Playing silly pluggers

[bergie]

i think since they are making most of clipsal parts in china ,there standards and tolerances are a bit inconsistent.
i think its the plastic holes that are too tight and not the brass contacts. i would take a small round file and clean up the edges.
just make sure the power is off!

[Wrinkly]

I coincidentally spoke to someone at Clipsal today for another matter and mentioned your tight plug problem. She said this was a known problem with one batch, she wasn't forthcoming with technical details but apparently the problem was ironed out and you can return them where you purchased them for exchange.

Thank you very much for that gem of information. I didn't fit the sockets and don't know where they were purchased. However, I see (thanks to Google) that Clipsal have an office/depot in Durban, so I'll ask them if they'll do a swap - the worst they can say is NO.

i think since they are making most of clipsal parts in china ,there standards and tolerances are a bit inconsistent.
i think its the plastic holes that are too tight and not the brass contacts. i would take a small round file and clean up the edges.
just make sure the power is off!

That's a really helpful point, bergie. Thank you. I'll definitely try this if Clipsal won't replace the sockets.

My thanks to both of you for your time & trouble.
Cheers.

[Wrinkly]

i think since they are making most of clipsal parts in china ,there standards and tolerances are a bit inconsistent.
i think its the plastic holes that are too tight and not the brass contacts. i would take a small round file and clean up the edges.
just make sure the power is off!

I haven't got around to contacting Clipsal yet so I had a closer look at the sockets.

I dismantled an old plug and, making sure that the power was off (!), tried each individual prong in the new sockets. They all moved in and out quite easily, so the plugs are not sticking because the holes that are too tight - I think it must be the alignment that's slightly out. As bergie suggested, that's definitely a tolerance problem.

This gives me greater confidence when I get to dealing with Clipsal, because I won't be fobbed off with the excuse that "it's only because the sockets are new".

[Sparks]

What has worked for me on occasion was to ream the coverplate entry to the socket outlet. Provided the shutters are not damaged in the process, it does help without compromising the contact pressure inside the outlet. I used my Dremel router bit attached to my cordless drill. A drill bit of which the point has been ground down to a flat face will also work.