Fun With the Space Heater

Last night I was running our small electric space heater. We run this thing a lot during the c-c-c-cold winter days and nights. I was sitting in the computer room working away on a website I’m building, minding my own business and keeping quite warm.

When I went to tuck Morgan in, I turned the thing off. Maybe half an hour later I wanted it back on. I leaned over, turned the knob and…

Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

I turned it off and then back on, still no response. I went into the other room where it was supposed to be plugged in, and yes, it was still plugged in. Hmmn.

I unplug it from there and plug it into one of the sockets in the computer room, turn it back on and still nothing. Bizarre.

Holding it a foot or so from the floor, I turn it on its face and examine the back; nothing caught in it, the motor isn’t buzzing. I flip it onto its back and check out the front. No change, it’s like it isn’t getting any power.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from the heater at that point in time, but I know what I was NOT expecting!

SNAP-POP!

I dropped that heater so fast you might have thought I was never holding it. Having heard that sound, plus the sound of the heater bouncing off the floor, Morgan asks if I’m ok.

Why would she automatically associate frying electronics and things bouncing around the house with me??

For some reason, the heater blew itself into two different and distinctive parts; the cord and the body. Yes, the cord blew completely in two. It was not hanging by a proverbial thread; it was simply no longer attached.

There is now a 2mm electric cord stub sticking out the back of the heater, with a charred, blackened area around it. Cool.

I wondered what on earth would possess an otherwise well behaved heater to do something like this. We’ve had it for, I don’t know, five or six years and it has never misbehaved like this.

Electrical cords, if exposed to prolonged heat, can become brittle. My guess is that is what happened to our trusty heater. The cord grew brittle, the wires inside made a little contact, and POW!

Which brings me to the positive side of this tale. I should be able to snip off six or eight inches of the cord, disassemble the heater, and reattach the cord. If there wasn’t any internal damage it should just start working again.

Keri thinks I should throw it away, but hey it cost like twenty bucks. If I can fix it in a few minutes, maybe it’ll be good for another few years. If it does this every five years I could get another thirty years out of it before I run out of cord. I think it’s worth a shot, what the heck.