On Ebay right now

[morqthana]

View attachment 376218

Pardon our interruption...

 

[SUNRAY]

View attachment 376272

And at just before that he sent this message:

That's a step in the right direction.


You can still look further down the listing and see what is there.

 

[morqthana]

Many dangerous things are fine until they're not.

 

[morqthana]

I only know what happened to the listing because I was scrolling and reading at the same time - obviously a daft thing to do because as this went by I thought it said

<frightening price>

My goodness !

And I wondered how much they were.

Oops

 

[Mottie]

Clearly someone that has not got a dicky bird as to how electrical things work.

A dicky bird is a word. I think you mean 'scooby doo' - clue.

 

[mattylad]

Maybe lol

 

[Sureitsoff?]

E bay came back and said it's not in violation of our policies so we will do nothing despite me appealling the first decision. So I can only assume that who ever looked at the ad also couldnt see a problem despite me pointing out exactly what the problem was....

 

[ericmark]

I remember the electricians mate making up extension leads, 110 volts. He had a box of plugs one end of the container and socket's other end, but change in make, and he put a box of plugs where the sockets should have been, he was in autopilot mode, and think he had done 5 leads with two plugs, he was rather embarrassed about his error, so we would not let it drop.

An easy error to make, same with getting line and neutral swapped because a new box of sockets have them opposite side to last box. This is why we test and inspect at the end of a job, "po bodies nerfect" mistake will always happen.

 

[crystal ball]

When living in Zimbabwe we used to go to French film nights at the French cultural centre, the projector was wheeled in on a trolley with a 4 gang extension block screwed to it (no lead), the projectionist used a widow maker to power it up. Myself & another electrical guy warned him of the hazard several times, nothing changed

edited to change wide to widow

 

[morqthana]

You could argue that a really sharp chef's knife is dangerous because if you grab the wrong bit it will hurt you badly.

 

[JohnW2]

You could argue that a really sharp chef's knife is dangerous because if you grab the wrong bit it will hurt you badly.

Indeed - and one could argue much the same for virtually any tools, kitchen utensils or many other things.

As with all such matters, the hope would be that common sense would prevail and due attention be paid to the magnitude of risk and the associated practicalities (e.g. the obvious impracticality of depriving everyone of tools and kitchen utensils!).

In that regard, and pretty surprising though it is, the 'risks' associated with electricity appear to have been exceedingly low ever since electricity started appearing as part of daily life.

 

[mattylad]

I also messaged the seller advising him of the dangers and this is his reply (after pulling the ad).

Ahhh so I need to swap the plugs over. That’s cool cheers for the info and I’ll get right on that. I had no idea as I I’ve been using them for years as they are with no problems. So basically I don’t need the white cables? Just use the 3pin plugs from them and put them onto the black cables? Cheers

So he clearly does not understand electrics at all.
However the ad is removed for now.

 

[mattylad]

I have explained how to swap the connectors over, whether he does it right or not is another matter.

 

[SUNRAY]

When living in Zimbabwe we used to go to French film nights at the French cultural centre, the projector was wheeled in on a trolley with a 4 gang extension block screwed to it (no lead), the projectionist used a widow maker to power it up. Myself & another electrical guy warned him of the hazard several times, nothing changed

edited to change wide to widow

I have encountered that format several times over the years, starting at school, in our metal/wood workshops was a home made blueprint copier, basically a box with a curved perspex side containing a light, 2 sockets - the elderly 'inlet' was a 5A BS546 and the second was a much more recent 13A for a vacuum cleaner (to suck the print and the copy blank tight to the perspex). The widowmaker supply cable having 5A and 13A plugs.

I have explained how to swap the connectors over, whether he does it right or not is another matter.

We'll find out when they are relisted

 

[pcaouolte]

People with no electrical knowledge can, and do, buy these electrical connectors in DIY sheds. There is a 50:50 chance that they will fit them the correct way round. I found one installed incorrectly on my father in law's lawnmower, he had no idea that it mattered which cable each connector part had been fitted to and had been using the mower with the widow maker arrangement for several years.