We used similar “homemade” outlets on extension cords – we must’ve had more than a hundred around campus. But the fire inspectors wrote us up for using them in permanent locations under desks. We had to change them to commercial power strips. But I set up a temporary registration and add/drop classes area every semester, so it wasn’t permanent and I had a dozen or more of these “do-it-yourself” extension cords under fold-up tables for a month or more.
Our 8 or more mainframe terminals each drew an amp or 2 current, so it was okay. But then the bozos set up a refreshments table next door with a kilowatt coffee urn, and tripped the breaker. And there were like a hundred students lined up around the building in the hot sun, waiting for us to get an electrician to come over and find the breaker and reset it. 🤬🤬
2023-10-22 Do-it-yourself Power Strips – True Story
