I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

On Aug 8, 1:52*pm, "jimmy" wrote:
I recently *had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

Any cheap motor that's left running for long periods of time, with
loads of household dust blowing over it, and isn't cleaned
periodically, is a candidate for over-heating and starting a fire.

R

On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:52:23 -0400, jimmy wrote:

I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me
one of the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have
any info regarding this??

Most of these motors have thermal protection. But I suppose that can
fail.

On 2010-08-08, jimmy wrote:
I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

He's a lying sack of sh*t!

I've used 20" box fans for 40 yrs. Old, new, plastic, or metal, they
do what they are designed for. I'd recommend a 20" Lasko, the model
with the extra knob for temp (thermostat ...honest!). Last one I
bought was $20 as Lowe's.

The only prob I ever experienced was wind. Sometimes a late
night/early morning wind would come up and knock the fan out of the
window sill. Being and incredibly lazy ass, I'd drop the venetian
blinds jes far enough to hit the top back edge of the fan and give it
a little resistance from falling. Any good anchoring system will
prevent any probs.

nb

"jimmy" wrote in message
...
I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one
of the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??


Anything with a motor is a potential fire hazard. These are generally
cheaply made, but I've not heard of any particular hazard from them. Did he
give any details as to why? I've used them for years and never had a
problem, nor have I hear of any others. But . . . . I did a quick search
and found this
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06085.html
Name of Product: Lasko, General Electric, Galaxy, and Air King Brand Box and
Pivoting Floor Fans

Units: About 5.6 million

Manufacturer: Lasko Products Inc., of West Chester, Pa.

Hazard: An electrical failure in the motor can pose a fire hazard to
consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Lasko has received 42 reports of fires possibly
associated with motor failures, with seven reports of injuries, including
burns and smoke inhalation. At least eight of the reported fires resulted in
extensive property damage.

Description: This recall involves various models of Lasko, Galaxy, Air King
and General Electric fans manufactured between January 1999 and July 2001,
and sold through February 2004. Styles and model numbers of recalled fans,
which are either stamped or on a label on the bottom of the fans, are listed
below:

On Aug 8, 2:21*pm, notbob wrote:
On 2010-08-08, jimmy wrote:

I recently *had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

He's a lying sack of sh*t! *

I've used 20" box fans for 40 yrs. *Old, new, plastic, or metal, they
do what they are designed for. *I'd recommend a 20" Lasko, the model
with the extra knob for temp (thermostat ...honest!). *Last one I
bought was $20 as Lowe's.

So, you believe that your personal experience - one person's
experience - outweighs a conversation with an insurance adjuster?
Hmm. This wasn't some salesperson selling something - looking to gain
something from a lie. How often do people call you first when their
house catches on fire? Sheesh.

See Ed Pawlowski's response about the fan recall. It's rather ironic
that the fan brand you recommend is the one in the that report that
the CPSC recalled. All of these cheap fans are made in China, and we
all know how reliable and trustworthy the Chinese are...at least they
can be relied on to dump their excess lead into our dinner ware. Do
you really think that you're getting a quality product, shipped from
overseas, for $20?

In future, maybe you shouldn't start name calling when you have
nothing really to base it on. Thanks.

R

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in message ...

"jimmy" wrote in message
...
I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one
of the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??


Anything with a motor is a potential fire hazard. These are generally
cheaply made, but I've not heard of any particular hazard from them. Did he
give any details as to why? I've used them for years and never had a
problem, nor have I hear of any others. But . . . . I did a quick search
and found this
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06085.html
Name of Product: Lasko, General Electric, Galaxy, and Air King Brand Box and
Pivoting Floor Fans

Units: About 5.6 million

Manufacturer: Lasko Products Inc., of West Chester, Pa.

Hazard: An electrical failure in the motor can pose a fire hazard to
consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Lasko has received 42 reports of fires possibly
associated with motor failures, with seven reports of injuries, including
burns and smoke inhalation. At least eight of the reported fires resulted in
extensive property damage.

