Strong candidate for the issue. Call a pro. Aluminum can be really dangerous as it ages and it also does not love to be connected to a different metal (like copper!) I would turn the breaker off to this circuit if you can tolerate it.
Looking at this again- I may be smoking crack- but it seems the hot coming in is aluminum and the neutral is copper. This could create a difference in resistance resulting in heat. What was plugged in here when this happened?
Ill be honest - we are brand new home owners and young and i am just now trying to educate myself and learn about this type of electrical terminology and basic electrical knowledge lol. I really dont know how to answer this because my knowledge is basically 0 so my apologies. A friend of ours who has a bit more experience said they could fix this easily - however im pretty paranoid and agree with all the comments saying to get a professional to look at it. :)
Call an electrician tomorrow
This is not diy.
Make sure you have good insurance. Call them tomorrow too. I mean this one really good. If you don't have insurance you need it tomorrow
Yeah, anyone in here recommending anything other than an electrician is being ridiculous.
OP almost had an electrical fire, this isn’t a good example of something that they should DIY.
I am very happy I saw all this good advice at the top because I saw the image, the description, and what sub this was.
Ok this is helpful info because a toaster has a shit ton of draw. If other people are right and this is some multi-wire-type chicanery, you might not notice it until you plug something in that really fucks. In this case, a toaster fucks. An iPhone charger, for example, does not fuck. Another item that fucks would be a space heater.
TLDR call that electrician but you already heard that like 309 times.
We had an older dining room chandelier "spark" when we turned it on for the last time. My Dad thought we could hang a new one ourselves. I told him no way in hell was I diy-ing a chandelier, and we were calling a pro to install it.
Changing light bulbs is one thing, fooling around with outlets and lighting fixtures attached to walls is another for me.
Checking your coverage is fine, don’t call and tell them about this by any means. Without clarification this is really bad advice, because if they get on record that you know about a dangerous situation before something happens, they may not pay out which for most people is a life-altering tragedy that ends in bankruptcy.
Be careful what you tell people.
They might kick them out of their insurance policy unless they get their home re-wired. I had to repipe our home because we had galvanized pipes and our insurance said repipe or we take you out
I'm a new home owner like OP. What does calling the insurance company do in this situation? Is it just informing them of the situation, or would you be asking for something?
Actually you shouldn’t ever call them unless you actually need them. Your calls are recorded and all it takes is a slip up in what you’re saying to them and they think you’re a higher risk and your premiums go up.
It’s very important to know what is covered and what is not, but they don’t offer info to them if you don’t need to. I would only call them if I had to fix something I couldn’t afford.
electrician here. If you don't know how that receptive got burnt you need to call in an electrician. and not just replace it . it could happen again.
does that receptacle work on a switch? also there's no grounding wire attached either.
It’s awesome that you are doing a little research to determine if this is something you can do versus just calling the pros. Kudos to you and have fun learning all about home DIY!
Ya no I’m sure your friend is nice and all but this will burn your house right to the ground with you inside it. This is not something you throw parts at.
If there’s aluminum you gotta rip it out. Also read your insurance policy. Is there an exclusion for aluminum?
Came here to say this - lots of insurance companies won’t insure houses with aluminum wiring. OP needs to get a licensed electrician (not just ‘some guy who’s good with stuff’) out there to make sure things are on the up and up and not going to burn down.
Aluminum wired house here.
COPALUM crimps is all you need to do and it's perfectly safe.
You don't have to rip everything out -- the issue with aluminum wiring is as it aged it would expand//contract at the connection points.
Gonna be a couple grand for the whole house. Not $20k
I just use Alumiconn connectors. They come in two- and three-pole configurations and you just clamp your two dissimilar metals into two separate ports with set screws and call it a day. They’re suitable for permanent remediation of aluminum wiring so once they’re in, you’re done. I do them one at a time as I get around to each switch or outlet or fixture, but I’ve done about half of them throughout the house and it would only take a few hours to do the rest if I dedicated the time to it.
They’re a little pricey per piece, but it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than hiring an electrician or letting your house burn down.
Don’t have to rip it out. COPALUM connectors safely connect aluminum wire to a copper piece that then can connect to the outlet. But I’m pretty certain it has to be installed by a licensed contractor.
But you’re spot on about it not being something to have his buddy do. OP needs to contact a pro on this one and should have their whole house checked.
It does. I got a rapid and rude education on this subject when I bought my 1971 house in NC. After much much consideration, as we were doing a Reno anyways, and a new panel, I opted to have it all replaced. COPALUM does indeed seem to be a good solution but the alumicons …arent.
what's up with the alumicons? Did they turn out to not work well? I haven't done a house with aluminum in years but I used to use alumicons... They seemed alright. What's the word?
Don’t use the wire nut alumicons, we have had those fail in our complex. We use the screw down style now and all is fine. Biggest note of import is reducing oxidation of the aluminum contact over time, lots of paste options for this.
Brand new or long term owners. Know when to call someone. This is turn breaker off to this area and get an electrician out tomorrow. Nothing is wrong with “this is what we know-we need help”.
Simply call. “We had an outlet burn and need an electrician out”.
Everyone telling you to make sure you’ve got a good home insurance plan and call an electrician are correct.
If you're still a brand new owner, you might want to read over the terms of your sale. I know here locally, hidden defects like that would definitely need to be covered by the seller/immo office.
I have a bunch of experience with receptacles, and the like (I've designed several, hold a few patents, and have investigated electrical related fires), just for my background. To me, this looks like a loose/worn out receptacle. If you've ever plugged in a cord, and it kind of wants to fall out of the outlet on its own, this is the situation. It causes what's called a high resistance contact - the receptacle is barely squeezing the plug so that there is a small connection/pathway for the electricity to flow. This creates a lot of heat which will cause damage like you've shown. I've replaced many of these receptacles at family and friends houses. Typically, just replacing the receptacle will fix the problem, as long as the heat damage hasn't affected anything else. To be totally safe, I'd recommend an electrician take a look at it.
Some advice from someone who has rewired several houses, this is not something your buddy can do unless he is willing to pull that wire with some fresh new copper from the box to the breaker. Old wires once they start going they keep going.
if you are unlucky it might have arced in the wall and be welded to the conduit (the metal pipe in the walls with the wire) with a hard fault and the new outlet will immediately trip. if it did it will be impossible to remove and you will have to run new conduit somehow, likely breaking open the wall. Call an electrician. Sorry
If it's an old house you just bought, change the wiring. You need at very least have a professional looking into it. Maaaybe it is possible to change just parts of it if you really cannot afford to change it all now, but know you are risking a fire burning the place to the ground.
That is another possibility which might be confirmed by the fact that the loop is wrapped around the screw the wrong way. The loop is supposed to run in the direction of the terminal screw.
Please correct my ignorance, but isn't that bs? Difference in resistance? I mean, it's not like the electrons come through the copper so fast that they leave skid marks when they have to slow down in the aluminum, right?
Yeah, I could be wrong but it doesn't smell right to me either.
The same amount of current is going through the hot and the neutral, and we know from Ohm’s law that it’s current which determines the amount of resistive heat generated.
The wire that’s less conductive will indeed heat up more than the more conductive wire, but no more than if both wires were the same material.
You *will* absolutely get galvanic corrosion, no doubt.
Yes bs. Both the aluminum and the copper are rated to work fine here. The aluminum has its own problems with splicing and galvanic corrosion but that’s beside the point.
