What on earth is this?!? And where did it come from??

[Swa33er]

So I completed a CU change on Friday, (It was a bitch btw) and once I was done, when I turned the power back on, switched the pendant on above my head in the hallway and heard a crackling sound coming from the pendant.
I switched the power back off and took the lamp out, to see that it was smoking because there was a strange grease like substance that had been dripping down the flex of the pendant and into the lamp holder, shorting across the pins of the lamp.
I unscrewed the pendant and found what is in the picture I have attached.
Confused, I took up the floorboards above the fitting upstairs, expecting to find some sort of decomposing animal, but found absolutely nothing, totally dry, nothing out of the ordinary.
The property has been rewired as recently as the ‘new colours’ and after stripping the cables back in the fitting a little way, found them to be fine and no sign of any grease or moisture.
Along with having no idea where the hell this grease like stuff could have come from, even if it was sitting in the pendant screw cap like it is, how did it manage to find its way down the flex to such excess, that it’s flooded the lamp holder enough to short the lamp out ?
It’s not like the fitting has been in an incredibly greasy kitchen for years, it’s in the damn hallway!
Look forward to any theories ?

 

[nbwriter]

Could it be a drug dealers hidey place?

i've seen all sorts on maintenance jobs.... ? it's unbelievable what some people get up to- but that's usually in busy places like restaurants and bars. i think this is a domestic job...

in theory it could be someone who needed to hide ... "substances" in a hurry.

like another contributor mentioned, what does this substance smell like? it's pretty easy to identify old chip oil (that's what it looks like to me).... but yeh- on a maintenance job "anything can happen" ?

regards nb

 

[Swa33er]

Is there a bathroom or WC anywhere near directly above?

No, just the landing of the house. Usual floor boards

 

[Swa33er]

thats why I'm going for condensation causing a reaction with something left in the "bowl" ?

if there's enough condensation to form actual droplets, then a short can occur.

... it looks like very old chip fat grease to me.. i dont want to say whoever worked on this last did this "on purpose", but if there's no kitchen above the fitting, the only logical answer is someone working on the socket left the substance in the bowl... (it all depends on the history of work at the premises)... I've seen jobs where you're thinking... hmm... maybe they didnt get on?

(i dont think pros would do this kind of thing.. but it can get tense if you have a very unhelpful owner who may be an expert in cat-grooming, but hasn't been near screw-drivers in 20 years)... ?

i suppose, if you were keen enough, you could have substance analyzed... but yeh, if there's no leak, i'd ask owner about condensation issues they may be having.

regards, nb.

It was just your every day council house property, no signs of it being used as a kebab factory ? Like I mentioned, it had been rewired since the new colours and the install was fine. Better than average if anything, and as far as council houses go, this was one of the cleanest and most well looked after I have come across.
The substance didn’t really smell of anything, certainly not like your usual cooking grease fat smell.

 

[nbwriter]

It was just your every day council house property, no signs of it being used as a kebab factory ? Like I mentioned, it had been rewired since the new colours and the install was fine. Better than average if anything, and as far as council houses go, this was one of the cleanest and most well looked after I have come across.
The substance didn’t really smell of anything, certainly not like your usual cooking grease fat smell.

hmm... sounds like a vacated property... without knowing "tenant history" it's a steep hill to climb. we're left with two logical conclusions:

a: the electricians "sabotaged" that fitting (highly unlikely)

b: someone else at the property decided to unscrew lamp fitting, detach it completely, boil up (or scoop up) a substance of unknown origin and refit the lamp bowl (but ask yourself why they would do this)?

i wont speculate on open forum, (from experience) proving what really happened will be difficult if the property has been vacant a long time...

i'm beginning to suspect black magic or gremlins, personally ?

regards, nb

 

[Swa33er]

Kind of amused that literally nobody on here has any idea in regards to what it could be, because this is the place for answers to literally anything.. But at the same time, it’s going to bug me indefinitely because like literally WTF and HTW.. Anyway, I’m going to put it down to a lesser spotted pendant bowl smack head sparky, who while maintaining a steady job as an electrician, takes any opportunity he can to disconnect, cook up in a pendant, then have the coordination after to reconnect and screw back up ?

