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Current Events > Know what always bugged me? How unsafe american plugs/sockets are..

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Kimbos_Egg
10/21/23 2:06:26 PM
#1:


Like, good god, how are there not many more child deaths in your country because of this shit? Its honestly surprising that it's never been updated.

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ArchonKnight
10/21/23 2:08:22 PM
#2:


Updated to what?

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SiO4
10/21/23 2:09:46 PM
#3:


Are you trying to say butter knives are for butter?

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Tyranthraxus
10/21/23 2:11:36 PM
#4:


ArchonKnight posted...
Updated to what?
I'm guessing they mean GFCI. We already have those in America. You just won't find them everywhere.

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Takuya_Lee
10/21/23 2:11:44 PM
#5:


I don't see what I safe to ..bzzzzz....

... I see your point .

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ellis123
10/21/23 2:12:08 PM
#6:


ArchonKnight posted...
Updated to what?
Most of the world has different plugs because they came after the US. Thus they could be viewed as an update, especially since they basically universally are better in most every statistic that matters.

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TheSavageDragon
10/21/23 2:12:19 PM
#7:


Do they have the same protection as European sockets? Where the holes have a little plate you need to exert a bit of strength on?
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Kimbos_Egg
10/21/23 2:15:17 PM
#8:


TheSavageDragon posted...
Do they have the same protection as European sockets? Where the holes have a little plate you need to exert a bit of strength on?

i can't speak for the mainland, but the uk has some of the safest in the world.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/5/9/AAZ9hUAAE9WT.jpg

Unless you step on them like i did :(

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Kai_Laguna
10/21/23 2:17:48 PM
#9:


TheSavageDragon posted...
Do they have the same protection as European sockets? Where the holes have a little plate you need to exert a bit of strength on?
Some newer ones do, but it's not common.
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doesntcare
10/21/23 2:21:00 PM
#10:


Where i work every receptacle is tamper resistant
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Southernfatman
10/21/23 2:21:47 PM
#11:


Maybe we should at least make a standard of the ground being up so it's less dangerous in case a kid sticks a coin or knife between a plug and the receptacle.

Some of the wiring I've seen in general as an electrician was a bit scary to see too.

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AloneIBreak
10/21/23 2:22:59 PM
#12:


Whats the difference between the different plug types? Like what makes one more or less safe than another?

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Kimbos_Egg
10/21/23 2:25:40 PM
#13:


AloneIBreak posted...
Whats the difference between the different plug types? Like what makes one more or less safe than another?

Well with the uk one, it has shutter inside, they prevent the plug/fingers from going in unless the top (prong?) is also in (which requires some effort). I've never heard of someone being electrocuted this way in the uk. (i'm sure it happened, but i haven't seen any mention of it)

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Kimbos_Egg
10/21/23 2:26:50 PM
#14:


And from what i've seen, americans don't seem to have the switch to turn the socket off and on again it seems?

Thats scary.

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LightHawKnight
10/21/23 2:29:37 PM
#15:


Safety? Pfft thats a waste of money.

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Kai_Laguna
10/21/23 2:33:42 PM
#16:


Kimbos_Egg posted...
And from what i've seen, americans don't seem to have the switch to turn the socket off and on again it seems?

Thats scary.
We have them, but they aren't common.
Our socket voltage is also lower then the UK so electrocution is far less likely to be fatal.
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itcheyness
10/21/23 3:01:32 PM
#17:


Southernfatman posted...
Some of the wiring I've seen in general as an electrician was a bit scary to see too.
I once saw an electrician run a grounding wire to a gas line.

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Anteaterking
10/21/23 3:20:20 PM
#18:


Does the US have a statistically significant higher electrocution rate compared to European countries?

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Southernfatman
10/21/23 3:20:53 PM
#19:


itcheyness posted...
I once saw an electrician run a grounding wire to a gas line.

Not surprising at all.

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Kai_Laguna
10/21/23 5:12:08 PM
#20:


Anteaterking posted...
Does the US have a statistically significant higher electrocution rate compared to European countries?
Statistically we have nearly four times the population of the Uk, so yes.
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MyMainAccount
10/21/23 5:13:56 PM
#21:


I don't think that is how statistics work

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Anteaterking
10/21/23 5:20:25 PM
#22:


Kai_Laguna posted...
Statistically we have nearly four times the population of the Uk, so yes.


Anteaterking posted...
rate


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Vicious_Dios
10/21/23 5:31:24 PM
#23:


We have them.

By code, we typically install outlets controlled by GFI/GFCIs in exterior locations, garages, and areas near water (kitchens, bathrooms, and utility rooms).

For residential homes we tend to use 15/20 Amp 110 circuits which isn't as perilous as 30 Amp 110s and haven't wired homes that way for a long time.

TR (Tamper Resistant) Plugs controlled by arc-fault breakers help. Dual-function breakers are a bit pricier, but they also help than using standard breakers.

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Sonic_Cannon
10/21/23 5:33:21 PM
#24:


To me the weirdest thing is how most outlets there seem to not have an on/off switch

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ai123
10/21/23 5:36:57 PM
#25:


The UK system is much more dangerous with its higher voltage, but the safety requirements are much more strict. Makes sense.

The only problem I have with US plugs is that they don't seem very stable. Like they are easy to pull out by mistake.

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Tyranthraxus
10/21/23 5:37:49 PM
#26:


Sonic_Cannon posted...
To me the weirdest thing is how most outlets there seem to not have an on/off switch
That is not an on/off switch. It's an interrupt. That's like calling your circuit breaker a bunch of on/off switches.

