# Not in the shop, but still safety minded



## Arcola60 (Jul 4, 2009)

This morning while using my electric skillet in the kitchen, all was normal. When i finished cooking I did as I always do. Turn the dial to the off position, watch for the light to go off on the dial, then unplug the power cord first from the receptacle, then from the skillet.

Then I grab the cord, wipe any food residue off. When I grabbed the cord, the end that plugs into the wall was smoking hot. I automatically dropped it, you can imagine the words I used. I then started from the opposite end and felt my way back to the hot end. The cord was cool until I got about 2" from the end. Upon further investigation, the blades/prongs on the plug were discolored and the plastic had started to melt. I inspected the receptacle, it will be replaced also. 

I could have just cut the cord and replaced the plug, but I went online and ordered a replacement cord.

My point is: check your power cords in the home and shop that draw high amounts of amps. We take them for granted, this could have easily caused a fire. I have used this appliance for many years and never had a problem.

Keep you and your loved ones safe

Ellery Becnel


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## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

I had a similar incident several years ago. Mine was with an automatic toaster. We had used it that morning and went to work. Since I was self employed I frequently stopped by home throughout the day which I did mid morning that day. When I entered the house I smelled smoke. My first thought was what the hell. I headed for the kitchen and the outlet was already smoking. I grabbed the cord and yanked it from the wall. Fortunately, I came home in the nick of time as there was no damage. That outlet and toaster was replaced that day. Now when we use a small appliance we unplug when we're finished.


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## ksidwy (Jul 13, 2013)

Great advise Ellery! we think that: plugs, receptacles and wires are forever but they are not. From time to time they need to be inspected.Thanks for posting!
Sid.


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## lewis11 (Mar 3, 2006)

Since my friends garage fire from a battery charger, I have always unplugged any electrical appliance or tool when I am finished. Always shut off the main in shop when I walked out, had nothing there that needed to be on.


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## elfridaauston87 (Jul 1, 2019)

What an advice.


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

Another old post brought back from the past, but a very worthy reminder.

I would add that not only should the plug that got hot be suspected and replaced, but the outlet that it was plugged into might also need replacing. Plug and outlet contacts corrode and loose their spring tension over time and heavy use. As the connection between them deteriorates the electrical resistance of their parts increases. When higher electric currents need to flow through points of resistance, these areas will heat up, further deteriorating the electrical connection between them. Eventually, this deterioration and continued use will result in temperatures high enough to cause a fire.
Don't let this situation cause enough heat to cause a fire. Repair/replace the damaged components before they get this bad.

Charley


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

When I moved into the house, I noticed that all the outlets were loose, so with a fair amount of cursing, I replaced every one of them, including drilling holes through the walls in two spots to mound outside weather proof plugs out front. It was a lot of work to do, but good for safety reasons. Also nice not to have plugs that don't hold fast. 

I also put in GFCI plugs on selected circuits. Everything's on breakers of course, but those GF outlets seem to go out faster than the breakers. Happily, the house has copper wiring, not aluminum. I'd hate to have to deal with that problem.


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## Arcola60 (Jul 4, 2009)

Thank You Charley for the reminder!

I have since moved to a newer home, and replaced the old electric skillet! New home, new skillet...

Also my first order of business was to inspect all of the electrical outlets, switches, breakers, etc. I replaced the outlets and switches. Everything looked OK, but some were mismatched, in color. 
I worked with my father in his HVAC and electrical business as a young man. I became very aware of the dangers that could occur from faulty, and loose connections.

I have two sons that are on their own now and we always have discussions about personal safety, in the workplace, and especially at home. Now they look for potential hazards, and have found many. Some were obvious, some were not!

Be safe! We only have one body!

Ellery Becnel


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## Dejure (Jul 27, 2009)

As others said, a good, timeless reminder.

I bought one of the laser thermometers and use it to check wiring. I can point it at a wire and get a dead on reading. I, also, use it to check the breakers.

To test it, I fire up one of my collectors and point it at the breaker. Even with 15 foot long, 10 gauge wire, for a fifteen amp, 240 circuit, you may get a couple degree rise at the breaker. The thing is instantaneous, so will show a sloppy outlet or other problem very quickly.

Even if renting, it's worth while to swap out sloppy outlets with good quality, twenty amp puppies. The nice ones are easy to change and will last years longer than the cheap stab type.


