A useful source:
https://worldofsockets.com/
The UK plug is over engineered and looks like something from a steampunk universe, but I think it’s the best plug overall.
this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2025
631 points (97.6% liked)
Ask Lemmy
33731 readers
1450 users here now
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com.
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
G.
The plugs are shuttered, so they're protected from being stabby-stabbed. The plug's prongs are sheathed so live metal is never exposed, negating the need for recessed sockets. Compared to recessed plugs, it takes less force to insert/remove them, but the oversized prongs and their triangular arrangement means it can safely withstand more lateral stress than any other plugs. Every plug has a fuse appropriate to the appliance so every device has appropriate protection while also allowing any device to be used on any outlet - no need for dedicated outlets for tumble dryers. And the plugs are traditionally right-angled, so once they're plugged in they only protrude about a centimeter, making it easy to plug things in behind furniture.
The whole 'every plug has a switch' thing is bullshit, though. That's just weird.
The whole 'every plug has a switch' thing is bullshit, though.
There are way too many devices that will light up an led the moment you plug it in with no way to disable it.
So you can turn it off without unplugging it. Some devices say “unplug after use” eg. toasters, but instead just switch it off. Good for decorative lights, blenders, cats
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(2 replies)
Fun fact; even though China and Australia both use Type I plugs - they aren’t actually fully cross-compatible, due to differences in the thickness of the metal prongs.
China’s are thinner, so they hang somewhat loose in Australian outlets - and given they are less likely to have insulation around the plug ends, are a relatively common fire risk.m
On the other hand - Australian plugs don’t commonly fit into Chinese wall sockets due to their girth (giggitty), and often require the use of a power board or travel adapter in order to work.
Type E and F plugs are not really a thing anymore, today it's more common to find combined Type E/F plugs.
Fuses in british plugs are a mistake and only a requirement because of sketchy practices allowed in british electrical code immediately after WW2. Nobody else does that because nowhere else electric code is built in such a way that it is necessary. Switch seems to be mildly useful tho
load more comments
(16 replies)
any of the ones with a ground, i'd say
I recently bought a house built in 1942. Not only did all the power receptacles lack a ground, they had all also been wired with reverse polarity, and for good measure the lower receptacles in all the outlets had been partially blocked by baseboard radiators added a few decades later. Since each room only had one outlet, I had visions of masses of extensions cords and plug expanders somehow not burning the house down or electrocuting anybody.
Fortunately these outlets had all been fed with MC cable (the kind wrapped in a flexible steel sheath) so it was possible to fix and ground everything properly with new receptacles without having to re-wire the entire house.
load more comments
(2 replies)
what's type D, ??
As someone who lived in the UK, the British one is far too chunky, especially in an age where most devices don’t use the mandatory earth pin (which is mechanically necessary to open the shutters in the socket). The one place it has an advantage over Europlug is in aeroplane seat sockets and such, where it stays in more firmly.
Having said that, the Swiss and Brazilian ones manage to get earthed connections into a slender footprint (the Swiss is compatible with unearthed Europlug, not sure about the Brazilian though it may be smaller). Apparently the Brazilian socket was proposed as an international standard by the IEC, though only Brazil adopted it.
load more comments
(21 replies)
The Europlug is designed to be compatible with [Types C, E, F, and K]
load more comments
(2 replies)
Which ever outlet that allows me to stick a fork in them.
Type-M, as I live there. Very convenient, all pins round shaped
If you're a fellow South African, check out the South African sub
For safety, the BS1363 (UK, type G) is by far the best.
-
It's fused. (Seriously why the hell aren't all plugs fused!)
-
Live and neutral can't be reversed.
-
Holes are gated (so no kids sticking spoons in).
-
High capacity, 240V at 13A gives 3kW of power.
It's only real downside is its size.
Fusing plugs is completely unnecessary. The only reason this is done in the UK is because of old janky circuits only used in the UK.
load more comments
(3 replies)
Type E/F carries 16A/230V, and nowadays there are shutters included which only allow two pins to be inserted at once, not one but not the other. There's no standard as of which pin should be L1 and neutral anyway, nor it should matter, and fuses in british plugs are to accommodate ring circuits, which were introduced as a result of copper shortages (ie decades of tech debt)
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(7 replies)
Italy WTF man? Also fuck Type H!
the weird looking holes are just to make it compatible with two sizes of plugs, so really it's just the best wall socket
load more comments
(1 replies)
Even tho I live where type F/C is common, I know that type G is the best. Reason is that ground pin always connects first and disconnects last. This is an ultimate way to make ground pin.
Also, type F/C and some other types sometimes doesn't have ground. There is literally not a single type G plug/socket without a ground. Simply safer.
Type G can also be ungrounded (the grounding pin is just plastic)
And type F (and E and K) are also made so that ground is always connected first and disconnected last (when they are grounded).
What makes G somewhat better (and why the ungrounded plugs has the plastic pin) is that the holes for the living room live wire are closed by a shutter that can only be removed by a lever in the ground hole.
load more comments
(6 replies)
Appreciating the UK's plug (type G) is the closest I get to feeling patriotic.
Type E is inverted in the picture.
Type J is superior in every aspect. -compact, you can fit 3 plugs into an outlet while Type F only fits one for example. -robust. -cannot reverse polarity. -no fuse required as the law requires proper fuses in every electric installation with law enforced periodical checks. -round pins that cannot puncture your skin if you step on them. It's hard to face the pins upwards anyway.
load more comments
(3 replies)
This diagram doesn’t do the utter goofiness of type M justice.
Here are a few styles you will come across.
load more comments
(3 replies)
The type I grew up with.