Worth getting sockets with safety shutters?

[chriso]

Having a rewire done with Click Mode sockets. Doubles being CMA036 (BS 1363-2: 1995)

13A DP 2 Gang Switched Socket White

Mode profile

www.cef.co.uk

PDF

https://www.scolmore.com/_pdfs/spec_bros/Mode%20Sockets.pdf

I saw this about safety shutters

SCOLMORE GROUP | Manufacturer & distributor of electrical Wiring accessories & Lighting

Wiring Accessories and Lighting products for the home, office, school & retail sections. Commercial & domestic Wiring & lighting solutions including Inceptor, Click, Ovia, Inels

www.scolmore.com

Electrician said the first product is standard, the safety shutter version they can get, but I'm wondering if it's overkill? With a normal socket you'd have to stick something in the top slot to arm and then again also in one of the two bottom slots? With the safety shutters you have to have all three in for it to work

CMA1036 being the equivalent (BS 1363-2: 2016)

https://www.scolmore.com/technical_specification_bim/_brochures/Mode/Mode%20Safety%20Shutter%20Power%20Socket%20Outlets.pdf

Only a couple quid more each, but have to be ordered in. Worth doing or not worry? Thanks

 

[Spoon]

IMO sounds like a great "safety feature" which is all about making money..
Nothing wrong with the standard socket.

 

[Spoon]

With the safety shutters you have to have all three in for it to work

You could also make it more safe by having a microphone that you have to sing "oh danny boy" into it.
Then add a camera, so you have to be hopping on one foot... Really safe then...
Yes I'm being facetious but how far do you go??
Again, IMO nothing wrong with the standard socket.

 

[JgMaan]

It is 100% overkill - our sockets are very safe especially compared to other countries sockets. This just seems like a more sophisticated version of those plug-in covers you get which can actually create potential for danger - a young child is far more likely to snap the earth prong inside the socket playing with the cover than they are to accidentally open the shutters as they are.

Standard sockets are absolutely fine, what makes me laugh is that whoever did the copyrighting for scolmore/click couldn't think of any other normal household item that would fit in the earth pin slot (because they were designed with that in mind) - "This can be operated by any foreign object, for example a screw driver" yes, a screwdriver that could also be used to unscrew the whole plate off the wall...

 

[MJPD29]

13a sockets are absolutley safe as they are, no need for the extra measures.

 

[brianmoooore]

Classic case of a solution for a non existent problem.

 

[Midwest]

MK have been manufacturing something similar for a considerable time, and I thought the single point shutter system is flawed?

 

[littlespark]

This is a smart enabled adaptor that can be turned on and off vie a remote control or phone/ Alexa.
This particular model was made in 2016 and is from a reputable supplier and manufacturer.
Can you see a slight design flaw? Bearing in mind the topic of this thread.

 

[DPG]

This is a smart enabled adaptor that can be turned on and off vie a remote control or phone/ Alexa.
This particular model was made in 2016 and is from a reputable supplier and manufacturer.
Can you see a slight design flaw? Bearing in mind the topic of this thread.

View attachment 106310

No shutters? Can't tell from that angle.

 

[littlespark]

No shutters? Can't tell from that angle.

Oh it does have shutters, operated by inserting the earth pin of the plug. I took photo at that angle just to show it was a 13A to 13A

 

[davesparks]

This is a smart enabled adaptor that can be turned on and off vie a remote control or phone/ Alexa.
This particular model was made in 2016 and is from a reputable supplier and manufacturer.
Can you see a slight design flaw? Bearing in mind the topic of this thread.

View attachment 106310

Is that one where you can put the plug in upside down to open the shutters?

 

[littlespark]

Is that one where you can put the plug in upside down to open the shutters?

Yes… that’s exactly it.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

I agree that normal BS1363 sockets are safe for general use. Some posters have called them 'absolutely safe' but this is a relative term. 100 years ago, switchgear was being sold as 'absolutely safe' that we definitely wouldn't accept today. The real question is not whether the 13A socket is 'absolutely safe' and impossible to improve; there is always room for improvement somewhere. Rather, it is whether Scolmore's supposed improvement is indeed an improvement and whether it is worth the money, or just a marketing gimmick.

I personally wouldn't bother with it for my own use. Normal good-quality shutters are quite adequate as far as I am concerned. I'm more interested in whether a socket can handle 13A constantly and withstand 30 years of steady use. But, if I were asked to spec the best socket for use in a child's playroom, I would certainly look more closely at it and if I could see any merit in the design, make the buyer aware of it.

 

[littlespark]

And just for a demonstration. Plugged in upside down.

Showing the shutters opened and the contacts visible.

Would still need to insert a metallic rod of suitable size to make it dangerous.
Something like a screwdriver, which as mentioned, could be used to dismantle a socket in the first place and make it dangerous.