Fire!!! OT

[Jims50chrysler]

If you have outdoor timers on anything you might want to try something else.

we had one hooked up to our pool pump for the last few years and I always thought it was the greatest thing untill today when it caught fire under my deck and proceded to catch the deck on fire....thank god we were home and out in the back yard when this happened.

[greg g]

I don't believe those timers are rated for much more than 15 amps. Maybe you pump had some stuff clogged which upped the startup amps and fried the timer. If you set the timer to run a relay you probably won't have a problem.

[JerseyHarold]

You might want to contact the manufacturer to make them aware of this issue. There may be some kind of replacement program in place if they have seen a number of failures.

My cousin had something similar happen at her house. Her Malibu Lighting outdoor transformer caught fire and did considerable damage to the front of her home. The insurance adjuster consfiscated the transformer for testing and possible action against the manufacturer.

[Jims50chrysler]

I did not check the rating of the pump but I bet it is the best part of 15 amps

that being said...all I did was rewire the plug from the pump because it was melted, reset the tripped 15 amp breaker and plug the pump back in, It has been on for several hours now and does not feel hot so I still have to think the timer was the culprit, mabey corrosion on the contacts inside or something.

There didn't appear to be any damage from the critters.

as you can see from the pictures there is not enough of the timer left to study it.

I plan on contacting the manufacturer to let them know.... I would hate to see someone loose there house because of one of these, perhaps they could offer a suggestion as to what would cause this to happen.

Jim

[Allan Faust]

I did not check the rating of the pump but I bet it is the best part of 15 amps

that being said...all I did was rewire the plug from the pump because it was melted, reset the tripped 15 amp breaker and plug the pump back in, It has been on for several hours now and does not feel hot so I still have to think the timer was the culprit, mabey corrosion on the contacts inside or something.

There didn't appear to be any damage from the critters.

as you can see from the pictures there is not enough of the timer left to study it.

I plan on contacting the manufacturer to let them know.... I would hate to see someone loose there house because of one of these, perhaps they could offer a suggestion as to what would cause this to happen.

Jim

Jim,

If it was under the deck, it probably had something to do with water.... I have a wire going from my house to my shed for my compressor. Under my deck, i have a "joint" in an electrical box. One day this spring, I had a pump trip a breaker. I went to turn it on, but turned on another tripped breaker. It tripped again, so I unplugged the pump, turned on the "wrong" tripped breaker again, and my wife came screaming in the house that there were big flashes under the deck... I realized I had the wrong breaker for the pump, but where my connection was under the deck for my compressor, water got in there and this was starting to burn.... replaced the connection with a waterproof electrical box, and no problems... but it was starting to burn...

That may be a possibility, especially if the plug connection is right under one of the boards, where a drip can fall....

Allan

[Jims50chrysler]

Hi Allan:

That was the first thing that I thought about but after reviewing the charred remains of the switch I was still able to make out "waterproof" embossed on the plastic housing..I wonder if an insect got in there (say a mud wasp) and built a nest if that could have caused it???

Jim

[Allan Faust]

I'd suspect more the plug connection between the pump and the switch... Since the plug was also charred... all it needs is water to get where the current flows and zap......

Allan

[Don Coatney]

I'd suspect more the plug connection between the pump and the switch... Since the plug was also charred... all it needs is water to get where the current flows and zap......

Allan

Actually pure water (a rare commidity these days) is a poor electrical conductor.

[Allan Faust]

Problem is Don that the Calcium, magnesium, iron and other impurities are conductors....rain contains a lot more contaminants than meets the eye. A drop of water is not much, but factor in time, evaporation, etc and you build up a concentration of conductable matter that just one more drop can set off.... if in the right combination..... just look at oily rags etc.... things happen rarely, but given the right combination of circumstances, and you can have a fire start in a bucket of dirty rags....

Allan