I had a smart plug catch fire last night, with only an air purifier plugged into it

[Dennis Donovan]

I was sitting at my computer last night when I heard a loud *pop* followed by flames shooting up my curtains. I was about 5 feet away so I was able to kick the still-flaming smart plug out of the socket and snuff the curtain fire out with my hands (no burns, fortunately). I called an electrician this am and had him come over and replace the socket (he inspected the wires, said the only damage was to the socket itself). Had I been in bed asleep, I'd be on DU's In Memorium page by this weekend.

I'm aware that it's not a good idea to plug appliances like electric heaters into smart plugs. But my air purifier is nothing more than a fan, so I'm not sure why that would cause the plug to overheat and catch fire. So, I'm going under the assumption that the smart plug itself was defective.

FWIW, the make of the smartplug is Tan Tan purchased 4 months ago on Amazon. I had 4 of them around my house - I pulled every last one of them and am going to contact the mfgr.

Just a heads up for anyone using this product.

[Harker]

1. Does Underwriters Laboratories still exist?

Used to be a big thing to be UL listed.

Glad you're well.

[Dennis Donovan]

4. This is made in China

...and, looking at a non-charred one, UL is missing from the seals of approval.

[democratisphere]

19. Does it have an ETL Label. If not, it is junk.

[Dennis Donovan]

23. It has an ETL label

...and FCC (for the wireless antenna).

[mr_lebowski]

2. Sounds like it's name is a bit of a misnomer ... glad you're okay!

[Dennis Donovan]

42. Thanks! If I do smart plugs in the future, I'll do the entire outlet, not just a plug

[democratisphere]

3. Always a good idea to buy electrical components from widely

known manufacturers of quality.

[Dennis Donovan]

5. That's the thing - they're rated well on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071LLWLLP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm going to look into Philips for smart plug replacements.

[democratisphere]

18. Phillips is a high quality name in electrical components.

[Dennis Donovan]

20. Yep - and not manufactured in China.

Plus, they're Dutch - and the Dutch always seem so happy to me.

[Lochloosa]

22. Or Leviton. Both are well respected.

[Dennis Donovan]

24. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Cirque du So-What]

6. Some Tan Tan plugs are only rated for 1200 W.

Seems likely an air purifier uses more than that.

[Dennis Donovan]

10. I don't think it does. There's no heating element, just a fan. n/t

[Clash City Rocker]

7. Whoa. Thank God you were there to save the day

I’ve contemplated getting smart plugs, but this makes me rethink that notion.

[Dennis Donovan]

11. This particular plug was about 3 months old - I had 3 others that were a yr old

No safety issues with them at all, except one stopped working altogether (should've been my first clue they were shit ).

[mopinko]

8. i read recently that these things and after market chargers are the most complained about item sold

on amazon.
it's frustrating, tho, since the big guys gouge so much on these accessories.
lots of fires reported in the reviews.

one thing people can do, tho, is check to see if they heat up. if they run hot, chuck them.

[Dennis Donovan]

14. That's good advice - anything warm-to-hot to the touch, treat it as suspect

[Fla Dem]

9. Wow, if you were asleep or weren't home...sends shivers down my spine.

Write a review on amazon too so others are aware of the danger.

[Dennis Donovan]

12. It terrifies me to think had I not been home, the house would've burned down

...and my pups might not have made it. That's the thought I'm trying to shake right now.

[Ferryboat]

13. Glad your ok

This product violates the KISS principle.

I get why you might like the convenience. Added complexity to product's makes it more likely to have problems.

With something like this the UL seal of approval is mandatory. Which means good by low cost.

[Dennis Donovan]

15. I used it as a timer to turn the purifier on and off per a routine (in Alexa)

...and I agree with you about UL.

[58Sunliner]

16. Glad you were able to respond quickly. That is scary.

I don't have any. Just USB plugs. But it would seem that a computer chip controlled plug could be hacked or have faulty software. Definitely going to avoid these.

[Dennis Donovan]

17. That's a good point. It's great to be a part of an automation revolution here in 2020

...but, since most of these devices are made in China, there's a very real chance they could be compromised.

Hmm... maybe that's China's plan! Destroy America by burning down one house at a time.