Description: This recall involves various models of Lasko, Galaxy, Air King
and General Electric fans manufactured between January 1999 and July 2001,
and sold through February 2004. Styles and model numbers of recalled fans,
which are either stamped or on a label on the bottom of the fans, are listed
below:


I knew a family who died in a house fire caused by a box fan
The firemen told their relatives That a box fan is not a window fan
Even though thats where it mostly ends up
a little rain and they rust up and the enamel wears away

a quick search

UNITED STATES
CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

The insulating enamel on the windings
may have broken down
and caused sparking and arcing.resulting in overheating
thermally protected motor or a impedance-protected motor.
as the varnish broke down and temperature on the winding rose,
the protection failed to keep the windings from erupting in flames
A contributing factor to portable fan-related fires or potential fires was the presence of
plastic materials. When a fan with plastic blades, motor housing or enclosure overheated or
caught fire, the plastic reportedly would melt and drip onto combustible materials such as carpet,
clothing, bedding, paper, etc.


: The incident data show that the second largest number
of incidents was related to the power-supply cords.
The current power-supply cord requirements for portable electric fans allow SP-1, SP-2,
SPT-1 and SPT-2 type constructions. These single-layer-insulation types of cords are not
sufficient to prevent damage as described
According to AHAM, imported portable fans represent more than 75 percent of
all portable fans sold in the U.S., and China is the major exporting country of these products
Information concerning safety
standards on the fans, cords, or plugs was also very limited. For example, only 63 involved fans
or cords were identified as UL Listed;
Spud

On 8/8/2010 12:52 PM, jimmy wrote:
I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??



ya, i had one tell me 90% of house fires are from computer monitors.
They say what sounds good at the time.

--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email

On 8/8/2010 12:52 PM, jimmy wrote:
I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??



I'd say he's full of crap. I buy box fans at auctions to use in the
chicken coop. They get the full gamut of dust and feathers and who
knows what else. I just run 'em till they quit and throw them in the
burn pile. Not one has even so much as smoked.

--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email

Steve Barker wrote:
On 8/8/2010 12:52 PM, jimmy wrote:
I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told
me one of the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you
have any info regarding this??



ya, i had one tell me 90% of house fires are from computer monitors.
They say what sounds good at the time.

100 percent of house fires are caused by ignition of combustable materials,
that is a FACT.

Jon

On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:12:40 -0500, Steve Barker wrote:
On 8/8/2010 12:52 PM, jimmy wrote:
I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??



ya, i had one tell me 90% of house fires are from computer monitors.
They say what sounds good at the time.

87.3% of all statistics are made up

On Aug 8, 4:14*pm, Steve Barker wrote:
On 8/8/2010 12:52 PM, jimmy wrote:

I recently *had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

I'd say he's full of crap. *I buy box fans at auctions to use in the
chicken coop. *They get the full gamut of dust and feathers and who
knows what else. *I just run 'em till they quit and throw them in the
burn pile. *Not one has even so much as smoked.

Even if they did catch on fire, big deal. You'd just have an
impromptu neighborhood BBQ. If it were your family you might feel a
little different, no?

R

"Jon Danniken" wrote

100 percent of house fires are caused by ignition of combustable
materials, that is a FACT.

Then why don't they just put the combustibles outside? At least keep them
in a metal box.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"jimmy" wrote in message
...
I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me
one of the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have
any info regarding this??


Anything with a motor is a potential fire hazard. These are generally
cheaply made, but I've not heard of any particular hazard from them.
Did he give any details as to why? I've used them for years and never
had a problem, nor have I hear of any others. But . . . . I did a
quick search and found this
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06085.html
Name of Product: Lasko, General Electric, Galaxy, and Air King Brand Box
and Pivoting Floor Fans

Units: About 5.6 million

Manufacturer: Lasko Products Inc., of West Chester, Pa.

Hazard: An electrical failure in the motor can pose a fire hazard to
consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Lasko has received 42 reports of fires possibly
associated with motor failures, with seven reports of injuries,
including burns and smoke inhalation. At least eight of the reported
fires resulted in extensive property damage.

Description: This recall involves various models of Lasko, Galaxy, Air
King and General Electric fans manufactured between January 1999 and
July 2001, and sold through February 2004. Styles and model numbers of
recalled fans, which are either stamped or on a label on the bottom of
the fans, are listed below:

The Lasko link on the page says they'll send you up to four cord
adapters if you register. I imagine they're fused.

On 8/8/2010 3:28 PM, RicodJour wrote:
On Aug 8, 4:14 pm, Steve wrote:
On 8/8/2010 12:52 PM, jimmy wrote:

I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

I'd say he's full of crap. I buy box fans at auctions to use in the
chicken coop. They get the full gamut of dust and feathers and who
knows what else. I just run 'em till they quit and throw them in the
burn pile. Not one has even so much as smoked.

