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#42
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
In m,
Ralph Mowery typed: wrote in message ... We recently had one burnt electrical outlet at our office. The appliance plug is also burnt as well. All the outlets at our office is rated at 20Amps and have fuse protection. The fuse did not trip. Anyone has a clue why the outlet and the plug are burnt? I am planning to just replace the burnt outlets and the appliance plug, but I really prefer to know what caused the burning in the first place. Here are 2 photos showing the plug and the outlet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341105173/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341718398/ Thanks Without having a beter look , I would say that in the plug where the wire is connected to the prong, there is a loose or high resistance connection. You usually get heat build up at the bad connections. If the plug can be taken apart, see if the connection is loose. Unless there is some reason the whole prong is not making connection all over the plug and socket, there probably was nothing wrong with the socket except the plug overheated and caused the burnt spots on the socket. Since non-residential wiring is often stranded wire, that's a very good possibility. |
#43
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 09:09:07 -0600, "Pete C."
wrote: wrote: Good possibility? It is a definite FACT. With the 30 amp rating of the conditioner,a 20 amp plug would be a requirement. Particularly on a 20 amp circuit. Don't assume a 30A rating requires a 30A plug. That rating is the maximum input current, and you can absolutely change the plug to a lower rating if the load on the conditioner is less than full load. The circuit protection is at the panel feeding the receptacle, so if that receptacle is on a 15A or 20A circuit it is fine. If the load is too high the breaker will trip. It is a 20 amp receptacle according to the OP, and the device (still has not been established white kind of "conditioner") is rated at 30 amps. It NEEDS a 20 amp plug. To handle up to 20 amps input current. If it is a Ferro conditioner, that means it's good for about 15 amps out. They are quite effective heaters. |
#44
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:49:32 -0600, "
wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:39:57 -0800 (PST), Joe wrote: On Jan 9, 9:26Â*pm, " wrote: On Jan 9, 7:21Â*pm, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote: wrote in message ... We recently had one burnt electrical outlet at our office. The appliance plug is also burnt as well. All the outlets at our office is rated at 20Amps and have fuse protection. The fuse did not trip. Anyone has a clue why the outlet and the plug are burnt? I am planning to just replace the burnt outlets and the appliance plug, but I really prefer to know what caused the burning in the first place. Here are 2 photos showing the plug and the outlet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341105173/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341718398/ Thanks What types of devices to those plugs belong to? Not the outlets. The plugs. It is connected to a power conditioner which powers some audio devices. The input to the power conditioner shows it is rated up to 30Amps but we actually do not have that many devices being powered by this conditioner. So I doubt it is drawing the full 30Amps. Also the 20Amp building fuse would have tripped if the power drain was higher than 20Amps. Your outlets are 15 amp, not 20. The correct outlet will have a T- shape plug hole on the hot side. If the breaker is 20 amp and the wiring is 12 ga, somebody really screwed up. Why do you believe that he needs 20A outlets? The appliance obviously has a 15A plug on it, so it's not intended for more than 15A. Not obvious at all. I could put a 15 amp plug on a 2 HP table saw. |
#45
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
In ,
RBM typed: "Ralph Mowery" wrote in message m... wrote in message ... We recently had one burnt electrical outlet at our office. The appliance plug is also burnt as well. All the outlets at our office is rated at 20Amps and have fuse protection. The fuse did not trip. Anyone has a clue why the outlet and the plug are burnt? I am planning to just replace the burnt outlets and the appliance plug, but I really prefer to know what caused the burning in the first place. Here are 2 photos showing the plug and the outlet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341105173/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341718398/ Thanks Without having a beter look , I would say that in the plug where the wire is connected to the prong, there is a loose or high resistance connection. You usually get heat build up at the bad connections. If the plug can be taken apart, see if the connection is loose. Unless there is some reason the whole prong is not making connection all over the plug and socket, there probably was nothing wrong with the