First of all, apologies it took me so long to reply. It's been a very busy and tiresome week. I finally had the time to read through all the replies.
Is the backbox in the wall or pattress box screwed to the wall compatible with the UK size?
It will be screwed to the wall. So both socket and box purchased from the UK.
I actually found a system that I really really like and maybe in the future I will use it. Check the pictures for a clearer idea:
Metal clad box with double UK socket and double switch for Creative-Tube
The one to which you link on Amazon has USB outlets integrated. Personally I steer clear of these as when they go wrong, you have to replace the whole thing rather than a plug in USB power adapter.
Appreciate your advice. USB 'removed', I bought the standard option without an USB.
Anl Uk extension lead with euro plug would be the easiest way.
I don't want to use leads in my shop. All the wiring is/will be exterior, mounted on the wallbecause when that space was built nobody thought it will need sockets and ceiling lights.
If this is for workshop use, why not the 16A blue CE plug ?
Simply because I don't have a single machine that uses that plug. Actually I have a router that uses a 110V plug like that, the one I'm trying to sell and nobody wants. As for the rest, residential type UK and Schuko plugs.
and I'd want RCD protection
In my country all modern (from the last 10-20 years) circuits have a main RCD breaker.
We do have our choice of right angle Schuko plugs with standard and low profile shells.
I have never seen such quality Schuko plugs since I was a kid playing at my uncle who repaired now vintage TVs. I am not sure if the black one in the pics is made from bakelite but it looks like it. Modern Romania as it probably is with other countries in a similar economic context, is a very messed up market for the regular consumer. I say regular consumer because nobody here really gives a damn about the regular DYI-er. After all, I did not purchase shop stuff from 3 continents because I'm eccentric.
The Romanian market has a very simple philosophy: 'Get stocks of the products we can easily sell to the masses, quality should be borderline, the components as cheap as possible so we can make profits as big as possible'. Something within these lines. Of course there are few shops who think of the small DYI-er but buying from them is too costly because they are not part of a big chain of supply that can source at better rates. Somehow a few of these shops have survived over the years but I will never buy from them something I can get from across the world, much cheaper after all taxes, duties, shipping, VAT, etc.
So, maybe I could find such plugs somewhere, but they would clearly be utterly expensive and overpriced.
Something that hasn't yet been mentioned is the insurance aspect.
We don't have any form of insurance (yet). Property insurance is something relatively new here. As far as I know, the electrical system doesn't have any specific requirements for insurance except to be certified by a qualified electrician.
Never seen decent Schuco plugs or sockets here
Same here.
If you want to use power tools which are fitted with a UK 13A three-pin plug elsewhere in Europe, which not just use a 'travel adaptor'
I have a few. Except for the poor or doubtful quality that was already mentioned, they are not rated for 13A. Mine I believe are 10A rated but I wouldn't use them even with 10A. I use them for some small kitchen appliance that I bought here as new but imported from the UK.
The voltage range (i.e. the minimum and maximum) across the whole of Europe is the same. Within that range, each country might have a different nominal voltage but no manufacturer would ever design something that will only work properly at nominal.
Thanks a lot for clearing it out, this was my main concern.
I like the robustness of the UK plugs and sockets, but the lower cost of Shucko plugs
Well, from my side of europe, I like the robustness of the UK plugs and sockets AND the lower cost of UK plugs and sockets. Here I wouldn't be able to buy a socket of that quality for 10 GBP. Not even for 20. Or 30. If I would find such quality, that is.
The basement lights and cooker were on one fuse, the downstairs lights and the immersion on another, three rings on six fuses.
This house I live in was built over my dad's oversight but he doesn't actually have knowledge in the matter. Basicall, the builders did what they wanted. My mother is an architect and I worked alongside her when I was younger, helping her with CAD design. I learned a lot. When I moved here the electrical circuit was very similar. Since then I brought in real professionals and rewired most of the house. We still have a few such messed up circuits but that required rewiring the main panel and that still is on a To-Do list.
Which is one of the things shocking me the most when I came to the UK 25 years ago. Everybody could do anything without qualification.
Compared to my country where Everybody does anything without qualification. Of course they aren't legally alowed to. They just do it and many of the residential or even industrial customers close their eyes to this to get away with it cheaper. The dismissal of safery concerns is catastrophical in my opinion.
I do like the UK system as a concept.
The problem there being the best qualified aren't necessarily the best builders and sometimes the unqualified are brilliant.
That is perfectly explainable and in a broader sense is one of the age-old issues with our society.
I call it 'hiding behind diplomas'. Basically, many of those who get certified stop expanding their knowledge after the diploma or accreditation, while those who don't have certifications follow a lifelong learning curve. Which causes many of the unqualified ones to push so hard to overcome their 'deficit' that they become brilliant as you call them. While the ones with proper credentials get sloppy and lazy because their papers open doors.
