Off Topic Warning!!!

Submitted: Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 07:09
ThreadID: 34312 Views:2277 Replies:12 FollowUps:20
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Just a WARNING about Electric Blanket's, wife turn's it on every night for me,she don't use it.Any way i was out here watching footy she in bed about 10 min's & started calling out ,Yep you guessed it started to burn,lucky she smelt it. we turned it off there wasburn mark a bit bigger than 50c piece into the mattress,sheets & doona.The bluddy smell,just could not sleep in the bed & the elctric smoke detector still has not gone off will have to check that when she arises. Have a good day guy's, Bob.
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Reply By: Brew69(SA) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 08:50

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 08:50
If u dont mind me asking..........how old was the blanket?
AnswerID: 175044

Follow Up By: ZUKSCOOTERX90(QLD-MEMBER) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:13

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:13
Brew', it was about 10yrs why do you ask?
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Follow Up By: Brew69(SA) - Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 10:54

Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 10:54
I have mine on from about may to sept.(never off) Its a newy, fitted sheet type. may have to switch it off.
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Reply By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 08:50

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 08:50
Agree......... Leccy blankets have a definite "shelf-life", so to speak. Many people simply buy them and use them for many years in the belief that they ever stuff up (say, like an electric kettle), they will simply cease to work and you'll know it's time to buy a new one. WRONG!!!!

A timely warning thanks Bob. I've mentioned this to Annette several weeks ago about the blanket on one of our kids' beds (it rarely gets used but tends to stay on the bed all year round).

Cheers mate

Roachie
AnswerID: 175045

Reply By: Trevor R (QLD) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 09:24

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 09:24
I hope it wasn't one of those "LATEX" mattresses. I can remember what that smell would have been like from my courting days hahaha.
You remember the joke about not useing rubbers cause you don't like the smell of burning rubber LOL.

Good to see you got it in time.
AnswerID: 175047

Follow Up By: ZUKSCOOTERX90(QLD-MEMBER) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:19

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:19
Ahhhhhhh,Trev got to worry about you some times ,poor Judy! If only that be the case. I got in the habit year's ago to take the( wellington's) rubber's off before getting into bed.
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Follow Up By: Gramps (NSW) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:23

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:23
LOL you two are a real worry :)))))
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Follow Up By: ZUKSCOOTERX90(QLD-MEMBER) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 11:37

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 11:37
What ever do you mean Gramp's.
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Follow Up By: Mr Fawlty - Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 19:05

Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 19:05
Haven't you blokes heard about the polyurethane ones? The don't melt in the heat of action!!!
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Follow Up By: ZUKSCOOTERX90(QLD-MEMBER) - Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 19:38

Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 19:38
Mr Fawlty,never heard of them other than using in the suspension under the car. Never used the other's either ever.Thought they were a waste of time.
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Follow Up By: Trevor R (QLD) - Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 20:24

Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 20:24
Hey Bob, I have heard of remote communities useing mars bar wrappers as rubbers and all sorts of other methods but am oblivious to the polyurethane one's.
I'll give anything a go once even if it's just to get another run on the board hahahaha

Sorry if this gets the post deleted hahaha

Trevor.
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Reply By: Peter 2 - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 09:31

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 09:31
Remember too that you should never have the blanket on when you are in bed, EMF doesn't do human bodies any good at all!!!
AnswerID: 175049

Follow Up By: GaryInOz (Vic) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:19

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:19
Science falacy. Unproven by any experiments on anything other than radio frequencies and higher. You probably go to work and work within a metre or so of a high voltage (415V) 3 phase motors drawing hundreds of times more current, surrounded by kilowatts of lighting for 8 hours a day and dont even think about it. What makes a 30-50 watt electric blanket so bad?

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Follow Up By: ZUKSCOOTERX90(QLD-MEMBER) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:22

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:22
Peter we alway's tend to turn the blanket off when we get into bed.

Gary must be the thin wiring.
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Follow Up By: ev700 - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:24

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:24
EMF is the least of your worries, the main problem is that an electric blanket can overheat where a body or say a pillow or cat is resting on it.

Or that the insulation has broken down through age, cleaning , folding, not being laid correctly and so on.
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Follow Up By: Member - DOZER- Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:40

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:40
Lets turn this around....EMF is not proven to do anyone any harm....well, its not proven to do anyone any good either... If it is not natural, it is probably not too good for you....ah...lets not go there...
My wife (Barbara) has been talking about putting the electric blanket back in the bed...i hate it, uncomfortable thing....and she leaves it on all night, and sometimes all day too...
Andrew
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Follow Up By: Patrol22 - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 12:07

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 12:07
Methinks you guys have got EMF (electro motive force ie electricity) mixed up with em radiation. I suspect that Peter 2 was cautioning about a breakdown in insulation and the potential for being given a nasty shock.
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Follow Up By: Peter 2 - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 12:12

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 12:12
Well in a previous life I worked for the phone company we ALL used to own, electric blankets played havoc with phones of all types at anything up to several metres away, rather you than me.
I did mean EMR rather than EMF, must be getting old ;-))
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 08:36

Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 08:36
EMR Electro magnetic radiation occurs naturally in various forms, at low voltage (i.e. anything under 1000v is low voltage) its hardly a concern.
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Reply By: Member - Nick (Kununurra) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:57

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 10:57
You guys are making me sweat talking about electric blankets.LOL
By the way,was talking to people back home yesterday and it was -6 in the morning,nice white frost so may need an elec. blanket when/if we go back,brrrrrrr
AnswerID: 175057

Reply By: Sparkiepete - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 15:59

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 15:59
Those electric blankets should be BANNED.
Just three days ago one went up in flames here in Bundaberg and if the guy in the next room hadn't been awake to smell it they could have been dead by now.Apperantly there was so much smoke they couldn't see a thing. As it was it burnt a big chunk out of it.
Lucky you caught it before it got any worse.
Bob,don't buy another one. Spend your money on a good set of Flanny sheets and you shouldn't need to worry about electric blankets ever again.

Regards
Sparkiepete
AnswerID: 175070

Follow Up By: ZUKSCOOTERX90(QLD-MEMBER) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 19:24

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 19:24
Settle down Sparkie,sure they do have problem's,in hignsight maybe we should have thrown it out a few year's ago.We have been leaving it on the bed so it has not been rolled or folded,just fortunate Robyn smelt it ,we will do a bit of thinking about not have one at all as i like to skinny (at my weight) dip when in bed.Cher's Bob.
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Follow Up By: Member - Pezza (QLD) - Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 21:21

Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 21:21
"as i like to skinny (at my weight) dip when in bed.Cher's Bob."

TO MUCH INFORMATION!!!! LOL.

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Reply By: FUBAR - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 16:08

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 16:08
You need to check your electric blankets before you put them on your bed,and or use. You can damage them when you fold them up and put them away for summeror form just wear and tare. I already been to two House fires(no one hurt and confined to the bedroom), This winter caused by faulty Blankets as for your smoke detector sounds like you should get that checked out ASAP.
AnswerID: 175072

Reply By: Willem - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 19:00

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 19:00
I luv my lectric blanket. Turn in on full blast afore I go to bed and when the evening starts settling down to zero(Cheez this is a cold place ...dunno why I live here) I make for the heat.

We buy new ones every 5 years
AnswerID: 175091

Follow Up By: ZUKSCOOTERX90(QLD-MEMBER) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 19:30

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 19:30
Willem i to tend to like the warmth when i get into bed ,wife don't like cuddle ups no more as she think's there maybe ulterior motive lol .My back loves it after a hard day on the roof.Bob.
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Reply By: Member - Brian H (QLD) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 19:38

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 19:38
At least you were home at the time and was able to deal with it ASAP and was not early AM where the situation could have been somewhat different.

Electric blankets in most cases are removed after winter and folded and placed in a cupboard with your blankets etc etc usually on the bottom with all the weight on top for months on end. Over time where the folds are these tend to crack and damage the insulation . Eventually they can or will fail and the end result is not pretty.

A preferred way to stor the blanket is to roll it up and not place anything on it while stored.

It pays to have your electric blanket checked by a qualified electrician prior to putting on for the winter or you could also check with your local electricity departemt if they check them it maybe a free service IE ENERGEX (Qld).

As for the smoke detector why this never worked there could be a number of reasons 1. Location of the detector, 2. Flat battery, 3. Faulty Detector are just a few reasons.

When was the last time it was tested or battery replaced. Anyway I'm pleased all turned out ok ...........

Anyway safe winter people
Brian
AnswerID: 175092

Follow Up By: ZUKSCOOTERX90(QLD-MEMBER) - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 20:45

Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 20:45
Thank's Brian, you are so right in what you have said above, the detector 3 mtr's outside bedroom.May not have been enough toxic air for it to set it (alarm) off, no smoke at all just fumes & new battery about 6 months ago,Cheer's Bob.
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Reply By: Member - Robyn J (QLD) - Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 11:20

Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 11:20
Know of someone else whose blanket decided to burn just recently. They had only purchased a brand new matress a couple of months before with all the new trimmings of sheets doonas etc. Insurance paid for replacement of burnt items. Cost the insurance over $2000.
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AnswerID: 175158

Reply By: Mr Fawlty - Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 19:10

Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 19:10
I just spent a fortune on a new electric blanket, mind you Canberra winters are not known to be balmy...
Anyway this thing has a host of inbuilt safety features and you also have to do a tech course to get the damned thing to work....
AnswerID: 175236

Reply By: Carchania - Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 19:26

Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 19:26
gday

ever tried those lambswool underblankets? combine that with the lambswool quilt and you dont need an electric blanket ever again. when i used to live with mum and dad, mum threw out all the electric blankets and put these on all the beds. cost a small fortune straight up but well worth it. especially if it prevented something worse from happening. oh and this is in canberra too so i am talking about cold winters here :)

cheers
Leayton
AnswerID: 175240

Follow Up By: ZUKSCOOTERX90(QLD-MEMBER) - Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 19:45

Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 19:45
Mr Fawlty,& Leayton,i used to know what the icey winter's were like down that way one of the reason's for heading North.Not sure if we will go to elect blanket again, see what the old body tell's me,cheer's Bob.
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