Tamper Resistant Receptacles

[shooon]

In Canada they rolled out a rule a few years ago requiring all 15R and 20R receptacles installed in single dwellings to be tamper resistant. Building a garage, the receptacles fall under the "single dwelling" definition unfortunately.

Personally I hate them. I find sometimes it's extremely difficult to plug anything into them and end up with bent prongs. I understand the reasoning was to prevent children from jamming stuff into receptacles and shocking themselves... but in a garage where you have 30 and 50 amp receptacles with larger holes I think enforcing the rule is kind of moot.

Does the NEC have similar rules on them? Is there a specific brand of receptacle that is less finicky to use?

 

[nick2010tundra]

I have all Leviton Tamper resistant plugs and have zero issues, I think the cheaper plugs are known for issues. When I built I bought all material, so I made sure I used top products

 

[gauder the goof]

I've been replacing some receptacles the electrician used because they were so sloppy the plugs fell out if you looked at them the wrong way. Replaced them with the leviton tamper resistant and have zero issues as well.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I have not seen outlets above 20a that are tamper proof.

 

[myredracer]

When I first started building our house 10+ years ago, they didn't require temper-resistant recepts. I finally finished the attached 2K sq. ft workshop/garage a year and installed TR recepts. everywhere. Funny thing is, in the workshop I have non-TR 240 volt, 20 amp straight-blade and a 120 volt 30 amp twist-lock recepts. Some kid could still electrocute himself or even turn on the table saw and cut fingers off tho.

I'm an EE (retired) and don't have any issues using TR recepts in the workshop and don't see them as a hindrance. One thing I like about them is they keep dust from getting inside. I've been doing a lot of grinding lately and the dang metal dust gets everywhere - so I'd say they're a good thing.

Maybe they are just cheap quality?

 

[Stuart in MN]

Does the NEC have similar rules on them? Is there a specific brand of receptacle that is less finicky to use?

To answer your question - yes, they are required by the current edition of the NEC.

 

[99LeCouch]

The Legrand TR ones from Lowes seem to be just fine. They hold things quite securely. Plugs do need a firm push to go in, and a firm pull to remove.

TR GFCI's are expensive!!! At least that gets an outlet with a nice screw-down back-wired connection. No side-wire-only connections like the GFCI's they replaced.

 

[barnjunkie]

I understand the reasoning was to prevent children from jamming stuff into receptacles and shocking themselves... but in a garage.....

When I was a kid, I jammed an unwound coat hanger into a receptacle.

I don't think anything would have stopped my determination to do it.
Just another safety device that is pushed by large manufacturers that control the market.

 

[CNGsaves]

At friend's house last week, his 86 year old mom said there was kitchen outlet that was NOT working. You guessed it . . . . tamper resistant outlet that was nearly impossible to use. I jammed a plug in a few times to "limber" it up and it's at least usable now. I detest the damn things.

 

[The Cobbler]

I detest TR

 

[SiGmA_X]

I have Leviton 15amp TR's and I like them. I could see an 86yo having trouble with them, but I don't have issues with them at all. Only complaint from me is that they're a little more expensive!

 

[checkthisout]

They work ok.

The shutter is designed to stay closed if there is pressure on only one or if there is grossly uneven pressure being placed on it.

So, it's important that both prongs are pushing on the shutter at the same time. This means you need to push the plug into the outlet nice and straight.

If it's cocked and try to ram it home, the increased pressure on the shutter will prevent it from opening even when the other prong contacts it.

Nice and even....just a little wiggle if need be.......

 

[wyliesdiesels]

TRs- just another product developed under the guise of solving a problem, which never really existed all so manu can make more money.

Just like snake oil AFCIs.

 

[MushCreek]

We have them, and they aren't much of a problem, except certain cords are very hard to plug in. My wife's computer, for example. I've looked closely at the plug, and can't for the life of me see why that one particular plug is so troublesome.

We have some AFCI's as well, and they don't like some electric motors. My shop vac and my portable compressor both trip them.

