What happens if I use a pencil to "trick" an Irish three-prong socket into accepting

hatrickpatrick

So I just bought a mini fridge from hifi-tower.ie - this is my bad for not reading the specs but in fairness I assumed an Irish retailer would be selling Irish-tailored appliances - it has an EU style plug. Two prongs side by side, and a hole for a prong to come out from the wall socket.

I will eventually use an adaptor for this but I can't find it right now and I'm anxious to get this up and running ASAP.

I'm sure we're all aware of the pencil trick - use a pencil to press the button inside the third, grounding hole to open the two electrical ones and plug the appliance in that way. What I'm wondering is, (a) is this safe - both for personal / fire safety and for the safety of not damaging the new appliance? And (b), very importantly, this is allegedly a silent fridge (it's for a bedroom so it needs to be) - will the lack of grounding from doing this cause it to buzz? I know that with guitar effects pedals etc, any grounding issues tend to cause horrific feedback through any speakers plugged in to the same circuit.

Thanks for the help if anyone can answer these!

Pete67

Your best bet would be to cut off the euro plug and fit a UK 13A plugtop in its place.

hatrickpatrick

Pete67 wrote: »

Your best bet would be to cut off the euro plug and fit a UK 13A plugtop in its place.

That'd be one of our own standard plugs, yes? According to the manual it requires a 2.5amp fuse, would this be standard in your average Irish plug? I may have a few lying around unused.

In the meantime...... Is plugging it in directly and bypassing the grounding hole (with a pen or pencil as mentioned previously) a massive no no? We used to do it all the time in school with appliances that didn't fit, but as in this case I specifically bought this fridge because of the supposedly silent operating noise, I can't help wondering if doing this would negate that. Grounding issues are known as the absolute devil among musicians and sound engineers, of which I am one.

vicwatson

Pete67 wrote: »

Your best bet would be to cut off the euro plug and fit a UK 13A plugtop in its place.

And the job be completed and safe

Pete67

You can put a 3A fuse in a standard plug. The biggest issue with the temporary lack of earth would be personal safety if the appliance develops a fault which could result in an electrocution risk. Also, due to human nature, temporary solutions have a habit of becoming permanent.

Fuzzy Clam

As far as I know, any appliance sold here must have a 3 pin plug fitted as standard. By forcing it into a standard socket runs the risk of no earth.
If its earthed, and you will know this when you cut off the plug, there will be 3 wires. Fit a proper plug.

Cordell

You won't be able to force it, the terminals are too thick on European style earthed plugs. You can only force unearthed plugs and things like phone chargers. Replace the plug, that's the easiest way.

Risteard81

hatrickpatrick;102693328What I'm wondering is, (a) is this safe

No. But I'm sure you didn't need me to tell you that.

ted1

It's illegal for them not to supply a standard plug

hatrickpatrick

I tested it on a universal adapter to see if it worked before modifying it and this supposedly "silent" fridge (a) makes a persistent, loud electronic hum even when the fan isn't on, and (b) spins up regularly, which is insanely loud. So I think I'll be sending it back.

They stated that there should have been an EU to UK adapter included in the box, I'm waiting for an explanation from them as to why there wasn't. One final question - could the humming sound coming from the fridge itself be caused by a lack of grounding from the universal adapter I'm using? I'm just surprised as this thing was rated as 0db noise production, yet is actually louder than my standard kitchen fridge. I'm hesitant to send it back until I'm sure that this is part of standard operation and not just because of the universal adapter being used.

dilallio

Is there anything in the manual for the fridge saying that before you plug it in for the first time, it should be left standing without moving it for a number of hours?

Most normal fridges need to stand for a few hours before first use, to allow the coolant to settle, otherwise, the fridge won't operate normally and can be extremely noisy.