I can appreciate the hot-swap nature. Hospital employees tend to abuse plugs with IV pumps, device chargers, etc. These recepticles are plugged/unplugged at a far greater rate then other locations. Having the ability to swap it out with minimal downtime is something a hospital would definitely pay for.
Agreed... they are great for hospital use with easy swap abilities. I've seen so many damaged receptacles due to abuse and general wear. They are just not practical or cost effective for non-commercial use. For home use, I stick with standard devices, but always install spec grade (commercial) versions for only little additional cost per. Standard grade are not built well and do not last. Never use "back-stab" wiring found on those low end devices. I prefer back-wire or standard screw connections found on the spec grade.
Yeah, even if nobody abuses an outlet in a hospital, the sheer number of insertions and removals in a hospital outlet has got to be huge. Far more than most installations. It's the number of insertions and removals that makes an outlet fail. I would never use one of these in a residential situation. There is simply no need for them in that application.
If I were building a new home that I planned on living in for the next 20 or more years, I might consider the Plugtail. I would also buy a supply of extras to keep on hand so when they decide to redesign them I'd have replacements available.
4 місяці тому
Yep. None of these proprietary systems will endure for very long because of planned obsolescence and the tendency to go for the Apple-like cash grab far exceeding actual unit costs.
I mean no. Considering that a redesign will have to go threw loads of certifications and compliance testing to meet codes, there is no quick cash grab in any market that is heavily regulated by governments. Apple and other companies like them can do easy cash grabs because they do not have to meet any real government regulated codes.
As a homeowner I've never felt the need to use any kind of outlets except for the kind I used to buy for something like 39 cents each that weren't individually packaged, just loose in a big box at the hardware store. They have the push-in holes on them but I always just bend the wires around a pair of needle nose pliers and use the side screw terminals.
4 місяці тому
There's a built-in wire bending affordance on most receptacles. No tools required. ua-cam.com/video/VgL2HIU2vss/v-deo.htmlm14s
@@UA-camr69428agreed! I've made plenty of money swapping backstabbed crap. Found far more than a few with overheating damage and a handful with significant charging.
I would imagine these are popular in places like hospitals because many of those places actually have mandated requirements that many receptacles be replaced on a somewhat regular basis (to ensure they're not plugging critical life-support equipment into some old and flaky outlet that can't hold a plug properly anymore). If you're replacing all your receptacles every 6 months or year, then the savings in labor costs and time that rooms have to be out of action if the workers just have to unplug it and plug another one in may well outweigh the extra cost of the receptacles themselves. I haven't checked what the manufacturer says, but if these can be safely swapped while live, then that would also mean you could replace a bad outlet without having to turn off power to any other important devices in the process. If you're not replacing your receptacles all the time, though, it's probably not gonna be any easier or better than a typical receptacle, and will just cost more for no real benefit...
Similarly, consider how often hospitals have to replace batteries. My wife works in surgery and we have a near infinite supply of slightly used AA batteries. Also, there may be situations in hospitals where one cannot cut the power to the receptacle.
Leviton has actually priced their Decora Edge at or below the standard Decora outlets and switches, at least in white. So if you are thinking of switching your outlets and switches over to the Decora style, it's a no-brainer.
An industrial plant I do consulting work for uses outlets like these. The time saved and reduction in downtime is worth it for them to use these devices.
The price differential is partially because they are more robust, and have more and better materials in their makeup, but a lot of the difference is simply residential vs. commercial - they simply charge businesses more, because they can. For anything that has only (in general) commercial use, the price jumps hugely. I recall the first time I came across this when my father and I were installing an off-peak electric heat-storage furnace in our home. These use electric resistance coils to heat up a stack of bricks at night and require very large supply cables to a dedicated circuit panel. The minimum code allowable conduit size was 3”. The largest conduit commonly used in residential was 2.5”. All of the fittings took a huge price jump from 2.5” to 3”, much more than was justified by the additional material in the fitting. I don’t recall the exact prices, and the differential was less on something like a sweep ell vs. an LB, but my recollection of the worst example was about $5 for a 2.5” version and the 3” was close to $30. And, that was in 1975 dollars. We were pretty stunned. Luckily the power drop hit the house just outside where the panel was in the basement. Still, the conduit and fittings for the mast, and the drop down into the basement was hundreds of dollars. Luckily, the power co-op provided the required dual meter panel. This was in rural, Northern Minnesota, so prices were generally higher, anyway, but it was pretty true across the board that once you got to commercial use products, prices went up 3-5X.
