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GE 54203 Heavy Duty 3-Grounded Outlet Adapter, Ivory by GE
Product DetailsManufacturer: GE Model: 54203 Color: Ivory Product features: - Converts one grounded outlet into three
Tools and Hardware Reviews of GE 54203 Heavy Duty 3-Grounded Outlet Adapter, IvoryCustomer Review: Well made General Electric outlet expander Summary: 5 Stars
There are alot of cheapo outlet expanders for sale at the 99 cent store but they wear out and don't hold on to the wires plugged in nor do they get a good grip on the outlet they are expanding. General Electric makes a better quality unit with a stronger grip to prevent heat buildup and larger thickness plugs that keep it in the socket.
You do pay a little more for the GE product but it will last longer and have a lower chance of creating a fire condition (where a moderate load, say 10A, heats up because the adapter has fallen out of the socket and only touches the contacts at one point - if this happens it is time to toss out the plug expander and buy a new one before conditions ripe for a fire are present. If the outlet is bad then it's time to remove it and buy a commercial quality outlet from the home improvement store (they are about four bucks vs the sixty five cent ones) - what you get for the money is a well designed spring system that grips the plug well and does not buildup heat.
Some people think you need to plug multiple devices in to create a fire hazard - that's not the problem so much as when plugs don't stay in their outlets well or the total wattage is more than the outlet can handle. Most home outlets are rated for 1850 watts, and most devices are rated to max out at 12 amps so as to be less than the outlet's maximum. With poor quality adapters. heat builds up rapidly even with just one adapter.
You could have 4 adapters plugged into each other with small loads like 10 adapters each 10 watts and only have a 100 watt total, but if you plug in 3 1500 watt items, you have a 4500 watt potential load, which far exceeds the outlet's rating if more than 1 is turned on at a time. HOPEFULLY the breaker will blow but they can be slow to trip on minor overloads (like 2000 watts) and that is more than enough to generate alot of heat at the outlet (and potentially a fire).
I have a large (about 25) number of devices plugged into a UPS but it tracks the load total so that if I exceed the 20A outlet rating it will alarm and shut down if the problem is not corrected. Most of my devices are 7-10 watts so its not a problem.
When expanding with adapters just sum up the wattage of the items plugged in - if it exceeds 1800 it's best to split the load across more than one outlet and one circuit (a circuit can span more than one outlet - like my original house wiring which had 2 outlets for "lights" and "plugs" all into one 20A breaker for each.
Description of GE 54203 Heavy Duty 3-Grounded Outlet Adapter, IvoryHeavy Duty 3-Outlet Tap Adapter adds more outlets where you need them most.Converts one grounded outlet into three
Electrical Tools
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