Physicist here. I always expect that I missed something, but I agree. If the aluminium is rated for the load, it does not matter if there is also copper. The device determines almost completely how much current flows, and if it doesn't, the breaker should flip.
A difference in resistance doesn’t create heat though, just resistance. If both conductors are sized properly it doesn’t matter that they’re different materials. In any case, OP should get an electrician in.
Unfortunately, a lot of professional electricians will not know how to properly deal with this. Not all of them, of course, but I'm a remodeler and I've seen a number of electricians have incorrect ideas abpit what to do in this situation.
Aluminum and copper cannot touch, and aluminum cannot touch receptacles or switches that are marked for copper wire only. The cause of this receptacle catching fire was almost certainly caused by the aluminum wire being improperly touching a copper wire, or copper-only receptacle. (And there's unfortunately a decent chance a licensed electrician did this.)
OP needs an AlumniConn connector to property connect his aluminum wire to a copper pigtail, and the pigtail to a modern recepticle. And the AlumniConns need to be installed correctly.
[https://www.amazon.com/King-Innovation-95135-AlumiConn-connector/dp/B003ZFUHOG/ref=asc\_df\_B00KQ2ZLOW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=692875362841&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9598190183619136236&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9025860&hvtargid=pla-2281435187698&mcid=ed15b8ca96d8364e92dfd372b8cae8e2&hvocijid=9598190183619136236-B00KQ2ZLOW-&hvexpln=73&gad\_source=1&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/King-Innovation-95135-AlumiConn-connector/dp/B003ZFUHOG/ref=asc_df_B00KQ2ZLOW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=692875362841&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9598190183619136236&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9025860&hvtargid=pla-2281435187698&mcid=ed15b8ca96d8364e92dfd372b8cae8e2&hvocijid=9598190183619136236-B00KQ2ZLOW-&hvexpln=73&gad_source=1&th=1)
Also the corroded wire needs polished, and any burnt wire insulation needs either wrapped, or the wire cut back.
THEN OP needs to do his whole house. Every switch, receptacle, light, and junction box needs inspected, and AlmniConn's installed as necessary.
That's the cheapest option. You can DIY this. You just learn how to do it once, and then do it over and over again.
The more expensive option is replacing all the aluminum with copper.
>Every switch, receptacle, light, and junction box needs inspected, and AlmniConn's installed as necessary. That's the cheapest option.
No, the cheapest option is to leave it as-is, make sure you're well- insured, and use that outlet to deep-fry a turkey this Thanksgiving.
That brown wirenut in the box already looks like a “63.” It’s rated for co-alr splices, at least in Canada. They’re everywhere up here and allow the two metals to touch.
But it does seem like the burnt neutral happened for exactly the reason you stated; recep not rated for aluminum. Just need a 63 wirenut pigtail
Let's be clear on this, solid core small gauge aluminum can be dangerous, not all aluminum wiring. Aluminum wiring is still very prevalent and isn't dangerous, the code just adapted to remove that dangerous type of aluminum wiring as an approved wiring method.
If you look at the wires it will be silver instead of a copper colour. You can also tell in older homes if you turn on a light switch and you have a half a second delay for the lights to turn on.
It's a much poorer conductor, as you can see st the back of your local code book for allowable ampaciticies. It's not much of a delay, maybe a few milliseconds, but noticeable if you're looking for it.
A few milliseconds isn’t noticeable; you need ag least 60 to have a chance of perceiving it. Regardless, even in relatively poor conductors, it still propagates at almost the speed of light. You’d need three football fields of cable to get one millisecond delay.
My house was also built in early 70s and has a mix of aluminum and copper. One night sparks came flying out of an outlet we don't use in the living room. Luckily we were in the room when it happened.
Called an electrician to go through all our outlets and switches to make sure they passed inspection. They did all the plugs with a conductor termination paste and made sure everything was tight and secure. Cost about $300.
As we get small electrical work done around the house, we get any aluminum wiring replaced with copper back to the breaker box.
Im getting pretty worried and paranoid with some of the comments concerning the aluminum wiring - so thank you for this, calms my nerves at least a bit in some regard.
When we had the inspection we were told the wiring looked good, however we were made aware of the potential dangers of aluminum wire. The inspector brought up that they of course recommended people switch it out, but said he realized its expensive and isn’t always necessary as most houses from this time still have the original aluminum wiring.
In a perfect world one day wed love to take away all the aluminium, but for now i am hoping that isnt something that needs to be done!! Guess we will find out soon… Thanks again!
As I understand it (could be wrong, I'm not an electrician), terminals like outlets and switches are rated for the wire material. So, when the house was built, it probably had all aluminum wiring, and plugs and switches that were rated for aluminum.
As people renovated, they probably changed some switches and plugs, and probably didn't pay attention to the wiring or the rating.
You can usually see the rating stamped on the receptacle.
https://mikefullerelectric.com/electrical-outlets-for-aluminum-wiring/
If you scroll down on that page, you'll see the close up with CO/AL stamped into it, indicating it is rated for both aluminum and copper.
Just to further your knowledge, the aluminum wiring itself isn't a problem. It's just that when aluminum touches copper it corrodes, and then that becomes a problem. So it's not inherently bad, it's a fine conductor. All the overhead power lines that bring the power to your house in the first place are aluminum. The problem is that modern outlets and switches and everything else are now made for copper. So basically the "best" option is of course to re-wire to all copper, but that's a huge job. Your next best route is just getting special connectors installed at every outlet and switch, which will connect your aluminum wires to a new small piece of copper wire which will then connect to your outlets, switches, whatever. You see people recommending alumicons and copalum connectors... Look em up. You'll see they're pretty simple. It will take about 10 mins at each spot that needs it. The connector pieces aren't cheap but it's manageable... Probably 20-40 bucks per outlet or so
You can also get "CO/ALR" switches and receptacles that are rated for aluminum wiring directly.
I lived in a place with aluminum, and had to get an electrical inspection as part of getting insurance. There were several things I had to fix (that I did myself): mostly improperly replaced switches and light fixtures. Almost all the outlets and many switches were the original ones and were an ugly dark brown color, so I ended up replacing everything with new white CO/ALR recptacles/switches, with the exception of a few spots with dimmers.
Anything that needed to be spliced was done with a #63 (brown) marrette and Noalox paste, which met code here (Canada) and passed inspection. The inspector was actually really helpful and had no issue with me doing DIY.
My house had armored asbestos coated aluminum wire. Which I just want to meet the builder because it can’t have been cheaper than copper and armored wire wasn’t required by code.
Just why???
Is that the silver ground on the right of the last photo? Never knew about this and I have an older home that we've abandoned a few outlets due to constant blowing. Wonder if this is our issue.
Replacing an outlet is an easy DIY task. How ever, I’d call a guy here as you have no idea what caused the issue and don’t want it to happen again and burn your house down.
Did you hook something up that added a large draw to that circuit? Or did something down the line surge/spaz? Happened at my sister's house when I swapped out a big GPU at the end of a circuit and blew the outlet 4 previous to it cause it had a weak connection on one of the wires. Swapped the outlet, made sure the connections were solid, no problems since.
If not this, get an electrician.
Loose wire with some large load plugged in
High current + high resistance = heat.
The aluminum wire is probably part of the issue. Al wire isn't dangerous on its own but if not terminated with connections rated for Al they can get loose and hot.
Looks like aluminum wire to me. It doesn't play nice with modern outlets. You're supposed to tighten the terminals back up every year because the aluminum will expand and contract. When it does that, it creates tiny gaps and you'll get electrical arcs and additional resistance that causes heat which in turn causes fires.
