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Joined: Aug 2002
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I thought that the sale and use of these ground-adapter devices was illegal in Canada. Why then is this ...thing... being sold at a large chain like Rona?
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Joined: Jul 2004
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In the US they delisted the ones with the pigtail for the ground but I think these "strap" style are still legal.
I'm not sure why.
If the box is not grounded, the device screws made up metal to metal tight and the strap connected to the center screw of the duplex, you might as well just cut the ground pin off the plug cap.
Greg Fretwell
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Connecting the strap conductor to the center screw might not be completely useless - it makes it more dificult to swipe your adapter when someone else needs one.
If pluging a 3 prong plug into an ungrounded receptacle became unavoidably necessary, I'd rather use one of those dumb adapters, strap left hanging or removed, than to remove the ground prong from the plug. If later you are able to plug into a grounded outlet, you'd need to replace the plug first.
Radar
[This message has been edited by Radar (edited 01-26-2006).]
There are 10 types of people. Those who know binary, and those who don't.
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Joined: Aug 2005
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You are right, Sven. Those adaptors are illegal in Canada. I suppose Rona doesn't realize they are illegal. Same as with anything else electrical - if it isn't approved for use in Canada, you can't sell it - yet I see rolls of unapproved offshore electrical tape for sale here all the time.
The only thing you can do is bring it to their attention, and hopefully they will pull it off the shelf.
As for the ground on these adaptors, I have yet to see anyone who has taken the time to bond it to the cover screw.
Sixer
"Will it be cheaper if I drill the holes for you?"
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It still kinda baffles me that those are (still) legal here in the states! I've no idea how to find out actual statistics, but I'd be afraid to know how many people have been electrocuted while using one of these.
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I imagine you have put your finger on it. I doubt there is really much of a body count so it doesn't get outlawed. NFPA is a tombstone agency, never doing anything without a body count ... unless someone has a new product they are selling.
Greg Fretwell
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In the US they delisted the ones with the pigtail for the ground They're still sold in hardware stores and dollar stores all over the place here. Obviously they don't have a UL seal.... Wonder why they delisted those. I know a lot of those are non-polarized...which sort of adds to the danger a bit, I'd say.
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Joined: Jul 2004
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The ones with the wire pigtail got the listing pulled because you could pinch the wire under the hot prong and actually energize the case of the equipment you were using.
Greg Fretwell
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I've got one here made by Hubbell, that has a ground screw on the adaptor, with a pigtail with lugs on both ends.. appears to be bakelite..
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I have a wacky one with a terminal lug and a pigtail with spade lug. Made by General Electric. There's an price sticker still stuck on it...about 40 cents American. [This message has been edited by SvenNYC (edited 01-27-2006).]
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