Even if they did catch on fire, big deal. You'd just have an
impromptu neighborhood BBQ. If it were your family you might feel a
little different, no?

R

I'm just saying in all my years and all my fans, i've never seen one
smoke or flame. And yes, i'd say my life experience is just as good as
some lying insurance adjusters.

--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email

jimmy wrote:
I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??


The CPSC says that of 5.6 million fans of certain models, there have
been 42 reports of fires including 8 with serious damage.

If there are 100 million households in the US, that's a risk of about 1
in 12 million of a serious fire from one of these fans. If you have one
of these fans, the risk of fire appears to be about 1 in 100,000. The
risk that one of these fans will cause a serious fire appears to be
about 1 in a million. Lasko will send owners a cord adapter for protection.

On Aug 8, 1:52*pm, "jimmy" wrote:
I recently *had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

If these are the words he used, it really doesn't mean a whole lot.
Being crushed by a refrigerator is one of the causes of death in the
house. That doesn't mean you shouldn't have a refrigerator in your
house.

The stats someone else posted suggest just over one significant fire
per MILLION of this particular brand/models of fans. Even if I found
that I had one of those models, I wouldn't consider that enough of a
risk to bother returning it... Maybe that's just me. That's a bit more
likely than your chances of being killed by lightening in the U.S.

Maybe I might keep it away from any curtains...if I had any curtains.
I don't, partially because I consider them a much worse fire risk than
a cheap fan...

On Sun, 8 Aug 2010 13:52:23 -0400, "jimmy"
wrote:

I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

I used a 21 inch fan with slightly beat-up metal case that I had found
on the street as an exhaust fan when I was scraping (sanding) my
parquet floors. It ran 8 hours a day for one or two days and within a
half hour of my finishing the scraping, it "burned" out. But there
was no fire. It just slowed to a stop with maybe a bad smell.

Maybe the extra load, sawdust for 8 or 16 hours caused it to wear out
early.

On Aug 8, 12:52*pm, "jimmy" wrote:
I recently *had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

I was on the local fire department for 10 years and none of the fires
we had during my time were caused by box fans. But I have heard of it
happening just as with clothes dryers and Christmas tree lights.

On 8/8/2010 4:12 PM, Larry Fishel wrote:
On Aug 8, 1:52 pm, wrote:
I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

If these are the words he used, it really doesn't mean a whole lot.
Being crushed by a refrigerator is one of the causes of death in the
house. That doesn't mean you shouldn't have a refrigerator in your
house.

The stats someone else posted suggest just over one significant fire
per MILLION of this particular brand/models of fans. Even if I found
that I had one of those models, I wouldn't consider that enough of a
risk to bother returning it... Maybe that's just me. That's a bit more
likely than your chances of being killed by lightening in the U.S.

Maybe I might keep it away from any curtains...if I had any curtains.
I don't, partially because I consider them a much worse fire risk than
a cheap fan...

not to mention they block the view and the light. And isn't that what a
window is for?


--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email

On Aug 8, 12:52*pm, "jimmy" wrote:
I recently *had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

You should have asked him about the other 1000 causes of fires.

.... an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...

One of 10,000 plus causes! And what was the ranking of box fans on
this list of causes?

If box fans are so deadly, why do "agencies" give them away free, to
those in need, during extra hot weather times?

Maybe one should look at the responsibleness (or is that
irresponsibleness) of the user, rather than blame the box fan.

Sonny

On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 14:27:54 -0700, ransley wrote:

On Aug 8, 12:52Â*pm, "jimmy" wrote:
I recently Â*had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me
one of the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have
any info regarding this??

You should have asked him about the other 1000 causes of fires.

Like clothes dryers, toaster ovens, kitchen stoves..etc..all major causes
of home fires. Should you not have any of those items either?

On Aug 8, 5:07*pm, Steve Barker wrote:
On 8/8/2010 3:28 PM, RicodJour wrote:



On Aug 8, 4:14 pm, Steve *wrote:
On 8/8/2010 12:52 PM, jimmy wrote:

I recently *had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

I'd say he's full of crap. *I buy box fans at auctions to use in the
chicken coop. *They get the full gamut of dust and feathers and who
knows what else. *I just run 'em till they quit and throw them in the
burn pile. *Not one has even so much as smoked.