For many of these sorts of things, part of the price difference is also just that they are selling them in much lower volumes. Economy of scale is a real thing, and everything can cost less per unit, and you can get away with much lower profit margins, if you are making and selling millions of them at a time (instead of only hundreds or thousands)... With these outlets, they are also presumably somewhat more complex devices to develop, produce, and test because they have multiple parts and multiple sets of contacts involved, etc...
The Leviton Decora would seem to reduce the number of connection points for a daisy chained string of receptacles while also reducing the length of time spent squatting or kneeling. The twist tail and plug tail would be useful where the receptacle box also needs to connect a home run and two other feeds. Not a fan of pig-tails where they are not needed. What pig-tails enable is changing a receptacle live without interrupting power to other sockets, where a qualified person will do it.
IMHO all DIY should use the professional-grade outlets and switches. This is something you're going to do once and it's going to be inside your wall for 20 years do you really want to save a dollar?
I only use hospital grade outlets. Not only are they easier to wire but they grip the plugs much better and they do not wear out even installed in a shop where tools are plugged in and unplugged all the time.
I had the wiring harness idea many years ago to make it easier for homeowners intimated by electrical, of course not realizing these were already out there. But I quickly discarded the idea because there's no way electricians and builders would adopt it as standard for every box.
I use the Hubbell Edge Connect. These are by far the most expensive, but with the two 20a dedicated circuits, it was well worth the price. Hubbell also has the Snap Connect which is about the same as one of the items your reviewed.
I’m not a fan of the receptacles with the plastic mounting tabs, I prefer the metal. Plus, the added thickness of the plastic doesn’t seam to be compatible with existing cover plates.
I do love the plug tail. They would come in handy for light fixtures, too. I know people scoff at the receptacle for a receptacle, but the less you have to handle the house wiring, the better. Making shepherd hooks is a pain in the butt, and a plug tail probably would have a more solid connection than those Wago things. Screw terminals worked in the past, but they are janky.
Well a year ago, I replaced the outlets in one of my homes they had loose plugs but on the high tech out let you have a hidden plug on the backside of the outlets. Sure some of the wear and tear that I had to fix was plug sliding in and out however overloading and overheating a wall outlet can cause the loose plugs also which was my problem. I was a building inspector and saw it all so I’m not just some home owner.
Traditional is fine. I see no use for the added connector for the number of times I need to swap the same outlet. Better quality outlet is good, but even there I only swap those in for the high use or large load locations. That hallway fixture that is used only for a nightlight? It got the cheapest I could find, 25-ish years ago, and it still works great. Same for the outlet behind the piano that has a small lamp and (the last few years) a smart home device plugged in. If I guess wrong and need to swap an outlet for a second time, I'll put in the higher quality one. I've never had to swap the same outlet a third time and only a couple needed the second swap.
Agreed. When we bought our house in 2019 it had all of the original 2-prong receptacles from 1960. These basic, traditional receptacles lasted for 59 years, so I replaced them with traditional, 3-prong equivalents. There's no reason to spend an arm and a leg for overkill receptacles in a residential application.
They aren't really made for you though. As he mentioned in the video, these are designed for commercial applications where receptacles get used frequently for ever changing equipment. Now, the Decora Edge is for home environments, but that one isn't dramatically out of the price range for a normal residential receptacle and may be easier for the DIYer that isn't practiced with shepard's hooks.
I replace my whole house with Leviton E5325-MW Decora Edge outlet’s except gfi boxes but they are still Leviton except 2 gfi outlet that an electrician put in. I really like them so easy to put in and no metal showing on outside of the outlet is a big plus
Awesome. I discovered these things when I was down loading a handful of product catalogs a couple years ago they are certainly Nate. There's one thing they want to work with those stupid LED wall plates for good reasons, they're banking on the fact that the tongues can touch the screws on the side of the outlet yeah that doesn't exist with those. I wish these style outlets were more common in the price would come down a bit. Did not know that one was so thin that's crazy.
I would like to see them design the wiring harness/adapter so that it could be directly connected to the wires in the box so wire nuts are not also needed - especially in boxes that only have wire termination in them.
i have low confidence in finding replacements for the hotswap outlets during a remodel decades later. same concern with any home tech that requires an app
This style is not used by contractors in new residential construction. When they need replacement people tend to buy what was used originally. These items are a solution in search of a problem.
Honestly, for $6ish, it's totally worth it to upgrade the home. $13 is pricy, BUT you essentially make every outlet safe, and upgrades in the future are plug and play. 40 outlets would be 520ish, so very reasonable for the $13 outlets, the other ones would be 260ish. The uogradability is worth it.
i can see why its used in hospitals, they dont have to power off the room to replace the outlet if its broken, and it probably reduces downtime, plus in my experience clinical engineers are lazy and this makes their jobs easier (i work for a hospital system).
