If the mice haven’t done anything in the walls, actual electrical fires are usually user error. Extending the line with power strips or 16 gauge wire causes heat that is under the breaker trip limit.
Never use a room heater on a multi outlet board, and if it looks brown on the plastic or feels loose in the wall outlet connections replace it asap. Fact: Thermal electrical heating, damaged cables or burning cables can NOT be detected by ANY type of circuit breakers like even the AFDD or AFCIs, Better to have a registerd electrician do a loop impedance check on your home and every circuit ever 5 years and install smoke alarms for additional personal protection.
That is correct power strips are not intended to carry the amount of wattage required for a space heater (or most room air conditioners). If you need an extension cord it should be wired with 14 gauge wire. Not only do outlets wear out from excessive use sometimes the screw connections can loosen with time especially when they have not been tightened properly during installation. I have seen and fixed both problems as well as outlets taped with duct tape (!) and outlets which were physically cracked in my apartment.
I really got a power strip with the wires coming out that has an extension cord and a space heater plugged into it. How long do you guys think I have before my house burns down?
Alright guys, I'm still alive and I moved out if that house about a month ago. I have another story of how I could've almost died in that tinderbox. Once, one of the people I lived with got one of those winder ac units. He didn't have an extension cord so he plugged three power stripps into eachother and plugged the AC into that. The house is pretty old btw. It was build in the mid 40s and I don't believe the wiring has been updated in decades.
He forgot to mention about loose connection @ the outlets and switches, especially on older homes. Put your hands on the outlets and switches when they are in use, if you feel unusual heat, open it up and check connection, or call an electrician. The most dangerous is the breakers might not be tripped.
To all the Europeans, Brits, Aussies, And Asians, we have 120 volt power systems in our home for ordinary circuits because of the age of our electrical grid and the different power requirements for buildings in Canada and the USA, But our houses actually receive 240v 60Hz Single Phase power with older homes unless upgraded receiving 150 amps service to 200 amp service in new neighborhoods! the only exception of this for service amperage is in mobile home parks were the service is 60 to 125 amps! we get 240 to the breaker panel which is then split on to two hot bus bars! in essence the 240 from the street is two hot wires of 120 volts! at the breaker if a breaker utilizes only one hot bus bar that circuit is 120, if it uses both bus bars then the circuit is 240 as is the case for a central air conditioner or clothes dryer, or electric stove and oven! Then the plugs are different for dryers and stoves here in north America than the plugs for ordinary equipment that only uses 120! So don't start dissing our plugs here, they are the founding design for the electrical system around the world with the exception of the ground plug being added in the 30's to 40's!
This is also very true. We have lots of receptacle and plug diversity. It always amazes me to see the really ancient tandem parallel receptacles being taken out of older houses. Not to mention non-standard stuff from before the 1950's.
This is the reason why I collect those older metal power strips they are also easy to restore as the outlets are of the "standard" wall box variety if they need to be replaced I use the good ones that use the back wire pressure plates not the back stab push in ones that cost $0.56 at the home center store the back wire ones retail for about $5 each the metal strips also have a separate circuit breaker and not the cheap switch and breaker in one as the newer plastic ones use.
Power Strips - I'm a retired electronics engineer. The "CHEAP" power strips I see in stores amaze me by how much crap they are! I DO use power strips, HOWEVER, they are industrial and UL rated and ALL of them have functional circuit breakers. Do yourself a HUGE favor! IF you have to use power strip, spend the money a REAL strip. They will be constructed of steel, have internal circuit breakerers, and high capacity cords (wire size 12 or even better (the smaller the wire size I.E. #10, the larger the wire and current capacity) and Nr1 requirement is that they will be UL tested and rated. Above all, DON"T PUSH the strip to it's rated limits! The cheap strip devices are NOT money savers! Be smart. Be safe.
I'm still confused, volume too low. What exactly do you need to look for underneath? My power strip says 400v. My computer is 300v and I have some other appliances attached as well. Is it 400v max per item or total(adding them up)?
I have never seen a power strip built and labelled for less than the 15 amps that most home circuits are built for and have a 15 amp breaker to protect the house wiring and the strip. Each outlet on the strip is also built for 15 amps. I think you mean 300w and 400w. A 15 amp circuit at 120 volts will support 15x120=1800watts.
