Can Someone Help? Melted Plug?

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F

Fiona Lester

Hi I am hoping someone can help. I have a dryer that was plugged into an extension - a single plug to outlet wire - not one of those you plug loads into. About 6 months ago, there was a pop... dryer went off, the extension plug had melted where it was plugged into the main outlet. So we thought it was a dodgy extension. Bought another... this has been fine since... but today, smell of burning and upon investigation it has melted the new plug... again, where it is plugged into the outlet- so hot it cracked the plate too. Can someone tell me why this is happening? THANK YOU! :-D
 
hard to say without seeing it but it could be that you have a dodgy wall socket. Well, obviously you do now as it has cracked but it could have been the socket that caused the problem.

personally I would prefer to see dryers wired into a fused connection units, not via plugs (and also not by extension leads...), they are much more reliable that a plug/socket. So this might the time to get a spark in to change the damaged socket plus add a connection unit where the dryer is?
 
as above. ^^^^ . never use extension leads on appliances that have heaters in them. generally, this problem is caused by some resistance in the plug/socket connection. resistance causes heat which causes more resistance which causes more heat ......... finally it melts.
 
Thank you.. we used two different sockets, so unlikely to be that? Do you think the extension is the issue? We have no plug sockets near the dryer so it might need to be moved so we can do without an extension. I am just concerned there is a problem with the appliance plug itself and don't want to risk using it if it could set on fire or something!! Thanks for your help :)
 
if the plug has been subjected to overheating, it will need replacing. as for the "no socket near the dryer", i suggest you get a sparks in to fit a socket that the dryer lead will reach.
 
The trouble is that plugs and sockets, while theoretically rated to 13A, will start to get a higher resistance as they get older and continuous high currents (like a dryer used a lot) can make this worse. As the resistance goes up it starts getting hot so it gets worse, etc etc as Tel said.

I could be that all your sockets are old (or just not great quality), it could be the plug on the extension lead (did you use the same sort both times). I guess it could be the dryer but this is less likely as an overload caused by the dryer should take out the plug fuse before anything melts.

Like I said, it is very had to tell without seeing it (and testing the sockets etc) so I really would recommend getting a spark to have a look and advise properly - it shouldn't cost too much for a bit of peace of mind.

Where abouts in the country are you? There might be somewhere here who is local and could help.....

EDIT: by the way, was it a hair dryer or a tumble dryer? I assumed a tumble dryer as a hair dryer should not take anywhere near the limit of a plug/socket.....
 
If you have overheating at an outlet for whatever reason,changing either the plug top or the socket front without changing both is not a good idea
Poor contact will be the result and its likely the new plug top or socket, whichever was changed,will soon overheat as well
This seems to be precisely what may have happened in your case

Burnt socket will ruin plug tops,burnt plug tops will ruin sockets
 
certainly do, mate. no baldies in our family.
 
If the same thing has happened using different sockets and different extension leads it would suggest the problem is with the hairdryer; I wouldn't usually expect an extension lead rated at 13A to cause any problems, unless it was a reel type extension which wasn't fully unwound, but as mentioned it would be better to either get a socket installed closer to where you need it, or dry your hair elsewhere so you can plug the dryer straight into the socket.
I wouldn't say there's any need to have it hardwired to the wall - I think that would be a bit inconvenient.
 
Just re-reading th OP's post
Fiona Lester said:
I have a dryer that was plugged into an extension - a single plug to outlet wire - not one of those you plug loads into.
Click to expand...
and
Fiona Lester said:
We have no plug sockets near the dryer so it might need to be moved so we can do without an extension.
Click to expand...
.

That suggests to me we're not talking about a hand held hair dryer. It could be anything from a tumble-dryer through sit under hair dryer, to a seed dryer on a farm. I also wonder if the "dryer" came with a plug originally?

So, Fiona, what sort of equipment are we talking about here?
 
imago said:
Just re-reading th OP's post and .

That suggests to me we're not talking about a hand held hair dryer. It could be anything from a tumble-dryer through sit under hair dryer, to a seed dryer on a farm. I also wonder if the "dryer" came with a plug originally?

So, Fiona, what sort of equipment are we talking about here?
Click to expand...
Ah, well spotted. For some reason I assumed it was a hairdryer. Maybe because a woman posted the question...
Yes, a tumble dryer would be more likely to cause problems if plugged into an extension lead.
 
imago said:
Just re-reading th OP's post and .

That suggests to me we're not talking about a hand held hair dryer. It could be anything from a tumble-dryer through sit under hair dryer, to a seed dryer on a farm. I also wonder if the "dryer" came with a plug originally?

So, Fiona, what sort of equipment are we talking about here?
Click to expand...

Do keep up, I asked that question 2 hours ago....... :lol:
 
Adam W said:
Technically you slyed it in on the end of a post.
If this is a tumble dryer why was everyone talking about how much hair Tel has got?
Click to expand...

because it was a good excuse to have a pop at me. just because i'm getting on a bit, don't mean i go to the barbers for a wax and polish.
 
would probably install a new socket and also have the wiring to the socket that was used checked out, the wiring going to that might be too thin for the load that was on it (about 11A continuous) and the current might have heated the wall socket innards and the plug pins up.....in turn heating the plug to the point of melting...this load would likely have been on for long durations, 1 or even 2 hours at a time....