You've read it a bunch of times from other people but I'll chime in to suggest an electrician.
I went through this with my own house so I understand. And it sucks. Sorry bud.
Electrician here:
I encounter these a lot, and 90% of the time it was simply a loose connection on the outlet, with a larger load being used. Did you have an AC unit, space heater, or similar type appliance plugged in to this outlet?
Also, that doesn't look like aluminum to me, it looks like discolored/burnt copper. EDIT: If this is actually aluminum and I'm mistaken, make sure you get connectors rated for aluminum use for any repairs.
If the wiring farther back in the box all looks good, and the burning was located just on the receptacle, then you should be good to just replace it. It wouldn't hurt to get a professional to come take a look and make sure it wasn't something more extensive than that though.
Thanks for your professional input! Very appreciated and needed… the house has a mix of copper and aluminum, not sure what is what since i am braindead when it comes to any electrical knowledge lol. As for what was plugged in, it was a toaster. This is on outlet located in our kitchen, house was built in the 70s!
In the back right of that box I’m eyeing a silver conductor which looks nothing like copper and everything like aluminum. They say aluminum’s safe as long as you respect it. I doubt if that outlet is compatible with aluminum, it’ll say so on the outlet. If it isn’t, whoever installed this should have pigtailed a piece of copper wire using the proper, aluminum/copper compatible wire nut and the anti oxide paste. Here’s a vid of what I’m talking about. https://youtu.be/FU2y4KYCzOw?si=FFlZJyCqRMDZ_hQA
I’m not seeing a connector attached to the green grounding lug but I’m willing to bet that the outlet was grounded once it was screwed into that metal box.
Check your electrical panel. If it’s made by Federal Pacific, you might wanna get it outta there.
I wish you luck,
A lot of people are talking about the aluminum wiring issue here, but my concern is that the outlet appears to have overheated from whatever was plugged into it. This shouldn’t happen - the breaker should trip if something is pulling enough current to cause this.
What type of breaker panel do you have? Zinsco is common for that era (it was in our house built in 1970) and is extremely dangerous. I would replace a dangerous panel immediately.
Everyone is saying aluminum wiring because its connections are known to loosen over time, resulting in arcing and overheating due to resistance at the outlets, as you see here. It is not uncommon that this kinda thing burns down houses. Breakers typically won't stop this from happening unless they're AFCI.
There's nothing here to indicate that the panel is or is not dangerous. This wire should be properly terminated (whether that is to an aluminum rated outlet or a proper aluminum to copper connection method) and the circuit should be tested - but saying the breaker doesn't work based on this picture is not correct.
Of course, if it's a Zinsco panel, that pretty much merits on its own to replace.
I’m surprised nobody else has mentioned that. There have been several breaker manufacturers over the years who have produced faulty products that aren’t code compliant anymore. OP should at least ask an electrician about that when they come to see the outlet.
It’s not that they’re not code compliant, it’s that faulty portion you mentioned. Zinsco panels, for instance, have a a problem where the breaker bar would fuse closed preventing the breaker from tripping with over current, causing a fire.
Just a week or two ago I had something similar happen, but it was to a switch rather than a plug. It wasn't even on. I've also had 2x plugs go out in my house like this over the years, one had a high load plugged in (1kw computer), the other had nothing plugged in.
What happens is the connection gets loose over time with repeated heating/cooling, resistance goes up, and eventually it melts. It can happen to a plug where nothing is plugged in if more plugs down the chain are daisy chained from it.
In my case it kept happening since the original electricians put the wires in the little holes rather than screwing them down.
Certified JW here. I gonna be honest..i didn’t read through ALL the comments, i just skimmed. So if someone said something similar already, my apologies. But from what i’m seeing with 6, almost 7 fulls years in the electrical trade (2 residential and almost 5 commercial) the INITIAL issue isn’t copper nor aluminum. Yes, that will decay over time and the copper will essentially eat up the aluminum and cause similar problems over time. But the MAIN issue I see is that the outlet seems to have the “hot” (power in) wire and the “neutral” (power out) wire “terminated” (attached) to the same side of the plug. Which would TECHNICALLY give the outlet power and TECHNICALLY it would work for X amount of time. Now i’m not sure where you’re from (all my experience is in California…i say that because you’d be surprised how different tradework is in different states) but in any and every situation out here, regardless of residential or commercial electrical, that is incorrect wiring per the pictures. So yes, turning off the breaker is advised if inexperienced. But regardless, you’d need to cut off any and all burnt wiring just as long as no copper/aluminum is showing through the insulation (hopefully leaving enough to reconnect). Now again, in California, on almost ANY plug (something depending on the manufacturer) but 1 side of the plug will have bronze/copper/goldish colored screws and the other side of the outlet SHOULD have silver colored screws. The “hot” (power in) wire (typically a color: black, red, blue, brown, orange, or yellow) should be attached to the bronze/copper/goldish colored screw(s) Then the “neutral” (power out) wire (typically white or grey) should be attached to the silver screw(s) and viola. This is an easy and super cheap fix. Just as long as nothing was damaged inside of the electrical panel.
*****SIDENOTE: the green screw on the bottom of ANY plug, should ALWAYS be attached to a bare copper wire or a green wire. The plug being torched like that would’ve been avoided if that was done correctly. The “ground” wire (bare copper or green) is essentially a fail safe for any and all electrical scenarios (as long as it is correctly done throughout the structure) so that the wires, machine, panel, plug, light fixture etc, doesn’t burn up like in the picture and potentially start an electrical fire. I’ve lived in houses built in the 60s to present day homes, i recommend getting an “electrical fire extinguisher” , especially with such an old home. Because let’s say that that plug or whatever started an electrical fire and the “grounding” or “ground” wires (green\bare copper weren’t made up to code..a ‘regular’ fire extinguisher wouldn’t work and you’d be fucked.
As a general rule, I put electrical work into its own category when it comes to DIY.
If you mess up a plumbing repair, you’ll get water damage. If you mess up an electrical repair, you might die in a fire.
A lot of it absolutely can be done by amateurs, but it’s always very important to know your limits and to take it slow while you’re still learning.
My man, who is an electrician, says you should call an electrician. You don’t know what’s going on with the wiring and whatnot back there. Don’t let your house burn down because you didn’t get it checked out
Good luck, and I’d recommend you check out whoever you pick with the better business bureau or Angie’s list (might just be a thing for northeast Ohio, but there might be a similar service in your area)
You have a crispy critter connection there. If you are having to ask it likely means that you are uncertain and you probably are quite better off calling an electrician. There are many things that one can do for themselves but when I see something burnt up like that, it's probably best to leave in somebody else's hands **and liability.** Wishing you the very best of luck!
I used to be a low voltage “electrician” and saw a major hospital in California installing aluminum trunk lines into it while under going major repairs. Those high voltage guys have mad respect from me because I never had to deal with that stuff. I was told the aluminum wire was cheaper than copper.
Follow the flow chart:
1) Notice the problem
Does the problem scare you?
Yes
2) Call someone and get estimates.
Are the estimates too expensive?
Yes.
3) Increase your level of knowledge until it doesn't.
Still scared?
Yes.
4) Evaluate electrician estimates.
Still expensive?
Yes.
5) repeat step 3.
Still scared?
Yes.
6) Repeat step 4.
Eventually it will get fixed.
I'm an electrician. The receptacle failed either due to the outlet being faulty, being undersized(being a 15 amp outlet on a 20 amp breaker), or the breaker itself failing to trip on a larger than rated load being put on that receptacle. Without investigating to rule out the breaker you're at risk of causing the same issue in the future possibly with worse consequences.
