Poor quality of plugs, sockets and converters is an important cause of electrical fire. The quality of the plug will pose a serious hazard to the safety of consumers and property. Therefore, when purchasing plugs, sockets, converters and switches, consumers should focus on the safety of products, and the main factors affecting their safety are the following performance indicators:
sign
The sign is an important basis to instruct people to install, use and maintain correctly, and is an extremely important content of safety standards to ensure the safety of people and property. Plug and socket products shall be marked with rated current, rated voltage, power supply nature, etc. in an obvious position. In addition, the converter (the converter refers to the mobile electrical accessories with only one plug part and one or more socket parts) products should use the “Max” symbol to mark the rated current and / or power, so as to guide users to avoid overload. Signs or symbols shall be durable and legible. Silk screen printing and paper stickers that can be easily erased shall not be used.
Rating
The rated value is the most basic electrical exchange and coordination parameter to ensure the normal, safe and cooperative use of plugs, sockets, converters and connected electrical appliances. For example, the rated current of the converter shall not be greater than the rated value of the plug part. Otherwise, it may cause danger due to over-current heating of the plug when users select electrical appliances according to the rated current of the socket; The minimum rating of the converter with fuse and overload protector shall be equal to the rating marked on the fuse and overload protector. Otherwise, product damage may occur.
size
Size is an important technical requirement related to whether the plug, socket and converter can be used safely and meet the general interchangeability requirements to avoid misinsertion. Unqualified size will affect the user’s use or produce hidden dangers such as poor contact and wrong insertion. At least, the equipment will be damaged, and at worst, fire and electric shock accidents will occur.
electric-shock safeguard
Anti electric shock protection is a key safety index to ensure that the plug, socket and converter will not cause electric shock accidents to users and others under normal use or even some accidents. When the plug and socket are fully or partially inserted, the live part of the plug shall not be accessible; When any pin of the plug is in the accessible state of other pins, it shall not be inserted with the live socket of the socket. Plugs, sockets and converters with protective doors shall be able to prevent single pole or probe insertion.
structure
The socket assembly shall have enough elasticity to ensure sufficient contact pressure on the plug pin. The plug sleeve shall be corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant to ensure good contact between the plug and socket; The plug pin of the plug shall be locked and cannot rotate, otherwise it will affect the insertion performance and produce unsafe factors; The converter is equipped with a flexible wire fixing device to ensure that the flexible wire is fixed and can withstand normal tension and torsion; When the plug and socket are inserted, the insertion surface shall be basically tight to prevent electric shock accidents.
power cord
The power line shall have sufficient cross-sectional area to ensure that the power line will not generate heat, cause insulation damage, cause short circuit, fire, electric leakage and cause accidents. For example, the cross-sectional area of the power line of the common 250V, 10a converter shall be greater than or equal to 0.75mm2.
mechanical strength
The plug and socket shall have sufficient mechanical strength to withstand various mechanical stresses caused by drop, impact and extrusion during installation and use; Sockets with protective doors shall prevent single pole insertion.
Heat and flame resistance
High temperature has a great impact on various properties of insulating materials. Under the condition of high temperature, the structure and characteristics of insulating materials will change essentially. This change determines the reliability of materials. Some materials will gradually soften and the mechanical strength will decline at high temperature, which will affect the quality of plug and socket and the safety in use. In addition, the insulation material of plug and socket shall have certain flame retardant performance. Otherwise, the product will be out of control in case of fire during use. Understand the safety performance of plugs and sockets. When purchasing and using, grasp the following points to ensure the safety of your family and property:
1、 Regular factories, supermarkets or specialty stores must be selected, and brand products must be selected; Select corresponding (matching) products according to the power of electrical appliances, such as 16A plugs and sockets for air conditioners, high-power showers and other products, and 10A plugs and sockets for other low-power household appliances. For example, when purchasing 16A plug power cord, you need to see whether the square gauge of the wire reaches 1.5 square meters or more. If the wire is less than 1.5 square meters, When using high-power electrical products, it is easy to heat up the copper wire of the wire and soften the outer skin of PVC, resulting in electrical burn out or short circuit of the line.
2、 It must be clear whether the product marks are complete, whether there is the trademark of the manufacturer, and whether there is the safety certification mark of the local country (for example, whether there must be CCC Mark in the Chinese market). If there is no mark on the plug wire product, the plug product must be a fake and shoddy product, and the quality of the product will not be guaranteed.
3、 Check the quality certificate of plug products and the inspection report issued by the legal department. If the converter product is not included in the compulsory certification, you should check the inspection report issued by the legal inspection organization when purchasing, or check whether the file number on the plug is valid on the Internet.
4、 Conduct a simple plug-in experiment on the plug products. The plug should be in good contact after being inserted into the socket without feeling loose, and can be pulled out without too much force, because although some products have been tested before leaving the factory, they will inevitably damage the plug insert after being transported after leaving the factory. Carry out the test before purchase, so as to reduce a lot of unnecessary losses in the future.
5、 Never buy a plug with a rotatable pin or artificially change the shape of the plug. The plug after changing the shape must pass CCC certification, otherwise it is definitely unsafe plug product, which is easy to be broken down by high-voltage electricity, and do not use two high-power appliances on one socket at the same time; If the temperature of the plug, socket or power cord is too high or there is ignition, it shall be stopped and replaced.