I like that! Aussie plugs are really nice.

It's pretty standard to have all your lighting control wires go to and from switches here and not ceiling roses. Hence the Loop termination. Saves going into hot dusty loft spaces.

From what I understand, the piggyback plugs were taken off the Australian market because some fool fitted a male plug on the other end of the piggyback cord and plugged that end into the mains, which meant that the pins on the piggybacking end were left exposed. The bloke touched the pins, got shocked and died, which resulted in their ban. I think they're permitted again, with the proviso that they must be manufactured entirely as a single molded unit, with plugs and sockets fitted on both ends of the cords.

Great video. good to see familiar stuff.

I am a electrician myself here in The Netherlands. All the boxes and outlets are made in Germany. At leas what we get. Our Wires are made in Germany as well if I am correct. And the Pipes we use are made somewhere in the EU (doesnt say where I assume Poland) other items we use are mostly made within europe as well. Sockets and plugs are the standard european. In Europe there 2 main standards. What I call the normal type and the Belgium/France type. The main difference is that the normal ones have 2 tabs on the top and bottom of the plug and socket for earth. The Belgium/France type has a pin inside the socket which connects to a hole in the plug for earth. This type is also seen in Poland if I am correct. Most EU countries these days use the normal type. Sometimes even mixed. While I was in greece in the hotel we had 2 types of outlets. regular european ones, and a outlet with 3 holes (center hole is earth) There were some outlets in the room where we had that type. I don't know why they still put those in but I guess the normal EU type wasn't a standard to put them in. Allthough the 3 pin plugs have round pins right next to each other and the pins arent sleeved. soo if there partially inserted you could fry yourself. Well over there they don't care that much about electrical safety... I have seen weird stuff over there.... I saw a junction box opened. I could see the wires which were twisted together and insulated with electrical tape...

What a trip down memory lane ,Iwas an apprentice and tradesman toolmaker at PDL through 80s and 90s so several of the 22, 56, 500 and 600 series switch gear had my name on the mould and press tooling. PDL is/was a GREAT NZ company. Clipsal and HPM our fierce aussie competition until all acquired in the early 2000s by schnieder electric. The old PDL 1960s 22 series bakealite switch gear is a bullet proof design still present in lot of NZ homes, its not surprising that you had no examples of its successor the modern looking 200 series, this range looked all modern with sharp edges an square look but its switch action was poor and always prone to wear and jamming, neither on nor off. The 500 and 600 series set things back on course with improved function and contemporary looks and the essence of these 20 year old designs is still evident today.

Great video JW.. I am an electrician here in Australia and enjoy your videos.. we are lucky that here we share the standards with NZ with some mirror differences that are outlined in the rule book..

Good to see some plugs I recognise ;)

The Australian and New Zealand socket format is based on a design patented in 1916 by Harvey Hubbell II, who also designed the standard US socket. He intended it to be an improved version to replace the US power outlet, and it has similar dimensions. However, it never caught on in the USA. The Australian government apparently chose that design as it was much easier for local manufacturers to stamp out the relatively thin, flat pins than the solid brass ones used on UK plugs (which was the old round pin standard at the time, still used in India).

Hi JW, i think your Videos are great, i only discovered them about 2 weeks ago, think i have watched them all now...hope you keep them coming....Fred Nr Chelmsford, Essex...uk.

My grandfather was a electrician so remember seeing most of these. The fuses where usually mounted on board and you had to make up the fuse box yourself. The socket with radio connection was I think TV (New Zealand used VHF) and this was the type of wire used to the TV aerial. Clipsal was a good brand and one of the light switches the actual switch unit pops out. Unlike the UK Aust/NZ don't have fused plugs so everything went back to the fuse board, fun days of tripping appliances. The wiring cable was far superior have all insulated cables but pulling though stud work was harder, remember it being a stiffer cable.

Those clear "soft" plastic shells on the back of the plugs are an absolute pain to actually fit on the plug/socket.

I like the way you keep viewing the plugs upside down, understandably as the UK plugs are that way. Note our AS/NZS standards say live is to be clockwise from the earth pin when looking at a socket. This holds true for your standards too.

