smoke coming from eBIAB panel

[UndeadFred]

The heating isn't the problem with soldered connections. It is the stiffening of stranded wires. If they flex they can crack and break. This should not happen inside of a box that has no movement. Having said that I screw down on the wires in the high current section of my box and it is perfectly fine.

 

[atoughram]

I screw down on the wires in the high current section of my box and it is perfectly fine.

X2

I've worked on multi-million dollar equipment where most of the connections were only screwed down. Remember, when adding crimp-on terminals, you add an extra mechanical connection. For every mechanical connection you have a potential failure point and a spot that will potentially heat up depending on the quality of the crimp.

 

[UndeadFred]

I am going to add, what should be replaced is the wire that melted, or at least heat shrink tubing should be put over it to reinsulate it. The contactor still seems OK to me.. It is more like I hit the tree with the quarter panel of my car and cracked the headlight lens, so I should not drive it for an analogy. Certainly if it was something I was repairing for someone else I would replace the contactor, but for me.. I would maybe order another at my convenience and get around to it when I had extra time.

 

[virgil1]

I am going to add, what should be replaced is the wire that melted, or at least heat shrink tubing should be put over it to reinsulate it. The contactor still seems OK to me.. It is more like I hit the tree with the quarter panel of my car and cracked the headlight lens, so I should not drive it for an analogy. Certainly if it was something I was repairing for someone else I would replace the contactor, but for me.. I would maybe order another at my convenience and get around to it when I had extra time.

Thanks! I did replace the wire. New contactor is on order already. Should arrive this week(along with a new baby girl, but only one of those is coming from Amazon).

 

[UndeadFred]

Which one? Enjoy the kid..

 

[itsnotrequired]

Thanks! I did replace the wire. New contactor is on order already. Should arrive this week(along with a new baby girl, but only one of those is coming from Amazon).

congrats! #3 arrived for me just three weeks ago (baby, not a contactor:fro. let me tell you, my brewery build has slowed waaaaaaay down...

 

[akthor]

Exactly.

I will be the dissenting electrical engineer again. You had a loose connection. It arced. Either the contactor would be damaged or it would not have. I think continued use would have been okay. You have it in a metal box, you would have tripped a breaker before that box would have caught something else outside of the box. Crimp really well or crimp and solder both or use the screw terminal. I would lean towards the screw terminal though..

 

[BrunDog]

or at least heat shrink tubing should be put over it to reinsulate it.

More dangerous advice. Not sure why one would remove one end of a damaged wire to "reinsulate it" rather that remove both ends and discard/replace the wire. This is inane. Unfortunately, because it's on the internet someone will believe this is acceptable or safe practice.

 

[itsnotrequired]

More dangerous advice. Not sure why one would remove one end of a damaged wire to "reinsulate it" rather that remove both ends and discard/replace the wire. This is inane. Unfortunately, because it's on the internet someone will believe this is acceptable or safe practice.

replacing the entire piece of wire may be 'better' but repairing with tubing can be 'acceptable or safe practice'. repairs with shrink tubing are made all the time in the industrial world for these types of incidents. if doing a shrink repair, it is important to use an appropriate tubing, one with a ul listing that has a voltage rating. also need to prepare the conductor and apply the tubing in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. installed in such a manner, the tubing repair is totally fine. the problem comes in when joe homeowner is using some cheap tubing off of ebay or not installing it in the correct manner.

i'm with you though, i would replace the entire conductor for such a short length and small gauge.

 

[BrunDog]

You have no idea what damage was done to the wire's conductors. I challenge that covering it up is safe practice. That said, I have said my peace and will exit this thread.

 

[trimixdiver1]

replacing the entire piece of wire may be 'better' but repairing with tubing can be 'acceptable or safe practice'. repairs with shrink tubing are made all the time in the industrial world for these types of incidents. if doing a shrink repair, it is important to use an appropriate tubing, one with a ul listing that has a voltage rating. also need to prepare the conductor and apply the tubing in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. installed in such a manner, the tubing repair is totally fine. the problem comes in when joe homeowner is using some cheap tubing off of ebay or not installing it in the correct manner.

i'm with you though, i would replace the entire conductor for such a short length and small gauge.

Don't know where you work, but make sure you have plenty fire extinguishers, because that's the dumbest thing I have heard today. Please explain why you do this to OSHA or the insurance company when something bad happens. Your changing the UL listing for the wire if you melt off the insulation and put on heat shrink. Do they sell THHN etc heat shrink? Hell no, because you replace the wire!!!!!! After the heat required to melt insulation, the properties of the wire change, resistance goes up and..... Uhhhhhh forget it.

 

[itsnotrequired]

look, i'm not saying it is best practice to clean up the conductor and apply tape/shrink but it is acceptable, provided the conductor can be cleaned/prepared properly. if the copper is visibly damaged (e.g. stands completely gone, signs of melting, etc.) then yeah, replace the damaged section of conductor. and for wiring completely within the brew panel, it is easier to replace the whole piece than try and repair it (which i would do anyway). i was just trying to calm any fears that such a repair was some type of ticking time bomb. carry on!

 

[UndeadFred]

You have no idea what damage was done to copper getting hot enough to melt PVC? Uh, none whatsoever. What is the melting point of copper. The worst that would happen already did with what caused this situation in the first place. When I had my house built the electrician had four loose connections that failed over the years. In each case no fire started. All opened up. If it were so dangerous there would be fires all over the place. Reinsulating wire is not ideal or as said before best practice, and I did say to replace it but it is not unsafe to replace 600 working volt insulation with 600 working volt insulation. A homemade panel would never get UL approval anyway, so we are individually responsible for safety. The primary issue is water and current paths.. That is mitigated as much as possible with GFCI.. There is still a risk even with one. Wear shoes, use one arm only when possible and keep your floor dry is probably more important than saying don't reinsulate with shrink tubing. Next is box safety. Probably you should have an interlock in a box like this and use low voltage for contactor control. No one does. So the box itself is taking on that function. Same with fire suppression. Maximize spacing in the box and minimize fuel in it and it will reasonably protect against it. Even plastic boxes are okay with code, so use common sense here. The safety complaints in this thread have been ridiculous. The worst case problem that would happen with the OPs post was already realized..