UK type G adapter, reprise

If you buy the adaptor in the UK you can be 99% sure that it is properly compliant, especially if from a reputable high street shop. Much less so from the likes of eBay or Amazon, or bought outside the UK.

The key thing to check is that it is made to British Standard BS 8546:2016 Travel adaptors compatible with UK plug and socket system.

Note that this requires the adaptor to be rated for a minimum of 5A, and should be fused accordingly

The only thing I'd question is the necessity of having a ground slot on the U.S. end. For most travelers, the things they will plug in to power do not have or require a grounded plug (computer/phone power supplies, battery chargers, etc.). In short, look at what you have. If you don't need it, don't worry. I usually travel with an adapter and a 6-foot, light-weight, molded extension cord with three outlets on the other end (something like in the link). This way I can plug in many items at once to charge overnight, plus not worry if the only outlet available is behind a piece of furniture, or far from a table to place your devices.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-6-ft-16-2-White-Tight-Space-Cube-Tap-Extension-Cord-HW1626HDWT/312404378

I tend to agree with you, Phil, although I have to say that my last netbook, ten or so years ago, had a grounding plug. My current transformer pad, however, uses a USB charger. That charger is double insulated and has a two prong plug, so the RS adapter would work for me. And the plug isn't even polarized.

Five amps would be more that enough for a USB charger (basically just a multi-voltage voltage converter - 100-240VAC to 5VDC).

Few Internet ads for hair curlers indicate the wattage, but from what I read elsewhere, hair curlers are only about 200W, so a plug fused for 5 amps would work. US hair curlers rely on a polarized plug for safety, but the RS adapter retains proper polarization on UK power. A device plugged into the Travelmore adapter would only guarantee proper polarization if the user was careful how the polarized US plug was inserted (wide blade in the LH slot of the adapter with the ground up).

However, hair dryers are more like 1800W. Even at 230V, that's almost 8 amps, so a UK adapter, fused for 5 amps would not be adequate. I would recommend buying a hair dryer, with an appropriately fused UK plug, over there.

This won't help everyone, but IF the only items you are taking that require power have USB-ended power cords, I suggest you just purchase a plug with a USB port (or multiples) when you arrive in the UK. I've done this for my EU stays and I am carrying a bit fewer gadgets.

This website hasn't been maintained for a few years but covers the main points of the British standard and has illustrations of some adaptors that do not comply with it with reasoning

there is a great variety on Amazon and you are bound to find what you need, I really don't think it is this complicated. every traveler adapts their gadgets.

Lee, thank you for the education. Very informative. Never too old to learn. Oh I have two laptop chargers, one grounded, one not.

The problem with Amazon is that many sold there are illegal to use in the UK because they fail on one or more safety requirements, but it isn't always easy to see as pictures often obscure details. They know what they are doing though I think. I remember the tale of someone here who managed to trip out the electric on a whole floor of an hotel with an especially bad one.

James, I think (hope) you will find that your laptop charger without a grounding plug has a "double insulated" symbol (square in a square) on it. And since the charger probably doesn't have a switch, it probably also doesn't have a polarized plug (one blade wider). USB chargers you will find, are double insulated and don't have polarized plugs.

Phred, apparently in your eyes, it is more important not to be complicated than to be safe.

Marco, thanks for the link to the page about non-compliant adapters. I'm beginning to think that there might not be such a thing as a compliant adapter. Do the adapters sold in the UK have shuttered sockets for the power prongs? I don't think that any adapter you'll find on Amazon has shuttered openings. I can see why with the blade slots on the US end having parts inside at 230-240V, shutters should be mandatory for all sockets, even those that mate with non-UK plugs.

Even with an actual UK receptacle or compliant adapter, isn't it possible, quite easily, to insert something like a screwdriver into the grounding pin socket and open the shutters to expose the live contacts?

But another thing that concerns me about the UK compliant adapters, is that the UK safety organization seems oblivious to the polarized plug issue on US appliances. They don't seem to care that the blade slots on the US end of the adapters are both wide enough to accept the wider blade of a US polarized plug, meaning that it can me inserted either of two ways, one with reverse polarization, a safety hazard. But they specify that the sockets on the UK receptacles be correctly polarized.

Trouble is there is no international body looking at the issue from both ends. The UK safety organization is only concerned about the safety of the UK end, and nobody seems concerned about the entire system, least of all Amazon.

There are some that do take account of the polarisation on the "US Side", eg this one from Boots, or this one (or should that be 3) from Argos,

One issue that is more complicated is dealing with side-earthed plugs such as the Schuko ; neither of these would make the earth connection for example. You can get them, but having to be recessed they can't be a multiple adaptor.

UK sockets do not release the shutter on earth pin insertion alone in general.

Okay, too complicated. I will just use the shavers outlet.