Converting a Thai plug to a UK plug??
 

Apologies in advance for my ignorance on such issues (and also for my likely lack of correct terminology).

I have a Thai lamp with a broken plug sitting in a box in the UK. The plug (before it broke) looked like the top image here: http://www.pattayanewbie.com/Images/...al%20plugs.jpg


I would like to get it working again but have no idea how to attach the two wires into a UK plug (i.e. http://www.richmond.ac.uk/images/res...nt/uk-plug.jpg)

There are three wires in a UK plug and only two in a Thai one.

I realise this is probably basic knowledge for most people, but I have no idea what to do here.

Thanks in advance :-::-::-::-::-::-:

The big pin on the UK plug is the earth - you won't be connecting anything to that since the Thai plug is unearthed.

Cut the end of the Thai cable and expose the wires. One should be red/brown and the other black/blue/green. connect the red one to the (P)hase and the black one to the (N)eutral and you will be away.

Note, you better change your bulb since the 240V in the UK will burn it out almost immediately.

Do 120V bulbs and 240V bulbs have the same size bases? I didn't think you could just put a 240V bulb into a lamp that was originally designed for 120V. I would think you need to replace the bulb socket.

Thailand is 220V, 50 Hz, so the bulb in there should be fine. Outlets there usually are of the two/three-prong North American style, but at 220 V.

Thanks everyone!!

So, two things - I guess lamp is a bad description - the thing I have is more like a string of christmas lights.

Both wires are white. Does it matter which one I attach to each side of the UK plug?

thanks again

The hot/live/phase wire should be the one that runs through the switch on your lights, if there is one. If there is no switch or dimmer, then it doesn't matter. This picture will help you determine which prong on the plug is which:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Th..._plug_(UK).png

Note it'll work the other way around, but even when the lights are off they will be at 230 V, which can make for dangerous situations.

If you're unsure about this, pay a qualified electrician or lamp shop the 10-15 pounds it should cost to have them do it. Better to be out 15 quid unnecessarily than start a fire or get a nasty shock.

For that kind of a device, it does not matter.

As long as there's no switch. IF there is a switch, the hot wire should be the one that goes through the switch.

Ideally, yes. But this is not a requirement for a portable device, and an impossibility for a device with a non-polarized North American-style plug.