One big advantage of U.K. Twin, or Triple, plus Earth cable is that the bare Earth wire can be used to strip back the outer sheathing very quickly. Start with a short cut, grab the Earth wire with pliers whilst holding the rest of the cable in the other hand, and pull. Thanks John. Very interesting.

The socket with extra antenna outlet was for old Band I TV, which used a 300R ribbon feeder down to the set. Only later was a coax cable with the familiar Belling Lee "UHF" required, as this was transmitted on a sub 300MHz varrier. Beware of the Clipsal, the 10A rating is very optimistic, here in SA the same style but with SA outlets will melt themselves at under 10A continuous, though that could just be them being the cheapest thinnest brass you can get.

Just in case anybody is curious, PDL was a New Zealand founded company (plastics and diecasting limited) that has since been acquired by Schneider Electrics, and a lot of other brands Schneider have acquired (eg Clipsal) go under the PDL branding in NZ now. Its still around and is quite ubiquitous. Similarly, HPM is an Australian company that has been acquired by Legrand, though not sure what it stands for. There were a few other brands featured in the video, like Arlec and Deta, but these are cheap and nasty stuff, the "home brand" of Bunnings, a home improvement/hardware store. Most electricians refuse to work with them for fittings and switchgear.

The mounting boxes were held to the wall studs either by screws or often a couple of nails. The ribs were for spacing. The nails often used before the gib went up and screws if a flush box was installed after gib installation by sliding the box inside the hole and then screwing to the stud.

Had a good giggle for 21 and 22 at 16:31 They're intended to be mounted 90 degrees anti clockwise to how you held them. So basically vertically with the ground towards the... well... ground. If I remember correctly the thinking, or at least the rumor, is so that if a plug is working its way out unexpectedly the last thing to lose contact will be ground as it's being pulled down.

Interestingly, the AU-/NZ-style of plug & outlet was actually invented in the US. It was the first grounded (earthed) type, patented. When encountered today (sometimes in laundry rooms of really old houses), electricians often refer to them as "crowfoot" plugs/sockets (due to the shape made of the three pins, viewed head-on).

For number 22 the socket at 16:20 the damage to earth was likely caused by a bent earth pin. In commercial buildings professional cleaners would often bend the earth pin on vacuum cleaners, floor polishers or similar equipment portable equipment to help the plug stay in while they worked. Over the years this would gradually damage the earth on the socket with broken plastic and poor contact for the earth pin similar to what you saw on that socket. It is quite a common issue.

The slots on the multi board are opposed so as to prevent it falling off the wall by being bumped into, one would have to deliberately lift one end to slide out the other.

lots of goodies!!

Hi John, Massive fan of your videos. Also glad to be 1st liker and comment of this new video with Newzealand stuff.

Those piggyback or pass-through plugs are quite common in New Zealand, especially for things like heaters that, presumably, will be tying up an outlet long-term. Being Canadian, I was a bit surprised: The only place you see those in Canada or the US is on strands of Christmas tree lights, whereas in New Zealand, Christmas tree lights with piggyback plugs just... well, they didn't exist when I lived there, but I moved away 20 years ago, so... Also, the New Zealand and Australian standards for electrical goods are harmonized.

Very interesting selection/products, evolution in domestic fittings. Great channel.

Video Suggestion: I would love to see a comparison between different AC wall outlets/sockets and their plugs from around the world, and an apples to apples comparison for quality safety and overall design. I also as a bonus would love a pros and cons on them. If need be I can assist, but I am not sure how needed/wanted/trusted that would be. I just hate asking things of people and not offering some sort of help.

The number 9 plug is a plug for older shaver, it is some thing that is no longer a thing that is used. However the plugs still exist so they still make them.

excellent video and very interesting to see what happens on the other side of the world regarding electricity. do you still have any of these? I need an aussie socked and extension cord for a project.

20 amp is common for cooker / oven circuit. Common amp ratings are: 5 A lights, 10 A Sockets, 15 A Heating / Hot Water.

Interesting JW seems to present the outlets as EARTH pin upper.... like the UK plug. Australia/New Zealand the earth pin is down-most.

300Ohm Ribbon was standard for TV in Australia and NZ into the late 80s.

Hi John. Big fan of your videos. Also nice to be the 1st person to like and comment on this new Zealand new video.

