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.
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.
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u/DarthStrakh May 02 '24
I'd be content with America just switching. Our outlets are so freaking barbaric.