Consider how far the power disconnect may be from the receptacle in a hospital. There may not be that much difference in price if you have to pay maintenance for twenty minutes of walking. Also, consider the liability if maintenance shut off the wrong circuit. You'd probably need two maintenance workers. One at the cut-off, the other checking that the right circuit was cut off.
Interesting but how cost effective are they? The wiring still has to be done and how often does a receptacle need changing, even in a hospital? Five times more costly considering the hundreds and thousands in a hospital. Really a total no no for home use. Interesting to see what they are.
I assume you use the harness as a pigtail. I guess this all makes changing the outlet easier but not sure I see the need. Changing an outlet is pretty simple as it is and it’s not like you’re doing it all the time.
@@barmanvarnthat’s (part) of why they are hospital grade. A bad receptacle can be swapped without turning off a breaker… which could affect other patients
Don't use the device as a jumper. If you need to connect multiple wires, use a pigtail to the device. Period. Several of the outlets and a couple of the switches I've had to replace in my house, both in the 1970s original and in the early 1990s additions have been used as jumpers and they all, without exception, showed signs of heat stress and damage. A couple of them had burnt the insulation on the wires because the device had gotten so hot. Don't use the device as a jumper.
Just give me some WAGOs and the cheaper outlet. Most outlets last about 15 years for normal usage and maybe 30 years for infrequently uses outlets. I just replaced a double gang outlet in my basement with a 4-in-1 receptacle. One of the outlets in the gang had to be original to the house built in 1965. The plastic of the outlet simply crumbled when removed.
These do look nice, but I don't think you can beat the price of the contractor packs of outlets you get at Lowes/Home Depot. Plus the contractor ones don't have those stupid shutters.
Great value for a new or remodel project but not exactly a homeowner's replacement. Too big to fit in most existing plug boxes because no extra space is available. "Probably won't shock yourself" shouldn't be used in a home DIY video. Except for very experienced people like you the standing advice to always turn off a circuit should still be the standard.
So what if they're 3 times the price. In a typical room, you might have 4 recepts. So you end up paying an extra $20 for the whole room. What other DIY-anything is that nominal and inconsequential? If you're building an entire subdivision, ok. But upgrading some outlets in a bedroom, come on. I don't see why you wouldn't splurge for a little extra piece of mind if thats what it gives you.
the point is being able to replace the device without undoing and remaking wire joints, or having exposed live parts while you do it. theoretically these also save time by letting you do all the “wiring” during the rough-in, and just plug devices in and screw them to the box during finish.
The recent NEC requirements for “tamper resistant” receptacles in most residential locations makes these hospital grade receptacles illegal in homes, despite their beefier construction and power-on, plug enabled swapping advantages. The hot swapping rear plug feature could be useful on rare occasions, but frankly, I would most like to see manufacturers make “TR” AND “WR” receptacles standard, with robust WAGO-like lever attachment points for every wire. Too expensive, though, probably, and the pros would still hate loosing revenue to any product design that’d make DIY safer and easier.
It's not that they need to do so very often. It's that, when they do, they cannot simply turn off a breaker, shutting down an entire circuit. That would turn off the power to several patients. So, they need hot-swappable outlets so, in the rare instance an outlet needs to be changed, they can do so without affecting the care of several patients.
Many receptacles in hospitals actually see a lot harder use than you typically find in other places like a home, because they are constantly moving equipment around from one room to another (depending on patient needs), so they are often plugging and unplugging things all the time, sometimes multiple times per day. Extra plug/unplug cycles can cause outlets to wear out much faster (even if they are hospital grade), and cause them to no longer grip the plugs well. This can be a real problem if you're plugging in critical life-support equipment, etc, because you really don't want it to lose power just because somebody bumped the plug wrong, etc. Therefore, many hospitals actually have policies to preemptively replace many of their high-demand outlets on a somewhat regular basis (i.e. every year or so), to make sure they are always in proper condition and don't get worn out.
So do the pricey ones accept 12 gauge wire? If so I would definitely consider it. And please don't ever try wiring a hot circuit. And don't ever trust anyone who says "there's no power going to it". I've been hit with 240 TWICE from doing that. And that will definitely make you walk funny for the rest of the day.
@@CraigHollabaugh If a cord comes partially unplugged, only the ground pin is exposed on top. And if the ground pin is on top, it provides more stability to cord being pulled downward.
