Things were getting hot around here!

[Charlie_W]

Last week, I had plugged in a small electric heater in Wifey's basement quilting area. I used a short heavy grounded extension cord and plugged it into a 3 to 1 triple tap at the receptacle. All was good for a while. Later, I realized the heater had not turned on in a while and checked it out.....nothing, so I assumed the inexpensive heater had croaked. The circuit was still live so I plugged in a different small heater I had and....nothing. With checking, I found that the triple tap which also had only a clock and cordless phone plugged into it was the culprit. It had some black spots coming through the plastic.....and the extension cord wouldn't unplug. I had to use a screwdriver to get the extension cord apart from the triple tap (After unplugging from the receptacle). It had gotten hot, melted the plastic and basically fried inside. It wasn't to the point of smelling of hot electrical/plastic but still an eye opener. You can see the heat caused discoloring to the extension cord plug copper blades. So, you just never know when and if an electrical device can fail. Of course the triple tap is trash and the extension cord will get a new male plug.
Be safe.....watch for possible electrical hazards.

 

[walshjp17]

Thanks for the heads up Charlie. New year: time to check the batteries and electrical connections.

 

[magpens]

Thanks for the warning, Charlie !

Those things are always a cause for concern to me.

I see there is a rating on the "triple adapter" ..... looks to be 10 Amp . . Hmmmm ...... even a "small" heater could exceed that .
10 Amps at 110 Volts would equate to about 1 Kilowatt ...... check the "amperage draw" or the wattage of the heater.

Apart from the ratings, you also have to worry about the "contact resistance" in the adaptor which is not easily quantifiable and can depend on a lot of things. . Those little adapters are really only safely usable in low current applications and I would say that they should not be used at close to their rating limit. . Your clock and cordless phone would not pose any problems but a heater is really pushing it.

Be careful, my friend !

 

[MPVic]

Thankfully, it wasn't worse - keep safe in 2021!

 

[wolf creek knives]

I had a similar experience with a triple tap some years back with a generator. Nothing shut off but I noticed a small puff of smoke come off the extension cord. Fried the extension cord to the triple tap. Both were ruined and no harm was done to the generator. Sure woke me up though so I don't do that any more. One extension cord per each outlet on the generator.

 

[studioseven]

I had the same thing happen without the triple tap. Electric heater plugged into a light extension cord. Too much current caused the heater cord to melt to the extension cord. Since then I've read that you should never use an extension cord with a space heater.

Seven

 

[TellicoTurning]

I actually burned up a couple of electric chain saws before I realized I was using too small of an extension cord... I was running them on a 12 amp cord when they had a 15 amp draw... the saws would work for a bit then they began to smoke... I took one back because I thought it was defective... after the second, I did a little research... a 50' 15 amp cord cost me $69.

 

[jttheclockman]

I hear all this!!!! I can tell you stories and wonder some people's house never burnt down. Proper tool for the job as they say. Heaters are notorious for all kinds of problems. If you are going to run one always check on it from time to time.

 

[Charlie_W]

Thanks for the comments/thoughts.

I checked the specs.
Heater: 1500 watts/12.5 amps
Extension cord: 9' length, 14 gauge/15 amps
Triple tap: 15 amp...confirmed by Googling sku#
Circuit: 15amp(14gauge) dedicated receptacle 2' from panel

While the current draw was below the 15amp rating, it was just above 80% of breaker/circuit rating.
It is entirely possible/probable there was poor mechanical/electrical contact within the triple tap.
In this basement area, I also have two 20 amp circuits which I can use.