Home electric outlet went bad, why? (pic inside)

[rapidoxidationman]

Originally Posted by Benesesso

Not in this case. Voltage is required to push current. More current with less volts would only be true for some kind of constant-power goodie.

yup, you're right.

Still an overloaded outlet though, to say nothing of the breaker...

[muddywater]

There is a difference between the 50 cent receptacles and the $10 ones.
I use to see this happen regularly when working on new homes when using saws and such.

[baloneyskin daddy]

Absolutely a loose connection that was arcing for some time . If it was an overload or short the breaker would have tripped.

[D.T.]

Hair dryer usually 1500W, so what's that around 12 amps?

Try a 20 amp receptacle, Hubble maybe, not cheapo chinese crap.

[Rocket Scientist]

Definately a loose neutral wire. One in the garage of the house Im renting did the same exact thing. Fizzing noise coming from the outlet. 14 guage wire as well. I always use 12-2 with ground on my indoor wiring.

[150ron]

So what do i do guys? cant change the wires, 2 story house fully built.

Cant have this place getting hot, got my DRZ in the garage

[ericrat]

Originally Posted by 150ron

So what do i do guys? cant change the wires, 2 story house fully built.

Cant have this place getting hot, got my DRZ in the garage

14 gauge isn't the problem. 14 gauge can easily carry 20 amps. AT ONE TIME, possibly long ago in National Electric Code, it was legal to run 14 gauge for a 20 amps circuits that didn't have lighting attached. I have seen Furnace blowers and such, wired, inspected and cleared with 14 gauge and 20 amp breakers. If there had been a light on it it would have flickered, badly. A small voltage flicker will make the lights flicker like mad. My NEC knowledge is 20 years old so...

I REALLY don't like the paint showing on the wires. I THINK I see a little bit of paint left on that toasted neutral, hard to say. Clean it up, like other said, use a quality receptacle.

Maybe get an infrared thermometor. They are useful for all sorts of things including checking receptacles.

[D.T.]

Originally Posted by 150ron

So what do i do guys? cant change the wires, 2 story house fully built.

Cant have this place getting hot, got my DRZ in the garage

Grab a beer and enjoy!

[Rocket Scientist]

Just put a new recepticle in there, cut fresh ends on the wires, tighten the screws, flip the breaker & call it a day. I havent had any issues since.

[Cataract2]

Her hair drier at 1875 watts and the Vrms assumed to be 110V is using 17 A of current. If the wiring is rated only for 15 A it is using to much.

Now, if I assume 120 Vrms it comes out to 15.625 A. Just depends. Either way, it almost looks like for the amount of power required for the hair drier the unit might not be up to it.

[Benesesso]

Originally Posted by Cataract2

Her hair drier at 1875 watts and the Vrms assumed to be 110V is using 17 A of current. If the wiring is rated only for 15 A it is using to much.

Now, if I assume 120 Vrms it comes out to 15.625 A. Just depends. Either way, it almost looks like for the amount of power required for the hair drier the unit might not be up to it.

That assumes the 1875 watts is a constant, which it isn't. With higher voltage the wattage will be higher, not lower.

Think garden sprinkler. Manufacturer assumes you have 40 psi (voltage) AT the sprinkler, so he rates the flow (amps) at say 3 gallons/min. If your house has 50 psi, you'll get more flow.

Quiz time: If voltage is like water pressure, and amperes is like water flow RATE, what is the electrical equiv. of a gallon?

[kfsinc]

Originally Posted by 150ron

So what do i do guys? cant change the wires, 2 story house fully built.

Cant have this place getting hot, got my DRZ in the garage

Consider your self lucky:



This is the first outlet in a string of 10 or so around the perimeter of the Rec Room. Wife was vacuuming and plugged into the last outlet in the string. Saw smoke, turned the vac off, called 911, then called them back when the smoke stopped. They came anyway Luckily, no other damage.

I was skiing in Tahoe -- text comes in: Call home, NOW, the fire trucks are here not a fun conversation.

[kfsinc]

Originally Posted by Benesesso

Quiz time: If voltage is like water pressure, and amperes is like water flow RATE, what is the electrical equiv. of a gallon?

KWH or Kilowatts per hour.

[Benesesso]

Originally Posted by kfsinc

KWH or Kilowatts per hour.

Good try, but nope. Try again!

[150ron]

Wow, you guys are great, lots of good info here,

check on the beer,

and check on new outlet with the wires fully cleaned up,

all works well now.

kfsinc, now that is some scary shit, really glad all turned out to be ok.

I might change those 6 recess lights into new LED lights i saw at Costco, that way the electric draw will be a lot less.