o/t - electrical question

Fordfarmer · Dec 23, 2014

Had to replace the power cord on the dryer last
night. Dryer is 6-7 years old, cord was about a
year old - I had to replace it last year for the
same problem - one prong got hot to the point the
plastic part of the plug started to melt. This
time, there was also some damage to the face of
the wall outlet, so I replaced that as well. Was
much worse inside than on the face; worse than the
cord as well. So, what I'm wondering is, what
might have caused this? Dryer runs normally, no
tripped breakers or anything. Loose connection?
Wiring (and house) is 10 years old, so it seems
like the problem should have shown up sooner.
Maybe it's the three words on the face of the
outlet: Made in China.

And if we need to have it somewhat tractor
related, I found out today that I have to replace
the alternator on my 7600. But 38 years and 8000+
hours is a better life than the dryer cord!

Bob · Dec 23, 2014

Obviously a loose/dirty/oxidized connection, which makes HEAT.

The poor connection was likely in the wall outlet all along, and was making heat, damaging the dryer plug.

With them both replaced, and the connections clean, brite, and tite, all should be well for a while.

PJH · Dec 23, 2014

Loose connection. Arcing generates heat.

PJH · Dec 23, 2014

Sorry Bob - we hit "go" at the same time.

farmboy48 · Dec 23, 2014

I agree with Bob, looks like the connection for that conductor was probably never tightened properly when it was installed. With new outlet and plug properly tightened now it should be good to go. Had a 110v outlet in mobile home that did the same thing, welded plug from microwave right into outlet.

Dick ND

Billy NY · Dec 23, 2014

Be interesting to see the blade connector and the receptacle female parts inside, particularly the metal, to see if there is pitting from arcing or similar tell tale signs.

Wiring device is easy enough to replace, but do you think the conductor should be a consideration as well, did any of that get hot ?

Well I'm not qualified to make that assumption or really comment at all, but I know one thing, I would want to make sure from the breaker panel to the receptacle was safe !

John T · Dec 23, 2014

Its pretty basic actually, involves voltage and current and the ability to dissipate the heat generated when current flows through an imperfect and resistive wire or device or connection.

Start with current flow in a non perfect resistive device generates heat. That heat can be described as the I Squared R heat losses.

In cases where the conductors or the mating surfaces or the electrical contacts may be loose or burned or corroded or carboned, current flow through such generates heat and if its not adequately dissipated into the air or surrounding materials or sufficiently transferred elsewhere, heat damage can take place.

I BLAME THE DAMAGE ON AN INFERIOR TOO RESISTIVE DEVICE OR ONE THAT CANT ADEQUATELY TRANSFER AND DISSIPATE THE HEAT OR A LOOSE OR BURNED OR CARBONED CONNECTION

John T

Fordfarmer · Dec 23, 2014

Plug came out of the outlet normally - took some force, but nothing caught - just normal tension. No sign of arcing on the blade, just discolored from heat, mostly at the tip.

Fordfarmer · Dec 23, 2014

I understand that resistance in a circuit causes heat. I was at a loss as to how it could be OK for so long, then cause problems. But your and other responses got me thinking that maybe it was just almost OK, and had been gradually getting worse? Maybe wasn't quite tight enough, so it would get hot, add a little carbon, get a little hotter next time, etc., etc.?

Billy NY · Dec 23, 2014

Glad you caught it in time, something like what that photo shows sure is scary when you think about it!

Fordfarmer · Dec 23, 2014

You aren't kidding!

John T · Dec 23, 2014

I tend to agree, a little carbon build up here, a little there, a little more heat by current in the carbon, it builds and builds until theres an eventual melt down.

John T

Geo-TH,In · Dec 23, 2014

Problem is you let the smoke out of the wire and the recept.

I've seen similar problems. Once I saw the wire glowing red. It was on a dryer recpt too.

Because things can get very hot, I will never use a plastic recpt box. Either metal or fiberglass. Plastic will burn. No thank you.

Keep the batteries in smoke detector.

I would get the ammprobe out and make sure the dryer is drawing the proper amps. What is weird, the ground wire connection looks like it got hot too. If this is a 3 wire, only the motor current will be going through the ground. That wouldn't cause things to get that hot. Is this a 3 or 4 wire plug? Definately get the probe out and do some measuring.

IH2444 · Dec 23, 2014

It is copper wire going to the wall outlet isn't it? Not aluminum.

Fordfarmer · Dec 23, 2014

Yes, copper.

David G · Dec 23, 2014

Replace the receptacle also.

farmallmaniac · Dec 23, 2014

Solid or stranded wire? If stranded, make sure to wiggle the wire a bit then retighten.

MarkB_MI · Dec 24, 2014

It's unclear whether the burned-up terminal is hot or neutral. If it's neutral, you've got an internal short in your dryer.

I'd say you wouldn't have burned up the second plug had you replaced the receptacle first time around.

MarkB_MI · Dec 24, 2014

This reminds me of a dishwasher repair I did last week. The appliance had a blown thermal fuse. I was surprised to find the new fuse came with a pair of pigtailed terminals with screw splices; you're supposed to clip the old terminals off an inch back and splice in the new ones. It took me a bit to figure out why: they want to make sure you're not plugging old, burnt or corroded terminals onto the new fuse, since if they get hot they'll cause the replacement to fail.

Geo-TH,In · Dec 24, 2014

Mark,
Look at the terminal on the left. Just above where the wire attaches. That metal strip, ground, looks like something shorted against it. That would make things get very hot very fast.

It still wouldn't explain why the power terminal melted down.

Fordfarmer · Dec 24, 2014

It's hot. Neutral was fine.
I think you're right, that I wouldn't have had to replace the plug again if I had replaced the receptacle the first time...but I didn't see anything to make me suspect it needed it, at the time.

Fordfarmer · Dec 24, 2014

Nothing shorted there, as far as I can tell. The camera on this phone doesn't have the greatest resolution. The grounding strip is just discolored from the melting plastic near it. It wiped clean.

oldtanker · Dec 24, 2014

(quoted from post at 08:08:48 12/24/14) Nothing shorted there, as far as I can tell. The camera on this phone doesn't have the greatest resolution. The grounding strip is just discolored from the melting plastic near it. It wiped clean.

I had an inline fuse holder fail this summer on my 1206 Farmall. From the looks of it the connector on one side of it was faulty from the factory. The fuse holder was less than a year old. Didn't blow the fuse, none of the rest of the wiring looked like it got warm, just the one connector in the holder. The holder had a soldered on eye connector on one end and the other end was a soldered splice. The fuse holder was made in the land of almost right.

So that being said your receptacle could have been faulty. But I'd almost bet that the installer didn't tighten it down like they were supposed to. My FIL had a lake cabin built about 6 years ago. Watching the crew work was amazing. Mostly younger guys and each one would answer their cell phones every time they rang. I can see where a guy wiring a house could become distracted and not tighten something as well as he should. I'd still check to see if the dryer is pulling too much juice too just to be on the safe side.

Rick

o/t - electrical question

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Similar threads