Question About Southeast Asian Wall Warts

[attrayant]

No, it's not a disease.

For those unfamiliar, "wall wart" is the term given to the power supply for a wide range of consumer electronics devices, especially portable ones. It often contains a small transformer and can be quite heavy.

Now that we've got that out of the way, I have wondered for some time about the odd design of some wall warts I've seen throughout Southeast Asia. Pictured here:

Some of them have a built-in plastic "standoff" (encircled in the picture) between the prongs and the body of the device. This seems to serve no practical purpose, and it often frustrates my desire to keep the thing securely plugged in. This is doubly aggravating when you consider how poorly some power sockets are built, where the plug isn't securely held in place and it's often impossible to even know if the prongs are making contact. Quite often the thing falls out of the socket due to its own weight. Without this additional stand-off, at least the device might be able to hug the wall and gain some support. Instead, I often find myself propping up the weight with my mobile phone or any nearby convenient object.

What is worse, electrical outlets here are often surface-mounted, meaning they already protrude from the wall 5-6 cm. Adding the additional protrusion from a plugged-in power supply, and you've got a recipe for disaster as passersby are constantly knocking the thing out of the socket.

Anybody know what the purpose of this additional chunk of plastic is? Not all power supplies have it. I just bought some Netgear switches and they have a very low profile, wall-hugging design. The one pictured above belongs to a Black & Decker cordless screwdriver.

It seems like such a poor design that I figured there has got to be something I'm not seeing that makes this necessary.

[Gregory Morozov]

These are designed for Schuko outlets, "standoff" fits in the "well" of an outlet. Not for Thai market...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuko

[attrayant]

I didn't see anything that looks like my example in that wiki article, and a google image search for schuko found no near matches either. Are you saying that somewhere in the world there exists a receptacle with and oblong hexagonal indentation that is specifically designed for this type of plug? What happens when somebody comes along with a normal round or square-shaped plug... It wouldn't fit into such an oddly shaped outlet.

[Guest]

That's used at least in Finland. The extension or stand-off is needed so that the pins can reach to the bottom of the socket.

[attrayant]

I realize the pic I provided in the OP doesn't provide a clear view of the offending obstruction. I looked around and found the same design on a Braun rechargeable clipper and an Ikea desk lamp. Regard:

This plug will clearly not fit into the socket in the wiki article. What's more, these products come from all over. Braun is presumably German made and Ikea is Swedish. Not sure where the Black & Decker cordless screwdriver was made but B&D is very common in the USA. I guess that means it's probably made in China.

Edited October 17, 2012 by attrayant

[fstarbkk]

I realize the pic I provided in the OP doesn't provide a clear view of the offending obstruction. I looked around and found the same design on a Braun rechargeable clipper and an Ikea desk lamp. Regard:

This plug will clearly not fit into the socket in the wiki article. What's more, these products come from all over. Braun is presumably German made and Ikea is Swedish. Not sure where the Black & Decker cordless screwdriver was made but B&D is very common in the USA. I guess that means it's probably made in China.

I believe these plugs are designed to fit the well of the Swiss SEV 1011 and/or the Brazilian NBR 14136 Sockets. Check it out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets

[DrTuner]

Like mentioned designed for other countries. In here they hang down with their weight and spread the copper contacts in the cheapo sockets. Enjoy the spark show.

[attrayant]

I believe these plugs are designed to fit the well of the Swiss SEV 1011 and/or the Brazilian NBR 14136 Sockets. Check it out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets

Yes that looks like a winner, but I am still wondering how so many of them they wound up in a country that doesn't use such a socket.

[DrTuner]

Germany uses those, so I reckon the Philips/Braun stuff is meant for Euro market but also sold here. Those sockets are far superior to the flat spike type, BTW. Practically impossible to get shocked, very good support for the plug. Very rare to have any connection problems with them.

[MAJIC]

Three pin plugs are the only way to go. 2 Pin plugs are always flopping about in the socket,and it's not unusual for them to Arc up,causing even worse connections.

[watcharacters]

Three pin plugs are the only way to go. 2 Pin plugs are always flopping about in the socket,and it's not unusual for them to Arc up,causing even worse connections.

and fires.

[fstarbkk]

I also noticed over the years that appliances sold in Thailand come with a dazzling variety of plugs that are often not optimal for the sockets used here, such as described by the OP.

I expect that some manufacturers just don't regard the Thai market as significant enough for their products and simply ship what will "basically work" to fill orders. It also appears that there are no strict regulations on what is acceptable. In most western countries there are strict standards established by goverment agencies for these things.

Finally, there is a large "gray market" for electronics in Thailand and I suspect that quite a lot of products we buy here, even in "legitimate" shops, were not originally packaged for Thailand at all.

[Sateev]

The pins come in different diameters, 4mm and 4.6mm, if I remember correctly. And common wall sockets use the larger size, making the smaller ones loose in the socket, and potentially dangerous due to high resistance and arcing. Common (cheap) extension cords also have poor quality contacts, designed for the larger pins, and eventually (fairly soon) lose their contact tension and produce the same result.

Some higher quality extension outlets with multiple sockets also have spring-loaded receptacle hole covers that close off the holes when there is no plug present. I have found that those types often will accept the type of plug you show reliably. I have a couple Häco brand power strips that work properly, bought at HomePro.

Hope this helps.