I'm rather surprised that power strips are sold in the USA which don't have over-current protection as standard. It's not exactly rocket science. It shouldn't be necessary to read labels to establish what load can be plugged into it. They should be consumer-proof in that regard.
He makes good points, but daisy chaining itself isnt dangerous. If you daisy chain two strips but keep the load below the feeding strips maximum amperage, you will not have a problem. The issue would be you have the potential to plug in so many loads it will be too high for the feeding strip. I dont think there are any strips sold anymore that do not have a breaker either. The breaker will trip if you try pulling too many amps and kill the feed, stopping any hazard. I get why he says dont do it though.
There have been cases of circuit breakers not tripping, my family has had a scenario of a circuit breaker not tripping when 2 window air conditions overloaded it, and there is a video showing someone had daisy chained power strip not tripping when a heater was plugged in
Just know how many watts your using and keep the wattage below the rating of the frst strip . Remember the longer electricity has to travel the more resistance there is causing more heat to build . Thermal protection is important .
True, in North America, we just stuck mostly with technology that's been around since the early days of electricity. Your standards are much safer. Granted ours are safe enough, but y'all have super safe. Cheers from US.
Is it safe to plug a power strip into an extension cord my power strip only has a 2 USB plug in box with my led vanity mirror lights and my Makeup mirror connected to it and sometimes my straightner
In reference to the multiple "plugs" (in series), I use two plugs if one does not have a ground in order to fit the receptacle. I'm assuming, in that case, it's ok. Thanks
In a way yes, but it really helps to make sure you screw in the adapter plug onto the screw on the receptacle. Grounding is very important as it prevents you from getting shocked and routes possible shock to the ground since electricity takes the path of least resistance.
Hire an electrician to replace the receptacle with a ground. even if it means running a new line. or replace your "no Ground" extension cord with a grounded one. Also make sure the cord is at least 14 AWG, none of the 16 or 18 AWG cords.
hi, I have a question, is it okay if I plug an extension wire to another one, but I only use it to extend my current extension wire to power my computer that has a 750 watts power supply connected to a UPS(?) OR AVR(?) can that cause fire? ps. I dont have anything connected to the extension wire I plug my extension wire in.
Why not go into the safety of high powered extension cords, instead of dangling these thin cheap ones in front of our faces?? ..The cords on power strips are short and most ppl don't have all of their electrical appliances in one corner of the room...you need an extension cord.
Honestly i don't see a problem with plugging a power strip onto an extention cord. I knew what I was doing. All my cords, plugs and outlets are protected one by one. Only my laptop is plugged with a single breaker switch because it uses a lot of power. And that single switch is also plugged into a smaller power strip.
This is just stupid .... There's nothing wrong with plugging in any amount of extension leads or other power boards as long as you don't overload the any further up the chain then the one your adding.... For example you could have a Australian power board ..240v @10 Amps .. 240 volts x 10 Amps = 2400 watts .. therefore you can always plug in 2400 watts maximum... This could be 4 other power boards each with 4 150 watt lamps.. 16x150 = 2400watts so you are not exceeding the 10amps and 240volt power board at the outlet .....
a few days ago, the washer at my my place over loaded the curcuit, the breaker the nver shut off. thnak gfod my l;andlord was home and he turned of the power. only needed to chnmage the outlet an dplug
they keep updating the NEC code like crazy, why wouldn't they just ban power strips. the issue is rarely the installer, its almost always the end user!
#1 reason is americans use 110V - half the voltage, twice the current per the same power, but FOUR times the IIR loss over any conductor resistance. Meh!
I am using 150 watts on four 1875 watt outlets in one room. That is a total of 600 watts. should I expect flashing and crackling LED bulbs on 2 of these outlets which were hooked up to new surge protectors? Or 4 incandescent bulbs in the bathroom to flash and then not work? Could be the switch hooked up to these outlets. Then these 2 outlets stop working, and show to my circuit tester open neutral. And then an outlet in the living room stops working all of this at the same time? The owners to the apartments I live at say it is my fault that the outlets stopped working and the lights flashed and blinked. These owners did not tell me that these apartments were built in the 1974s with a good chance to have aluminum wiring. They did not tell me that there are loose outlets in all the apartments that could mean loose wires, loose screws or loose blades. Aren't the owners at fault completely if there is a fire at all? Am I not supposed to expect 1875 watts at each outlet as a part of my all bills paid rent lease? I just unplugged all the wires from loose outlets in my apartment. Because I had to read about loose outlets on my own, I read that there is an excellent chance that using an appliance at a loose outlet can immediately start a small lightning bolt/arc to shoot through the walls.
