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by sveiss 3518 days ago
A power strip like that isn't connected to the electrical ground in your house -- that would need a three-pin connection, and it only has a two-pin connection. Despite this, it has three-pin grounded sockets for you to connect appliances to it.

Three-pin appliances require a ground to be safe. By using a power strip like this, you're creating an unsafe configuration with a high risk of electric shock if there's a fault with an appliance.

Also, the little figure-8 connectors can't pass a high amount of current safely, and lots of 3-pin appliances are relatively high draw. That's a fire risk.

I'm not sure who's responsible for the enforcement in the US.
2 comments
aianus 3518 days ago
> Three-pin appliances require a ground to be safe

Can you elaborate on this?

My MacBook charger has both a two-prong and a three-prong cable. Why would it be any more dangerous to plug my MacBook into this power strip using the three-prong cable than to connect it directly to the wall with the two-prong cable?

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chx 3518 days ago
Your MacBook then is prepared for ungrounded operations. Now take a laser printer, it uses very high voltage on the inside and if something gets dislodged and touches an outer facing metal part and you touch that in turn, you are dead. That's why the outer parts are connected to a safety ground. Do note Xerox warns you not to use a "cheater plug" http://download.support.xerox.com/pub/docs/4400/userdocs/any... . Laser printers are also a great example of when that C7/C8 connection is a fire hazard because laser printers need a lot of power when heating up their fusers. This is also why you must not connect a laser printer to a UPS.
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spoiler 3518 days ago
It's also possible that op has a socket like this, so the grounding is on the side: http://i.imgur.com/lLM3gQO.png

However, there is also this: http://i.imgur.com/ftPT7sC.png, which grounds from either sides or in the middle for sockets like these http://i.imgur.com/FnXMndC.png

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aianus 3518 days ago
No, I have American sockets.

The charger looks like this: https://support.apple.com/library/content/dam/edam/applecare...

And also comes with a longer, three-prong cable that replaces the little two-prong piece: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/like/172352962036?lpid=116&chn=ps

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sveiss 3518 days ago
The MacBook chargers are designed to be safe without grounding.

The grounding pin does have a use, though: some cheap powered USB devices will put out a voltage relative to ground on their '0v' lines. If you touch a MacBook that's plugged into one of these devices, you can get a small shock. If you're using a 3-pin adapter, this doesn't seem to happen.

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chx 3518 days ago
Exactly! I do not even know whether it's a bigger fire hazard or shock hazard. In Canada, curiously enough, it's Health Canada who would enforce a recall notice and fine you into oblivion. Look up the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act for more.

I presume in the USA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Consumer_Product_Safety_C... would get involved or the FDA.

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