News
CEI 23-50 standard Italian plugs and sockets
- 2014-07-22 12:52:49
-
1 Classical example of a CEI 23-16 (now 23-50) standard 10A socket. The example shown is a VIMAR company, type SICURY socket. The Sicury shutter prevents accidental contact with live pins. Vimar was the first Italian company to offer this safety provision in 1968. Nowadays safety shutters are compulsory. 2 Socket that can accommodate both 10A and 16A plugs (see no. 6). The left hand outlet has quite common bipasso or bivalente (dual use) figure of eight shaped slots. The larger (5.1 mm) diameter 16A slots have a 26 mm spacing; the smaller (4.5 mm) 10A slots have a 19 mm spacing, which is also suitable for Europlugs. Brand name: BTicino. 3 The Bipasso type socket no. 2 allows separate wiring of the 10A and 16A outlets. They can be connected to respectively a 10A and 16A fuse in the main fuse box of the house. However, it is also possible to interconnect the two connector blocs.
Note that Italian CEI 23-50 plugs and sockets are not polarized, because of the symmetrical arrangement of the slots. That means that the position of brown (live) and blue (neutral) wires can be swapped.4 'Universal' socket for Italian 10A and 16A plugs, as well as earthed Schuko type plugs. The diameter of the inner (10A) slots is larger than the 10A slots in sockets nos. 1 and 2, otherwise it would be impossible to insert a Schuko plug (pin diameter 4.8 mm; spacing 19 mm). This multi-purpose type of socket becomes increasingly popular in newly build premises in Italy. Brand name: BTicino. 5 Female 10A and 16A plugs. 16A models have 'dual use' shaped outlets. Brand name: Scame. 6 Italian 10A and 16A plug. It is compulsory that the basal part of power pins have an isolating sheath against accidental contact with live parts. Pin diameter of 10A plugs is 4.0 mm; 16A plugs have 5.0 mm pins. Brand name: Scame. 7, 8 Examples of two models of 10A plugs of which the pin position can easily be changed from top to side (compare top and bottom images). The thickness of both housings is only 15 mm. The disassembled model (see no. 8) shows theelegant simplicity of the design. These 'Corner' models are developed by the Italian BTicino company.
- Previous [Return Home] [Print] [Go Back]
