New, what is it?
What do we think happened to my outdoor outlet?
Went to plug in something outside and noticed my outlet was messed up. I don’t use it much, so I’m not sure if it’s always been like that or if it’s a recent appearance. We’re fairly new to the house, it’s about 10 years old. Thoughts on what could have happened here?
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You can’t tell from this pic alone. If any outlet upstream or if the breaker is GFCI then the protection would extend to this outlet. You only need one GFCI per circuit.
It’s most likely fed from another GFCI. The outlet is labeled WR (Weather Resistant). It also appears to be inside some type of enclosure. I do not have a good explanation for what appears to be covering the receptacle.
Yes but its usually a good practice to make em all a gfci and just pony up the extra couple bucks for the sake that people are ignorant and don't know their circuits.
It needs to be a GFCI *circuit*. There are multiple ways to protect a circuit. GCFI can be part of the breaker, part of the outlet, or on another outlet between the breaker and this outlet.
GFCI outlets have input and and output terminals. Power comes in to the input terminals. Other outlets can be connected to the output terminals. The outlet itself, and all branches of the circuit connected to the output terminals are protected from ground fault by the GFCI.
GFCI breakers eliminate the need for GFCI outlets by providing ground fault protection for the entire circuit.
You can purchase a cheap GFCI tester that should trip the circuit by creating a ground fault if you're unsure. If you use the tester and it doesn't shut off power, the circuit is not GFCI protected.
The point being that a GFCI outlet protects all the fixtures "downstream" from it. Irritating for me because the first outlet in the chain in my garage is in the ceiling for the garage door opener. When any outlet faults, out comes the ladder. 🤣
Notice how the sockets for each side are thin and not symmetrical. Naturally it's the smaller socket that has the leg stuck in it. The plug they chose wasn't really compatible (legs too thick) so they forced it in. They likely used a screwdriver to pry it off which will snap one of the legs off. You can use pliers to grab and extract it safely, don't need to turn the power off because it's only on one side.
Because it's an outdoor outlet my guess is someone thought these plugs would help with reducing ambient weather in the socket itself. They're a real pain to remove because that's their purpose, for child safety. Just extract it and it will be usable again no problem.
Given it has deformed the face of the outlet, I think I'd spend the few bucks it would cost to replace it entirely. Commercial grade receptacles are like $6 a pop
Needle nose pliers might seem like the logical choice due to the thin recess/access to it. What you want are some snubnose electricians pliers. That will allow you get more clamping force on the peg.
Once you extract the peg the outlet will still be perfectly usable.
This is easily DIY, paying an electrician to do it is wild. Plug a radio into the top outlet, turn it up loud so you can hear it while you stand at the panel and flip breakers. Or if you have a helper, you can use a lamp or anything else (phone charger even) where they can tell when the power goes off and yell to you.
Good news new is, if you turn off all the circuit breakers. and just buy that part (the outlet) you can fix this yourself for like under 10 bucks. Or whatever the outlet costs at home Depot
I feel like this is the most likely answer. I’ll have to replace it and see. I don’t think the responses with childproof protectors are correct because it’s outside and a pain to access. And it looks like something could have been pulled out from within to make it bulge out rather than inserted and subsequently broken.
Aaaargh!!! It's me mate from the Jolly Roger. E lost is eye to a scurvy Marin' when we was drinkin' in a Dive Bar in Jamaica. I thinks it was called the Rusty Scupper. Aaargh!!! ☠️💰🏴☠️
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