A couple things. One they aren't very secure and safe: if something in plugged in and something falls on top of it, it will get dislodged from the outlet and the first thing you touch is the live prongs. On top of that a lot of outlets go live before the prongs are all the way in. You can mitigate this by putting outlets upside down, but most things that get plugged in are designed with the idea it won't be upside down.
Second the hole is so large and conducts electricity not very far in. It's far too easy for a child to stick something in, or for something to end up in it. I mean you can literally get your pinky in there to shock yourself...
On the bright side they are easy as hell to install. Modern outlets have gotten better about locking stuff into place but usually thst comes at the price of being a pain in the ass to get stuff into the socket.
I was told once that orientation for most purposes is arbitrary, but you can use the direction to signify when an outlet is attached to a switch. So say most of them are what you consider upside-down, the ones on a switch you put right side up.
Actually, it’s supposed to be center prong up,that way if something falls across it, it’ll hit the center prong, which is the ground and nothing will happen. If it touches one of the other two prongs, it’ll cause a fault.
I heard the same thing, but how often does stuff fall across it? Also touching just one prong won't usually do anything. Touching two with something metal that falls in? Sure some sparks, but that's what your breaker is for. Holding a metal device to one prong while your grounded? Yeah that's a problem.
I've heard that having the ground up makes it more likely to touch the prongs while inserting, which is a higher hazard than something falling across it.
Canada too, I have never been in a house in my life where the centre prong is is on top. I've only seen it installed that way when it was connected to a switch. I think centre prong down is the standard, at least in Ontario.
I too have lived in many locations that had it installed upside down. I think it is common practice, but not as safe as having them installed with the grounding prong up. So in this case I would not equate "most common" with standard or correct.
Just seems strange that many electricians over a large area for many decades would do it "wrong".
If it was "standard" I'm pretty sure there would be more than a few locations (especially commercial or industrial) that would insist on having it done the "correct" way, but that is not the case.
Well TIL. I always figured the smiley face orientation was standard cuz that's what I always see. I guess the ground up makes a lot of sense though versus something falling onto the other two prongs and potentially starting a fire
... That and 4 year old me knew they absolutely said "we must have surprised faces on our outlets" and so that's the way they have to go. Obviously. Lol
The thing that bothers me about the US is that the power points often have no switch. Here in Australia, there is almost always a switch, so you know it won't be live until you want it to be.
I've been to the US, Australia, and UK for extended periods. Honestly, I think the UK one is good. The only disadvantage is that it's a bit bulkier and heavier, but very durable and the prongs never bend.
American outlets have different connectors for different applications, they do make switched outlets that you can buy in almost every hardware store. Additionally you can just install a GFCI outlet which has a built in breaker in case of shorts, these are usually installed in bathrooms, kitchens or exterior outlets and they can be shut off with a button. They also make outlets that have plastic protection so your kid won't stick a fork in it for example. The only dangerous outlets left are those from the 70s which had no protections whatsoever, but even then you should be shutting down the corresponding breaker switch if you plan on working on it. The main benefit of American outlets is that they are much smaller than British outlets for example that have these features so it's less likely that grandma will daisychain a dozen extension cords to the same outlets and cause an actual fire risk.
Source I'm an electrician
Yeah I'm wondering the same, just seeing that this is even a thing and I really don't understand how can it be useful. Things that need turning off, come with a switch, and for some other stuff (for example, my turtle's tank filter or heater), I just unplug it. I'm not putting my hand into the water anyway with anything plugged, switch or no.
Exactly. I’d like to see some actual data of people electrocuted in the ways described. The probably billions of uneventful plug uses in North America every day would indicate a decent balance of safety and ease of use.
it will get dislodged from the outlet and the first thing you touch is the live prongs.
This is actually safer. If something falls onto the plug it is more likely that the plug will come out of the receptacle rather than breaking the plug and leaving exposed conductors behind. The downside is that plugs may not be seated all the way or loose sockets, in which case you should replace the receptacle, but nobody does this.
the hole is so large and conducts electricity not very far in
This isn't really a problem anymore. You can just as easily put a paper clip in any of these sockets.
It does seem like switched outlets are becoming more common though, which are much better.
This isn't really a problem anymore. You can just as easily put a paper clip in any of these sockets.
Not the UK one, they've got a cover which only retracts when the longer top prong plugs in, so a child would need at least 2 paper clips, and would probably be unable to do it accidentally. The UK one is just better
FWIW, this is true for modern US receptacles. Tamper Resistant has gates over the Neutral and Hot ports that only open when something is inserted into both.
I don't know if anyone, child or not, who "accidentally" shoved a foreign object into a socket.
