help! Battery chargers with US power plugs

[Yapo]

Hi, i found an old nano charger in my brothers draw today and it has the 2 parallel prongs "| |" which i believe is the ones you use in the US am i right? I tried plugging it into an adapter to use for here in australia but then i noticed you can plug it in two ways...how do you guys tells which way to plug all your things into powerpoints if there is no 3rd ground/earth prong? there is a label at back with the input/ouput numbers and the prongs are vertical like "| |" but i also found another US plug which has the 2 prongs horizontal which is confusing me!!!

 

[VidPro]

Hi, i found an old nano charger in my brothers draw today and it has the 2 parallel prongs "| |" which i believe is the ones you use in the US am i right? I tried plugging it into an adapter to use for here in australia but then i noticed you can plug it in two ways...how do you guys tells which way to plug all your things into powerpoints if there is no 3rd ground/earth prong? there is a label at back with the input/ouput numbers and the prongs are vertical like "| |" but i also found another US plug which has the 2 prongs horizontal which is confusing me!!!

it dont mater, AC is AC, its "non-Polar" except for shocking and killing you they will work upside down or rightside up.

so i guess that just leaves the shocking and killing you part :sick2:, which shouldnt be an issue with a device like that. just dont stand in a pool of water, while holding the prongs

things that have "polarised plugs" are more often things that can shock and kill you, like toasters, vacume cleaners, and that hair dryer your wife threw in the bathtub , when you were in it these wall warts and chargers convert to low voltage right at the wall, and unless they did some funkey connections, it should be safe either way.

 

[Norm]

As VidPro says it doesn't matter for double insulated appliances, it is important not to swap active and neutral on older style earthed appliances.
Norm

 

[Yapo]

oh right i totally forgot about the "AC" bit...thx for the quick reply!

 

[cm64]

Remember that the US uses 110v which can still shock and kill but its not quite as lethal as the 240v used in Australia.

. So its not quite so critical which way things go.

 

[Mr Happy]

Remember that the US uses 110v

120 V

 

[Citivolus]

Yapo,

There is a polarised plug with a wider prong on one end. I think it is more common in Canada than the USA, as the US has always had a bit of a lax standard as compared to other countries when it comes to polarisation and grounding, and electrical outlets without a ground pin are still quite commonplace there.

Anyway, the US and Japanese plugs that are even sized are not polarity specific, so you are free to connect them either way. Just make certain that the power supply really can take 240v, as several of my supposedly 240v/50Hz capable power supplies purchased in the USA died within 6 months of arriving in Australia.

 

[Raymond]

I think it's quite dangerous to let safety depend on which way a plug is plugged into the wall socket. It's AC and so a plug should be able to be inserted both ways.
Requiring people to insert the plug a certain way is just asking for trouble, imho.

 

[Mr Happy]

There is a polarized plug with a wider prong on one end. I think it is more common in Canada than the USA, as the US has always had a bit of a lax standard as compared to other countries when it comes to polarization and grounding, and electrical outlets without a ground pin are still quite commonplace there.

I can't speak to lax standards, but every two pin power cord I have here in the USA is polarized with the wide pin and the narrow pin so it can only be inserted one way round. This is something that may have changed in recent years compared to the past.

Anyway, the US and Japanese plugs that are even sized are not polarity specific, so you are free to connect them either way. Just make certain that the power supply really can take 240v, as several of my supposedly 240v/50Hz capable power supplies purchased in the USA died within 6 months of arriving in Australia.

I can relate to this. I think the phase intended is "240 V/50 Hz (for a limited time only)". My cellphone adapter committed suicide after just a short time in the UK.

I think it's quite dangerous to let safety depend on which way a plug is plugged into the wall socket. It's AC and so a plug should be able to be inserted both ways.
Requiring people to insert the plug a certain way is just asking for trouble, imho.

Whether AC or DC is not really important though; the important thing is that there is a live, or hot, wire and a neutral wire. Although you can insert an unpolarized plug either way round, there is no outlet out there that will allow you to insert a polarized plug the wrong way round. It may not be the only safeguard against electric shock, but it is one aspect of the safety mechanisms.