I had a halogen lamp start on fire at the (potentiometer) switch. There was electrical tape and covering on wires which burned.
I have seen plenty of tools with motors give up the ghost with a flash and a "poof" of smoke.
Fire is simply the consequence of heat, so fire and electricity go hand in hand.
I had the lead acid storage batteries in a lawnmower start burning and igniting the plastic cowling over them.
Fortunately it was a very slow burning flame so I could hit it with a garden hose and put it out.
An electric lawnmower is the poster child for vibration, and the push-on, friction fit, wire connection tabs had come loose.
Sparks and sparks and sparks -> lots of heat at the battery top terminals, making enough to set the battery case (that is, the actual battery body) on fire.
So yeah, if there's sparking next to anyof the standard plastics, including a good deal of the stuff you'd find in any power tool, you can start a fire.
Have you ever seen an electric power tool start on fire?
I'm asking this because a friend of mine had it happen. He was using an electric (corded) drill to mix some thinset material for ceramic tile. He stopped the drill and set it down on the floor. Moments later it burst into flames. Luckily he was there, and he unplugged it and held it by the cord and tossed it out the window into snow, which made out the flames.
I have seen several power tools begin smoking, some that shot sparks out of the vents by the brushes, and most that died, simply stopped working. But I have never seen any power tools burst into flames.
But this is a good friend and I know he is not making this up. He said it scared the crap out of him, but he reacted quickly and took care of the problem. He also said the house circuit breaker did not trip.
I almost wonder what could ignite inside of a drill motor? I know the wire windings are coated with a shellac or similar coating, which could burn, but everything else is metal which dont burn. He said the flames were shooting out of the vent holes in the plastic case and were starting to melt the plastic, but the case was not yet burning, when it hit the snow outside.
Has anyone else ever had this happen?
I don't believe that would happen with an authentic UL Listed device. Unfortunately, there is a lot of cheap/unsafe/knock-off junk sold today.
Was the product he was mixing flammable? If he was sloppy and got some into the drill, that would do it.
If it was a legititimately UL approved drill it should not have been capable of burning by itself.
No, that thinset is a relative of concrete. It's not flammable. It's a powder that gets mixed with water.
I dont know about the UL approval. But he bought it from True Value. Its a Master Mechanic brand. He said it was a fairly expensice drill too.
The only thing I can think of, is that most drills are really intermittent devices. When used continuous, they can get pretty hot. I once used an old battery screwdriver to animate something for Halloween. As is was not really meant for continuous use, it stopped after about an hour or so. The autopsy revealed the motor had completely melted and burned inside. BTW, I had it running on a power supply of the correct voltage. It was just not designed to run continuously.
Same for a garbage disposal.
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