reddit
Absolutely evil. Worse than treading on Lego.
frankbowles1962@reddit
You are correct, these open the live pins so they make the socket less safe
CodeToManagement@reddit
Nope. Uk sockets are the safest in the world
If you look at a plug the earth pin is longer then the others. Earth being pushed in opens safety barriers in the live and neutral connectors in the socket.
The danger with these is kids pull them out turn them over and push it back in defeating that safety
shingaladaz@reddit
Proven unsafe. Daft really.
gorgo100@reddit
Not only is it unnecessary and unsafe, you've introduced another caltrop-style thing you can step on in the dark in your house. Bin it.
louietp@reddit
Absolutely UNSAFE. UK plugs are the safest in the world, using these “protectors” make the plugs live and dangerous. Throw them all away.
c0tch@reddit
I fail to see what this achieves for safety
ArcTan_Pete@reddit
the live and neutral are covered, until you put the earth pin in, which is why the earth pin is slightly longer.
if your children are prone to manipulating the plug, by sticking things in it, then the cover may have some small use. Personally, I would consider them 'over protective' - like wrapping your child in bubble wrap and making them wear a bike helmet before taking them to the playground
handtoglandwombat@reddit
No, the earth pin on our plugs is longer than the other two because on its way in it pushes a latch that opens shutters across the other two holes in the plug. It’s the safest design in the world. For a kid to electrocute themselves they have to shove something into the top hole and then shove something into the other, which is extremely unlikely for them to figure out on their own. Leaving these lying around is just extra perfectly sized pins that can be shoved into holes, more dangerous imho
WolfX20@reddit
It is widely recommended not to use these for UK sockets.
The bottom two holes on a UK sockets are closed until the top prong goes deep enough in. These open the holes that are otherwise sealed. For a child to get a shock they would have to put something in both the top hole and one of the bottom ones.
DevSiarid@reddit
The UK type G plug is regarded as the safest plug in the world so you don’t need plug protectors. Often these plug protectors makes the plug unsafe as it can damage the shutters and leave them in an open position.
One-Program6244@reddit
Aimed at protecting young kids when they're at the age of randomly sticking things into holes. In theory they can work. Put it in upside down with the earth pin inserted and the live pins below it will be exposed.
plymdrew@reddit
No, UK sockets are designed so that even very young babies won't be able to fit their fingers into the holes.
BlockBadger@reddit
Means it’s one more step of complication to get a metal object stuck in the live. But may increase interest in the socket in the first place.
I loved playing with them as a kid, the protector that is.
Ginger_Tea@reddit
Our sockets are safer by design, so this might be a good product in other countries, it's either a waste of time or could be broken or put upside down revealing the dangerous part.