Question about reversed-polarity in an AC outlet

Unless the electrical inspector finds them interchanged. Then, it's more than being picky. :)

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Mirror:

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is

That's just being picky. The neutral is grounded on all MEN (Multiple Earth "Ground" Neutral) systems.

than

No, then he pulls your ticket. On the certificate practical test I took that was an automatic 0 points.

If the appliance has a double pole switch (or is double insulated?) then you need not polarize the power cord. If it has a single pole switch it must be in the 'hot' lead and thus the plug must be polarized. About 20 years ago I bought a 'power bar' that consists of two long slots into which you can put plugs any way you wish and as tight together as they'll fit. I'm sure that's a no-no now - I haven't seen one in the longest time.

I have a plastic vaccuum cleaner with a polarized plug. I'd hate to suffer the consequences if somehow that plug polarity was reversed, I'd be instantly electrocuted while vaccuuming! As rediculous as this is, this is where we are in this country at least. Everything is dangerous, nothing safe enough. Watch out when installing those 9v batteries in your calculator, may get a severe shock. Bunch of crap really, but that's the way it is I'm afraid.

Welcome the world of litigation. :)

From the point of view of user safety, it shouldn't matter.

There will be some differences like whether the shell or center of a light bulb socket is electrically live if the switch is off. So, I guess if someone were to get electrocuted changing a light bulb with the plug reversed, they couldn't sue. ;-)

There will be some issues with RFI if there are line filters in the equipment. There may even be a tingle from slight leakage due to the line filters if the plug is reversed, but it's not dangerous.

But, otherwise, it should operate normally and the user of the equipment can't get hurt using it in a normal way.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Mirror:

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Pick all the nits you want but you aren't supposed put your fingers in the socket when changing a light bulb. Heck, plugs in this country aren't recessed as they are in many other parts of the World so it's possible to get electrocuted by touching the Hot prong while plugging an appliance in.

There is a fundamental difference between the way it was in the early days with one side of the chassis connected to the power line and not particulalry well isolated from the user and today!

Show me an example of a modern piece of equipment where plugging it in with reversed polarity is dangerous to the user. Repairing doesn't count, the user is the one who uses the device. :)

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Mirror:

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True, but I'm afraid you're missing something here, Sam.

It's not a matter of "putting your fingers in the socket"; when unscrewing a bulb, there will be a time when the threaded side of the bulb's base will be both (a) exposed and (b) still in contact with the side of the socket. It would be a Really Good Thing if the live side of the connection (which is SUPPOSED to be at the contact to the bulb tip, not the side) were disconnected before that happens, don't you think?

Bob M.

Ummm...you don't see just the least bit of inconsistency in those two comments?

sure, "should," but what we're looking for is "must." It's all about the difference between "might get hurt using it in other than normal way, or if the device is no longer electrically intact" and "can't get hurt using it, even in ways or under conditions that were not forseen."

Everybody has their moronic moments. Arranging that they are less likely to die is generally a good idea. Even if you think a lot of lesser intelligences should be eliminated, that is not an approach that can be taken, for long, in a professional setting.

Please be more careful with your attributions. See below for correction.

I did not "write" that and would never author such sentiments. I quoted the above material from a post by Sam Goldwasser and attributed it as such. You cut the attribution without also cutting the quote. Please be more careful.

That sentence was my first contribution to this thread.

I hope that post is intended as a joke.

I do agree that in a matter of diminishing returns, having the center hot rather than the outer shell is better, though you have to admit it would take some effort to reach *around* the bulb to get at the base while changing the bulb. Oh, but I forgot, people ARE morons and have no idea that touching the base could be a bad thing. And, of course, should the bulb break, it's less likely that you would end up touching the center than the outer shell when removing it with a potato. Would you legislate that ALL lamps in the USA be required to be made and retrofitted to have polarized plugs way and have the LAMP POLICE do regular inspections to assure that?

How many lamps in your house have non-polarized plugs? :) How many times have you replaced the plug or cord without noting which side was which?

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Mirror:

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And most everybody was a young child, at some point in their lives, and is at a stage where they haven't yet acquired all of the background information needed to exhibit what adults call "common sense".

Generally, yes. This is especially true in those cases where "doing it carefully" (reducing the risk of unnecessary accidental death) doesn't actually end up having to cost any more than "doing it carelessly".

Euro sockets have a side contact that is separate from teh treads. It is all the way in the base, touching the threaded metal part from the end, not the side. Are USian sockets different?

Thomas

#snip#

My apologies. I believe that most USENET posters recognize "multi-level" quotation, and that only the outermost level of quotation is what was written by the person being responded to (and attributed), but I can see that it might lead to confusion. I'll try to be more careful with this in the future, especially when there's a significant amount of controversy in the discussion.