Quote:
Originally Posted by P. Raz
Wow. I have to say I'm surprised that the testing agencies, especially the ones funded by the insurance companies, allow this. I guess everything has mouse print these days. Raz,
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Raz , When I was wiring houses ,we would buy receptacles in quanities of 10,000 at
27 cents each. They work fine in bedrooms and living rooms where the loads were small.
They did not hold up as well in kitchens where high wattage appliances were being used and were repeatedly pluged in and then un plugged. In our area , electric heat is presumed to be a continuous load due to the design temp of -30 deg F. When a cord connected heater runs continuously on high both the cord cap and the receptacle will get warm and over a period of time the receptacle looses its contact tension. For example hospital grade receptacle are tested for contact tension by plugging an 8lb
weight into the face of the receptacle , turning the receptacle face down and the
weight must stay in place for a stated time period. Hospital grade receptacles cost about $6 to $8 each. The same problem occurs with residential grade switches. If you load the switch above 80% of its rating and the switch is operated frequently ,especially on inductive loads ,the switch will not last very long. The theory that you get what you pay for holds true in
electrical devices.