Technical Safety first. Some times

Do you have any extension cords older than 2 or 3 months that still have the ground prong on the male end? I am convinced those things are designed to fall off.

 

What are you doing to the cords? I have never had one break off. I have some cords that are 30+ years old.

CN

 

Shoot....I normally just break those off so I and plug the cords into my REALLY old extension cords....haha..

 

Pliers will snap them right off.

 

Grounds aren't traditional....my old tools refuse to consort with 3 prongs.

 

My dad gave me his old (40s?) vintage Black and Decker 1/2" drill. Chuck locked with an allen wrench. It died recently but ran about 100 RPM and you had to be careful because it had so much torque it would snap your wrist if it caught. Had a solid cast aluminum body, of course no ground wire. It was a man's tool!!

 

You are WAY too gentle in your shop!! I have had the probes break off just pulling the cords out of the socket. Have snapped some off on purpose to fit old sockets too. They are really pretty fragile. Strange.

 

They may break off easily, but they are installed for a reason.

 

This is a shocking revelation that the ground prongs are breaking off!

 

Yep, I'd like to convert my keyless chucks to the real deal. I had a piece of something get imbedded in my grip. After some time, I had to resort to having it cut out by my doctor.
Now with ol' arthritis I have to rely on two channel locks twisting the keyless chuck to get a bite on the bit.
I still have some 'real' drills but they need to go to the rebuilder.

BTW the wife came home with some extension cords that have a two hole female socket, with a 3/8 inch boss, blocking where the ground plug would go. Any sharp blade can fix that.

 

We all whistle past the graveyard about electrical stuff, it seems. We soapbox the living shit out of other safety issues, probably because we can actually visibly see the threat, or maybe have experienced a bad outcome from either disregard or worse, an actual incident. That being said, the lack of concern over electrical safety is amazing( in general, not just on this board). I believe it has more to do with what you can't see as opposed to the more obvious dangers we encounter daily in our shops or workplaces. As a 30 year high voltage electric guy, I can't stress enough how even a casual disregard for something as common as a grounding issue can go wrong very quickly.

 

Does anybody know of someone being electrocuted by a PLASTIC drill motor?
All kidding aside though, can you imagine the arms on those guys from the early 1900's that handled those big hurky drills all day long.

 

Most of mine have broken off , seems i use that longer prong to hunt for the plug socket in dark and light. Just gotta be careful with the addition of water.

 

@thintin is right - I've worked around high voltages 480 and less and the most dangerous is yer 120 VAC - safety first when in doubt don't - don't do the 60 cycle shuffle


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120 VAC is more common than 480, but not more dangerous.

I have ground fault breakers on all my circuits in the shop as well as the outlets on the exterior of the house. They've kept me from getting tickled a couple times.

 

It’s the Amps that are the most dangerous.

 

Maybe a little off topic but I've got my dads Craftsman 1/2 inch drill (yep, just two wires.... it has to be 70 years old) and it is so heavy that I virtually never use it. Our ancestors must have been tough. When I was about five dad was building a garage and the drill was laying on the floor, I picked it up and pulled the trigger and it wouldn't stop Scared the crap out of me and when I use it today I am very careful it has lots of power!!!

 

We have one of those at work. I broke my wrist drilling out a broken bolt on a skidder a few years ago.

 

Yep GFIs rule. Really helpful when you saw the cord in half on your circular saw. Or at least that's what I have heard.

 

Not an extension cord, but I had that prong break off the cord on my Hobart welder recently. That reminds me, I need to buy a new cord for my welder

 

I bought several 50 foot 12 ga. extension cord for my business. A young guy who had just started working for me took his side cutters and snipped off the ground prong. He was thoroughly confused as to why I was so angry and his reply was, " That's the way my Dad always does it ". He was offended that I considered his Dad a dumbass. One of the reasons I really like apprentice programs.

 

That third ground plug is only good if the outlet that it's plugged into is wired with the extra ground. Most of the plugs in my house don't have it as they were wired in sometime in the mid 60's, and most of the wiring is two wire, not the standard three wire that is common now. When I do replacement or new wiring, I upgrade to the three wire. Really, I think a GFI plug is a better option, it will kill the power if it senses a feedback. I prefer them in wet or damp locations like in a bathroom or outside,

 

^^^^^Since I am an electrical wizard. Would a ground fault breaker work with these older two prong outlets? I have ground fault outlets but the breakers protect several outlets at once compared to two or three.

 

Good question.
I read where it's the 50-60 AC cycling that is close to heart rythym and regardless of voltage ya gotta be wary of.

 

I have cords 15 or 20 years old that still have the ground prong. Looks like yours was doing absolutely nothing though.

 

They are actually most important in that situation. If there is no bonding conductor in an old wiring system, the GFI will trip when sensing about 5 miliamps to the grounded conductor. Much faster than the circuit breaker and will protect the user before the breaker ever would.

 

Just remember safety’s third...torque is first and horsepower is second!

 

I think on the cheap cord the ground plug is just there for decoration!!!!

I gave up on the cheap cords and now but good ones at aklands granger or brafssco etc.
The coil up good even in freezing temps

and the male and female plugs don’t wear out on em !

 

My current problem isn't quite as shocking.

 

Sounds like a 'reluctance' problem?