Bob, Maybe they are, but probably not. Christmas light sets must have a polarized plug, in order to be NRTL listed. The wider plug blade is supposed to go into the wider slot of the receptacle which, in a properly-wired outlet, will be the neutral (grounded) side of the power circuit. This arrangement ensures that the screw base of each lamp in the string is close to ground potential, minimizing the shock hazard if a fingertip touches the metal when a lamp is replaced.
In your case, with reversed polarity on the power outlet, the lamp bases will be hot (electrically) and thus pose a dangerous shock hazard. It would be a good idea to unplug the lights before changing out a lamp. Of course, if the light strings are not NRTL-listed and/or are polarized incorrectly, the receptacle polarity becomes irrelevant. 73, Eric Lemmon WB6FLY -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2008 11:06 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [Repeater-Builder] Re: RadioShack Recalls Power Supplies Due toElectrocution and Fire Hazards At 7/5/2008 10:09, you wrote: <snip> In the meantime, Christmas lights are safe to use on that outlet. Bob NO6B
