What would happen if a baby was sucking on a live power board ?
Would the baby be electrocuted to death, injured, or would nothing happen (due to an auto switch inside the power board) ?
You aren’t baby-sitting tonight by any chance, are you Goo? 
One of our cats once peed on a powerboard. It shorted in loud smoky fashion, but the automatic cutout prevented any real damage.
what is a power board?
It’s a board you plug into a power point to increase the number of electrical outlets - usually it will have 4 or 6 sockets on the board.
Reprise, you should know better 
I’m not the babysitting sort.
k2dave, This is a power board. What are they called over in the US ?
“What would happen if a baby was sucking on a live power board”?
D’ya wanna tell us Goo??? I think you have SOMETHING to tell us…
:eek: 
oh, an extension cord! I was thinking of circuit boards…
well, I would say it was generally a bad idea to allow a baby to play with anything carrying live electricity, just in case. The shock probably wouldn’t be big enough to fry it (IANAElectrician), but it could be enough to stop its heart. Even if the board has a cut-off, it would be better to be safe than sorry.
I’m sure there’s a story behind this - you going to let us know?
Next up: Baby+Spit+Open fire…
We should point out that standard household supply in Australia is between 210 and 240 volts.
Those are usually called “power strips” in the US. For some reason they are called “table taps” in Japan.
A couple of years ago we put up a Christmas tree with all the trimmings, including miniature lights. One day I walked in the living room and to my horror saw our 2 y.o. daughter suckling on one of the bulbs. And the lights were on. I quickly ripped the bulb out of her mouth, then removed the lights from the tree. Thankfully nothing happened…
Just because nobody else has explicitly said it, sucking on raw voltage could kill the baby.
A circuit breaker or fuse on the device would cut out usually around 12-20 amps, depending on the duty rating of the extension cord. It’s generally accepted that a 0.1 (a tenth) of an amp is enough to kill an adult. Babies are more fragile.
The higher voltage in Australia increases the possible current flow and the danger.
Get some outlet covers for all exposed sockets when babies are around. They’re cheap insurance.
I’m somewhat paranoid when it comes to babies/toddlers & electricity. At our previous home, I replaced all of our outlets with GFCI’s. (To be more accurate, I made sure all outlets were GFCI protected, which means only certain outlets needed replacement.) A GFCI is not 100% insurance against electrocution, but it’s better than no ground fault protection at all. (Of course, this is depends on whether or not there’s a path to earth ground near the outlet, but like I said, a GFCI is better than nothing…)
yes power strips are what I know them as.
As for the OP - I don’t recomend it but don’t know. You could use it in a GFI outlet which should be safer.
A GFCI protects against current returning to the ground terminal that’s part of the socket itself. If the “third wire” starts getting current, the socket cuts out.
If you manage to connect the hot terminal to the cold (or earth ground) in the GFCI and not involve the third wire, then the GFCI is not going to be any safer than a regular socket.
Basically, a GFCI is only effective if you have a three-prong plug going into it.
Best protection for children is covers for the plugs.
Thanks for the info. It looks as if it’s not certain, but that there is a very good chance of death or injury, and it’s not worth the risk.
For those who guessed there is a story behind this, yes, my 10 month old nephew visited (with both parents) the other day. And no, he’s not welcome back until his parents watch him a bit more closely. They were well aware that our house isn’t child-proofed, but didn’t watch where he was crawling.
I don’t beleive this is correct. My understanding is that the GFIC makes dam sure that any current ‘comming’ through the hot lead ‘leaves’ through the neutral - in other words any return to earth ground will trip it.
To quote Ed McMahon, “You are correct, Sir!”
According to “How stuff works”, any imbalance between current leaving the hot and entering the neutral will trip the circuit breaker. It assumes that if it’s not going back via the neutral, it’s going back though you.
I learn something new every day. Thanks!
Ah, you beat me to it! That’s right – a GFCI works perfectly well w/ a two-wire outlet, i.e. the third terminal (earth ground) is not required in order for it to work.
why not move to England, where all plugs/sockets are 3-prong GFCI… much safer
Although our voltage is twice as high, of course!
However, if you (or a baby) contacts both of the two wires, or the hot and neutral on a three-wire outlet, then the current in the two is equal and the GFCI will not break, so you could still get electrocuted.