Why can some (US) outlets fit a plug from either way you put it in, but some plugs have a fatter and skinnier prong?
In: 8026
I have an old house now. The old wires are all black and the few original sockets have two equal blades. The old style filament light bulbs do not care which way they are wires, as did many other appliances.
The new light fixtures I installed were LED’s which use a LOT less electricity, BUT…they care very much which prong is hot and which is neutral. I bought a $20 no touch pen-style sensor, and when testing wires, I would color-code them before installing the fixture. White is neutral, black is hot, and bare copper is ground, (or green wire is ground).
The wide-narrow blades on modern appliances make it easy to make sure to plug it in correctly. A double-insulated vacuum cleaner with a plastic body may only have two prongs instead of three, and it may not care which way its plugged in, but some devices still need correct polarity.
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