of amperage and almost dying...
We almost frigging died yesterday!!!!
Well, actually , almost carries a very broad meaning here. Anyway, here’s what happened. Wifey and I were relaxing in the 3rd bedroom after coming back from church. We were reading the newspapers while listening to some music. Then wifey went to the kitchen and suddenly she called me in some sort of a semi panic voice. At first, I thought it was probably just a lizard or a cockroach or something. So I put down the newspaper and walked out to see what the commotion was all about.
When I got to the kitchen, I saw that there was fire coming out from one of the 3 pin plug that I used to plug in an extension for some kitchen appliances. Wifey was panicking and I panicked for 5 seconds before I came to my senses and tried to put out the fire with a water soaked hand towel. The plug sparked a bit (indicating that there is still live current) I turned to see the other end of the extension and the lights were still on. The fuse must have blown but still conducting. So I told wifey to switch off the mains and proceeded to put out the fire again with the wet handtowel. There were some bad smelling fumes from the fire so asked wifey to stay away from the area. We don’t want girl girl to be impacted from the toxic fumes, do we?
Anyway, here are some photos after i put out the fire.
See how close we came to the 'd' word?
Closeup. Suddenly i have lost appetite for fried chicken...
Basically, what happened was that there was an electrical overload. That electrical extension actually goes to a bank of sockets which I plug in the washing machine and a water warmer (an electrical jug thingy that keeps water warm all the time). We also use the sockets when we need to boil water. Normally we don’t use the washing machine and kettle at the same time. But in yesterday’s incident, we made the mistake of boiling water with the kettle and the water warmer thingy (with the washing machine running). That definitely have overloaded the point. Admittedly it was our mistake in overloading the electrical point, but what really concerns me was that the safety feature of the extension and plughead failed miserably. The plug was still conducting electricity even as it burns, and by right, the plug head should not burn when a fuse is blown. Ironically the brand of the extension is “Safety” !
My priority now is to get a smoke detector and I do advise you to do so too. Another thing is, if you are using extension points, do take note of the amperage (amount of current) of electrical appliences that you have hooked up to it. Normally this value is in the manual or at the back of the appliance. (look for something that have X amp - where X denotes a value). Add up the amperage of all the electrical appliance that you have hooked up. And see if it matches (or lesser than) the fuse rated on the plug. Normally, plugs have 13 amps fuse (some have 3 or 5 amps), so make sure the total amperage does not exceed 13 (or any value rated on your plug).
Note: Girl girl, if you are already all grown up and is reading this. Don’t sue us for negligence ok?
Well, actually , almost carries a very broad meaning here. Anyway, here’s what happened. Wifey and I were relaxing in the 3rd bedroom after coming back from church. We were reading the newspapers while listening to some music. Then wifey went to the kitchen and suddenly she called me in some sort of a semi panic voice. At first, I thought it was probably just a lizard or a cockroach or something. So I put down the newspaper and walked out to see what the commotion was all about.
When I got to the kitchen, I saw that there was fire coming out from one of the 3 pin plug that I used to plug in an extension for some kitchen appliances. Wifey was panicking and I panicked for 5 seconds before I came to my senses and tried to put out the fire with a water soaked hand towel. The plug sparked a bit (indicating that there is still live current) I turned to see the other end of the extension and the lights were still on. The fuse must have blown but still conducting. So I told wifey to switch off the mains and proceeded to put out the fire again with the wet handtowel. There were some bad smelling fumes from the fire so asked wifey to stay away from the area. We don’t want girl girl to be impacted from the toxic fumes, do we?
Anyway, here are some photos after i put out the fire.
See how close we came to the 'd' word?
Basically, what happened was that there was an electrical overload. That electrical extension actually goes to a bank of sockets which I plug in the washing machine and a water warmer (an electrical jug thingy that keeps water warm all the time). We also use the sockets when we need to boil water. Normally we don’t use the washing machine and kettle at the same time. But in yesterday’s incident, we made the mistake of boiling water with the kettle and the water warmer thingy (with the washing machine running). That definitely have overloaded the point. Admittedly it was our mistake in overloading the electrical point, but what really concerns me was that the safety feature of the extension and plughead failed miserably. The plug was still conducting electricity even as it burns, and by right, the plug head should not burn when a fuse is blown. Ironically the brand of the extension is “Safety” !
My priority now is to get a smoke detector and I do advise you to do so too. Another thing is, if you are using extension points, do take note of the amperage (amount of current) of electrical appliences that you have hooked up to it. Normally this value is in the manual or at the back of the appliance. (look for something that have X amp - where X denotes a value). Add up the amperage of all the electrical appliance that you have hooked up. And see if it matches (or lesser than) the fuse rated on the plug. Normally, plugs have 13 amps fuse (some have 3 or 5 amps), so make sure the total amperage does not exceed 13 (or any value rated on your plug).
Note: Girl girl, if you are already all grown up and is reading this. Don’t sue us for negligence ok?
Labels: around the house
posted by Duckie at
3:48 PM
