Hi

she who must be obeyed spotted a fishy smell in the kitchen, and the
tumbly dryer plug was the culprit - v warm to touch - but the fuse
hand't blown.

The blue/n wire was quite charred, but no clear reason as to why -
certainly the bare copper wire wasn't in contact with anything.

What's likely to have caused this?

And will a trimming of the cable and rewiring to the plug, with a new
fuse?

Or rewire to a new plug?

M

"Maurice W" wrote in message
...
Hi

she who must be obeyed spotted a fishy smell in the kitchen, and the
tumbly dryer plug was the culprit - v warm to touch - but the fuse
hand't blown.

The blue/n wire was quite charred, but no clear reason as to why -
certainly the bare copper wire wasn't in contact with anything.

What's likely to have caused this?

And will a trimming of the cable and rewiring to the plug, with a new
fuse?

Or rewire to a new plug?

M


rewire to new plug

Probably caused by the resistance of the contact point between wire and
screw terminal heating up the wire. Wire was probably not stripped correctly
or maybe oxidation or bad terminal.

In article , Me
writes
"Maurice W" wrote in message
.. .
Hi

she who must be obeyed spotted a fishy smell in the kitchen, and the
tumbly dryer plug was the culprit - v warm to touch - but the fuse
hand't blown.

The blue/n wire was quite charred, but no clear reason as to why -
certainly the bare copper wire wasn't in contact with anything.

What's likely to have caused this?

And will a trimming of the cable and rewiring to the plug, with a new
fuse?

Or rewire to a new plug?

M


rewire to new plug

Probably caused by the resistance of the contact point between wire and
screw terminal heating up the wire. Wire was probably not stripped correctly
or maybe oxidation or bad terminal.

or loose, that's the usual for overheating. I agree replacement is better than
re-use on the plug but stripping back the cable by a few inches will be fine.
--
fred
Plusnet - I hope you like vanilla

"fred" wrote in message ...
In article , Me
writes
"Maurice W" wrote in message
. ..
Hi

she who must be obeyed spotted a fishy smell in the kitchen, and the
tumbly dryer plug was the culprit - v warm to touch - but the fuse
hand't blown.

The blue/n wire was quite charred, but no clear reason as to why -
certainly the bare copper wire wasn't in contact with anything.

What's likely to have caused this?

And will a trimming of the cable and rewiring to the plug, with a new
fuse?

Or rewire to a new plug?

M


rewire to new plug

Probably caused by the resistance of the contact point between wire and
screw terminal heating up the wire. Wire was probably not stripped
correctly
or maybe oxidation or bad terminal.

or loose, that's the usual for overheating. I agree replacement is better
than
re-use on the plug but stripping back the cable by a few inches will be
fine.
--
fred
Plusnet - I hope you like vanilla

Don't discount the socket. Maybe a poor quality socket which could cause the
pin to get hot. Certainly worth checking anyway as the heat could have
affected it if it is not the direct cause.

As stated, fit a new plug (MK would be good).

Plug is most likely due to a loose screw terminal or
partly broken wire causing the wire to overheat. Plug
pins are large CSA to minimise heating, so oxidation
slowly occurs over time creating the "fish smell".

Socket is least likely, but similarly possible due to a
loose screw terminal, plaster in terminals or a screw
biting insulation rather than conductor & working loose.
A socket can suffer plug contact oxidation or simply not
make good contact with a plug. So if the problem does
re-occur it may be worth replacing the socket also.
--
JSB.

On Fri, 09 Mar 2007 14:06:24 GMT, "John"
wrote:

thanks for the advice chaps, I should be able to stretch this job out
over the weekend ;-)

M

"John" wrote in message
...

"fred" wrote in message ...
In article , Me
writes
"Maurice W" wrote in message
...
Hi

she who must be obeyed spotted a fishy smell in the kitchen, and the
tumbly dryer plug was the culprit - v warm to touch - but the fuse
hand't blown.

The blue/n wire was quite charred, but no clear reason as to why -
certainly the bare copper wire wasn't in contact with anything.

What's likely to have caused this?

And will a trimming of the cable and rewiring to the plug, with a new
fuse?

Or rewire to a new plug?

M


rewire to new plug

Probably caused by the resistance of the contact point between wire and
screw terminal heating up the wire. Wire was probably not stripped
correctly
or maybe oxidation or bad terminal.

or loose, that's the usual for overheating. I agree replacement is better
than
re-use on the plug but stripping back the cable by a few inches will be
fine.
--
fred
Plusnet - I hope you like vanilla

Don't discount the socket. Maybe a poor quality socket which could cause
the pin to get hot. Certainly worth checking anyway as the heat could have
affected it if it is not the direct cause.


great point there, Could it also be a loose terminal on the other side of
the socket?

wrote in message
ups.com...
As stated, fit a new plug (MK would be good).

Plug is most likely due to a loose screw terminal or
partly broken wire causing the wire to overheat. Plug
pins are large CSA to minimise heating, so oxidation
slowly occurs over time creating the "fish smell".

Socket is least likely, but similarly possible due to a
loose screw terminal, plaster in terminals or a screw
biting insulation rather than conductor & working loose.
A socket can suffer plug contact oxidation or simply not
make good contact with a plug. So if the problem does
re-occur it may be worth replacing the socket also.
--
JSB.


Fish smell could also be due to plasticiser migration from the cable
plastics

Maurice W presented the following explanation :
Or rewire to a new plug?

Yes, but also check the socket for damage and replace that too if it is
damaged.

--

Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

In article ,
Harry Bloomfield writes:
Maurice W presented the following explanation :
Or rewire to a new plug?

Yes, but also check the socket for damage and replace that too if it is
damaged.

You won't be able to adequately check the socket.
A socket which has been subject to excess heat
from a plug should be replaced in any case.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Maurice W wrote:

The blue/n wire was quite charred, but no clear reason as to why -
certainly the bare copper wire wasn't in contact with anything.

A loose or dirty connection somewhere.

And will a trimming of the cable and rewiring to the plug, with a new
fuse?

The only totally sure and safe option is to cut the cable back and wire
to a new plug. Also replace the socket and check the state of the fixed
wiring to that as well. Cut that back (and crimp on extensions if
required) as well if the fixed wiring insulation is damaged.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 10 Mar, 04:14, John Rumm wrote:
Maurice W wrote:
The blue/n wire was quite charred, but no clear reason as to why -
certainly the bare copper wire wasn't in contact with anything.

A loose or dirty connection somewhere.

And will a trimming of the cable and rewiring to the plug, with a new
fuse?

The only totally sure and safe option is to cut the cable back and wire
to a new plug. Also replace the socket and check the state of the fixed
wiring to that as well. Cut that back (and crimp on extensions if
required) as well if the fixed wiring insulation is damaged.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Also check to see if the cat hasn't dumped something under the kitchen
cabinets so casuing a smell !!!

John wrote:


Don't discount the socket. Maybe a poor quality socket which could
cause the pin to get hot. Certainly worth checking anyway as the heat
could have affected it if it is not the direct cause.

Absolutely. Found the very same thing on Thursday, single s/o under a
worktop with a washing machine plugged in. Cheap B&Q made in PRC jobby
(socket not machine). Changed it for an MK.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257