this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2026
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Worth mentioning that they are absolutely not safe as the exposed prongs are energised. They are called suicide cords for a reason. All it takes is to plug the cord into a running generator or working outlet first and the exposed terminals are now live.
Its also worth noting that they very often kill linesmen working to desire the utility because people use them to hook up their generators without turning off their main breaker which back feeds onto the grid.
Proper generator inlets are very readily available and if you don't want to go that route, just plug your fridge and other important devices into your generator with extension cords.
And that would all count as "not using it correctly".
As I said, they are many ways to very easily use it incorrectly. Being overconfident about it is one, which is why I have an inlet and an interlock.
There are zero ways to use this cord correctly. Do not tell people otherwise. The proper generator connection is to, as you just said, use a proper generator inlet and interlock like you said you use. Anyone using a cord like this is using it incorrectly as there is no correct way to use it. Both the CEC and the NEC expressly forbid these. All it takes is for a child to unplug the wrong end and touch the exposed prongs and they will get shocked.
A proper generator inlet should have the male ends in a recessed inlet box connected to either a transfer switch or an interlocked generator panel.