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I'm moving into an apartment that only has one wall outlet (with two 3-prong outlets) above the countertop near the area designed for the fridge (only other wall outlet in the kitchen is behind the stove). I was thinking of buying one of these guys to help provide more outlets for countertop kitchen appliances:
GE-Grounded-6-Outlet-Tap
I'm not sure if this is safe to plug in a refrigerator though.
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 08-22-2014 at 12:42 AM..
Is the fridge outlet a dedicated circuit? If so, best to keep it that way
Plugging anything else into the same circuit as the refrigerator is a recipe for disaster. If the outlet behind the stove is on a different breaker than the fridge outlet, that might be a better choice?
Probably neither of those outlets has a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). You can get a surge strip with built-in GFI, but these do not come cheap.
By that description- not only is the kitchen not to proper code, but I'd be willing to bet that both recepticles and probably others outlets or light fixtures are all on the same circuit.
I'd be afraid to use one of those little inexpensive outlet taps for what the OP has in mind.
If the six outlet strip has a 15 amp breaker, then it is far safer than the Tripplite. That six outlet strip does not have tiny protector parts that have a history of creating house fires.
If the refrigerator plug is a three prong type, then it is post 1960s technology.
Best is to power from the stove outlet IF it is on a different circuit. So that an unexpected circuit breaker trip does not cause food poisoning. Of course, best for a kitchen (and other wet locations) is a GFCI type. But those (that are also safer than the Tripplite) are hard to locate.
Isobars are in a metal casing. I have had them fail from bad power, and I assure you that they are unlikely to cause a fire. A cheap China surge suppressor, OTOH, would be a danger.
I can swap out an outlet with a three prong type in less than a minute. That does NOT make the wiring 1960s technology.
Stove outlets are typically 220 volt. Powering a refrigerator from one would be exciting to say the least.
Circuit breaker trips do not cause food poisoning, but if that is a concern of yours, a GFCI breaker would be about ten times or more worse at causing them.
Your post has some of the worst guidance and information I've seen in a long time. While I am certain you are trying to help, please spend more time vetting your ideas before disseminating stuff that has to be countered and corrected.
Isobars are in a metal casing. I have had them fail from bad power, and I assure you that they are unlikely to cause a fire. A cheap China surge suppressor, OTOH, would be a danger.
I can swap out an outlet with a three prong type in less than a minute. That does NOT make the wiring 1960s technology.
Stove outlets are typically 220 volt. Powering a refrigerator from one would be exciting to say the least.
Circuit breaker trips do not cause food poisoning, but if that is a concern of yours, a GFCI breaker would be about ten times or more worse at causing them.
Your post has some of the worst guidance and information I've seen in a long time. While I am certain you are trying to help, please spend more time vetting your ideas before disseminating stuff that has to be countered and corrected.
Unless it is a gas range and the outlet is to power the clock and oven light.
I'm moving into an apartment that only has one wall outlet (with two 3-prong outlets) above the countertop near the area designed for the fridge (only other wall outlet in the kitchen is behind the stove). I was thinking of buying one of these guys to help provide more outlets for countertop kitchen appliances:
GE-Grounded-6-Outlet-Tap
I'm not sure if this is safe to plug in a refrigerator though.
There isn't an outlet behind the Refrigerator location? I wouldn't expect to have to use an outlet above the counter for the Fridge.
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