What Are Hidden Dangers of Faulty Outlets?

Welcome to the Check A Pro Radio Show! In this episode, Check A Pro Joe is joined by electrical expert Luke Strange to discuss the critical issue of faulty outlets in homes. Luke shares valuable insights into the potential dangers and common causes of malfunctioning outlets.

They delve into the importance of Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) and the risks associated with bad connections and outdated wiring practices. Luke explains how to identify signs of faulty outlets, such as intermittent power or burn marks, and stresses the importance of professional inspection and repair.

Whether it's understanding the nuances of child-safe outlets or the pitfalls of "stab lock" connections, this episode is a must-listen for homeowners concerned about electrical safety. Tune in to learn why proper wiring techniques and professional expertise are essential for keeping your home safe from electrical hazards.

 

For More Information visit them at www.coolhandelectric.com or call them at 469-874-0198

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Thank you for tuning into the Check A Pro Radio Show I am Check a Pro Joe Luke
strange is joining me to here today to talk about some electrical stuff Luke
how are you doing good what's up Joe hey I am just living the dream I really
appreciate having you on the program today as our expert,
in terms of electrical in the house so here's a question that came in and this

(00:28):
is a real legitimate question.
What are the dangers of faulty outlets? I guess someone has a faulty outlet.
That might mean maybe it works sometimes, doesn't work other times.
Maybe it's not working at all.
Maybe there's some evidence of something burned on that outlet.
Can you enlighten us a little bit about that?

(00:51):
Sure. Yeah, there's different variables. So
I'll give you some three common scenarios
would that work you know something like that so not not
really sure on the specifics you would need to
you know have have it tested and a little
probably more details to be but some general ideas
so um i believe we've spoken about

(01:12):
GFCIs before so those can be um
those can have a ground fault and they can kick
off um they would
look like like these and they would they
would kick off and they'll have power coming in but
then they also feed some other outlets so this person might be
saying hey this outlet here is not working and I don't know what's going on

(01:34):
the breakers are all on it could be something like that it could be a GFCI and
there might be water or a bad appliance connected to that circuit and it could
be causing a shock hazard and that's what these do is they protect you from
it from getting shocked um.
Uh some of the other so like this would be considered an
outlet here and they have little tamp resistant if they

(01:56):
might be saying hey this is faulty but it could just be
that they're having a hard time plugging it in because these are the um.
New child safe outlets and they have
little shutters inside of them and you have to kind of wiggle it just just.
To plug it in properly so they might just be having a hard time getting
getting used to these newer type of outlets and then
sometimes like a wire

(02:18):
will go there connect to one and then it'll i'm sorry
it'll go there and connect to one and it'll go out and feed another
spot and sometimes those connections will go
bad so the dangers um if
if the circuit breaker panel isn't properly protecting it
or isn't accurate then you could
get hot spots and um this is

(02:39):
this one's a pretty extreme one but i keep it on my desk just for training
purposes but that's a pretty gnarly hot spot that's a
extreme position but um
in general you have a
you know these breakers are rated these circuit
breakers here they're rated for a certain amount of amperage they
feed power out to the outlet

(03:01):
but then from this outlet it could feed
other outlets and so depending on what's
going on in those outlets she she may have you
know bad connections there could be um loose
connections throughout the whole spot so it's kind
of hard to really give too much specific because
it really does need some investigation but those are some of the some of the

(03:23):
general things i've seen bad bad uh construction grade connections um are you
familiar with those we call them stab lock it's kind of the stat uh the slang
term are you familiar with those no what is that okay all right uh let Let me see. Oh, yes, I am.
Where you stab it from behind versus using. Yeah.
Yes. So so they'll they'll stab that wire.

(03:43):
There's like a little hole here instead of wrapping around the screw.
They'll just stab it right in the back and it gets a really it's kind of like
a Chinese finger trap connection.
Right. And so over time, you know, if you're if you're pulling window units,
you're pulling something that pulls a lot of power, maybe a space heater,
lots of appliances, a microwave.
Wave well they can save on the

(04:04):
install they can save a lot of time by doing these
connections and it's still allowed um and so if the person who wired up the
house is you know paid per house you know he could save a couple hours on his
install and it's going to last as one or two year warranty the problem is it's
not going to last much longer after that and depending on how

(04:26):
much they use power through those connections.
They just don't hold up very well and they can get hotspots there.
So those are pretty common, bad outlets connections I've seen with my experience.
Yeah, I'm traditional. I still like to wrap the wire around and tighten it with the screw.

(04:47):
And by the way, there's a certain way to do it, everybody.
You want to make sure that the wire is going in the right direction of the screw.
You don't want it to go against.
You want the wire to move with the screw.
A lot of people just like jam it in there and it's straight and they don't put a curve on it.
And so, you know, electricians or someone like me who have done this myself.

(05:10):
It's something that you get used to, but it is an art.
And one thing I see a lot, I've purchased homes in the past.
I'm like, why doesn't this outlet work?
Well, sure enough, I go to the outlet just a few feet away and it wasn't connected properly.
Basically there's a junction on that
outlet like you were talking about whether you

(05:31):
stab it in or you you have it wrapped around the screw and
it you know one of the leaves just fell off all you need is
like the hot to go off or or the the white wire and right it's any of them they're
all important yeah um and always always always hire an electrician okay don't do this yourself a lot

(05:54):
of people don't know what goes where they might
forget to put the ground on the
ground's important will the outlet work without it it will
it'll work it'll run your hair dryer
but is it grounded no not
necessarily so my point is is you really should make sure that you have Luke

(06:17):
and his team come out thanks and appreciate that yeah no i appreciate it Luke
as always thank you so much for being the expert here on Check A Pro Radio much
appreciated buddy thank you sir.