# Scraping toast in the U.K.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 6, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185 "2008-04-06T15:18:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 6
### Author:  [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/101 "2008-04-09T15:08:28Z")
[QUOTE=Usram]
My toaster was £1.99 from Tesco and it works great. Although judging by this thread I am not quite as particular about toast quality as some people.
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, no kidding. Break the surface of the toast to release steam? The time between buttering and ingestion is approximately 5 nanoseconds when I’m having breakfast 😛
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### Author:  [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/102 "2008-04-09T16:15:15Z")
[QUOTE=commasense]
When I have PB&J, I put PB on both slices of bread, and the J in the middle.
[/QUOTE]
PB&J is evil, evil I tells ya.
PB should only be eaten when spread thickly and sprinkled with salt.
Jam is for cakes and stuff
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/103 "2008-04-09T16:26:50Z")
[QUOTE=SmackFu]
I’ve heard complaints about electric kettles in the US, that they weren’t as fast as the British ones due to the lower voltage.
[/QUOTE]
That’s true, without a doubled current rating of outlets to be able to compensate. I can’t imagine toasters have such demands, though?
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### Author:  [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/104 "2008-04-09T16:54:54Z")
[QUOTE=commasense]
When I have PB&J, I put PB on both slices of bread, and the J in the middle.
[/QUOTE]
A sure recipe for glue-mouth. Philistine. 😉😛
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/105 "2008-04-09T18:04:48Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan]
That’s true, without a doubled current rating of outlets to be able to compensate. I can’t imagine toasters have such demands, though?
[/QUOTE]
Well, what are the current ratings of European kitchen circuits? Ours for 120VAC are usually 15A or 20A.
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### Author:  [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/106 "2008-04-09T18:08:55Z")
[QUOTE=Balthisar]
Well, what are the current ratings of European kitchen circuits? Ours for 120VAC are usually 15A or 20A.
[/QUOTE]
UK plugs usually have a 13A fuse fitted in them, although a 5A one is recommended for light current devices. Our toaster is rated at 1.5 kW.
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### Author:  [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/107 "2008-04-09T19:55:32Z")
1500W is only 12.5A at 120V so should be no problem for 15A circuit.
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### Author:  [@Capt\_B.Phart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_B.Phart)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/108 "2008-04-10T12:18:04Z")
[QUOTE=MarcusF]
1500W is only 12.5A at 120V so should be no problem for 15A circuit.
[/QUOTE]
But a decent kettle is 3Kw at 240v (or a bit lower at 220v), that’s 25A at 120v.
I presume it limits microwaves in the US as well (unless they can plug into a dedicated 240v socket). My micro is a “900w” model, but the actual consumption is about 3Kw, IIRC, with the grill and combi oven
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/109 "2008-04-10T18:34:31Z")
[QUOTE=Rayne Man]
UK plugs usually have a 13A fuse fitted in them, although a 5A one is recommended for light current devices. Our toaster is rated at 1.5 kW.
[/QUOTE]
Excuse me… by suggesting that the plugs have fuses, do you mean the actual plug that’s part of the product? Each has its own fuse? Or the outlet has its own fuse apart from the load center (or breaker box or fuse box or what have you).
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### Author:  [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/110 "2008-04-10T18:41:17Z")
[QUOTE=Balthisar]
Excuse me… by suggesting that the plugs have fuses, do you mean the actual plug that’s part of the product? Each has its own fuse?
[/QUOTE]
That’s the case in the UK.
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/111 "2008-04-10T18:45:22Z")
[QUOTE=Balthisar]
Excuse me… by suggesting that the plugs have fuses, do you mean the actual plug that’s part of the product? Each has its own fuse?
[/QUOTE]
Yes. This allows them to be appropriate for the appliance - something drawing a couple of kW needs a 13A one, but one drawing less current can have lower rated fuse. All appliances have any appropriate casing etc. grounded via the ubiquitous third pin, and the purpose of the fuse is to blow should any live component or wire come loose and into contact with this.