@@malware_in_tn9008 Me taking your joke too seriously🙄: The English rule you reference applies to latin words🏛only. "Harness" has Old-French🇫🇷and Old-Norse🇳🇴origins. 😴😉🙃 💭Similarly: We often assume the greek based word "octopus" is latin based like many scientific words. We then incorrectly pluralize by spelling it" octopi". If one doesn't like the standard English octopuses, they should go with "octopodes". 🐙🐙🐙
Dude, I have an "extension cord" which is the cord from an old vacuum cleaner wired to an old wall outlet with the leads exposed. You're damned right I don't use this.
'Depends on which part of the hospital one is working in. It's helpful to not have to assign any brain-power to worrying about whether the anesthesia machine is going to cut off because the power chord keeps coming unplugged and maintenance can't replace the receptacle because shutting down the power to the operating room isn't an option.
Hospitals love to waste money for nothing, then turn around and charge you $12 for an Aspirin. How hard is it to change a regular $0.50 outlet once in a blue moon? When was the last time you had to replace an outlet? It sounds gimmicky to me.
There was nothing in the video that explained WHY these were used on hospitals or commercial environments other than maybe more robust materials in the first place. Do hospitals and commercial locations have that many more insertions/removals that the outlets wear out?
Many hospitals actually have regulations in place to replace certain heavy-usage outlets on a regular basis to ensure that they are working properly and don't get worn out over time, since they often involve a lot more plugging and unplugging of things than you find in many other places, and what they're plugging into them can often be much more important (so you really don't want it losing power just because somebody bumps the plug, etc). These also potentially allow you to replace a defective receptacle without turning off power to other devices in the room, which might be important if the other devices are things like critical life-support equipment...
🔌Depends on whether by "gimmicky" you mean 📘📖 : a mechanical device for secretly and dishonestly controlling or : an important feature that is not immediately apparent -Merriam-Webster 📘 ❓❓❓
Everything's bigger in the States! The ease of use and time-saving of things such as the harness are surely cancelled out by still having to wire up the harness, not to mention the extra depth of the 'back box' which will certainly have to be dug out from the wall some more and presumably by the poor put-upon Sparks anyway! Cynically the largest beneficiary of this 'improvement' is going to be the company shareholders.
I can appreciate the hot-swap nature. Hospital employees tend to abuse plugs with IV pumps, device chargers, etc. These recepticles are plugged/unplugged at a far greater rate then other locations. Having the ability to swap it out with minimal downtime is something a hospital would definitely pay for.
Agreed... they are great for hospital use with easy swap abilities. I've seen so many damaged receptacles due to abuse and general wear. They are just not practical or cost effective for non-commercial use. For home use, I stick with standard devices, but always install spec grade (commercial) versions for only little additional cost per. Standard grade are not built well and do not last. Never use "back-stab" wiring found on those low end devices. I prefer back-wire or standard screw connections found on the spec grade.
Yeah, even if nobody abuses an outlet in a hospital, the sheer number of insertions and removals in a hospital outlet has got to be huge. Far more than most installations. It's the number of insertions and removals that makes an outlet fail. I would never use one of these in a residential situation. There is simply no need for them in that application.
This will be great since I change the receptacles in my house every weekend. But, seriously, I do appreciate learning that they exist.
I was thinking the same thing. Over-engineered to add unwanted cost. Hard pass here.
There are many applications where this can be worth the money@@whpony96
If I were building a new home that I planned on living in for the next 20 or more years, I might consider the Plugtail. I would also buy a supply of extras to keep on hand so when they decide to redesign them I'd have replacements available.
Yep. None of these proprietary systems will endure for very long because of planned obsolescence and the tendency to go for the Apple-like cash grab far exceeding actual unit costs.
I mean no. Considering that a redesign will have to go threw loads of certifications and compliance testing to meet codes, there is no quick cash grab in any market that is heavily regulated by governments. Apple and other companies like them can do easy cash grabs because they do not have to meet any real government regulated codes.
As a homeowner I've never felt the need to use any kind of outlets except for the kind I used to buy for something like 39 cents each that weren't individually packaged, just loose in a big box at the hardware store. They have the push-in holes on them but I always just bend the wires around a pair of needle nose pliers and use the side screw terminals.
There's a built-in wire bending affordance on most receptacles. No tools required. ua-cam.com/video/VgL2HIU2vss/v-deo.htmlm14s
Good. The stabin mechanism is prone to failure
@@UA-camr69428agreed! I've made plenty of money swapping backstabbed crap. Found far more than a few with overheating damage and a handful with significant charging.
