Grrrrrr. What a night. Plugged in a nitelight and it burst into flames.

[Paper Roses]

Big flash, shock, smoke flames, blew circuit. I now have a burn on my finger. Never mind the fact that it scared the heck out of me.
The wall socket is a charred mess, smoke residue on the wall. I was able to pull the light out, double checked the circuit in the basement to make sure it was off and was then, holding a piece of rubber, to grab the prong that remained in the wall socket. I now have a mess and must call an electrician today to see if I can get someone here to replace the socket and whatever else was cooked in the process.

I have several night lights and do not know where I bought this. No mfgr's name on it, just a series of #'s and of course, UL approved. No country of origin but I bet I can guess. I Googled the #'s, cannot find any reference to this product.

The worst part was the smell and the heat in the walls around the socket. I stayed up most of the night just to make sure it cooled off and not start a fire in the walls.

I then wiped the soot from the walls and this AM, there was more residue above the socket.

Just what I need now. Shoot.

I have my refrigerator on a heavy duty X-cord into another socket.

Now I am stuck with finding an electrician, waiting, and worst of all the cost to fix this mess.

Phooey!

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

1. How old is that outlet ?

And was the refer plugged into it ? And do you know what else is on the circuit ? Could be a number of things or it could simply have been a bad receptacle.The night light too. Simply I am suggesting that you don't think the absolute worst.

[Paper Roses]

2. Hi, The outlet has been there since 1969. Never any indication that

it was bad. The electrician replaced it with a new outlet after checking the wiring and doing some other stuff.(beyond me.)He said the outlet was bad. The only other thing on that circuit is the refrig. I have used it for years for the coffee maker, toaster, blender type of thing. Never a lot at a time.

I have not seen the type of outlet he put in before but it has some kind of a built in kill switch and reset button so this should not happen again. I am going to have him come after the holidays and replace the sockets in both bathrooms and one other in the kitchen that are too close to the sinks.

Building and Electrical Codes have changed so much since we bought this old house. I'm sure there are many things here that would not measure up these days. About the only things I can do us update these sockets for safety.

I threw away the other night lite that was the same design. I do need to find a source of good, tested ones. I noticed there were some recalls on several brands.

No fun sitting up all night to see of your house is going to burst into flames. Now I have to repaint the wall. The paint blistered and is now a lovely shade of smokey gray.

I haven't got enough to do anyway.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

3. That's good news.

What you described,- to me seemed to indicate it was the plug. I would guess you are right in that those night lights you bought are defects.I am guessing before you plugged in that night light ,your refer. was working away just fine. The GFI's ground fault safety receptacle's are required by code these days in kitchens and bathrooms.
On the install dishwashers and whirlpool baths are put on dedicated GFI circuits. Apparently yer electrician determined your house wiring is just fine as I suspected.

Happy holidays Paper Roses to you and yer family and keep up the good work !

By the way ,do you remember just where you got those night lights ? And did you ask the electrician to look at those ?

[Paper Roses]

4. I don't remember where I bought most them. I threw the bunch I had

into the trash. I guess I'll head for HD and see if they have something I have more faith in. I had 6 of them. Never used more than 2 at a time. They are the type of thing you misplace and go buy another. They are also only used when I have my daughters dog overnight so she can find her way to her water dish.

I think 2 of them came from Dollar Tree, the others, the ones with brand names were probably bought at hardware stores or HD. None were made in US. 2 from Taiwan, the rest from China. All with UL approval. Wonder if that is counterfeit? The electrician said the four I had left look OK but I threw them out anyway. Not that I can afford to do so but I'd rather but a couple of new ones that meet current specs and that I might trust a little better. That night was something I won't forget...never mind the burn on my finger.

[Warpy]

5. Mainland China has a terrible quality control problem

in that it basically doesn't exist. Stuff from Taiwan has a better track record for not breaking, sticking, or bursting into flame.

Just be aware that if there's ever a problem that causes the GFCI to trip in that outlet that you need to reset it for anything on that circuit, even outlets in other rooms, to work.