Come on people, if your old enough to own a home, you can read a warning label!

How hard is it? Read the WARNING labels on the devices you use.

I just received the third repair call this month due to fire.
Yes, three fires in homes due to what?

Overdrawn extension cords....

These are supposed to be functional adults who own homes, work jobs, raise families and all that.
But every year in December, I get calls for "emergency repairs". All because someone feels the need to over decorate their home. It's becoming apparent that these modern, supposedly intelligent adults lack basic home ownership safety knowledge.
Three times in one month I have to rearrange my schedule to accommodate someone who needs their home repaired "in time for the holidays".
The sad part is two of these homes are less than 5 years old, with correctly installed, up to date wiring...
And what's the common denominator here?
Cheap ass 2 dollar extension cords! How hard is it to read the label that says Do not exceed 1300 watts?
The local insurance agent has sent me pictures of the most recent one along with the work request. I wish I could post them(I won't as its unethical and unprofessional and probably illegal). One outlet with 2 Threeway adapters, all with plugs in them, under the Christmas tree...
Luckily this last person had proper fire extinguishers and was nearby when it started, or she and her family could have been killed.

I'm not asking much, just check your electrical outlets and things you plug into them. Check your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors as well. It won't take long, and there is always someone who will help. If you don't have anyone, call your local fire department. They will be glad to help you.

Please be safe guys/gals. It's not worth losing your home, or your family.

'''What does '1300 watts' mean''' ?

a reply to: xuenchen

As sad as it is, they should probably read:
Only 2 iPhones and 1 laptop/iPad can be used at one time....

a reply to: Hewhowaits

You don't even have to read.

They have little pictures on the tags these days.

a reply to: Hewhowaits


But the speedometer on my car goes to 120mph.

Wow, that's pretty sad. The one in the pictures I received is dark brown had 2 outlets on both sides.
Can't tell if the plug sockets are polarized or not, it's all a melted burnt mess.

a reply to: xuenchen

So you are an AI bot. Ok

a reply to: Bluntone22

You probably shouldn't drive in the house.

But it has that many spots to take plugs. I should be able to plug that many things into it.

I don't understand ...

originally posted by: xuenchen
'''What does '1300 watts' mean''' ?

English to Russian translator

I appreciate the reminder. Thanks.

originally posted by: xuenchen
'''What does '1300 watts' mean''' ?

1300 watts divided by 120 volts = 10.83 amps, or just don't plug in more load than 10 amps.
volts times amps = watts.
watts divided by amps = volts
watts divided by volts = amps

We use a power strip/surge protector for the tree lights.
And never string more than two lines of lights together.

so, 'inflammable' means it can't catch on fire?

originally posted by: odzeandennz
so, 'inflammable' means it can't catch on fire?

uhhhhh....NO....

adjective
1.
capable of being set on fire; combustible; flammable.

www.dictionary.com...

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I'm pretty sure he just forgot the /sarcasm tag.

LOL!

a reply to: Hewhowaits

So, you mean I shouldn't cut the grounding connector off my big thick yellow cord to plug it into my skinny little brown lamp cord??? What a pain!

Plus, I really like those 3-way connectors. You can plug three cords into them, and then put three more of those 3-way thingies on the ends of those, use three more cords each, for a total of nine and plug a 5 outlet plug strip into the end of each one of those. That's like (45) outlets, man! I can heat my barn with 4 or 5 heaters, light up the whole house with cool christmas lights and even run a couple extension cords over to the neighbors!

Now this part is really cool. I usually run out of cords, so what I do is go down to the hardware store and get a couple big spools of wire (they don't have to be the same size). They're cheap. Then I take two wires and stick the stripped ends into the little flat slots on the last extension cord and I can run about a half mile of wire out to the mill where I just wrap the wires around the end of the last light, and run about (25) 100 watt lights in series about every 50 feet by just stripping off the middle of the wire (no need to cut it) and wrapping it around the base of the bulb. Then I run the other wire across the bottom of all the bulbs and just tape everything together with duct tape.

Sometimes when I plug in my electrical engineering masterpiece the lights in my house get dim for about 15-20 minutes. Do you think that's a problem???

/sarcasm...of course.