Part No. 2 is called a "tapon" and the switched tapon had an extra rivet visible from the pin side and was as you say used for plug in thermostats and time switches as well as remote "off/on" switches. Part No. 21 was manufactured in the immediate post war era probably in Australia or the UK as I don't recognize that style from my apprenticeship days starting in 1966. It may have been a Neeco (National Electrical and Engineering Company) brand. Part 28, 2 "dolly" or flush-plate screws were 6/32 UNC thread, as were all PDL terminal screws and mounting screws, ie 6 gauge, 32 threads per inch (American) Unified National Coarse. I used to own an eight sided flush plate screw driver, manufactured by PDL in zinc diecast, embelished with PDL where you could see it. Part No. 27 are the extra long screws for use with mounting blocks and pattress boxes, again 6/32 UNC. Part No. 30... you finally got it, a TV antenna and power socket! That mounting box (Part No. 30) with it was designed especially for it with the power cable going through the round entry at the top and the ribbon cable going through the oblong hole. The cable needed to be twisted several times before fitting to reduce interference on the TV signal. Part No. 43, the brown fuse holder and base had a finger and thumb grip on the side of the fuse to allow for safe removal. In New Zealand, we wired the live terminal to the top terminal of the fuse base and the trick for not getting "plated" was to pull down on the top part of the fuse holder until it became disconnected and then removed it from the base by holding the sides of the holder. In all my time as a sparky, I never got a shock while removing or replacing a porcelain fuse. The circuit breaker, Part No. 44, will fit into either of the white porcelain fuse bases without any modification. They were usually sold as a pair to identify the circuit breaker base so you wouldn't try to fit a porcelain fuse holder in it by mistake. Home owners did try... believe me. Part No.46... yes, we had the twin with a bare earth wire, post war when raw materials were scarce but you missed the most important fact about the three insulated conductors. The two outermost conductors are the earth and the neutral, nick either with a knife or saw and you live to tell about it... and replace the piece at your expense.

Re. the two-pin plug @ 7'34" yes, they are illegal, & yes I have two in regular use. My stereo amplifier is a Luxman L45 & has two mains sockets which mate perfectly with the two-pin plug. A lot of amplifiers made in the 1980's has this arrangement. Naturally I added an earth connection to the screw terminal on the rear of the amplifier to keep things safe:)

The same type of plug is used in Argentina, but I believe the polarity is reversed there. It could also be found in the U.S. in the past, and old ones are occasionally found on sale as a Non=NEMA design, but these are rare. I have seen a duplex outlet with one of this type for grounded use and a standard NEMA 1-15 R for ungrounded use. The same two angled pins, but with a round or U shaped earth pin are also used in the NEMA 7-15 for 277 V single phase use. These are also rare, the main use for 277 V over there is for large discharge lighting installations in industrial and commercial premises with a 480/277 V three phase supply, and these are not normally fed with a plug and socket.

Shrouded sockets came in around the late 90s I believe and insulated pins in the mid 2000s

have you ever done one of these types of videos based around the US, Canada, Mexico power setup/systems?

"Frequently supplied with Chinesey style products...." haha love it

I note that the brown piggy-back adaptor at 2:38 has a recess around the earth pin for easier location when used blind. UK supplier Scolmore has a development of this idea, intended for the visually-impaired, in their Mode Locating Plug Socket (sic): www.scolmore.com/products/mode-locate/

That 300 ohm ribbon outlet is for TV. I have never seen one used for radio aerials. All TVs used the 300ohm ribbon until they were replaced by 75ohm coax and then the F style connectors. FM radio, although frequently listened to, was never wired in permanently for aerial in NZ houses. FM was never really considered to be a high quality radio source that was listened to often. Very very early on you might have found radio aerials wired in but that would probably have been 2 individual, usually metal, terminals - one for a single wire aerial and the other for an earth connector. I probably haven't seen one for 40 odd years. I haven't seen a 300ohm connector for 40 odd years either. You may still come across them in old houses 50-80 years old. Any 300ohm ribbon in a working house would probably have been upgraded to 75ohm coax or more likely F connectors by now.

there is alot of scary 4way adapters here in new Zealand basicly tinfoil contacts and if you instert it slightly on a angle it bends the contacts

The good thing about this system of plug is that the active is always the left side. Neutral is the right pin. You can not connect active to neutral although it is AC The bad thing is they always break. We use these ones for outdoor use on extension leads or power tools. You need to always fix them.