The wiring going into the wall socket plate from behind might well be heat damaged as well, if you prefer you could just avoid using that socket until after the new year when you can get it sorted out...

can you dry things on radiators or a clothes horse for the next 2 weeks or so until you can get somebody to have a look? I think this would be better than melting electrical connections....
 
Would I pee people off if I took the conversation back to electrics?!

The this drier is knackered and drawing a high enough load (repeatedly) to melt a plug top and socket, then the 13A fuse clearly isn't there or isn't doing it's job.

As the OP has said, she has replaced the extension which rules out the plug top being at fault. She's also used an alternative socket, so that rules out a loose connection in the outlet.

My money would be on a faulty drier, drawing too much current so repeatedly popping the fuse, so someone has stuck an old nail and wrap of foil in the drier plug...

Does the driers own cable get hot?
 
DNS1 said:
Would I pee people off if I took the conversation back to electrics?!

The this drier is knackered and drawing a high enough load (repeatedly) to melt a plug top and socket, then the 13A fuse clearly isn't there or isn't doing it's job.

As the OP has said, she has replaced the extension which rules out the plug top being at fault. She's also used an alternative socket, so that rules out a loose connection in the outlet.

My money would be on a faulty drier, drawing too much current so repeatedly popping the fuse, so someone has stuck an old nail and wrap of foil in the drier plug...

Does the driers own cable get hot?
Click to expand...

Makes sense but has gone through 2 extension leads, both of which would have fused plugs. so even if the dryer fuse was a nail they should have protected the plug/socket.

It really needs a spark to have a proper look at it......
 
brman said:
Makes sense but has gone through 2 extension leads, both of which would have fused plugs. so even if the dryer fuse was a nail they should have protected the plug/socket.
Click to expand...

Ah, that's a very good point...

*removes stupid hat*

That's a really odd one actually...

The MCB/fuse should be protecting the socket and isn't. But even if that's not working then the plug top fuse on the drier or extension should be popping, but isn't.

Usually down to a loose connection in the socket but clearly not in this case (unless of course the connections were loose in BOTH sockets the OP tried!)
 
of course it could also be that the person who wired the ring didn't do any of the terminal screws up properly. I've seen it before...........
 
Sorry for the delay in replying :)

Firstly, yes... sorry, a tumble dryer. Sited in the hall, where originally we had one of those wound extensions running into the kitchen under a door the we keep closed behind the dryer.... and into a socket in there - that socket was only installed maybe 3 years ago... with the new kitchen so shouldn't have been an issue. Though I see now that the wound extension may have been. Once that burned out, we bought a length of cord with a socket on one end and a plug on the other from an electrical shop and ran it down the hall to an older socket. This was the one that melted today. The plug from the dryer does get hot but it was the extension plug in both cases that melted.
Now.. one thing worth mentioning is that I moved the dryer to hoover yesterday and it may have been put back too close to the wall... possibly... I am not certain as hubby pulled it out when the plug got burned so not sure where it was :-\
 
Burnt plug top will ruin socket
Burnt socket pins will ruin plug top

Change all of them involved,check the wires at each item and try and avoid extra connections to the machine,eg extension leads
 
Fiona Lester said:
Sorry for the delay in replying :)

Firstly, yes... sorry, a tumble dryer. Sited in the hall, where originally we had one of those wound extensions running into the kitchen under a door the we keep closed behind the dryer.... and into a socket in there - that socket was only installed maybe 3 years ago... with the new kitchen so shouldn't have been an issue. Though I see now that the wound extension may have been. Once that burned out, we bought a length of cord with a socket on one end and a plug on the other from an electrical shop and ran it down the hall to an older socket. This was the one that melted today. The plug from the dryer does get hot but it was the extension plug in both cases that melted.
Now.. one thing worth mentioning is that I moved the dryer to hoover yesterday and it may have been put back too close to the wall... possibly... I am not certain as hubby pulled it out when the plug got burned so not sure where it was :-\
Click to expand...
You may have noticed that your delay in responding has led to the conversation going somewhat off-topic, eg speculating as to how much hair our more elderly members have (or rather lack of).
A tumble dryer is one of the most current hungry appliances in a home so really needs it's own socket to be plugged directly into. Any wound extension which isn't fully unwound will use more power due to a phenomenon known as Lenz's law (basically the coils of wire form an electromagnet which fights against the current the appliance is trying to use) which would be more prevalent the higher the current consumption of the appliance. If you use a cheap extension lead the chances are it's only designed for lower current appliances such as lamps, mobile phone chargers, maybe computers etc. so may not be able to handle a tumble dryer being plugged into it and in the worst case scenario the fuse could blow or worse still melt.

My advice would be to get an electrician in to check the sockets where the overheating has occurred (including the cables supplying them) and install a new socket where you want the tumble dryer to go.

Fortunately for you there seem to be a lot of forum members around your area....
 
While your electrician is there you could get him/her to do an Insulation Resistance test on the extension leads you were using. I suspect they're what's we call "knackered" but stranger things have happened, like in 1542 when the mayor of Bavaria spontaneously combusted.
 
There's only actually three common points with this:

1) Machine itself / plug on it....... check plug is fitted properly and has correct fuse rating
2) Extension......check cable is rated for 13A, NOT a lightweight one, isn't on a drum/unwound
3) Socket outlet/s.....check terminations are tight.

There you go, and not a grey hair in sight. (Well, not me personally, I got loads of them thanks to three kids).
 

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