socket except the plug overheated and caused the burnt spots on the socket. Thats sounds like a good explanation to me. I would also question the draw of the appliance. It burned two receptacles and it's not a factory plug. There is a good possibility that it should be a 20 amp plug and not 15 as shown The wire and connectors must be capable of carrying 80% of the load of everything on that ckt breaker. Since it's a 15A plug/receptacle and one piece of equipment is 30A I'd have to surmise they're using a time-delay breaker for one, that lets them slip by without popping the brkr, but : It is NOT to code! OSHA would have a field day with it, too. As would NFPA. I'd be interested also in what gage wire is being used to the box and to the other components drawing current? Sounds like a pretty dangerous place to work to me. HTH, Twayne` |
#46
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:49:32 -0600, "
wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:39:57 -0800 (PST), Joe wrote: On Jan 9, 9:26Â*pm, " wrote: On Jan 9, 7:21Â*pm, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote: wrote in message ... We recently had one burnt electrical outlet at our office. The appliance plug is also burnt as well. All the outlets at our office is rated at 20Amps and have fuse protection. The fuse did not trip. Anyone has a clue why the outlet and the plug are burnt? I am planning to just replace the burnt outlets and the appliance plug, but I really prefer to know what caused the burning in the first place. Here are 2 photos showing the plug and the outlet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341105173/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341718398/ Thanks What types of devices to those plugs belong to? Not the outlets. The plugs. It is connected to a power conditioner which powers some audio devices. The input to the power conditioner shows it is rated up to 30Amps but we actually do not have that many devices being powered by this conditioner. So I doubt it is drawing the full 30Amps. Also the 20Amp building fuse would have tripped if the power drain was higher than 20Amps. Your outlets are 15 amp, not 20. The correct outlet will have a T- shape plug hole on the hot side. If the breaker is 20 amp and the wiring is 12 ga, somebody really screwed up. Why do you believe that he needs 20A outlets? The appliance obviously has a 15A plug on it, so it's not intended for more than 15A. The OP said it was a 20 amp outlet - it is only a 15. I had not seen the pictures before. |
#47
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
In ter.com,
Pete C. typed: wrote: Good possibility? It is a definite FACT. With the 30 amp rating of the conditioner,a 20 amp plug would be a requirement. Particularly on a 20 amp circuit. Don't assume a 30A rating requires a 30A plug. That rating is the maximum input current, and you can absolutely change the plug to a lower rating if the load on the conditioner is less than full load. The circuit protection is at the panel feeding the receptacle, so if that receptacle is on a 15A or 20A circuit it is fine. If the load is too high the breaker will trip. That's such a screwed up fiasco from what I've seen/read, that it has to have a 30A fuse and likewise be wired for "stopped rotor" & whatever applies. We have no idea really what the situation is, wire gauge, voltage during draw and resulting damage to inductive parts (motors, relays coils, etc.). What they need to do is get a real electrician in there to install things correctly; they've made way too many bad choices. And then of course have it inspected. It would not pass inspection right now. HTH, Twayne` |
#48
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On 1/10/2011 4:00 PM, Twayne wrote:
In m, Ralph typed: wrote in message ... We recently had one burnt electrical outlet at our office. The appliance plug is also burnt as well. All the outlets at our office is rated at 20Amps and have fuse protection. The fuse did not trip. Anyone has a clue why the outlet and the plug are burnt? I am planning to just replace the burnt outlets and the appliance plug, but I really prefer to know what caused the burning in the first place. Here are 2 photos showing the plug and the outlet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341105173/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341718398/ Thanks Without having a beter look , I would say that in the plug where the wire is connected to the prong, there is a loose or high resistance connection. You usually get heat build up at the bad connections. If the plug can be taken apart, see if the connection is loose. Unless there is some reason the whole prong is not making connection all over the plug and socket, there probably was nothing wrong with the socket except the plug overheated and caused the burnt spots on the socket. Since non-residential wiring is often stranded wire, that's a very good possibility. I'm confused what you are referring to, but curious. What plug is wired with solid? Jeff |
