[rescue] Looking for IRIX and advice

[Peter Corlett]

Sheldon T. Hall <shel at cmhcsys.com> wrote:
[...]
> If you have an electric clothes dryer, some hackery with a
> heavy-duty extension cord and some stuff from the hardware store
> will work, most probably. I wouldn't run it that way unattended
> until you get some idea of the load, etc., since the dryer outlet is
> probably 50 Amps, and the extension cord will melt before the
> breaker pops.

UK outlets are rated 13A, but since there's a fuse in the plug, the
cord doesn't need to be rated 13A. Well, you're supposed to put the
lowest rated fuse possible in the plug, but most people just stick 13A
fuses in which negates some of the protection.

UK outlets have a protective cover over the live and neutral
conductors which slides out of the way when a pin is inserted into the
earth. The net result is that children can't (easily) poke things into
sockets and electrocute themselves, but you can insert a plug and it
will just work.

When we got some grey import Cisco gear at work, I took one look at
the EU plug and cussed before setting to on an outlet with a
screwdriver to release the protective cover since the pin spacing on
two pin EU plugs matches those of the power conductors in UK sockets.
This got some disturbing looks from a cow-orker who thought I was
about to electrocute myself. Shows what he knows about electrickery.

This bodge merely makes it no less safe than US/EU power, but I
suspect Health and Safety would probably not take that view and
condemn it. Fortunately, H&S would probably trip over and injure
themselves on something else in the office before they got near my
electrical work :)

> It'll probably void your insurance if it starts a fire, etc. Still,
> I ran a 220V espresso machine that way for a year with no problems.

I stick to a bog standard kettle (the current one being a pathetic
1.1kW - I'm more used to 3kW) and a cafetiere. Another member of this
list has reported hallucinations after drinking one of my more
experimental brews.

I'm currently trying to wean myself off excessive coffee consumption
to dislodge a semipermanent headache. So far, it's not really working.

-- 
Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far
greater.
							- Albert Einstein