An oven connected to the wall socket of my kitchen drew a lot of power and hence fried the other outlets/switches of the wall socket board according to a local electrician. Mains volts is 240VAC in my country. But i have my doubts if that was really the case. As far as i know the configuration in a wall socket is typically parallel, so if the oven was really drawing a lot of power, shouldn't only the path leading to the oven be affected with the rest of the board unharmed? Could something else have happened like an accidental short or something that took down half of the board? A bit confused how the large power flowed to the "other" outlets/switches.

 

It should not "draw a lot of power", unless it was a 3-phase oven and someone re-wired it to be connectable so a single phase socket. Any wall socked should handle an oven. Unless you had multiple socket connectors on that socket, and you connected for example 2 more devices that require big kW, a normal socket should absolutely handle an oven.

If the oven is OK (there was no short circuit in the oven that took a lot of amps at one moment), my best guess is bad wire connection inside the wall socket, that can cause sparks and melt plastic.

 

As far as I remember the wires at that time were not overly messy but they were not pretty either. They were screwed to connectors. The electric oven still works fine, but i am a bit scared to plug it back to that outlet. So according to laws of physics even if the oven draws lots of amps the other outlets should be fine right? Except for very cheap plastic maybe and sparks?

 

If you ask me you still need to figure out the problem, because an oven does not draw a lot of amps. I mean it does more than a lightbulb but it should be perfectly manageable for a wall socket. How else are you supposed to connect a regular household oven to power, if not through a wall socket?

I dont know what kind of wall socket you have, is it one of those modular ones? But I would buy a new wall socket, inspect the cable connector of the oven, plug it in and monitor what happens with the heat.

Drawing too much current is a crappy diagnosis by (probably) a crappy electrician. If you didn't have an extension cord on that socket, and on the extension cord you connect an oven, a dishwasher and an electric wall heater, and running all 3 at the same time, an oven does not draw a lot of amps.

 

If you ask me you still need to figure out the problem, because an oven does not draw a lot of amps. I mean it does more than a lightbulb but it should be perfectly manageable for a wall socket. How else are you supposed to connect a regular household oven to power, if not through a wall socket?

I dont know what kind of wall socket you have, is it one of those modular ones? But I would buy a new wall socket, inspect the cable connector of the oven, plug it in and monitor what happens with the heat.

Drawing too much current is a crappy diagnosis by (probably) a crappy electrician. If you didn't have an extension cord on that socket, and on the extension cord you connect an oven, a dishwasher and an electric wall heater, and running all 3 at the same time, an oven does not draw a lot of amps.

This kind of sockets (a bigger board/box), modular in the sense you can swap those switches/connectors with brand new:

 

OK wait a second. What is fried exactly? I just read the first post better. The oven drew too much current and fried the switches? That is ridiculous.
If one of the siwtches is fried it is either bad contact action on the switch (likely), bad wiring on the switch (also likely) or malfunction in the lighting (I dont know what kind of lights are connected there, but less likely).

 

Hello,

It looks like type D or type M socket.
Those seem to be used in india and nepal.
https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets/d/
https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets/m/

Type D seems to be 6 Amps rated.
Type M seems to be 16 Amps rated.

Bertus

 

I did not know 6A wall sockets even exist. That is even more ridiculous. In that case I withdraw what I said that a wall socked cannot be fried by an oven. But as I see the 16A plug cannot fit the 6A socket, right?

It still doesn't explain anything if the switch is fried.

 

A few details I don't understand. We or I will assume 240 VAC.


Type-D Socket

• Pins: 3 round pins arranged in a triangular pattern.
• Amperage: Rated for 5A.
• Use Case: Best for low-power devices like lamps, phone chargers, and small electronics in bedrooms or living areas.
• Pin Size: Smaller live, neutral, and earth pin dimensions. [1, 2]

Type-M Socket

• Pins: 3 round pins arranged in a triangular pattern.
• Amperage: Rated for 15A to 16A (heavy-duty).
• Use Case: Designed for high-load appliances like air conditioners, geysers, and heaters in kitchens or utility areas.
• Pin Size: Significantly larger earth and live/neutral pins than Type-D. [1, 2, 3]

I would think whatever the case any socket should be fused for what it is rated for and likewise the wires to/from the socket should be rated for the current max. With proper wiring and fusing or breaker a socket should never burn up or melt.

