Scary issue with Nema 14-50 adapter melting

[beatle]

The thermal breakers don't trip due to say the lugs on the breaker being loose. They don't have a thermal sensor (like on the newer Mobile connectors). However they are designed using a thermal scheme that shifts the trip point with ambient temperature. So I still stand by my statement. If a Thermal breaker had a similar fault as this plug/outlet did the results would have been similar. It would have melted down and probably not tripped or tripped far too late. They are not trying to protect against that type of fault. If a fire raises the ambient temp enough to lower the trip point enough to trip on enough load yeah. But that's not meant to be a safety feature, it's a flaw.

That's just not true. The bimetallic strip inside the breaker will flex as it is subjected to additional heat, and at a certain point that flex will trip the breaker. The reasons can be from overcurrent, increased resistance (wear, loose connection) or higher ambient temperature. My breaker's wires had loosened over time due to heat cycles, and the heat is what tripped the breaker, not overcurrent. The breaker itself did not melt or cause a fire since it is designed to protect itself. A receptacle has no provisions to stop the flow of electricity which is why it melted and why Tesla puts a temperature sensor in the plugs of the gen2 UMC adapters.

 

[Rocky_H]

they are designed using a thermal scheme that shifts the trip point with ambient temperature. So I still stand by my statement. If a Thermal breaker had a similar fault as this plug/outlet did the results would have been similar. It would have melted down and probably not tripped or tripped far too late.

That doesn't make any sense. You state that its trip point will move from the heat of ambient air warming up the body of the breaker. But then you say that being literally on fire would not do the same and warm it up.