whoever Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 GUYS, CHECK YOUR HOME on a regular basis!!! when i woke up something smelled really weird and boy.....i was [censored] lucky that it was smelling! The electrician told me on hour more and the thing would have melted through and go on fire.... i'll grab a drink now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Blimey mate..... Lucky.... But when I set that trap you were supoosed to leave the house so I could grab your watches.... Foiled again...!! Drat !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSTEEL Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Blimey! Glad it was found, could of been a nightmare otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonyyammine Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 What is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoever Posted October 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Thats a semi burned plug from my bathroom. .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browngo1 Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 No mains sockets allowed in bathrooms in the UK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 No mains sockets allowed in bathrooms in the UK! More that they are not allowed within 3m of zone 1 within a bathroom ... or edge of bath.. But maybe he has a palatial bathroom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoever Posted October 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 (edited) But maybe he has a palatial bathroom oh yes indeed...thats how myths are born hm...i think i'll have a Scotch on my balcony.....then to proceed to my pool.... Edited October 5, 2013 by whoever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitmic Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Holy crap! I'm glad you're alright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoever Posted October 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 (edited) haha, me too...but now i'm half drunk and i'm not sure if it's better to die of liver failure or in your sleep intoxicated by smoke....hm....maybe i should get it back up like it was.... Edited October 5, 2013 by whoever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Did you leave something turned on (that should not have been on) or do you know what caused the initial problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 oh yes indeed...thats how myths are born hm...i think i'll have a Scotch on my balcony.....then to proceed to my pool.... I told you not post pics of my crib !! I will have to move again now ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraggle42 Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 This is one of the reasons that I always use either metal or those white, hard, ceramic type of back boxes and sockets / switches. There's nothing that can catch fire and burn on it's own, it needs a constant heat source for a long time and even then it'll fizzle and melt a bit and smell like hell but won't burn. It does worry me though, when I pull a socket off the wall or a light switch and sometimes see three cables coming in, all with 3, sometimes 4, wires in them, all bent and twisted to get to the right location where they've got to get into the screw down connector on the back of the socket or switch. It's impossible to do quickly without having some of the wires under tension and trying to pull themselves out, and stuffing three wires into a receptacle that's really designed for one or two. It's scary how many times you pull a socket / switch from a wall and one or more of the wires just comes out of it's connector - that's a bad connection that can start a fire right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B3nj4min3 Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Oh! That was incredibly lucky that you found that in time. I've always lived a little vicariously following Monty Python's outlook, "That wouldn't 'Voom!' if you put 4,000 volts through it: It's bleeding demised!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 interesting that you got that shorted out box, and your breaker didn't trip? Usually when they get a load like that they trip and cut the power. maybe other countries that use 220 DC, rather than 120 AC have different setups. Here if something is tripping a breaker, it's a good idea to trace out that circuit and see what's wrong. As someone above said, loose connectors inside of boxes are a big source of problems, the connection isn't good to begin with and it loosens up over time, usually the clue is a light that's on that line will flicker, off and on, but that's not always the case.Biggest problem here in the USA outside of crappy electricians that don't wire to code specs is the use of aluminum wire back in the 1950's and early 60's. Aluminum will oxidize if exposed to moisture and air, as well as folks who run too many lights and or devices on a circuit that was not designed for the load. Luck that you smelled the burning plastic and got it fixed. Middle of the night, a few too many drinks, and you really could wake up dead!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanaris Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Actually it's 230 VAC in large parts of the world, not DC.Sent from my iPad using Crapatalk HD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Actually it's 230 VAC in large parts of the world, not DC. Sent from my iPad using Crapatalk HD You are correct, I realized my mistake a few minutes after I. Posted. I suppose the USA is about the only ones using 120V AC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitmic Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 I once did my own wiring once. Never again! I helped my mother out installing a heating system with a fan outdoors. I don't know anything about electric stuff. One morning she woke up and it was freezing cold inside and the fan was shut down. She went out and the cable box looked like melted marshmallows and the wooden panel on the house had caught fire burning all the way up to the roof. Lucky us the entire ground and roof was covered in snow. Since that day I never touch stuff I don't know $hit about. (Like women... ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 I once did my own wiring once. Never again! I helped my mother out installing a heating system with a fan outdoors. I don't know anything about electric stuff. One morning she woke up and it was freezing cold inside and the fan was shut down. She went out and the cable box looked like melted marshmallows and the wooden panel on the house had caught fire burning all the way up to the roof. Lucky us the entire ground and roof was covered in snow. Since that day I never touch stuff I don't know $hit about. (Like women... ) I did some wiring for my mum.... I tried to get her to use it but she wouldnt..... so I ended up hiring a hit man instead.... that didnt work either...AND I still got sent up to my room with no dinner !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraggle42 Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 I don't think this was caused by excessive load. Most fires like this are caused by poor (loose or broken) connections. Once you have a bad connection, it adds resistance to the circuit. A resistor consumes power and turns it into heat. That heat causes expansion, and contraction when things are turned off and cool down, and the metal moves when it's doing that, making the bad connection worse, so more resistance, more heat. At some point the heat gets hot enough to start charring the wire insulation and the plastic in the back of the socket, that charring adds carbon (the black charring), carbon acts as a resistor, more resistance so more heat. The resistance <=> heat cycle just carries on until the charring turns into a fire or you smell it or notice the flickering light / TV, or the RCD trips out. It can happen with just one 100W bulb connected. The only time the RCD will trip is when the carbon from the cooked plastic makes enough of a connection between the live and earth, and that's only if an RCD is fitted - most sockets only have a resettable fuse which just won't trip in this case. (residual current device - detects any imbalance in current going out along the live wire and current coming back along the neutral, they should match - if they don't, the electricity is "leaking" somewhere, either to earth or to you) (pedants - yes I know AC current goes both ways, but the descriptions good enough for the topic! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish1 Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 You had a close call there, glad you are safe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoever Posted October 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 I still shiver thinking of it.... I think there was some malfunction of a connection inside, bad installation work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 I still shiver thinking of it.... I think there was some malfunction of a connection inside, bad installation work. I bet it was a Shock !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraggle42 Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 These current wiring standards are terrible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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