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Warning: Unplug small appliances
We've all heard warnings about leaving small appliances plugged in 24/7,
especially if said appliances tend to get hot when operated... i.e. coffee makers, toasters, curling irons, hair dryers, space heaters, etc. I must admit that I have only mildly heeded these warnings, until recently. We finally got to see a near disaster, first hand. Unloading boxes of misc. for our recently purchased place in AZ, I found a rather sophisticated looking hair dryer (Vidal Sassoon/1600 Watt), which appeared to be clean and in good shape. It even had a circuit breaker built into the power cord. However, there were no marks on the sliding switch, indicating "off/high/low." Guessing, I slid the switch to the center, expecting to find the "off" position. I plugged it in - nothing. Good. I temporarily hung it on the towel rack, then turned around to see what else I could find. Within ten seconds, my wife screamed, and I turned around to see 6" high flames coming out of the unit. I grabbed it and winged it out onto the verandah. Fortunately, the black smoke residue left on the wall cleaned up - no harm done. Had I plugged it in, then left the room, I have no doubt that instead of cleaning up smoke residue, we would have been fighting a fire. Had we left the townhouse at the time, we probably would have returned to a destroyed unit, which hopefully, wouldn't have taken others with it. Pretty scary stuff. Even scarier is that the built-in circuit breaker apparently didn't do anything. Later, I took the dryer apart, just to see if I could determine why it failed. Ha! Diagnosis: Innards fried/melted beyond recognition. The only conclusion I could make was that it was "well done." Just thought I'd pass this episode along, for those of you who have never considered unplugging small appliances, when not in use. Unc |
Warning: Unplug small appliances
Be glad it did what it did *QUICK*!
Sounds like it was "on" but the fan wasn't running. There is supposed to be a thermostatic switch that turns the device off if it overheats (usually visible just inside the air outlet). Either the switch was defective, or hanging it with the fan absolutely not spinning may have allowed the hot air to rise away from the thermo-switch. Was it perchance hung with the outlet barrel facing down? Eather way, it was broke AND defective, always a great combination! Dave |
Warning: Unplug small appliances
uncle k wrote:
We've all heard warnings about leaving small appliances plugged in 24/7, especially if said appliances tend to get hot when operated... i.e. coffee makers, toasters, curling irons, hair dryers, space heaters, etc. I must admit that I have only mildly heeded these warnings, until recently. We finally got to see a near disaster, first hand. Unloading boxes of misc. for our recently purchased place in AZ, I found a rather sophisticated looking hair dryer (Vidal Sassoon/1600 Watt), which appeared to be clean and in good shape. It even had a circuit breaker built into the power cord. However, there were no marks on the sliding switch, indicating "off/high/low." Guessing, I slid the switch to the center, expecting to find the "off" position. I plugged it in - nothing. Good. I temporarily hung it on the towel rack, then turned around to see what else I could find. Within ten seconds, my wife screamed, and I turned around to see 6" high flames coming out of the unit. I grabbed it and winged it out onto the verandah. Fortunately, the black smoke residue left on the wall cleaned up - no harm done. Had I plugged it in, then left the room, I have no doubt that instead of cleaning up smoke residue, we would have been fighting a fire. Had we left the townhouse at the time, we probably would have returned to a destroyed unit, which hopefully, wouldn't have taken others with it. Pretty scary stuff. Even scarier is that the built-in circuit breaker apparently didn't do anything. Later, I took the dryer apart, just to see if I could determine why it failed. Ha! Diagnosis: Innards fried/melted beyond recognition. The only conclusion I could make was that it was "well done." Just thought I'd pass this episode along, for those of you who have never considered unplugging small appliances, when not in use. Unc The device built into the power cord would have been some variation of a ground fault circuit interrupter or GFCI. The only thing a GFCI or it's close cousins respond to is a difference between the current flowing on the two conductors supplying the portable appliance. If the current differs by more than the devices designed trip point then the GFCI opens the circuit. A GFCI will carry currents that will destroy the GFCI itself as long as the current remains balanced. They are intended to protect against current leaking from the circuit rather than over current. -- Tom Horne -- Tom Horne Well we aren't no thin blue heroes and yet we aren't no blackguards to. We're just working men and woman most remarkable like you. |
Warning: Unplug small appliances
On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 19:01:18 GMT, HorneTD
