Igor sent these in. His daughters and son-in-law house with their children. They had plugged in a 1500Wheater during the cold snap everyone endured. The heater had stopped working and devices that had been plugged in to the six plug expander and two down-flow duplexes. It had been working okay and then stopped working. Enter Igor the Electrician to solve daughters dilemma and found the plug melted, daughter and family stated they did not smell burning plastic or copper. The outside of the expander had no melting and when Igor pried it off and saw this damage exclaimed: God watches… Igor thinks the neutral wire shorted on the wall duplex behind the expander and set up a resistance and just kept cooking. Igor was able to repair the damage. This a good lesson to check your house wiring and duplexes and switches as companies cut costs and buys cheap chineseism crap. This is what you get.
32 thoughts on “God watches over fools and small children…”
Well I hope he went to the panel to figure out what the F was wrong with the breaker after he finished explaining how lucky they were.
I second that. Ho.Lee.Fuk.
Igor explained to me the breakers never tripped! He is gonna check them out for sure and replace them, again cheap assed chineseism!
Had the same thing happen a couple years ago with the old milk room space heater I bought at a garage sale for a dollar. It wasn’t near that bad but I could feel the cord getting hotter than shit and it did scorch the outlet some. Turned out to be the neutral wire inside the cord had turned completely green from corrosion for about four inches, from the plug back. I cut that off, put a new plug on it and no more problems.
Hard to believe the thing worked at all.
That really should have been a house fire…..talk about plain ass good fortune.
Two words- Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. I have one installed as the first outlet on all four of my outlet runs in my 1500 square foot shop. They are sensitive enough that if an extension cord is plugged in outside and laying in the dewey grass overnight they will trip the GFCI.
They’re not that expensive and are easy for even a bozo like me to install. Just don’t forget to shut the breaker off in the service panel before you attempt to install it, Bozo. 🙂
Actually, it *is* on a AFCI (Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter), and it NEVER tripped. I’m going to replace them, those AFCI’s don’t work worth a damn! Thus sayeth the MANY professional electricians I talk to!
And yet, code now requires them for all new wiring.
That surprises me. I have GFCIs on four circuits in the shop and three in the house and in 27 years none have failed. They’re all Leviton brand, and were recommended by an electrician friend, so what can I say?
I became a believer when I wired my shop and went to cut Romex at an outlet that unbeknownst to me was hot (my bad). It tripped the GFCI outlet four outlets away and I don’t recall ever even seeing an arc when I cut the Romex.
I reckon electricity is like a box of chocolates. You just never know.
I’m off to see if an AFCI is the same thing as a GFCI.
They are NOT. They work differently, they “listen” for arcing along the protected side of the wiring (downstream).
I won’t go into the physics of how they (don’t) work. just to save you the techno-babble. If you are interested, see a synopsis on them in Wiki.
Not the same thing. Simple version: GFCI (ground fault circuit interruptor) looks for a mismatch in the current going into the outlet versus what flows out on the neutral. If the two aren’t the same the sensor assumes current flowing to ground & trips. All it cares about is if the goesinto & the goesoutta are the same.
AFCI (arc-fault circuit interruptor) looks for a specific frequency on a circuit that is supposedly generated when there is a break in the wire. Nothing to do with the amount of current, just a specific frequency of noise on the line. I’ve only ever seen one actually do it’s job properly, the rest have been nuisance trips.
Gotta wonder if it’s a 20amp breaker with 14ga wiring. I have seen that before.
I was going to say the same thing. Know your voltage and your breakers and your circuit lines. Watts=volts X amps, for copper solid core it’s 14ga for 15a breaker, 12ga for 20a, 10ga for 30a. Never ever use aluminum wire. Many homes only get 103v in their 120 lines, so they can’t handle a full load.
It’s technically referred to as “ampacity”.
The breaker (AFCI) is 20 amp, the wiring is 12GA. It was wired properly, I believe the plug failed since the draw was well “downstream” from this plug!
I work part time at Lowes and I see some scary stuff. Worse is people trying to fix it themselves with no clue on electrical. If you don’t understand how gage of wire and amps relate to one another, hire someone who does.
I had humidity over very long term get into a breaker box and it actually caused my main breaker to fail. Make sure they are dry and stay dry.
