Statguard Flooring - Questions And Answers

Is it acceptable to purchase a replacement extension cord male plug and only connect to the third prong (the prong intended to be the grounding prong) and simply plug that into a grounded outlet?

Attaching a ground wire terminated with a banana plug into a AC electrical system ground is exactly the way to take ESD protective products to equipment ground. Per ANSI/ESD S20.20 Paragraph 6.2.1.2. Grounding / Bonding Systems Guidance “In most cases, the third wire (green) AC equipment ground is the preferred choice for ground.” However, is the connection of the banana plug a reliable fit in the extension cord’s ground? Often, it is quite loose. Banana jacks in our line are manufactured to closer tolerances. Using an extension cord is perfectly acceptable, however the as the length increases the gauge of the conductor needs to be larger (smaller gauge number) to meet the minimum recommended technical requirement for Grounding / Bonding System of < 1.0 ohm AC Impedance per Table 1 of ANSI/ESD S20.20.

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