All, In a brand new building in the USA using a type of GFI in wet areas (kitchen/bath) with which I am unfamiliar. These GFIs require a three prong plug in order to be able to insert. The ground pin pushes back a plastic blocking sheath which otherwise blocks the insertion of any two prong plug.
Question: Does this type of GFI require a three prong device in order for the device to be able to detect a fault condition (i.e., does it only sense current in the safety wire conductor, or is it some sort of belts and suspenders design that works like GFIs which accept two wire plugs)? Another way to phrase the question is whether or not it is safe to plug in a two prong device using a cheater plug. For example, a DEI (doubly electrically isolated) electric razor with a two prong plug cannot be plugged into the electrical outlet near the bathroom sink without the cheater plug. Not looking for a sermon on safety here, just a definitive answer on the design of this type of GFI, and the impact of using the cheater. Common sense would indicate that this new device would have to work the same as older devices else people using cheaters to bypass them would be incurring a risk that didn¹t use to exist with previous generations of GFI. Wishing to confirm that. Thank you, Ken Javor Phone: (256) 650-5261 - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