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## David Bradford (Sep 12, 2019)

Electricity is nothing to mess with. Doing maintenance in a shop with 30 employees I am constantly replacing cords on tools to keep things safe.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

We're headed towards heating season and one of the worst culprits for house fires is space heaters. If the plug and outlet aren't in good shape they can get hot enough to start a fire. Checking the cord once in a while after it's been on for a bit to see if it's getting too hot is a good idea.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

I had an incident a few years back at my house, where after 15 or so years after they were installed the 'push in' connections on the wall outlets started to have issues. The connection was not as tight as it was supposed to be, and one outlet ended up burning the end of the conductor off. Fortunately it didn't cause a fire.

After I found that and replace that receptacle, I checked the others in the basement and wound up rewiring them all on the screw on the side instead. It's a lot more work than just pushing the conductor into the back, but gave me a much more 'solid' connection.

At my fathers house (built in '96), the fastener that holds the light switch body together failed (very cheap switch) and would cause arcing to the switchbox. Needless to say I spent the rest of the afternoon replacing light switches at his house.....


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

Yes, Those push-in connections were a fad for a few years, and a very bad idea for longevity. A point connection like this will fail when heavy current flows through it very quickly.

Some of the newer outlets now have the push-in hole, but the wire gets clamped inside when the screw is tightened. This is a much better design. It saves the time of wrapping the wire around the screw, but it does require the screw to be tightened.

My son bought a house in very bad need of a rebuild, and he had planned for this before purchase. You would not believe the crazy wiring in this place. We have now replaced almost all of the original wiring. Things like wires twisted together and just taped and hidden inside the walls were found when we pulled the old sheet rock off the beams. One 15 amp circuit was discovered to be supplying almost every outlet in the house, etc. The house was added onto and I think they just attached the wiring in the new addition to whatever wires they found when they added on. Construction was one
surprise after another too. there was only one duplex outlet in the kitchen above the counter. That was, until we tore the back splash above the counter off, and found two more hidden behind it. They had never cut the holes in the replacement back splash for these two outlets, so the poor woman who raised her family in this house only had one outlet to use for making meals for many years. She must have been a Saint, for all that she must have put up with while living there.

There had been a bedroom behind the kitchen at one time, but the wall between it and the kitchen had been removed to provide more space for dining. But the beam across where this wall had once been was sagging about 2" when my son bought the house. It became one of the first surprises that we found when we began remodeling. When we opened this beam area up, we discovered that they had just cut the studs 4" below the ceiling and then boxed in the remaining stubs in with sheet rock. No additional strengthening material had been added. There was no real support beam in there at all. We had to put up temporary supports and remove this mess completely. Then we installed an I beam and boxed it in. So the ceiling is now flat and the upstairs isn't about to fall into the kitchen any more. The house is now about 80% rebuilt, and done right as best as possible this time, but we are still finding surprises in it. 

Charley


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

DesertRatTom said:


> When I moved into the house, I noticed that all the outlets were loose, so with a fair amount of cursing, I replaced every one of them, including drilling holes through the walls in two spots to mound outside weather proof plugs out front. It was a lot of work to do, but good for safety reasons. Also nice not to have plugs that don't hold fast.
> 
> I also put in GFCI plugs on selected circuits. Everything's on breakers of course, but those GF outlets seem to go out faster than the breakers. Happily, the house has copper wiring, not aluminum. I'd hate to have to deal with that problem.


You can put a GFCI outlet as the first outlet on the circuit. This covers all other regular outlets downstream. Unless the code has changed.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

kp91 said:


> I had an incident a few years back at my house, where after 15 or so years after they were installed the 'push in' connections on the wall outlets started to have issues. The connection was not as tight as it was supposed to be, and one outlet ended up burning the end of the conductor off. Fortunately it didn't cause a fire.
> 
> After I found that and replace that receptacle, I checked the others in the basement and wound up rewiring them all on the screw on the side instead. It's a lot more work than just pushing the conductor into the back, but gave me a much more 'solid' connection.
> 
> At my fathers house (built in '96), the fastener that holds the light switch body together failed (very cheap switch) and would cause arcing to the switchbox. Needless to say I spent the rest of the afternoon replacing light switches at his house.....


We aren't allowed to use the push in connectors up here. Too high a failure rate I guess.

I had a weird occurrence yesterday at the father in law's old house (my house now and daughter living in it). She called me over and said that when she closed her sliding patio doors she heard a noise and her lights flickered and she smeeled an electrical smell. I went over to investigate and found an outlet on the outside of the wall under a covered porch where the metal cover plate had come loose and shorted out on the hot prong of an extension cord plugged into the outlet. Luckily the breaker did its job and popped. The screw that holds it on must have loosened and fallen out.


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