Another Outlet Mystery

The device would not shred the Bulldog clip it was fed. Whilst jockeying around, the clip dislodged, the internal thermal breaker or polyswitch reset, and now all is well.

And the other shredder which was not being used?

Y e a h..... I'm still working on a wiseacre remark about that.

Dunno... I can't see (from your description) a common failure mode, other than sometimes a shredder does not operate from outlet #1. I presume that, at some time or another, shredder #1 was operating correctly in outlet #1.

Are you thinking it is an equipment irregularity, or trouble with wall outlet #1

Loose power cord connection..... on both shredders?

Many shredders have a safety switch so that if the shredder unit itself is not sitting squarely and fully on the receptacle (wastebasket) under it, it will not run. The one under my desk is like that. If you slightly lift the shredder, misalign it, or hold it up in the air, it won't turn on even by the manual "on" or "reverse" switch. It's a safety feature so that you can't run it with the cutting blades exposed.

It's possible your shredder had something jammed under the edge so that the safety switch was open. That would have caused the first misoperation. The second could have happened just from the act of carrying the wife's shredder to the outlet - misadjusted position so that it won't switch on.

Just trying to present a possible cause - can't say for sure from here. Mess around with the shredders some to see if you can make it happen again.

Interesting. She failed to empty it when full, so I had to do that, but never unplugged it until I moved it to the other room. The other one was in the cold garage, but I had it level on it's bucket. It's looking like the outlet was OK.

Only Reason

you know that people have stuff to do just like you got to handle the gabage

in other words - if you don't specially plan Whole Family Events - such a habbit wont ??? become a habbit

- good start could be general outdoors from boting bikeing hiking to museums opera

you soon gonna die aren't you (The only reason you're alive is simply - you havn't dead yet) poor kitty

The contact points in the receptacle are worn out or displaced slightly, just change it...

No, they fit tightly in this one. There is no switch on the outlet, but it has a GFI breaker. I added this after the house was built - had to connect it to the outside outlet on the other side of the wall.

Then you have a loose or corroded connection, or a broken wire that is touching, or a defective breaker...

GA ! At least two of us are paying attention. Also, a loose connection.

Switched outlet? Someone realizing the mistake turn it back on with out telling.

It's aliens... Wrap effected device in aluminum foil while simultaneously wrapping your own head with foil.

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Darn, I would have loved to see what you had to say to me before ADMIN deleted your post.

You can PM me and we can continue this discussion in private.

"so you're the admin guy"

I'm one of them, but not the one that moderated this. You can identify us by our badges, or the user group. Now what seems to be going on in this thread?

Why are you talking to yourself? Are you drunk? No, you are not the Admin guy! Where are you from? You are hiding behind anonymity. None of us was at the G8 meeting, so don't blame us. BTW, some on this forum are American Indians, so watch what you say.

"who got the power has the moderation rights ? right"

I do! But I don't know what you're saying / getting at!

ADMIN woke up V-.-V

btw the many science innovations become from u.s. mil

it's like state in a state - so you (spirit) can push stuff without an interupt from society

the GPR (graound penetrating radar)'s a good axample - so i can't really overlook the "superpower" - the dev of unknown takes a lot of resources noone would voluntarily contribute

(so itsabit B'n on my own leg here)

DUDE!!!, Put the crack pipe down!

Some older houses have aluminum wires that expand and contract causing bad connections and sometimes sparks/fires. Hope you dont have them. The weather in the area is bitter cold right now, and I would bet even copper will expand/contract under these conditions. I have also noticed that when helicopters fly by at low altitude the house shakes and this has caused some continuity problems. One more thing, I have noticed that when installing outlets that no matter how tight you screw down the wires if you go back the next day you will find they are not as tight as you thought.

is this a tricky question - you just described it

If it is an old shredder that uses a DC motor, it is possible that you encountered an intermittent problem? Problem that can be caused by either a dirty /poor contact between the brush(es) and some commutator points(s), or some shorted armature winding(s) or maybe shorted commutator caused by powdered carbon deposit? Problem(s) that may randomly appear and happen only at certain brush/commutator combination where the motor will be in when it was stopped. The problem may also get self-corrected when the unit (motor), is subjected to some movements, jarring or mechanical vibrations causing it to be dislodged from this particular problematic position... once started, the motor will run again continuosly without any hesitations, until it hit that particular spot!

A typical problem encountered from an old electric hand drill too!

My wife informed me that the outlet with the shredder plugged into it was not working. (your wife brainwashes you)

I checked and found that the shredder would not power up. (and you buy that )

I checked the breaker box, and none were tripped. (you become creative )

I went and got an electric outlet tester that I bought recently. (you show love to your stuffff )

It has two yellow lights and one red light. Both yellow lights lit up and not the red, signifying that all is well. (but you love your wife more - so you keep believing her )

I then went and got the spare shredder and plugged it in. It did not work as well. I then got a 40 Watt light bulb on a cord and plugged it in. It lit up fine. I took one shredder to another room and tried it there. It worked. I took it back to the original outlet and it works there too now. So does the other shredder. (love makes miracles ...)

We have had cold weather here, down to +10F or so. (... despite of the weather)

What is wrong with you?

it's the alternate explanation (thinking outside the box if you wish)

also a stress killer - to promote creative thinking - so you jerks could provide better answers

(the folkus in mortuary are more alive than some of you - well potentially)

Also some shredders have a thermal safety cutout circuit to protect the unit from overheating. They will not allow the shredder to run until the temperature cools down and the circuit resets. If she had been using the shredder a lot just prior to the situation this could be the issue.

Then why didn't the other one work?

I think your aluminum hat is way too tight!