[PLUG-TALK] Electrical Outlet Adapters

[Rich Shepard]

On Sun, 1 Jan 2006, Keith Lofstrom wrote:

> The most expedient is an extension cord with the wide prong filed down, but
> the extra wire and resistance and mess is a pain.

Keith,

   I don't know if there are more than two wires in any of those outlets, nor
if the ground is consistently on the same side. Over the 70+ years my folks
and grandparents lived in that apartment (I believe since shortly after the
stock market crashed and they had to leave the 12-room apartment on Riverside
Drive), my father did a lot of rewiring and other maintenance work. Despite
his enthusiasm and efforts, he was not very good at it.

   My sister just told me that the front doorbell is somehow wired on two
separate lines: one plugs into an outlet in the dining room, the other into
an outlet in the kitchen. Unplug one and the doorbell doesn't work. Go
figure.

> There is an easy solution, but it will involve a tiny bit of hardware work
> - some screwdriver work and a metal file. And some increased risk of
> electrical shock - the wide/narrow plug blades are designed to minimize
> exposure to the "hot" side of the power line, and if you get it backwards
> you increase the potential shock hazard from very small to merely small.

   See above: the hot side may well vary.

> In our 50yo house, we use "wall socket extender boxes" that replace the
> wall socket cover plate, and convert 2 sockets to four. They stick out from
> the wall an inch or two, and have a side profile of a half hexagon. These
> units have two plugs that plug into the existing two sockets. You can use a
> metal file to reduce the width of the wide plug so it fits. If your sister
> is not handy with a metal file, you can buy a dozen of these gizmos at Home
> Depot and file them down yourself.

   I was thinking of doing something like this as I could make the
modifications she cannot.

> Rinse and repeat, for all the sockets in the house.

   She needs only two, one for each new lamp she's bought.

> It is always better to get the old wall sockets converted to modern three
> prong sockets by an electrician (NOT the super).

   She'll be there only another 12-18 months. When she retires she'll move to
Florida and sell the apartment to the owners who converted the building to
condos years ago (but she and a couple of other old timers are still under
rent control). Whoever buys the place will need to gut it and remodel it,
including new wiring.

Many thanks,

Rich

-- 
Richard B. Shepard, Ph.D.               |   Author of "Quantifying Environmental
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