Not T6 related, 230v plug fail

[Sackmycook]

Discovered this up at my cottage last evening after fusebox tripped.

Was powering my dishwasher. Been fine for as long as I know. Possibly a wiring fault?
Inside the plug was a black mess but I could see the neutral and earth connection were fine. Around the live was a melted mess.
Bobbed a new plug on and all seems fine thankfully but I'll be checking all the sockets in cupboards regularly from now on.

 

[Pete C]

All it takes is a slightly insecure connection inside the plug, and this sort of thing builds up over time.
It's worth checking plugs of high power devices on a regular basis.

Pete

 

[Loz]

Make sure the fuse clips in really tightly, a loose fuse causes a high-resistance joint and high-resistance joint causes heat.

Also, if your dish washer draws that much current, I'd be buying a new more efficient one..

 

[Sackmycook]

The plug had a pat test sticker on it (date unknown) but I will doing the checks mentioned above regularly thanks

 

[Dellmassive]

Defo loose connection or loose fuse.

Most devices now come with a moulded plug to prevent this.

 

[Mick]

Discovered this up at my cottage last evening after fusebox tripped.

Was powering my dishwasher. Been fine for as long as I know. Possibly a wiring fault?
Inside the plug was a black mess but I could see the neutral and earth connection were fine. Around the live was a melted mess.
Bobbed a new plug on and all seems fine thankfully but I'll be checking all the sockets in cupboards regularly from now on.

View attachment 191954

And this is exactly why I'm very cautious using my EV Granny charger. I only use 2 garage sockets that I have checked internally myself & I always check the heat of the plug during use. I'd never leave mine on overnight! Too many horror stories.

 

[Mick]

The plug had a pat test sticker on it (date unknown) but I will doing the checks mentioned above regularly thanks

It's not just the plug. It's also those connections inside the socket that have to be very secure otherwise it's the same issue.

 

[Pete C]

I am lucky enough to have a Flir infrared camera attachment for my iPhone. It's brilliant for spotting hidden overheating issues on both mains and 12v circuits.

Expensive though.

Pete

 

[Mick]

I am lucky enough to have a Flir infrared camera attachment for my iPhone. It's brilliant for spotting hidden overheating issues on both mains and 12v circuits.

Expensive though.

Pete

Yep I went to buy one to see what house cold spots I have. £200-£250 was the cheapest.

 

[Loz]

Talking of the FLIR (I also have one) my mate used it to find a parasitic drain on his Janguar by looking for warm modules and kit in the car...

 

[Alster]

Probably a poor connection where the fuse clips in. I see this quite a bit with cheap plugs and some moulded plugs.

 

[JDC]

I've been to a few of these over the years, some including the actual sockets melting at the plug basically welding both together. Also found the moulded type plug have also done this especially on washing machines and dryers. The wife goes mad as I tell her there's no way the washer,dryer,dishwasher is going on whilst we're out or in bed!!!!

 

[Mick]

I've been to a few of these over the years, some including the actual sockets melting at the plug basically welding both together. Also found the moulded type plug have also done this especially on washing machines and dryers. The wife goes mad as I tell her there's no way the washer,dryer,dishwasher is going on whilst we're out or in bed!!!!

Here’s me charging house batteries, cars, using dishwasher overnight on cheap rate whilst I’m kipping but never the tumble dryer. You’ll have me crapping myself now

 

[Sackmycook]

You're not the only one Mick !

 

[Alster]

 

[DXX]

How many people strip down their washer / dryer and clean the circulation fan and heater element……almost none I reckon.
I think everybody who hasn’t done this would be shocked at the potential bonfire that’s been engineered into the design.
It’s worth the hours work to keep the bloody thing drying like it did when it was new but also to avoid a visit from the fire service.

 

[Sackmycook]

View attachment 191999

Is there a story to that ?

 

[Alster]

@Sackmycook No story really- it’s off a Samsung Washing Machine and that wasn’t even the reason i was called out to it. The quality of plugs ( and machines in general) aint what it used to be. I replaced that with a MK plug- probably the only decent plug out there now

 

[Sackmycook]

And here's me thinking a plug is a plug is a plug.
Before we found this burnt out plug, we had thought the problem was the freezer on the other side of the kitchen as it seemed there was no lights on the control panel but you could here the compressor starting up when switched on at the socket. So we removed the freezer and tipped it.
Then we found the dishwasher plug.
I can't see how they might be related fault wise other than being on the same ring/same consumer unit fuse ?
Unless someone could tell me different.

 

[Alster]

Very unlikely to be connected- just a dodgy connection in the plug. Dishwashers draw 10 - 11 amp for quite a while and any weak point will get hot.