Hello,


We have a wall outlet in our kitchen that we really only use for small appliances (i.e our toaster and a rice cooker) and have gone though 4 rice cookers in 6 months plugged into this outlet. The latest one stopped working tonight on just its third time plugged in. We are starting to wonder what could be wrong with the outlet as it seems very unlikely to be that unlucky with rice cookers as we have never had a problem like this in our previous home.


We are in a newly built home, and have tested the voltage of the outlet with a multimeter and was fine and also tested the polarity, again fine. Is there something else we could check to see if the outlet is the issue?


Thank you so much for any info!

 

What was the voltage that you measured ? A receptacle can't really cause anything to wear out faster.


However......since most of our appliances come from China

 

We measured 120. We assumed it was just the appliance too, but it just seems like such a coincidence they keep cutting out on us.

 

Actually 120 volts is ideal. If your outlet did have an issue one way you would know it, would be that a plug would be warm/hot after using an appliance plugged in it.

 

Thanks! That is a good tip. I didn't notice if the plug was hot on this one but since we have moved here I have noticed my hair dryer plug is very hot after use and has a faint burning smell. I chalked that one up to it being older but I guess it could be a house wide issue. Is there something else you would recommend us to test for besides voltage?

 

Is this rice cooker a fancy gizmo with electronic display and controls? If so, is it left plugged in all the time or only when you use it? Some electronics, like TVs are better left plugged in all the time, they like it that way. That's my wild guess anyway.

 

My guess is all the same brand and model from the same place and every one of them in that factory lot is defective.

 

You could be right as we have bought the same brand. We will buy something totally different this time. It isn't fancy at all, basically just an on switch with a light!

 

Hair dryers and blow dryers have been getting more and more power hungry. I've noticed that they just about have a standard 15 amp circuit maxed out. Important to keep that receptacle newer. A 20 amp recp. would also make a good choice as it is built slightly heavier.

 

The only difference between a 15 and 20 amp receptacle is the slot configuration.

 

.



Just a quick question......you say you measured the voltage and it was 120

Did you measure it from hot to neutral?.....or hot to ground?



.

 

The 120 was hot to neutral.

 

I would try to measure the voltage while using a load. A loose connection will have flucuating voltage.

 

Can I assume that all the other appliances work in that outlet?if so it kind of points to poor quality Rice cooker.does the outlet feel warm when the appliance is used? if so this could indicate a well used receptacle ,plug not fitting tightly into the receptacle,possible cure would be to change the receptacle to a commercial or hospital grade.contractors usually use the cheapest grade available in new construction.