A cheater is any device that gets around a built-in limitation. A cheater bar is a length of pipe slipped over a wrench or bender handle for more leverage. A cheater plug is the adapter that lets a three-prong plug fit an ungrounded two-slot receptacle, defeating the ground. A cheater breaker is a tandem or twin breaker that fits two circuits in one panel space, legal only in panels listed for it.
Panel's full, throw a cheater in slot 12 if the label allows tandems, otherwise we're adding a sub.
Also heard as
- cheater bar
- cheater plug
- tandem breaker
- twin breaker
Related terms
Tub
Empty panel enclosure, the steel back box that goes in at rough-in before the interior and cover arrive.
Suicide cord
Homemade cord with a male plug on both ends, used to backfeed a house from a generator.
Double tap
Two conductors under a breaker or lug terminal listed for only one, a classic inspection writeup.