I am pleased to announce that a friend of mine that used it no longer qualifies as being “apparently dead”, and is working on an act that will add some delightful sass to this years International Smoke Ring Championships.
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Anyone else recall that dirty old joke about “the ATR button” ?
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The US National Electric Code does not allow any such.
UK plugs are twice as dangerous as US plugs, because they are twice the voltage. I have been shocked many times with both 240 and 120 volts and speak from painful experience! Outlet designs that incorporate physical gates and rapid interrupts (as are required by US electrical codes when a plug is outdoors, in a bathroom, kitchen, commercial building, or within a certain distance of any source of water) can help in both cases.
Combination units are also expected here. GFCIs have been legally required in most jurisdictions since 1971.
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No. Don’t agree.
Oddly, I spent years on industry and IEC safety committees, I have been involved in the design and testing of equipment rated for up to 10kV and 10kA pulse and 1kVAC at 10A continuous, and the only shock I have ever had was across a finger at the age of about 16. I respect the stuff.
But the idea that 110VAC is somehow safer than 230VAC is not only not borne out by experience but it is encoded in terminology. Anything under 1500VDC/1kVAC is technically low voltage. Below this is ELV (extra-low voltage) which is basically restricted to 25VAC/60VDC or, for the special case of SELV (a completely separate circuit) 50VAC/120VDC. Both 110VAC and 230VAC are treated identically for safety purposes. It’s a mistake to think that twice the voltage or current is twice as dangerous. What matters is skin dampness, and what points on the body are in contact (along with the age of the victim and state of the heart).
I’m emphasising this at length because my former colleague from UL used to complain about how many Americans treated their 110V supply as if it was somehow not at all dangerous. It can kill.
I was responding to someone who suggested that socket outlets should be fitted in US bathrooms, hence my comment that the 110V SO would not be fit for purpose (and as you confirm is not legal). Given some of the 110V US fittings I have seen in my time it’s amazing there are not more casualties, but my suspicion is that (a) a lot go unreported and (b) RCDs prevent most of the trouble in the first place.
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So can a 9-volt battery. Just make a small cut in one finger on each hand, wet with brine, insert wires, and flatline your heart.
In practice, if I get shocked by 120 vac 60Hz I’ll feel the tingle and move my limb away. But if I get shocked by 240 vac, my muscles contract and I will jerk involuntarily away from the pain. This is far more dangerous to me, if I am working in an environment where I am encountering live circuits. Your situation may be different, but mine is typical of home electrical work in the US, where we encounter both 240 and 120 routinely, often in the same chassis.
Now, I’ve also been hit by multiple 30K flybacks in the days of CRT tvs, and that’s a whole 'nother thing. Your brain blanks out, you literally can’t think until the spasming of your entire body throws you free of the source…
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So are bathtubs – those things are CRAZY dangerous! But I think I’ll live with the risk all the same.
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You know far more about power outlets and safety than I do; how is it that outlets behind toilets are standard in Japan and much of Asia? Do they handle them differently than we do?
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60 amp rated switch. Heavy wire gauge. Handly blue insulating cover. And free air contacts which won’t over heat. Seems totally safe.
(Ahhhhh…We have Southern States here with Electric Chairs that are less lethal than this contraption. 
)
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I have no idea, I’m afraid; my knowledge relates to the US and the pre-expansion EU.
Look, it’s no use arguing with me. I’m not an IEC delegate any more. Just get the IEEE, your company, industry association, university or safety body to sponsor you onto the relevant committee of IEC or ISO and you can influence policy and standards as much as you can. You just need to persuade a load of engineers and scientists.
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Pretty sure this was my shower in Oaxaca back in the day.
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Honestly, I only care about the NEC, and since welding cable got legalized for PV I’m happy.
Just wanted to explain why I consider 240vac to be more dangerous than 120vac. It’s from experience. I am comfortable working with both.
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While travelling through Burma I encountered shower systems pretty similar to this all the time. Wire nuts connecting the electric showerhead seemed to be the height of safety measures.
I watched sparking occur as water dripped onto an electrical outlet placed under the sink tap.
I am sure they have their fair share of incidents, but if you know what is going on and have your wits about you, it’s possible to be very safe even in these situations.
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I think your idea of “very safe” and mine are very different. 
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True. The kanji, 開閉, actually say “Open & close”, though. I think the translation is working on the implicit assumption that most controls that open things also close them.
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