Plug stuck in wall socket...

[merdat]

Silent death has it 'spot on '. A quick knock on the side of the plug then lever it out with a flat bladed instrument. If it was a bad connection then you may find that the current has welded the plug to the socket at one point . If you get it out and find that there is a 'spot weld ' then you would be better to get the socket replaced . ** As stated by other guys --Make sure that you disconnect power to the socket before you attempt to extract the plug.

[Howard]

Wedge it out with a screwdriver?

[mart_haj86]

Its ok I woke up this morning and had my weetabix which gave me enough power to yank the thing out... it appears that one of the plug sticky out things had melted, like suggested on previous posts, hmm I wonder why that happened, the house is only 3 years old.

[rox0r]

Age of property isn't necessarily indicative of quality of workmanship.

Be wise to get a sparky in to give your house circuit a once over, what happened to that plug can happen again and next time you might not be so lucky.

[jamin]

Am a qualified electrician (amongst other things!) I would say something is wrong here, either in the tumble dryer or with the installation. Pins should never melt, if they have got that hot, then theres a chance the wiring is heating too, not good, and I'd be asking the question why the breaker or fuse isn't tripping. Get a sparky in to check it out, at the end of the day its your safety.

[mart_haj86]

Thanks everyone will get a sparky in asap.

[Defenestration]

I'd be asking the question why the breaker or fuse isn't tripping.

Indeed. Maybe someone bodged it to stop it tripping, rather than finding out the cause of why it was tripping.

[jamin]

^^ I hear you mate. Have seen many many scary things that DIY'ers or even supposed Electricians have done as a bodge. People just do not realise how dangerous faulty / bodged electrics can be. I spent 3 years a night school, then a further 8 months and then went through the NICEIC registration process because I don't want to end up killing someone. As some of you will know, I am not even a full time electrician, by day I work for a Telecoms company. There really is no point in taking risks, if you have to ask for advice then call a reputable NICEIC registered Electrician.

In truth, there are a few schemes that verify an Electricians competency, NICEIC and ELECSA are just 2, make sure you ask to see their registration card or documents and if you aren't sure then call the relevant scheme (numbers are in the phone book or on the docs a sparky will produce on demand) and they will verify. Ensure that their registration is current and valid. If they can't produce the proof then kick them out! I can't stress this enough. With the advent of building regs part P essentially if your house burns down through shoddy electrical work then your house insurance may not pay out, if someone dies as a result then you will be liable. Also if you are selling your house and a surveyor notices recent "significant" electrical work then you may not be able to proceed until the BS7671 certificate for the work has been produced!

Wow! Long post, but I cannot stress how important all of the above is! If you want any more info or are unsure, drop me a PM and I will try and point you in the right direction.

[SilentDeath]

Indeed. Maybe someone botched it to stop it tripping, rather than finding out the cause of why it was tripping.

Doubt it.

Theres two possible causes of this, 1) too much current being drawn over a 13A rated plug design (which is also very likely to be fused for only a couple of amps...) becuase of short in machine.
Breakers are rated to cover whole circuits, not devices, they wont trip unless its a resonably high current. This is VERY unlikely... especially since the machine would probably not work any more, and you would of said if thats the case.

2) much more likely.. an arc or bad connection rapidly heated a very small area of the pin, causing a spot weild and plug to get stuck. This would happen with less current flowing than would normlly be used by the machine - only that a percentage of it is instead used to heat the pin becuase the resistance is much higher.

Has the machine been plugged in for a long time? (weeks/years), is it regually used?
Was it switched on (i.e started spinning instantly) when you plugged it in when this happened?

could be undersize pin on plug/lose contacts in the socket (this would be worrying, get all of them checked) bad wiring at the socket (although heating would be at the wiring, not the pin, so no visible melting but the thermal cycling could get it stuck).

[jamin]

Silentdeath mate, I have seen many bodges to cover up a fault ranging from a DIYer moving an RCD protected circuit to the unprotected side of a split consumer unit, to a twin and earth being connected directly to the main 60/100amp breaker. I have seen an earth disconected and used as the neutral to feed a radial circuit with a damaged cable. I could go on! A bodge is a possibility and shouldn't be ruled out

1. If too much current was being drawn by the appliance the 13amp fuse in the plug would blow. That is why its there.

2. If a tumble dryer was fused at a couple of amps, the fuse would blow. They draw much more than that.

3. Big assumption to make that he even has breakers, he may have cartridge fuses or even old fuse wire. Fuses will take much longer to blow in an fault condition than a breaker, but the time difference between them blowing depends on whether the breaker is class A, B, C or D as each class has specific response curve when exposed to an over current situation. A fuse CAN be exposed to a slight fault condition and not blow, as can a breaker.

4. Breakers are selected depending on circuit type, layout and cable current rating once any load discrimination has been taken into account. Notwithstanding, trip times to comply with the regs and current compensation/adjustment for the cable installation method.

Your first answer makes some dangerous assumptions mate, hence the need for a qualified sparky.

Your second answer is closer to the mark, general dirt on a pin could cause arcing etc. However, if it were my house and I had to physically lever the plug out, I wouldnt hesitate to get it checked. I'm not going to lose my family (worse case scenario) over 60 quid callout. Although I have never seen / heard of an undersize pin on a plug as all plugs/sockets/switches/fittings etc have to comply with british standards, loose connections is a real possibility as copper cables relax over time and can become very loose.

Bottom line, get it checked, don't make assumptions it really isn't worth it.