Electrical fire using power strip

[Pap]

The wife and I were sitting in our living room this morning when this strip burst into flames! I unplugged this from the wall outlet within a few seconds. The carpet had already started to burn. This strip was running our fish tank water filter, air pump and light. The light wasn't on. Any other day I would have been out and about and my wife and son would have been in bed. We were up because my other son was bringing in our grand daughter for us to babysit today. God was with us today! This strip is about 10 yrs old to guess. I am going to replace any other strip ASAP that we have. Please look at yours and replace if you think they are getting old.

[Willl]

That could have been tragic, glad you were awake and in the room when it happened :shock:


Thanks for the reminder to check out our power cords :yes:

[DMAGOLDRDR]

The wife and I were sitting in our living room this morning when this strip burst into flames! I unplugged this from the wall outlet within a few seconds. The carpet had already started to burn. This strip was running our fish tank water filter, air pump and light. The light wasn't on. Any other day I would have been out and about and my wife and son would have been in bed. We were up because my other son was bringing in our grand daughter for us to babysit today. God was with us today! This strip is about 10 yrs old to guess. I am going to replace any other strip ASAP that we have. Please look at yours and replace if you think they are getting old.

There was a recall on a strip that looked just like that not too long ago.
Check the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
www.cpsc.gov

[Steve 0080]

Power strips= the number one cause of fires in the U.S. today ! They should be outlawed !!!

[willtill]

Besides not using one at all, who manufacturers the safest power strip?

[DMAGOLDRDR]

Besides not using one at all, who manufacturers the safest power strip?

I never use just a power strip. Always a quality Surge Protector.

I use enercell Surge Protectors in my office but keep in mind they don't last forever. They get replaced every few years because the equipment they are protecting cost many times more than the Surge Protector.

[Old Ryder]

I never use just a power strip. Always a quality Surge Protector.

I use enercell Surge Protectors in my office but keep in mind they don't last forever. They get replaced every few years because the equipment they are protecting cost many times more than the Surge Protector.

As a former facility manager of a $104 million dollar building, they were outlawed and we did yearly inspections looking for them among other things. A surge protector does the same thing, but costs a bit more but is much safer. The danger is when you start to "Daisy Chain" them together. A single "high amp draw" can make a day really bad. It doesn't sound like your setup was anything like that.

[Pap]

SO what is the difference between a power strip and a surge protector?
Mine has an on-off switch and a reset button on the end.

[MisterB]

When it gets easy to insert or remove a plug from the receptacle you're approaching the danger zone.
Even with a relatively low current demand the plug can melt like above pics if the contact area is diminished enough from wear, oxidation, or contaminant.
At a certain point it feeds on itself: less contact area means more heat, more heat means more oxidation or deformation which leads to less contact area which leads to.... you get it.
Throw them away when they get loose.

If your house is older and cords practically fall out of receptacles have them replaced. They don't last forever.

If you must use a space heater please save your life by having a real electrician run a dedicated circuit with appropriate wire and receptacle. Honestly, go big. I've seen 2 near misses with space heaters.

If you smell anything funny coming from an electrical device remove the equipment from service, disable it, and discard it. I'm the king of cheap, it hurts, but it's not worth keeping it.

If a wall-wart or USB charger isn't getting regular use, just unplug it. If you don't want to wear out your power strip receptacles have one dedicated to seldom used adapters and use the power switch to turn it off except when charging.

Modern chargers are usually of the switching variety which means they don't do much until under load, they draw very little when nothing is hooked up. The older, heavier kinds with transformers are always on, keep an eye on them and unplug or power off if possible.

Make a fun family time out of replacing your smoke detector batteries on New Year's Eve.

I think electrical fires come in #3 which isn't anything to brag about because #1 is candles and #2 is cigarettes, both essentially open flames.

[DMAGOLDRDR]

SO what is the difference between a power strip and a surge protector?
Mine has an on-off switch and a reset button on the end.



A surge protector functions like a power strip but it also serves another very important function. A surge protector will also protect your electronic devices from a power spike. A power spike is a very high increase in power that lasts for a fraction of a second. It can be caused by lightning strikes or power outages, tripped circuit breakers or short circuits. In order to tell the difference between a power strip and a surge protector, you have to look for an electric rating. A surge protector will have a rating in Joules of energy, as well as the maximum voltage it can take from a power spike.

[Pap]

A surge protector functions like a power strip but it also serves another very important function. A surge protector will also protect your electronic devices from a power spike. A power spike is a very high increase in power that lasts for a fraction of a second. It can be caused by lightning strikes or power outages, tripped circuit breakers or short circuits. In order to tell the difference between a power strip and a surge protector, you have to look for an electric rating. A surge protector will have a rating in Joules of energy, as well as the maximum voltage it can take from a power spike.

Thanks!

[Old Ryder]

Now if you really want to go first class, go UPS for your computers and expensive electronic equipment. :icon_mrgreen:

[53driver]

Now if you really want to go first class, go UPS for your computers and expensive electronic equipment. :icon_mrgreen:

Yup. Big TV, all computers and my audio mixing desk are all on UPSs.
Should have bought stock in APC a long time ago.