Electrical sockets flames from old wiring? (for a friend)

[_q12x_]

This is more an 80's question:
A friend of mine come to me with a bizarre problem that perplexed me. I don't know what to think. And I need some advice from you.
I am not an electrician but I have some electrical knowledge and experience.
He lives in apartment (in a 4 level building)...this kind of concrete beauty:

(these are comunist buildings made in 1960-70-80) so they are pretty old and their respective electrical wiring is as old as the building is.
He said that has 4 electrical sockets in his apartment, that are making flames and smoke every time he is plugging in, any electrical device.
He called in an electrician, and that guy said is "because the wiring is OLD" and all the wiring in the concrete walls must be REPLACED.
The old original wiring is made from aluminium and is thick aproximatively 1cm diameter (he didnt check). They are heavy duty wires in a word. The electrician said they MUST be replaced with copper wires.
I say is total bulshit.
From my knowledge, any flame that are occurring at the socket is because of a short in the device you plug in.
Another reason I can think of but I really have no means to check it, it may be from the outside power supply, that is powering the appartment. So it's the electrical supplier device outside somewhere. This part I am imagining it may be. I dont know for sure.
So, what is your advice and experience with such a problem?
Thank you very much !

 

[littlespark]

Communist??? Or communal buildings???

Tell your friend, if there’s flames and smoke coming from sockets… STOP USING THISE SOCKETS!

If it’s just a bright flash when unplugging, it may be that they are pulling out the plug when the appliance is still on, and drawing power.

If they have been doing that a lot, then, yes the sockets are probably failing anyway.


A “good” electrician will pull out his handy dandy multi function tester and actually take readings from the wires in the wall.

It may be difficult for you, but taking photos of the electrical installation and posting on here, we can give a best guesstimate for age of installation, possible problems, best practice for improvements..etc

Even a photo of the distribution board can give us a lot of information..

 

[littlespark]

Ah… ignore the multi function tester part above. I didn’t realise you were stateside. I don’t believe American electricians use them.

We may not be able to tell condition by viewing photos either, unless @Megawatt really knows his stuff.

 

[_q12x_]

Communist??? Or communal buildings???

Until 1989, we were a communist block here. Very proud of it, haha (sarcastically)
Yes, I am doing exactly this right now, I am going to my friend home, equipped with my trusty multimeter, and a very long - 14meters wire long for testing the cable in the wall continuity. Its my best preparation at this point. Haha.
But thank you so much for your very fast response.

 

[DPG]

Until 1989, we were a communist block here. Very proud of it, haha (sarcastically)
Yes, I am doing exactly this right now, I am going to my friend home, equipped with my trusty multimeter, and a very long - 14meters wire long for testing the cable in the wall continuity. Its my best preparation at this point. Haha.
But thank you so much for your very fast response.

A communist area of New York?

 

[Megawatt]

Until 1989, we were a communist block here. Very proud of it, haha (sarcastically)
Yes, I am doing exactly this right now, I am going to my friend home, equipped with my trusty multimeter, and a very long - 14meters wire long for testing the cable in the wall continuity. Its my best preparation at this point. Haha.
But thank you so much for your very fast response.

Is every receptacle shooting flames then as stated by @littlespark unplugging loads being used will have an arch. Common sense tells me since you have aluminum wiring then all the receptacles need to be took out of the wall and tighten up all the wires. At this time of year people use space heaters which really heats up the wiring. Your electrician needs to break out his meter and check your voltage first. It sounds to me like this would be an easy fix. The wiring in the walls should be fine. If he is a good electrician he also take the wiring loose and check continuity between the receptacles.

 

[Megawatt]

Is every receptacle shooting flames then as stated by @littlespark unplugging loads being used will have an arch. Common sense tells me since you have aluminum wiring then all the receptacles need to be took out of the wall and tighten up all the wires. At this time of year people use space heaters which really heats up the wiring. Your electrician needs to break out his meter and check your voltage first. It sounds to me like this would be an easy fix. The wiring in the walls should be fine. If he is a good electrician he also take the wiring loose and check continuity between the receptacles.

Put a tone generator on your wiring to check continuity. As stated above you could help us a lot by taking pictures of inside his panel

 

[_q12x_]

--Problem solved--. An interesting story as well.
His mother plug in a washing machine into the same electrical socket for about 8 years. I opened the socket and take it out, to discover it was made from one big ceramic element inside, for isolation purposes, but it was shattered pieces now inside. Probably from forced plug ins along the time. The contacts seem OK, where you screw the wall wires,I didnt see that much play in there, but I didnt give it a thorough inspection, I took the wires out a bit too quickly. Again, it was shattered as well. But nothing was touching wrongly. Everything seem fine.
Only one aluminium wire (left one) was having its isolation heavily burned, and melted a little bit. The mother cut off the power of the washing machine in time. (she is using the same electrical socket for ~8 years).
The melted plastic isolation was melted in the oposite side plastic, they joined toghether, but on the same wire. I drag it out from its plastic melted shape and reveal the full wire. You can see the bottom and the upper side of the wire are burned but its middle isn't !!! - because it was like an O there.