I think people are just oblivious, can't be bothered, or don't give a rat's arse!
And I'm afraid common sense is going extinct!

My Dad was an electrician & comes from a long line of guys who could fix anything! So I took an interest in stuff like that. I know how to wire a light fixture or outlet. I've moved a telephone landline. Hubby & I repaired our washer & dryer. I like knowing how to do things!

When hubby & I bought our house, it had a breaker box & a fuse box. No problems until microwaves came out. Then we would blow fuses every time the kids were getting ready for school & used the microwave at the same time that one of them was using the blow dryer!

So I took a day & figured out which rooms & outlets were on the same fuses. I was told that back when our house was built, it was a couple of years before the electric lines came out this far.
It was built with gas lights! So things were added here & there as needed & not where you would expect them to be! It took awhile to figure out & I labeled everything in the boxes!

One year we had our class reunion at a big outdoor pavilion. It had stormed earlier in the day & there was no power in the outlets. Some of the women brought big roasters of food, plugged them in & said, There's no power!'

The guys just stood around looking at each other.
They said, who was in charge of renting this place? Call & tell them there is no power! (This was before cell phones!) I waited a little bit longer thinking, 'Is this the class I graduated with???' We were somewhere in our 40's then.
Old enough to know at least a few basics! Did everybody here rent? I doubt it!

Finally I said, 'Did anybody check the breaker box?' I knew that they hadn't. I was still hoping somebody would step up! I heard a couple of people say, 'What's that? Where is it at?'
I said, 'Follow the wiring back from the outlet!'

It was an open pavilion & the wiring was in metal conduit. You could have probably found the fuse box just by looking up in the rafters! It was a gloomy day, but not that dark! I was still hoping somebody would step up! I can't be the only one that knows anything? Can I? I'm a girl! Where are all the guys who took shop class? Everyone was still standing around saying what are we going to do?!

Finally I stood up & walked over to the outlets & followed the conduit. I had to climb up on top of a picnic table to reach the box & everybody else was still standing around! I reset the breakers & climbed back down & said try plugging them in now!

They did & all the little indicator lights on the roasters came on! Some of them cheered & said, 'WOQ' saved the reunion! I just went & sat back down & felt really embarrassed for my class!

I had a roommate once, who was going to throw water on our electric stove, when there was a short that started a fire. I saw her & screamed, stop, just in time! But that's a whole 'nother story!

I think there should be a 'Life's Basics' class in high schools! It should teach how to balance a check book, how interest works, how to check the fluids in your car, change a tire, reset a breaker box, replace a faucet washer, fix toilet floats, replace a light fixture, turn off the gas main, whatever! All the basic necessities!

Apparently, things that parents used to teach their kids, or the kids learned by helping or watching, isn't happening anymore!

My Dad could fix radios, TVs, washers, dryers, anything electric. He rigged the closets so that the lights came on when you opened the door!
Now, things are so complicated & expensive to fix, that it's usually cheaper to just junk it & buy a new one! And things don't last as long as they used to! But the landfills have plenty of business!

SMH!
WOQ

When I need an extension cord, I grab my ones I used on the job site. They are big and scuffed up and dirty. The only thing that burns up is the wife, they leave dirt streaks on everything they touch.

a reply to: Hewhowaits

I assume they have more plugged into those cords and outlets than just Christmas tree lights. A 100 light string only runs about 45 - 50 watts. Then again, some people do go bat crap insane with Christmas decorations.

Of course the heat from the lamps themselves exacerbates the problem as well. Add in a few Ohms of resistance for all of the cascading splitters and cords and you are starting to generate some noticeable heat. Top that off with having the thing on 24 hours a day and you are asking for trouble.

I have seen people run 1500 watt electric heaters and microwaves through those cords though. The plastic insulation on the outside of the cord gets so soft it feels like taffy.

Then there's the other problem of having all those cords connected together in such a haphazard fashion. There are lots of points of failure. So a splitter gets loose and starts arching over. The result of the arching itself starts to cause the components to melt and scorch. A metallic bulb hanger can also fall across the blades and cause a full on short.

I think that even beyond reading the instructions, people should exercise a little bit of basic common sense whenever they're dealing with AC power.

-dex