I would imagine these are popular in places like hospitals because many of those places actually have mandated requirements that many receptacles be replaced on a somewhat regular basis (to ensure they're not plugging critical life-support equipment into some old and flaky outlet that can't hold a plug properly anymore).
If you're replacing all your receptacles every 6 months or year, then the savings in labor costs and time that rooms have to be out of action if the workers just have to unplug it and plug another one in may well outweigh the extra cost of the receptacles themselves. I haven't checked what the manufacturer says, but if these can be safely swapped while live, then that would also mean you could replace a bad outlet without having to turn off power to any other important devices in the process.
If you're not replacing your receptacles all the time, though, it's probably not gonna be any easier or better than a typical receptacle, and will just cost more for no real benefit...
Similarly, consider how often hospitals have to replace batteries. My wife works in surgery and we have a near infinite supply of slightly used AA batteries.
Also, there may be situations in hospitals where one cannot cut the power to the receptacle.
Leviton has actually priced their Decora Edge at or below the standard Decora outlets and switches, at least in white. So if you are thinking of switching your outlets and switches over to the Decora style, it's a no-brainer.
Great video. I'm a residential general contractor and I've never seen these before but I'm going to consider using them on my next project.
These are perfect for hospitals since they can’t just shut off a breaker as that would cause a lot of problems
It's a receptacle receptacle.
yo dawg I herd u like receptacles
agreed, a 5 year old could do it, the problem is , 99% of diy "lectricians" don't have a 5 year old to do it for them
I see there's no problem for you geting your idiot jokes from a 5 year old
😂
An industrial plant I do consulting work for uses outlets like these. The time saved and reduction in downtime is worth it for them to use these devices.
The price differential is partially because they are more robust, and have more and better materials in their makeup, but a lot of the difference is simply residential vs. commercial - they simply charge businesses more, because they can. For anything that has only (in general) commercial use, the price jumps hugely. I recall the first time I came across this when my father and I were installing an off-peak electric heat-storage furnace in our home. These use electric resistance coils to heat up a stack of bricks at night and require very large supply cables to a dedicated circuit panel. The minimum code allowable conduit size was 3”. The largest conduit commonly used in residential was 2.5”. All of the fittings took a huge price jump from 2.5” to 3”, much more than was justified by the additional material in the fitting. I don’t recall the exact prices, and the differential was less on something like a sweep ell vs. an LB, but my recollection of the worst example was about $5 for a 2.5” version and the 3” was close to $30. And, that was in 1975 dollars. We were pretty stunned. Luckily the power drop hit the house just outside where the panel was in the basement. Still, the conduit and fittings for the mast, and the drop down into the basement was hundreds of dollars. Luckily, the power co-op provided the required dual meter panel. This was in rural, Northern Minnesota, so prices were generally higher, anyway, but it was pretty true across the board that once you got to commercial use products, prices went up 3-5X.
For many of these sorts of things, part of the price difference is also just that they are selling them in much lower volumes. Economy of scale is a real thing, and everything can cost less per unit, and you can get away with much lower profit margins, if you are making and selling millions of them at a time (instead of only hundreds or thousands)...
With these outlets, they are also presumably somewhat more complex devices to develop, produce, and test because they have multiple parts and multiple sets of contacts involved, etc...
Interesting comparison and a good piece of information
The Leviton Decora would seem to reduce the number of connection points for a daisy chained string of receptacles while also reducing the length of time spent squatting or kneeling. The twist tail and plug tail would be useful where the receptacle box also needs to connect a home run and two other feeds. Not a fan of pig-tails where they are not needed. What pig-tails enable is changing a receptacle live without interrupting power to other sockets, where a qualified person will do it.
IMHO all DIY should use the professional-grade outlets and switches. This is something you're going to do once and it's going to be inside your wall for 20 years do you really want to save a dollar?
Completely agree. A builder with 1000 houses will care about $3 to $5 variations because that can be the difference in thousands of dollars a year.
I only use hospital grade outlets. Not only are they easier to wire but they grip the plugs much better and they do not wear out even installed in a shop where tools are plugged in and unplugged all the time.
I had the wiring harness idea many years ago to make it easier for homeowners intimated by electrical, of course not realizing these were already out there. But I quickly discarded the idea because there's no way electricians and builders would adopt it as standard for every box.
I use the Hubbell Edge Connect.
These are by far the most expensive, but with the two 20a dedicated circuits, it was well worth the price.
Hubbell also has the Snap Connect which is about the same as one of the items your reviewed.
I’m not a fan of the receptacles with the plastic mounting tabs, I prefer the metal. Plus, the added thickness of the plastic doesn’t seam to be compatible with existing cover plates.
