Hello We have been running a room heater and humidifier from a bedroom wall electrical outlet for the last 4-5 months with no issue.2 days ago we noticed a burning/melting plastic smell when we ran the appliances for 10-15 mins. I checked the wall outlet after removing its cover and visually looks OK i.e. no blackening. I have not removed the actual sockets. Also, the appliances themselves seem to be OK i.e. no smell from them.Could the issue be in the wiring inside a wall? How to determine this? The smell seems to starts when we use this particular outlet only.If problem is not in outlet, then will the wall need to be broken into to determine the source of the problem? Is there a more sophisticated solution?What could have caused this sudden issue? A rodent? Water leakage thru the siding? Other ideas?Note that the circuit breakers have not tripped during this time to indicate overload etc.Thanks in advance for your opinions.Homeowner_ne
take the outlet out and chack the wire to see they are tright , and see if the wire show burn. they be malting outcoat on the wire. if so cut off the ware it mait and hook back up . that will tell me you over load that outlet. and got it hot you should use two outlet,and be safe . also chack yor applianceswire them safe,to see they ok
Sounds like the outlet has a loose connection, causing arcing and overheating of the insulation on the wire. Check out the outlet or hire someone to do so before you use it again. If it is getting hot enough to make the insulation burn you have a potential fire hazard. Bert
There are several potential causes. 1. The heater is drawing more current than the receptical can handle. There may be other output devices (fixtures) also drawing current. Not enough to trip the breaker - but enough to cause the recepticle to get hot. 2. Loose wire connection in the recepticle box. 3. Oversized breaker and wire that is too small. 4. Could be the heater itself. 5. The electrical wire could be to small to handle the load demand. Breakers are protective devices - If you have an oversized breaker on a circuit than it wont trip. 12 AWG wire should have a 20 amp breaker 14 AWG wire should have a 15 amp breaker I would take no chances with the wire in the wall. Id change it out and also the receptical. Id also do a voltage check and check your current to the receptical, Id also check the amps being drawed to the heater. Id also find out what is all on the circuit to ensure there is not an over load. Calculate the watts, volts and amps. Remember this formula Watts divided Volts amps Exsample 1500watts divided 240 volts 6.25 amps or 1500 watts divided by 120 volts 12.5 amps Do this for each output device on the circuit and add the total amps to see if you are overdrawing. The amount of amps should be less than the amps on the breaker in the main panel box. Dont forget to consider the proper wire size for the amps on the circuit. Wish I could help you more - Good luck
The multi-outlet plug thing is called and octopus outlet. The 59 cent outlet you get at the DIY store is rated for 15 Amps. The 12 Gauge wire is rate for 20 Amps, and a good thing it is. Don't buy any 15 Amp outlet that allows you to strip the wire and shove it into a hole in the back. Only bend the wire and put it under the screw. A good mechanical contact is a good electrical contact. Spend about $5 and get the 20Amp outlet. Stop using the octopus outlet because if the fire started while you were out of the house, good bye house.
Burning Smell From Electrical Outlet
