Charity shop selling unearthed and dangerous travel adaptors

[PlainName]

Members of this forum would be at almost zero risk from this device.

I am pretty sure that all the safety ratings and stuff are aimed at the billions of people that aren't members of this forum.

[Someone]

Says someone in a 110V country! Try those lax approaches on 240V and you get quite the shock, literally.

I have spent time in a 240V country and did some electrical tinkering while I was there. I don't think using something that is maybe not the most well designed device is necessarily a "lax approach", I know better than to plug it in with live prongs sticking out, I wouldn't feel unsafe using it. 120V can be lethal too.

Did you try floating ground connection on devices with safety grounds? That was what you were talking about in the quote (that you mysteriously detached) and is the very "lax" approach that seems to be routine in 110V countries. 240V stray voltages are worrying enough, hence we take the protective earthing seriously.

You don't hear about people dropping dead all the time here. Grounding is a good idea that adds additional safety in the case of a fault condition but properly working equipment will work fine without a ground. I just don't see it as a big issue..

Says someone in a 110V country! Try those lax approaches on 240V and you get quite the shock, literally.

Plenty of equipment is right up against the maximum permissible ground return current, let that 3.5mA rip and its very unpleasant. Any faulty equipment however...  exposure to 110V is roughly 10x safer than 240V depending on which reference you go for. Even a 30mA RCD isn't enough to ensure safety with 240V installs as they generally don't disconnect within 30ms, hence the push for faster and lower current RCDs (and needing more of them to distribute the intentional ground return currents).

[Someone]

Members of this forum would be at almost zero risk from this device.

I am pretty sure that all the safety ratings and stuff are aimed at the billions of people that aren't members of this forum.

As an example some (most?) people on this forum could distinguish between:

dont disconnect/defeat the earthing
vs
dont use a power lead unless it is unrolled
vs
never connect a multi-way adaptor to another multi-way adaptor

but they are presented as "equal" rules to the masses

[CatalinaWOW]

I have to a agree that the title of this thread is misleading.  Dangerous implies to me that I have to take special care or precautions to avoid injury or death, and that even with these precautions I am at risk.  30KV lines with 20 A current capacity are dangerous.  This adapter is less safe than one with a proper ground, but it requires a combination of additional failures to cause harm.  When the term dangerous is applied to anything which might under some set of circumstances cause harm it loses its meaning and value.  Much like the vastly overused California warning that this product may contain cancer causing materials.  Which is applied to virtually anything including untreated pine lumber.

Members of this forum would be at almost zero risk from this device.  They might use it, but wouldn't use it with a worn and failing piece of equipment while standing in a grounded bathtub.

Put your fingers round the back of this thing when it's plugged in and tell me how it's not dangerous.

OK.  If you can squeeze your fingers into the space between the wall and the back of this device while it is still at least partially inserted in the socket you can get a shock.  And if you are using both hands so that one finger from each hand is touching that shock has real potential for hurting you.  But in my mind that is somewhat similar to pointing out that if you stick you finger into the pulley and belt system of a running car you can get hurt.  Perhaps motor cars should have their hoods sealed and locked so that only certified mechanics can reach the dangerous bits.

[Monkeh]

OK.  If you can squeeze your fingers into the space between the wall and the back of this device while it is still at least partially inserted in the socket you can get a shock.  And if you are using both hands so that one finger from each hand is touching that shock has real potential for hurting you.

I know for a fact I can if you insert it in a typical UK socket.

But in my mind that is somewhat similar to pointing out that if you stick you finger into the pulley and belt system of a running car you can get hurt.  Perhaps motor cars should have their hoods sealed and locked so that only certified mechanics can reach the dangerous bits.

The difference being that most people have an appreciation that there are nasty things in there, someone walking up to one of these plugged into the wall unawares, or perhaps, a child (who would not be easily getting access to the moving bits of a running car), would not be expecting live parts you can just touch.