Any electricians here? breaking the third prong off a power cord

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S

SAWYER

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
16,742
42
91
I have something I want to hook up in a room but I have no outlets with three hole sin that room, I know that is there for a reason though, grounding I believe. What is my risk if I break that off?
 
ElFenix

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,405
8,583
126
while breaking off it could fly up and impale your eye
 
vshah

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
get an adapter that you can attach to the wall. they have a small loop at the bottom that the wall plate screw goes through

edit for slowness fail :(
 
Jeff7

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
20
81
What's the device?

The ground is usually there a safety, in case some wiring fault should cause the hot wire to contact something's metal chassis. If that happens, and you happen to touch the case while grounded, you get an instant and intimate understanding the joys of 120VAC@60Hz.

Some things will also use the ground for surge protection, as a path for the excess power.
 
zinfamous

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,942
31,467
146
ZOOYUKA said:
I think there are adapters. I would go with that instead.
Click to expand...

this, or just get a three-pronged outlet at Home Depot or Lowes. They're like...80 cents or something, and super easy to replace. hell, you might even be able to actually ground the outlet, if you know what you're doing...
 
V

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
9
0
I would not do that. Yes its the ground and its there for YOUR safety not the tool or item you are plugging in.
 
D

darkxshade

Lifer
Mar 31, 2001
13,749
6
81
What you should do is drill the 3rd hole into your outlet so that all future appliances and electronics are guaranteed to fit. :sneaky:
 
Demon-Xanth

Demon-Xanth

Lifer
Feb 15, 2000
20,551
2
81
Most of the time it's for safety, other times it can produce "interesting" results.

Example:
When I moved into my house I didn't have any grounds, even though I had a lot of 3 prong outlets. When I hooked up my LCD TV my cable was flaky. And there was another side effect, I got zapped every time I touched the outside connector. You know, the one that is supposed to be ground. Inside the TV's power supply there are some caps that go between the line, neutral, and ground. This is a common and fair design. When it's not grounded, it puts the ground at approximately 60VAC (I measured 70...) due to leakage currents and the like. Thus, my LCD TV caused the shield on the coax, which happens to be ground, to be the ground. And this ground isn't a good ground like I needed it to be. So the net result... I got shocked every time I messed with the coax until I just used a pair of rabbit ears with that TV.
 
gorcorps

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,741
456
126
I want him to do it and see what his 'on my way to the hospital' thread turns out like
 
So

So

Lifer
Jul 2, 2001
25,923
17
81
I had an arcade machine that was wired wrong and had the ground plug wired to the neutral line. Good grounding can be a lifesaver. If you absolutely have to plug a device with a ground prong into an ungrounded outlet, get one of the adapters mentioned above and screw the lug at the bottom into the faceplate of your outlet, it should give you some protection. Also, they are like $0.50 at home depot or walmart.
 
Analog

Analog

Lifer
Jan 7, 2002
12,755
3
0
So said:
Better not be, if you're meeting code.
Click to expand...

Ground and Neutral ARE bonded together at the electrical panel to meet code. There should also be a ground rod outside that the ground is bonded to.

Perhaps you were thinking he meant bonded together somewhere else? That would be wrong.
 
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