Right-Angle, Piggy-Back and White Power Leads: When a Straight Cord Is the Wrong Cord

Sometimes the connector fits perfectly and the lead is still the wrong one. A standard mains plug stands 30–40 mm proud of the socket, and the connector at the appliance end does much the same — and that is exactly the gap between a wall-bracketed television and the wall, a console and the back of a cabinet, or a PC and the panel behind it. This guide covers the leads we stock for those situations: right-angle figure-8 and kettle cords, the piggy-back plug that gives you the power point back, and white leads for white hardware.

Not sure which connector your gear takes? The Cable Finder walks you through it, and our kettle cord vs figure-8 guide explains how to count the pins.

How much room a straight plug actually needs

Two things stop a wall-mounted screen sitting flat: the plug at the wall and the connector at the appliance. Each one adds roughly 30–40 mm before the cable can even begin to bend, and a straight lead then has to stick out and bend hard right at the connector. Turn one end through 90 degrees and you recover that clearance on one side; turn both ends and the whole lead runs flush along the skirting or the back panel and disappears.

The same problem shows up behind furniture, inside AV cabinets and in equipment racks, where a straight plug fouls the panel behind it, or a straight piggy-back plug gets pushed off the wall by the furniture in front of it. In each case the fix is the same: a lead whose bend is on the side that is tight.

Which end is angled — and why it matters

“Right angle” on its own does not say which end carries the bend, and a right-angled connector can only go on one way round. We stock three different arrangements, so it is worth stating each one plainly:

• Angled at the appliance end, straight at the wall. Our right-angle kettle cords (C13) and the right-angle clover-leaf lead (C5) are built this way. The bend goes behind the PC, monitor, amplifier or power brick.
• Angled at both ends. The right-angle figure-8 leads turn flat at the wall plug and at the appliance, which is the arrangement for a wall-mounted television.
• Angled at the wall, straight at the appliance. The piggy-back kettle leads put the bend at the wall plug, because that is the end carrying the extra socket.

The product photographs show the exact orientation of each bend. If your clearance is tight on one particular side, that is the picture to look at before you order.

Figure-8 leads (two-pin), angled at both ends

The figure-8 (IEC C7) is the two-pin connector on wall-mounted and desktop televisions, the PlayStation 4 Slim and PlayStation 5 Slim, the Xbox Series S, printers, monitors, soundbars, radios, DVD and Blu-ray players, cameras and battery chargers. Our right-angle version turns flat at both ends: the Australian two-pin plug has a low-profile round body that sits against the socket, and the figure-8 connector runs flush against the appliance.

Pick the length by where the outlet is. The 1 m right-angle figure-8 lead leaves nothing to coil behind a wall-mounted set. The 2 m lead is the everyday length for a console or television with the outlet at skirting height. The 3 m lead is the one to take when the socket is behind a sideboard or around the corner from a bracketed screen — and because both ends sit flat, a long run can be tucked along a skirting board or through a cable tray without a bend at either end fighting it.

Kettle cords (three-pin C13) with the bend at the appliance

The three-pin “kettle” connector (IEC C13) is the one on desktop PCs, monitors, printers, amplifiers, AV receivers, network and rack equipment, and on the power bricks of several games consoles. On our right-angle kettle cords the Australian plug is straight and the C13 end is the angled one, so the cord leaves the back of the equipment at ninety degrees and gains you roughly 30–40 mm behind the socket.

Four lengths cover most setups. The 1 m right-angle kettle cord is for a rack, a cabinet or a desk where the outlet is right there and a longer lead would only need coiling. The 1.8 m lead is the common length. The 3 m lead reaches a wall socket across a desk or down from a wall-mounted screen without an extension lead in the middle, and the 5 m lead crosses a room — it uses a heavier 1.0 mm² conductor for the distance, where the shorter three are 0.75 mm².

One check before you order: these fit the plain C14 inlet. If the socket on your equipment has a notch cut into the top edge, that is a C16 inlet for high-temperature use and a C13 lead will not seat in it — you need a notched C15 lead instead, which is a different part covered in the kettle cord guide.

Clover-leaf (C5) with the bend at the power brick

Laptop and notebook power bricks, projectors, printers, monitors, chargers and many console power supplies take the three-lobed “clover-leaf” connector (IEC C5) — three round holes, not two. The 2 m right-angle clover-leaf lead puts the bend at the C5 end, so the connector exits along the face of the brick instead of straight out of it and the lead sits flat behind a cabinet or against a wall. The Australian plug end is straight.

Piggy-back: when the power point is the problem

Behind a television or a desk there is usually one outlet and three things that need it. A piggy-back lead solves that without a power board: its wall plug has a full Australian three-pin socket moulded into its face, so you plug the lead into the wall and something else straight into the back of the plug. The power point you used is not lost.

On the 1 m piggy-back kettle lead and the 2 m piggy-back kettle lead the plug is the right-angled end — the cord leaves it at ninety degrees and runs flat down the skirting, which is what makes it usable behind furniture where a straight piggy-back plug would be pushed off the wall. The C13 end at the appliance is straight. Both outlets share one 10 A rating, which is the combined figure, not 10 A each: fine for a console, monitor, router, charger and AV gear, not for two heaters. It is one extra outlet with no switch, not a power board and not a double adaptor.

White leads for white hardware

Almost every figure-8 lead sold in Australia is black, so a white console ends up with a black cord running out of the back of it. The 2 m white figure-8 lead is electrically the same lead in the colour that matches: the Sega Dreamcast, the PlayStation 5 and PS5 Slim, the Glacier White PlayStation 4, the Xbox Series S and the Xbox One S, plus white televisions, monitors, printers, soundbars and radios. If the socket on the appliance has two rounded holes side by side, this is the lead.

Notched C15 leads come in white too — the 1 m white C15 cord and the 2 m white C15 cord — for equipment with the keyed C16 inlet that a plain C13 cord will not go into.

Check the socket before you order

Every lead above is a full mains lead with an Australian plug on one end — not an adaptor, an extension or a converter. The connector at the other end is what has to match, so look at the socket on your appliance: two round holes side by side in a shape like the numeral 8 is a figure-8 (C7); three holes arranged in a triangle is a kettle connector (C13 into a C14 inlet); three round holes in a clover pattern is a C5; and a kettle-style inlet with a notch in the top edge is a C16, which needs a C15 lead. Comparing the socket against the product photographs takes a moment and saves a return.

If the lead is for a retro console going onto a new television, our guide to connecting a retro console to a modern TV covers the video side.

Shop right-angle and piggy-back power leads at Console Mate

Every lead in this guide is in stock in Australia with same-day dispatch before 2pm AEST, a 12-month warranty and 30-day returns. Browse the full Power Cables range here — and if you are not sure which end needs the bend, send us a photo of the back of your gear via the contact page and we will match the right lead before you order.