#49
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
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#50
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
"Twayne" wrote in
: In ter.com, Pete C. typed: wrote: Good possibility? It is a definite FACT. With the 30 amp rating of the conditioner,a 20 amp plug would be a requirement. Particularly on a 20 amp circuit. Don't assume a 30A rating requires a 30A plug. That rating is the maximum input current, and you can absolutely change the plug to a lower rating if the load on the conditioner is less than full load. The circuit protection is at the panel feeding the receptacle, so if that receptacle is on a 15A or 20A circuit it is fine. If the load is too high the breaker will trip. That's such a screwed up fiasco from what I've seen/read, that it has to have a 30A fuse and likewise be wired for "stopped rotor" & whatever applies. We have no idea really what the situation is, wire gauge, voltage during draw and resulting damage to inductive parts (motors, relays coils, etc.). What they need to do is get a real electrician in there to install things correctly; they've made way too many bad choices. And then of course have it inspected. It would not pass inspection right now. HTH, Twayne` Fiddlesticks. There's nothing wrong. It's all just to let the user know the black part on the plug goes in the black part of the outlet. Then again, kinda looks like Mr Bill with a black eye. Can't ya just hear that ground pin sayin' "Ohhhhh Noooooo!". |
#51
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
That's one way to look at it. Think of all the jobs which
rely on your house burning down. Hmm. Maybe I'll replace the burnt sockets, and send them a sympathy letter. -- Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus www.lds.org .. "Tony Miklos" wrote in message ... On 1/10/2011 9:13 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote: Those two outlets look like some drunk gave em a wicked black eye. Just one man's opinion, but I don't think that's "OK" to have around. I would not leave those outlets in my office wall. Oh come on now, we need to stimulate the economy! Use the old outlets until the place burns down. |
#52
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:15:24 -0500, Jeff Thies wrote:
On 1/10/2011 1:49 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:39:57 -0800 (PST), wrote: On Jan 9, 9:26 pm, wrote: On Jan 9, 7:21 pm, wrote: wrote in message ... We recently had one burnt electrical outlet at our office. The appliance plug is also burnt as well. All the outlets at our office is rated at 20Amps and have fuse protection. The fuse did not trip. Anyone has a clue why the outlet and the plug are burnt? I am planning to just replace the burnt outlets and the appliance plug, but I really prefer to know what caused the burning in the first place. Here are 2 photos showing the plug and the outlet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341105173/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341718398/ Thanks What types of devices to those plugs belong to? Not the outlets. The plugs. It is connected to a power conditioner which powers some audio devices. The input to the power conditioner shows it is rated up to 30Amps but we actually do not have that many devices being powered by this conditioner. So I doubt it is drawing the full 30Amps. Also the 20Amp building fuse would have tripped if the power drain was higher than 20Amps. Your outlets are 15 amp, not 20. The correct outlet will have a T- shape plug hole on the hot side. If the breaker is 20 amp and the wiring is 12 ga, somebody really screwed up. Why do you believe that he needs 20A outlets? The appliance obviously has a 15A plug on it, so it's not intended for more than 15A. It looks like an after market plug. We know little about the power conditioner except that it is rated at 30A. Possibly something like an RV plug was on it at one time (and what would you plug that in to!). But I'm just speculating... Then why would a 20A plug be any better? |
#53
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:16:45 -0500, wrote:
On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:49:32 -0600, " wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:39:57 -0800 (PST), Joe wrote: On Jan 9, 9:26*pm, " wrote: On Jan 9, 7:21*pm, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote: wrote in message ... We recently had one burnt electrical outlet at our office. The appliance plug is also burnt as well. All the outlets at our office is rated at 20Amps and have fuse protection. The fuse did not trip. Anyone has a clue why the outlet and the plug are burnt? I am planning to just replace the burnt outlets and the appliance plug, but I really prefer to know what caused the burning in the first place. Here are 2 photos showing the plug and the outlet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341105173/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341718398/ Thanks What types of devices to those plugs