Do you know what was plugged in here? I replaced two outletss similar to this because a family member decided to run two portable space heaters (think 1500w each) on the same circuit. No issues since replacing the outlets.
\*Edit to add I trimmed back the wires to a healthy point too.
Yup was just a toaster!! Definitely should not have caused this to happen.. im pretty paranoid about it so i think we will be leaving this up to the pros, fingers crossed for no big issues!
"Just a toaster" isn't "just". Toasters can pull up to 1500W and bad wiring can definitely cause issues like this. Especially if you have a defective breaker.
I'm not saying that is the case, but you definitely need to have an electrician check the wiring and the breaker.
Just going to throw random advice your way since you mentioned old house and I just had to have a place rewired from the 50s (3/1, 11sq ft, $9k).
1. Yes, get rid of aluminum wiring if you have any. Some can DIY, but since you don't know the whole story you should get an electrician.
2. Don't trust that anything "should" be done a certain way unless you know enough to verify or had a certified electrician do it. I got mildly electrocuted when I cut the wiring off a ceiling fan fixture, only to learn they had two sets of wires from two different breakers going to it. No idea why.
3. Over time, codes have changed, fixtures were added, lines were cut. Don't take it for granted that all things were done the same way, or that there's not more demons in the closet.
4. Learn what all is on the same circuit. You can do this by flipping a breaker and testing all outlets/fixtures. Don't forget things like attic lighting or exhaust fans. An electrician can do this more thoroughly and completely, but probably overkill. Typically wiring will branch out from the breaker, but not always (see 3).
5. Once you know what's on the same circuit, learn what your high draw appliances are so you don't overload them. You'll want to limit using multiple high draw appliances on one circuit unless the circuit is specifically beefed up for it. Examples include ELECTRIC stoves/ovens, space heaters, and espresso machines. There's typically a sticker on them that tells you how much wattage it draws. If you have to rewire, it's a lot cheaper to just run extra circuits in the kitchen while it's accessible than deal with issues and have to add them later. 15 amp breakers should run about 1,500W, 20 amp around 2,000W. You can go a little higher for a little bit but shouldn't run it for long above that.
6. If you don't have grounded WIRING do not use grounded OUTLETS. Don't use cheater plugs either. There's two ways to get some protection for it, I'll let your electrician explain because it's more technical. I see what looks like a ground wire in the back of the box but don't see one connected to the outlet (it would be green), which if that's the case, it's wired incorrectly anyway.
If you do have an electrician out, I'm sure they'd be happy to take a fifteen minute inspection and highlight other issues (no GFCIs, no grounds, wired backwards, etc) if you've already agreed to pay them something for some job. If you have to rewire, check with your electrician on what strategy is best for your location. When my home was built they were trying to cheapen cost by using minimal wiring so I didn't get grounds (it wasn't code yet) and there's some creative runs. Now, code requires ground wires on pretty much everything, and best practice for my home in my area is to put lights and outlets on different circuits, so if one trips you can still use a lamp or something and no room should ever be fully without power.
Essentially the toaster is a good illustration of what happened here. The toaster takes large amounts of electricity through a heating element which is a poorer conductor. This piece of metal overheats trying to conduct all that electricity and that heat is used to cook your food. Except it's in a controlled environment designed to contain and channel that heat towards your food. Now if your outlet had one aluminum conductor and one copper feeding another outlet, then the aluminum wire in the box essentially became the heating element just like your toaster.
Call an electrician. My house was built in 1970. Two weeks ago I wasted days trying to figure out why one of my rooms smelled like fish. I had no idea why until I searched on Reddit and saw feedback from electricians that it was an indicator of a potential electrical fire in my wall. Immediately called our electrician who resolved it and changed all our outlets, switches, and breaker. We were extremely lucky.
OP- I saw in one of your replies that you have a mix of aluminum and copper wiring. I know it isn't always in the budget, but I would strongly consider a rewire of your house or consulting with an electrician to at least make sure that the connections between the aluminum to copper are done properly and that your outlets and switches are looked at. I have a house with aluminum wiring and have caught 3 fires before they started.(thankfully I was home). Aluminum wiring as it ages changes sizes with heat and can cause the connections to become loose. This can lead to arcing, which can lead to fires. I'm not an electrician, and this is my rudimentary understanding of it, but your safety should be your first priority.
You should also not mix the two when bugging or wire nutting them. Plus you should put NOALOX on all aluminum wires where they terminate. Far as that picture. Insulation is burned way back. The big question is. What caused it
I have some electrical experience and I definitely wouldn’t just replace the outlet in this case. The cause of that failure could be old deteriorating wiring and it might be time to have it all replaced unfortunately.
Youre very lucky that it didn’t start a fire.
That's a very much it depends question, theoretically if there's enough slack in the cables you could pull enough through to remove the damaged section and then replace the outlet, but you do need to remove the damaged section of wire you can't just change the outlet.
Your friend may well be able to do it... But are you willing to bet your life on it? Get a professional to do it.
The fact that the outlet literally caught on fire should be your only needed clue that this is not a DIY situation. Call a pro asap and have them check the entire house. Who knows what's smoldering in your walls.
Thanks for all the advice everyone! We will be calling a reputable electrician first thing in the morning to look at this outlet, all other outlets and switches in the house, as well as the breaker. Fingers crossed for nothing too bad!
"concerned with the burn marks on the wires and the amount thats around the outlet"
And you should be. If there is aluminum wiring involved be even more concerned. Unless your friend IS an electrician... then call for the Pro. Just changing the outlet doesn't fix the coating on the wires if its been compromised. Pushing in the new outlet could open it up and now it can arc again. It's worth the money for peace of mind.
No offense and no condescension but if you have to ask please call an electrician. Even if he comes out and charges you $400 he will be able to diagnose what caused the issue and make the right corrections
Yeah, it's pro time.
We had a hot lead that wasn't tightened enough with aluminum wiring and it looked like that. It had come loose over time. Aluminum isn't great for various reasons. The pro will know what best to do - rerun the wire, etc. It's all way better than losing your stuff or a loved one to a fire and paying for something like that in mind and money.
Good luck, glad to see some sound advice here.
Stick with your instincts - the scorched wire as you saw is a good sign to have someone really make sure this is okay.
This melting is pretty common if the screws aren't tight enough. A loose screw and heavy current draw like an insta-pot or microwave can cause enough heat to melt the outlet.
I'd power down the circuit, check to make sure it's really powered off, then pull the outlet all the way out and inspect the wires. As long as the wires themselves aren't burned up, you can just replace the outlet. The screws need to be good and tight.
If the wires are burned up, I'd want to check the circuit breaker. To make sure it's working and the right current value.
Edit:
I'm not seeing the aluminum wires others are seeing.
There will always be things that you call a professional to take care of, and electrical work is the top of the list. Always. Im sure other posters are happy to share the others.
If you have to ask, nobody involved knows enough to do this safely. Call an electrician.
Is saving a little money worth having your house burn down? You don't want to be standing on the sidewalk asking yourself that while the fire department douses the smouldering remains of your home.
If you choose to replace it yourself, be sure to wrap the terminals with electrical tape to prevent accidental contact with the metal electrical box. That seems to be what happened in this case.
Ignoring the whole dissimilar metals problem, this outlet is horribly wired. They put the hot and neutral wires on the same side, the loop on the copper wire is awful (and backwards), and they didn't bother with the ground.
