Housefires and how to avoid them

[Destination]

So the washing machine just tripped half the house, on examination I was confronted with an electrical smell of burning, moved machine out had a look at the plug




So my question is, do I need a chap to look at the machine, or do i need an electrician to come check the plugs?
What's the most likely cause of this fire on the terminal?

 

[Destination]

Indesit ?

Bosch.
Had it maybe 9 years, had the brushes replaced maybe 18 months ago, else it's been rock solid.
It's on a fused spur, with the isolator switch above the cabinet.
Honestly, given the smell, if the damn electric had not tripped, we might well have had full blown housefire.
Lead wasn't under strain etc, but as people have stated the cable run from the fuse above down to the socket I wouldn't trust at all now.

I'll get a spark in.
Is there any chance the machine itself might be okay after this with a new plug, if the problem is isolated to the plug itself?
Or should I get ordering a new machine?

 

[Destination]

What fuse was inside? I'm betting the wrong fuse was in there.

plug is marked as 13amp, it has a 13 amp fuse within it, which is now nicely fused into the plastic
and the isolator fuse on the socket above the work top has a 13 amp fuse in it as well

 

[Destination]

I'm more concerned as to why it burnt up the neutral pin, not the live pin.

Is the socket wired correctly even?

No clue, i'll wait until light tomorrow, and shut off the water and disconnect the machine, get it right out of the way so I can get a proper gander at it.
In behind the machine does seem bone dry, I can't see any obvious damp or anything to that effect, the house in general has no such issues, no condensation etc.
For all I know there is a loose lead inside the wall socket, if anything that might reassure me more, but I'll hopefully get a spark in soon to have a proper test of that whole thing.

 

[Destination]

opened the socket to take a look today
no signs of mould, or cold, or damp, or condensation, opened the machine too, to have a look inside, again no signs of leakage or anything along those lines
socket connections are grand, all solid, nothing loose
the plug is a moulded type connected to the device, so potentially there could be a loose connection within it i guess, but after 10 years?
don't really know how i could check that in factory moulded plug anyway :/





nothing seems hard from a pvc pov either @Adam_151 and the length of plug itself except for the plug also seems unaffected
i guess it could be condenstation, but odd it would be in behind a washing machine? nowhere else

 

[Destination]

Follow up stripped the plug back 8 inches, and attached a new plug to the washing machine, ran a drain cycle followed by a spin cycle to get the clothes that were in it out, no signs of any issues with the machine, no signs of heating within the plug during the run.
can't run a full cycle as the hose for water fill isn't long enough to reach to the new plugs position.
So will need a longer hose, or wait until the spark has fully replaced the socket etc.

 

[Destination]

I would consider that but it is from a fused isolator socket, and I would like the entire run tested by someone who knows what they are doing, just so i can be reassured that it is safe, don't want any incidents from a socket that is hidden under a worktop and isn't accessible without moving the machine.

 

[Destination]

I'd replace the socket with a Fused Spur imho.

MK Logic Plus 13A Switched Fused Spur & Flex Outlet White - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. 13A. Double pole fused connection unit with flex outlet. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

Unless it needs to be a socket because access is tight.

There is a switched fused spur above the worktop as an isolator switch for the socket that is below the worktop surface, so not sure if a second one down below would be of any help.

 

[Destination]

Honestly, just replace the socket, all looks fine to me, just get a half decent brand MK, Ashley/Hager, or even Click (reasonble budget choice) and avoid the unbranded or LAP stuff in screwfix. Ensure you take care about looking at terminal markings as different brands do use differnt layouts on the back, I'd normally put an unswitched one in that location (serves no purpose, and stops you finding you have left it off after you have put machine back) but doesn't matter if you use a switched one (as before) Switch off the spur above as well as the MCB, and then you won't trip the RCD off if you touch neutral and earth together while doing it.

The only thing I'd do that you wouldn't be able to is to take a quick earth loop reading and test your RCD afterwards

Will do, bits ordered, will sort them on Tuesday.
I bought a little socket tester thingy, just to test the rest of the house while I was at it, been round today, one socket in kitehcn which we never use appears to have a open neutral connection, and another has a wiggly earth connection, both issues appear to be within the sockets themselves, as all connections in seem tight and same result after unwiring and rewiring.
So i'll get two new double gang sockets, repalce them and retest at that point.
There's a trip switch thing on the tester which allows for rcd testing, so will do that when all is fixed.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Destination]

While those socket testers are a good thing to have, just bear in mind that they are limited in what they can tell you and are best regarded as a test for badness, not a test for goodness. I.e. if they say theres an issue, then likely there is an issue (but might not be quite what it indicates, in some circumstances) but if it says all is good, then thats telling you it can't see any issues with what its able to do, rather than all is ok.

Its good you have one but its good to be aware of what its limitations are and what its good for They are a very good sanity check, that after changing a socket that you havn't reversed polaity (so do that after changing it), I'll always pop it in before doing the loop test, mine also has a buzzer which is good for confirmation that you have got the right circuit when some distance away (saves my knees on staircases!)

If you had open neutral, then any appliance plugged there would not work, normally its down to the switch failing where its double pole
Not sure what you mean by wiggly earth? Some of them are able to do a very basic loop test and tell you if its above a value that gives concern on a TN system. Or it could just be saying its completely open? The only way for that sort of thing to be down to the socket itself is if the string contacts for the earth pin has become bent or damaged (not that common). Its more likely that its a connection issue, first thing to check is that the earth sleeving is not caught under the terminal screw stopping the conductor making contact with the terminal (this happens more times than it should, although in most cases, the screw has pushed through the sleeving and made contact and tests out alright it, not good that its seen as often is it is on profesional work!)

by wiggly earth i mean, when the socket tester is in place, if it is moved or jiggled at all is fails with 'open earth' so i am simply replacing that double gang socket, test again after

from talking with previous owner, it seems that an iron once died in the socket that reports an open neutral, so i think it mgiht well have ****** up that double gang, so i'll repalce it as well and test again after

thanks for all the help and advice

 

[Destination]

Was the socket on the back or side wall with the washing machine potentially pressing against the plug?

If so, the machine's vibrations can cause the conductors to fret. Fretting with high current and worn conductors could have caused this.

This is possible, althought the machine never seemed to be pushed in that far, it was potentially against the socket.
I can't say for sure, and we are talking many years of positioning.