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nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

For those of you heading to Jeddah...

Shortage of adapters leaves residents fuming
By Doha Ghouth, Saudi Gazette | February 17, 2012
(Source: http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=20120217117745 )

JEDDAH � The government standardized the Kingdom�s low voltage system at 230/400V and applied British plugs to all electrical appliances in August, 2010. However, the problem is many homes are stuck with old sockets and so each new appliance needs an adapter which has led to a massive shortage of the device in the Kingdom. Standard wall sockets do not protect against damage by the wrong voltage and the government initiative is meant to correct this situation. However, many citizens and expatriates are deeply annoyed by the adapter shortage and the change in plug style.

Rasha Mandoora recently moved back home from the United States and has bought all new appliances. �I was surprised with the change and found myself in need of an adapter for everything but there are no adapters to be found.� Mandoora has a family of six and needs 20 adapters for her home. She has been to every major store in the past week but still has not found enough adapters. Egyptian expat Amr Eissa is also very annoyed with the situation. �If my home is old, accordingly I would have to change my sockets or stick to adapters forever which will not be of any benefit to me as adapters will not provide a grounding effect, until grounding is implemented in the next couple of years.�

The Kingdom decided to switch to using British plugs due to the safety and electrical compatibility they provide. They are designed to accept only compatible plugs and thus reduce the risk of electric shocks. They also have a feature known as grounding. This is where the socket holes have insulators to insure that dangerous voltage is never present. This feature is to be rolled out across the Kingdom in two phases over the next 25 years. Hussain Barak, a senior electrical engineer at Bin Laden Group, said: �Grounding is provided when the third plastic stem in a plug is connected to the ground. Generally if a wire comes loose inside an ungrounded metal case, and the loose wire touches the metal case it can give anyone who touches it a potentially-fatal shock.�

Badar Bin Bada Boom · Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:17 pm Post subject:

American plugs are also grounded with a third prong--just that the prongs are not so outlandishly large like the British ones and taking up about nine square feet of space when you have a surge protector! Just pick up some adapters from Dubai next time you're there for a little holiday. They even have Radio Shack. (We have 110 voltage where I live because the prefab dwellings were American-built.)

Products bought retail directly from Japan and Taiwan also use US voltage and plugs.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

johnslat · Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 5:02 pm Post subject:

Dear VS,

Are you sure about that? I've got lots of 3 prongers in my house, including the computer:

"If you look around your house, what you will find is that just about every appliance with a metal case has a three-prong outlet. This may also include some things, like your computer, that have a metal-encased power supply inside even if the device itself comes in a plastic case. The idea behind grounding is to protect the people who use metal-encased appliances from electric shock. The casing is connected directly to the ground prong."

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/question110.htm

Regards,
John

Badar Bin Bada Boom · Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 5:51 pm Post subject:

Ditto. My US-bought computer has the flat prongs of two different sizes and the third round one. This is pretty much everywhere that I've seen. The two flat ones alone are on older devices.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

OK... you made me look... I just did an inventory in my place, and danged if my laptop doesn't have one, but it is the only 'thing' with the round prong. (other than my fancy power strips) As I recall, in the past, lots of things had the prong. I had all those adapters in my house because the wall plugs wouldn't take them. (yup... not grounded... old house...) The third round one is not new... been around for years, at least since the 70s. The two different sized flat prongs is the newest form. (they used to all be the same size)

I have lots of things with the power supply boxes and no round prong... I'll never understand electricity.

But... again... we digress... Laughing

VS