From: "J Acker" <
jacker@...>
> When I moved to Norway I was puzzled by the fact tha tone couldn't buy the
range of electrician supplies (or plumbing for that matter) that you can in
the US. I have spent a lot of time in Amsterdam and Utrecht (lived there for
a few months..I love that town!) and I think it is the same there.
Ah, Amsterdam. The one place I truly loved living in. Utrecht is nice, but I
prefer Amsterdam by and large.
> For one thing I think they want to discourage overloading. You ever see
National Lampoons Christmas vacation? Lots of homes in the US have adapters
with LOTS of plugs hanging from them. They are a fire hazard and if people
use them they ought to check the rating in amps for the circuit they are
plugged into.
>
> That's why they do it here anyway.
There's also the issue that the voltage in Europe is 230 volts, instead of
the 110 volts in the US and Canada. A lot more can go wrong with a voltage
more than two times as high.
If you really need a lot of power, there are the 380 volts plugs. They're
big enough to hunt elephants with.
- Peter