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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,691
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I'd really love to get my hands on the guy who invented these ... and give him a piece of my mind. These handle-less plug caps are an absolute pain to pull out of a wall socket. Apparently the only way of getting these things disconnected without getting bitten is to yank on the wire itself. The few electrical items I've had the pleasure (hah) of working on that had these plugs; I had to do just that, otherwise my fingers would have gone over the rim and touched the pins or the terminal screws in the front as the cap came loose from the wall socket. What was so hard about molding a handle on the plastic shell of the plug? I've seen other varieties that are just as old that do have handles (pretty much the kind of replacement cap you see nowadays). Talk about bad design. I just wonder what the reasoning was behind making them this way.
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 943 Likes: 2
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Those "live front" plugs are a violation of section 410-56(g) (2002 NEC)and have been since Jan. 1 1978 (see 1975 NEC). When I get one it is usally destroyed.
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,381 Likes: 7
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Sven: Talk about finding some really, really OBSOLETE goodies!!!!
Ya got three good brands. How about "Leviton"?? I thought that 'Rodale' was a private label for a defunct supply house here in NJ; guess not.
Find a dumpster.
Looks like some of the 'materials' that are in an ad from a place in NYC; think it's BQE supply, or something like that.
John
John
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,429
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Sven,
Are you going to the Antique Road Show ?
Norcal, dumpster stock.
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 794 Likes: 3
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Well the ones in the top picture do have a ridge your fingers could get a grab onto. And there's the cardboard inserts (that usually get lost) to cover the terminals.
What can be "fun" is when a user has one of these plugs with the terminal screw a bit loose and he goes to plug it into an outlet with a metal cover plate that is grounded....
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,691
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Well...the pictures (and this pile o' plugs) aren't mine. They were "nicked" from the website of an antique fan collector. This is his stash and he sells the buggers. Apparently they're much coveted among the antique appliance and lamp collector crowd. I don't destroy all live front plugs. I like the ones with the handles. But when I run across one of these, I usually use them tovent my frustrations. Seriously though...what possessed manufacturers from designing a plug that is so difficult to safely withdraw from its socket.
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,438
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I thought that 'Rodale' was a private label for a defunct supply house here in NJ; guess not. The house I grew up in had Rodale for the 3 prong outlets and Hemco for the NEMA 1-15's. This was in Santa Ana, CA... I did come across an old supply house in San Diego once (est. 1932) that had some old-new stock, still in the boxes from the likes of Rodale, Sierra, H&H, Paulding, Slater, Lew fittings and of all things, FPE!
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 943 Likes: 2
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If my memory serves me correct, Rodale was owned by the Square D Company like Bell electric was, Bell now part of Hubbell.
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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Change the flat blades for round prongs, and these are pretty similar to some of the plugs which were common in Britain in the 1940s/early 1950s. Most of ours were deadfront though, with wiring carried out by unscrewing the cap from the base. [This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 11-29-2005).]
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,381 Likes: 7
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Guys, thanks for the input on "Rodale". The 'house' I mentioned was owned by a family with that name; that's were I made the corrolation, but, alas I'm wrong.
John
John
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Posts: 44
Joined: August 2005
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