Replies

1. 
   bobl | Oct 20, 2009 05:59pm | #1

   IIRC the replacement plug will have two screws, a brass screw, a silver screw. black wire on brass screw, white wire on silver screw.

    

   bobl          Volo, non valeo

   Baloney detecter    WFR

   "But when you're a kibbutzer and have no responsibility to decide the facts and apply the law, you can reach any conclusion you want because it doesn't matter." SHG

2. 
   frontiercc2 | Oct 20, 2009 06:18pm | #2

   Wide blade = Neutral
   Narrow blade = Hot

1. 
   MGMaxwell | Oct 20, 2009 06:22pm | #3

   Yes, now that I took apart the new one I see the different screws. Should have done that before posting. Thanks

1. 
   junkhound | Oct 20, 2009 07:13pm | #4

   whenever I see a plug with no ground pin, the plug wide blade gets stuck against the grinder to make it into a narrow blade. 

1. 
   YesMaam27577 | Oct 20, 2009 10:23pm | #5

   >>"whenever I see a plug with no ground pin, the plug wide blade gets stuck against the grinder to make it into a narrow blade. "
   Man, you're a daredevil!Aren't you afraid that your circular saw will now rotate on a different axis?That your drill will leave oval-shaped holes?That your shop vac will alternately pick up only from the left side or the right?

   I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone,
   And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone;
   I can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone,
   So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here. (Phil Ochs)

2. 
   Dam_inspector | Oct 21, 2009 12:36am | #7

   You're still a rebel I see.

2. 
   fingersandtoes | Oct 21, 2009 05:28am | #13

   I wonder why they made the wide one neutral? For some reason I feel it should be the hot. Too late now I guess.

1. 
   DanH | Oct 21, 2009 05:30am | #14

   Fewer things fit into the narrow slot, something worth considering with rug rats.
   As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz

3. 
   JTC1 | Oct 21, 2009 12:31am | #6

   Bobl and Frontier both have it right.

   Jim

   Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
1. 
   MGMaxwell | Oct 21, 2009 02:14am | #8

   Yes, thanks. The cord is reconstructed and the floor has been swept. My dog, a Bouvier, has discovered that the best way to remove stick tights from his long wavy hair is to lounge on the carpet this transferring the task to Mr. Hoover.

1. 
   JTC1 | Oct 21, 2009 02:47am | #9

   >>..to lounge on the carpet this transferring the task to Mr. Hoover.<<

   A very smart and considerate dog, and I thought this was why it was called "fur-niture"...

   I will have to read your post to the two cats who let me and my family live here.

   Jim

    Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.

4. 
   DanH | Oct 21, 2009 03:59am | #10

   The neutral is the wide plug. It should have the silver screw and will get the white wire from the cord.

   (Not that it makes A LOT of difference. The switch is on the hot wire, but there's no major difference in shock hazard one way vs the other, and no operational difference.)

   As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
1. 
   brucet9 | Oct 21, 2009 04:11am | #11

   It makes a BIG difference in anything with a light bulb. The threaded part of a light socket is supposed to be the neutral, center contact is supposed to be hot. If blades of the plug are reversed, one can get a nasty shock by contact with the socket.BruceT

1. 
   DanH | Oct 21, 2009 04:25am | #12

   True, makes a difference with screw-type light bulbs. And if there's a light on the vacuum it could represent a hazard.Thanks for pointing that out.
   As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz

5. 
   AitchKay | Oct 21, 2009 06:25pm | #15

   I agree -- you're going to have to do better than this if you want to start a fight!

   But, back to the plug, I remember how amazed I was when I got my first shock changing a bulb in a ceiling fixture with the switch TURNED OFF!

   It had been wired incorrectly, with the polarity reversed. The fixture was hot all of the time, with the ground instead of the hot interrupted by the switch.

   That fixture just sat there, patiently looking for a convenient ground -- like me.

   So I never trust switched fixtures anymore. I'm careful when changing bulbs, and if I have to do more than that, I turn off the breaker.

   Hmm, I wonder if someone snuck in and swapped those connections? Do you think it could have been P...

   Oh, never mind.

   AitchKay

1. 
   MGMaxwell | Oct 21, 2009 06:58pm | #16

   That's good stuff to know. I had my question answered and the problem fixed in 10 minutes but I still learned some other important info. Also makes me feel better about my caution around electricity. Now, if I could just get my neighbor to move his fence....BTW, does anyone know if when you're hanging wall cabs and the sheetrock screws snap off, what percentage of their normal holding power...

1. 
   DanH | Oct 21, 2009 08:54pm | #17

   Dunno, but the holding power of drywall screws in shear is measured in "Piffins".
   As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz