Ilan, Note that the socket outlets in most of Europe and unpolarized, meaning they are connected in random. UK and Switzerland are the exceptions. Therefore there is no reason for the CEE 7, SS VII plug to identify polarity. Somewhere in the standards you will find a clause that requires two fuses to protect against earth faults, IF the earthed wire is not identified. The scheme most manufacturers use to aviog using two fuses is to protect the mains circuits with double or reinforced insulation. In these cases the fuse is necessary only to protect against overcurrent caused by faults in the load circuits.. Lou Aiken, LaMer LLC 27109 Palmetto Drive Orange Beach, AL 36561 USA tel ++ 1 251 981 6786 fax ++ 1 251 981 3054 Cell ++ 1 251 979 4648
----- Original Message ----- From: Ilan Cohen <mailto:[email protected]> To: Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 7:56 AM Subject: Safety of Schuko CEE7 plug (earthed plug) in Europe? Dear Group I have been looking into the usage of the Continental European Plug also known as Schuko CEE7 plug (earthed plug). It can be inserted into the Wall socket without a way to ensure that line is connected to line and Neutral to Neutral. http://www.interpower.com/scripts/wsisa dll/WService=panel-icl/p80list2.p?w_country=Continental+Europe It presents a technical problem with products, which are protected by one fuse. Typically a fuse is installed in the Line in any product. To be really safe there should be two fusses, one in the line and another in the neutral. Does anyone know the actual regulations in Germany or other countries that started adopting these plugs regarding the number of fusses in the product? There is clearly a safety problem here, which is not being handled properly by safety standards like EN60950 (ITE) or EN60335 (Home appliances). But in the other hand it will be an overkill to request two fusses for products entering the EU (Germany, Italy...) ---------------------------------------------------------- Ilan Cohen Technical Director, Safety & Telecom Divisions I.T.L (PRODUCT TESTING) Ltd. 26 Hacharoshet St, POB 211, Or Yehuda, Israel. Tel 972-3-5339022, Fax 972-3-5339019 [email protected], website: http://www.itl.co.il ------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------- I-SPEC: The best place on the internet to learn about safety !! http://www.i-spec.com/ (I-Spec is provided free of charge as a service by ITL to the compliance community) -----------------------------------------------------------------