Finally a plug and play standard… should be mandated
I do love the plug tail. They would come in handy for light fixtures, too. I know people scoff at the receptacle for a receptacle, but the less you have to handle the house wiring, the better. Making shepherd hooks is a pain in the butt, and a plug tail probably would have a more solid connection than those Wago things. Screw terminals worked in the past, but they are janky.
Well a year ago, I replaced the outlets in one of my homes they had loose plugs but on the high tech out let you have a hidden plug on the backside of the outlets. Sure some of the wear and tear that I had to fix was plug sliding in and out however overloading and overheating a wall outlet can cause the loose plugs also which was my problem. I was a building inspector and saw it all so I’m not just some home owner.
Traditional is fine. I see no use for the added connector for the number of times I need to swap the same outlet. Better quality outlet is good, but even there I only swap those in for the high use or large load locations. That hallway fixture that is used only for a nightlight? It got the cheapest I could find, 25-ish years ago, and it still works great. Same for the outlet behind the piano that has a small lamp and (the last few years) a smart home device plugged in. If I guess wrong and need to swap an outlet for a second time, I'll put in the higher quality one. I've never had to swap the same outlet a third time and only a couple needed the second swap.
Agreed. When we bought our house in 2019 it had all of the original 2-prong receptacles from 1960. These basic, traditional receptacles lasted for 59 years, so I replaced them with traditional, 3-prong equivalents. There's no reason to spend an arm and a leg for overkill receptacles in a residential application.
They aren't really made for you though. As he mentioned in the video, these are designed for commercial applications where receptacles get used frequently for ever changing equipment. Now, the Decora Edge is for home environments, but that one isn't dramatically out of the price range for a normal residential receptacle and may be easier for the DIYer that isn't practiced with shepard's hooks.
@@reallunacy He really asked though.
I’m an electrician and have never ran into these devices.only the Leviton.
I replace my whole house with Leviton E5325-MW Decora Edge outlet’s except gfi boxes but they are still Leviton except 2 gfi outlet that an electrician put in. I really like them so easy to put in and no metal showing on outside of the outlet is a big plus
I used the plugtail for the first time in 2007 at a new hospital.
Awesome. I discovered these things when I was down loading a handful of product catalogs a couple years ago they are certainly Nate. There's one thing they want to work with those stupid LED wall plates for good reasons, they're banking on the fact that the tongues can touch the screws on the side of the outlet yeah that doesn't exist with those. I wish these style outlets were more common in the price would come down a bit. Did not know that one was so thin that's crazy.
I will be using these going forward. The cost is more than justified
I would like to see them design the wiring harness/adapter so that it could be directly connected to the wires in the box so wire nuts are not also needed - especially in boxes that only have wire termination in them.
i have low confidence in finding replacements for the hotswap outlets during a remodel decades later. same concern with any home tech that requires an app
I hardwire everything, no plug, no receptacle. Very reliable - has not failed, yet.
What if you need to vacuum in a another room though? Splice an extension into the cord with some wire nuts?
@@filonin2 I replaced the power cord on my vacuum with a 75-ft extension cord that I cut and hardwired in.
Very near to 1M sub.
Best of luck. 💕
This style is not used by contractors in new residential construction. When they need replacement people tend to buy what was used originally. These items are a solution in search of a problem.
I'll stick with the old type, thanks.
I've been looking for thin electrical receptacles for my RV walls. Problem solved.
You’re awesome Nils, been here for yrs now through all the fun projects. (:
Honestly, for $6ish, it's totally worth it to upgrade the home. $13 is pricy, BUT you essentially make every outlet safe, and upgrades in the future are plug and play.
40 outlets would be 520ish, so very reasonable for the $13 outlets, the other ones would be 260ish. The uogradability is worth it.
i can see why its used in hospitals, they dont have to power off the room to replace the outlet if its broken, and it probably reduces downtime, plus in my experience clinical engineers are lazy and this makes their jobs easier (i work for a hospital system).
Consider how far the power disconnect may be from the receptacle in a hospital. There may not be that much difference in price if you have to pay maintenance for twenty minutes of walking. Also, consider the liability if maintenance shut off the wrong circuit. You'd probably need two maintenance workers. One at the cut-off, the other checking that the right circuit was cut off.
Interesting but how cost effective are they? The wiring still has to be done and how often does a receptacle need changing, even in a hospital? Five times more costly considering the hundreds and thousands in a hospital. Really a total no no for home use. Interesting to see what they are.
Compare: Consider how often batteries have to be changed in a hospital. You don't change them when they go bad. You change them long before.