belong to? Not the outlets. The plugs. It is connected to a power conditioner which powers some audio devices. The input to the power conditioner shows it is rated up to 30Amps but we actually do not have that many devices being powered by this conditioner. So I doubt it is drawing the full 30Amps. Also the 20Amp building fuse would have tripped if the power drain was higher than 20Amps. Your outlets are 15 amp, not 20. The correct outlet will have a T- shape plug hole on the hot side. If the breaker is 20 amp and the wiring is 12 ga, somebody really screwed up. Why do you believe that he needs 20A outlets? The appliance obviously has a 15A plug on it, so it's not intended for more than 15A. The OP said it was a 20 amp outlet - it is only a 15. I had not seen the pictures before. Right, it's a 15A outlet and a 15A plug. No foul there. |
#54
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On 1/10/2011 5:40 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote:
On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:15:24 -0500, Jeff wrote: On 1/10/2011 1:49 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:39:57 -0800 (PST), wrote: On Jan 9, 9:26 pm, wrote: On Jan 9, 7:21 pm, wrote: wrote in message ... We recently had one burnt electrical outlet at our office. The appliance plug is also burnt as well. All the outlets at our office is rated at 20Amps and have fuse protection. The fuse did not trip. Anyone has a clue why the outlet and the plug are burnt? I am planning to just replace the burnt outlets and the appliance plug, but I really prefer to know what caused the burning in the first place. Here are 2 photos showing the plug and the outlet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341105173/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341718398/ Thanks What types of devices to those plugs belong to? Not the outlets. The plugs. It is connected to a power conditioner which powers some audio devices. The input to the power conditioner shows it is rated up to 30Amps but we actually do not have that many devices being powered by this conditioner. So I doubt it is drawing the full 30Amps. Also the 20Amp building fuse would have tripped if the power drain was higher than 20Amps. Your outlets are 15 amp, not 20. The correct outlet will have a T- shape plug hole on the hot side. If the breaker is 20 amp and the wiring is 12 ga, somebody really screwed up. Why do you believe that he needs 20A outlets? The appliance obviously has a 15A plug on it, so it's not intended for more than 15A. It looks like an after market plug. We know little about the power conditioner except that it is rated at 30A. Possibly something like an RV plug was on it at one time (and what would you plug that in to!). But I'm just speculating... Then why would a 20A plug be any better? I never mentioned 20, it's a 15A plug on it, and I'm just speculating that someone put a 15A plug on because they didn't have a 30A socket for the 30A plug. I don't know, the OP will have to clear this up, or not... Jeff |
#55
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
HE HAS A 20A FUSED CIRCUIT ENERGIZING TWO DEVICES THAT ARE RATED AT 15A, AND THE FREAKING LOAD, SOME SORT OF AUDIO SAMPLER IS RATED AT 30A. WHAT IS THERE LEFT OUT TO FIGURE WHAT WENT WRONG??? SHEESH!!! WHAT A BASKET CASE! PATECUM |
#56
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:43:24 -0500, Jeff Thies wrote:
On 1/10/2011 5:40 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:15:24 -0500, Jeff wrote: On 1/10/2011 1:49 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:39:57 -0800 (PST), wrote: On Jan 9, 9:26 pm, wrote: On Jan 9, 7:21 pm, wrote: wrote in message ... We recently had one burnt electrical outlet at our office. The appliance plug is also burnt as well. All the outlets at our office is rated at 20Amps and have fuse protection. The fuse did not trip. Anyone has a clue why the outlet and the plug are burnt? I am planning to just replace the burnt outlets and the appliance plug, but I really prefer to know what caused the burning in the first place. Here are 2 photos showing the plug and the outlet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341105173/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341718398/ Thanks What types of devices to those plugs belong to? Not the outlets. The plugs. It is connected to a power conditioner which powers some audio devices. The input to the power conditioner shows it is rated up to 30Amps but we actually do not have that many devices being powered by this conditioner. So I doubt it is drawing the full 30Amps. Also the 20Amp building fuse would have tripped if the power drain was higher than 20Amps. Your outlets are 15 amp, not 20. The correct outlet will have a T- shape plug hole on the hot side. If the breaker is 20 amp and the wiring is 12 ga, somebody really screwed up. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Why do you believe that he needs 20A outlets? The appliance obviously has a 15A plug on it, so it's not intended for more than 15A. It looks like an after market plug. We know little about the power conditioner except that it is rated at 30A. Possibly something like an RV plug was on it at one time (and what would you plug that in to!). But I'm just speculating... Then why would a 20A plug be any better? I never mentioned 20, it's a 15A plug on it, and I'm just speculating that someone put a 15A plug on because they didn't have a 30A socket for the 30A plug. I don't know, the OP will have to clear this up, or not... You were answering a thread discussing changing from a 15A outlet to a 20A outlet. If it's supposed to be a 30, a 20 isn't going to help. It won't help anyway. That's not the problem. |