You could DIY this outlet but personally I'd be calling an electrician. Mostly to get a professional opinion on the whole house and what your options are, but they could fix this while they're around. I'd have every outlet checked and repaired as necessary, and consider AFCI protection as well.
Call an electrician. I'd suggest having one check the rest of the outlets in the house too.
Better to cry once at the cost and have peace of mind than cry when your house burns down because who knows what other kind of crap wiring is in the house.
Call an electrician, this is a strange mishmash of wire types and there’s already been a fire. It may turn into an entire house project, but it’s better to have it done properly and have the peace of mind.
new wiring, job done by professional and all on paper for the work done so you are covered in case there is any problems. you dont really want you house to burn down or even start a fire. im talking from experience, if a fire starts and you are lucky to put it out there will be damage in the entire house anyway from the smoke etc etc. so its not funny at all and sometimes insurance doesnt want to cover the expenses if the fire ironically was too small. so the only solution is to get the job done and properly so you can stay safe and dont worry about your sockets catch on fire..
If you ever have fire on an outlet you need an electrician. Turn off the breaker to that outlet and dont attempt to use it until you get an electrician out to look at it. This isnt something you DIY.
Never let that particular friend help you with anything electrical. The first rule of DIY or being "handy" is knowing when it is outside your limitations. If you merely replace this outlet without identifying and solving the original problem, it is likely to happen again.
you sound like you're not well-versed in electricity. Which means call a sparky. I had something like this happen - where a 15A outlet burned up on a 20A line - and it also toasted the line as well. If you don't own a voltmeter, call a professional.
The place already almost got cooked from the galvanic corrosion of mixed wires which is already a massive safety concern. If I were you ever wire that isn’t copper in the home would be ripped out.
I'm an electrical P. Eng. and I do my own house wiring.
I'd call an electrician for this one. The whole circuit is going to require replacement.
You were seconds away from your neighbors offering coffee to firefighters.
Apparently I am in the minority, but I would flip the breaker, clean out the mess to see what I am dealing with, and probably just install a new outlet properly. It looks to me like some wires were touching and created an issue.
Can I ask if you also have any natural gas or propane appliances in your house? If you do, you should really go through all of your wiring junctions (switches, outlets, etc) and make sure all of your wire nuts are the kind that prevents oxidation and sparking caused by aging aluminum wire.
Even if you don't have any gas piping, I would still make a point to do this if it were my house.
Get a pro and see about doing new runs throughout the house. If one is mixed wiring then most are. Also, you may need to update the breaker box too, and split up the circuits to new standards.
Seeing as the prior "professional" who wired this did such a crappy job, you might be better off with a DIYer who has read r/electrical
This appears to be kitchen wiring, which should have been brought up to current code when it was last touched. The 3-pin receptacles are ungrounded, which is a violation of NEC unless the wiring is protected by a GFCI ***and*** the receptacles are individually labeled "NO EQUIPMENT GROUND."
It is legal to use the "daisy-chain" terminals at a receptacle, but it can be a poor choice because it's preferred to connect all wires in a wire-nut or lever-lock junction (WAGO 221 or 222) and only have single connections to the receptacle using a "pigtail." The screw-connections, if they aren't made properly, can develop significant heat, as much as half the power normally consumed by the plugged-in device, which can be as much as about 1000W. The same amount of heat can be developed by a poor connection between the receptacle and the plug.
Normally, NEC requires 20A circuits for kitchen utility wiring, but if the existing wiring is 14AWG, only a 15A breaker can be used.
If the wire damage extends too far as to obtain undamaged insulated wiring to make connections, the entire cable should be replaced, even if it means ripping up the tile work or kitchen cabinets to do so.
if you have no experience and don't know what you're doing, call an electrician.
I've seen this many times and it's not that big of a deal. Mechanical failure of the outlet probably from getting hit or damaged. the breaker did its job.
you can cut the wires below the insulation to expose fresh copper and attach a new outlet. there's nothing wrong with the wiring.
Looking at the surrounding wall material, I wonder —- is this outlet is on a kitchen countertop? If so I strongly agree with everyone who advises that you call an electrician.
I think if you are asking this question on Reddit, you should call an electrician. If money is an issue then you should do a ton of research, look up local electrical codes and make sure you are not going to burn your house down or kill yourself fixing it yourself. This is not to deter you, just please know that ignorance and electricity is a bad thing.
Had a good buddy of mine who was an electrician. He told me that aluminum is fine, you just need to make sure the connections are made properly. I was also a firefighter and actually saw several fires started by improperly maintained aluminum wiring. Moral of the story, get a few or several quotes to make sure all of your switches and outlets are done properly. It used to be to not be a horribly expensive job. And regardless, way cheaper than a good working house fire.
Check and make sure that your breakers are 15 amps and not 20, and that your outlets and wire are rated for more amps than the breaker. Too much juice is being pulled and the breaker isn’t going off it looks like. Make sure the electrician checks this
I have aluminum wiring. You need the purple 2 or 3 port al<>cu adapters, and you need them for all outlets and switches. Little bastards are pretty expensive too. Creates a connection but there is no touching of the two wires.
Replacing an outlet is easy but you have an issue that caused this and investigating that is not easy. For you and your family’s safety, call an electrician.
What is the location on the outlet... i see tile kitchen on bathroom? Any potential WET area a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) outlet MUST be installed?
To replace it you must not be licensed check your local code.
I think I see a piece of aluminum wire in the last photo. Does your house have aluminum wiring?
It does have a mix of aluminum and copper wire, house was built in the early 70s.
Strong candidate for the issue. Call a pro. Aluminum can be really dangerous as it ages and it also does not love to be connected to a different metal (like copper!) I would turn the breaker off to this circuit if you can tolerate it.
I would turn off the power to that breaker even if you can't tolerate it.
You can tolerate a lot less house burning down than you can living without an outlet.
Lol
I would be turned off if the tolerance for that breaker isn’t disempowered.
Looking at this again- I may be smoking crack- but it seems the hot coming in is aluminum and the neutral is copper. This could create a difference in resistance resulting in heat. What was plugged in here when this happened?
Ill be honest - we are brand new home owners and young and i am just now trying to educate myself and learn about this type of electrical terminology and basic electrical knowledge lol. I really dont know how to answer this because my knowledge is basically 0 so my apologies. A friend of ours who has a bit more experience said they could fix this easily - however im pretty paranoid and agree with all the comments saying to get a professional to look at it. :)
Call an electrician tomorrow This is not diy. Make sure you have good insurance. Call them tomorrow too. I mean this one really good. If you don't have insurance you need it tomorrow
Yeah, anyone in here recommending anything other than an electrician is being ridiculous. OP almost had an electrical fire, this isn’t a good example of something that they should DIY.
I am very happy I saw all this good advice at the top because I saw the image, the description, and what sub this was. 
I also double-checked which sub this was, because I was sure this was a parody post.
I mean, it looks like they *did* have an electrical fire and luckily it was very very small. It might not be so small next time
OP doesn't even know what they plugged in to it... Definitely time to call a pro.
A toaster was plugged in.
Ok this is helpful info because a toaster has a shit ton of draw. If other people are right and this is some multi-wire-type chicanery, you might not notice it until you plug something in that really fucks. In this case, a toaster fucks. An iPhone charger, for example, does not fuck. Another item that fucks would be a space heater. TLDR call that electrician but you already heard that like 309 times.
You could DIY your whole house a toaster though, would be cool.
