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2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/diy/ - Do It Yourself

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File: 71 KB, 515x386, Extension-Cord-Unplugged-515x386.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
557488 No.557488 [Reply] [Original]

so i was walking home drunk last night, and walked past an extension chord which I'd left plugged in earlier in the day. It felt like I was getting a minor tingle off of the ground, probably like 5-10v. Was this just the effect of too much rum, or do unplugged electrical chords leak electricity into the ground?

>> No.557566
File: 20 KB, 638x314, plug cover protects against current leaks.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
557566

you need to put a plug cover on them or else the electrons spill out of the holes.

>> No.557572

>>557566

Why waste money? Just prop it up against something so the holes are facing up. That will keep the electricity from flowing out.

>> No.557575

>>557488
Induction from an unplugged extension cords can create eddy currents into nearby conductors including earth ground.

>> No.557583

>>557566
If you plug the holes then the electrons will build up inside. The pressure will keep building up and building up until it explodes like an electron bomb!!!

>> No.557591

If I have to leave an extension cord unplugged I put it over a large metal bowl to catch drops of electricity. (Plastic doesn't hold electricity as well, so make sure it's a metal bowl!)

>> No.557612

>>557566
that a myth.
the plastic ones dont do anything.
you have to buy the metal ones or tinfoil if you really want to save money/electricity.

>> No.558033

>>557566
>>557572
>>557583
>>557591

Inb4 faggot but they are kiding you. All that is false and even dangerous. Just unplug it and don't drink anymore.

>> No.558038

>>558033
i'm not going to stop drinking, and i know that they're just goofing off because I asked a stupid question
>>557575
this sounds like it could be real though, thanks

>> No.558219

> this sounds like it could be real though

nope. induction current is created in a piece of metal by a changing magnetic field. to create that field you need current flow, of which there is none in an unplugged extension.

>> No.558236

Actually serious question here, I have a grounded piece of metal and it tingles when I touch it. How do I stop this?

>> No.558239

>>558236
Stop touching it.

>> No.558245

/diy/ humor is best humor

>> No.558267

>>557488
>>558033
>>558219
>>558236
Stray voltage is a real thing, but not like the trolls here are saying. It has to have a real physical pathway.

At an apartment I rented years ago, an old fridge gave me a shock every time I touched it. The landlord had an electrician come out and he said that fridges actually have a heating coil that keeps the door warm, and insulation around that heating wire was going bad and letting stray voltage into the metal door.

This was an ancient building and none of the wall outlets had grounds. The electrician "solved" this problem by creating a ground for it.

I always thought that was a huge waste of electricity, bleeding off the losses of a faulty appliance to the ground, but I was neither responsible for the building or electric bill, so didn't care too much.

The proper fix would be to buy a new fridge, but failing that, just cut the wires to the faulty heating coils. I don't care if the door is cold when I touch it, I just don't want to be shocked.

Anyways, OP's problem must be from moisture (rain, mist, or dew) conducting electricity from the cord. Either that or he's just too drunk and imagined it.

INB4 "you're just trashing OP for being drunk", I just voluntarily peed my pants last night because the walk from the bar to my house was too long. I was also seriously hitting on a woman who may have been old enough to be my mother. So don't say I'm mocking somebody for getting drunk and being stupid.

>> No.559640

>extension chord general

My friends play music in their basement, but there's no outlet down there. what's a good way to set up the power?

>> No.559641

>>558267
appliance repair fag here...

you'd have to replace the fridge, if you just cut the coils then it begins building up ice and not sealing properly

>> No.559734

Something similar used to happen to me when I worked at a lobster pound. My hands were beat on mercilessly, dunking them in ice to handle hot lobsters, then washing them, ice, boiling, washing, repeat...Anyhow, they were almost always soaked with salt water, so I'd always feel a low current traveling through the stainless-steel counter. It was trippy

>> No.559805

>>559640
>in their basement
Run wire through the walls and set up an outlet there. A GFCI one.
Absolutely do not run any kinds of cable upstairs or downstairs, that's retardo waiting to happen.

>> No.559807
File: 23 KB, 400x322, safcord_stairs_1.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
559807

>>559805
> what is gaffer tape
> what is safcord

If the stairs are wooden, gaff the cord into the corner, along its complete length. If carpet, get some lengths of safcord (or make your own with velcro and some dense material) and do the same.

>> No.559894

>>559807
How would that help?

Also, the circuit breaker is right next to where they play. It's insane. I went there last night and the cymbals on the drum set were charged.

>> No.559895

>>559894

>>559805
Seems to be implying that someone is eventually going to break their neck on a cable that runs down a stairwell, and is suggesting an overblown solution.

>>559807
Is pointing out a way to stop people trippng over shit without having to fuck with dropping cables through walls or setting up outlets. That's how I interpret it anyway.

>> No.559915

>>559894
just add a breaker and plug to the box its easy as hell
they just snap right in

illiterate Mexicans can do it and so can you

>> No.560229

>>557612
What this guy said. You need the metal ones. The metal conducts electricity and they need to connect both positive and negative so the electricity circulates. I have heard that it might even make it look like you are using less electricity since you are returning it.

>> No.560233

>>559895
>Seems to be implying that someone is eventually going to break their neck on a cable that runs down a stairwell, and is suggesting an overblown solution.

No, he is not implying the broken neck on cable.

Running cables of electricity downhill is bad juju. Gravity forces extra electrons down the cord and could easily turn a 120 outlet to 240 just from gravity if it is long enough. Granted I doubt a basement (1 floor) will have much difference with gravity only have the potential energy of one floor. But safety should be advised, and surge protectors are REQUIRED. Otherwise the influx of electricity could just come out and shock any person downstairs.

>> No.560234
File: 113 KB, 389x251, 1318560781002.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
560234

>>560233
> Not tying a knot in the end of your extension cord when there is no device plugged in.

>> No.560918
File: 15 KB, 300x300, 1e2864ac-d662-4cf4-93b8-8d06e6dd824d-tmp.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
560918

>>560233
You can easily use this effect to make variable power source.
All you need is this clamp. By tightening the screw,
you are changing inside diameter of clamp, thus putting a pressure on the cable
creating electrical resistance.
This type of converter is called stair-down converter, because it uses stairs as power bank.