The ground prong on an extension cord is extremely important, so never cut it off or if it's broken, replace the cord end. In this video I demonstrate the safety function that equipment grounding/earthing provides.
Thanks for the knowledge! I guess I’ll just throw the extension chord I had that broke off into the outlet away. I’ll need to get one for my laptop too (or I could use it as an excuse to get a new laptop altogether!) Is there any way I can prevent the ground prong from breaking off and getting stuck in the outlet?
Hi Terry peterman, i remember years back ago a few of my friends back in College life had a nice power stripe with a surge protector but the kitchen had 2 outlet only so they cut the 3rd ground prong out and had then microwave and other plugged in. What people should do in that case if a 3rd ground prong ground doesn’t fit is cut off the plug and install a new 2 prong plug and then wire the ground wire to the Black hot wire I believe it is and then they can have the 2 prong.
Nope! (especially that last part of your statement) The only correct thing to do with a 2-prong receptacle that you want to insert a 3-prong plug into is change the receptacle out to a 3-prong grounded receptacle. If there is no grounding conductor inside that outlet box (highly unlikely), then you either need to get a grounding conduct to it by: 1. Changing the cable feeding that outlet to a cable with ground all the way back to the source. 2. Find a reasonable alternative ground connection (copper cold water pipe and clamp), etc. 3. If not ground is available, then change the receptacle out to a GFCI outlet and label it as a "non-grounded" outlet. The GFCI will provide protection from dangerous electric shock. Thanks for watching!
Question. What if your extension cord plugs into a socket in the wall that is not grounded but you have the 3 prong cable plugged into the extension cord and going to your device?
Shut off the breaker to that circuit. Test to make sure it's off. Then try to pull out the broken prong with a needle-nose plier, or just replace the receptacle with a new one.
Would you expect the same shocking results if you plugged a 3 prong device into a 3 to 2 prong adapter and plugged the 2 prong adapter into a 2 prong wall socket?
So, what's the difference between gutting a ground and converting a 3-prong to a 2-prong by using a converter? Why do people treat these situations so differently?