The combined single socket outlet , with aerial socket was intended for television, common in 1970's

One other thing, in any fixed cable above 1.0mm² the cores are stranded, not solid, we stopped using solid wires in about 1995, they are a lot easier to work with, especially 2.5mm² and trying to terminate socket-outlets.

10:56 I hate the cable being connected at that angle as they always seem to be angled in the wrong direction when I am forced to use one. When we built our house I drowned the place with double and 4 way outlets (126 inside and 8 outside) so I would never have to use a powerboard/powerstrip again. I had 22 (increased to 28 later) outlets in my office and the second thing I had to plug in I needed to use a powerboard. So frustrating. Have had to add a further 16 outlets in the house due to additional devices that didn't exist or were very expensive that we didn't then have. Still need to add a few more so I can finally get rid of extension cables. 22:55 is for a TV as you initially surmised. While I have never seen that cable used for a radio it doesn't mean that is was not used it for that purpose. 30:36 This cable was the style that we used to make at the Associated British Cable factory in Christchurch in the early 1980s so it is a tad old as you thought.

Gah, stop holding the plugs/sockets upside down! It just looks wrong. Bloody pom... :P

The slots at (11:20), are verticle and horazontal so that the power board can be hung on a wall either way around, if they were both the same you would need four holes or two different mouldings. It must have been cheaper for Bart to send you his shitty old rubbish than to pay the council dump fees.

Re. the slots @11' 18" these make attaching the power board to the wall the work of the devil incarnate! You measure carefully, screw in two flat headed screws leaving just enough shank to allow the heads to lock into the back of the unit, press the side one through & slide it to lock it in place then jockey the vertical one in the same manner. It's odds-on it will still look slightly askew & will forever wobble:(

It's interesting to see the wall sockets have retained their US origins (as the three flat-pin blade design was from 1915 US of A), and looking at them they retained the same dimensions as what is still the current US NEMA standard, you could probably have US and Oz/NZ sockets & switches side-by side, if you really wanted to of course (handy for them Airstream caravans though!)... :)

The same style plugs are also available in 15A 20A 25A and 32A. The 15A plug has a larger earth pin The 20A has larger all pins The 25A has a L section earth pin and the 32A has a C section earth pin All plugs can fit in sockets with a higher current rating so it's all good to plug your 10A appliance in a 32A circuit. It's normal to see 15A appliances get their earth pins filed down to fit a 10A socket 😀

Old video I know, but I am curious about the Earth on the side of the cable as an Australian, I have never seen that, is that a requirement over there? I am guessing its to keep the active conducter more sheilded or something?

the power bord that has 4 outlets holes in back are for mounting to a wall

Pliers can ensure the US/China style pins fit just fine in an NZ/AU socket (seen it done a fair few times :S). The powerboard/multiboard cut out is a good idea given Australia does not run individual plug fuses and the general public have a habit of not understanding high current devices and using these boards liberally (although we do have the circuit breakers in the distribution board so in theory these would trip if there was any issue and there was not a cut out. The one thing I would like to see borrowed from UK electrical safety is the internal covers (John called them shutters) over Active and Neutral that are released by insertion of an earth plug. Sadly this will probably not happen as in NZ/AU like in the US two pin plugs are used when there is no earth connection so any socket fitted with the covers would be unusable by nearly all two wire equipment (in the days of plastic, and power supplies 2 pin is more common then three with earth). It is very rare in NZ/AU to find a plastic earth pin or pin without a wire in it unless it is the make your own plug style shown earlier in the video (often with the soft plastic cover). Screwdrivers are the biggest risk from idiots, smallish pins and the angle do seam to inhibit stupidity a little. As a compromise, some powerboards have started to introduce internal covers over active and neutral but they are not locked out like the UK. Yet to see anything else bother to date like extension leads or wall sockets You actually got sent a unswiched wall socket, I have not seen one of them in many years. Very rare with almost all wall outlets in the last 40+ years (probably far longer) having switches but only the more up market powerboards have them and no feed though plugs or extension leads have them to my knowledge A shame you were not sent any 15Amp gear, As you probably worked out by now, most of NZ/AU equipment and circuits are 10 Amps. 15 Amp plug is the same Active and Neutral pins but a bigger earth to stop insertion into a 10 amp socket.