wrote: uncle k wrote: We've all heard warnings about leaving small appliances plugged in 24/7, especially if said appliances tend to get hot when operated... i.e. coffee makers, toasters, curling irons, hair dryers, space heaters, etc. I must admit that I have only mildly heeded these warnings, until recently. We finally got to see a near disaster, first hand. Unloading boxes of misc. for our recently purchased place in AZ, I found a rather sophisticated looking hair dryer (Vidal Sassoon/1600 Watt), which appeared to be clean and in good shape. It even had a circuit breaker built into the power cord. However, there were no marks on the sliding switch, indicating "off/high/low." Guessing, I slid the switch to the center, expecting to find the "off" position. I plugged it in - nothing. Good. I temporarily hung it on the towel rack, then turned around to see what else I could find. It is possible that the motor failed. These hair dryers take the equivalent of electric radiant room heaters which on the high setting is typically is 1500 watts or so, however they are designed to work safely only when the blower motor provides cooling air. There should be a thermal safety cutout in the appliance itself, but either this failed or it wasn't installed. Curious to know if your hair dryer had a UL listing (Underwriters Laboratories)? Beachcomber |
Warning: Unplug small appliances
"Beachcomber" wrote in message It is possible that the motor failed. These hair dryers take the equivalent of electric radiant room heaters which on the high setting is typically is 1500 watts or so, however they are designed to work safely only when the blower motor provides cooling air. There should be a thermal safety cutout in the appliance itself, but either this failed or it wasn't installed. Make that 1600 W, and considering the brand name, I would be easily duped into assuming it had a thermal kill switch. Curious to know if your hair dryer had a UL listing (Underwriters Laboratories)? I believe it did. Ya know, I even took the trouble to glance at the intake screen before I plugged it in, since they are prone to clogging with lint. It looked fine. What I hadn't considered was that since this dryer came from my wife's collection, it may have ingested some long hair, which ultimately strangled the fan spindle. Or, this is a classic case of small appliance mechanical failure, with a happy ending. |
Warning: Unplug small appliances
wrote in message oups.com... Be glad it did what it did *QUICK*! Amen. Sounds like it was "on" but the fan wasn't running. There is supposed to be a thermostatic switch that turns the device off if it overheats (usually visible just inside the air outlet). Either the switch was defective, or hanging it with the fan absolutely not spinning may have allowed the hot air to rise away from the thermo-switch. Was it perchance hung with the outlet barrel facing down? Sure was. Eather way, it was broke AND defective, always a great combination! Dave |
Warning: Unplug small appliances
On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 16:03:09 GMT, "uncle k"
wrote: We've all heard warnings about leaving small appliances plugged in 24/7, especially if said appliances tend to get hot when operated... i.e. coffee makers, toasters, curling irons, hair dryers, space heaters, etc. I must admit that I have only mildly heeded these warnings, until recently. We finally got to see a near disaster, first hand. Unloading boxes of misc. for our recently purchased place in AZ, I found a rather sophisticated looking hair dryer (Vidal Sassoon/1600 Watt), which appeared to be clean and in good shape. It even had a circuit breaker built into the power cord. However, there were no marks on the sliding switch, indicating "off/high/low." Guessing, I slid the switch to the center, I think if you finally find the manual, it might say only operate if familar with the safe operating instructions. ;) expecting to find the "off" position. I plugged it in - nothing. Good. I temporarily hung it on the towel rack, then turned around to see what else I could find. Within ten seconds, my wife screamed, and I turned around to see 6" high flames coming out of the unit. I grabbed it and winged it out onto the verandah. Fortunately, the black smoke residue left on the wall cleaned up - no harm done. Had I plugged it in, then left the room, I have no doubt that instead of cleaning up smoke residue, we would have been fighting a fire. Had we left the townhouse at the time, we probably would have returned to a destroyed unit, which hopefully, wouldn't have taken others with it. Pretty scary stuff. Even scarier is that the built-in circuit breaker apparently didn't do anything. Later, I took the dryer apart, just to see if I could determine why it failed. Ha! Diagnosis: Innards fried/melted beyond recognition. The only conclusion I could make was that it was "well done." that 'circuit breaker' was probably an immersion detector. It only trips if it detects voltage is leaking, as in the case its immersed in water. Just thought I'd pass this episode along, for those of you who have never considered unplugging small appliances, when not in use. Hair dryers are typically a risk. The NEC even tries to address this by requiring bathroom receptacles on a 20 amp circuit. Unc glad to hear damage was minimial. tom |
Warning: Unplug small appliances
In article t,
