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Sunbeam Complaint - Heater a fire hazard - Sunbeam Ceramic Heater model SQH310
Sunbeam Ceramic Heater model SQH310 - Complaint
We run the Sunbeam heater to take the chill off the master bedroom and have owned it almost a year without any problems. Last night about 3 minutes after I started the heater, I smelled the distinct burnt electrical odor but didn't see any smoke. Out of fear of a fire I turned off, unplugged and transported the heater into an area that had no combustibles. My husband removed the casing and found that the wiring around the switch was burned. I'm glad I was awake and not asleep when the unit shorted.
Comments:
Posted by fast327 on 2010-12-10:
Quick action may have saved your house and life. Wonder why the breakers did not trip when the unit shorted out?
Posted by Venice09 on 2010-12-10:
Smart and quick thinking on your part. You really should let Sunbeam know about this. Thanks for the heads-up on this model.
Posted by trmn8r on 2010-12-10:
This is not uncommon with portable electric heaters, so much so that as I read the letter I anticipated it was the switch before you stated it.
The problem is likely the switch contacts failed - they made intermittent contact. The resistance and current being drawn caused them to heat and melt the body of the switch. Electricity can do nasty things.
The problem is likely the switch contacts failed - they made intermittent contact. The resistance and current being drawn caused them to heat and melt the body of the switch. Electricity can do nasty things.
Posted by bcd on 2010-12-11:
fast327,
A circuit breaker trips when the load attempts to draw current (measured in amps) above the rating of the breaker. A device does not draw excessive current when electricity arcs at the contacts of a switch. There never was an electrical short.
Space heaters should not be used while sleeping.
A circuit breaker trips when the load attempts to draw current (measured in amps) above the rating of the breaker. A device does not draw excessive current when electricity arcs at the contacts of a switch. There never was an electrical short.
Space heaters should not be used while sleeping.
Posted by trmn8r on 2010-12-11:
Correct, bcd, a circuit breaker won't help here. I forgot to mention that. And you are correct - using a space heater while sleeping is asking for a problematic wake-up call.
Posted by natb1 on 2012-11-29:
I have owned a lot of sunbeam space heaters. They generally dont last more than 1 season. Some fail within a month. I keep getting sucked in by the $15 price tag. BTW...you would think a ceramic type heater would be "safe" compaired to standard heating elements. I do run my ceramic at night, keeping them AWAY from ANY combustibles. I even place them on a spare piece of ceramic floor tile. I own 2 traditional heating element types, also made by Sunbeam. They both have failing themostatic switches which open and close rapidly, causing steady pulsing of surge currents. This caused the lights in the house to "flicker". Traditional heating elements all have significant surge currents when FIRST engergized because they have very LOW "off/cold" resistance. I had one ceramic type fail where half the element burned up, while the other half was putting out heat. I dont know if ceramics fail so quickly because of their "nature" or if its just crappy Sunbeam?
Yes....you can start a fire with LOW electrical current. Circuit breakers DO NOT protect against electrical fires caused by "shorting" equipment.
Yes....you can start a fire with LOW electrical current. Circuit breakers DO NOT protect against electrical fires caused by "shorting" equipment.
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