#57
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Burnt Fingers Are an Indication of Crack Abuse
On Jan 10, 10:27*pm, "
wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:43:24 -0500, Jeff Thies wrote: On 1/10/2011 5:40 PM, wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:15:24 -0500, Jeff *wrote: On 1/10/2011 1:49 PM, wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:39:57 -0800 (PST), * wrote: On Jan 9, 9:26 pm, * wrote: On Jan 9, 7:21 pm, wrote: * wrote in message ... We recently had one burnt electrical outlet at our office. The appliance plug is also burnt as well. All the outlets at our office is rated at 20Amps and have fuse protection. The fuse did not trip. Anyone has a clue why the outlet and the plug are burnt? I am planning to just replace the burnt outlets and the appliance plug, but I really prefer to know what caused the burning in the first place. Here are 2 photos showing the plug and the outlet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341105173/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341718398/ Thanks What types of devices to those plugs belong to? Not the outlets. The plugs. It is connected to a power conditioner which powers some audio devices. The input to the power conditioner shows it is rated up to 30Amps but we actually do not have that many devices being powered by this conditioner. So I doubt it is drawing the full 30Amps. Also the 20Amp building fuse would have tripped if the power drain was higher than 20Amps. Your outlets are 15 amp, not 20. The correct outlet will have a T- shape plug hole on the hot side. If the breaker is 20 amp and the wiring is 12 ga, somebody really screwed up. * * * ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Why do you believe that he needs 20A outlets? *The appliance obviously has a 15A plug on it, so it's not intended for more than 15A. It looks like an after market plug. We know little about the power conditioner except that it is rated at 30A. Possibly something like an RV plug was on it at one time (and what would you plug that in to!). But I'm just speculating... Then why would a 20A plug be any better? * I never mentioned 20, it's a 15A plug on it, and I'm just speculating that someone put a 15A plug on because they didn't have a 30A socket for the 30A plug. I don't know, the OP will have to clear this up, or not... You were answering a thread discussing changing from a 15A outlet to a 20A outlet. *If it's supposed to be a 30, a 20 isn't going to help. *It won't help anyway. *That's not the problem. YOU NUMBSKULL JUST SHUT THE **** UP ALREADY..THIS IS DONE. AND USE GLOVES OR SOMETHING TO HOLD THAT GLASS PIPE, YOU LOOK HORRENDOUS. PATECUM |
#58
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On Jan 10, 11:44*am, Chip C wrote:
Nowhere that this kind of outlet is used is it legal for a non- electrician to replace outlets or plugs in an office or workplace. Have an electrician come in and replace both. If you don't believe me, ask your insurance agent. Better him than the adjuster who comes in after something burns down. I presume the reason you -- er, "someone" -- put an aftermarket plug on the cord is because the equipment came with a 30A plug, probably a twistlock. You may think that you've loaded it lightly enough that it won't draw more than 15A, but you may be wrong. Have the sparky quote on a proper 30A circuit installation while he's there. If you do put it all back together in a 15A config, get yourself a Kill-A-Watt or other current monitor and find out what you're really drawing. If it's more than 12A continuous, you should not be on a 15A circuit. Some offices are wired all 12-gauge even on 15A circuits; if that's the case, depending on length and local regs, your electrician may be able to swap in a 20A breaker and T-slot receptacle. Chip C Toronto Maybe that is true in Canada Chip, but here in much of the US it is perfectly OK for maintenance technicians to repair or replace installed electrical devices (outlets, switches and fixtures) with identically rated devices without an electrical license... Now whether or not the maintenance technician is good at doing that sort of work is an entirely different subject, but it is allowed... ~~ Evan |
#59
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On Jan 11, 12:48*am, Evan wrote:
On Jan 10, 11:44*am, Chip C wrote: Nowhere that this kind of outlet is used is it legal for a non- electrician to replace outlets or plugs in an office or workplace. Have an electrician come in and replace both. If you don't believe me, ask your insurance agent. Better him than the adjuster who comes in after something burns down. I presume the reason you -- er, "someone" -- put an aftermarket plug on the cord is because the equipment came with a 30A plug, probably a twistlock. You may think that you've loaded it lightly enough that it won't draw more than 15A, but you may be wrong. Have the sparky quote on a proper 30A circuit installation while he's there. If you do put it all back together in a 15A config, get yourself a Kill-A-Watt or other current monitor and find out what you're really drawing. If it's more than 12A continuous, you should not be on a 15A circuit. Some offices are wired all 12-gauge even on 15A circuits; if that's the case, depending on length and local regs, your electrician may be able to swap in a 20A breaker and T-slot receptacle. Chip C Toronto Maybe that is true in Canada Chip, but here in much of the US it is perfectly OK for maintenance technicians to repair or replace installed electrical devices (outlets, switches and fixtures) with identically rated devices without an electrical license... Now whether or not the maintenance technician is good at doing that sort of work is an entirely different subject, but it is allowed... ~~ Evan True, an no inspector will come as dreamed about up the thread, unless a clear code violation is reported, as is using a regular outlet within specifications near a water source, where a GFI is required to protect lives. Patecum |
#60
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On 1/10/2011 10:27 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote:
On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:43:24 -0500, Jeff wrote: On 1/10/2011 5:40 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:15:24 -0500, Jeff wrote: On 1/10/2011 1:49 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:39:57 -0800 (PST), wrote: On Jan 9, 9:26 pm, wrote: On Jan 9, 7:21 pm, wrote: wrote in message ... We recently had one burnt electrical outlet at our office. The appliance plug is also burnt as well. All the outlets at our office is rated at 20Amps and have fuse protection. The fuse did not trip. Anyone has a clue why the outlet and the plug are burnt? I am planning to just replace the burnt outlets and the appliance plug, but I really prefer to know what caused the burning in the first place. Here are 2 photos showing the plug and the outlet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341105173/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341718398/ Thanks What types of devices to those plugs belong to? Not the outlets. The plugs. It is connected to a power conditioner which powers some audio devices. The input to the power conditioner shows it is rated up to 30Amps but we actually do not have that many devices being powered by this conditioner. So I doubt it is drawing the full 30Amps. Also the 20Amp building fuse would have tripped if the power drain was higher than 20Amps. Your outlets are 15 amp, not 20. The correct outlet will have a T- shape plug hole on the hot side. If the breaker is 20 amp and the wiring is 12 ga, somebody really screwed up. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Why do you believe that he needs 20A outlets? The appliance obviously has a 15A plug on it, so it's not intended for more than 15A. It looks like an after market plug. We know little about the power conditioner except that it is rated at 30A. Possibly something like an RV plug was on it at one time (and what would you plug that in to!). But I'm just speculating... Then why would a 20A plug be any better? I never mentioned 20, it's a 15A plug on it, and I'm just speculating that someone put a 15A plug on because they didn't have a 30A socket for the 30A plug. I don't know, the OP will have to clear this up, or not... You were answering a thread discussing changing from a 15A outlet to a 20A outlet. I read this as the OP thought he had a 20A but it is only 15. I didn't see anything in this thread that mentioned changing to a 20A plug, or socket. You are reading something I don't see. If it's supposed to be a 30, a 20 isn't going to help. It won't help anyway. That's not the problem. I agree. It's likely a plug problem and it is unknown what complications there are. At any rate, the OP is gone, and the threads are wandering into abstract oblivion. So, what else is new? Jeff |
#61
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:48:25 -0800 (PST), Evan
