Guys,
I've just been wading through a report by the New Zealand Fire Service and it doesn't make for good reading.
Especially as far as the Common 3 or 4 way multi-box is concerned.
Figures collated from Incident Fire Reports, show that multi-boxes had a dis-proportionately large showing in the causes of House Fires.
What tends to worry me, is I've seen these things at fires and although they do have an in-built Overload device, I've still yet to find a fire damaged one that the Overload has actually operated on, none of them have actually tripped to prevent the box from overheating, melting and consequentially starting a fire.
What scares me even more, is the fact that I've seen in DIY store leaflets here, versions of this sort of thing, with 4,6,8,10 and 12 sockets on them, all fed from a 10A Socket-outlet.
Sure, I realise that a fair bit of common-sense is required on the part of the user, but having said that, how many Home-owners do you think, would be bothered to even check what sort of wattage they are putting through one of these devices?.
(Especially during the Winter)
However, in the majority of cases (here anyway), these devices are hidden behind wooden Entertainment Centres, under plastic TV sets and in some cases, under beds.
I'd personally like to see the things banned, after all, they are really only a stop-gap measure where there aren't enough Sockets installed in a given room.
What do you guys think about these devices and thier use?. [Linked Image]