What’s the secret trick for getting a plug into a child proof socket?

WannFly

WannFly

Final Approach
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Seriously, I can never do it, usually after 10 mins or cursing and sheer brute force it works... but what the F am I missing here?
 
Don't have children.

(and don't let anyone else's in the house)
 
WannFly said:
Seriously, I can never do it, usually after 10 mins or cursing and sheer brute force it works... but what the F am I missing here?
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It's called a gym membership......and you actually have to. By the way.... Do you even lift, Bro? Naa....you don't lift.
 
We had some and replaced them. Complete disasters. Even with 180 pounds of force I couldn't get the damn things in

I'd be curious to hear about socket death statistics, I bet you they're remarkably low. They're inherently a pretty safe design

if your child is special enough to take apart a paperclip and jam it in the socket then you have bigger problems at hand. Plus, wouldn't the circuit breaker blow anyway from short?
 
Tantalum said:
We had some and replaced them. Complete disasters. Even with 180 pounds of force I couldn't get the damn things in

I'd be curious to hear about socket death statistics, I bet you they're remarkably low. They're inherently a pretty safe design

if your child is special enough to take apart a paperclip and jam it in the socket then you have bigger problems at hand. Plus, wouldn't the circuit breaker blow anyway from short?
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Open.
 
A metal tweezers inserted into a socket has the same effect...….I am now proficient in residential electrical wiring and arc welding.
 
Snowflake Children device.
Not for our generation.
Random key, 6yrs old, unguarded socket; powerful lesson learned with no lasting damage.
Think a "protected child" will truly understand the power of electrons, through verbal warnings and book readings?
 
Oh, don't get me started. They're actually putting them in as standard new construction now. We won't even be able to buy normal ones before long. Just like the incandescent light bulb. The world has lost it's mind.
 
Just chisel out the socket and twist on a pair of alligator clips. Problem solved.
 
Our elementary school had a rotunda in the center of the school where every year they would put up a big Christmas tree and decorations. A few days before school let out for vacation they would parade every class through the display for a little Christmas cheer. Electricity always fascinated me.

I found a metal pie plate and stuck it across the prongs of one of their extension cords. The whole display went dark. Yes, they were upset with me.

Today, I teach basic electricity classes. Electricians motto. When in doubt, smoke it out.
 
Fearless Tower said:
You have to remove the plastic plug first.
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This is what I was thinking. The only child-proof ones I know about insert into the plug. You ain't never gonna get a plug in there until you pull it out. But that's so obvious I thought I might be mistaken about what the OP was talking about.
 
BrianNC said:
This is what I was thinking. The only child-proof ones I know about insert into the plug. You ain't never gonna get a plug in there until you pull it out. But that's so obvious I thought I might be mistaken about what the OP was talking about.
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I was in a brand new hotel a few weeks ago. I tried to plug my Ipad charging blocks in the 110v sockets, and I could not get them in any of them. I pushed and pushed until I thought I was going to break the sockets. It never occurred to me that these may be the new child proof types. They sure were senior citizen proof though.
 
JOhnH said:
I was in a brand new hotel a few weeks ago. I tried to plug my Ipad charging blocks in the 110v sockets, and I could not get them in any of them. I pushed and pushed until I thought I was going to break the sockets. It never occurred to me that these may be the new child proof types. They sure were senior citizen proof though.
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Did you just need to turn the plug over? One side is bigger than the other on a lot of plugs. But I don't think that has anything to do with child-proof.
 
Are you trying to push straight into one of the types that you need to slide over first?
 
BrianNC said:
I think we need a pic of this socket.
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electrical.outlet.plate.cover.jpg
 
Slide the cover right, then 8nsert the plug.
 
Rushie said:
Oh, don't get me started. They're actually putting them in as standard new construction now. We won't even be able to buy normal ones before long. Just like the incandescent light bulb. The world has lost it's mind.
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Don't get me started on using GFCI outlets on refrigerators and freezers.
 
I have new ones an electrician put in that you just jam the plug in that moves little flappy things (technical description) out of the way. Sounds like there is a new standard or code to build in child proof.
 
Rushie said:
Oh, don't get me started. They're actually putting them in as standard new construction now. We won't even be able to buy normal ones before long. Just like the incandescent light bulb. The world has lost it's mind.
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LED lights are better, took me a while to be convinced of that, you just have to shop carefully if you want incandescent color.
 
When I was a kid, we went on a road trip, and stopped somewhere (it may have been a Stuckey's - remember those?) to get some food and snacks. I wandered away from my parents, found a bottle of ketchup on a counter, then took it and squeezed damn near the whole bottle into an electrical outlet.

My Mom saw what I was doing and raced over right as there was a loud pop and some of the lights in the store went out. She was mortified. Mom did not like to be embarrassed in public, especially by misbehaving children. Not a good start to our family road trip!
 
So, even with "child-proof" receptacles, you still have the stunt our son pulled when he was young. Took a pair of my wife's good Fiskars's scissors and cut through a power cord. Blew a hole in one of the blades of the scissors. We heard the noise from downstairs. He never did that again. Plastic handles on the scissors helped him, but the noise ensured he wouldn't do it again. :p

Now, in college my roommate decided to try an experiment. The outlet by the light over each vanity was controlled by the light switch as you came into the room. Turned off the lights, took a paperclip and inserted it into the openings of the receptacle. He held a blanket to catch it and I turned on the lights. Blew right past the blanket he was holding and put a hole in his bed. He didn't try that experiment again. :p

Let them learn the hard way. That's the only way they learn, anyway.
 
Sac Arrow said:
When I was like five, I was playing around with some metal objects and managed to shove them in a 220 socket. It blew me across the room.

Nnnno nno permanent damage.
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biplanebob said:
A metal tweezers inserted into a socket has the same effect...….I am now proficient in residential electrical wiring and arc welding.
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LOL.

Sounds like me. As a child, I was always taking electrical appliances and things apart. Sometimes I'd get lucky enough to fix them, other times I'd make things worse. Once as a young teen, I decided to attempt to fix a TV. Stuck my screwdriver (or was that a pocket knife?) a little too close to the flyback transformer, which supplies high voltage to the CRT. Got zapped so bad I thought I was dead:D.

The zap sent my right arm back as if I were throwing a baseball in reverse! Scared the crap out of me.
And what is my profession?

After electrical school, I did residential for about a year. Now commercial/industrial electrical work for the last three decades (13kv-480/277) equipment.
 
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SkyDog58 said:
electrical.outlet.plate.cover.jpg
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Carefully slide a small screwdriver behind the sliding piece, twist and pry that sucker out. Then you will not have a problem any more. Do every outlet in your home. Fix any replacement outlets prior to installation, when you can get a better angle and don't have to worry about shocking yourself.
 
Rushie said:
Oh, don't get me started. They're actually putting them in as standard new construction now. We won't even be able to buy normal ones before long. Just like the incandescent light bulb. The world has lost it's mind.
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I'm starting to consider carrying my supply of 100W earth-destroying incandescents with me to hotels when I travel!
 
I have not seen those slidey-type ones either; mine have a tiny shutter on each of the hot and neutral holes that the blade of the plug is supposed to push aside (but often do not without a battering ram).
 
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