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Error1355
10/21/23 5:44:56 PM
#27:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNj75gJVxcE

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Sonic_Cannon
10/21/23 5:53:49 PM
#28:


Tyranthraxus posted...
That is not an on/off switch. It's an interrupt. That's like calling your circuit breaker a bunch of on/off switches.
Are you sure we're talking about the same thing? I'm not talking about switches with test/rest switches and a circuit breaker like you might find in a bathroom. I'm talking about ones with a fully manual switch similar to a light switch.

Like this: https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/white-australian-wall-power-outlet-17607268.jpg

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Tyranthraxus
10/21/23 5:57:40 PM
#29:


Sonic_Cannon posted...
Are you sure we're talking about the same thing? I'm not talking about switches with test/rest switches and a circuit breaker like you might find in a bathroom. I'm talking about ones with a fully manual switch similar to a light switch.

Like this: https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/white-australian-wall-power-outlet-17607268.jpg

Oh, that is different. We have those but they're usually not on the outlet themselves. They're usually wired to other switches.

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sfcalimari
10/21/23 6:35:16 PM
#30:


Kimbos_Egg posted...
Well with the uk one, it has shutter inside, they prevent the plug/fingers from going in unless the top (prong?) is also in (which requires some effort). I've never heard of someone being electrocuted this way in the uk. (i'm sure it happened, but i haven't seen any mention of it)

You can jam the stupid shutter open with a knife and then stick an American plug into the stupid prongy bits. There can't be any good reason for British plugs to be as massive as they are. I guess because most Brits live on top of one another in tiny flats they felt like they had to do something to avoid fires.

Sonic_Cannon posted...
To me the weirdest thing is how most outlets there seem to not have an on/off switch

That's only useful if you're in a poor country with expensive electricity so you can shut off stuff like your game consoles at the wall so they don't drain power even when they're off. Americans don't care yet, maybe in a few years.

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uwnim
10/21/23 6:39:36 PM
#31:


It is normal to have like an outlet or half of one connected to a wall switch for lamps. For most outlets, there's no point to having them connected to a switch.

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pnut027
10/21/23 6:44:09 PM
#32:


AloneIBreak posted...
Whats the difference between the different plug types? Like what makes one more or less safe than another?
On the UK outlets, only the tip of the plug has exposed conductors. On a U.S. outlet, you could theoretically shock yourself by touching the exposed conductor of a not fully seated plug.

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#34
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ai123
10/21/23 6:51:50 PM
#37:


https://youtu.be/efh4k6TJa2c

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StealThisSheen
10/21/23 6:53:03 PM
#38:


Anteaterking posted...
Does the US have a statistically significant higher electrocution rate compared to European countries?

The US has approximately 400 electrocution deaths per year, for a 331.9 million population.

The UK has approximately 70 electrocution deaths per year, for a 67.33 million population.

Basic math suggests the US has a slight higher rate, but it's a very small increase.

EDIT: That said, and I'm honestly not sure how this statistic compares, but there are apparently 4000 electrical household injuries per year in the US, but 350,000 per year in the UK. ...That can't be right, can it?

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#39
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Kimbos_Egg
10/21/23 6:55:46 PM
#40:


StealThisSheen posted...
The US has approximately 400 electrocution deaths per year, for a 331.9 million population.

The UK has approximately 70 electrocution deaths per year, for a 67.33 million population.

Basic math suggests the US has a slight higher rate, but it's a very small increase.

EDIT: That said, and I'm honestly not sure how this statistic compares, but there are apparently 4000 electrical household injuries per year in the US, but 350,000 per year in the UK. ...That can't be right, can it?

thats all electrocutions. Not ones done by outlets.

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StealThisSheen
10/21/23 6:56:48 PM
#41:


Kimbos_Egg posted...
thats all electrocutions. Not ones done by outlets.

That makes sense of the "injuries" number, then, since the US statistic primarily is household injuries, whereas I assume the UK number is all, period.

EDIT: The death numbers for both appear to be all, so the 400 vs. 70 seems accurate. The injury numbers appear to be where the discrepancy is.

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pnut027
10/21/23 6:58:47 PM
#42:


[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Yes, Im not not sure often people touch the conductor, but Im guessing its a non zero value.

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ExtremeLuchador
10/21/23 7:03:09 PM
#43:


I still have most of my original outlets from the 1950s.

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lilORANG
10/21/23 7:05:24 PM
#44:


Just don't stick shit in the plug that isn't supposed to go in the plug. Not everything needs to be made safer.

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thronedfire2
10/21/23 7:06:34 PM
#45:


some of the outlets in my apartment don't even have the 3rd slot

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Notti
10/24/23 7:07:36 AM
#46:


Shocked once as a kid. Never again.

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YugiNoob
10/24/23 7:21:30 AM
#47:


https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/6/9/AAPV5JAAE99h.jpg

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mustachedmystic
10/24/23 7:24:16 AM
#48:


Kai_Laguna posted...
Statistically we have nearly four times the population of the Uk, so yes.
Per capita, duh!

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mustachedmystic
10/24/23 7:25:50 AM
#49:


ExtremeLuchador posted...
I still have most of my original outlets from the 1950s.
Do you still have the original knob and tube wiring?

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ExtremeLuchador
10/24/23 7:28:53 AM
#50:


mustachedmystic posted...
Do you still have the original knob and tube wiring?
Yeah

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