Even if they did catch on fire, big deal. *You'd just have an
impromptu neighborhood BBQ. *If it were your family you might feel a
little different, no?


I'm just saying in all my years and all my fans, i've never seen one
smoke or flame. *And yes, i'd say my life experience is just as good as
some lying insurance adjusters.

Please explain why an insurance adjuster would lie about such a
thing. To impress people? Please, it's a fooking fan. There's no
snap, crackle and pop to that story.

All your years and all your fans...what does that mean? How many
fatal car accidents have you been in? Your cars? Does that mean
there's no such thing as a fatal car accident? Your logic is flawed.
Did you even read what the OP wrote, or are you just fond of going off
half-cocked? He wrote:
"I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me
one of the causes of fires in a home are these box fans" One of the
reasons. He didn't say every fooking fan burned, and it doesn't sound
like some Chicken Little the-sky-is-falling schtick.

More to the point - do you think that a $20 Chinese fan is a quality
product in _any_ way shape or form? Do you know how many 'almost'
fires I've had happen? A fair number - and I only reported one to
Underwriters Laboratory. The manufacturer refused to own up to it,
but they did reconfigure the light fixture because of it. I wasn't
out any money, I didn't sue, I just wanted to make sure someone didn't
die in a fire.

I realize you're playing your role of newsgroup tough guy, and that's
fine, but have you ever watched a house burn down with people you know
in it? I did - across the street. Things like that stay with you.
People thinking there's a negligible chance of fire happening to them
is one of the reasons people don't think about things and do stupid
things. That's one of the reasons that in the not too distant future
I'd expect all of us will be paying for it in the form of mandatory
residential sprinkler systems.

R

On Sun, 8 Aug 2010 13:27:27 -0700, Jon Danniken wrote:
Steve Barker wrote:
On 8/8/2010 12:52 PM, jimmy wrote:
I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told
me one of the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you
have any info regarding this??



ya, i had one tell me 90% of house fires are from computer monitors.
They say what sounds good at the time.

100 percent of house fires are caused by ignition of combustable materials,
that is a FACT.

and 100% irrelevent

In article ,
"Ed Pawlowski" wrote:

"Jon Danniken" wrote

100 percent of house fires are caused by ignition of combustable
materials, that is a FACT.

Then why don't they just put the combustibles outside? At least keep them
in a metal box.

I think Sharper Image sells a special air filter contraption that
removes all the oxygen from the air in your home. That should prevent
most fires.

On 8/8/2010 12:12 PM RicodJour spake thus:

On Aug 8, 2:21 pm, notbob wrote:

On 2010-08-08, jimmy wrote:

I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

He's a lying sack of sh*t!

I've used 20" box fans for 40 yrs. Old, new, plastic, or metal, they
do what they are designed for. I'd recommend a 20" Lasko, the model
with the extra knob for temp (thermostat ...honest!). Last one I
bought was $20 as Lowe's.

So, you believe that your personal experience - one person's
experience - outweighs a conversation with an insurance adjuster?
Hmm. This wasn't some salesperson selling something - looking to gain
something from a lie. How often do people call you first when their
house catches on fire? Sheesh.

All I can say is that my own experience exactly mirrors that of
"notbob". I've used cheap box fans to ventilate places for a couple
decades now too. Last place I was in I had two of them semi-permanently
installed under a skylight to exhaust hot air. Ran continuously for
hours with nary a problem, in a very dusty environment.

Hell, one of the fans' front plastic grille completely disintegrated
from exposure to sunlight--just flaked into a jillion little
pieces--and the fan kept on just humming away.

My dad used to install window fans in the attic of our house as a
whole-house ventilation system in the summer. The fans he used were a
little better than the cheap Laskos one buys nowadays; I seem to
remember they were made by Bernz, but basically the same type of fan,
run by a fairly cheap induction motor. They lasted many seasons and
never failed.


--
The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring,
with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags.

- Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)

On 8/8/2010 2:43 PM AZ Nomad spake thus:

On Sun, 8 Aug 2010 13:27:27 -0700, Jon Danniken
wrote:

Steve Barker wrote:

On 8/8/2010 12:52 PM, jimmy wrote:

I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told
me one of the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you
have any info regarding this??

ya, i had one tell me 90% of house fires are from computer monitors.
They say what sounds good at the time.