Time to head for Vegas.
That is truly scary Igor, I am thankful for the overwatch of your family.
Let me tell you living in tornado alley I would rather have one blow everything away than a partial house fire. Ask me how I know and tip for you uninitiated if you don’t have proof of everything in your house how will you claim it on insurance.
End of freshman year of high school Mom set the kitchen on fire with her chicken grease. Brother put it out with fire extinguisher but stove vent hood already sucked it into the attic, notice vent hoods go clean through now.
Where was I? Well unknown to me I was skateboard chasing the firetruck to the house, holy smokes.
Spent the whole damn summer wax on wax off painting inside and out twice, yes twice smoke damage has to be covered first. Thanks Dad.
After was cool though, Mom got one of those newfangled Amana radar range thingy’s, pretty slick, and a corning stove top.
That is a classic example of a loose screw where the wire meets the outlet.
Nope. Did a forensic analysis, EVERYthing was done properly. Good crush on the wires, wires were NOT installed in those blankety-blank push-in connectors. Good contact all the way around.
Like I said, the installation was correct. The duplex plug somehow became a resistor…
If possible I would run new romex to that outlet from breaker box as there is no telling if more is cooked along the run.
Can’t begin to list the amount of re wiring I had to do on this 1953 built house to fix prior 3 owner’s dumb work. Still not sure I have found all of it.
Wire is NM 12-2 w/ground all the way back to the box. Again, they wired it correctly.
The breaker is probably 20 amp, but the plug expander is likely only 15 amps. A good rule of thumb is to never plug anything else into the same outlet as an electric space heater, hair dryer, or anything else rated as 1500 watts.
The “standard” duplex outlet is rated for 15 amps, and almost ALL of the cheap ones onl accept 14Ga – I refuse to use 14 for outlets and will sometimes use 10 for the home run (depends on length).and don’t get the push-in connecting type.
P= I * E, so 1500 watts at 120V is 12.5 amps, A 15-AMP circuit is more THAN enough to take the load.
I don’t think you properly understood what I was saying. I am well aware that 1500 watts is 12.5 amps. What I was saying is that if you are going to use a1500 watt appliance in an outlet, it is good practice to not use anything else in that same outlet. That is for those people who do not look at the power consumption of devices, so that they don’t overload the outlet’s 15 amp service rating by having the 1500 watt appliance, and one or more other items that push it over 15 amps.
Indeed!
The breaker should blow if it is sized properly
, which in this case is okay (20 amp).
It appears that most of the resistance sucking up the energy of the circuit was in the outlet itself. Defective,
Remember, the heater was plugged in two outlets away from this one. Nothing got even remotely warm, I removed the flash plate AND the outlets on each one and triple checked the wiring.
That’s why I was so surprised when I peeled (literally!) the outlet expander off of the outlet and saw the damage!
In my 55 years of wiring houses I’ve never seen the likes of this. Yes, 55 years – I started at 14 under correct adult supervision…
Cederq, please fix the bold by putting the ‘/b’ after the word “properly”
Thanks.
But you are no longer under adult supervision,,,
The pictures are a little unclear but to me it looks like the connecting tab between your side terminals became the resistor. Pigtails are your friend. I was taught to always pigtail just for this reason: all the downstream current has to flow through the upstream devices when your don’t. Pigtails eat up room in the box, sure, but I’ve yet to see a receptical wired side terminal & pigtail melted down this way, wheras I consistently see them cooked to near powder or melted down when they’re wired like this’ll when they’re backstabbed.
Agreed, it makes the best sense electrically speaking. But, it takes more time, time is money, and electricians don’t exactly get rich in their employment.
I would lay odds it is a 30 amp breaker. but that melt down should have triggered even that. And might have as they where looking for why something was not getting juice. I would also second pulling a new wire as that one is toast. It is at the least a fire hazard in the wall back to the box.
I also second GFI outlets. I put them first in any set of outlets I am adding in down stream.
Again, 20 amp, and you are correct, it SHOULD have tripped the breaker! Those AFCI’s are crap, and are getting replaced with GFCI breakers!
FWIW, it’s an Eaton loadcenter, 125 amp.
Holy mackerel! That scares me and I ain’t afraid of nuthin’. Angel’s wings were singed.