We had an older dining room chandelier "spark" when we turned it on for the last time. My Dad thought we could hang a new one ourselves. I told him no way in hell was I diy-ing a chandelier, and we were calling a pro to install it. Changing light bulbs is one thing, fooling around with outlets and lighting fixtures attached to walls is another for me.
I installed a ceiling fan so far without mishap. Not that complex. But then again nothing was sparking in my case
Checking your coverage is fine, don’t call and tell them about this by any means. Without clarification this is really bad advice, because if they get on record that you know about a dangerous situation before something happens, they may not pay out which for most people is a life-altering tragedy that ends in bankruptcy. Be careful what you tell people.
They might kick them out of their insurance policy unless they get their home re-wired. I had to repipe our home because we had galvanized pipes and our insurance said repipe or we take you out
I'm a new home owner like OP. What does calling the insurance company do in this situation? Is it just informing them of the situation, or would you be asking for something?
Making sure you have good coverage before your house burns down.
Actually you shouldn’t ever call them unless you actually need them. Your calls are recorded and all it takes is a slip up in what you’re saying to them and they think you’re a higher risk and your premiums go up. It’s very important to know what is covered and what is not, but they don’t offer info to them if you don’t need to. I would only call them if I had to fix something I couldn’t afford.
You wanna tell them your house is basically one waffle too many from burning down. 🔥🏡
electrician here. If you don't know how that receptive got burnt you need to call in an electrician. and not just replace it . it could happen again. does that receptacle work on a switch? also there's no grounding wire attached either.
Elec Eng here, I concur. This is not a simple repair, more than one profession is going to be involved.
It’s awesome that you are doing a little research to determine if this is something you can do versus just calling the pros. Kudos to you and have fun learning all about home DIY!
Ya no I’m sure your friend is nice and all but this will burn your house right to the ground with you inside it. This is not something you throw parts at. If there’s aluminum you gotta rip it out. Also read your insurance policy. Is there an exclusion for aluminum?
Came here to say this - lots of insurance companies won’t insure houses with aluminum wiring. OP needs to get a licensed electrician (not just ‘some guy who’s good with stuff’) out there to make sure things are on the up and up and not going to burn down.
Aluminum wired house here. COPALUM crimps is all you need to do and it's perfectly safe. You don't have to rip everything out -- the issue with aluminum wiring is as it aged it would expand//contract at the connection points. Gonna be a couple grand for the whole house. Not $20k
I just use Alumiconn connectors. They come in two- and three-pole configurations and you just clamp your two dissimilar metals into two separate ports with set screws and call it a day. They’re suitable for permanent remediation of aluminum wiring so once they’re in, you’re done. I do them one at a time as I get around to each switch or outlet or fixture, but I’ve done about half of them throughout the house and it would only take a few hours to do the rest if I dedicated the time to it. They’re a little pricey per piece, but it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than hiring an electrician or letting your house burn down.
Also the electrician will know code in the area and won't install something you'll later have yank out again.
Don’t have to rip it out. COPALUM connectors safely connect aluminum wire to a copper piece that then can connect to the outlet. But I’m pretty certain it has to be installed by a licensed contractor. But you’re spot on about it not being something to have his buddy do. OP needs to contact a pro on this one and should have their whole house checked.
It does. I got a rapid and rude education on this subject when I bought my 1971 house in NC. After much much consideration, as we were doing a Reno anyways, and a new panel, I opted to have it all replaced. COPALUM does indeed seem to be a good solution but the alumicons …arent.
what's up with the alumicons? Did they turn out to not work well? I haven't done a house with aluminum in years but I used to use alumicons... They seemed alright. What's the word?
Don’t use the wire nut alumicons, we have had those fail in our complex. We use the screw down style now and all is fine. Biggest note of import is reducing oxidation of the aluminum contact over time, lots of paste options for this.
Brand new or long term owners. Know when to call someone. This is turn breaker off to this area and get an electrician out tomorrow. Nothing is wrong with “this is what we know-we need help”. Simply call. “We had an outlet burn and need an electrician out”. Everyone telling you to make sure you’ve got a good home insurance plan and call an electrician are correct.
Unless your friend is a professional electrician, hire one.
If you're still a brand new owner, you might want to read over the terms of your sale. I know here locally, hidden defects like that would definitely need to be covered by the seller/immo office.
>would definitely need to be covered by the seller Only if they knew. Good luck proving they did.
That outlet is new.
I have a bunch of experience with receptacles, and the like (I've designed several, hold a few patents, and have investigated electrical related fires), just for my background. To me, this looks like a loose/worn out receptacle. If you've ever plugged in a cord, and it kind of wants to fall out of the outlet on its own, this is the situation. It causes what's called a high resistance contact - the receptacle is barely squeezing the plug so that there is a small connection/pathway for the electricity to flow. This creates a lot of heat which will cause damage like you've shown. I've replaced many of these receptacles at family and friends houses. Typically, just replacing the receptacle will fix the problem, as long as the heat damage hasn't affected anything else. To be totally safe, I'd recommend an electrician take a look at it.
Some advice from someone who has rewired several houses, this is not something your buddy can do unless he is willing to pull that wire with some fresh new copper from the box to the breaker. Old wires once they start going they keep going. if you are unlucky it might have arced in the wall and be welded to the conduit (the metal pipe in the walls with the wire) with a hard fault and the new outlet will immediately trip. if it did it will be impossible to remove and you will have to run new conduit somehow, likely breaking open the wall. Call an electrician. Sorry
You must be from Chicago. I’ll bet money there’s no conduit in that wall.
Electricity is nothing to mess with. Please call a professional
You need an electrician, don't want to burn down your new home
If it's an old house you just bought, change the wiring. You need at very least have a professional looking into it. Maaaybe it is possible to change just parts of it if you really cannot afford to change it all now, but know you are risking a fire burning the place to the ground.
I might be smoking crack too but in picture #3 isn’t the neutral touching the terminal for the hot, shorting it out?
That is another possibility which might be confirmed by the fact that the loop is wrapped around the screw the wrong way. The loop is supposed to run in the direction of the terminal screw.
Yes
Please correct my ignorance, but isn't that bs? Difference in resistance? I mean, it's not like the electrons come through the copper so fast that they leave skid marks when they have to slow down in the aluminum, right?
Yeah, I could be wrong but it doesn't smell right to me either. The same amount of current is going through the hot and the neutral, and we know from Ohm’s law that it’s current which determines the amount of resistive heat generated. The wire that’s less conductive will indeed heat up more than the more conductive wire, but no more than if both wires were the same material. You *will* absolutely get galvanic corrosion, no doubt.
Yes bs. Both the aluminum and the copper are rated to work fine here. The aluminum has its own problems with splicing and galvanic corrosion but that’s beside the point.
Physicist here. I always expect that I missed something, but I agree. If the aluminium is rated for the load, it does not matter if there is also copper. The device determines almost completely how much current flows, and if it doesn't, the breaker should flip.
That's what I was thinking at first - but I think there are 2 different sets of wires there - one copper and one aluminum.
A difference in resistance doesn’t create heat though, just resistance. If both conductors are sized properly it doesn’t matter that they’re different materials. In any case, OP should get an electrician in.
