this post was submitted on 21 Dec 2023
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A genius solution! (startrek.website)
submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
43 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 
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[–] [email protected] 72 points 10 months ago (4 children)

I'm calling fake now.

Christmas lights, if made correctly, should have a fuse. These cords aren't made to handle the full 20A the breaker can. They usually cap somewhere around 3A. Nothing is stopping you from plugging a two prong 12A vacuum cleaner into them. So if you actually tried that, you'd blow the fuse in your lights before you tripped the breaker.

This is how 16 gauge extension cords should be made, too. Unfortunately, they aren't, and people light those up all the time.

Either that, or here goes Amazon, once again not vetting the shit they sell, and selling average intelligence people fire hazards.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

The strands' fuses probably wouldn't see that current though. These are connected in parallel.

The first plug has all the current passing through it, but I'm not sure that would reach a fuse if it's down-circuit protecting the lights.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 10 months ago

Also, trying to tie a breaker in the closed (on) position like that won't stop it from tripping. It'll just make it more difficult to reset.

When tripped, the internal electrical part detaches from the lever mechanism and switches to the off position. The lever will then normally be ether free floating or spring to the middle (between on and off) until it is moved to the off position. Moving it to the off position will reattach the lever mechanism to the electrical part, which then allows it to be turned back on.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Also, I think the lights would be perfectly happy being plugged in like that because they are LEDs. I don't know how many it would take stacked like that before you would have trouble, but I feel like it would be a lot more.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I was comparing lights two weeks ago. The sets I was looking at had 150 bulbs. The manufacturer recommended a max of 4 incandescent strings in series. For led it was 30 in series. Led only draws around 7 watts each.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Yeah and 7watts at 120 volts is only around 60mA. To get to a standard home circuit’s 15 amps (15,000mA) would take 250 LED strings. There may be some inrush current, but not of there are resistors in the led sets (every set I own has em).

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago

The fuse doesn't matter. Those LEDs draw like 69W per 1k LEDs. You'd need about 12,000ft of lights to pass 20A

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

15a plug socket, 20a breaker. Fake.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Actually, many houses are built this way. My house has 15A receptacles on 20A circuits. I don't agree with it. The breaker should always be the weakest point. But the NEC (section 210.21) allows you to put 15A receptacles on 20A circuits as long as you use a duplex receptacle OR there are multiple simplex receptacles on the circuit.

This kind of thing is why code requires washing machines to have their own dedicated circuits, but you always find a duplex receptacle where the washing machine goes. It's not for your convenience. It's the most cost-effective way to pass code.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

As long as the wiring is good for 20A it's fine. Also if you break open a 15A recepticle a lot of them have the 20A contacts in there as well since it's the same unit just with a different face.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Yeah, I wonder if anyone makes a UL listed 15A receptacle that don’t have a safety factor well over 20A.

What it really comes down to though, is as long as code allows it, your ok.

[–] [email protected] 69 points 10 months ago (6 children)

They would still trip in this case

[–] [email protected] 50 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, the switch isn't the breaker it's just the reset is my understanding.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (3 children)

So would this reset immediately or not reset at all?

[–] [email protected] 35 points 10 months ago

Not at all, it has to be flipped off before you can turn it back on.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago (2 children)

When a breaker pops the switch moves to the middle, to reset, you have to turn it all the way off and then back on. If it's in the middle and you go straight to on then it's just springy and nothing happens, and it moves back to the middle.

So yeah, ruins the joke but nothing's compromised here.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago

That actually is good context tho. Ive sometimes turned a switch from middle to on and wondered why it did nothing and then turned them all off and on and it worked. I assumed i was flipping the wrong switch

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Thanks!

So yeah, ruins the joke but nothing's compromised here.

I wouldn't say you ruined the joke but used it as an opportunity to teach. Thanks again

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Would not reset at all.

Basically, the breaker has an internal switch and an external operating handle. When it trips, the internal mechanism of the breaker disengages the internal switch from the external handle, and flips the internal switch to its open position. The handle can't toggle the internal switch while it is disengaged.

To re-engage, you have to move the handle to the full "off" position. The internal switch re-engages the handle, and the handle can now toggle the switch again.

This breaker cannot be shut off manually, nor can it be reset manually. But, it can still trip in case of a fault.

It's kinda like if you have a pushbutton start car, but you drop off the passenger who has the key fob. The car will continue running until it is shut down or stalls out. But once that happens, you can't restart it without the key fob.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Neat, that's a really clever mechanism

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago

...over the stack of plugs sticking so far out from the wall.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

Yeah just makes it harder to reset

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

I highly doubt those LEDs are drawing over 20A in the first place. Those lights only draw like 0.2W per ft, or 69W per 1k LEDs.

You'd need nearly 35,000 LEDs, or about 12,000ft of lights to trip the breaker.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Yeah the best option is to just bypass the breaker box completely.

[–] [email protected] 67 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Fun fact: holding the breaker in the closed position don't stop it from kicking off.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 10 months ago

And that's just smart design, so you don't get fried if the breaker or RCD is physically blocked or is wilfully held in place, like with hillbilly Bob over here.

[–] [email protected] 51 points 10 months ago (1 children)

~~Electricians~~ Fire departments hate this one weird trick!

[–] [email protected] 21 points 10 months ago

Electricians either have and easy service call or a new contract to wire a new house. Win win.

[–] [email protected] 48 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I really do like the festive warm glow of a bonfire more than LEDs.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

(Water those trees!)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Something something Technology Connections!

[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Nothing wrong with grounding the plastic breaker switch to the breaker box AND preventing the breaker from tripping. Genius work, genius.

(Note: sarcasm)

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

Could be improved by placing a bucket of water nearby in case of an electrically caused fire.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

Worth noting, the breaker will still trip just fine if you do this. It'll just be more annoying to reset since you'd need to remove that wire first.

Still very stupid, just not in the way it seems at first glance. Pointless, but not dangerous.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 10 months ago

That’s lit.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago

I guess they need to get the chestnuts ready for that open fire they're about to have.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago

I always wondered what those holes are for!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago

This is the sanest Lemmy user

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Every Christmas they find another fragment of that person and their house underneath the snow.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

In-wall radiative heating to boot!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Same vibes as 2kilowatt pc

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Oh my god.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Brings back fond memories of moving into a house that still had a fuse box and discovering the one for the dryer was a screw.