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Update: I pulled the wall receptacle and the copper wire was in tight. The circuit is confined to a dining room with nothing else on but a light fixture with three 60watt bulbs. I'm waiting for MR. Sparky, the electrician, to show, but I'm betting the high-wattage is just too much for the circuit.
I assume that it is not a commercial microwave of 2000 or 3000 Watts. If it is a 1200 watt microwave, and you have a 15 Amp circuit you should have more than enough to run microwave and the lights.
I'm sure that your dining room has a 15amp circuit. The microwave as mentioned above, is required to have it's own 15 or 20amp circuit. If you have an electrician run a new circuit, be sure it is 20 amp, that way you're covered if you get a bigger microwave oven. If you use the microwave while that light fixture is on, it is taxing that circuit. Get a licensed electrician not a handy man.
I'm sure that your dining room has a 15amp circuit.
code requires dining rooms to be on 20A circuit; not saying the OP's certainly is, but it should be.
anyway, if there is an actual overload, the breaker would trip well before damage occurred to the recep under normal circumstances.
a picture would be helpful here though to understand exactly what you are referring to.
its happened twice though, so something is definitely up. could be a problem with a connection at an upstream recep causing VD thus increasing load at the recep. need to check voltage and current w/ the appliance operating.
I cannot think of a way a microwave would do this, which is why I wanted pictures. I'd more likely think the microwave was unplugged and an industrial strength tool used in the socket. Even then, a circuit breaker should trip LONG before any evidence of burning occurred. The whole thing doesn't make sense. FWIW, our microwave is 1500 watts, so we would experience this if it happened.
I'm still waiting on the electrician. I'll post his findings.
Wall receptacle was wired backwards. The breaker didn't trip because it's an older house with no third ground. Anyway, that's what the electrician said.
Wall receptacle was wired backwards. The breaker didn't trip because it's an older house with no third ground. Anyway, that's what the electrician said.
He fed you a line of horse crap. A breaker will trip or a fuse will blow whether there is a ground wire or not if there is an overload. As for the recpt being wired backwards, while that can and does happen if somebody isn't paying attention, it is highly unlikely to cause what you are describing. He did not know what caused it and came up with a semi-believable sounding line of crap to feed you, the homeowner.
This opinion comes from 30+ years as a licensed Electrician and ~20 years as an Electrical Contractor.
I have a 58 year old house which was 60 amp service upgraded to 100 from street with new panels and added breakers,outlets still without ground and no problems.I use toaster and microwave with no problem.
I still do not see what a grounded outlet does.A ground is needed on some appliances.
A ground is for life safety. If some fault (e.g. damaged insulation) within the appliance causes the outside of the appliance to become live, anyone touching it will become the best path to ground and get shocked. If the outside of the appliance is connected to ground, the fault current will flow that way, and the breaker will blow instead of someone getting zapped.
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