100 percent of house fires are caused by ignition of combustable
materials, that is a FACT.

and 100% irrelevent

But it is funny (snicker, snicker).


--
The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring,
with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags.

- Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)

On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:07:10 -0500, Steve Barker
wrote:

On 8/8/2010 3:28 PM, RicodJour wrote:
On Aug 8, 4:14 pm, Steve wrote:
On 8/8/2010 12:52 PM, jimmy wrote:

I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

I'd say he's full of crap. I buy box fans at auctions to use in the
chicken coop. They get the full gamut of dust and feathers and who
knows what else. I just run 'em till they quit and throw them in the
burn pile. Not one has even so much as smoked.

Even if they did catch on fire, big deal. You'd just have an
impromptu neighborhood BBQ. If it were your family you might feel a
little different, no?

R

I'm just saying in all my years and all my fans, i've never seen one
smoke or flame. And yes, i'd say my life experience is just as good as
some lying insurance adjusters.

Sadly past experience is no predictor of future performance since most
of what is being sold here NOW is made in China - and of poorer
quality than what was sold even last year. They make it cheaper and
cheaper every year because Wallmart (and others) demand a reduction in
cost from year to year in order to continue doing business.
US retailers and inspectors (as well as Canadian) are not keeping up
with inspections - so much of the product sold has no UL cerification
- and what does have a sticker on it, a large percentage are bogus.

That said, generally it is not the fan itself that is the problem - it
is the neglect of the fan. So the fan is a bit noisy, or it takes 5
minutes to come up to speed???? As long as it continues to move air,
it is kept running, whe a cleaning and a bit of lubricant most often
would make it run safely for another year or so.

On 2010-08-08, wrote:

Sadly past experience is no predictor of future performance.....

And being alive is the most sure way to suffer death. It's a freakin'
box fan, not a terrorist device, ferchrysakes!

nb

On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:16:06 -0400, clare wrote:

On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:07:10 -0500, Steve Barker
wrote:

On 8/8/2010 3:28 PM, RicodJour wrote:
On Aug 8, 4:14 pm, Steve wrote:
On 8/8/2010 12:52 PM, jimmy wrote:

I recently had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told
me one of the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you
have any info regarding this??

I'd say he's full of crap. I buy box fans at auctions to use in the
chicken coop. They get the full gamut of dust and feathers and who
knows what else. I just run 'em till they quit and throw them in the
burn pile. Not one has even so much as smoked.

Even if they did catch on fire, big deal. You'd just have an
impromptu neighborhood BBQ. If it were your family you might feel a
little different, no?

R

I'm just saying in all my years and all my fans, i've never seen one
smoke or flame. And yes, i'd say my life experience is just as good as
some lying insurance adjusters.

Sadly past experience is no predictor of future performance since most
of what is being sold here NOW is made in China - and of poorer quality
than what was sold even last year. They make it cheaper and cheaper
every year because Wallmart (and others) demand a reduction in cost from
year to year in order to continue doing business. US retailers and
inspectors (as well as Canadian) are not keeping up with inspections -
so much of the product sold has no UL cerification - and what does have
a sticker on it, a large percentage are bogus.

That said, generally it is not the fan itself that is the problem - it
is the neglect of the fan. So the fan is a bit noisy, or it takes 5
minutes to come up to speed???? As long as it continues to move air, it
is kept running, whe a cleaning and a bit of lubricant most often would
make it run safely for another year or so.

We've been importing most of our housewares and minor electonics/
electricals from China for well over two decades. And you cannot
effectively lubricate permanently lubed bearings on a box fan motor.
So what can you do? Keep the air inlets free of debris. And listen to it.
For 20 bucks if it starts making unusual sounds or the performance
degrades, replace it. 20 bucks for a new fan is a good insurance policy
in itself. I have a whole house circulation fan in an attic window. It is
10 years old. When temps are lower than 85 it runs 24/7. It has the same
type motor as a box fan, just more power. I keep it clean of debris and it
chugs along ventilating the whole house. I prefer that to air
conditioning. I can draw air from the rear of the house that is
completely shaded by large maples and oaks and my lot ends into a densely
wooded area. This makes the air at least 10 degrees cooler giving me
natural air conditioning for the price in electricity of a 1/8 hp fan
motor.

