Electrical "Safety Socket Covers" - Not so safe?

I've long argued that these things which supposedly make sockets safer for young children serve absolutely no useful purpose in the U.K. and that it's a waste of time and money buying them.

This site makes some very good points to suggest that the poor design of many of the covers on the market could actually make things worse by using them:

http://www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/

I so agree. A device which opens the shutters and draws the child's attention to the socket seems crazy.

You can get lockable covers which shroud the whole outlet such as the Plug Lock

http://www.pluglock.co.uk/

An ELCB at the distribution board would help minimize a live-to-earth shock, wouldn't it? But not necessarily where the child has contacted live with one hand and neutral with other?

Crikey!  My best friend's sister and her baby are staying in our flat for a week in June and I was going to get some of these.  Thanks for the pointer.

Vicky

I so agree. A device which opens the shutters and draws the child's attention to the socket seems crazy.

You can get lockable covers which shroud the whole outlet such as the Plug Lock

http://www.pluglock.co.uk/

An ELCB at the distribution board would help minimize a live-to-earth shock, wouldn't it? But not necessarily where the child has contacted live with one hand and neutral with other?

Contrex---do they make one that fits the single plug type of outlet? The one on this website would only help with a total of 1 socket in our flat where our soon to be walking daughter could get to...

The whole point is that UK sockets have a built-in safety feature, namely the shutters which cover the live terminals when a plug is not inserted. To defeat this, it is necessary to insert something into the earth (ground) aperture with enough force to overcome the spring which normally keeps the shutters closed.

There have been no cases of children being harmed from sockets that have been left uncovered since a new generation of sockets were introduced in 1990.

Anyhow...



Single Socket Cover by Insight Security

Price:    £5.49



Universal Double Socket Cover by Insight Security

Price:    £6.49



One of each if bought together: £11.98

Same products here

http://www.safetots.co.uk/Electrical-Safety.htm

The whole point is that UK sockets have a built-in safety feature, namely the shutters which cover the live terminals when a plug is not inserted. To defeat this, it is necessary to insert something into the earth (ground) aperture with enough force to overcome the spring which normally keeps the shutters closed.

Or as noted in the video clip on that website, later sockets of the MK make employ a slightly different mechanism which requires simultaneous and near-equal pressure on the shutters themselves to open them, which would certainly be difficult to achieve for a kiddy just poking around.   MK even experimented with a shutter mechanism which requires simultaneous pressure on all three points to open (no more opening the shutters with test probes for checking voltages on those!).

But the point is that all British 13-amp sockets have always had some sort of shutter mechanism since they were introduced in the 1940s (many of the 3-pin 5A and 15A BS546 sockets for round-pin plugs manufactured in the 1950s and later also have shutters, not that there are many still in general household service).

An ELCB at the distribution board would help minimize a live-to-earth shock, wouldn't it? But not necessarily where the child has contacted live with one hand and neutral with other?

An ELCB/RCD (equivalent to an American GFCI) cannot do anything to detect or minimize the effect of a live-to-neutral shock, unless there is also sufficient current passing to earth through the body at the same time to trip it.   Given a dry carpet on a wooden floor and no direct contact with grounded objects such as radiators or pipework, it's quite probable there would be insufficient earth current.

Going off on a slight tangent, but this is something else which I feel has been misrepresented to the general public.  The RCD certainly provides increased safety, but over the last few years it's been so promoted and over-hyped that many people have been left with the impression that on an RCD-protected circuit it's impossible to sustain a dangerous electric shock.  That just isn't so.