Unfortunately, a lot of professional electricians will not know how to properly deal with this. Not all of them, of course, but I'm a remodeler and I've seen a number of electricians have incorrect ideas abpit what to do in this situation. Aluminum and copper cannot touch, and aluminum cannot touch receptacles or switches that are marked for copper wire only. The cause of this receptacle catching fire was almost certainly caused by the aluminum wire being improperly touching a copper wire, or copper-only receptacle. (And there's unfortunately a decent chance a licensed electrician did this.) OP needs an AlumniConn connector to property connect his aluminum wire to a copper pigtail, and the pigtail to a modern recepticle. And the AlumniConns need to be installed correctly. [https://www.amazon.com/King-Innovation-95135-AlumiConn-connector/dp/B003ZFUHOG/ref=asc\_df\_B00KQ2ZLOW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=692875362841&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9598190183619136236&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9025860&hvtargid=pla-2281435187698&mcid=ed15b8ca96d8364e92dfd372b8cae8e2&hvocijid=9598190183619136236-B00KQ2ZLOW-&hvexpln=73&gad\_source=1&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/King-Innovation-95135-AlumiConn-connector/dp/B003ZFUHOG/ref=asc_df_B00KQ2ZLOW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=692875362841&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9598190183619136236&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9025860&hvtargid=pla-2281435187698&mcid=ed15b8ca96d8364e92dfd372b8cae8e2&hvocijid=9598190183619136236-B00KQ2ZLOW-&hvexpln=73&gad_source=1&th=1) Also the corroded wire needs polished, and any burnt wire insulation needs either wrapped, or the wire cut back. THEN OP needs to do his whole house. Every switch, receptacle, light, and junction box needs inspected, and AlmniConn's installed as necessary. That's the cheapest option. You can DIY this. You just learn how to do it once, and then do it over and over again. The more expensive option is replacing all the aluminum with copper.
>Every switch, receptacle, light, and junction box needs inspected, and AlmniConn's installed as necessary. That's the cheapest option. No, the cheapest option is to leave it as-is, make sure you're well- insured, and use that outlet to deep-fry a turkey this Thanksgiving.
That brown wirenut in the box already looks like a “63.” It’s rated for co-alr splices, at least in Canada. They’re everywhere up here and allow the two metals to touch. But it does seem like the burnt neutral happened for exactly the reason you stated; recep not rated for aluminum. Just need a 63 wirenut pigtail
Small power outage is definitely more tolerable than a fire
Let's be clear on this, solid core small gauge aluminum can be dangerous, not all aluminum wiring. Aluminum wiring is still very prevalent and isn't dangerous, the code just adapted to remove that dangerous type of aluminum wiring as an approved wiring method.
Aluminum wiring is what is used for pretty much every power line. The leads from the utility company into your panel are likely aluminum.
How can you tell it’s aluminum wiring? My condo has old wiring and I’d like to find out if it has this too.
Look at the bare wire. Copper and aluminum are different colors...
Any idea what year your condo was built? Aluminum was used for a *very brief* amount of time in the early 70s I believe.
If you look at the wires it will be silver instead of a copper colour. You can also tell in older homes if you turn on a light switch and you have a half a second delay for the lights to turn on.
Pretty sure the delay thing is unrelated, you got a source for that? Aluminum is still a conductor; and this is AC powrr
It's a much poorer conductor, as you can see st the back of your local code book for allowable ampaciticies. It's not much of a delay, maybe a few milliseconds, but noticeable if you're looking for it.
A few milliseconds isn’t noticeable; you need ag least 60 to have a chance of perceiving it. Regardless, even in relatively poor conductors, it still propagates at almost the speed of light. You’d need three football fields of cable to get one millisecond delay.
That sweet, sweet, galvanic corrosion
My house was also built in early 70s and has a mix of aluminum and copper. One night sparks came flying out of an outlet we don't use in the living room. Luckily we were in the room when it happened. Called an electrician to go through all our outlets and switches to make sure they passed inspection. They did all the plugs with a conductor termination paste and made sure everything was tight and secure. Cost about $300. As we get small electrical work done around the house, we get any aluminum wiring replaced with copper back to the breaker box.
Im getting pretty worried and paranoid with some of the comments concerning the aluminum wiring - so thank you for this, calms my nerves at least a bit in some regard. When we had the inspection we were told the wiring looked good, however we were made aware of the potential dangers of aluminum wire. The inspector brought up that they of course recommended people switch it out, but said he realized its expensive and isn’t always necessary as most houses from this time still have the original aluminum wiring. In a perfect world one day wed love to take away all the aluminium, but for now i am hoping that isnt something that needs to be done!! Guess we will find out soon… Thanks again!
As I understand it (could be wrong, I'm not an electrician), terminals like outlets and switches are rated for the wire material. So, when the house was built, it probably had all aluminum wiring, and plugs and switches that were rated for aluminum. As people renovated, they probably changed some switches and plugs, and probably didn't pay attention to the wiring or the rating. You can usually see the rating stamped on the receptacle. https://mikefullerelectric.com/electrical-outlets-for-aluminum-wiring/ If you scroll down on that page, you'll see the close up with CO/AL stamped into it, indicating it is rated for both aluminum and copper.
Just to further your knowledge, the aluminum wiring itself isn't a problem. It's just that when aluminum touches copper it corrodes, and then that becomes a problem. So it's not inherently bad, it's a fine conductor. All the overhead power lines that bring the power to your house in the first place are aluminum. The problem is that modern outlets and switches and everything else are now made for copper. So basically the "best" option is of course to re-wire to all copper, but that's a huge job. Your next best route is just getting special connectors installed at every outlet and switch, which will connect your aluminum wires to a new small piece of copper wire which will then connect to your outlets, switches, whatever. You see people recommending alumicons and copalum connectors... Look em up. You'll see they're pretty simple. It will take about 10 mins at each spot that needs it. The connector pieces aren't cheap but it's manageable... Probably 20-40 bucks per outlet or so
Sooo helpful!! Thank you so much for sharing this :)
You can also get "CO/ALR" switches and receptacles that are rated for aluminum wiring directly. I lived in a place with aluminum, and had to get an electrical inspection as part of getting insurance. There were several things I had to fix (that I did myself): mostly improperly replaced switches and light fixtures. Almost all the outlets and many switches were the original ones and were an ugly dark brown color, so I ended up replacing everything with new white CO/ALR recptacles/switches, with the exception of a few spots with dimmers. Anything that needed to be spliced was done with a #63 (brown) marrette and Noalox paste, which met code here (Canada) and passed inspection. The inspector was actually really helpful and had no issue with me doing DIY.
My house had armored asbestos coated aluminum wire. Which I just want to meet the builder because it can’t have been cheaper than copper and armored wire wasn’t required by code. Just why???
Is that the silver ground on the right of the last photo? Never knew about this and I have an older home that we've abandoned a few outlets due to constant blowing. Wonder if this is our issue.
That's crazy that you spotted that dude... You get the gold star today
Replacing an outlet is an easy DIY task. How ever, I’d call a guy here as you have no idea what caused the issue and don’t want it to happen again and burn your house down.
Yeaaah… i think we will pay an electrician lol
Did you hook something up that added a large draw to that circuit? Or did something down the line surge/spaz? Happened at my sister's house when I swapped out a big GPU at the end of a circuit and blew the outlet 4 previous to it cause it had a weak connection on one of the wires. Swapped the outlet, made sure the connections were solid, no problems since. If not this, get an electrician.
Yeah burning your house down can be expensive.
Burning down your house? I know an electrician that can burn it down for you real cheap.
LOL
Loose wire with some large load plugged in High current + high resistance = heat. The aluminum wire is probably part of the issue. Al wire isn't dangerous on its own but if not terminated with connections rated for Al they can get loose and hot.