 

[reader2580]

I don't have an issue with TR receptacles at all.

My brother loves them as it eliminates having to child proof receptacles. He has young kids and his wife runs a day care in the lower level of the house.

 

[prostreetamx]

I have wired hundreds of houses over the years but stopped before those TR's were required. I did hit the beginning of the Arc Fault era though and they are a PITA. We had so many nuisance trips and other issue and the first batch of the AF breakers we installed in 3 phases that they were actually recalled and we had to replace them all for free as well as a huge increase of free service calls. I can just imagine all the stupid so called free warranty calls that will be because my plug is broken and I can't plug into it. I was a piece worker for years and did not get paid for call under the so called 1 year warranty period because it was always the electricians fault they put in defective parts the shop supplied. Went through the same issue when the started making Leviton GFCI's in Mexico. They had defective reset springs and we replaced literally caseloads of them for free. One contractor I knew literally had a truck bed covered with GFCI's he swapped out of lots of tract homes. My current garage under construction will not be using TR plugs. I already discussed it with my inspector and since it is a garage and every 110 receptacle will be GFCI protected, I will not be required to use them. He did say I would have a tough time finding non TR receptacles but I pointed to my shed which is stocked with Romex and electrical devices from my residential days.

 

[reader2580]

TRs- just another product developed under the guise of solving a problem, which never really existed all so manu can make more money.

They solve a very real problem of kids sticking things in outlets. I did it as a kid as have a lot of kids. Most kids will likely not be able to push hard enough even if they did mange to put something in both slots.

 

[Commendatore]

When my daughter was born I slowly swapped every accessible outlet for TR. If you detest them, you clearly haven't spent enough time prying those !@#$ plastic covers in and out just so you can move the vacuum cleaner.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lakeroadster]

When the guys wired the three outlets in my barn the first time I used them I didn't know they were TR's and didn't know there was such a thing.

Each time I used them I struggled with rocking the plug back and forth to get it to go in and then yanking the plug out as it was getting hung up on the mechanism. After about a dozen times I replaced them with "old school" outlets.

The three TR's I paid for are now occupying space in the local landfill.

In the distance I hear the voice of George Orwell... and some cute little kid that is saying

What you talkin' 'bout Willis?

"Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you, may not be right for some."

 

[jim111]

As stated above, the better quality ones available today are much more easier to use than what was on the market when their code requirements began

 

[lakeroadster]

As stated above, the better quality ones available today are much more easier to use than what was on the market when their code requirements began

The professional sparky's installed the ones in my barn in October 2015.

Rhetorical Question: Do they make a 50 amp welder outlet that is TR...

 

[kd3pc]

were it not for a new hoard of darwin award candidates (of all ages, btw) every so often, these may not have been needed....

but as wylie says, it does provide a revenue stream. And so it happens.

 

[jives]

Just installed 19 of them in my garage, as per the code officer's reminder.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

The professional sparky's installed the ones in my barn in October 2015.

Rhetorical Question: Do they make a 50 amp welder outlet that is TR...

Negative

 

[99LeCouch]

Sounds like the TR outlets were like the emissions controls on cars. They both sucked at first, and then got more seamless. With dogs who run into everything, holding plugs in securely is really nice.

 

[prostreetamx]

I can see a use for TR's if you have kids around but what about all the larger amp receptacles you typically find in shops? With Arc Faults and GFCI's already in play I don't really see a need for TR's in some locations. All this TR's stuff goes out the window as soon as you add an extension cord or power strip until they require them for these items.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I can see a use for TR's if you have kids around but what about all the larger amp receptacles you typically find in shops?

The Code can't cover 100% of all situations. The vast majority of houses and residential garages in the US don't have any larger amp receptacles, other than possibly one for a range or a dryer, and those are typically in locations that aren't easily accessible.

 

[reader2580]

Range and dryer receptacles typically have a cord plugged in at all times so kids have a harder time getting hurt. Dryer receptacles tend to be mounted pretty high too.

