[Startingover]

Electrician put a gfi outlet by sink.

I didn't try it till today. I can barely get a plug in. An inspector said its child proof. Fine, but it must be old lady proof too.

Are child proof outlets code? If not I'll ask the electrician to put a regular gfi in, that I can actually get a plug into.

 

[Jay82304]

Yea they are called tamper resistant. New code for residential. Push it in pretty hard, make sure all prongs are even as you send it in. It should loosen up after a few uses.

 

[rjniles]

Tamper resistant is code. You need to push the plug straight in.

I hate them!

 

[Jay82304]

Agreed. Very annoying. Especially when i have to get a voltage reading from a TR receptacle. Take me longer because I have to take the receptacle out of the wall to do it.

 

[joed]

You need to hit both prongs at the same time to make them open. It prevents a child from sticking something into one hole and getting shocked.

 

[paintdrying]

Talk about call backs. I change out the breaker

 

[dmxtothemax]

a THIN smere of petroleum jelly on the plug pins will help.
But remember THIN smere !

 

[brric]

Talk about call backs. I change out the breaker

How does that provide tamper resistance?

 

[Arrow3030]

I think he's saying if that was his call back he'd find a way to turn it into billable time.

 

[Oso954]

Especially when i have to get a voltage reading from a TR receptacle. Take me longer because I have to take the receptacle out of the wall to do it.

Wire up a short extention cord(6-12 inches). Plug it in and read your voltages from the female cord cap.

If you use individual conductors instead of a cord, you can use it as a line splitter for clamp on amp readings as well.

Or a commercial line splitter like the amprobe would work.

 

[Jay82304]

I always use an in line for amp readings. I think they make some in lines that have an area to put your test leads in to check voltage as well. I don't do enough residential work to go get one. I like the idea of the short extension cord, thank you!

 

[Oso954]

Here is another solution for TR voltage readings that you might already have kicking around.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-15-Amp-Grounded-T-shaped-Outlet-Tap-Adapter-Orange-50281/203716851

 

[Arrow3030]

Or, push the tester leads into the receptacle...

 

[FrodoOne]

Electrician put a gfi outlet by sink.

I didn't try it till today. I can barely get a plug in. An inspector said its child proof. Fine, but it must be old lady proof too.

Are child proof outlets code? If not I'll ask the electrician to put a regular gfi in, that I can actually get a plug into.

Yea they are called tamper resistant. New code for residential. Push it in pretty hard, make sure all prongs are even as you send it in. It should loosen up after a few uses.

It seems difficult to find a suitable diagram indicating how these devices are constructed - (and not all may be made in the same way.)

However, the diagram in http://www.electrical-knowhow.com/2013/02/receptacle-branch-circuit-design_18.html "4- Tamper-Resistant type" Exhibit 406.6 shows one form of construction.

In the diagram, the "Red" plastic barrier is pushed right by the left pin, moving that barrier so that a "slot" becomes available for the right pin while the "Blue" plastic barrier is pushed left by the right pin, moving that barrier so that a "slot" becomes available for the left pin.

Since the "actuating" part of each barrier is curved/sloped, it would ease the action of inserting the plug if the inside tips of the plug were to be sloped/rounded (i.e. Not "square" edged.)

Because of this, it may be that an old, worn plug could be more easily inserted than a new plug!

Filing a slight "chamfer" on the inside edges of the plug tips may also make plug insertion easier.

(A different design is shown in http://www.google.com/patents/US8193445 but here, the edges of the actuator are also curved.)