Replacement Vacuum Plug Problem

seansy59

I have a 2 prong vacuum cleaner (hot/neutral). One of the prongs broke off, so I went to HomeDepot to get a new plug. Came home, cut the old one off and went to wire this one on. Black to gold, white to silver, all is fine. Although, the new one is not polarized. The old one is.

I went back to the store, and looked, but ALL of the replacement 2 prongs are non-polarized! I know the non-polarized plug reverses the hot/neutral on the switch when its plugged in the other way. But what am I supposed to do?

It still works fine, but I do want to follow the "electrical rules".

Should I worry about it or not? If so, what should I do?

clashley

There's not much you can do about it with that replacement cord. Even if you ensure that you correctly wire the plug to the appliance, there's no guarantee that the plug will always get inserted into the receptacle in the correct orientation since it is not polarized. If it really bothers you, you can do either of these:

• Order a replacement cord directly from the appliance manufacturer. It's likely to be polarized in the same manner as the original cord.
• Use a 3-prong (grounded) replacement cord (and just do not connect the ground wire to the appliance). This would ensure that the plug could only be inserted into the receptacle in the correct orientation.

ddawg16

You have most likely heard the phrase "Double Insulated".

Good chance that vacuum is double insulated....hence, the plug is fine.

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seansy59

[QUOTE=BeverlyS;1021787]You really need to choose the compatible plug for your vacuum cleaner in order to work, but on this case, all you need to do now is to start consult for a technician to also check and diagnose your vacuum cleaner.

This thread is old........I bought a 3 prong plug for the vacuum, and it worked fine.

A month later, I jammed the motor. Since then, I have had 3 new vacuums.......


Repairing a vacuum nowadays is not worth it, since they are so cheaply built, and are almost disposable.

danpik

Beverly, probably not her real name, bumped this post just to get her web site link on here.