Impossible…I wouldn’t dare say this,but I’d have to see one as it is so unlikely.Properly installed DCC components shouldn’t be any concern but working in DC automotive (heavy machineries) electricity,I’ve seen a few “unlikely” situations happen so…it can’t hurt to touch wires occasionally just to check if they aren’t heating.Even with a well protected supply,light gauge wires,sloppy connections,etc can generate some heat without the circuit breakers detecting it.
Not Impossible!!
I scratchbuilt a switch last year by soldering rails to circuit board ties. I didn’t completely cut through the gaps in the ties in several spots. The short didn’t draw enough amps to shut down the booster and the copper left uncut was just thin enough to burn like small little highway flares. I tested the switch on the bench late at night and was amazed to see several little fires pop up and burn as I applied power from my DCC system. The whole thing was over before I could react.
I don’t consider this to mean a whole lot other than don’t test stuff late at night and be careful to correctly gap your turnouts. But…It did technically catch fire…I have attached a pic of the burnt switch if you need to see proof. Btw: I gapped the switch and installed it. Runs just fine and no I don’t lose any sleep over the possibility of fire caused by DCC systems.
My layout is however one of the few that can can claim “Flame Broiled turnouts”[:)]
Thought you might enjoy the tale…
Guy
This is the key, though! It can get hot, but the part that gets hot is almost certainly going to separate before much else gets hot. So you might melt an axle, or a PC tie, but the layout is probably not going up in smoke. I won’t say impossible, but I will say very, very, very unlikely!
According to forensic scientist (the ones that try to start fires for a living) it is almost impossible to start an electrical fire (meaning a fire that can burn down a house). They said that local fire dept. blame electrical all the time but in most cases are wrong and are just trying to close a case. You get a lot of scare stories about foam also.
I’ll pass that along to my friends who had a house fired that destroyed their home. I’m sure it will be a comfort to them. The fire department said the cause was an electrical fire that started in the garage.
Don’t beleive me, look it up! The fires do strange things to wires like burning off insulation and causing shorts. Most fire departments, even large ones, do not investigate fires thoroughly unless loss of life occurs or arson is suspected.
Impossible to start an electrical fire? I know a bunch of professional fire fighters who can shoot that full of holes. All it would take is an old plug socket that finally overheats to the point that the contacts within it come close enough to arc but not touch. This won’t trip the breaker but it will set the plug socket on fire and set spread to the wall. Cause? An electric arc. I’ve seen many electrical fires caused by improperly wired junction boxes, too small a gauge wire for a circuit of a given amperage. Don’t tell me it’s impossible for an electrical fire to start and burn down a house. I’m a professionally trained fire fighter with 16 years experience in dealing with things like that. Is it possible for a DCC system to start a fire? Yes, it is. If too small a gauge of wire is used for a given load and a short (not enough to trip the command stations breaker) occurs the wire can overheat and ignite.
I did look it up. From the USFA site regarding fires in the united States in a years time…
“During a typical year, home electrical problems account for 67,800 fires, 485 deaths, and $868 million in property losses. Home electrical wiring causes twice as many fires as electrical appliances”.
more here:
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/all_citizens/home_fire_prev/electrical.shtm
Seems these forensic experts have a different opinion.
Guy
I think the key phrase here is “electrical problems.” A house properly wired to the National Electric Code is highly unlikely to have a fire caused by the wiring, unless something serious breaks in the over current protection. If not, they had better toss out the code. If you doubt this, take a piece of 14ga wire and short out your nearby wall outlet and watch what happens.
What they often find are houses that are not wired to code, things plugged into the house wiring or faulty appliances. I don’t consider extension cord fires a house wiring problem. I had a relative that lost their house many years ago to the television set catching the living room curtains on fire.
I’ve had my share of things going PTOOF!! Things like plugging too many things into one extension cord. Or building amplifiers and then installing power cords to small for the amperage.
There is always something that can go wrong electrically. We had a fire in a house just behind us that was started by faulty outdoor lighting.
This discussion is interesting but is getting way off topic. The original question was, can DCC cause layout fires? No one has related a single instance of a layout fire caused by DCC.
Yes they do, these are guys in another branch but the same type of guy that investigate murders and the statement covers conventional house wiring (not aluminum which is no longer allowed in most places) and standard things plugged in (not appliance cord run under rugs). Also they did not say impossible but nearly impossible, You need the breakdown which I shall now try to find. Off topic maybe but I see we have quite a few people interested.
Look up inter fire online and see what the fire marshals have to say about it also, very interesting statistics and they go into the problems of research in the area and how little research had been done (this was 2001 conference). Also look up the article Forensic Science on trial at the Science-Insider (never been there before but give great insite).