Receptacles / outlets do wear out. Should feel some resistance when plugging or unplugging a plug. When there isn’t enough force pressing onto plug prongs ampacity of that connection point drops. Reduced ampacity of connection results in generation of heat under load.
.
Recently replaced outlets at Grandsons house, found 1/4 were worn out. Plugs came out with very gentle tug.
Well I hope he went to the panel to figure out what the F was wrong with the breaker after he finished explaining how lucky they were.
I second that. Ho.Lee.Fuk.
Igor explained to me the breakers never tripped! He is gonna check them out for sure and replace them, again cheap assed chineseism!
Had the same thing happen a couple years ago with the old milk room space heater I bought at a garage sale for a dollar. It wasn’t near that bad but I could feel the cord getting hotter than shit and it did scorch the outlet some. Turned out to be the neutral wire inside the cord had turned completely green from corrosion for about four inches, from the plug back. I cut that off, put a new plug on it and no more problems.
Hard to believe the thing worked at all.
That really should have been a house fire…..talk about plain ass good fortune.
Two words- Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. I have one installed as the first outlet on all four of my outlet runs in my 1500 square foot shop. They are sensitive enough that if an extension cord is plugged in outside and laying in the dewey grass overnight they will trip the GFCI.
They’re not that expensive and are easy for even a bozo like me to install. Just don’t forget to shut the breaker off in the service panel before you attempt to install it, Bozo. 🙂
Actually, it *is* on a AFCI (Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter), and it NEVER tripped. I’m going to replace them, those AFCI’s don’t work worth a damn! Thus sayeth the MANY professional electricians I talk to!
And yet, code now requires them for all new wiring.
That surprises me. I have GFCIs on four circuits in the shop and three in the house and in 27 years none have failed. They’re all Leviton brand, and were recommended by an electrician friend, so what can I say?
I became a believer when I wired my shop and went to cut Romex at an outlet that unbeknownst to me was hot (my bad). It tripped the GFCI outlet four outlets away and I don’t recall ever even seeing an arc when I cut the Romex.
I reckon electricity is like a box of chocolates. You just never know.
I’m off to see if an AFCI is the same thing as a GFCI.
They are NOT. They work differently, they “listen” for arcing along the protected side of the wiring (downstream).
I won’t go into the physics of how they (don’t) work. just to save you the techno-babble. If you are interested, see a synopsis on them in Wiki.
Not the same thing. Simple version: GFCI (ground fault circuit interruptor) looks for a mismatch in the current going into the outlet versus what flows out on the neutral. If the two aren’t the same the sensor assumes current flowing to ground & trips. All it cares about is if the goesinto & the goesoutta are the same.
AFCI (arc-fault circuit interruptor) looks for a specific frequency on a circuit that is supposedly generated when there is a break in the wire. Nothing to do with the amount of current, just a specific frequency of noise on the line. I’ve only ever seen one actually do it’s job properly, the rest have been nuisance trips.
Gotta wonder if it’s a 20amp breaker with 14ga wiring. I have seen that before.
I was going to say the same thing. Know your voltage and your breakers and your circuit lines. Watts=volts X amps, for copper solid core it’s 14ga for 15a breaker, 12ga for 20a, 10ga for 30a. Never ever use aluminum wire. Many homes only get 103v in their 120 lines, so they can’t handle a full load.
It’s technically referred to as “ampacity”.
The breaker (AFCI) is 20 amp, the wiring is 12GA. It was wired properly, I believe the plug failed since the draw was well “downstream” from this plug!
I work part time at Lowes and I see some scary stuff. Worse is people trying to fix it themselves with no clue on electrical. If you don’t understand how gage of wire and amps relate to one another, hire someone who does.
I had humidity over very long term get into a breaker box and it actually caused my main breaker to fail. Make sure they are dry and stay dry.
Time to head for Vegas.
That is truly scary Igor, I am thankful for the overwatch of your family.
Let me tell you living in tornado alley I would rather have one blow everything away than a partial house fire. Ask me how I know and tip for you uninitiated if you don’t have proof of everything in your house how will you claim it on insurance.
End of freshman year of high school Mom set the kitchen on fire with her chicken grease. Brother put it out with fire extinguisher but stove vent hood already sucked it into the attic, notice vent hoods go clean through now.