Very interesting

Where could i find address? I would like to send you some American electric gear for your review

very interesting

ok thanks,got what i wanted thanks

The un-insulated 1 mil and 1.5 mil lighting wire had a bare Earth wire until about the mid 1990's unless you paid extra, now you haven't got the choice. They are all insulated.

Our 1 mil twin and earth had bare earth conductor in the center, until late 80's-90's

Switch up, power on? Are the switched upside down in southern hemisphere?

awsome dude that sent it in is from chch

8:03 Rated 15 Amps? Suitable only below 6 amps or below 1870 W. Also Kopez brand replaceable US plugs in the Philippines rated only at 220V 2 A as it labelled across the plug. Below 440W.

cores are blue/brown green as well as ones that you are showing

Interesting. I was expecting a bit more details tho, about cables and internal construction of items.

In several comments there is mention of "ring" wiring. I am American and haven't heard of this. I am guessing that it means that there are only a few (or just one?) circuits which go to many outlets. This "ring" would have a breaker at the switchboard which would protect the whole circuit for the capacity of the wires. This capacity would be greater than most (all?) of the individual outlets, so therefore the individual fuses in the power plugs. In the US there are usually many more individual circuits going to few outlets each and with a breaker for each circuit. The wiring is sized for the capacity of each outlet with the breaker sized for the wire size for each circuit. A typical circuit would have outlets rated at 15 Amps, #14 wire, and 15 Amp breaker. This typical circuit would have 1 to 6 outlets, depending on the expected load. If a larger load is anticipated, then additional circuits, with their own wires and breaker would be added. It therefore seems to me that the difference in UK versus US wiring is that the UK system has to have the individual power plug fuses to protect individual outlets from the excessive power available on the ring circuit. The US system has lower powered, breakered circuits for just one or a few outlets. The advantage I see for the UK system is that each connected device has a fuse appropriate for that device. It would also probably have less wiring for the same number of outlets. Do I have this close to right? I have never heard of "ring" circuits. If I am right, then a lot of the yammering about how great those hockey puck sized UK outlets is leaving out a large part of the story.

Makes perfect sense that a thermal breaker would be required on multiway sockets there, as there's no fuse in the plug, there's nothing in theory preventing you overloading the socket (Unless the sockets are all on 10amp radials?)

Australia, NZ & China use the same Plug standard, US & Taiwan share their same plug standards

22:50 - In 1970, TV aerials in Sydney, NSW used 300 Ohm ribbon cable. Whether it's still used or not would be interesting to know.

On that clear plug it looks like you are supposed to wrap the individual wires around the front for strain relief, is that really so? I've seen clear australian plugs before, they don't trust anybody! ;-) That switch is tiny. I hope you will do more countries, this was very interesting. When you are through you can wire each room in your house with a different country!

That chinese adapter had three inputs but only had 2 prongs. Scary considering electrical devices that need to be earthed aren't earthed. Why the hell did they put the earth input?

THAT 2 PIN PLUG AT 6:52 IS WHAT WE HAVE IN CANADA ABD THE U.S.A. AND MEXICO 15 AMP 125 VOLT WALSO HAVE A 3 PIN TYPE AWTH A ROUND EARTH

Is the size of the earth conductor the same size as the live conductors, unlike the embarrassment of UK type twin and earth?

I noticed that the sender made mention (but didn't physically include) the PDL 40A interrupted phase tap-on, a very difficult item to come by! I put some pictures and information about them up here: tech.mattmillman.com/an-ode-to-the-pdl-40a-interrupted-phase-tap-on-plug/

I would like to know what the current rating of the final circuit for those 10A sockets is. As there is no fuse in the plug, a rating of more than 10A could result in dangerously high short circuit currents. Yet it seems highly doubtful that more than a small number would be wired into a 10A radial. I think in the USA the 110V sockets are in the form of 20A radials.

