Anyone solder wires into mains plugs?

[BigRedX]

My parent's house that they lived in from 1968 to 1980 had every single type of socket distributed throughout the rooms. Often it would provide challenging if you wanted to move an electrical appliance to a different room as it may not have the correct type of socket in the room and if it did it might be on the opposite wall to where you wanted to plug your device in. My bedroom had 15, 13 and 5amp sockets on different walls as well as a hard-wired connection to an electric radiator, and later another hardwire connection to the storage heater (on a different wall). I was well used to changing plugs on my electrical appliances before I was 10.

[tauzero]

11 minutes ago, sprocketflup said:

When I think of what electrical current is on an atomic level, i.e. electrons jumping/being passed from one atom to another, it makes me think of the idea that all the cells in our bodies are renewed from time to time, therefore we literally arent the same people we were 7 years ago ( I think it was 7 years). So, whenever I'm looking at an old piece of cable, it occurs that it may not be the same as it was when it was put in years ago.

With electrons moving, maybe that would explain why I encounter as an electrician, loose screws in electrical fittings so often. And it's a fact that we are not allowed to use junction boxes that utilise screws in places that are/will become inaccessable, under a wooden floor that is being tiled over for example, instead we must use accessories that have sprung fittings for the cables.

 

AIUI the electrons only travel a short way, then knock an electron out of the atom they're joining, which then moves on in its turn. So there isn't a huge migration of electrons into and out of the wire.

 

The cells in our body are a bit different, as it's actually cells replicating and old cells dying that causes the renewal.

 

Given how small electrons are, it's more likely that it's repeated thermal expansion and contraction, plus vibration, that eventually causes a screw to loosen. And of course there's always the chance that whoever did it up didn't do it up tightly enough.

[sprocketflup]

Indeed yes, usually only as far as the next atom. Hence me saying "on an atomic level". So the wire or whatever will still have the same amount of overall atoms in, even after many years of (undisturbed) service. 

The heat cycles are indeed the most likely culprit for loosening screws as you say.