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February 28, 2008
Power Outlets and Wall Warts
Wall Wart = the power supply that plugs directly in the wall outlet. Often used for cell phone chargers, external computer drives, digital camera chargers, electric razors and other consumer electronics.
Do you ever a problem with plugging in another wall wart or power plug because a wall wart is blocking the outlet? I know that this is not going to go down as one of the world's great issues, but I recently came across a few clever products that help solve this problem.
The first one is from 360 Electrical. Its a replacement for a standard wall electrical outlet, but each of the sockets can rotate 360 degrees. If a wall wart is blocking the other outlet, rotate the wart to expose the second outlet. Available in white, ivory, almond and black - $10.00.
The next product is a power strip where some of the outlets are on swivels. The Tributaries T12 has surge suppression and noise filtering. 8 of the 12 outlets on the T12 can swivel 90 degrees. Rotating an outlet or two allows you to stagger the wall warts - $120.
The third is the PowerSquid, they have several products - some include surge suppression, some don't. All have a cord and a plug for the wall outlet and either 5 or 6 short lengths of cable (tenticles) with outlets. From $18 to $60.
I have been using a Power Sentry power strip. It is four feet long and has 12 outlets, each outlet is a about 3 and 1/2 inches apart, plenty of room to for the warts. I put this under my desk, it works well for my situation. $50.
Have you ever had a problem finding an open outlet because of a wall wart? Have you tried any of these products?
Oh, and speaking of things electrical, there's a pretty cool prize in HGTVPro's Product of the Day Sweepstakes. During Rugged Month (i.e., March), you could win a Panasonic Toughbook (among other things).
Posted by Bob Gatton at February 28, 2008 2:09 PM
Comments
just wondering were to enter for $50.000 on wallwart
Posted by: deborah smit at March 4, 2008 11:45 PM
I too am wondering ??
The article on wall warts was informative though
Posted by: susan at March 5, 2008 6:27 AM
People...its the garage giveaway, not the wall warts giveaway.
Posted by: Big Haus at March 5, 2008 8:45 AM
I have learned that you don't plug in something like a (cell phone) charger and just leave it there. A friend did that - the cell phone was not attached but the thing overheated and caught on fire. Unfortunately they left it plugged in when they went away on vacation - came back to NO HOUSE. Since then I only plug any type of charger into a strip with a surge supressor so that if it is heating up, the thing will hopefully shut its self off....and still I try to always unplug it when it is not in use. When I need to, I use the little one-foot-long "extensions" that allow you to attach large plugs to a strip without obstructing the plug next to it.
Posted by: Pat F at March 5, 2008 9:29 AM
For a Brand new solution to the Wall Wart problem, which will be available on the market soon, Google "mpathx". I believe it will be ths only solution for them in the future.
Posted by: Pam at March 5, 2008 11:37 AM
Maybe the word hasn't gotten to everyone yet, but leaving any of those chargers, like cellphone chargers, plugged in continues to use power, even if the phone is not being charged. Best to just unplug the entire thing when the phone is charged. Also, when I go away on a trip, I turn off the powerstrips, for safety reasons, as well as for the energy savings. Anything that has a little light on it when not in use is using power. And if you are gone, you don't need to leave on your computer, printer, monitor, DVD player, satellite/cable box, etc.
I think this is called "Phantom Energy".
Posted by: canyongirl at March 5, 2008 11:59 AM
Pat F and canyongirl - Thanks, I should have mentioned that in my original post. Most of my warts are plugged into my power strip. At the end of the work day. I turn off the strip. I have seen some some reports where phantom power waste is 5% or more of many households energy use. And there is a safety concern
Pam - mpathx really does look interesting. But their current product is more for music studio and IT racks.
For more consumer applications I think that Green Plug (http://greenplug.us/) looks interesting. Check it out.
Posted by: Bob Gatton at March 5, 2008 4:45 PM
