ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades How plausible is this??

Hi Mike,

Could a small fire have already started before the kettle turned off? eg the the kettle's load may have started a fire in a powerboard or double adapter, just a thought. Did it look like the kettle was in the area of origin?


Regards

Dapo

Yes, they are more powerful, ours is 230v 3kw.
Hey, give the lil ol' lady a break!
She probly was wearing enough layers of winter bloomers, jumpers, 3 skirts, a scarf, gloves, furry lined boots and a wooly hat [trying to save on the heating bills] to rate better than a full fire suit! - and having shrunk to 4 ft 8" she naturally adopted the Firemans Crouch .
Also, she probly only weighs 85 lb, and bounced clean off the wall and landed on her cat which broke her fall.
That's new to me - frying stuff in an electric kettle- but hey, it's a free country- Show me in the instructions where it says nix-nix to boiling lard!

ps added-
I imagine her out on the porch in her Shaker rocker, cradling an 8-gage wildfowler's punt-cannon over her lisle-stockinged bony knees, as in the Clint Eastwood film "Any Which way but Loose."

[This message has been edited by Alan Belson (edited 03-11-2006).]

OK folks,
Here's what I reckon happened.
Mr and Mrs wanted a new kitchen or new house.
I spent a few nights at this place trying to work out what may have happened:
Sure, the jug turn itself off and the lady of the house did hear that happen.
I took the jug back to work to examine it and there was nothing wrong with the bi-metallic strip whatsoever.
{I will say for a start, that part of the jug was not destroyed}
Having been set upon a cheap counter top didn't help things, because Melamine will bubble and to a degree burn anything underneath it.
When I said that the place was reduced to ashes, sorry that is nothing but an over-statement on my part, one side of the kitchen was severely damaged, but due to the work of the Fire Crews, we get to see what really happened.
And this is where it takes a nasty turn.
Upon examining the jug at work, I noticed something wierd.
It was as if someone had jammed a screwdriver or a knife into the switch mechanism, to ensure that it never opened.
That was why I was asking guys, two dis-similar metals cannot buck the laws of physics, or chemistry for that matter.
Oh and by the way, there is no such thing as a Micro-temp in a kettle here these days.
We are already throwing out too many good appliances, just like one manufacturer to set his Micro-temps a bit lower.
Of course there is no real warranty these days is there.
Anyway, for Mr and Mrs the warranty of a few hours of community service and having your name ripped through the papers a few times is pretty much priceless.
I personally have no sympathy at all.
Thanks for your comments guys, it really got my grey matter going!.

That's interesting. My old 1960s kettle had 1.2 kW and the brand new one in class is 2kW.

So that pretty sure makes it arson... and stupid too!

******DAILY BLUDGER STOP PRESS******

******Free the Kettle Two!******

"We wuz framed!" says Mrs (Bimetalic)Cutout.

Classic Alan !

One comment on the kitchen door... from pictures I've seen I gues had the kitchen really been ablaze she'd have noticed blistering paint long before opening the door, especially around the metal knob!

Ragnar,
The fire happened on the opposite side of the room to the entrance door.
The fact that the door was stained (not painted ) may have had something do with the lady not noticing the fire until she opened the door.
One other thing, with houses having humungous amounts of insulation in the walls these days (we can thank the current Building Act for that here), the fire was more than likely not heard either.

LOL @ Alan, that's a good one mate!.

Hm, ok, that's possible. Still, I think the fire should be audible through a hollow core door (or even solid wood door).

Off to court next week.
2 days of explaining this mess.
Such a silly thing to do, how can you not get found out these days.
Forensics are better than 20 years ago.