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Xbox 360 Power Supply Blamed for Arkansas House Fire
Beryllium writes "In Arkansas, an XBox 360's power supply (or power cord, the story is a bit ambiguous) apparently
caused a fire with over $10,000 in damages. The fire chief says that it was probably due to the power supply unit being crammed into a space that had poor air circulation. The previously-documented heat issues with 360s led me to buy 'Andy', an affordable IKEA wireframe stand for my gaming system — with drawers! Since I've also got the power supply inside one of the unit's drawers, it should have more than adequate airflow to dissipate heat. I wonder what other airflow-improving ideas Slashdotters have come up with for their consoles?"
Doesn't that mean the fire was caused by an idiot who didn't realize that a power brick weighing 5 pounds with a fan on it kinda needs to have airflow? Not only that but it was probably a old-school one that wasn't registered and didn't get the replacement cables.
The previously-documented heat issues with 360s led me to buy 'Andy', an affordable IKEA wireframe stand for my gaming system -- with drawers! Since I've also got the power supply inside one of the unit's drawers, it should have more than adequate airflow to dissipate heat.There's a lot of "should" in that... I'm sure the people who owned the home that had fire damage had a lot of "should" insurance too.
My solution is to not get an xBox 360. I got a Wii, which stays pretty cool. Actually, it doesn't if you enable the always on internet connection, because the chip is still on, and the fan turns off. What I actually do, is leave WiiConnect on, so that the news and weather channels still work, but when I turn it off, I hold down the power button for 5 seconds so that it actually turns off.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Of course, that doesn't help with the house fire problem...
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
What aren't you guys understanding? When vented properly the power brick doesn't heat up to the point where it catches fire. This guy had his brick in a tightly compact spot. The expelled heat was collecting in the area, and naturally, a small area will heat up much quicker than a larger one. It's not like this guy had his brick out in the open and it caused a fire. No, he had it in a very tight spot which raised the overall temperature of the area enough to cause a fire. Get this through your heads: The power brick in itself is not a life-threatening device. Improper care of said brick, much like every other electronic item on the market, can cause serious risk of damage or injury. This guy didn't take care of it properly and therefore, he greatly increased the risk.
What a dolt. My PC, Laptop, Blu-Ray player, DVD player, et al, all do better than that. If they overheat, they shut off. It might wreck the power supply, but it's last gasp is shutting off. Anyone know if it's part of UL that items do that?
People say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Why? Is there any shortage of bad ones?
Birch-type PSUs have to have overheating protection. Without that the diesign would be crimonally neglient. It is far more likely that this was one of the incompetently done power connections, were MS showed its typical lack of understanding for engineering questions.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Who wrote the summary, some Ikea shill? I can think of no other reason someone would actually be proud enough to advertise their ownership of some "affordable wireframe stand", which also happens to be really fugly.
Too often on Slashdot, it can be difficult - if not impossible to trace a link to a primary source, and this link is really no better.
But the impression I have is of a fire waiting to happen. The power supply as a whole could be at its normal operating temperature. That doesn't meant that heat couldn't build up dangerously in some tight corner behind it.
The risk isn't unique to the XBox or the power brick. Poor ventilation is probably the roots cause of hundreds - if not thousands - of fires ignited by ordinary home appliances.
Perhaps there should be a temperature sensor which would turn the system off if the temperature got too high. Fires aside, it would prevent hardware problems as well.
The 360 has a fairly large install base. It's inevitable that something like this would happen. The PS does require adequate airflow and generates a considerable amount of heat. I would venture to say that it was in a cabinet or laying on the carpet.
Ha ha. This story just reminded me that my brother, a volunteer firefighter, had a 360 in the firestation. Fire wasn't their main concern with the 360's heat problem-- obviously, it was something they could handle, and the building was made completely out of concrete-- but due the fact that the console was typically running 24 hours a day. The thing crashed all the time. Because the way the shifts worked out, someone always had the ability to sit down in front of it, so this quickly got on their nerves. Anyway, they solved their problem by building a cage with two 12" fans attached. Plenty of airflow!
FTFA: "According to Little Rock, Arkansas fire department captain Jason Weaver, a 360's power cord was to blame for a blaze that injured no one (thankfully) but caused some $100,000 in property damage."
So what first looked like the blaze might have been contained to one room, at $100,000 means it probably took out most of the house.
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
... having their house burn down will encourage them to stop playing so many video games and get outside more :)
Why, no, I haven't meta-moderated lately. Thanks for asking!
Isn't the whole reason that various government entities in the US have effectively granted a monopoly to a private corporation (Underwriters Laboratories) to help ensure the safety of consumer products powered by electricity? Or is UL now as corporation-friendly as the Better (for) Businesses Bureau?
What happened to the sorts of tests where devices were deliberately abused to make sure they failed in a way that didn't involve burning down the owner's home?
Failing that, why is MS not building the heat equivalent of a circuit breaker into these PSUs? The possibility of corrupting the hard drive or whatever due to a non-graceful shutdown has to be less than the bad publicity caused by burning down customers' houses.
"...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
One user. Which kinda undercuts your point. But you wouldn't want me to say you're especially stupid, would you?
If you have a lot of electronic components, it is hard to find a stand or cabinet to fit, most of them have lousy airflow, and many are flammable. The wireframe stand recommended by the OP looks nice, but I am a big fan of industrial wire shelving, which you can assemble to exactly the size, shelf spacing, etc. that you need. A light-duty consumer grade version is available in most hardware stores. It's probably OK (I haven't tried it), but the industrial version is heavier grade, available in more sizes and finishes, not appreciably more expensive, and available from many vendors over the internet. It will support a great deal of weight, and of course the airflow is great. It is easy to organize wiring with cable ties. It knocks together in minutes (invest in a rubber mallet). Your Taste May Vary, but I find it attractive (in an unobtrusive high-tech way).
The brand that I have is Nextel.
Maybe I think too much from the designers of the Xbox but when I or someone in our company designs a product you always design for a fail safe situation.
Regardless of what causes the failure is completely irrelevant, the worse case should always be the power supply should die, blow a fuse, pop a breaker, or something to fail safely, that is just common design practice. It is a whole lot better to have an RMA than a suing party (or worse).
Generally electronics, or electronic enclosures, won't catch fire unless power is still being supplied. If you add any sort of protection it should prevent this from happening. The only time electronics should catch fire is when it was mis-assembled, mis-wired, or an external source was applied.
The argument maybe went off topic with how dumb users are to what it should be, how dumb Xbox designers are.
What about a finned metal case..
Like...the PSU case, instead of using plastic (which is a thermal insulator)...why not go with an aluminum case, with some fin-age.
The PSU shell might get hot, but the components inside won't fail and catch fire.
I've submersed mine in an old aquarium filled with 15 l of EVOO. Since this is a nonconducting liquid which can diffuse all heat, I feel quite safe with this setup. Not to mention the soothing effect of home-cooked Belgian fries after an intense Halo session. Mmmmm!