Damaged Electric Plug on Appliance

[John Ross]

I unplugged the television and noticed that one of the blades on the plug was bent (not straight out, but sorta curved). Surprisinly it easily fits into the outlet, and I have checked to see if the plug gets warm, which it doesn't. I tried pliers to straighten it, but it did not work.

Is this something to be overly concerned about? If it's bent in such a way that it makes a tight connection, can it still cause arcing if the whole blade is not fully in contact with the inside of the outlet?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

If it is straight enough to go into the slot, it should be just fine. It is probably held in proper position once inserted.

[Don Phillipson]

Many people might think peace of mind is worth $5 which is what it would cost to fit a new terminal plug yourself. An electrician would charge $20 or $25 which you might think too much.

[resoo]

Hello ! Youl'll surely find an answer on

Dan

[C & E]

As others have stated, it should work without any problems. I alway overextend the reach of our vacuum cleaner's cord which causes one leg to bend as it pulls out of the receptical. I straighten it a bit and it always works. If you are overly concerned you could straighten the blade with pliers and find something narrow to wedge between the parallel pieces of the blade.

[mg]

The true test is to see if it gets warm, which you have already done. So, in my opinion, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Televisions use a relatively small amount of current anyway. So, they're not likely to be a problem. Electric heaters (120V), for example, are something that you do have to worry about and when the plug gets hot, I would throw away the entire heater, just on general principles, and replace the receptacle.

[alvinamorey]

You'd throw away the whole heater because of a bent prong on the plug? That's about the dumbest thing I heard in awhile. You can buy a decent plug for under $5, or get a hospital grade plug at any hardware store for about $8. Most of the time these plugs exceed the quality of the original molded plug that came with the appliance.