Socket caught on fire - urgent help/advice needed from tenant

Robin, was there ever a cover over the fuse and contacts? It would look like the red oblong in this image (but might be another colour):

http://www.plugwiring.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/moulded-plug.jpg

Examining the photo below and the socket it does not look like there ever was.


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westward10 said:

Little known fact that not all 13A moulded plugs are rated at 13A and I can't see the rating on that one. Check a few on your computers, tv and stuff as some are marked at less than 13A.

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Every day I learn something new here - thanks Westie.
I rummaged through the junk pile important historical artefacts in the shed and I had one to hand ... another thing to confirm when looking at appliances.

Not sure whether that rating applies to just the attached cord or plug and cord though.

Who supplied the appliance?

In my case, I just had the plug. Long since removed from something for some reason that is now lost in time ...

OP, just to clarify, did you say that for some time the socket was cracked and that only one of the outlets in the double socket was working?

Looks like the OP has lost interest, the best advice I can give will be to get a competent DI or better still an Electrician in, to survey the problem, give the OP his/her opinion and take it from there, all this procrastination does nobody any good, least of all the OP, get a Sparky in to take a look Mate.

Robin Leitch said:

Hi all

I have come on here in hope for some advice if possible. Yesterday my wife was at home with my three children when she smelt a strong burning coming from the kitchen, when investigating she noticed the tumble dryer plug (which is plugged in the wall socket) had caught fire, as it transpires and thankfully, she pulled the plug out in time. As the smoke seemed to still be coming from the socket the fire brigade where called out in fear of it being a fire within the wall. The fireman said it was only a few more seconds away from fully igniting.

Subsequently he seemed pretty outraged with our landlord over other aspects of the property seeming to lack fire safety regulations, and asked for his telephone number to make direct contact. Later in the evening our landlord arrived and let it slip that the wiring had been installed over 13 years ago and had not been touched or checked since. He promised to return today with an electrician to replace the socket and make sure it was all safe to continue to use.

Whilst i was at work he attended the property with friend who apparently did the original wiring, his friend suggested that it was a fuse issue and the sockets and wires where absolutely perfect still? When my wife asked for that to be written down and for paperwork to show these findings he refused to leave her anything and simple said the plug is proof enough to claim from the tumble dryer company for compensation of a new tumble dryer (as ours is no longer working) I have added some pics for you in hope that it may be able to suggest this is a tumble dryer and plug issue and not electrical. as I am slightly worried, firstly that we have had a proper check carried (it could have been anybody for all we know) checking our electrics and secondly to ask if it is a legal requirement to leave paperwork with tenants to confirm the work as been carried out by a qualified electrician? also on a side note, yesterday the fireman arranged to book in a free fire safety inspection and offered us free smoke alarms as ours are not working, they had arranged to do this on Friday however my landlord has advised us today he has cancelled this appointment and will fit the alarms himself? Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

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Where abouts in the UK are you situated ? close to Northampton ?

Wilko said:

...... thanks Westie.
I rummaged through the junk pile important historical artefacts ....
View attachment 39202

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Great minds think a like (fsd)..
Found one of mine 5A ASA certified SP60 ...(2004)

... with an IEC C13 labeled 10A ,for consistency !

Cheers for Pic -not all have red fuse carriers!
....Thanks Westie

For the sheer interest and enjoyment I have been studying the photos the OP has provided to think on what electrical effects caused what the OP described in #1. KEV1N mentioned in #19 the absence of burning around the L and N pins and that the oblong shape of the fuse holder was burnt onto the faceplate of the socket. And DJ Obengloves in #7 observes the heat has been applied from the underside of the plug.

I think there are some further observations which can be take from the phot of the plug in #31.

Continued...

I think there are some further observations which can be take from the photoof the plug in #31 and a comparison of it with the 'new' plug image.

Although there is the image of the oblong outline of the perimeter of the fuseholder, there is no shading one might expect for the peep hole if the removable fuse carrier was in place - I think this is significant hence my question to the OP.

We also don't see any overheating of the internal parts or surfaces of the double socket. All heating effects were localised and external and close to the fuse assembly.

If one looks carefully at the underside of the plug I think one can see some tracking from the load end of the fuse to the earth pin and also towards the earthed socket securing screw on the left.

There are signs of arc spatter on the surface of the socket near the neutral pin entry.

The supply end of the fuse carrier was hottest because of the browner scorch mark.

The OP does not state it but I infer because he has not that in the lead up to this event the dryer was working normally and had been on earlier occasions.

In sum without over labouring things too much further, I reckon the fuse was not securely in place nor protected against ingress of contaminents. As a result the connections between the fuse end caps and the fuse clips were prone to becoming dirty. We suspect too that the clips may not have been that tight on the end caps or the fuse not fully home in them. Over time localised Ohmic heating led to oxidation and then arcing. The heat these generated caused the plastic around the metal of the fuseholder to decompose into carbon products which are conductive.

There is a strong electric field between the fuse carrier live parts and the earth pin of the plug and also the earthed socket securing lug. Over time this field attracted hot ionised material which became deposited as two tracks - I think you can see one between the load end of the fuse and the earth pin along the perimeter of the fuse assembly (and also along the crack on the faceplate of the socket under the earth pin entry going north-west/south-east. Very quickly the conditions were created for dry arcing and the gap between the underneath of the plug and the surface of the socket acted like an arc chute, containing and channeling arcing between the live parts and the earth pin and earthed screw hole.

This I think is what the OP's wife had to deal with. I also think their home does not have RCD protection and I would not be surprised to hear it has rewireable fuses.

After a google search I turned up this piece from the US:

The Basics of Electrical Overheating - http://www.ecmweb.com/ops-amp-maintenance/basics-electrical-overheating



All, I am suggesting then is the OP may have experienced the effects of dry arcing on the underside of the plug. An arc of course if highly conductive and large currents can flow through them, remembering that the peak to peak voltage swing is +350V to -350V.

Only if you are really interested in flashover across insulated surfaces:

Engineering Dielectrics - https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=c9qgPOK7eNwC&pg=PA272&lpg=PA272&dq=dry+arcing+across+insulation&source=bl&ots=TopC6C8ORH&sig=qatB7FdbY82HI2iU0v-178FXaP0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwitsYbg7bHXAhWRpKQKHcCuBPwQ6AEIWjAJ#v=onepage&q=dry%20arcing%20across%20insulation&f=false

KEV 1 N said:

Yes....definatly plug is the cause, If the dryer was using too much current it would simply blow the fuse. I dare say a new plug could be refitted, but if it's not that old and under guarantee then contact the manufacturer.

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KEV 1 N said:

Yes....definatly plug is the cause, If the dryer was using too much current it would simply blow the fuse. I dare say a new plug could be refitted, but if it's not that old and under guarantee then contact the manufacturer.

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Never presume the fuse is okay.There werre a lot of recalls over fake fuses in domestic appliances.