Damaged Electric Plug on Appliance
 

I unplugged the television and noticed that one of the blades on the
plug was bent (not straight out, but sorta curved). Surprisinly it
easily fits into the outlet, and I have checked to see if the plug
gets warm, which it doesn't. I tried pliers to straighten it, but it
did not work.

Is this something to be overly concerned about? If it's bent in such a
way that it makes a tight connection, can it still cause arcing if the
whole blade is not fully in contact with the inside of the outlet?

Damaged Electric Plug on Appliance
 

"John Ross" wrote in message
oups.com...
I unplugged the television and noticed that one of the blades on the
plug was bent (not straight out, but sorta curved). Surprisinly it
easily fits into the outlet, and I have checked to see if the plug
gets warm, which it doesn't. I tried pliers to straighten it, but it
did not work.

Is this something to be overly concerned about? If it's bent in such a
way that it makes a tight connection, can it still cause arcing if the
whole blade is not fully in contact with the inside of the outlet?


If it is straight enough to go into the slot, it should be just fine. It is
probably held in proper position once inserted.

Damaged Electric Plug on Appliance
 

"John Ross" wrote in message
oups.com...

I unplugged the television and noticed that one of the blades on the
plug was bent (not straight out, but sorta curved). Surprisinly it
easily fits into the outlet, and I have checked to see if the plug
gets warm, which it doesn't. I tried pliers to straighten it, but it
did not work.

Is this something to be overly concerned about? If it's bent in such a
way that it makes a tight connection, can it still cause arcing if the
whole blade is not fully in contact with the inside of the outlet?

Many people might think peace of mind is worth $5 which
is what it would cost to fit a new terminal plug yourself. An electrician
would charge $20 or $25 which you might think too much.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Damaged Electric Plug on Appliance
 

On 4 nov, 15:31, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"John Ross" wrote in message

oups.com...

I unplugged the television and noticed that one of the blades on the
plug was bent (not straight out, but sorta curved). Surprisinly it
easily fits into the outlet, and I have checked to see if the plug
gets warm, which it doesn't. I tried pliers to straighten it, but it
did not work.

Is this something to be overly concerned about? If it's bent in such a
way that it makes a tight connection, can it still cause arcing if the
whole blade is not fully in contact with the inside of the outlet?

If it is straight enough to go into the slot, it should be just fine. It is
probably held in proper position once inserted.

Hello ! Youl'll surely find an answer on http://doityourself.simplywithus.com/
Friendly Dan

Damaged Electric Plug on Appliance
 

"John Ross" wrote in message
oups.com...
I unplugged the television and noticed that one of the blades on the plug
was bent (not straight out, but sorta curved). Surprisinly it easily fits
into the outlet, and I have checked to see if the plug gets warm, which it
doesn't. I tried pliers to straighten it, but it did not work.

Is this something to be overly concerned about? If it's bent in such a way
that it makes a tight connection, can it still cause arcing if the whole
blade is not fully in contact with the inside of the outlet?


As others have stated, it should work without any problems. I alway
overextend the reach of our vacuum cleaner's cord which causes one leg to
bend as it pulls out of the receptical. I straighten it a bit and it always
works. If you are overly concerned you could straighten the blade with
pliers and find something narrow to wedge between the parallel pieces of the
blade.

Damaged Electric Plug on Appliance
 

On Nov 4, 6:35 am, John Ross wrote:
I unplugged the television and noticed that one of the blades on the
plug was bent (not straight out, but sorta curved). Surprisinly it
easily fits into the outlet, and I have checked to see if the plug
gets warm, which it doesn't. I tried pliers to straighten it, but it
did not work.

Is this something to be overly concerned about? If it's bent in such a
way that it makes a tight connection, can it still cause arcing if the
whole blade is not fully in contact with the inside of the outlet?

The true test is to see if it gets warm, which you have already done.
So, in my opinion, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
Televisions use a relatively small amount of current anyway. So,
they're not likely to be a problem. Electric heaters (120V), for
example, are something that you do have to worry about and when the
plug gets hot, I would throw away the entire heater, just on general
principles, and replace the receptacle.

Damaged Electric Plug on Appliance
 

On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:58:42 -0800, mg wrote:

On Nov 4, 6:35 am, John Ross wrote:
I unplugged the television and noticed that one of the blades on the
plug was bent (not straight out, but sorta curved). Surprisinly it
easily fits into the outlet, and I have checked to see if the plug
gets warm, which it doesn't. I tried pliers to straighten it, but it
did not work.

Is this something to be overly concerned about? If it's bent in such a
way that it makes a tight connection, can it still cause arcing if the
whole blade is not fully in contact with the inside of the outlet?

The true test is to see if it gets warm, which you have already done.
So, in my opinion, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
Televisions use a relatively small amount of current anyway. So,
they're not likely to be a problem. Electric heaters (120V), for
example, are something that you do have to worry about and when the
plug gets hot, I would throw away the entire heater, just on general
principles, and replace the receptacle.


You'd throw away the whole heater because of a bent prong on the plug?
That's about the dumbest thing I heard in awhile. You can buy a
decent plug for under $5, or get a hospital grade plug at any
hardware store for about $8. Most of the time these plugs exceed the
quality of the original molded plug that came with the appliance.