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Cable plug melted from electric heater. I already replaced outlet but outlet plastic melted too. Should I replace cable plug and circuit breaker with higher amps to 20amps instead of 15amps?
@louise1948_29 Hi Louise, Here is what you must do. Check amperage of heater - look on plate on back of heater and it wil state voltage and amps. Check amp limit of extension chord. Check amps of circuit - look at fuse or circuit breaker for outlet - important to check rating of circuit as some one may have incorrectly used a higher rated fuse/circuit breaker. It is strange that the fuse/breraker didn’t trip. All three MUST match or you could burn your house down. You know some circuits may just be wired for lamps. So check!!!! Having done all the above yes you may rewire the plug but make sure you get the polarity correct. There should be a little diagram, etc. with the replacement plug.
Hi @superseed47 , You should get the heater tested as it may be drawing too much current from the outlet and this is causing the cable and the outlet cover to melt. As @vertinhol says, check the model information label on the heater to find out the power specifications for the heater. If for example it says that the power is 2400 W at 240VAC then this can be adequately and safely provided by the cable and the outlet in most correctly wired homes. If the cable and outlet have melted it is more likely a problem with the heater. The heater could become a dangerous fire hazard if you increase the cable rating and the current supply to the heater!
Assuming that your house wiring and breakers are properly installed, you need to check the electric heater nameplate for more information, if you cannot find how many amps it draws then you can calculate it using the power consumption if it is written of course, you can do it easily in this website or send me the values and I’ll do it for you. I don’t think that you need to replace your cable plug because it is designed to work properly, so what it actually happens is the outlet heated up first then by convection he transferred that heat to the cable which melted, but depending on the damage caused on the cable there is a possibility that you might change it, so can you send me some photos please.