2:24 The Ghetto Box Reaction is hilarious obviously she was not to Happy with her co-Anchor ! Lol....
She’s like “say what “
Excusez moi, qu'est-ce que c'est!
note: if a fire chief or investigator can't find convincing evidence of a cause for a fire they automatically blame it on electrical
If the mice haven’t done anything in the walls, actual electrical fires are usually user error. Extending the line with power strips or 16 gauge wire causes heat that is under the breaker trip limit.
Never use a room heater on a multi outlet board, and if it looks brown on the plastic or feels loose in the wall outlet connections replace it asap.
Fact: Thermal electrical heating, damaged cables or burning cables can NOT be detected by ANY type of circuit breakers like even the AFDD or AFCIs,
Better to have a registerd electrician do a loop impedance check on your home and every circuit ever 5 years and install smoke alarms for additional personal protection.
That is correct power strips are not intended to carry the amount of wattage required for a space heater (or most room air conditioners). If you need an extension cord it should be wired with 14 gauge wire. Not only do outlets wear out from excessive use sometimes the screw connections can loosen with time especially when they have not been tightened properly during installation. I have seen and fixed both problems as well as outlets taped with duct tape (!) and outlets which were physically cracked in my apartment.
I agree my brother put a space heater on a power strip and it set his room on fire thank goodness he woke up before something serious happened.
The majority of residential electrical fires is because of homeowner misuse, abuse, alterations, carelessness, and lack of understanding.
Exactly! Always hire a licensed electrician to make any alterations to your electrical wiring.
@2:24 one of those times you hear something that literally make you laugh out loud. 😂😂😂
Yo, I’m dead I’m like am I the only one who heard that 😂😂
I really got a power strip with the wires coming out that has an extension cord and a space heater plugged into it. How long do you guys think I have before my house burns down?
I still alive?
@@littlea420 oml 😂
Push it, push it real good.
That thing could wiped you out at any moment
Alright guys, I'm still alive and I moved out if that house about a month ago. I have another story of how I could've almost died in that tinderbox. Once, one of the people I lived with got one of those winder ac units. He didn't have an extension cord so he plugged three power stripps into eachother and plugged the AC into that. The house is pretty old btw. It was build in the mid 40s and I don't believe the wiring has been updated in decades.
He forgot to mention about loose connection @ the outlets and switches, especially on older homes. Put your hands on the outlets and switches when they are in use, if you feel unusual heat, open it up and check connection, or call an electrician. The most dangerous is the breakers might not be tripped.
To all the Europeans, Brits, Aussies, And Asians, we have 120 volt power systems in our home for ordinary circuits because of the age of our electrical grid and the different power requirements for buildings in Canada and the USA, But our houses actually receive 240v 60Hz Single Phase power with older homes unless upgraded receiving 150 amps service to 200 amp service in new neighborhoods! the only exception of this for service amperage is in mobile home parks were the service is 60 to 125 amps! we get 240 to the breaker panel which is then split on to two hot bus bars! in essence the 240 from the street is two hot wires of 120 volts! at the breaker if a breaker utilizes only one hot bus bar that circuit is 120, if it uses both bus bars then the circuit is 240 as is the case for a central air conditioner or clothes dryer, or electric stove and oven! Then the plugs are different for dryers and stoves here in north America than the plugs for ordinary equipment that only uses 120! So don't start dissing our plugs here, they are the founding design for the electrical system around the world with the exception of the ground plug being added in the 30's to 40's!
This is also very true. We have lots of receptacle and plug diversity. It always amazes me to see the really ancient tandem parallel receptacles being taken out of older houses. Not to mention non-standard stuff from before the 1950's.
fpe service panels known not to trip also start fires recalled years ago illegal certain states .burned my garage to ground.
Same with Zinsco. Aluminum bus bars and copper clips don't mix.
Of course if you use a cheap $5 surge protectors will catch on fire. I'm not saying $100 one won't catch on fire but the likelihood is a lot less.
