Why is it that on 120v wall receptacles that the neutral seams to be the one side that always burns first? Current flow should be equal.

 

No reason, just policy.

Really, the current is equal. You simply stumbled on to a batch of connectors that went bad on the ground side.
I promise, they burn on the hot side, too.

 

Turn off the appliance before plugging it in...

 

If anything you would think it the opposite as the neutral pin is the larger of the two?
Max.

 

Why is it that on 120v wall receptacles that the neutral seams to be the one side that always burns first? Current flow should be equal.

On what do you base your assumption the neutral 'seams' to always burn first?

P.S. "Seams" is for sewing.

And the current flow in the neutral and the 'other side' aren't necessarily equal because the third side - the safety ground - can also carry current during a fault.

 

On what do you base your assumption the neutral 'seams' to always burn first?

P.S. "Seams" is for sewing.

And the current flow in the neutral and the 'other side' aren't necessarily equal because the third side - the safety ground - can also carry current during a fault.

Good point. Let me rephrase, the left wider one with no shorts to ground occurring.

 

If there were any ground current flowing on an appliance plugged into a socket, the current in the neutral could be lower, the degree of current in each would depend on the Earth Ground current in the appliance, but the neutral would not carry any more than normal.
Max.

 

Why is it that on 120v wall receptacles that the neutral seams to be the one side that always burns first?

What do you mean by "burns first"? Turn brown, apparently from heat? I don't have any receptacles that "burn" or look burnt. The house is "only" 23 years old, but I don't think a wall outlet should ever burn or discolor unless it is repeatedly overloaded so that it gets darn hot.

 

Could be that the wiring system is one where the neutral loops from one socket to the other(s). In this case, there might be a loose connection at such a point where more than one wire is connected to a common neutral connecting terminal of the socket(s).

 

Good point. Let me rephrase, the left wider one with no shorts to ground occurring.

Not sure that rephrase clarified anything for me.

Repeat: "On what do you base your assumption the neutral 'seams' to always burn first?"

 

When you say "burn" do you mean the plastic melts or do you mean the neutral prong gets blackened, like with smoke? Can you wipe it off? I will assume it is the latter.

In welding, smut forms on the piece being welded more than on the working electrode. One of the contributors to that is thought to be the temperature differential. The electrode being hotter than metal surrounding the weld promotes whatever is oxidized to make smut to condense on the colder surface..

This may be crazy, but maybe the larger bulk of the neutral means it stays colder than the smaller hot prong. And after many insertions with arcing to either electrode, the neutral may accumulate noticeably more smut on it.

Just a swag.

John

 

When you say "burn" do you mean the plastic melts or do you mean the neutral prong gets blackened, like with smoke? Can you wipe it off? I will assume it is the latter.

In welding, smut forms on the piece being welded more than on the working electrode. One of the contributors to that is thought to be the temperature differential. The electrode being hotter than metal surrounding the weld promotes whatever is oxidized to make smut to condense on the colder surface..

This may be crazy, but maybe the larger bulk of the neutral means it stays colder than the smaller hot prong. And after many insertions with arcing to either electrode, the neutral may accumulate noticeably more smut on it.

Just a swag.

John

Best answer yet. Still though, many times it is really burnt, more than just soot.

 

Ahh, so we are not talking about the receptacle at all, but rather the prongs on the plug?

 

I assume the house has 220V service. Wall receptacles can be on either pole of that supply. Can you check whether the neutral is the burnt prong, regardless of which pole it is one?

Put another way, I have an older house in which about half of the receptacles are on one pole. It is not unusual to lose power to just half of the 110V outlets. I have not noticed the burning issue you describe with any receptacle, probably because I always turn an appliance off before plugging it in.

Finally, I agree with MikeML's suggestion. I rarely plug in an appliance that is turned on. In fact, I do that only when the "on" state can't be determined. Consider that when you insert the plug, there will be multiple connects/disconnects until the final state is attained. Those on/off's in quick succession can't be good for anything.

John

 

The only time I have seen a burnt contact on a 120V receptacle is when the screw was not tight enough.

 

Are you sure the ground to the centre point of your house supply transfomer is in good condition?