wrote: On Jan 10, 11:44Â*am, Chip C wrote: Nowhere that this kind of outlet is used is it legal for a non- electrician to replace outlets or plugs in an office or workplace. Have an electrician come in and replace both. If you don't believe me, ask your insurance agent. Better him than the adjuster who comes in after something burns down. I presume the reason you -- er, "someone" -- put an aftermarket plug on the cord is because the equipment came with a 30A plug, probably a twistlock. You may think that you've loaded it lightly enough that it won't draw more than 15A, but you may be wrong. Have the sparky quote on a proper 30A circuit installation while he's there. If you do put it all back together in a 15A config, get yourself a Kill-A-Watt or other current monitor and find out what you're really drawing. If it's more than 12A continuous, you should not be on a 15A circuit. Some offices are wired all 12-gauge even on 15A circuits; if that's the case, depending on length and local regs, your electrician may be able to swap in a 20A breaker and T-slot receptacle. Chip C Toronto Maybe that is true in Canada Chip, but here in much of the US it is perfectly OK for maintenance technicians to repair or replace installed electrical devices (outlets, switches and fixtures) with identically rated devices without an electrical license... Now whether or not the maintenance technician is good at doing that sort of work is an entirely different subject, but it is allowed... ~~ Evan It's always been allowed here too (Canada) |
#62
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On Jan 11, 1:30*am, The Ghost in The Machine
wrote: True, an no inspector will come as dreamed about up the thread, unless a clear code violation is reported, *as is using a regular outlet within specifications near a water source, where a GFI is required to protect lives. Patecum Often most code violations are discovered after some emergency event happens (fire, flood, etc.) which requires the facility/building in question undergo some form of inspection from the various inspectors (fire safety, plumbing/gas, electrical/wiring, building) prior to allowing it to be occupied again... ~~ Evan |
#63
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Burnt electrical outlet and plug
On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:04:43 -0500, Jeff Thies wrote:
On 1/10/2011 10:27 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:43:24 -0500, Jeff wrote: On 1/10/2011 5:40 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:15:24 -0500, Jeff wrote: On 1/10/2011 1:49 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote: On Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:39:57 -0800 (PST), wrote: On Jan 9, 9:26 pm, wrote: On Jan 9, 7:21 pm, wrote: wrote in message ... We recently had one burnt electrical outlet at our office. The appliance plug is also burnt as well. All the outlets at our office is rated at 20Amps and have fuse protection. The fuse did not trip. Anyone has a clue why the outlet and the plug are burnt? I am planning to just replace the burnt outlets and the appliance plug, but I really prefer to know what caused the burning in the first place. Here are 2 photos showing the plug and the outlet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341105173/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/54230006@N07/5341718398/ Thanks What types of devices to those plugs belong to? Not the outlets. The plugs. It is connected to a power conditioner which powers some audio devices. The input to the power conditioner shows it is rated up to 30Amps but we actually do not have that many devices being powered by this conditioner. So I doubt it is drawing the full 30Amps. Also the 20Amp building fuse would have tripped if the power drain was higher than 20Amps. Your outlets are 15 amp, not 20. The correct outlet will have a T- shape plug hole on the hot side. If the breaker is 20 amp and the wiring is 12 ga, somebody really screwed up. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Why do you believe that he needs 20A outlets? The appliance obviously has a 15A plug on it, so it's not intended for more than 15A. It looks like an after market plug. We know little about the power conditioner except that it is rated at 30A. Possibly something like an RV plug was on it at one time (and what would you plug that in to!). But I'm just speculating... Then why would a 20A plug be any better? I never mentioned 20, it's a 15A plug on it, and I'm just speculating that someone put a 15A plug on because they didn't have a 30A socket for the 30A plug. I don't know, the OP will have to clear this up, or not... You were answering a thread discussing changing from a 15A outlet to a 20A outlet. I read this as the OP thought he had a 20A but it is only 15. I didn't see anything in this thread that mentioned changing to a 20A plug, or socket. You are reading something I don't see. Did you actually read the post I replied to? It's still up there (look for the '^' string, above). If it's supposed to be a 30, a 20 isn't going to help. It won't help anyway. That's not the problem. I agree. It's likely a plug problem and it is unknown what complications there are. At any rate, the OP is gone, and the threads are wandering into abstract oblivion. So, what else is new? Not much. |
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