On Aug 8, 10:52*am, "jimmy" wrote:
I recently *had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

http://exactproductsinc.com/WordPress/?cat=2


I don't see why people are supporting the position "box fans don't /
can't / haven't caused house fires".
I've had some get very close to that point.

They are cheap electrical devices often neglected and run for hours
unattended.
I've abused a fair number of these units; old metal ones & newer cheap
plastic units.

Several units have just stopped working & been brought back to life by
dropping them on their faces.
Clean them? Why bother... as long as they run, run 'em 'til they
stop.

One overheated & all the internal smoke leaked out but no flames.

Reported cases of 42 serious malfunctions.
How many unreported? 10x? 100x? even at that rate they don't seem all
that dangerous.

But knowing that they "could be a problem", let's us be a bit more
careful with how they are used (if we choose)
My "work around" is to only use new units unattended and never leave
the "beaters" running alone.

I wondered how many of the "failed" units were abused or misused?

I more amazed that they don't cause problems way more often
considering the way see them used / mis-used.


cheers
Bob

On Aug 8, 2:21*pm, notbob wrote:
On 2010-08-08, jimmy wrote:

I recently *had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

He's a lying sack of sh*t! *

Tell that to the mobile home that I was renting back in the early 80's
that burnt to the ground after I left a box fan running while I was at
the grocery store.

On Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:56:18 -0700, Ron wrote:

On Aug 8, 2:21Â*pm, notbob wrote:
On 2010-08-08, jimmy wrote:

I recently Â*had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me
one of the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have
any info regarding this??

He's a lying sack of sh*t!

Tell that to the mobile home that I was renting back in the early 80's
that burnt to the ground after I left a box fan running while I was at
the grocery store.

So you don't use a box fan now?

I don't see why people are supporting the position "box fans don't /
can't / haven't caused house fires".
I've had some get very close to that point.

They are cheap electrical devices often neglected and run for hours
unattended.
I've abused a fair number of these units; old metal ones & newer cheap
plastic units.

Several units have just stopped working & been brought back to life by
dropping them on their faces.
Clean them? Why bother... as long as they run, run 'em 'til they
stop.

One overheated & all the internal smoke leaked out but no flames.

Reported cases of 42 serious malfunctions.
How many unreported? 10x? 100x? even at that rate they don't seem all
that dangerous.

But knowing that they "could be a problem", let's us be a bit more
careful with how they are used (if we choose)
My "work around" is to only use new units unattended and never leave
the "beaters" running alone.

I wondered how many of the "failed" units were abused or misused?

I more amazed that they don't cause problems way more often
considering the way see them used / mis-used.


cheers
Bob

I had one burn up in my bedroom window one night. When the wind is right I
think they can be overloaded causing them to fail.

On 2010-08-09, Pat wrote:

I don't see why people are supporting the position "box fans don't /
can't / haven't caused house fires".
I've had some get very close to that point.

They are cheap electrical devices often neglected and run for hours
unattended.
I've abused a fair number of these units; old metal ones & newer cheap
plastic units.

I don't see why people are too stupid to turn off a box fan when they
leave the house.

It occurs to me that perhaps the people who leave them on and abuse them
are the ones suffering all the fires and other problems.

Gotta be smarter than the tool.

nb

On Sun, 8 Aug 2010 16:56:18 -0700 (PDT), Ron wrote:
On Aug 8, 2:21?pm, notbob wrote:
On 2010-08-08, jimmy wrote:

I recently ?had a conversation with an insurance adjuster who told me one of
the causes of fires in a home are these box fans...do you have any info
regarding this??

He's a lying sack of sh*t! ?

Tell that to the mobile home that I was renting back in the early 80's
that burnt to the ground after I left a box fan running while I was at
the grocery store.

Sure. The frayed extension cord had nothing to do with it.

I've seen box fans dry out, and run slowly. But, I'm not familiar with
any thermal protection.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Jeff The Drunk" wrote in message
news
Most of these motors have thermal protection. But I suppose that can
fail.

Except for those which start by ignition of flammable materials.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Jon Danniken"
wrote in message ...

100 percent of house fires are caused by ignition of combustable
materials,
that is a FACT.

Jon

Was that the box fan kicked over by Mrs. O'Leary's cow?

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"hibb"
wrote in message
...

I was on the local fire department for 10 years and none of the fires
we had during my time were caused by box fans. But I have heard of it
happening just as with clothes dryers and Christmas tree lights.