Using Heaters at work - Be Carefull

[Engineer1964]

Well i was happy using my infra red heater at work the past few mornings, its been so cold that I've quickly warmed up with this heater in my bay.

Today an old boy at work was cold so i said he could use my heater in his bay, little did i not know that he decided to use the 110v extension reel lead, which was only a few days old, no problem there, but he used it whilst it was all rolled up, and the end result was this....

That was after i put the fire out

This was what it looked like

I was welding away in my bay when i smelt plastic burning, I thought he must of put something close to the heater and it was melting it, in fact it was the extension reel smoking away, when i disconnected it and moved it it burst into flames, i quickly chucked it outside and put it out.

It happened within minutes, so its good that people were about, otherwise theres no telling what could of happened.

So Be careful, if your using extension reels, fully unwind them.

 

[gordon stephenson]

My missus did a similar thing when she bought a new steam cleaner and decided to give the shower tiles a good going over, left the extension coiled up and same end result as you have shown there,!!!

 

[brightspark]

the same thing can happen in the home using a 5 amp lead with a 13 amp fuse fitted and it doesnt need to be coiled up . just stick a heater on it ect and the cable melts to the carpet and up goes your house ive been to a fair few on callouts

 

[Engineer1964]

The guy only had it on for a few minutes, i could see it smoking and it was only after i plugged the plug out, that it just burst into flames, So be careful, if your using reels in the workshop or home, please always un roll it, It might look untidy but think of the alternative

 

[Engineer1964]

My missus did a similar thing when she bought a new steam cleaner and decided to give the shower tiles a good going over, left the extension coiled up and same end result as you have shown there,!!!

Blimey, Was she alright Gordon? Did you managed to make it safe in the end??

 

[gordon stephenson]

Hi Gerry, Yes she was ok. She had not even notice the melting plastic smell, I came into the house, smelt it straight away,dashed upstairs and caught in the meltdown stage, I think bursting into flames was only seconds away, Lucky escape!!

 

[Engineer1964]

Hi Gerry, Yes she was ok. She had not even notice the melting plastic smell, I came into the house, smelt it straight away,dashed upstairs and caught in the meltdown stage, I think bursting into flames was only seconds away, Lucky escape!!

Yes it seems she was lucky, from the smell to the smoke and then the flames your talking less than a minute, i couldn't believe how quick it happened, That would of made a hell of a mess when melted plastic is melting its a nightmare to put out and will stick to anything like carpets with ease

The thing with new electrical products they smell a bit plasticy when you first used them, thats probably why she didn't realise that the cable was overheating.

Well done for catching it in time mate

 

[shenion]

Too bad you guys don't have UL specs there.

For an extension cord to pass UL, it needs to pass a test where it is coiled up an put under a carpet and run at full load.

So, you don't really see those issues here. There are lots of Chinese stuff with fake UL specs though.

 

[Welderpaul]

Is that not a 16A extension? Our infra red heater which looks exactly the same as yours is 32A, and even the cable on that gets a bit warm after a while.

Always good when someone puts a square or something on top of it, pick it up, burnt fingers

 

[Wedg1e]

There are lots of Chinese stuff with fake UL specs though.

We have a scheme called 'CE marking' to assure of conformity to various Euro specifications (not specifically to do with fire rating though). You see all sorts of cr*p that is 'CE marked' that has patently not passed any sort of testing other than to see how many the Chinese can fit into a shipping container...

 

[madkayaker]

They do that! That's why I never get leads without thermal cut out

 

[matt1978]

Trouble is with CE markings is its self regulating. Manufacturers are supposed to decide themselves if the products are worthy of being CE marked. Happens with welding machines too. It doesn't get abused obviously

 

[Engineer1964]

I was surprised the reel didn't have a thermal cut out

 

[brightspark]

I was surprised the reel didn't have a thermal cut out

its a110 lead they dont cutouts are normaly on transformer and wouldnt trip unless there was total oveload or dead short

 

[Engineer1964]

its a110 lead they dont cutouts are normaly on transformer and wouldnt trip unless there was total oveload or dead short

Cheers brightspark

 

[madkayaker]

its a110 lead they dont cutouts are normaly on transformer and wouldnt trip unless there was total oveload or dead short

all of mine 110v reels have

 

[brightspark]

all of mine 110v reels have

i stand corrected

 

[voipio]

The rule with coiled extensions is always to unwind them fully before use on anything other than a light load!! Even on our vacuum cleaner with retractable mains cable, I always tell the missus to make sure it's pulled all the way out, and the mains lead as well!! ;-)

 

[Wallace]

It was a bit nippy last week on a couple of days so I borrowed the 2Kw convector heater out of the kitchen as it just sits there gathering dust most of the time. The usual smell of burning dust seemed to be lingering for a while so I gave it a good blow out with the air line and carried on, the smell didn't go away and started to smell more and more like burning plastic..........

 

[arthur]

Whats the problem, you wanted a heater....lol