Where was I? Well unknown to me I was skateboard chasing the firetruck to the house, holy smokes.
Spent the whole damn summer wax on wax off painting inside and out twice, yes twice smoke damage has to be covered first. Thanks Dad.
After was cool though, Mom got one of those newfangled Amana radar range thingy’s, pretty slick, and a corning stove top.
That is a classic example of a loose screw where the wire meets the outlet.
Nope. Did a forensic analysis, EVERYthing was done properly. Good crush on the wires, wires were NOT installed in those blankety-blank push-in connectors. Good contact all the way around.
Like I said, the installation was correct. The duplex plug somehow became a resistor…
If possible I would run new romex to that outlet from breaker box as there is no telling if more is cooked along the run.
Can’t begin to list the amount of re wiring I had to do on this 1953 built house to fix prior 3 owner’s dumb work. Still not sure I have found all of it.
Wire is NM 12-2 w/ground all the way back to the box. Again, they wired it correctly.
The breaker is probably 20 amp, but the plug expander is likely only 15 amps. A good rule of thumb is to never plug anything else into the same outlet as an electric space heater, hair dryer, or anything else rated as 1500 watts.
The “standard” duplex outlet is rated for 15 amps, and almost ALL of the cheap ones onl accept 14Ga – I refuse to use 14 for outlets and will sometimes use 10 for the home run (depends on length).and don’t get the push-in connecting type.
P= I * E, so 1500 watts at 120V is 12.5 amps, A 15-AMP circuit is more THAN enough to take the load.
I don’t think you properly understood what I was saying. I am well aware that 1500 watts is 12.5 amps. What I was saying is that if you are going to use a1500 watt appliance in an outlet, it is good practice to not use anything else in that same outlet. That is for those people who do not look at the power consumption of devices, so that they don’t overload the outlet’s 15 amp service rating by having the 1500 watt appliance, and one or more other items that push it over 15 amps.
Indeed!
The breaker should blow if it is sized properly
, which in this case is okay (20 amp).
It appears that most of the resistance sucking up the energy of the circuit was in the outlet itself. Defective,
Remember, the heater was plugged in two outlets away from this one. Nothing got even remotely warm, I removed the flash plate AND the outlets on each one and triple checked the wiring.
That’s why I was so surprised when I peeled (literally!) the outlet expander off of the outlet and saw the damage!
In my 55 years of wiring houses I’ve never seen the likes of this. Yes, 55 years – I started at 14 under correct adult supervision…
Cederq, please fix the bold by putting the ‘/b’ after the word “properly”
Thanks.
But you are no longer under adult supervision,,,
The pictures are a little unclear but to me it looks like the connecting tab between your side terminals became the resistor. Pigtails are your friend. I was taught to always pigtail just for this reason: all the downstream current has to flow through the upstream devices when your don’t. Pigtails eat up room in the box, sure, but I’ve yet to see a receptical wired side terminal & pigtail melted down this way, wheras I consistently see them cooked to near powder or melted down when they’re wired like this’ll when they’re backstabbed.
Agreed, it makes the best sense electrically speaking. But, it takes more time, time is money, and electricians don’t exactly get rich in their employment.
I would lay odds it is a 30 amp breaker. but that melt down should have triggered even that. And might have as they where looking for why something was not getting juice. I would also second pulling a new wire as that one is toast. It is at the least a fire hazard in the wall back to the box.
I also second GFI outlets. I put them first in any set of outlets I am adding in down stream.
Again, 20 amp, and you are correct, it SHOULD have tripped the breaker! Those AFCI’s are crap, and are getting replaced with GFCI breakers!
FWIW, it’s an Eaton loadcenter, 125 amp.
Holy mackerel! That scares me and I ain’t afraid of nuthin’. Angel’s wings were singed.
Receptacles / outlets do wear out. Should feel some resistance when plugging or unplugging a plug. When there isn’t enough force pressing onto plug prongs ampacity of that connection point drops. Reduced ampacity of connection results in generation of heat under load.
.
Recently replaced outlets at Grandsons house, found 1/4 were worn out. Plugs came out with very gentle tug.
Done that to every house I’ve bought.