This is the reason why I collect those older metal power strips they are also easy to restore as the outlets are of the "standard" wall box variety if they need to be replaced I use the good ones that use the back wire pressure plates not the back stab push in ones that cost $0.56 at the home center store the back wire ones retail for about $5 each the metal strips also have a separate circuit breaker and not the cheap switch and breaker in one as the newer plastic ones use.
Power Strips - I'm a retired electronics engineer. The "CHEAP" power strips I see in stores amaze me by how much crap they are! I DO use power strips, HOWEVER, they are industrial and UL rated and ALL of them have functional circuit breakers. Do yourself a HUGE favor! IF you have to use power strip, spend the money a REAL strip. They will be constructed of steel, have internal circuit breakerers, and high capacity cords (wire size 12 or even better (the smaller the wire size I.E. #10, the larger the wire and current capacity) and Nr1 requirement is that they will be UL tested and rated. Above all, DON"T PUSH the strip to it's rated limits! The cheap strip devices are NOT money savers! Be smart. Be safe.
I'm still confused, volume too low. What exactly do you need to look for underneath? My power strip says 400v. My computer is 300v and I have some other appliances attached as well. Is it 400v max per item or total(adding them up)?
I have never seen a power strip built and labelled for less than the 15 amps that most home circuits are built for and have a 15 amp breaker to protect the house wiring and the strip. Each outlet on the strip is also built for 15 amps. I think you mean 300w and 400w. A 15 amp circuit at 120 volts will support 15x120=1800watts.
I mean, the 15 amp breaker at the house panel protects the house wire and the strip.
A 15a. circuit is only good for 12a. load.
RiktorSkale that's possible the lightening surge protector voltage device that shorts out cuts off reset at 400v.power strip in us. 125vor therabout.
@@joebananatube Well said!
Well thanks
Power strips are ok if not overloaded.
I'm rather surprised that power strips are sold in the USA which don't have over-current protection as standard. It's not exactly rocket science. It shouldn't be necessary to read labels to establish what load can be plugged into it. They should be consumer-proof in that regard.
He makes good points, but daisy chaining itself isnt dangerous. If you daisy chain two strips but keep the load below the feeding strips maximum amperage, you will not have a problem. The issue would be you have the potential to plug in so many loads it will be too high for the feeding strip. I dont think there are any strips sold anymore that do not have a breaker either. The breaker will trip if you try pulling too many amps and kill the feed, stopping any hazard. I get why he says dont do it though.
There have been cases of circuit breakers not tripping, my family has had a scenario of a circuit breaker not tripping when 2 window air conditions overloaded it, and there is a video showing someone had daisy chained power strip not tripping when a heater was plugged in
you are burning the neutral wire inside the outlet, the breaker will not trip until the hot wire is grounded. All good handymen know this fact.
Just know how many watts your using and keep the wattage below the rating of the frst strip . Remember the longer electricity has to travel the more resistance there is causing more heat to build . Thermal protection is important .
her face at the end tho... hahahahaha
This os why britain is better we have a fuse in every plug to stop fires like this
True, in North America, we just stuck mostly with technology that's been around since the early days of electricity. Your standards are much safer. Granted ours are safe enough, but y'all have super safe.
Cheers from US.
i have a power strip from like 1995 is it still usable?
No, I would replace asap
Depends on what condition it is in, how much load it can handle, and if it has any safety devices in it, but definitely replace
"Ghettobox?"
"y- 🤨"
Is it safe to plug a power strip into an extension cord my power strip only has a 2 USB plug in box with my led vanity mirror lights and my Makeup mirror connected to it and sometimes my straightner
In reference to the multiple "plugs" (in series), I use two plugs if one does not have a ground in order to fit the receptacle. I'm assuming, in that case, it's ok. Thanks
In a way yes, but it really helps to make sure you screw in the adapter plug onto the screw on the receptacle. Grounding is very important as it prevents you from getting shocked and routes possible shock to the ground since electricity takes the path of least resistance.
Hire an electrician to replace the receptacle with a ground. even if it means running a new line. or replace your "no Ground" extension cord with a grounded one. Also make sure the cord is at least 14 AWG, none of the 16 or 18 AWG cords.
hi, I have a question, is it okay if I plug an extension wire to another one, but I only use it to extend my current extension wire to power my computer that has a 750 watts power supply connected to a UPS(?) OR AVR(?) can that cause fire?
ps. I dont have anything connected to the extension wire I plug my extension wire in.
