this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2024
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How does this work? Does it need to be one without ground?
even without a gfci outlet this would be a difficult way to kill yourself today's world. in theory there should be at least 3 things that would fail to prevent this. one is that most modern electronic devices have something to shut off in the event of a short. two is the gfci outlet that every bathroom is required by code to have in the majority of countries these days. three is the fuse/circuit breaker of the building itself.
now, the last one isn't going to reliably save you, but it will make it a very unreliable way to kill yourself. with all three combined it's nearly impossible.
At least in the US, reaching inside your glovebox during a traffic stop has a much higher chance of success.
GFCI has a switch that is tripped if there's a leak of power. It's the outlets that have a test button between the two plugs. It essentially is just an outlet with a breaker that is tripped if it's shorted so it can't cause any harm. Basically, if the incoming current isn't the same as the outgoing current, it trips and shuts off power.
But does using an extension cord disable this protection?
It does if you plug it into an outlet without the protection.
No and no one said it would
Not if the extension cord is into the GFCI outlet. It doesn't care what's plugged in. It's similar to a circuit breaker. It doesn't care what's drawing power, only how it's being drawn.
You can just rip off the grounding prong to bypass the protection. I keep having to fix cord ends because too many dipshits at work can't be bothered to look at the at what they're doing when they plug something in.