POWER CORDS

BROCKWOOD

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May 26, 2017
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I'm a musician, so my cables & cords travel all over for shows. People are so nice & help with setup & teardown. This particular power cord came back neutered. Someone had removed the Ground pin. It's just a 14 gauge, so I don't use it on my bass amp or my PA, but I had to take it out of service. Now I'm fine with 2 wire power cords for lights on the Christmas Tree - but pretty much nothing else. So while cleaning up & organizing the garage / metal shop, I came across a couple of professional cord ends I had bought that were still in the package. I'd rather have saved this for a 10 or 12 gauge cord, but .... well, power safety is as important as eye safety ;-)

287591
 
My garage had 1 dual socket outlet, and I ran everything with extension cords, Until I scorched my Levis, that was enough for me. I laid on the ground to drain the water out of the air tank on top of the extension plug. I paid a bunch to run 5 220v lines, and 6, 4 gang outlets, plus the original 2. Because of this....I did feel the heat! The GFI did trip...Sorry a little off of your subject.

 
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Ouch! Glad you had a GFCI. That coulda been very nasty.

When we moved into our new house and (my) shop I gathered all the extension cords, plug strips, etc. that my wife and I had accumulated over the years and went over them with an eagle eye. Discarded all the 2 wire cords, checked the ends of all the others for missing ground pins, defective insulation, etc.
 
Quote: My garage had 1 dual socket outlet, and I ran everything with extension cords, Until I scorched my Levis, that was enough for me. I laid on the ground to drain the water out of the air tank on top of the extension plug. I paid a bunch to run 5 220v lines, and 6, 4 gang outlets, plus the original 2. Because of this....I did feel the heat! The GFI did trip...Sorry a little off of your subject.




I've done a lot of electrical work over the years, and have gotten bit quite a few times. Used to wire many things hot. Now that I'm older and not as steady, and not in as big a hurry, I take the time to kill the breaker in question. I notice you didn't show the rear of the jeans. ;) mike
 
Not quite on topic, but finding the right breaker to open was always a pain. Lee Valley Tools has a gizmo on a limited time offer that makes it a lot easier:


I bought one of these and it worked really well. Plug the remote part into the outlet in question and then wave the sensor up and down the rows of breakers. It will zero in on the one you need to switch off. And when you do, the LED on the remote part will go out so you know the circuit isn't live anymore. Only $30 CAD. BTW, I used an adapter so I could check a standard light socket.

Craig
 
[Warning: Thread Hijack ahead]

In a somewhat similar experience, I was using a chainsaw once and after a cut I let the saw swing down to my side. For some unknown reason, let leg was in the way. I was MOSTLY safe but as the blade was running down it ran into my leg and cut HALF-WAY through by thick blue jeans. Not a scratch on me but I felt the pressure and it left a mark on the jeans where half of the jean material was cut through. Quite the adrenaline moment. but I kept the jeans as a reminder of what happens when concentrate more on the task than on safety. Even for a second. The picture of your burnt jeans reminded me of this not so glorious moment in my past.
 
Do you know why the ground pin is there and what its function is? My dad was drilling a hole in the wall and hit a hot (black). This should never happen in a house with modern wiring. The current flowed through the tip of the drill bit, through the bearings, then the case, then the handle..............then through the protective ground and the ground pin in the extension cord which he did not remove, to the power box, through the bonded ground to neutral, blowing the breaker. There was a flash and a bang, and the drill bit was ruined. He then told me a story about his neighbor who removed the ground pin on his extension cord. He did the same thing with the drill and died without his wife hearing anything. She discovered his body after he failed to respond to her call a few hours later.

What that means is that you can get away with removing the ground pin if you have a working GFI (don't trust it unless you have independently tested it with a resistor shunt), the tool is double insulated, laptop computer with an isolated switching supply and no ground lead, or you have shoes with thick insulated soles. As for the last one, it might not be a good idea relying on the shoes. I got shocked by 700V through my 1" thick rubber soles (there must have been a crack), and one of our workers touched an 11kv motor line and it blew a 4" hole through his rubber sole flowing to ground, which shouldn't have happened since he was hi-pot tested with a coil before he went to the job site.
 
I have seen so not too good outcomes with 440v, it will reach out , and grab you....

My jeans were ok, I hid the briefs in the middle of the hamper....:)
 
Chainsaws are great for cutting wood, flesh, and bone. Regular part of my job is sewing people back up in the Emergency Department. I wear the chainsaw chaps and a full face shield when cutting wood with my chainsaw. Very cheap compared to a trip to the ER or surgery.

Power cords, same thing. Learned the hard way on a garage sale special. Years ago bought an otherwise nice condition extension cord. But it had the pin broken off. Fried my Craftsman drill. Promptly cut the cord on the drill and tossed in the trash. Did the same to the extension cord. Luckily had gloves on otherwise I'm sure I would have gotten shocked.
 
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