Type B plug has two flat parallel pins and a round grounding (earth) pin. Earth pin is longer than the other two so that the device is grounded before the power is connected.
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What is a Type B plug?
This class I plug is designated as American standard NEMA 5-15. Type B electrical plug has two flat 1.5 mm thick blades, spaced 12.7 mm apart, measuring 15.9 – 18.3 mm in length and 6.3 mm in width. It also has a 4.8 mm diameter round or U-shaped earth pin, which is 3.2 mm longer than the two flat blades, so the device is grounded before the power is connected. The center-to-center distance between the grounding pin and the middle of the imaginary line connecting the two power blades is 11.9 mm. Type B plug is rated at 15 amps.
In some parts of Central and South America, grounded type B outlets are still rather uncommon. Therefore people often simply cut off the earth pin of a type B plug in order to mate it with a two-pole ungrounded socket.
Type B plug features
Type A and B plugs are not insulated (i.e., the pin shanks are not sleeved; they do not have a black covering towards the plug body like type C, G, I, L, or N plugs), and the outlets are not recessed into the wall, which means that if a plug is pulled halfway out, its prongs are still connected to the socket. Type A and B sockets are notoriously dangerous since the distance between the receptacle and a partially pulled-out plug is big enough to touch the pins with your fingers or with a metal object such as a teaspoon.
Can Type A plug fit into Type B socket?
Type A plug are still very common because they are compatible with type B sockets. Early designs could be inserted either way, but some modern plugs make the neutral blade wider than the live blade; so that a polarized plug can be inserted only one way.
What countries use Type B plug?
Countries using type B electric plug:
American Samoa
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Aruba
Bahamas
Belize
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Canada
Cayman Islands
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guam
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Japan
Lao Peoples Democratic Republic
Lebanon
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States of
Montserrat
Netherlands Antilles
Nicaragua
Palau
Panama
Philippines
Puerto Rico
Republic of Niger
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Taiwan
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos Islands
United States
United States Virgin Islands
Venezuela
Now It’s Your Turn
So that’s how I understand Type B plug and socket.
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