> The fire report states that it's an internal wiring fault in the machine, and all of this was caused - approximately £8,000 worth of damage - when the machine was turned off
Am I understanding this right? This dryer can catch fire while not even running, just by standing there connected to the power socket? That's insane. How in the world can someone mess up some internal wiring this bad?
The wires just hang off the parts held by the flimsiest of little twist ties.
I just fixed a blower fan in mine. The plastic fan was held onto the motor shaft with tape.
The fact that this crap doesn't instantly fly apart and catch fire is an admirable engineering feat in itself (in a twisted sort of way).
My dishwasher started leaking one night - luckily I was nearby when it began. Upon researching I learned that it was caused by a failed grommet that's installed with its garter spring facing towards the water-filled tub, which causes premature failure after 2-3 years. Of course Whirlpool stopped selling the grommet as a replacement part, instead requiring people buy an entire $150 sump assembly.
So I bought a few $5 grommets off a grommets-r-us site and have scheduled a triennial dishwasher disassembly song and dance. Threw a simple leak detector under the washer just in case. At least now I'm pretty knowledgable of the secret life of the dishwasher.
The drum is moved by a belt so thin I thought it was a piece of string to tie it in place.
The tensioner on said belt was literally nothing more than a bent coat hanger with a little plastic pulley. This part of the design was important because the "emergency stop" in the even of the belt breaking was that the coat hanger would go flying off into the machine and stop pressing against a little micro-switch glued to the side of the motor mount.
Had a microwave once, that was not in use, just, turn on and start smoking. I ran outside and flipped the breaker for the house off. If nobody had been home, the house would have burnt down.
I owned a Ford F-150 that spontaneously combusted in my garage after being parked and turned off for several days.
The arson investigator traced the issue back to a design defect that kept electricity flowing to the cruise control even while the ignition was off.
Also, these devices could have a physical power switch, wit the wiring error in that switch.