Electrical extension cords are tremendously helpful for powering units when your gadget’s energy wire isn’t lengthy sufficient to succeed in {an electrical} outlet. Regular extension cords have a so-called male plug that goes into the wall and a feminine plug on the finish the place you may plug in your machine. There’s completely no motive for male-to-male extension cords to exist, however they do. And so they’re out there on Amazon, a lot to the exhaustion of federal security regulators.
The U.S. Client Product Security Fee issued an odd new warning on Thursday, telling customers they need to cease shopping for male-to-male extension cords on Amazon. The cords are apparently bought to folks below the idea that plugging one finish into a house’s electrical outlet and one other finish right into a fuel generator will get the house electrified. However you clearly mustn’t do one thing this silly.
“The extension cords have two male ends (a three-prong plug) and are usually used to ‘back-feed’ electrical energy to a residence throughout an influence outage by connecting a generator to an outlet within the dwelling. When plugged right into a generator or outlet, the other finish has stay electrical energy posing a threat of significant shock or electrocution,” CPSC defined in a publish on its web site.
Once more, don’t attempt to do that. It’s idiotic and unsafe. However CSPC felt it wanted to make this warning express.
“Moreover, the movement of electrical energy within the path reverse to that of the standard movement of energy circumvents security options of the house’s electrical system and can lead to a hearth. The quick size of a few of these cords additionally encourages use of a generator close to the house, which might create a threat of carbon monoxide poisoning. Moreover, these cords don’t adjust to relevant nationwide security codes, similar to Nationwide Fireplace Safety Affiliation 70 (NFPA 70),” the CPSC assertion continues.
When you learn critiques for these sorts of cords on Amazon, you’ll discover folks calling them “suicide cords,” and with good motive. Cease shopping for these cords. They’re not protected.
