New apartment, electrical outlet blew out 3 fans.

[flips333]

So I just moved into this new place and I have a problematic outlet. I have pluged three fans into it and all three are busted. The first

2 I immediately heard a clicking noise and then the fan wouldn't work at all anymore. Then My fiance called the fix it guy next door and he came over and they plugged a third fan in. It worked... Then after the guy left (of course) the same clicking noise happened and the fan started smoking. Any Idea on what sort of problem with the outlet could cause this?

PS aparently the people who lived here before me wouldn't plug anything in there cause it would blow out the lamp.

thanks to anyone who can give me an Idea as to what to look for when I bring someone in to fix it... or is it something I can do myself.

[Eric in North TX]

Is it near a window and has a pattern like this: (|- |)? If so it could be 220v

[Doug Miller]

That's not a 220V pattern -- that's 120V 20A.

[Doug Miller]

Sounds like a 120V outlet somehow got 240V supplied to it. You can confirm this with a voltmeter, if you know how to use one.

Apartment = you don't own it = not yours to fix. Call the landlord. This could be a simple case of an idiot having wired a 120V outlet to a 240V circuit, or it could be a complicated issue involving improper connections between two circuits. A qualified electrician needs to be called in for diagnosis and repair; this is the landlord's responsibility, not the tenant's.

[RBM]

Your fix it guy could start by testing the outlet voltage with something other than appliances, possibly a volt meter

[JIMMIE]

Start by calling your landlord. The outlet could be wired wrong. Ive seen 120v outlets get rewired for a 240 window air conditioner. Could be that the circuit uses a shared neutral. If the nuetral connection fails it could put 240 across the outlet. This could be an intermittent problem as you discribed while incorrect wiring wouldnt likely be intermittent. Call your landlord.

Jimmie

[Metspitzer]

It sounds like someone changed a 220V receptacle to a 120V. A voltage tester would tell you in a second if this is the problem.

Actually building maintenance should be the one checking.

[Eric in North TX]

Perhaps, but I've seen it wires as 220v more than once where a window A/C unit lived.

[Phisherman]

Is this circuit on a GFCI? If so it could be bad. Replace the outlet if it is charred. Check the voltage, ground. Make sure the hot (black wire) is the shorter slot. Make sure the wire nuts are tight.

[Doug Miller]

Take a look at the chart here:

I suspect that you've been looking at 6-20R without realizing what it was.

[Eric in North TX]

What i' saying is I've seen 520R wired for 220 volt. That may be in violation of every code, but it still happens & more often than you might imagine, especially in older buildings.

[Red Green]

[e-mail] (Doug Miller) wrote in news:Xie3m.3361$ [e-mail]:

Nice chart. Thanks.

[Big_Jake]

One of my houses had an older 220v outlet that looked just like a 110 outlet. It was for a log set on an electric fireplace, circa 1926. The former owner had plugged in a box fan that lasted about 10 seconds...

JK

[Mark Lloyd]

How do you plug a 120V fan (1-15P or 5-15P) into a 6-20R?

BTW, I notice how those charts always have a certain omission. What does the 2-15P plug into?

[Doug Miller]

I never suggested that the OP had a 6-20R. Do try to keep up.

[dpb]

Big_Jake wrote: ...

It probably _was_ a 110V outlet simply being misused...

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[dpb]

Mark Lloyd wrote: ...

6-15R -- the load doesn't require the ground for any application that would use the 2-15P.

[dpb]

...

Think???? :)

LOL...

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[flips333]

.

Thanks to all who helped and here's the answer... the neutral is receiving power. Thus it blows out any and all normal appliances that go in it. Until I can get someone to fix it I'm just gonna fill it with those baby proof socket fillers.

Thanks again you all rock.

[dpb]

flips333 wrote: ...

...

What you mean by "the neutral is receiving power", kemo sabe?

If it was just reversed hot/neutral that wouldn't make any difference; think unpolarized cord plugs. (It ain't right and should be corrected, but that won't cause the problem described).

If neutral _AND_ hot are hot and not same supply side, that's a 240V circuit and that certainly _WILL_ blow a 110V appliance.

Sounds like the same "handyman", maybe???? :)

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