Hi guys .. the plugs on my appliances keep burning up.

A friend said something about something possibly being crossed at the
mains box (fuse box)

just bought this house, its a rental

any ideas


thanks
mike

Mike_in_SD wrote:
Hi guys .. the plugs on my appliances keep burning up.

A friend said something about something possibly being crossed at the
mains box (fuse box)

just bought this house, its a rental

any ideas


thanks
mike

Could you describe a little more for us.

Describe how it looks; how often it happens; same outlet; same
appliance; do fuses blow; how old is the house; are the plugs original
equipment or replacements?

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

Mike_in_SD wrote:

Hi guys .. the plugs on my appliances keep burning up.

A friend said something about something possibly being crossed at the
mains box (fuse box)

just bought this house, its a rental

any ideas


thanks
mike


I'd guess your wall recepticals are old and far from virginal. the
female contacts are probably loose and aren't making good tight low
resistance electrical connections with the male plug blades on your
appliance cords, causing heating when current passes through that
resistance.

Replacing the recepticals with GOOD quality ones using screwed
connection to the house wiring should make the problem go away.

HTH,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

Be SURE to turn power off before replacing receptacles.
"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
et...
Mike_in_SD wrote:

Hi guys .. the plugs on my appliances keep burning up.

A friend said something about something possibly being crossed at the
mains box (fuse box)

just bought this house, its a rental

any ideas


thanks
mike


I'd guess your wall recepticals are old and far from virginal. the
female contacts are probably loose and aren't making good tight low
resistance electrical connections with the male plug blades on your
appliance cords, causing heating when current passes through that
resistance.

Replacing the recepticals with GOOD quality ones using screwed
connection to the house wiring should make the problem go away.

HTH,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

Replce all receptables and plugs with high quality new ones/

poor connection of worn c0ntacts causes heating of plugs/

use circuit tester 6 bucks to confirm receptables are wired right both
before you begin and after your finished.

are your receptables 3 prong?

) wrote in 1163209178.875262.197300
@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com:

Replce all receptables and plugs with high quality new ones/

poor connection of worn c0ntacts causes heating of plugs/

use circuit tester 6 bucks to confirm receptables are wired right both
before you begin and after your finished.

are your receptables 3 prong?



wow .. lot of help .. thanks.

yea .. they are three prong, dont know if the sockets are grounded
but .. the plug I saw was a crispy critter. then the renters called
and said that their rice cooker burnt up on a different socket.

the wiring is pretty old. the mains box uses these old breakers that
cost me 30 bucks a piece at hd.

mike

Mike_in_SD wrote:

) wrote in 1163209178.875262.197300
@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com:


Replce all receptables and plugs with high quality new ones/

poor connection of worn c0ntacts causes heating of plugs/

use circuit tester 6 bucks to confirm receptables are wired right both
before you begin and after your finished.

are your receptables 3 prong?




wow .. lot of help .. thanks.

yea .. they are three prong, dont know if the sockets are grounded
but .. the plug I saw was a crispy critter. then the renters called
and said that their rice cooker burnt up on a different socket.

the wiring is pretty old. the mains box uses these old breakers that
cost me 30 bucks a piece at hd.

mike

You told us it was the PLUGS that fried. Was it the plug on the rice
cooker that burnt up or the cooker itself?

If it was the cooker, you may have more than one electrical problem in
that house.

A poor (loose) neutral connection from the incoming line at the breaker
panel panel can increase the voltage on one side of neutral when it's
decreased on the other by loads being connected. That's often indicated
by some lights dimming noticably when other electrical loads elsewhere
in the house are switched on.

You may need professional help to locate that kind of problem.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.98*10^14 fathoms per fortnight.

Mike_in_SD wrote:
Hi guys .. the plugs on my appliances keep burning up.

A friend said something about something possibly being crossed at the
mains box (fuse box)

just bought this house, its a rental

any ideas


thanks
mike

I would replace the sockets. Make sure you don't get any of those with
the spring-type, wire connectors. Then plug in an appliance (like a
1200W space heater for example) with a good plug and see if it gets hot.

On Fri, 10 Nov 2006 18:35:13 -0600, "oklaman" wrote:

Be SURE to turn power off before replacing receptacles.
"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
news:Je6dnReDi96MRcnYnZ2dnUVZ_qednZ2d@conversent. net...
Mike_in_SD wrote:

Hi guys .. the plugs on my appliances keep burning up.

A friend said something about something possibly being crossed at the
mains box (fuse box)

just bought this house, its a rental

any ideas


thanks
mike


I'd guess your wall recepticals are old and far from virginal. the
female contacts are probably loose

It actually seemed funny to see that word used appropriately. TOO MANY
usenet posters write "loose" when they mean "lose".

and aren't making good tight low
resistance electrical connections with the male plug blades on your
appliance cords, causing heating when current passes through that
resistance.


Yes, I have had problems with loose contacts in outlets. I even used
one where you couldn't get a plug to fit unless you squeeze the
prongs together while inserting it.

Replacing the recepticals with GOOD quality ones using screwed
connection to the house wiring should make the problem go away.


There should be some where you can insert the wires in holes in the
back, and tighten screws around them. I have used switches and GFCIs
with those. You get the ease of the holes combined with the security
of screws.

BTW, I just watched a neighbor wiring a wall (to put a closet in a
big room). He used 14/2 Romex instead of 12/2 because the 12/2 was too
big for the backstab holes. When I installed receptacles, I used the
screws.

HTH,

Jeff
--
44 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"God was invented by man for a reason, that
reason is no longer applicable."

BTW, I just watched a neighbor wiring a wall (to put a closet in a
big room). He used 14/2 Romex instead of 12/2 because the 12/2 was too
big for the backstab holes. When I installed receptacles, I used the
screws.

HTH,

Jeffapplicable."

I dont believe any 15 amp receptables accept more than 14 gauge wires
unless you wrap them around screws.... ran into that when upgrading my
batrhroom the GFCIs made for a tight fit i ended up going with 20 amp
receptables, the only 20 amp ones in the house.

my memorey of that some 10 years ago was a big hassle

On 11 Nov 2006 11:08:56 -0800, "
wrote:

BTW, I just watched a neighbor wiring a wall (to put a closet in a
big room). He used 14/2 Romex instead of 12/2 because the 12/2 was too
big for the backstab holes. When I installed receptacles, I used the
screws.

HTH,

Jeffapplicable."

I dont believe any 15 amp receptables accept more than 14 gauge wires
unless you wrap them around screws....

The older ones would.

ran into that when upgrading my
batrhroom the GFCIs made for a tight fit i ended up going with 20 amp
receptables, the only 20 amp ones in the house.

my memorey of that some 10 years ago was a big hassle

I stopped using the backstab connections, after reading this group.

That neighbor I mentioned before has 4 Romex cables to connect to a
receptacle. He connected 2 to the backstab holes and the other 2 to
the screws. I suppose I would have used pigtails.
--
44 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"God was invented by man for a reason, that
reason is no longer applicable."

Have your friend fix it, he seems to know what's wrong.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"Mike_in_SD" wrote in message
.. .

Hi guys .. the plugs on my appliances keep burning up.

A friend said something about something possibly being crossed at the
mains box (fuse box)

just bought this house, its a rental

any ideas


thanks
mike