Tension Loss??

[Erampu]

Following is a portion of an inspection report my son received for the house he's buying:

Repair- [location: second floor guest bathroom] Electrical receptacles are considered fire and safety hazards if they are not installed and operating properly. Common issues include missing wall plates, tension loss, reverse polarity, ungrounded, open grounded, non functional, and loosely mounted receptacles inside the wall. A tension loss receptacle was noted. A licensed electrician should evaluate all receptacles in the specified location and repair as necessary.

Can anyone tell me what a "tension loss receptacle" is? I've never come across the term before.

 

[slodat]

You need to replace the receptacle. It no longer grips the blades of the plug tightly.

 

[ddawg16]

It describes how much tension the outlet puts on a plug to prevent it from coming out.

or....'high tight' the recpt is

Basically, it sounds like the outlets are worn out.

 

[Erampu]

I see. Thanks. Maybe I'll send the kid over to Home Depot for a box of tension.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Outlets are worn out...how old is the house?

 

[Erampu]

The house is 25 years old.

 

[justsam]

If your son is the buyer, it normally would be the seller's responsibility to repair these type of items, unless some other agreement is in place.

 

[Erampu]

Yes, justsam, but it's only one outlet and there's a laundry list of much higher priced fixes. No need to overwhelm the seller and have her looking for a way to back out of the deal.

 

[Milton Shaw]

You might want to go on and get a tamper resistant if he has kids, they sure do make things safer and not that much more money.

 

[Norcal]

You might want to go on and get a tamper resistant if he has kids, they sure do make things safer and not that much more money.

If a residential receptacle is replaced then a tamper resistant receptacle is required, if it in a area where GFCI protection is required, then that must be complied with & so on.


I would be curious how the inspector determined that the tension was not to spec, in a healthcare facility, the minimum tension is 4 oz.

Edit #2: here is a link to a tension tester. http://www.grainger.com/product/DANIEL-WOODHEAD-Receptacle-Tension-Tester-1PJK7

 

[BillK]

it normally would be the seller's responsibility to repair these type of items.

I don't believe the seller has to fix anything if they don't want to. It might jeopardize the sale if they don't, but there is no requirement that it be done.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Given that is a Woodhead product, I'm surprised it is not more exoensive.

 

[theoldwizard1]

You might want to go on and get a tamper resistant if he has kids, they sure do make things safer and not that much more money.

I raised 2 kids and have 5 grandkids crawling around. A couple of those cheap plug in protectors is all you need.

 

[George in Rancho Cordova]

How much tension is needed for the plug in protectors so they cannot be removed & swallowed by the crawlers?
}

 

[Norcal]

How much tension is needed for the plug in protectors so they cannot be removed & swallowed by the crawlers?
}

Strange thing when doing the tension tests, when they fail the grounding slot always is the one that fails the test, requiring the receptacle to be replaced, the protectors use the hot & neutral slots so they prob. do OK.

 

[reader2580]

They make baby locks for outlets that actually latch into place instead of just plugging in. If you have a baby I would install tamper proof outlets instead of baby proofing the outlets. They sell some pretty decent ones for $1.19 each at Home Depot. Even cheaper in 6 or 10 packs.

Most of the receptacles in my house lacked any tension to hold plugs when I bought it. Every receptacle was replaced before I moved in.

 

[FullRaceMerc]

Apparently these folks ignored their tension loss a little too long. The guy said something about having to pinch the prongs together on the plug to keep it working.

 

[justsam]

Strange thing when doing the tension tests, when they fail the grounding slot always is the one that fails the test, requiring the receptacle to be replaced, the protectors use the hot & neutral slots so they prob. do OK.

Interesting. I never knew such a tester existed, let alone what the metric should be.

Odd that for residential they fail on the ground prong where I suspect in this day of double insulated that few devices in the home even use the ground prong, at least not in areas where they would be subjected to multiple insertions.

 

[Speedy Petey]

I raised 2 kids and have 5 grandkids crawling around. A couple of those cheap plug in protectors is all you need.

Sorry, but you are incorrect, or at least your advice here to others is.

Please see the correct post #10.

 

[CJ7VFR]

I see. Thanks. Maybe I'll send the kid over to Home Depot for a box of tension.

I love this!

Tell him to make sure he gets the box of tension that matches the color of the outlets or it won't look right...

Jim

 

[Mustang51js]

1 outlet is good for at least 10k off the asking price lol

 

[wyliesdiesels]

If a residential receptacle is replaced then a tamper resistant receptacle is required, if it in a area where GFCI protection is required, then that must be complied with & so on.


I would be curious how the inspector determined that the tension was not to spec, in a healthcare facility, the minimum tension is 4 oz.

Edit #2: here is a link to a tension tester. http://www.grainger.com/product/DANIEL-WOODHEAD-Receptacle-Tension-Tester-1PJK7

Damn that thing is expensive!

 

[Norcal]

Damn that thing is expensive!

What do expect from Grainger they are high priced, but a great source for links.

 

[alfredeneuman]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he bought one.

Home Inspectors absolutely LOVE little things that they can just plug into the wall with all sorts of lights, displays, and gauges.

It's a way than can hide their lack of knowledge from their customers.


Then they misinterpret the results and include it on their reports

 

[wyliesdiesels]

What do expect from Grainger they are high priced, but a great source for links.

Normally i would agree but amazon is nearly the same price!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003..._1_1?colid=YXJUWXNFWYC3&coliid=I12W60NZ834H7V