Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ersatzprofessor]

We had a little fire yesterday that could easily have become a big one.

A couple of months ago, I picked up a "Sunday" electric heater By "Bio" company at a local store- it is also marketed under the name "Devo". Nice little heater at a good price. Or so I thought, until it decided to spontaneously combust.

If you have a heater that looks like this (well, without the blackened and melted plastic):



Make sure you never leave it plugged in when you are not around, let alone running. Our heater was most likely not even on when the fire occured. You might also want to open the bottom and check the wiring, that is if you know what you are doing ..and of course unplug it first!

Anyway, our little fire was dramatic enough- flames three feet high and enough soot that we had to clean up virtually every surface in a 32 pyong apartment. I wasn't home at the time, but if my wife had not had the presence of mind to quickly unplug it, and amazingly enough, pick it up and throw it into our bath tub without getting burnt, things might have turned out pretty bad for us.If she had been a little later getting there, or if she had not been around at all, we may well have lost everything. As it was, that little fire has caused us at least 500,000 won damage for holes in our lino and rug.

Don't let it happen to you!

That is all.

[Alex Buffa]

I have to agree with you on that. People who buy cheap things to heat their homes spend alot more in energy than they would overall if they used a good boiler and used their floor heating.

[Real Reality]

Alex Buffa wrote,

People who buy cheap things to heat their homes spend alot more in energy...

But, what about all those universities and government offices that use space heaters to keep the staff warm at their desks? In some offices, I have seen each clerk with individual space heaters beside their desks in order to stay warm. The halls were freezing. And the restroom was colder.

[dogbert]

[wylde]

fires leave a nice smell in things yes? black shit everywhere too. I am freaked out by fires after that motel thing on seollal, it could have been a disaster.

good 1 wife.. glad damage was minimized.

[Mosley]

Though we've spat a lot of "political" blood at each other, I'm sorry to hear about this near-tragedy. A hard-headed question: half a million in damages is relatively serious coin. What's the deal on your insurance? Or did you have any/enough? For me, I seriously doubt if my sponsor provides me w/that kind of insurance-it'll make me ask the chief the next time I see him.

[ratslash]

my friend's light exploded once. it sent shards of red hot glass flying across the room. unfortunately, i think that electrics here are not safe. glad you are ok anyway.

[Alvin Stardust]

Also, if you have one of those electric heaters at home... watch the bills! They work out very expensive. Better to only use the ol' floor with those special fumes that send you to sleep...........zzzzzzzzzzzz, let's hear it for the floor!

[Derrek]

Lucky, lucky, lucky!

When I was a kid, my mom was using the toaster to make us breakfast on a Saturday morning when the cord decided to erupt into flames. I stood and watched in awe as my mother screamed, "FIRE!" and my 320 pound father flew into the kitchen like a semi truck, danced around it in his underwear, and yanked it out of the wall.

Aww...the memories that last a lifetime.

BTW... did someone say DEVO??!?!

[ersatzprofessor]

Thanks for the concern, all. I posted it mainly as a warning, actually.

But to answer your question, Mosley, to my embarrasment as a former insurance agent myself, we have no tenants insurance whatsoever. Which is incredibly stupid and something I am trying to remedy.

So what we did was contact the company that made the heater directly. They sent a guy down to look at the damage, caught a good earful from my wife. The president of the company spoke directly to my wife and he not only apologized but also agreed today to pay all us for all the damages. The money will be wired into our account on Monday. And they are sending us another heater - their latest model they said. I'm pretty confident they will have checked this one over pretty carefully.

Anyway, to justify my purchase of the electric heater as a couple of people have questioned its efficiency. We live in a ground floor apartment and so even with the boiler on full sometimes it can get a bit chilly. The heater is a supplement, that's all. With two small kids, I thought electric would be safer than gas and kerosene just stinks. A little ironic about the safety thing. I guess, eh?

[intergalactic]

Looks like it's not just 'Devo' heaters, but that we had better be careful of many of those types of heaters.
I stumbled across this warning as I was looking for something completely unrelated. ....

CPSC, Royal Centurian/Sovereign Announce Recall of Portable Heaters

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC), Royal Centurian Inc. and its affiliate Royal Sovereign
Corp., both of Englewood, N.J., are voluntarily recalling about 39,300
portable heaters. The mechanism which rotates the heater side-to-side can
wear through the insulation of electrical wiring inside the heater's base.
In addition, some of the connections between the electrical wires and other
components inside of the heater may be faulty. Either of these conditions
can result in a fire.

Royal Centurian/Sovereign have received 13 reports of fires involving the
heaters, which may have caused the fires. The fires resulted in about
$70,000 in property damage. No injuries have been reported.

Only Royal Sovereign model RST-1200 portable heaters with serial numbers
beginning with 92, 93, 94, 95 or 96 are being recalled. These heaters use a
fan to force the heated air into the room, and they rotate side-to-side to
distribute the heated air throughout the room. These units are constructed
of black plastic in a cylindrical shape with a diameter of 7 inches and a
height of 13 inches. The units are labeled in part, "RS...CERAMIC HEATER
AUTO THERMOSTAT CONTROL...120v, 60 hz, 1500 w...MODEL NO. RST-1200 ...Royal
Sovereign Corp...UL LISTED AIR HEATER...MADE IN KOREA." The serial number
is located underneath the heater's base. Home building supply and discount
stores nationwide, including Hechingers, Builders' Square, Walmart and
Montgomery Ward, sold the heaters from January 1992 through September 1997
for about $99.

Consumers should stop using these heaters immediately and call Royal
Centurian Inc. toll-free at (888) 347-2757 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EDT
Monday through Friday for instructions on returning the heaters for free
repair.

[candu]

If you think the heaters in Korea are trouble, watch out for the killer fans come summertime...