Museum of Plugs and Sockets logo, small BS 4573,  shaver
plugs and sockets
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BS 1363
navigation iconBS 546
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BS 372

 

BS 4573:1970 defines 2-pin shaver plugs and special shaver sockets.
They are the only not earthed domestic devices that are allowed nowadays in the UK.

 

BS 4573 shaver plug
BS 4573 dual voltage shaver socket
BS 1363 shaver adaptor

Safety.  Electric shavers have to be supplied with a shaver cord that has a 2-pin plug. It prevents that shavers are directly plugged into a BS 1363 socket. The use of these sockets in wet rooms may cause electrocution. A 2-pin shaver socket is safe and legal alternative.
Also in many hotels, worldwide, shaver socket are installed in bathrooms.

1 BS 4573 two-pin reversible plug, moulded to a curly shaver cord. Pin diameter (5.1 mm) and spacing (16.7 mm) is identical to BS 372 Part I 5 Amp plugs. The other end of the shaver cord has a 0.2A IEC 60320-C1 appliance connector. BS 4573 plugs have a top end cord entry, rather than side entry which is compulsory for all BS 372, BS 546 and BS 1363 plugs.
Manufacturer of shaver cord: LEONI, German company that produces a large range of wire products.    {DF}

BS 4573 plugs resemble Europlugs (CEE 7/16), but British plugs does not fit in continental European sockets, because of differences in pin diameter and pin spacing.
Europlugs have 4.0 mm pins and a pin spacing that tapers from 18.6 mm (plug base) to 17.5 mm (pin tip); see inset. These non-parallel and to some degree flexible pins ensure sufficient contact when a Europlug is inserted in a CEE 7/3 (Schuko) socket with 4.8 mm contacts.
2 BS 4573 dual voltage shaver socket with shuttered outlets, rated at 200 mA. Socket has an isolating transformer that complies to BS 3535. The shaver symbol is compulsory.
Round pin contacts have an elongated shape that allows the use of both shaver cords with BS 4573 and Europlugs.
3 BS 1363-3* adapter for a BS 4573 shaver plug. It is an older model; from 1994 partially insulated L and N pins are compulsory.

* Part 3 of the BS 1363 standard gives specifications for adapters. Shaver adapters must have a 1A fuse, safety shutters, power pins with insulating sleeves (from 1984) and a FOR SHAVERS ONLY indication.
Instead of a brass earth pin, a shaver adapter may have a plastic Insulated Shutter Opening Device (ISOD).   {DF}

BS 4573 shaver adapter fior US straught blade plugs

4
 
BS 1363 shaver adapter for US shaver plugs (NEMA 1-15).
Adapter fits in left (115V) slot of shaver socket no. 2 and
BS 1363 shaver adapter no. 3.
Manufacturer: US General Electric Company (GE).   {TH}

 


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