Spin Dryer went Bang

[einhorn]

HI
We had a German made spin dryer for just over a 12 months. Recently it made a loud bang followed by a lot of acrid smoke which spread to the whole bungalow. Luckily the Trip Switch did its job. The spin dryer has a 3 pin plug. However recently reading information about the same machine I see that they mention it is now supplied with a 2 pin plug but 3 pin adaptor is supplied. Our machine is still under guarantee and the UK supplier stated that he is having some more machines made for him which will be shipped to the UK. Whether 2 or 3 pin I have no idea yet. Got me wondering what if our machines electrical cable was made for a 2 pin plug and wrongly connected to a 3 pin plug. Is there any difference between cables made for 2 pin and 3 pin plugs or am I barking up the wrong tree. Perhaps failure was due to some other cause. Would appreciate any thoughts please as it gave us quite a shock and not what one expects from a German made machine, German Engineering and all that!
Many thanks.

 

[snowhead]

It won't be a problem with the plug or wiring, it wouldn't have worked at the beginning otherwise.
I suspect the 2 pin plug now fitted is actually a Europe 2 pin which has the earth (3rd pin) on the sides, so is effectively still 3 pin.

 

[Wilko]

Hi - sorry to hear the dryer went pop. Usually dryers have a metal chassis/case which is earthed (called a Class 1 appliance), so I’m a bit surprised they are going “2 pin” (a Class 2 appliance). It’s not impossible but it does mean the gubbins have to be double insulated and be tested and approved etc. If it’s Class 2 it should come with the “square in square” logo and the flex lead should only have 2 conductors connected as per pic.

Edit - @snowhead has it .

 

[Strima]

The two pin is the Euro Schuko plug, they do have an earth but it is a contact plate female fitting rather than a third pin like our good old BS1363. These are designed for use on radial circuits, unlike UK ring finals, and normally have 16 amp MCBs/fuses so the plugs are not fused.

The supplier should have removed the Schuko plug and fitted a standard fused BS1363 plug for use in the UK.

I would suspect a fault with the machine rather than the plug, although a fuse might have helped. Was it an MCB or RCD that tripped?

 

[brianmoooore]

Do these Europlug adaptors incorporate a fuse?

 

[snowhead]

Some do,
Some Chinese ones probably don't

 

[littlespark]

Could you post the brand and model of this dryer?