O.T. this was scary

thurlow · May 26, 2009

SWMBO was in the den Saturday morning, dusting or vacuuming or something; I was in the kitchen and heard that wifely squeal which means something is definitely not right. The reading lamp which sets behind my recliner was on fire. Shade was burning; unplugged it and carried it outside and blew the fire out. Lamp has a 3-way switch with correct size bulb; light was on at the time. Can't tell if the wiring shorted (at the switch) or if the bulb contacts melted together. We often leave the house with a lamp burning, but this may make us rethink doing that. Never had anything like this happen before. Fire definitely started in (or under) the socket.

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rbel · May 26, 2009

I have switched all my bulbs to floresent. heat is one reason. Close call. Did the circuit breaker not throw?

Ken Macfarlane · May 26, 2009

Circuit breaker is sized to protect the wiring in the wall not an individual appliance. Pretty common fire, you may find the connections to the socket underneath are poorly made.

Also, often the neutral side is switched so things stay hot all the time and can short to ground. Most lights aren't polarized.

Waltmo · May 26, 2009

Looks like the bulb was oversized for the socket.
Just a thought. WaltMo

RobMD · May 26, 2009

Often it makes you WONDER about what the folks at UL are doing when the boss isn't around!

davida · May 26, 2009

About 6 years ago a lamp started the fire that burnt down the old house I grew up in. Mother was the only one still living there, her dog woke her up in time to get out the back door and down the road to my sisters house.

I asked by bother in-law to get the state fire marshal or who ever he need to find what started the fire. The guy traced it back to the lamp.

We wanted to make sure the cause of the fire since my wire is the insurance agent, bother in-law is the insurance adjuster and mothers new house was about ready to move into.

I was going to build a nice barn out of the lumber of that old house.

rustyfarmall · May 26, 2009

(quoted from post at 09:55:29 05/26/09) Often it makes you WONDER about what the folks at UL are doing when the boss isn't around!

Most light bulbs today are made in either Mexico or China. Underwriters Laboratory has no say in it anymore. I have not found a "made in Mexico" light bulb yet that fits well into a light socket.

Red Dave · May 26, 2009

I doubt that it was caused by a short circuit.

More likely caused by a loose connection that became a high resistance connection and got hot.

Might have been the wires connection onto the switch, the switch to bulb contact, or the switch itself.

John S-B · May 26, 2009

Thurlow, you need to contact your state Fire Marshall and let them know about this. They can enter it into a database so that if this lamp or socket has a history it can be recalled or taken off the market so no one else has this happen to them. (hopefully) Also maybe let your insurance company know, they also may keep tabs on that.
I definitely would not have recommended carrying outside while burning though, you were lucky.

souNdguy · May 26, 2009

Thanks for the post.

I think this is a good wakeup call to peer down into the socket when replacing a bulb to look for any problems.

Hmm.. I've got a 3-way lamp on my nightstand that is finicky... hmm.. might have to toss that sucker!

soundguy

thurlow · May 26, 2009

We have numerous lamps with 3-position switches; seems we have more trouble with them rather with single-watt sockets. They get to where they'll only 'light' in one position and I've replaced some of them. This one was several years old and had never been replaced; it had a 50/100/150 bulb in it and was rated for up to a 250 watt bulb. It was no longer arcing/sparking inside the socket; the shade was burning slowly and I was only 3 steps from the garage. The shade was being consumed/not dripping, but I didn't want to take a chance of 'fire' falling onto the floor. After doing her Stanley Laurel imitation for a second (wringing hands/running in circles) wife had gone to bathroom for a wet towel. I had it outside and fire out before she returned. It did not throw the breaker, nor would I expect it to.......

RobMD · May 26, 2009

That is SAD

Anonymous-0 · May 26, 2009

WOAH,What the?? Glad that you were home.Never saw that one before.

Cue P. · May 26, 2009

I agree with RedDave, a dead short should have tripped the breaker. Breakers are made to trip, not hold out waiting for the whole circuit to overload. However, a high resistance short can occur that does not necessarily reach the breaker's trip setting until it is too late.

ChrisB · May 26, 2009

(quoted from post at 13:55:09 05/26/09)

(quoted from post at 09:55:29 05/26/09) Often it makes you WONDER about what the folks at UL are doing when the boss isn't around!

Click to expand...

Most light bulbs today are made in either Mexico or China. Underwriters Laboratory has no say in it anymore. I have not found a "made in Mexico" light bulb yet that fits well into a light socket.

I have to agree with Rusty. A UL rating is worthless anymore. My money is that the socket is made in China. UL "licenses" factories to use their label. Factory pays a fee (China included), claims to comply with UL specs then put the UL label on the product.

I purchased one of those bench articulating lamps from a catalog. Lamp came in with the UL sticker, along with the Made in China one. It had an additional grounded socket on the base of the unit. I plugged it in and it shocked me every time I touched the lamp. Upon inspection I noticed that the plug on the lamp was not grounded yet the socket on the bas was. I threw it out and will never ever trust the UL sticker again.

UL is nothing more then a profit center. I now look for the Europe safety sticker.

Nancy Howell · May 26, 2009

Glad you were home and able to get it out.

You just never know these days.

Old Roy · May 26, 2009

We have a lamp similar to that one. It was bought new about 3 years ago.
I noticed every time I turned it off it seemed overly warm reaching in for the rotating switch.

One day I took it apart and found the screws weren't tight on the terminals and the wire was discolored.
I nipped them back and tightened the screws and no problem since.

I guess cheap labor is costing more in the end.
including the possibility of someone loosing their home.

CJ3b_jeep · May 27, 2009

is it just me, or do the three position switches eat up more power or light bulbs? I have two of them in my office and seem to have to change bulbs about every 6 weeks around here.

O.T. this was scary

thurlow

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rbel

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Ken Macfarlane

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Waltmo

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RobMD

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davida

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rustyfarmall

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Red Dave

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thurlow

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