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Product Link:
Ziotek ZT1212592 Power Strip Liberator Flat 3-Feet, 3-Pack
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Pros:
-> low-profile, right-angle plug to the wall allows placing furniture or other items much closer to the wall while still having access to the outlet
-> plug end is fixed, insuring solid electrical contact inside the plug
Cons:
-> limited to 13 amps, rather than a more-usable 15 amps
-> cord is short, at just 3 feet (but may work well for your application)
Review:
Whatever the marketing term to describe this product, it is a 3-foot extension cord with a right-angle plug to the wall and a straight socket on the other end. The main selling feature of this product to me is the right-angle connector, which protrudes from the wall only about 1/2 inch (13 mm). To that end, this product performs exactly as advertised.
Other reviewers have pointed out the 13-amp limit of this cord, instead of a perhaps more usable 15 amps. Just be sure to honor the limit to avoid problems. At present I have a laser printer, and nothing else, plugged directly into this cord, but may move to a power strip if I have several low-power devices to connect.
The right-angle plug is also directional. To me, it works best if the outlet has the ground hole toward the bottom. That way, the cord will easily droop toward the floor right out of the outlet rather than making a big upward arc before drooping down. It is only 3 feet (just under 1 meter) long so this may be important in your application. There may be a standard for outlet orientation, but it's easy enough to change an outlet's orientation with simple hand tools and being very careful to take the proper precautions before working with electrical hookups, like turning the power off and making sure it's off.
I'm wary of right-angle plugs that spin to any orientation, because it seems to me, whether justified or not, that proper contact inside a spinning plug cannot be guaranteed. By using a fixed-orientation plug, like the one on this cord, the question of intermittent electrical contact is avoided.
Here is the data from the manufacturer's web site ([...]):
Wire gauge: 16AWG
Length: 36" tip-to-tip (including plugs and prongs)
Max. power rating: 1625 watts (13.5 amps at 120 volts)
UL standard: UL 817, Standard for Safety of Cord Sets and Power Supply Cords
Quantity per pack: 3
Summary:
This product meets the needs I identified before I bought it, namely, low clearance away from the electrical outlet, and supplying enough power to the device(s) connected to it. I think these cords are a good value at just over $5 apiece. As always, the value proposition is up to you, considering your needs and budget.
Written 2/22/2011. Ziotek ZT1212592 Power Strip Liberator Flat 3-Feet, 3-Pack
This is the strip you want if your electric cord is just a shade too short. I only needed one, but three came in the pack. I immediately found a use for a second cord, and the third one came in handy at Christmas.
Bottom line: If you need to extend one and only one plug from an outlet and if you only need to extend it by two (not three!) feet, then I'm sure this will do the trick for you. Everyone else - stay away.
Unfortunately for me, I actually needed 3-foot long extensions. Unfortunate, because these are only 28 inches long, much closer to a 2-foot cord than a 3-foot cord. If pressed, you could measure the diagonals across the plugs and come up with 30 inches, but that's still 6" short and you couldn't use them that way. Besides, it's not the way any other cord lengths are measured.
Forget the length. I would be in equally bad luck if the cords were as long as they claim. The design of the plug manages to block outlets whether they are located below or to the side of this plug. I needed to access both outlets - so I'm out of luck. While I appreciate the value of a flat-headed outlet plug, why in the world would you gerrymander it in such a way as to block the use of any other outlets. The picture suggests, but doesn't really capture how convoluted it is. I cannot use two of these on a standard house outlet because one will always be blocking the other. I also can't use this on an electrical strip for the same reason. I even found an outlet strip oriented horizontally (plugs sideways) and the plug on these cords still manages to partly cover those up, too.
I honestly don't get why they are designed like this. Nobody benefits from the way the plug curves around. - Extension Cords - Power Strip Extension Cord - Power Cables'
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