Ron

 

First, I can only speak to US wiring. I have very little going on in my property that requires 240VAC. An electric oven and a 240V table saw. So I can't speak with authority on the subject. However, getting down to the root of your question:

An oven connected to the wall socket of my kitchen drew a lot of power and hence fried the other outlets/switches of the wall socket board according to a local electrician. Mains volts is 240VAC in my country. But i have my doubts if that was really the case. As far as i know the configuration in a wall socket is typically parallel, so if the oven was really drawing a lot of power, shouldn't only the path leading to the oven be affected with the rest of the board unharmed?

I would agree in suspecting the "local electrician" is either lying to you so he could pad the repair bill with unnecessary charges - or - he doesn't really know what he's talking about.
You are right! An overloading appliance should only affect the socket it's plugged into. Nothing up stream or down stream should be affected, except for the possibility of burning out an overloaded wire. But that's what breakers are for - to protect the wiring and prevent house fires.

You mentioned switches: Since I don't know (I'll call it) "Foreign" electrical systems I might guess that one of those switches turns on or off an outlet. If that's the case and the switch is not rated to handle the current the oven draws then I could see the switch burning out. But again, it shouldn't affect anything up or down stream.

Could something else have happened like an accidental short or something that took down half of the board? A bit confused how the large power flowed to the "other" outlets/switches.

Could something else have happened? Assuming the electrician's diagnosis is correct then perhaps you got struck by lightning. Even then it's doubtful inactive outlets would be affected. Look at it this way: If you have 5 outlets on a single line on a single breaker and only two of those 5 outlets has something plugged in. A power surge MIGHT cause those "in-use" outlets to fry. MIGHT! But if you WERE struck by lightning I'd assume there would be much greater damage to the wiring system and not just that circuit. Lightning could jump the gap on switches that were open at the time of the flash, and that could cause some damage to the switches. It would most certainly damage the appliance too. You said the oven is still working. Maybe it could survive a strike. But delecate electronics would certainly fry.

You refer to "the rest of the board". This is where I don't know anything about foreign electrical systems. Other countries may refer to an electrical box as a box while others may refer to it as a board. I'm just guessing because I don't know. But for my money, either you were struck by lightning or the electrician is trying to pad the bill.

 

OK wait a second. What is fried exactly? I just read the first post better. The oven drew too much current and fried the switches? That is ridiculous.
If one of the siwtches is fried it is either bad contact action on the switch (likely), bad wiring on the switch (also likely) or malfunction in the lighting (I dont know what kind of lights are connected there, but less likely).

That is an example board off the internet. My one looks like this albeit a bigger one, you get the idea. The switches/outlets fried and I replaced with new ones. Yeah that claim sounds ridiculous and I was suspicious. I wasnt even powering "heavy" stuff other than the oven, there is the kitchen lights, the fan, and thats about that. I guess lightning is the most reasonable answer as it rained quite hard for many days.

 

Can you post a picture of the fried outlets / switches?

 

Can you post a picture of the fried outlets / switches?

The electrician handled the board. I don't know what he did (I should have been around during the inspection process), he said he replaced the parts or something. So no pictures of burned/fried parts. The whole kitchen lights, fan, etc. were non functional before he came but now they are working fine. I guess someday i need to get inside that board and see for myself what he did to the wiring; it works for now but i have to be cautious not to connect any "heavy" loads he advised.

 

If the cable is the right size, the breaker is the right size and the plug is rated to handle the same amount of current (i.e. 12 gauge carries 20 amps, a 20 amp outlet with a 20 amp breaker) then you should be good to go.

Many years ago, first marriage, mother-in-law yelled at me for wrapping the power cord the way it was designed to be wrapped for storage. She said the salesman told her that pulling the cord that tight could damage the wire and recommended she never do that. I tried to tell her that not only were there wires in the cord there was also a rope of some sort that would prevent the cable from stressing the internal wiring of the cord. She retorted "HE KNOWS HIS PRODUCT! YOU DON'T!" She believed what he said even though he had no idea what he was talking about. Nevertheless, I left her vacuum alone after that.

Just because someone is in a position of knowledge doesn't always mean they know what they're talking about. I've encountered that phenomenon many times. It's exasperating. A woman on a production line rejected a solder joint I made. It was made to IPC-610 rev G standards, just like the purchase order required. I told her it meets IPC but she insisted the customer would reject it. I told her about 610 and the purchase order and she yelled at me "I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 20 YEARS!" So. I've been doing this from before the existence of IPC standards.