I measured the wires before and after the change, and they all showing 230VAC. They are ok.
I installed a new power socket and screwed good the wires in there.
- My educated guess says that the wire was playing in the screw socket, and got hot from loose contact (over 8 years), until it got hot enough to melt the plastic, and because everything is pushed together, the 2 sides of the same wire got close enough and melted together.
After I installed the new electrical socket, I tested the washing machine for 30min running as usual.
After this time I put my palm on the wall and on the plastic case to feel if is hot or warm. It was cold, sign that everything is as 'new'.
Oh, and I was impressed that the power socket didn't melted at all inside, but that was because the ceramic body shielded and directed the heat towards the wire. And also the plug-in wire was not melted either,or its cord, only the wire inside the socket.
I put in this entire story and the solving of it here, because the way they explained the situation was terrible and absurd. They said that the electrical guy wanted to take out the wires from the wall, and also they had multiple power sockets with numerous sparks and problems. In reality it turned out to be only this major incident because of the big consumer (the washing machine) , and the other power outlets were having its own little electrical tweaks and stories, one was used to power a old black brick transformer for a laptop, that every time you plug it in, was making a spark, and that is usually comming from inside this little 'sh*it' filtering capacitor in the input. And another power socket with a safe plastic guard inside the plug holes, that sometimes was working, sometimes was not working, (letting you insert any plug inside it) so I eliminated that safe plastic element usually for kids and cats, to leave direct path of the holes. Also it was having an earth pin bend inside the entire socket hole, and they were complaining that nothing get powered from that socket either. I loughed and show them the problem, by bending the earth pin who was physically blocking the full insert of the input plug. That was ... something. Haha.
One they tell you and another thing is on the place. Oh boy. But I was upset on that individual that wanted to perform a cement 'disco-fun' hole, to take out the old very good and solid wires. What people...
Another free work with soul satisfaction of the things well made.
Anyway, mister @Megawatt was wright with his "tighten up all the wires"
Thanks for your rapid responses.
Have a nice 2022 year.

 

[Megawatt]

--Problem solved--. An interesting story as well.
His mother plug in a washing machine into the same electrical socket for about 8 years. I opened the socket and take it out, to discover it was made from one big ceramic element inside, for isolation purposes, but it was shattered pieces now inside. Probably from forced plug ins along the time. The contacts seem OK, where you screw the wall wires,I didnt see that much play in there, but I didnt give it a thorough inspection, I took the wires out a bit too quickly. Again, it was shattered as well. But nothing was touching wrongly. Everything seem fine.
Only one aluminium wire (left one) was having its isolation heavily burned, and melted a little bit. The mother cut off the power of the washing machine in time. (she is using the same electrical socket for ~8 years).
The melted plastic isolation was melted in the oposite side plastic, they joined toghether, but on the same wire. I drag it out from its plastic melted shape and reveal the full wire. You can see the bottom and the upper side of the wire are burned but its middle isn't !!! - because it was like an O there.
View attachment 94108
I measured the wires before and after the change, and they all showing 230VAC. They are ok.
I installed a new power socket and screwed good the wires in there.
- My educated guess says that the wire was playing in the screw socket, and got hot from loose contact (over 8 years), until it got hot enough to melt the plastic, and because everything is pushed together, the 2 sides of the same wire got close enough and melted together.
After I installed the new electrical socket, I tested the washing machine for 30min running as usual.
After this time I put my palm on the wall and on the plastic case to feel if is hot or warm. It was cold, sign that everything is as 'new'.
Oh, and I was impressed that the power socket didn't melted at all inside, but that was because the ceramic body shielded and directed the heat towards the wire. And also the plug-in wire was not melted either,or its cord, only the wire inside the socket.
I put in this entire story and the solving of it here, because the way they explained the situation was terrible and absurd. They said that the electrical guy wanted to take out the wires from the wall, and also they had multiple power sockets with numerous sparks and problems. In reality it turned out to be only this major incident because of the big consumer (the washing machine) , and the other power outlets were having its own little electrical tweaks and stories, one was used to power a old black brick transformer for a laptop, that every time you plug it in, was making a spark, and that is usually comming from inside this little 'sh*it' filtering capacitor in the input. And another power socket with a safe plastic guard inside the plug holes, that sometimes was working, sometimes was not working, (letting you insert any plug inside it) so I eliminated that safe plastic element usually for kids and cats, to leave direct path of the holes. Also it was having an earth pin bend inside the entire socket hole, and they were complaining that nothing get powered from that socket either. I loughed and show them the problem, by bending the earth pin who was physically blocking the full insert of the input plug. That was ... something. Haha.
One they tell you and another thing is on the place. Oh boy. But I was upset on that individual that wanted to perform a cement 'disco-fun' hole, to take out the old very good and solid wires. What people...
Anyway, mister @Megawatt was wright with his "tighten up all the wires"
Thanks for your rapid responses.
Have a nice 2022 year.

I’m proud of you my friend. Sometimes you cant listen to no one and you have to go check it yourself.

 

[_q12x_]

I’m proud of you my friend. Sometimes you cant listen to no one and you have to go check it yourself.

Thank you !