 

[littlespark]

now thats not fair..... we have had many ideas.... including gravy!

true, we dont know what exactly it is, but thats part of the fun.

I once worked with two brothers that were plasterers. One like the odd drink... at 2 in the afternoon.... the other liked to smoke something funny........ one could mix the muck perfectly, the other could apply it to the wall just as well.... both under the influence of their respected vices....
I have never seen a smoother wall.

 

[westward10]

Did you taste it that would have helped.

 

[brianmoooore]

Any history of a fire in the house or kitchen? I've seen stuff like this in the aftermath of fires.

 

[nicebutdim]

Did you taste it that would have helped.

Just the comment I was going to make. Easiest way of telling rodent wee from gravy.

 

[Swa33er]

now thats not fair..... we have had many ideas.... including gravy!

true, we dont know what exactly it is, but thats part of the fun.

I once worked with two brothers that were plasterers. One like the odd drink... at 2 in the afternoon.... the other liked to smoke something funny........ one could mix the muck perfectly, the other could apply it to the wall just as well.... both under the influence of their respected vices....
I have never seen a smoother wall.

This made me chuckle, because I have a similar anecdote with a very different outcome ?
I once turned up to do an EICR to be met with a crazy joiner I had come across years ago on a site.
He told me that he was an old friend of the family that I was doing the job for, and if there were any remedial works following the EICR, he would be carrying them out as a favour to the family to save them money.
I told him that after I had completed the test and issued the report, that unless it was me or another competent electrician who can issue the correct installation certificates for the completed remedial works, I wouldn’t be willing to return and sign off a satisfactory EICR.
He took a little bit of offence at that, informing me that he had been ‘Doing electrics for years’ And knows exactly what he’s doing.
I did the test on the Friday, and on the Saturday night I got a phone call from the client asking if I noticed anything about the Joiner’s behaviour that was untoward..
I said that he was a bit random and loved the sound of his own voice when it came to blowing his own trumpet in regards to his abilities, yet didn’t really do much in relation to fitting the kitchen, which he was supposed to be doing ?
Turned out, the client had randomly shown up at the house with her dad on the Saturday morning at 10am, and the Joiner was in there, with an EMPTY bottle of red wine on the worktop, and there was another bottle half empty by his tool bag…
Out the back in the recycling, there were another two empty bottles ??‍
Needless to say, he didn’t finish that kitchen, OR carry out the required remedial works ?

 

[Swa33er]

Did you taste it that would have helped.

Had my apprentice taste it, he said it tasted like a complete mystery, with a hint of universal credit.

 

[Swa33er]

Any history of a fire in the house or kitchen? I've seen stuff like this in the aftermath of fires.

No fire history, very clean house.

 

[jay sean]

pvc cables melting due to arcing, if that substance is a liquid it might stick to your fngers

 

[pirate]

As others have alluded to, this is the residue of a stash, probably left there by a teenager. The localised warmth and the passing of time have allowed the resin to "flow" and deteriorate...
Before you make assumptions, I had guidance on this from a teenager! Well, she's 30 now!
But I still think of her as a teenager! Before you make any other assumptions, yes, I did once..50 years ago, and never saw the attraction, and have never done so since although some of my friends still indulge, especially the ones I never thought would, and i have no problem with that, Just saying...

 

[nbwriter]

Did you taste it that would have helped.

can never tell if this is tongue-in-cheek banter..? but if it is related to rodents, touching or tasting it is an incredibly bad idea. (i have to deal with rats and mice in my trade)... from a government website:

"Both wild rats and mice can carry many diseases including hantavirus, leptospirosis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, Tularemia and Salmonella."

if it's really bugging you what it is, you can put some in a sealed specimen tube (with an air tight lid).
it should be clearly labelled (with a date) and sent off to a pro-lab for forensic analysis. (use gloves to put substance in tube, wipe off tube, dispose of wipe & gloves).

if you have to deal with dead rodents, i use one of those "litter pickers", wearing disposable gloves. after disposing of "mickey mouse", dispose of gloves, wash hands and litter picker. ?

he Joiner was in there, with an EMPTY bottle of red wine on the worktop, and there was another bottle half empty by his tool bag…

so professional.... (there's a trending word for people like this: "frenemies") ?

kind regards, nb