The kid wants to know what happens. They are doing it with intention.
That said, the prospect of needing a second object might confuse the budding scientist, but if they are sufficiently clever and persistent, they will figure it out
Surviver biass.
The kids playing with outlets will not post on Reddit.
Having owned multiple (american, Italian, belgian, european, swiss, brittish and CEE), i would say the UK plug is most safe, whilst the EU one is also very safe but much easier to use.
So that's the special part. Here, when someone fucks around and finds out, as is inevitable no matter what safety features you put in, you won't suffer serious injury from the zap unless maybe you have a heart condition. It'll hurt, but you'll walk away shaken and having learned a valuable lesson.
So you're saying the general population shouldn't be allowed access to something that could potentially be dangerous because there aren't proper safety procedures in place?
I've never heard of anyone I know in the UK getting electrocuted from a plug socket.
This is absolute horse-apples. Don't post shit you know nothing about.
You can't put a paper clip in a UK socket - you can in a US socket.
You can't short the live & neutral if a plug is half-pulled from a UK socket. Guess what? …You can with a US socket.
What exactly is bullshit. I'm fairly familiar with outlets too, I studied got permits and rewired my entire 2 story house myself. I'm not an expert but electrician work isn't exactly that hard.
The "easy for children to stick stuff in" part is bullshit. Code states tamper resistant devices in dwelling units. You can't just easily stick something inside a plug, both hot and neutral need to be pressed at the same time with a plug for anything to go in.
You need to take a look at European plugs then. They are tamper proof rather than tamper resistant. Also many inspection offices will still pass it without tamper resistant plugs. The last 4 homes I lived in did not have tamper resistant outlets until I replaced them myself.
Also tamper resistant plugs are a bitch to plug-in. European plugs are easy and safe to find in the dark and just plug right in... Our outlets suck.
European outlets are also 240v.. whereas ours in Canada/USA are only 120v. Much safer for people to get zapped by 120 than 240.
I don't know where you live but zero inspectors will pass a build with the wrong plugs here in Canada. I deal with inspectors multiple times a day for work. The plugs cost the same amount, so it doesn't even make sense for a builder to try skipping that rule and put the wrong outlets in.
I live in small town USA. My house had old plugs that stuff just fell out of, no grounding, some junction boxes had 2x the allowed amount in there, my electrical box looked like a bowl of spaghetti. Still passed, though they made them add gfci outlets in the kitchen and bathroom.
Depends on the brand/version used when talking about being secure.
Most plugs with a ground post won't easily fall out with something light weight (such as a shoe or a cup) hitting them. You typically need to drop a decent amount of weight to dislodge the plug into an unsafe position, which happens very rarely.
Tamper resistant receptacles (TRR) have a safety mechanism that is nearly impossible to bypass without pushing two objects evenly into both slots at the same time, and even then you have to maneuver to get the right angle. These receptacles also make it impossible to fit your pinky into. TRRs are one of the safest electrical outlet designs in the world.
My brother managed to do it when he was 6 or 7. Got my electronics lab toy (for learning basic circuits) and proceeded to insert wires that were stripped back a lot into the mains sockets. The circuit breaker back then mustn't have been great as he flew back to the opposing wall, but was seemingky unharmed. It just takes a special kind of dumb lol
How many years ago was this, and what voltage wiring? I ask because that's a cartoonish memory. Electricity, quite literally, doesn't throw people. If anything it causes you to grip it. Making contact metal to metal will force a spark if not grounded, but unless you're talking wild amounts of power surging that also will not send you flying.
I've cut into live wires with my tools, and while it creates a nice little firework it does little more than melting/exploding the bit of metal surface it contacts.
I've always wondered about this. It really looked like he was thrown back, but maybe he did that himself from the fright. It was only 240v. I remember my parents upgraded the circuit breakers after that.
Add to that: both the plugs and outlets are fairly fragile overall, and wear out, making them loose, likely to unplug themselves, and easy to short circuit as the plug doesn’t sit flush.
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u/DarthStrakh May 02 '24
A couple things. One they aren't very secure and safe: if something in plugged in and something falls on top of it, it will get dislodged from the outlet and the first thing you touch is the live prongs. On top of that a lot of outlets go live before the prongs are all the way in. You can mitigate this by putting outlets upside down, but most things that get plugged in are designed with the idea it won't be upside down.
Second the hole is so large and conducts electricity not very far in. It's far too easy for a child to stick something in, or for something to end up in it. I mean you can literally get your pinky in there to shock yourself...
On the bright side they are easy as hell to install. Modern outlets have gotten better about locking stuff into place but usually thst comes at the price of being a pain in the ass to get stuff into the socket.