Small Flash from my power point

[Redgy]

Good stuff Mark thanks for the info...I've only ever watched the vid with an interest from being in the game in a previous life without knowing the story behind it. Your right, SF6 is nasty stuff, though maybe not as nasty as PCB's which I dealt with breifly when I worked in the industry. Again part of the reason I bailed out .

Cheers
Reg

PS, Jason, sorry gone so far off topic with this thread I think your power point will be fine .

[thatirwinfella]

it's best to get it checked out and replaced. arcing like this can cause the contacts to fuse together, and can pose a fire risk.

[Simomatra]

Stay with Reggie and Bazza

If you are in a dark room you wil find most switches will arc (show a flash) when switching load

Try switching the load off before switching off at the power outlet

[Markw]

Have we actually defined the problem - do you get the flash without an appliance connected to the GPO (powerpoint)??

If you get this flash only with an appliance connected, what is the current draw for the appliance - usually printed on the compliance sticker. If no sticker just tell us what the appliance is and we should come up with a rough estimate of load.

If the flash happens with nothing connected - get an electrician immediately! :eek:

[lnt9000]

Jason those flashes are generally harmless, If you have an Inductive load attached to the point then Interrupting the current by switching off the power point will cause a high voltage flashback which has to go somewhere, partly through you, but mostly jump the switch to a lower potential, also note that when you turn a switch off it does not simply break contact but bounces back and forth till it settles and in the case of a substantial current there will be arcing.

[Cobber]

I get the same thing in my house....when I pull oot an appliance without turning the switch off especially there is a flash...quite scary really. I dont have a safety switch either and the fuse box is still the old one. An electrician said its been re-wired though? Any ideas?

[Itsme]

Hi All,

Every now and then I have noticed a small flash from one of my power points when I switch it off. Is this anything I should be worried about.

Hi Jase,

Been a sparky longer than I care to remember,the spark you see is made by contacts breaking under load which is normal.It seems to have become more obvious over the years as they have redesigned switchgear.(It happens sometimes on light switches as well)

Relax
Cheers