Plug #9 falls under US/china/Canada standard pinout, no idea where they got the 250V rating but we do allow up to 20A @ 120V on those pins in the right scenario :)

The reason our uk cable changed from white to green and yellow on the earth wire is electricians couldn't tell it was white if it got stained or dirty so it was easier to use green and yellow. correct me if I'm wrong :D

New Zealand sockets don't have shutters, the ports are small enough you can't accidentally stick your fingers in, and if you have kids in this country you get what is called a safety outlet plug, its a little white plastic plug that is entirely smooth and requires a plastic key looking thing to remove, the tension of the sockets hold it in rather firmly

When it became evident in 1999 that, within a few years, a new European Standard would require the use of the colour blue (rather than black) for the neutral conductor of fixed wiring throughout Europe, it became necessary for the United Kingdom to address the cable colour issue with some urgency. The joint BSI/Institution of Engineering and Technology committee now responsible for the technical content of the Wiring Regulations (BS 7671) established a Working Group to consider the position the United Kingdom should take with respect to the harmonisation of the colours of the conductors of non-flexible cables for fixed wiring. The Working Group concluded that the United Kingdom had no realistic option but to agree to use the colour blue for the neutral, and brown for the phase conductor of single-phase circuits. It also concluded that, due to the widespread adoption in the rest of Europe, the United Kingdom would have to accept black for one of the other phases of a multi-phase circuit. The Working Group also considered that there was a need to be able to distinguish between the phases of a three-phase circuit and decided to propose the colour grey for one of the phases, because, of the very few remaining pan-European colour options, this seemed to have the fewest disadvantages. The Working Group’s recommendations subsequently formed the basis of a United Kingdom proposal which was accepted by the CENELEC countries almost unanimously. Europe now has the opportunity to fully harmonise the colour identification system not only for non-flexible cables for fixed wiring, but also for flexible cables and cords and distribution cables.

7:58 That's a standard NEMA 5-15 unpolarized plug. It is indeed fitted for 15 amps. No idea why it was in New Zealand.

I've never seen an export only plug on NA imports. I suspect it's because a common design allows economy of scale.

Cool, so I don’t have to buy a new charger thing if I ever go to nz

***** The flat blade style plug at 7 minutes in is also used in USA/Canada/mexico/japan. 40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_md4pzonkK31rk07lxo1_1280.jpg

Although you can plug in two 13amp appliances into a socket using those uk double adaptor plugs its no different than having a double socket as a spur which is allowed. (I never understood why that was allowed any ideas?). In fact I would say the adaptor is safer as you can see what you are dealing with where the layperson would not know if a socket was part of the ring or a spur. Am I missing something.

The investment in U.K. Electrical design post WWII is obvious when compared with the rest of the world. Some may say that the UK has over engineered their designs, however I would argue that thoughtful proactive accident prevention, always outweighs statistical reactive requirement .

This must be christmas to get this

could you do more chea Chinese electronic items please

Aren't the plugs fused?

HOW COULD I GET THESE FOR MY COLECTION

half of the products are from Australian companies but our laws are a bit relaxed compared to other countries when i was working as a telecommunications technician you would see some dodgy stuff!

You should see the (very) cheap Chinese-imported extension cords and multi-outlet boxes that are sold in our consumer retail chain stores. They're garbage!

With all NZ Wall sockets for domestic use (10 or 15 amp), the earth pin is at the bottom -- NOT the top.

In BRD we uses plugs and sockets there are not polarizated. That is a realy bad idea. Most divecec have a switch they use only one wire. For fuseing the same. So the divice is switcht of but under full potential. If the fuse blow the device is even under full potential. Another bad thing is, lamps they used a edison socket can get main voltage to the large metal ring. So it is possible to tuch mains even a lamp is in the socket.

DETA Is a Chinese clone of Clipsal!!

5 amp lights,10 amp heatponts 20 amp heatponts 30 amp stove

I did not know that Australian/New Zealand plug prongs were actually sleeved now. They are very similar to the plugs in the United States so it would seem to me that our plugs could be sleeved as well. I have not heard anything about making our plugs sleeved, and it's doubtful they will be sleeved any time soon. As you might know, Americans are an arrogant people. There is a major push to deregulate everything so things will probably just get even more dangerous.

China share our plug standard too, hence our plugs all come from there nowadays!!

Changing a main panel ceramic fuse required turning off the main switch, only fools didn't.

That #9 plug looks North American.

exprt enterprasis my work sheet metal

When will others realise that there AC outlets are terrifying and they should switch to BS 1363.