> 1. Is it true that plug adapters similar to those used by tourist are
> not legal in most countries?
Back in 1991, when we were still part of IBM, I looked at getting a power supply
that would have an attached linecord with a CEE7 XVI(2) "Europlug" plug on it
for Europe. For the United Kingdom and other countries that use the BS 1363
plug I wanted to use a plug adapter like you describe. Our Product Safety folks
looked into it for me, and after a couple of weeks said that they could not see
any way to get BSI approval of such an adapter for a permanently-installed piece
of equipment. So we wound up putting an IEC-320 appliance inlet on the power
supply and using standard linecords. I have not run across anything since then
to indicate that plug adapters are legal for anything except temporary use.
For the Lexmark Marknet XLe External Print Servers we got around the need to
ship with nine different linecords by putting an Appliance Inlet/Outlet on the
XLe's power supply and shipping a jumper cord with the unit. This IEC-320 C13
to IEC-320 C14 jumper cord had UL, CSA, and HAR (European Harmonized) approvals
so it was accepted worldwide. The customer would "steal" the linecord from a
nearby printer and plug it into the XLe's appliance inlet, then plug the jumper
cord into the XLe's appliance outlet and the printer's appliance inlet to
provide power to the printer. The Appliance Outlet plus jumper cord cost us
about $4.50 in large volumes.
For the Lexmark Marknet Pro External Print Servers we now have a universal power
supply with a "Y-cable". The Y-cable has an IEC-320 C13 female plug on one end
and an IEC-320 C14 shrouded-male connector on the other end, with the power
supply picking off its power at the junction of the two cables. The Y-cable
serves the same function as the Appliance Outlet-jumper cord do for the XLe.
This is a much less expensive solution, but took almost a year to get through
all the safety agencies.
> 2. How many different adapters are required to be stocked to handle the
> various requirements for plugs and safety approvals?
We find that nine grounded-plug styles cover us worldwide:
* UL 817.21 (NEMA WD-1 5-15P, US and Canada).
* AS 3112 (Australia).
* BS 1363 (United Kingdom).
* CEE7 VII (Schuko, Europe).
* SII-32 (Israel).
* SEV 1011 (Switzerland).
* SABS 164 (South Africa).
* CEI 23-16 (Italy).
* AFSNIT 107 (Denmark).
For a 2-wire (double-insulated, Class 2) product the CEE7 XVI(2) Europlug could
take the place of the CEE7 VII and SEV 1011 plugs.
> 3. Would you please identify them by the countries that use them? Or,
> is there a good on-line source for this information?
I believe that the most authoritative information on AC power to be found online
is Panel Components Corporations'
http://www.panelcomponents.com/guide/guide.htm
They also have a free catalog, Export Designer's Reference & Catalog #9, which
is a superb reference for anyone concerned with worldwide power requirements
(plus they offer some very fine products). You can get a catalog by calling
them at (800)662-2290 or (515)673-5000, or E-mailing them at
[email protected].
Some other websites with international primary-power-voltages/frequencies/plugs
are:
* http://kropla.com/electric.htm
* http://www.walkabouttravelgear.com/wwelect.htm
* http://www.fele.com/empd/tech/fe-power.html
* http://www.thomasregister.com/olc/interconfig/
* http://www.thomasregister.com/olc/interconfig/icipg4.htm
* http://www.thomasregister.com/olc/interconfig/icipg5.htm
* http://www.quail.com/intcords/
* http://www.quail.com/locator/index.html
* http://www.computerac.com/IPC.html
* http://www.teleadapt.com/web/Catalogue/Index
John Barnes Advisory
Engineer
Lexmark International
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