My uncle is wanting to write a little item for the local Oldie mag on the subject of electrical safety. Has anyone got any pictures of obvious misuse of appliances, overloaded sockets, burnt cables, fire damage, etc etc? Thanks in advance
Bill
Or, somewhat more directed at the issue rather than a specific type of problem:
Are most of those sockets over loaded? There may be multiple plugs but these days most of them would be using under 10 watts.
over on the DIYnot.com forum, if you search for "picture" in the forum title, for the Electrics UK forum, you'll find several.
Owain
eg
This?
And just how do you solve that problem for a wet-room, please.
the electrics plugged into an extension _in_ the enclosure.
signs of misuse, probably caused by the user.
What we actually need more than anything is a picture of a telly or something either on fire or burnt out.
Bill
And for this we have plugs and sockets capable of running a 3-bar electric fire.
You should have said
OK how's about this... photographed especially for you just now!
We had a decorator in last week and although he's indeed excellent with a brush, Dan the Decorator's skills apparently don't extend to Common Sense.
My PC monitor went black as the RCD tripped; upon investigation I discovered that he'd plugged our 3kW electric fire into my light-duty cable reel (not only that, but hadn't unwound it), and and surprise surprise, the bloody thing had basically melted. "Yeah, now I think about it I suppose it was getting a bit warm". Anyway - I pulled the reel apart for fun (and to show to the family as a warning), so for the possible delectation of your uncle and his mag, here you go:
(Yes the coil visible in the picture is completely and utterly welded together!)
David
Excellent. I'm sure he'll use that. Thanks.
Bill
Methinks the only danger these days would be from a loose connection. Overloaded sockets are not a safety problem if the wiring is up to spec.
Try a few .jpg's of Chineese multi way adaptors if you want to see fire hazards. [High resistance poor electricalcontacts = heat]
A loose connection can arc, an arc produces heat and burns insulators, a hot insulator is a conductor, a hot conductor is a source of ignition!
Years ago I was able to get the glass of a thermionic valve to heat up & melt merely by starting a high voltage arc on the surface of the glass. The arc was started by breaking the current between two conductors resting on the glass. Once up to temperature glass is a conductor.
Stick photos of a dozen 3kW heaters being fed off one socket in the mag if it seems newsworthy, but I would think the real dangers are from dodgy connections or the ingress of water across the live & neutral of a junction box.
As far as real risks go, perhaps your uncle should concentrate on advising his bretheren to use plastic forks to dig stuck/ burnt toast out of toasters?
Telling the clapped out dimwits to turn off the power and invert or prise gently does not work [Personal experience], so a nice red or green plastic fork should provide a short term safety benefit.
If their dentures are in top form......!
HN
You can misuse a telly by dropping it in the bath. Have you a few gallons of unleaded & a match?
Failing this, I may have a few old crossroads videos, you would have to dream up your own source of combustion though!
HN
Bill me old chump!
Every thick tosser on the planet is only too willing to dictate health and safety advice to all & sundry.
Unless your uncle is a professional with the ability to trawl through the mountains of data appertaining to his particular field of reference, or he is trained in the field, he should stick firmly to his own experience.
On a daily basis I deal with thick pillocks who would have no significance whatsoever if it wasn't for the fact that someone empowered them to look for hard hats, hi vis vests, gloves and "do not use" stickers on electrical apparatus.
Most of these plonkers have no idea about risks or even at which point a do not use sticker is supposed to apply.
Sadly these thicko's are treated as an authourity. People carrying out their instructions can be led into a false sense of security.
On a final note I would like to see cable reels sold in lengths that can safely dissipate heat fully wound, a warning on the side of the drum is not adequate.
Xmas pressie idea for Unc' A pound shop extension, a couple of 3kW heaters, a camera, a 13A two way adaptor and some tinfoil to wrap the fuses in. This I'm sure would provide a certain amount of practical experience.
In message , Bill Wright writes
This almost fits in with your request.
And this problem should be included in bus pass application advice?
Not the best means of terminating, but if you want to be carbon neutral and have the odd CO2 extinguisher about then it seems reasonable.
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