What happens if you are using more than one wire, because it’s a jumper
I assume you use the harness as a pigtail. I guess this all makes changing the outlet easier but not sure I see the need. Changing an outlet is pretty simple as it is and it’s not like you’re doing it all the time.
@@barmanvarnthat’s (part) of why they are hospital grade. A bad receptacle can be swapped without turning off a breaker… which could affect other patients
Don't use the device as a jumper. If you need to connect multiple wires, use a pigtail to the device. Period. Several of the outlets and a couple of the switches I've had to replace in my house, both in the 1970s original and in the early 1990s additions have been used as jumpers and they all, without exception, showed signs of heat stress and damage. A couple of them had burnt the insulation on the wires because the device had gotten so hot. Don't use the device as a jumper.
How do you get those wire nuts through the tiny hole in the junction box, then how do you get them back through to change the receptacle.
Just give me some WAGOs and the cheaper outlet. Most outlets last about 15 years for normal usage and maybe 30 years for infrequently uses outlets. I just replaced a double gang outlet in my basement with a 4-in-1 receptacle. One of the outlets in the gang had to be original to the house built in 1965. The plastic of the outlet simply crumbled when removed.
you didn’t do Hubbell’s snapconnect?
Where do you get those at?
The real question is what is the manufacturer suggested service life on the plugs and receptacle
What happens to the teardown and breakdown of the 3 residential grade?
These do look nice, but I don't think you can beat the price of the contractor packs of outlets you get at Lowes/Home Depot. Plus the contractor ones don't have those stupid shutters.
Very cool!
good info
You are superb sir 🎉 #PowerLearningChannel
it makes the installation look cleaner, but you are kinda stuck with that brand of receptacle.
Excellent video Brother
Is there a reason they just don’t make a receptacle with 10” of wire already molded in? You still have to wire nut what is essentially a pigtail.
Great value for a new or remodel project but not exactly a homeowner's replacement. Too big to fit in most existing plug boxes because no extra space is available. "Probably won't shock yourself" shouldn't be used in a home DIY video. Except for very experienced people like you the standing advice to always turn off a circuit should still be the standard.
Why would Hospitals want to use Plug Tail outlets or Lev Lock outlets? the benefits and advantages of using them are what?
Oh yeah? Hold my beer!
Audio issue near the end?
4:15 that's what she said
It's a re-receptacle lol
You're the best.
Fun
So what if they're 3 times the price. In a typical room, you might have 4 recepts. So you end up paying an extra $20 for the whole room. What other DIY-anything is that nominal and inconsequential? If you're building an entire subdivision, ok. But upgrading some outlets in a bedroom, come on. I don't see why you wouldn't splurge for a little extra piece of mind if thats what it gives you.
Why not just sell an outlet with the wires already connected and sticking out?
the point is being able to replace the device without undoing and remaking wire joints, or having exposed live parts while you do it. theoretically these also save time by letting you do all the “wiring” during the rough-in, and just plug devices in and screw them to the box during finish.
Boxes are to small for retro fits
The recent NEC requirements for “tamper resistant” receptacles in most residential locations makes these hospital grade receptacles illegal in homes, despite their beefier construction and power-on, plug enabled swapping advantages. The hot swapping rear plug feature could be useful on rare occasions, but frankly, I would most like to see manufacturers make “TR” AND “WR” receptacles standard, with robust WAGO-like lever attachment points for every wire. Too expensive, though, probably, and the pros would still hate loosing revenue to any product design that’d make DIY safer and easier.
They are basically a stab lock system. I would rather spend the time on something more reliable.
Nice, but some are scammers. They are good, but playing on the newness and hospital stamp.
They are almost 10 year old😂
No description and list of outlets...WTF????
Yeah do not believe wiring a more common outlet is all that difficult or often enough to offset the newer design at five or six times the cost.
Why do hospitals need to replace the outlets so often? Is that a thing?
It's not that they need to do so very often. It's that, when they do, they cannot simply turn off a breaker, shutting down an entire circuit. That would turn off the power to several patients. So, they need hot-swappable outlets so, in the rare instance an outlet needs to be changed, they can do so without affecting the care of several patients.
Many receptacles in hospitals actually see a lot harder use than you typically find in other places like a home, because they are constantly moving equipment around from one room to another (depending on patient needs), so they are often plugging and unplugging things all the time, sometimes multiple times per day. Extra plug/unplug cycles can cause outlets to wear out much faster (even if they are hospital grade), and cause them to no longer grip the plugs well. This can be a real problem if you're plugging in critical life-support equipment, etc, because you really don't want it to lose power just because somebody bumped the plug wrong, etc.