Just because someone claims to have superior knowledge doesn't mean they do. If the cable is the right size, the breaker is the right size and the plug is rated to handle the same amount of current then you should be good to go.

 

US based. FWIW my 2 cents. Standard wall socket 120V @ 15A. For 240V moveable equipment (saws, compressors, 1 kW amplifiers, etc.) one amp class above the equipment rating for the socket with correctly sized wire and breaker. For 240V fixed items (HVAC, water pumps, water heater, dryer, range, etc.) preferable not socketed but a wall box spliced with rated breaker and wire. HVAC has some other caveats as well such as at equipment fused disconnect etc. Here multiple 15A wall outlets can be put on a 20A breaker with 12AWG. Single wall 120V "appliance" outlets (microwave, toaster oven, refrigerator, freezer, etc.) 20A socket though on 12AWG 20A breaker. If it's pulling enough current to cook the outlet, then the breaker and wiring may not be sized correctly or faulty. The wiring in the walls may also be cooked as well.

 

Based on the photo, that is not a wall socket in either the USA or any country I have visited. It appears to be a ceramic material.
BUT I HAVE SEEN "fried wiring" in an outlet box here in the USA! Insulation on the wires burned black! The plasic body of the outlet was also damaged by the intese heat.

The cause was obvious, which was that the painter who had worked on it after painting the original outlet had no clue at all as to how to do it correctly.
LOOSE CONNECTIONS will certainly lead rapidly to overheating the connections, and then serious burning of wires in an electrical box!! BUT it DID NOT trip the circuit breaker.
AND that was with the lady using only an 800 watt toaster!.

 

Those are British Standard BS546 sockets, superseded here by the 13A one with rectangular pins, but they are a seriously over-engineered connector (still used for lighting circuits, especially in theatres). Live and neutral pins are solid brass 20mm^2 for the 5A and 40mm^2 for the 15A (compared to 9mm^2 for a US plug), so that's unlikely to be the problem.
When you say "oven" do you mean a portable tabletop oven? That's likely to be about 2kW (8A and need the 15A plug. A cooker with rings and ovens needs 30A and wiring to its own circuit.
If more than one socket suffered then loose wiring must be the cause.

 

Those are British Standard BS546 sockets, superseded here by the 13A one with rectangular pins, but they are a seriously over-engineered connector (still used for lighting circuits, especially in theatres). Live and neutral pins are solid brass 20mm^2 for the 5A and 40mm^2 for the 15A (compared to 9mm^2 for a US plug), so that's unlikely to be the problem.
When you say "oven" do you mean a portable tabletop oven? That's likely to be about 2kW (8A and need the 15A plug. A cooker with rings and ovens needs 30A and wiring to its own circuit.
If more than one socket suffered then loose wiring must be the cause.

OK, wiring in the UK has apparently changed since I last visited!
Unfortunately even a very gpod wiring system is not fool proof!
I do not trust ANY "push-in" terminal as being adequate for power connections, despite them being approved for residential wiring. (I am NOT asserting that other methods are fool-proof) .
YES, I was commenting on the typical "tabletop" oven, usually rated about 1200watts , here in the US.
The contact current capability of wall-type connectors may certainly be adequate, but wiring done by the unknowing individuals may not be at all adequate. Unfortunately, at least in my locality, the electrical inspectors seem to only be interested in the height and location of electrical boxes. The last inspection I witnessed was only concerned about the box heaight and the circuit breaker connection. Only one wire per breaker!!

 

OK, wiring in the UK has apparently changed since I last visited!

If refering to the 13A ring-main system used in the UK, AFAIK it has been in effect since the late 1940's !
I have been abscent and not practised there for ~4 decades but I believe it is still in effect !?

 

I have been abscent and not practised there for ~4 decades but I believe it is still in effect !?

Hi Max.
The 13A plug is still in use as the basic electrical mains power plug.
The internal fuse can be either a 3A, 5A or 13Amp, chosen to suit the expected max load current.
EG: Electric kettle. Microwave oven etc..

A kitchen cooker or any other high current equipment will be wired with its own mains connection wiring and fusing/switching to the incoming main distribution box, not the 13Amp socket/plug wired ring main.

E