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Posted by Waldo on July 28, 2005, 11:06 am
scorpion@noway.com wrote:
> In alt.home.repair on Sun, 24 Jul 2005 21:24:37 GMT "George E.
>
>
>>
snipped
>>>
>>
>>Your question is based on a false premise.
>>Connecting too many appliance to an outlet does
>>not cause fires. Connecting too many appliance
>>to an 0EXTENSION CORD causes fires because the
>>cord can't carry the current.
>>
>>Outlets are on a house circuit which is protected
>>by a breaker. Too much current for the circuit
>>and the breaker trips--no fire.
>
>
> This isn't 100% true. In my case, I only had one room heater, maybe
> 10 or 12 amps (I still have it if anyone wants to know what it's rated
> at.) connected to the receptacle and probably nothing more than a
> clock running on the rest of the circuit.
>
Actually, it is 100% true. What you had was not an over-current
situation. You had a faulty connection that led to arcing at the
receptacle. Circuit breakers do not protect against this until the
wiring gets hot enough to melt the insulation and short out.
Arc fault receptacles are available to day, and required by some codes
in specific rooms, to protect against the situation you experienced.
> I woke up in the morning and was amazed to see one or two inch flames
> coming from the receptacle, where the cord was plugged in.
>
> The problem was that the receptacle was from 1930, and the springiness
> in the metal was gone, I think. The plug used flat prongs with no
> springiness. But that apartment is still there 25 years later and I
> doubt it was rewired. The receptacle continued to work fine for me
> for a 150 watt tv, for years after.
>
> The other problem was that my girlfriend was there with me, and as I'm
> trying to grab hold of the cord, she kept tugging on my arm. Every
> time I reached for it, she had just the right timing and tugged my arm
> back. By the fourth try I was awake enough, and I applied more
> strength than what is normally necessary to move just my arm, I
> overpowered her, reached the cord, pulled it out of the wall, and the
> fire went out in 3 or 4 seconds.
>
> It was like a slapstick comedy, with the fire and my trying to put it
> out and her stopping me.
>
> Receptacles, some of them pretty old already, will continue to get old
> and some will lose their springiness. I would be cautious about using
> them, especially for high currents. I think when I used the heater
> again, I had changed the plug with on that had the prongs folded back
> on themselves, with a space within each prong, with great springiness,
> and that worked fine. I also checked with my hand to make sure the
> plug and wall were not hot at all. But I didn't need the heater more
> than once or twice after that.
>
>
>
>>Put too many
>>appliance on a small cord, one that won't carry as
>>much current as a house circuit, and the circuit
>>breaker won't trip, the cord just gets hot and burns.
>
>
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