Fan controller almost caused a (house) fire

valkynaz

valkynaz

valkynaz

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So I just turned on the computer I own to find the room being flooded with the smell of something burning. I immediately turn off all electrical appliances in the room and do some sniffing around and the smell is coming from the computer. I immediately crap my pants. I open the case and determine the smell is coming from the 5.25" bays. I whip out the phone and video me starting up the computer to 1) see what the hell is going on and 2) have proof of what is actually happening. Immediately a power mosfet (I believe?) on the Lamptron FC6 fan controller starts glowing orange and smoke billows out.

Had I simply turned the computer on and quickly went downstairs for a drink etc, there could have been a very real possibility of a fire occurring and desk and other appliances in the immediate area going up in flames and snowballing.

Here is the video of start up.


And here is a quick picture of the fan controller after I took it out to assess the damage.

E: I think it's worth saying just in case, that the fan controller is indeed completely broke.

img0100gy.jpg


Luckily the computer is still fully functional and no further damage has been done. I will never again purchase a Lamptron product.
 
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Whilst it's not a good thing, I think you might be overstating that it could have caused a big house fire.

The smoke was just the plastic melting off the mosfet and probably looked worse than it was. Had it gone any further it would have just caused an internal short and your PC would have shut off.

Stating that you'll never buy a Lamptron product again is a little OTT. Granted it'll put you off but you've probably just been unlucky and got the one in a million failure.

Best thing would be to contact Lamptron, with your evidence. They'll be apologetic and offer you some free stuff most likely.
 
^ I completely disagree. I would certainly tell Laptron and i wouldnt ever buy another product from them either.

Tbh I'm questioning my own FC2 now :(
 
Sorry for the overly dramatic post. I just can't help but think that if the above circumstances had happened and I wasn't at the computer when I turned it on then a fire could have occurred.
 
doyll said:
Probably no fire but would definitely stink the place up real good.
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Yes it did! Very smelly indeed. Very powerful smell that lingered for quite a while. The unit itself still smells hours after.

As for the fire thingy, sorry guys :p. Maybe I was exaggerating but I'm unaware of the workings of a power mosfet and whether or not an electrical fire can result from one of them overheating.
 
Mosfets fail. They can fail in a Lamptron and they can fail in an Akasa or a chinese cheapy device and they can also fail on your motherboard.

Eventually the mosfet would melt it's solder joints and the problem would go away and you'd just have a broken channel.
 
spixelspixel said:
gotta say, I lol'd when I read this

'desk and other appliances in the immediate area going up in flames '
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Glad you had a good laugh :D.

When I typed out this thread I still had my serious face on as I thought the whole house could have burned down if an electrical fire had started, which by the looks of the comments was not possible to begin with.
 
valkynaz said:
Glad you had a good laugh :D.

When I typed out this thread I still had my serious face on as I thought the whole house could have burned down if an electrical fire had started
Click to expand...

When smoke boils out of something with red/orange glows and flickers our minds can project some pretty scary images. :eek:
 
All you people who have said that this wouldn't have caused the house to burn down 'YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT'.
My cousins house had a fire in the front room that gutted the room completely and that started with a spark from inside the audio amplifier under the TV. A lot (12%) of these house fires start with a small electrical failure that spreads quickly, (51% start in the kitchen)
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/firestatsgb201011
 
bru said:
All you people who have said that this wouldn't have caused the house to burn down 'YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT'.
My cousins house had a fire in the front room that gutted the room completely and that started with a spark from inside the audio amplifier under the TV. A lot (12%) of these house fires start with a small electrical failure that spreads quickly, (51% start in the kitchen)
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/firestatsgb201011
Click to expand...

An audio amplifier has a lot more 'fuel' for the initial burn in a smaller space plus 240v of power to generate much more heat.

Out of that 12% I'm willing to bet that 11.99% were mains equipment.

But hey, what would I know, it's not like I haven't previously worked with the fire service.
 
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