commercial standard 3 prong outlet

[melojo]

I work at a school and in one of the 3 prong outlets (a standard plug) a prong was broke off from an extention cord and was protruding out from the socket. I have replaced residential outlets at home and new that as long as you didn't touch both wires you wouldn't get shocked. Needless to say I reached down and tried to pull the prong out of the socket and got a little shock and was puzzled. Is commerical wiring for a regular outlet that much different than a residential plug?

The prong that was sticking out was on the neutral side.

[pcboss]

The difference is the quality of the devices are typically more heavy duty for commercial. They are wired the same.

You just happened to between 2 points with a difference of potential. You can receive very bad shocks from neutrals.

This is why work is not supposed to be done live. OSHA has strict rules about live work.

[Rick Johnston]

Neutral is a current-carrying conductor. Even though it's bonded somewhere up the line to ground, it is never at ground so there's always a potential there.

If you used your fingers, you may have touched the metal faceplate and completed the path from neutral to ground.

[Matsukaze]

The voltage on the neutral should not be enough to shock you. You should try to get a qualified electrician to check the receptacle. It's possible that the hot and neutral are reversed or there's some other wiring problem. Normally, there should be only a few volts between neutral and ground.

I would recommend using a pair of insulated pliers if you have to do this again.

[thinman]

Originally Posted by Matsukaze

The voltage on the neutral should not be enough to shock you.

It might be a multi-wire branch circuit.

[Zorfdt]

Many of the responders are assuming that the broken plug was in the neutral slot. If the broken plug was in the hot slot (smaller of the two), it will most definitely give you a shock. Depending on your path to ground (your shoes, what you were standing on, etc), will determine how bad a shock you'll get.

As you learned, never touch any wire while it's live...

[Patrick22]

Always turn off the power before you try to handle a broken component on an electrical outlet. If the neutrals path is broken or if you provide a better path to the source through the ground on account of lose connection then it can chose you over the lose connection.

[Rick Johnston]

Originally Posted by Zorfdt

Many of the responders are assuming that the broken plug was in the neutral slot.

Zorfdt, this is the last line of the original post: "The prong that was sticking out was on the neutral side."

[Zorfdt]

Originally Posted by Rick Johnston

Zorfdt, this is the last line of the original post: "The prong that was sticking out was on the neutral side."

Hrmm... Guess I need to read a bit more carefully. Sorry for the errant post.

[thinman]

Originally Posted by Zorfdt

Hrmm... Guess I need to read a bit more carefully. Sorry for the errant post.

Be there, done that...ate crow!

[Gunguy45]

Mmmmmmm....crow.....mmmmm......lol.

I ,too, have developed a taste for it over the years.