Post: #1

Gents,

I have a pretty awesome electric turkey fryer from the states here in the UK. The thing is EPIC.

The problem is, the transformer I have only has two prongs and the cable itself for the fryer has a third pin ground.

No problem! I went to ebay and bought one of those nifty cheater plug adapters from the states about a week ago.

However, murphy seems to have won this time around. The plug has been delayed for whatever reason and won't get here until Tuesday of next week. This is too late because I have a turkey dinenr on Saturday i'm helping host.

The fryer is a 110v appliance running at 1650 watts. The transformer I have does have a ground on it and the case is solid metal which I presume is grounded properly. In case anyone is curious, the transformer is rated for 2000 continuous watts so this isn't an issue.

So my question is, can I clip the 3rd prong off? I'd like answers from people who have actually done this and not simple, "Don't do it it isn't safe" because the alternative is no cooked turkey. Any ill effects I can expect?

Post: #2

The thing protects you if there is a defect in the fryer, so the outside case is not at voltage if there is a short inside. If there is a short, it would immediately draw high current and trip the breaker.

If the fryer is not defective, you should be OK.

It's a safety device like a backup.

Post: #3

(11-24-2016 11:29 AM)Engineer Wrote:  The thing protects you if there is a defect in the fryer, so the outside case is not at voltage if there is a short inside. If there is a short, it would immediately draw high current and trip the breaker.

If the fryer is not defective, you should be OK.

It's a safety device like a backup.

This is what I needed to see, thanks engineer!

Post: #4

He is right. You can cut the ground pin and the appliance will work as normal - however, should something break loose inside the appliance, the metal frame of the appliance can be brought to the same potential than the outlet (110v) and at this point, when you touch it, YOU will become the ground pin (and will be zapped pretty hard). If you are sure that there is no voltage leakage between the neutral and the ground, and you fully trust the appliance, you can go ahead and cut the pin as a last resort measure.

If something breaks in such a way that creates a short circuit inside the appliance, then the high energy flow from the hot to neutral will trip the breaker as a security measure. However if something breaks in such a way that the hot and neutral do not come in contact but the hot comes in contact with the case, this is where the real danger is, since the hot wire will bring any conductive part (i.e. the case) in contact with it to the same potential, which can be fatal if you come into contact with it while not being properly insulated from the ground.

In short, the ground wire is used to connect the case to the ground to avoid getting zapped in case of a faulty appliance.

Post: #5

Just to add a real life story, I had an electric blanked on a metal framed bed years and years ago. The wire to the blanket, after rubbing against metal over the years frayed, and the live wire came in contact with the metal frame. Now the bed was isolated, and the blanket still worked, but the entire frame had a potential of 120V for I don't know how long. Then one day when I was touching both the metal frame of my bed with my leg, and reaching over to my grounded mini fridge, I got a pretty good shock as I completed the circuit.

I've done this numerous times bypassing the ground, but if you want to be extra safe, you can try to minimize your grounding by wearing rubber shoes, or by being on a wooden floor, essentially have something that doesn't conduct between you and the ground.

Post: #6

Thanks guys for the tips and explanations.

I've gone and clipped the 3rd prong and tested the fryer with some water. Everything worked fine, no shock!

Post: #7

(11-24-2016 05:56 PM)The Beast1 Wrote:  Thanks guys for the tips and explanations.

I've gone and clipped the 3rd prong and tested the fryer with some water. Everything worked fine, no shock!

That's what you would expect as long as the defects described above don't occur.

Also, if the floor is wet, in combination with something like water drips on the appliance from a leak or splash....anything that makes you the path to ground..

I've done the same thing and clipped 3rd prongs, but it's a future risk.

I'm wondering if people who know more about electricity than me can tell if you are in a 220/240 volt country is this a lot more dangerous?

Post: #8

220V AC isn't more dangerous than 110V AC in itself - what kills you is the current. This is why some taser models can use 50,000 volt shocks and not kill the target. However all it takes is 15 mA for the heart to stop. The problem with AC electricity is that it can cause the muscle to "lock", forcing you to hold on the current source and shocking you even more. This can cause your heart to enter febrilation in an attempt to "synchronize" with the electricity.

Post: #9

As my old science teacher used to say:

It's not Volts that kill you, it's Amps

Life lessons you never forget

Unlike 95% of high school science

Post: #10

getdownonit, you can also add to that , voltage can be (somewhat) though of as resistance to
flow.

Low voltage needs little insulation (even the dirt on your hands), high voltage a lot more (ever seen a 30KV rated cable?).

Post: #11

Higher voltage electricity is more dangerous, always. Don't overthink it.

(The exception is very high frequency AC which is not distributed anywhere in the world.)

Post: #12

Not safe, but works I guess.

You could make it safer by placing it against an earthed appliance (metal to metal to provide an earth fault current)

Also only interact with it with the power switched off at the wall, that way you are not touching the possibly live metal outside.

The saying "its not the volts but the amps that kill" you is correct but the amps are caused by the volts.... so volts kill you... The higher the voltage the higher the risk.

Post: #13

The turkey fry was a success genetlemen! I will be replacing the power cable in the near future. Thank you for the help everyone.

Post: #14

Kind of off-topic, but a Public Service Announcement for my fellow traveler:

Did you know you can fit a 2-prong European plug perfectly into a UK socket? Follow these easy steps:

1- Push a pointy object down the ground hole on the socket. This lets the safety door open on the other 2 holes.
2- Insert the EU plug into the other 2 pins, business as usual.

There's a safety door mechanism that blocks the 2 live sockets until something is inserted in the earth socket (UK plugs have ground pins longer than the other two so when you insert a UK plug the ground always goes in first and unlocks the other two) and all you do here is bypass this. You may use a screwdriver, a couple matchsticks bundled together, another UK plug rotated 180 degrees upwards, or (if you're hardcore) the end of a metal teaspoon.





Did this for almost the entire period I lived in the UK, worked just fine.

Remember to turn the appliance off with the switch next to the plug when you're not around watching it, so your shit doesn't catch on fire.

(Disclaimer: Don't come here crying if your house burns down)

Post: #15

^^ Interesting tip. But I would never attempt this. I'd like to think my life is worth more than a $10 adapter.

Post: #16

It's more of a "get your shit charged up until you have time to buy an adapter" kind of tip, but it actually is pretty safe. Only problem is that UK sockets are designed to accept square shaped plugs and won't make a perfect contact with round shaped plugs, if you're using a high powered appliance like a kettle or a heater that could cause the bad contact to arc or get overheated and start a fire but for low powered chargers etc. it's pretty safe. Electrocution risk next to none as long as it's done with a non conductive tool. That contraption right there powered my laptop for almost a year.