2 Prong Vs 3 Prong Extension Cord

There is no downside in this arrangement but a two.

2 prong vs 3 prong extension cord. The prong is a square shaped piece of metal with a circle in the middle. So why have both a neutral and a ground when they both ultimately just tie to the earth ground bar in the main breaker box. The difference in two vs three prong plugs on extension cords.

The left slot is known as neutral and the right slot. Unlike an appliance which limits the amount of electricity that can flow to 60 watts for a light bulb or 500 watts for a toaster. 2 3 prong adapters will come with a small metal grounding prong attached to them.

What if you were to plug a thick strand of wire straight from the hot slot to the neutral slot of an outlet. This is why you can use a 3 prong to 2 prong plug adapter to bypass having to use the ground line and the device will still work just fine. For all of these type devices a two wire prong extension cord is adequate assuming it is rated for the wattage being drawn.

The hot line is juiced up to the grid and will shock you if you touch it. 2 prong power cord has hot and neutral. The neutral line acts only to complete the circuit roughly speaking power flows from hot to neutral through your device.

Tuesday july 31 2018 a typical 120 volt outlet often found in the united states you will see two vertical slots and one round hole that is below and centered between the two vertical slots. In most cases the left slot is slightly longer or larger than the right slot. Among a few other benefits this is primarily so that if something should go awry with the device like a stray hot or neutral wire.

This grounding prong is attached so you can connect your adapter to the grounding source. When you plug a two prong device into a three prong extension cord the device is not connected in any way to the ground wire in the cord.