This doesn’t apply to fully sealed items, e.g. phone chargers, where the third pin is plastic. This is necessary because the sockets have covers over the other two holes which open when the longer ground pin enters.
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### Author:  [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/112 "2008-04-10T18:49:02Z")
Here is an internal view of a [UK plug](http://www.army.mod.uk/img/ukpep/cliff_british_13_amp_plug_open.jpg) showing the fuse.
And an external view of said [plug](http://www.reuk.co.uk/OtherImages/13-amp-plug.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/113 "2008-04-10T18:50:48Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan]
Yes. This allows them to be appropriate for the appliance - something drawing a couple of kW needs a 13A one, but one drawing less current can have lower rated fuse. All appliances have any appropriate casing etc. grounded via the ubiquitous third pin, and the purpose of the fuse is to blow should any live component or wire come loose and into contact with this.
This doesn’t apply to fully sealed items, e.g. phone chargers, where the third pin is plastic. This is necessary because the sockets have covers over the other two holes which open when the longer ground pin enters.
[/QUOTE]
Where the “earth” pin is plastic it means that the appliance is double insulated and does not need a connection to ground.
Here is a definition of [double insulation](http://www.double-insulated.com/)
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### Author:  [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/114 "2008-04-10T19:01:12Z")
[QUOTE=Struan]
That’s the case in the UK.
[/QUOTE]
But unusual elsewhere. It’s all down to the British fondness for ring mains, rather than radial circuits.
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### Author:  [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/115 "2008-04-10T19:16:54Z")
Separate spurs back to the fusebox were provided when this house was built (1951) but ring mains became the norm in the 1960s.
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### Author:  [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/116 "2008-04-10T19:29:24Z")
[QUOTE=Mk VII]
Separate spurs back to the fusebox were provided when this house was built (1951) but ring mains became the norm in the 1960s.
[/QUOTE]
I remember moving into a brand-new house in 1953 that had the new ring-main / 13A plug system.
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/117 "2008-04-10T20:37:59Z")
A ring main? Am I to understand that your mains, then, all constitute a single circuit with a single means of protection back at the fusebox? What about built-in lighting, and so on? On their own circuits? What about GFCI near wet areas? I had no idea that the British system was so much different than, say, mainland Europe.
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### Author:  [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/118 "2008-04-10T20:55:38Z")
[QUOTE=Balthisar]
A ring main? Am I to understand that your mains, then, all constitute a single circuit with a single means of protection back at the fusebox? What about built-in lighting, and so on? On their own circuits? What about GFCI near wet areas? I had no idea that the British system was so much different than, say, mainland Europe.
[/QUOTE]
There are several rings. Probably one each for upstairs and downstairs lights and a similar arrangement for sockets. Then you will have individual spurs for ovens and electric showers in bathrooms.
Regarding wet areas, the law says no sockets in bathrooms, any electrical connections for such things as heaters and extractor fans have to be “hard wired” and the light usually operates with a pull switch. All circuits are protected by RCD circuit breakers.
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### Author:  [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/119 "2008-04-10T21:57:58Z")
Further to my previous post [this article](http://www.wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=House_Wiring_for_Beginners) gives the basics for UK house wiring. I was slightly wrong when I said lighting circuits were wired on a ring. It appears that they are usually wired on a radial circuit.
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### Author:  [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scraping-toast-in-the-u-k/444185/120 "2008-04-10T22:15:46Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang]
In the morning it’s common to let it go cold before buttering it… so that the butter doesn’t melt.
[/QUOTE]
This is difficult in most American households, as butter is kept in the refrigerator and is thus always rock hard. Attempting to spread cold butter on cold toast ensures that you rip the hell out of your toast. A thin pat – or three – of cold butter on hot toast will melt just so, and yield to spreading.
My understanding is that in Great Britain, butter is commonly kept unrefrigerated … and thus is easy to spread at pretty much all times.
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