Surge protectors melting down and causing fires

[ulti...@live.com]

http://www.nmsu.edu/%7Esafety/news/lesson-learned/surgeprotectorfire.htm

[ulti...@live.com]

http://www.nmsu.edu/%7Esafety/news/lesson-learned/surgeprotectorfire.htm

[MSfo...@mcpmail.com]

ultim...@live.com wrote:
> http://www.nmsu.edu/%7Esafety/news/lesson-learned/surgeprotectorfire.htm

I've had it happen to me a couple times, without the fire. The last
one was probably my fault for overloading it on a long term basis. It
melted in place. What people don't realize is that a fuse or circuit
breaker will not protect against a fire. You can develop arcing with
sun-like temperatures that don't require heavy loads to support and
therefore don't trigger a break. The new arc-fault protectors are
helpful in those cases. It's a good idea to put your hand on equipment
and connections occasionally to check for heat. There is usually
overheating for a long time before major failure.