Don't do that bro, it's just like daisy chaining a power strip.
Agreed, bad idea
Don't daisy chain power strips with wire
Damn jerry smith is now employed last time i saw he was creating a new book in rick in morty season 6 ep 6
Came here for the ghetto box
I wrote the comment below. How does one find out if the apartments they live at have aluminum wiring?
Pure Energy
Well, If it was built in the 70s, then it might be likely. Ask your landlord, or have an inspector come out.
Why not go into the safety of high powered extension cords, instead of dangling these thin cheap ones in front of our faces?? ..The cords on power strips are short and most ppl don't have all of their electrical appliances in one corner of the room...you need an extension cord.
Honestly i don't see a problem with plugging a power strip onto an extention cord. I knew what I was doing. All my cords, plugs and outlets are protected one by one. Only my laptop is plugged with a single breaker switch because it uses a lot of power. And that single switch is also plugged into a smaller power strip.
Extension cords work like trying to drink a milkshake with a 10ft straw, it's gonna take effort
This is just stupid .... There's nothing wrong with plugging in any amount of extension leads or other power boards as long as you don't overload the any further up the chain then the one your adding.... For example you could have a Australian power board ..240v @10 Amps .. 240 volts x 10 Amps = 2400 watts .. therefore you can always plug in 2400 watts maximum... This could be 4 other power boards each with 4 150 watt lamps.. 16x150 = 2400watts so you are not exceeding the 10amps and 240volt power board at the outlet .....
a few days ago, the washer at my my place over loaded the curcuit, the breaker the nver shut off. thnak gfod my l;andlord was home and he turned of the power. only needed to chnmage the outlet an dplug
Consider upgrading the circuit to handle more amps
0:50
they keep updating the NEC code like crazy, why wouldn't they just ban power strips. the issue is rarely the installer, its almost always the end user!
Shes pretty
davidca96 who?
the1 / chrysotile Both actually now that I look again
davidca96 *says in embarrassed tone a voice*
oh.....heh
the1 / chrysotile :)
@i blocked ads to watch this video oh dear
#1 reason is americans use 110V - half the voltage, twice the current per the same power, but FOUR times the IIR loss over any conductor resistance. Meh!
You know, I never thought of it that way. Good point.
there's a attic fan notorious for fires it's a round mushroom type mounts on roofing don't know make .bath vent fans. also.
240V is much more deadly when a person gets electrocuted.. We still have 240V but its saved for high power appliances.
No sir. Tho most deadliest is peoples stupidity, ignorance and lack of technical education.
Sixta16 but distance is short only from meter box forward you can always send 240 to a distant location as an outhouse if you still have one.
Did he mean to say boom box?
Yes a ghetto box is what people called it in the 80s, People heard the term and didnt get instantly offended like now a days.
I am using 150 watts on four 1875 watt outlets in one room. That is a total of 600 watts. should I expect flashing and crackling LED bulbs on 2 of these outlets which were hooked up to new surge protectors? Or 4 incandescent bulbs in the bathroom to flash and then not work? Could be the switch hooked up to these outlets. Then these 2 outlets stop working, and show to my circuit tester open neutral. And then an outlet in the living room stops working all of this at the same time?
The owners to the apartments I live at say it is my fault that the outlets stopped working and the lights flashed and blinked. These owners did not tell me that these apartments were built in the 1974s with a good chance to have aluminum wiring. They did not tell me that there are loose outlets in all the apartments that could mean loose wires, loose screws or loose blades. Aren't the owners at fault completely if there is a fire at all? Am I not supposed to expect 1875 watts at each outlet as a part of my all bills paid rent lease?
I just unplugged all the wires from loose outlets in my apartment. Because I had to read about loose outlets on my own, I read that there is an excellent chance that using an appliance at a loose outlet can immediately start a small lightning bolt/arc to shoot through the walls.
dothemathright 1111 Not to mention the outlets could be stabbed/ stab locked together causing loose connections as well.
ghetto box .
Plugs too many not good overload can catch fire, laod limited 2 or 4 plags load .
Bro u ight
People do Stupid things.
Get acfi'd they'll rlly help