my plugs are getting hot in numerous sockets throughout the house. What should I do?

Question

Our home is only 4 years old so should be up to date with electrical wiring etc. It happens with several different plugs in various sockets throughout the house.

Answer 1

This is almost certainly a voltage drop problem. A cable somewhere is not tight enough. I'd put money on it being the main supply. The reason I say this is because you mention that various sockets around the house are at fault. This implies that it is not an individual circuit. Also, if your socket outlets are on a ring final circuit (32A breaker), then a single loose connection is unlikely to cause overheating of plugs because the voltage drop would be minimal.



The most likely place for a loose connection is the two thick cables coming from the meter to your fuse box. Check that neither of those cables are at all loose or running hot. If this is where the problem lies, then call your supplier and ask for an emergency call-out. It won't incurr a cost, unless the fault is elsewhere. If you're not sure, then ask an electrician to have a look first. I'd suggest you do that anyway.



Don't attempt to tighten up the meter cables as you are not permitted to do so, it's potentially dangerous and you could snap off the heads of the meter screws.



As already mentioned, plugs or sockets running hot is potentially a fire risk.

Answer 2

Your first job is to check that the plugs are properly wired and that you don't have loose connections inside them.



It is very unlikely to be due to overloaded plugs (as some people have suggested). If you connect anything that draws more than 13A to a single plug then the fuse in the plug will blow. If you try to draw too much from the ring main as a whole then the 32A MCB in the consumer unit will blow.



Your symptom suggests that the wiring in the back of the sockets is loose in several places. That is a dangerous situation.



As your home is only four years old you should contact the National Housebuilders Registration Council (NHBC) and ask them to send a professional around to test the wiring as a matter of urgency. Any faults should be corrected for free.



Most new homes are registered with the NHBC and they provide a free 'guarantee' for up to 10 years. If yours is one of the few that are not registered then you may still have a claim against the original builder. Check with the solicitor who acted for you when you bought the place and see what can be done.



If either of the above are not possible for you then you must pay for a registered electrician to come and properly test your wiring. It may cost £hundred or thereabouts, but it will be better than risking a fire or electric shock.

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

Some of the answers here are close to answering your query.

If you are using a Fan Heater ( for instance ) rated at 13A then you are going to make the fuse in the plug hot . This is the heat that you can feel inside the plug, however if the plug gets hot when , maybe you have a table lamp plugged in then I would suggest that there is a bad connection between the plug and the socket.Or, there are loose cables in your sockets.

Maybe the sockets are of a cheap manufacture? Or maybe the Plugs ?

Either way it needs investigating further as any bad connection will cause heat to generate.

Answer 5

There are a couple of reasons that plugs or sockets get hot:-



1. Don't use multipiont adaptors for any item that draws a lot of power e.g OK for a couple of lamps but not for heaters or kettles etc.

2. Make sure that the cables in the plug are all within the securing screw and that they are tight.

3. Check that the cables into your sockets are all within the securing screws and are tight (switch off at the mains before checking)



If these points don't solve your problem, it could be that you have a poor quality socket, or the contacts have previously heated and weakened. Replace them with new decent quality sockets, but does your house come with a guarantee, if so report the problem.

Answer 6

If the plug which is plugged into the outlet is getting hot, the amps traveling through the plug are either in excess of the plugs limit or constantly near the plugs limit. This high amperage can be as a result of:

1) the load (heater, hair dryer, etc) drawing too many amps for the plug

2) a loose connection where the plug connects into the outlet

3)low voltage to the outlet causing the amperage to rise

4)long or very small extension chords

Make sure you are not using outlet strips, a multi-outlet connection where you plug several loads into one outlet, or small extension chords

It is usually #1, but any of these will cause your problem.

Answer 7

Maybe you should have the voltage checked at those plugs. If voltage drops amperage goes up. This could be making the sockets heat up. I had this problem once and the result was my TV blew. A voltage check and was found to be down to 180volts instead of 230.

Answer 8

if you're not overloading the individual sockets then it might be due to loose connections IN the socket . if you are confident enough and have an electricians screwdriver you could check them to see - but make sure to switch off the circuits (the sockets may be on more than one) at the consumer unit first to isolate it - and check it with the screwdriver.

If unsure,don't take any chances and get in a pro.

Answer 9

get a sparky to check it,there was a problem with G.E.T (a brand name)of twin sockets about 2-3 years ago,there was a faulty batch(running into thousands).The problem was an internal fault with a Component which was not up to scratch and this caused the sockets to heat up and on certain cases of which i had 3 plugs would become welded into the socket because of the heat generated.I had purchased 100 of them and had to back round all my customers at my expense and change them.some customers only noticed it because of the strange burning fishy smell.If in doubt get a sparky in coz it aint worth takin the risk.good luck!

Answer 10

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/axsUA



Don't use it til you've had it checked by a qualified electrician

Answer 11

A plug only gets hot when you are drawing too much power through it, the equipment/heater whatever is too big for the plug.

This means there is a real chance of a fire.

Either use a larger plug, with a higher rating on a suitable circuit or stop using the equipment.

Answer 12

Are your plugs upto date though? they may have a smaller fuse than required

Answer 13

GET it check out FIRE RISK