Therefore, many hospitals actually have policies to preemptively replace many of their high-demand outlets on a somewhat regular basis (i.e. every year or so), to make sure they are always in proper condition and don't get worn out.
@@DKWalser You do know it is possible to hot swap a regular outlet? I do it all the time no need to shut off the power.
@@bobcosgrove3235while possible, it's not as safe as a shielded plug like the last two are
Cool idea on paper, but I dont see any real world application.
So do the pricey ones accept 12 gauge wire? If so I would definitely consider it. And please don't ever try wiring a hot circuit. And don't ever trust anyone who says "there's no power going to it". I've been hit with 240 TWICE from doing that. And that will definitely make you walk funny for the rest of the day.
A friend from church just got hit yesterday with 12k volts. Survived so far and don't know details yet. Somebody really forgot safety.
Williams Jason Moore William Lewis David
Having installed 100s of receptacles in medical buildings... dont forget they go GROUND UP
Do you know why? Just curious
@@CraigHollabaugh If a cord comes partially unplugged, only the ground pin is exposed on top. And if the ground pin is on top, it provides more stability to cord being pulled downward.
@@wojtek-33 that makes perfect sense, thanks for the quick response.
@@CraigHollabaugh yes
Jones Brenda Anderson Thomas Anderson Donald
Martinez Deborah Thompson Amy Harris Donald
Clark Paul Jones Jennifer Lee Kimberly
Brown Kenneth Jackson Margaret Anderson Carol
Plugs in both directions? have no the meaning of this.
More than one wiring harness is called a HARNI(harn-eye). Thought you knew.
According to the English rule that applies to -us ending words.
Fungus = Fungii
Harness = Harnii
Yes, it was a silly joke. 🤣
@@malware_in_tn9008 we'll see how many people take it seriously 🤣
@@malware_in_tn9008 Me taking your joke too seriously🙄: The English rule you reference applies to latin words🏛only. "Harness" has Old-French🇫🇷and Old-Norse🇳🇴origins. 😴😉🙃
💭Similarly: We often assume the greek based word "octopus" is latin based like many scientific words. We then incorrectly pluralize by spelling it" octopi". If one doesn't like the standard English octopuses, they should go with "octopodes". 🐙🐙🐙
@@NOXStellans You are absolutely correct! And by that I mean yes, you took it way to seriously. 🤪📖👍
Dude, I have an "extension cord" which is the cord from an old vacuum cleaner wired to an old wall outlet with the leads exposed. You're damned right I don't use this.
Young Helen Wilson Cynthia Lewis Susan
If you’ve been in a hospital lately, you’ll understand why they need idiot-proof devices.
'Depends on which part of the hospital one is working in. It's helpful to not have to assign any brain-power to worrying about whether the anesthesia machine is going to cut off because the power chord keeps coming unplugged and maintenance can't replace the receptacle because shutting down the power to the operating room isn't an option.
Hospitals love to waste money for nothing, then turn around and charge you $12 for an Aspirin.
How hard is it to change a regular $0.50 outlet once in a blue moon?
When was the last time you had to replace an outlet?
It sounds gimmicky to me.
There was nothing in the video that explained WHY these were used on hospitals or commercial environments other than maybe more robust materials in the first place. Do hospitals and commercial locations have that many more insertions/removals that the outlets wear out?
Many hospitals actually have regulations in place to replace certain heavy-usage outlets on a regular basis to ensure that they are working properly and don't get worn out over time, since they often involve a lot more plugging and unplugging of things than you find in many other places, and what they're plugging into them can often be much more important (so you really don't want it losing power just because somebody bumps the plug, etc).
These also potentially allow you to replace a defective receptacle without turning off power to other devices in the room, which might be important if the other devices are things like critical life-support equipment...
🔌Depends on whether by "gimmicky" you mean 📘📖
: a mechanical device for secretly and dishonestly controlling
or
: an important feature that is not immediately apparent
-Merriam-Webster 📘
❓❓❓
Everything's bigger in the States!
The ease of use and time-saving of things such as the harness are surely cancelled out by still having to wire up the harness, not to mention the extra depth of the 'back box' which will certainly have to be dug out from the wall some more and presumably by the poor put-upon Sparks anyway!
Cynically the largest beneficiary of this 'improvement' is going to be the company shareholders.
Half of all idiot outlet installers will install it with the hot-neutral prongs up. Just saying.
Either hot / neutral up or ground up is totally NEC compliant. If a customer wants ground up, it is a job specification.
@@bobniles1928 NEC notwithstanding, only one of the two is more likely to short out when not fully inserted and a conductor drops down on it.