"uncle k" wrote: "Beachcomber" wrote in message It is possible that the motor failed. These hair dryers take the equivalent of electric radiant room heaters which on the high setting is typically is 1500 watts or so, however they are designed to work safely only when the blower motor provides cooling air. There should be a thermal safety cutout in the appliance itself, but either this failed or it wasn't installed. Make that 1600 W, and considering the brand name, I would be easily duped into assuming it had a thermal kill switch. Curious to know if your hair dryer had a UL listing (Underwriters Laboratories)? I believe it did. Ya know, I even took the trouble to glance at the intake screen before I plugged it in, since they are prone to clogging with lint. It looked fine. What I hadn't considered was that since this dryer came from my wife's collection, it may have ingested some long hair, which ultimately strangled the fan spindle. Or, this is a classic case of small appliance mechanical failure, with a happy ending. Your case sounds a lot like this one: http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/P.../94080org.html Different brand, but might be same OEM. In any case, I'll bet Vidal Sassoon will send you a free replacement (hopefully something less flame happy) if you tell them that otherwise, the charred specimen will be sent to the CPSC. |
Warning: Unplug small appliances
HorneTD wrote:
The device built into the power cord would have been some variation of a ground fault circuit interrupter or GFCI... Coulda been a fuse. UK appliances have these. Nick |
Warning: Unplug small appliances
On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 16:03:09 GMT, "uncle k"
wrote: Unloading boxes of misc. for our recently purchased place in AZ, I found a rather sophisticated looking hair dryer (Vidal Sassoon/1600 Watt), which appeared to be clean and in good shape. It even had a circuit breaker built into the power cord. However, there were no marks on the sliding switch, indicating "off/high/low." Guessing, I slid the switch to the center, expecting to find the "off" position. I plugged it in - nothing. Good. I temporarily hung it on the towel rack, then turned around to see what else I could find. Within ten seconds, my wife screamed, and I turned around to see 6" high flames coming out of the unit. I grabbed it and winged it out onto the verandah. Fortunately, the black smoke residue left on the wall cleaned up - no harm done. Glad everyone is ok. You have my story beat. I had a toaster oven, maybe Black and Decker. It had a lever on the right that one could push down until it latched and that turned it on. My kitchen counter was such a mess, piled with boxes and and dishes, and flat things (pot holders, I dont' remember what) that eventually the pile landed on the lever and turned on the oven, even though the lever wasn't far enough down to latch. It went on anyhow. I smelled something (although the smoke alarm didn't go off) found it and put it out. I had one of those high quality plastic forks, translucent grey, on top of it, and it melted into a puddle. And a couple other things I forget. Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also. |
Warning: Unplug small appliances
wrote in message Even though you apparently got it for free, I'd contact the company and complain. DO NOT TOSS IT IN THE TRASH. They will want to see it, even if you tore it apart. ............................. Too late. After my non-scientific analysis, the charred carcus went in the garbage. |
Warning: Unplug small appliances
"uncle k" wrote in message
nk.net... We've all heard warnings about leaving small appliances plugged in 24/7, especially if said appliances tend to get hot when operated... i.e. coffee makers, toasters, curling irons, hair dryers, space heaters, etc. I must admit that I have only mildly heeded these warnings, until recently. We finally got to see a near disaster, first hand. Unloading boxes of misc. for our recently purchased place in AZ, I found a rather sophisticated looking hair dryer (Vidal Sassoon/1600 Watt), which appeared to be clean and in good shape. It even had a circuit breaker built into the power cord. However, there were no marks on the sliding switch, indicating "off/high/low." Guessing, I slid the switch to the center, expecting to find the "off" position. I plugged it in - nothing. Good. I temporarily hung it on the towel rack, then turned around to see what else I could find. Within ten seconds, my wife screamed, and I turned around to see 6" high flames coming out of the unit. I grabbed it and winged it out onto the verandah. Fortunately, the black smoke residue left on the wall cleaned up - no harm done. Had I plugged it in, then left the room, I have no doubt that instead of cleaning up smoke residue, we would have been fighting a fire. Had we left the townhouse at the time, we probably would have returned to a destroyed unit, which hopefully, wouldn't have taken others with it. Pretty scary stuff. Even scarier is that the built-in circuit breaker apparently didn't do anything. Later, I took the dryer apart, just to see if I could determine why it failed. Ha! Diagnosis: Innards fried/melted beyond recognition. The only conclusion I could make was that it was "well done." Just thought I'd pass this episode along, for those of you who have never considered unplugging small appliances, when not in use. Unc I have a hair dryer, same brand, but has two switches. I noticed, that in the OFF position, if I push the switch up slightly, the heater comes on before the fan. I always unplug it after use! John |
Warning: Unplug small appliances
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