 

[tyme2par4]

Most of people's experience here seems to be with the early generation plugs. I too have found that the early ones could be a PITA.
But seeing as I'll be having my first child shortly, I've been swapping out outlets with new TRs. I've installed about 15 so far, and I can definitely say they are far better than the old ones. I have yet to have a problem inserting a plug. And a 10 pack was only $10, so I can't even complain about the cost.
My house is a mess electrically, so I need to replace most of the outlets anyway.

 

[53Sparky]

Range and dryer receptacles typically have a cord plugged in at all times so kids have a harder time getting hurt. Dryer receptacles tend to be mounted pretty high too.

Dryer receptacles tend to be mounted behind dryers. So there's that.



On a side note, when I was in college, I was changing strings on my guitar and my roommate took one of the old ones and shorted it across the poles of the receptacle in the wall. I have no idea what he was thinking - he was really an intelligent guy and he was completely sober. It didn't arc, but it got red hot and then made a popping sound as it exploded into tiny 1/4" long segments. Of course he burned his fingers and dropped the remaining guitar string pieces on the carpet which of course left a guitar string shaped burn mark. He had to pay the damage deposit at the end of the year.

That's why you need TR receptacles.

 

[lakeroadster]

That's why you need TR receptacles.

No way that TR receptacles will fix THAT, your roommate is/was a special kind of stupid.

Was weed or alcohol involved, or perhaps he was from Boulder?

 

[ForceFed70]

When I build my garage I only had to use TR outlets for the exterior outlets. Sounds like code may have been updated. Took a few uses before they loosened up, now I hardly even notice them.

Inside a shop, TR outlets have the benefit of keeping crud out of the outlet. Excellent for use near your grinders or wood saws.

 

[Casey69]

not a huge fan either, but the outlets loosen up with use.

wouldn't the gfic/arc fault be sufficient & make tamper-resistant outlets unnecessary?

 

[reader2580]

An ordinary circuit breaker will trip on a dead short. The problem is it won't trip before someone could get hurt.

I have Leviton "Premium" TR receptacles I bought at HD for $1.19 that work just fine for me.

 

[99LeCouch]

not a huge fan either, but the outlets loosen up with use.

wouldn't the gfic/arc fault be sufficient & make tamper-resistant outlets unnecessary?

That stuff shuts down the circuit once an issue happens. The TR outlets help keep issues from happening in the first place.

 

[checkthisout]

I was helping my Mom clean out a closet a few years ago and found one of my old coats with two 1/4-1/2 diameter burn holes in it.

I still remember being 4 and putting a paperclip in the outdoor socket and that thing arcing like a sonofabitch. The sparks burned a hole in my coat and sent me back balling like a baby.

I made the second hole probably 2 weeks later doing the same thing with both my parents yelling at me to stop but I got'r in there in a hurry before they could get to me.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

not a huge fan either, but the outlets loosen up with use.

wouldn't the gfic/arc fault be sufficient & make tamper-resistant outlets unnecessary?

That stuff shuts down the circuit once an issue happens. The TR outlets help keep issues from happening in the first place.

Not necessarily.

A GFCI will only trip if there is current leakage between the hot and neutral. So if the paper clip was inserted in the hot and ground it would trip but not if it was inserted in the hot and neutral because there would be no current leakage.

U can plug a hair dryer into a GFCI turn it on and submerse it in a sink full of water and the GFCI wont trip UNLESS the drain is metal and the plumbing is bonded.

An AFCI MAY trip. Depends on if there is an arc or not.

 

[prostreetamx]

I think the only solution is to put all your receptacles out of reach until everyone is an adult. All walls should be padded and stairs should be eliminated. Don't use cords that are exposed and keep all your tools securely locked away along with all your silverware, pencils and any other pointy objects. I guess we are pretty lucky not to live in Europe where 240v is the norm and their plugs have much bigger holes in them. If someone is determined to hurt themselves, they will always find a way. You just can't child proof life.