How hot is a mains plug supposed to get?

[Globalti]

When i was a student living in an unheated house we asked our landlord, Mr Singh, if we could have a heater for the bedroom. "Yes I'll get you an electric heater" he replied. "How are you going to run that? There's no socket in that room" I asked. "No problem," he replied, "I'll plug it into the light".

 

[Paulus]

I used to work with a maintenance fitting engineer who would sort out electrical jobs on 240 mains without turning off the trip box.
Sometimes he would get a belt but he seemed to be hardened to it. He said it was like a little bite.
When you watch soaps like Corrie they touch a live wire & end up instantly dead.
Wouldn’t you be ok as long as you didn’t clamp onto the source?

If you have underlying heart problems then maybe you would get electrocuted. I have had a belt off of the juice rail on the southern region, 750v. DC. I was standing on the rail in some sidings, and touched the side of another train. It was not nice and felt like someone had put a giant vibrator up my rear end. A big jolt and then when I had jumped off the rail and bit like I was shaking internally. I was ok after a few minutes. These days you have to report any shock, no matter what the voltage, and go to hospital for a ECG to make sure the ticker is working and in rhythm.

 

[MontyVeda]

Why did you put a smaller fuse in?

didn't have any thirteen amp fuses... only 3 and 5.

 

[MontyVeda]

Thank for the replies guys... I'll get some new fuses and try another 13amp in it... but I suspect the same thing might happen since it was a 13 amp fuse when i noticed the plug was hot.

If its a new ish heater I'm presuming a sealed plug? So no maintenance or checking possible

Dodgy fuse, which blew, new fuse should sort it.

Yup, sealed plug, which is showing signs of heat damage to its underside. i.e. slightly warped, which probably explains the strange smell over the last day or so. I'll put a new plug on too and try it again... along with a bucket of water on standby. Thanks @Accy cyclist

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

didn't have any thirteen amp fuses... only 3 and 5.

No 13 amp fuse? Use a 6 inch nail

WARNING!! DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME. I'M ONLY JOKING!!

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Yup, sealed plug, which is showing signs of heat damage to its underside. i.e. slightly warped, which probably explains the strange smell over the last day or so. I'll put a new plug on too and try it again

Check the socket as well, we had a washing machine that the socket started to smell, when I took the faceplate off one of the wires just came straight out of the terminal.

 

[MontyVeda]

socket looks fine... no warping or browning.

I presume putting a new plug will invalidate the warranty?

 

[Levo-Lon]

socket looks fine... no warping or browning.

I presume putting a new plug will invalidate the warranty?

More than likely
As for the socket , don't remove unless your ok with this, your putting yourself at more risk.
Turn off power, wires can be loose in a socket, but you usually get a nasty smell before signs of external burning.

If if your renting you need to get the landlord to get it checked by a electrician

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

I presume putting a new plug will invalidate the warranty?

Well if it's new and it's not working properly - get your money back

 

[MontyVeda]

Well if it's new and it's not working properly - get your money back

6 months old... I've already changed the plug.

 

[Edwardoka]

[QUOTE 5555653, member: 9609"]we're down a volt the night - hope the electric blanket is getting enough juice, snowing outdoors
View attachment 455823 [/QUOTE]
It presumably goes without saying that you shouldn't put multimeter test leads into a wall socket or take them out unless you're sure that the socket is off.
But just to make sure:
DON'T PUT MULTIMETER TEST LEADS INTO A LIVE SOCKET WITHOUT TURNING THE SOCKET OFF FIRST
Also, don't lick the other end of the test leads

 

[MontyVeda]

new plug on, 10amp fuse in... back of plug only mildly warm after half an hour

 

[Mr Celine]

When changing a plug I find Hawkwind's PXR5 album cover to be a handy aide memoire.

WARNING!! DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME. I'M ONLY JOKING!!

 

[MontyVeda]

When changing a plug I find Hawkwind's PXR5 album cover to be a handy aide memoire.

View attachment 455857

i have it on cassette for that exact purpose

 

[Pale Rider]

It's a fiddle, but when wiring a plug it's worth leaving a little slack in the earth lead.

The reason is that one is then most likely to be the last to be disconnected should someone tug on the cable.