[58Sunliner]

21. We are sorry, we didn't mean to kill you. We lost another valued customer!!

[underpants]

25. Looks to me like a portal for Satan

Care to offer the REAL explanation?

[Dennis Donovan]

27. That outlet was talking in my grandmama's voice to trick me and drag me to hell

[TygrBright]

26. Sorry, but... what is a "Smart plug" and why not just plug it into an outlet...? n/t

[Dennis Donovan]

29. It's a plug you plug into a plug

It's "smart" as in it communicates via wireless with controlling apps on your phone or tablet, or with Alexa voice assistant. I had my air purifier on it so it would start @ 6 am and shut off at midnight.

[TygrBright]

33. Can you still buy a "dumb" timer to add to any plug or appliance to get the same result?

I know we used to have a couple that we used when we were on vacation, to turn lights and radio or TV on in the evening so that the house looked occupied.

We never had the slightest problem with one, except of course learning to set it properly...

Maybe they don't sell those anymore...

"Smart" houses give me even creepier shivers than "smart" phones. I no longer have ANY trust level in the providers of services to protect my privacy or refrain from exploiting me, because there seems to be no regulation, no oversight, and no consequences for them in breaching trust or engaging in exploitation.

We are innovating ourselves back to a pre-digital society.

sadly,
Bright

[Dennis Donovan]

35. I'm sure you can still buy the mechanical timers

There's not much in the way of privacy concerns with smart lights and plugs themselves, since (despite their "smart" name), all they do is open and close a circuit when a command is sent via wifi.

Now, the controlling apps are a different matter. They can monitor usage, habits, etc and profile you to marketers rather easily.

[TygrBright]

37. VERY glad this didn't turn out worse for you! n/t

[Phentex]

39. I'm glad you asked!

I was wondering the same thing. All my plugs are dumb.

[Turbineguy]

28. Yikes! Good outcome

Thanks to quick action.

[Dennis Donovan]

30. I hope that's it for house fires in my life.

I hope they're like lightning and don't strike twice.

[Rider3]

31. There's your answer

When I first read the headline, I thought, "The electronic was purchased off the Internet -- not from an authorized dealer." I used to do anti-counterfeitting undercover purchasing. eBay and Amazon are FILLED with counterfeit items. Even if it says "Canon" on it, if you removed the casing, you will find half-assed fittings (i.e., tape, maybe a paper clip to make something fit). It was harder to track counterfeits on Amazon than it was on eBay. However....

If you see anything that's discounted on eBay/Amazon that's too good to be true, trust me -- it's counterfeit. Tan Tan is a Chinese company. You can pretty much bet it's counterfeit. Most of my counterfeitters were out of China or Brooklyn, NY. Explosions have happened many times to other people, some causing nasty injuries. Always buy your electronics from an authorized dealer.

[Dennis Donovan]

32. Good advice

[dewsgirl]

34. OMG Dennis, thank goodness you are O.K.

[Dennis Donovan]

36. It freaked me out so much I slept in my living room just in case it re-sparked

I cut the power to the outlets right after the fire and checked the walls by feeling them for any heat (in case wiring was affected). No wiring issues, fortunately. But it still turned out to be a long, restless night!

[dewsgirl]

38. I'm so sorry, I can imagine how scary that would be 😳

[Phentex]

40. Glad you are okay...

and thanks for the warning!

[Dennis Donovan]

41. Thanks! Maybe a one-off bad plug, but not a bad idea to warn others just in case n/t

[Paper Roses]

43. As an additional bit of info: Running fans all day

It has been very hot here in MA. My old house is not air conditioned. I have fans in a lot of my windows. Several 100 degree days ago, I was half asleep at about 2 AM. I thought I smelled smoke so I got up to check. The fan in my BR window was emitting a slight smell and as I touched it, I could feel heat from the motor.
Because the fan was hot, I grabbed a shirt in order to grab the metal base and ran outside with it. If I had been really asleep, this thing could have ignited the curtains and then..whatever. Disaster averted.

I will never leave a fan going all day, no matter how hot the weather.
Please check the temp of the motors of any fans you use.
This scared the heck out of me!

[Dennis Donovan]

44. I'm very glad you're safe!