Any electricians here?

[Honza]

We have just had a double electrical socket fitted. It works and seems secure enough in the wall however when we turn the electrical switch on it sometimes flashes with a tiny spark behind it inside the socket. We can see the spark through the thin gap around the switch. Does anyone know how dangerous this is? I can imagine that turning anything electrical on might cause a flash, but I don't remember seeing it with a socket before. Any advice appreciated.

 

[Honza]

I found this on the web....

"When something is plugged in, or turned on, some of that very fast, hot electricity transfers from the outlet into the appliance, light, computer or whatever. A rapid draw on available power occurs, resulting in a brief spark. This is normal and no more threatening than a mini-jolt of static electricity."

 

[Honza]

However it could also be a short circuit which are dangerous...

 

[Sparafucil3]

Call an electrician. Sparks are never good. Caveat; I am not an electrician. That's why I bring in the experts. The cost of bringing one in and him finding nothing is far surpassed by the cost of not bringing him in and your house burning down. -- jim

 

[M.Koch]

However it could also be a short circuit which are dangerous...

But only once and that should trigger the fuse.

 

[TopT]

If you keep seeing the spark, something is wrong.

 

[Tuomo]

Yeah, don't mess around with that stuff. And don't trust some website that tells you that sparks are normal. WTH?

 

[M.Koch]

I found this on the web....

"When something is plugged in, or turned on, some of that very fast, hot electricity transfers from the outlet into the appliance, light, computer or whatever. A rapid draw on available power occurs, resulting in a brief spark. This is normal and no more threatening than a mini-jolt of static electricity."

But still, that is true. As long as you have no explosive atmosphere at home, no problem.

 

[Honza]

There are renovations going on in my house at the moment and the builder will be back tomorrow to carry on. He is a decent guy and his friend who is a qualified electrician fitted the socket. They will know what to do. I just wanted to find out what is going on myself - while they are not here. Thank you for the replies.

 

[Actionjick]

I'm not an electrician but have installed plenty of outlets, switches and lighting fixtures over the years doing apartment maintenance. Anytime I encountered a situation where I was not positive I had done the job correctly or was uncomfortable with starting it I called in the company electrician.

Jim is right, call an electrician. If you are willing to drop $100+ on a new ASL module you should be willing to do the same to ensure the safety of you and your family.

 

[Actionjick]

There are renovations going on in my house at the moment and the builder will be back tomorrow to carry on. He is a decent guy and his friend who is a qualified electrician fitted the socket. They will know what to do. I just wanted to find out what is going on myself - while they are not here. Thank you for the replies.

Good. My advice would be to trip the breaker to that outlet until it can be checked. Better safe than sorry. Remember it's not paranoia if they are out to get you and electricity is out to get you. Radiation too but that's a different can of worms.

 

[Actionjick]

I've installed light fixtures in our house but last month stopped in the middle of doing one because I was leery about the wiring. Our house is 145 years old and the wires to that fixture were the old cloth wrapped insulation type. Fortunately it is a light we rarely use so I just hung the fixture without connecting the wires so the wife could decorate for Halloween. It is a chandelier type fixture and Debbie just put battery operated tea lights in the sockets instead of bulbs. Looks fine and little chance of fire!

Sorry to carry on about it but I've been knocked on my ass more than once by electricity.?

 

[bendizoid]

Cut the blue wire. Electricity is our friend.

 

[Actionjick]

Cut the blue wire. Electricity is our friend.

It blew up good!

 

[Actionjick]

But only once and that should trigger the fuse.

Maybe it will trip the breaker or blow the fuse, or maybe not. In the Navy we were taught not to rely on safety devices to work when supposed to.

The story of the multi thousand dollar unit that fries to protect the 75 cent fuse comes to mind. Most likely apocryphal but still worth heeding.

 

[Paul M. Weir]

With my light switches, if I fumble the switch motion or do it slow I can get a fizzle sound indicating a little arcing. When contact is broken but the two nearest contact points are close (<<1mm) the voltage can break down the resistance of the very thin layer of air and arc. As the contact points move further apart air resistance dominates and quenches the arcing. The quicker the switch breaks contact the less arcing. Most modern switches (in Ireland) are spring loaded to force very quick make/break contact and that makes inevitable arcing very brief and practically unnoticeable.

Of course you can jiggle most switches to make some noticeable arcing, though that's not a recommended practice.

 

[Paul M. Weir]

Two questions: Does it spark when nothing is plugged into the socket and you toggle the switch? Ditto when the appliance's switch is off.

If it sparks with no load on it, I would be worried. Does the switch seem loose, IE can be wiggled side to side?

(Un)Plugging into a socket without a switch most likely produces tiny and brief arcing but that's normally not visible as it occurs deep in the bowels of the socket.

 

[Honza]

It has only sparked twice so far and both times it was when there were appliances plugged in and switched on. The builder says all sockets create sparks but that we don't normally see them. This socket that we have now is a different design than I have seen before. It might be the sparks are more visible. Either way we will inform the electrician.

 

[Paul M. Weir]

While it's not my life or house, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Keep an eye on it sure, but ...

One final experiment. Plug in an appliance with it's own switch off. Switch on the socket. Finally switch on the appliance while observing the socket. If there is any brief arcing it should be at the appliance switch end, not at the socket, IE only at the point where the circuit is made/broken.

 

[Actionjick]

Curious if you have had the electrician check it out.

Or are you Waiting For the Electrician or Someone Like Him? ?????