Scentsy short out

[Talon]

So I had a Scentsy wax warmer (ac plug in)  burn up.  The bottom turned black and burned the wood table it was sitting on.

It made the strangest sound.

My concern is that the breaker didn't trip.  Can an appliance burn like that without exceeding the breaker amperage ?

Or just a bad breaker ?  How does one test that a breaker will trip ?

[Al Czervik]

Maybe the breaker is gay.

 

[Huaco Kid]

"Burn the frou-frou cooker......."

"But, I can just unplug it!"

[janice6]

Breakers open when the current exceeds a certain amount. If the current approaches that amount but does not exceed it, the breaker will not trip.  By design!

In the early days of Medtronics, our techs did a test of a 100 Amp Circuit Breaker that was supposed to go into a Defibrillator.   These Defibrillators had power capabilities far in excess of the limited power of the competitors.  Since they produced really  high electrical Voltage (slightly over 1,000 Volts) with the Current sufficient to cause damage to the instrument when unlimited, the transformer primary 100 Amp Circuit Breaker was used also as the "on", "off", switch.

A tech decided to test the 100 Amp Circuit Breaker in the lab to see if it tripped at 100 Amps.  The only electrical system we had that was rated to supply 100 Amps, was the main circuit supplying the lab itself.

He wired a short across the Circuit Breaker, and plugged it into an outlet, then he turned on the breaker switch.

 

There was a very loud hum caused by the wires in the conduit vibrating due to the high electric field produced from the extremely high current through the supply wires.  The magnetic field of each wire affected the other wire and cause them to move towards and away from each other, just like DC Magnets do, causing the hum from the vibration..  Then the wires started burning and smoke poured out of the outlets.  Earl Bakken was pissed!

It turned out that the Circuit Breaker didn't trip because in spite of the lab supply being rated at 100 Amps the resistance of the wiring and contacts limited the current to less than the 100 Amp value.  So neither the lab supply Breaker (100 Amp rating), nor the 100 AMP Circuit Breaker being tested, tripped.

The point is that a breaker will not trip if you don't exceed the rated value for it.  When this happens there is nothing to protect the whole electrical system from over heating and burning up, as you experienced.  Current causes heating.

It was another fun chapter in the Medical Electronics Industry.

[pipedreams]

I recommend staying away from those smell good electrical things.  My wife used to use those little plug in things that make the room smell good.  After finding the wall all black behind a couple of them I said no more.  They are cheaply made who knows where.

[Al Czervik]

1 hour ago, pipedreams said:

I recommend staying away from those smell good electrical things.  My wife used to use those little plug in things that make the room smell good.  After finding the wall all black behind a couple of them I said no more.  They are cheaply made who knows where.

Cause they're gay.

[aomagrat]

I had a space heater that melted the electrical outlet and charred the wood around it without tripping the breaker.

[Valmet]

1 hour ago, pipedreams said:

I recommend staying away from those smell good electrical things.  My wife used to use those little plug in things that make the room smell good.  After finding the wall all black behind a couple of them I said no more.  They are cheaply made who knows where.

Probably sound advice. My wife doesn’t need another electrical appliance to worry about burning our house down. Air-purifier, Keurig coffee maker, toaster oven, Dyson hand-held vac, and any other damn thing to worry about when we leave the house. Sheesh. 

[Cubdriver]

An appliance or connection (if poorly made) can easily burn without drawing anywhere near enough current to trip the breaker.  Their purpose is to protect the house wiring, which can safely carry the 15 or 20A branch circuits are normally protected at.  That same 15-20A can easily overheat the lighter gauge wiring used in small appliances.

-Pat