Small fire in my garage

[The Nawd]

Sorry this happened. Glad you're okay and that the damage was only minor.

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

Happy to hear everyone is fine and damage to the house wasnt bad. Still really sucks, though.

[ZombieJimC]

Wow, scary stuff. Glad you caught it and everyones ok.

[EMCE Hammer]

I'll echo everyone else's comments - so glad you caught it in time.

[LordMudd]

Good motivation to upgrade now, rather than later.


CCC.

[rche]

Did the unit itself fail? You mentioned a fan noise, but I think you were referring to a vent fan in your maker space.
I would open up the electrical outlet where it was plugged in and check the wiring there to make sure it did not overheat as well.
I had an window a/c unit fail a couple of summers back and I realized it when I brushed up against the power cord to the unit and it was HOT. I then checked out all the outlets that were on that circuit (nothing plugged into them, but they were on the same circuit as the a/c) and they were all pretty warm as well. I ended up replacing the outlet that the a/c was plugged into as it was pretty well cooked. Not sure what was failing on that wall unit, but it was drawing some serious current through the wires, but just not quite enough to trip the 20amp breakers in my old house.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Adding to the chorus, glad you found it in time, and glad everyone is okay!

Chris

[TheMegoGuy]

Wow, sorry this happened, but glad you caught it in time!

[Confessional]

Whao, good catch and a wild spine-like wall burn memento! Having been party to failing/arcing track lighting, dimmers and monitors… electrical fires are unpredictable and time sensitive at best. Glad to hear your studio will keep on makin' on.

[pmwasson]

Thanks for all the well-wishes. I was a bit freaked out yesterday, so I needed to post something.

It was my own fault, as it even says on the laser cutter with a big bold warning sticker that it is a fire hazard and should not be left unattended. The laser-tube was going out which tends to make it cut worse and can lead to flare-ups, which is what happened.

The spine-like wall burn is from the exhaust fan air tube that sucks fumes out of the laser cutter, but was sucking down the fire instead. The air exchange was also totally destroyed.

I order a new laser-cutter today. Its very similar to what I previous had, but has a larger bed so I can try out some new designs. I will be watching this new one much more diligently when in use.

[ScottA]

Glad to hear all is good.

[Brue]

NOOOOooooooo!!!!!!!!!

I was fulfilling orders today using the laser cutter in the garage and watching football inside the house. As I was watching a game, I heard the air extraction fan out in the garage change pitch, which isn't normal. When I went to check, I saw flames shooting out of the laser cutter. Luckily it was mostly contained within the cutter and I had a fire extinguisher nearby just for such a situation.

Everybody is safe, and the house is fine except its a little smoky.

I plan to order a new laser cutter on Monday. This cutter was 10 years old and I had already thought about upgrading it, so it isn't all bad.

Any current/future orders may be delayed. Thanks for your patience.