parallax
New Member
I have a 20-amp circuit in my kitchen that services three wall outlets, nothing else. The outlets themselves are the 20-amp type with 12 gauge wire in between and to the breaker box, so everything should be good from that perspective. Only one of the outlets had anything plugged into it--the dust buster charger and a charger for a remote. Everything has been working fine until today.
I got a new little TV for the kitchen--one of these new LED LCD types, and I wanted to test it out. I unplugged one of the adapters in the outlet and plugged in the TV adapter, which was not connected to the TV. As soon as I plugged it in, a big pop came from the outlet and smoke started pouring out. The breaker was tripped, so no immediate danger. I took the outlet out of the wall and disconnected the wires, and the outlet had a chunk blown out of its back, with soot all over the place (see attached pics). I cleaned and inspected the wires, and they seem to be fine. The adapter itself seemed OK as well and wasn't overheated.
What was the issue? I'm afraid to plug the adapter into another outlet because I don't want to take down another circuit. Do you think it's more likely a faulty adapter, or could it have been a defect with the outlet itself?
Thanks in advance.
I got a new little TV for the kitchen--one of these new LED LCD types, and I wanted to test it out. I unplugged one of the adapters in the outlet and plugged in the TV adapter, which was not connected to the TV. As soon as I plugged it in, a big pop came from the outlet and smoke started pouring out. The breaker was tripped, so no immediate danger. I took the outlet out of the wall and disconnected the wires, and the outlet had a chunk blown out of its back, with soot all over the place (see attached pics). I cleaned and inspected the wires, and they seem to be fine. The adapter itself seemed OK as well and wasn't overheated.
What was the issue? I'm afraid to plug the adapter into another outlet because I don't want to take down another circuit. Do you think it's more likely a faulty adapter, or could it have been a defect with the outlet itself?
Thanks in advance.