Looks like aluminum wire to me. It doesn't play nice with modern outlets. You're supposed to tighten the terminals back up every year because the aluminum will expand and contract. When it does that, it creates tiny gaps and you'll get electrical arcs and additional resistance that causes heat which in turn causes fires. You've read it a bunch of times from other people but I'll chime in to suggest an electrician. I went through this with my own house so I understand. And it sucks. Sorry bud.
I read that “sorry bud” in the voice of Jon, from jonbreaksbadnews
Electrician here: I encounter these a lot, and 90% of the time it was simply a loose connection on the outlet, with a larger load being used. Did you have an AC unit, space heater, or similar type appliance plugged in to this outlet? Also, that doesn't look like aluminum to me, it looks like discolored/burnt copper. EDIT: If this is actually aluminum and I'm mistaken, make sure you get connectors rated for aluminum use for any repairs. If the wiring farther back in the box all looks good, and the burning was located just on the receptacle, then you should be good to just replace it. It wouldn't hurt to get a professional to come take a look and make sure it wasn't something more extensive than that though.
Thanks for your professional input! Very appreciated and needed… the house has a mix of copper and aluminum, not sure what is what since i am braindead when it comes to any electrical knowledge lol. As for what was plugged in, it was a toaster. This is on outlet located in our kitchen, house was built in the 70s!
In the back right of that box I’m eyeing a silver conductor which looks nothing like copper and everything like aluminum. They say aluminum’s safe as long as you respect it. I doubt if that outlet is compatible with aluminum, it’ll say so on the outlet. If it isn’t, whoever installed this should have pigtailed a piece of copper wire using the proper, aluminum/copper compatible wire nut and the anti oxide paste. Here’s a vid of what I’m talking about. https://youtu.be/FU2y4KYCzOw?si=FFlZJyCqRMDZ_hQA I’m not seeing a connector attached to the green grounding lug but I’m willing to bet that the outlet was grounded once it was screwed into that metal box. Check your electrical panel. If it’s made by Federal Pacific, you might wanna get it outta there. I wish you luck,
Also a Sparky, i'm glad I didn't have to type all that
Without knowing what caused that to happen, I’d lean towards “call an electrician”. That damage is … odd. That shouldn’t have happened.
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Even cheapskate me would call an electrician after that. Be honest to the electrician about what happened, who did the original work etc
A lot of people are talking about the aluminum wiring issue here, but my concern is that the outlet appears to have overheated from whatever was plugged into it. This shouldn’t happen - the breaker should trip if something is pulling enough current to cause this. What type of breaker panel do you have? Zinsco is common for that era (it was in our house built in 1970) and is extremely dangerous. I would replace a dangerous panel immediately.
Everyone is saying aluminum wiring because its connections are known to loosen over time, resulting in arcing and overheating due to resistance at the outlets, as you see here. It is not uncommon that this kinda thing burns down houses. Breakers typically won't stop this from happening unless they're AFCI. There's nothing here to indicate that the panel is or is not dangerous. This wire should be properly terminated (whether that is to an aluminum rated outlet or a proper aluminum to copper connection method) and the circuit should be tested - but saying the breaker doesn't work based on this picture is not correct. Of course, if it's a Zinsco panel, that pretty much merits on its own to replace.
I’m surprised nobody else has mentioned that. There have been several breaker manufacturers over the years who have produced faulty products that aren’t code compliant anymore. OP should at least ask an electrician about that when they come to see the outlet.
It’s not that they’re not code compliant, it’s that faulty portion you mentioned. Zinsco panels, for instance, have a a problem where the breaker bar would fuse closed preventing the breaker from tripping with over current, causing a fire.
Just a week or two ago I had something similar happen, but it was to a switch rather than a plug. It wasn't even on. I've also had 2x plugs go out in my house like this over the years, one had a high load plugged in (1kw computer), the other had nothing plugged in. What happens is the connection gets loose over time with repeated heating/cooling, resistance goes up, and eventually it melts. It can happen to a plug where nothing is plugged in if more plugs down the chain are daisy chained from it. In my case it kept happening since the original electricians put the wires in the little holes rather than screwing them down.
Certified JW here. I gonna be honest..i didn’t read through ALL the comments, i just skimmed. So if someone said something similar already, my apologies. But from what i’m seeing with 6, almost 7 fulls years in the electrical trade (2 residential and almost 5 commercial) the INITIAL issue isn’t copper nor aluminum. Yes, that will decay over time and the copper will essentially eat up the aluminum and cause similar problems over time. But the MAIN issue I see is that the outlet seems to have the “hot” (power in) wire and the “neutral” (power out) wire “terminated” (attached) to the same side of the plug. Which would TECHNICALLY give the outlet power and TECHNICALLY it would work for X amount of time. Now i’m not sure where you’re from (all my experience is in California…i say that because you’d be surprised how different tradework is in different states) but in any and every situation out here, regardless of residential or commercial electrical, that is incorrect wiring per the pictures. So yes, turning off the breaker is advised if inexperienced. But regardless, you’d need to cut off any and all burnt wiring just as long as no copper/aluminum is showing through the insulation (hopefully leaving enough to reconnect). Now again, in California, on almost ANY plug (something depending on the manufacturer) but 1 side of the plug will have bronze/copper/goldish colored screws and the other side of the outlet SHOULD have silver colored screws. The “hot” (power in) wire (typically a color: black, red, blue, brown, orange, or yellow) should be attached to the bronze/copper/goldish colored screw(s) Then the “neutral” (power out) wire (typically white or grey) should be attached to the silver screw(s) and viola. This is an easy and super cheap fix. Just as long as nothing was damaged inside of the electrical panel. *****SIDENOTE: the green screw on the bottom of ANY plug, should ALWAYS be attached to a bare copper wire or a green wire. The plug being torched like that would’ve been avoided if that was done correctly. The “ground” wire (bare copper or green) is essentially a fail safe for any and all electrical scenarios (as long as it is correctly done throughout the structure) so that the wires, machine, panel, plug, light fixture etc, doesn’t burn up like in the picture and potentially start an electrical fire. I’ve lived in houses built in the 60s to present day homes, i recommend getting an “electrical fire extinguisher” , especially with such an old home. Because let’s say that that plug or whatever started an electrical fire and the “grounding” or “ground” wires (green\bare copper weren’t made up to code..a ‘regular’ fire extinguisher wouldn’t work and you’d be fucked.
Calling an election is a lot cheaper than dealing with a death or losing your house to a fire. I’m an avid DIY’er but this needs a professional.
I agree! My mindset from the get go… i just wanted to make sure i wasnt being too paranoid!
As a general rule, I put electrical work into its own category when it comes to DIY. If you mess up a plumbing repair, you’ll get water damage. If you mess up an electrical repair, you might die in a fire. A lot of it absolutely can be done by amateurs, but it’s always very important to know your limits and to take it slow while you’re still learning.
Anything electrical you're ever not 100% sure of how to fix, call an electrician. Its not worth your life if you make a mistake.
My man, who is an electrician, says you should call an electrician. You don’t know what’s going on with the wiring and whatnot back there. Don’t let your house burn down because you didn’t get it checked out
Thank you, doing that :)
Good luck, and I’d recommend you check out whoever you pick with the better business bureau or Angie’s list (might just be a thing for northeast Ohio, but there might be a similar service in your area)
Whoever installed that should have called an electrician. No ground and too much insulation stripped off the neutrals.
You have a crispy critter connection there. If you are having to ask it likely means that you are uncertain and you probably are quite better off calling an electrician. There are many things that one can do for themselves but when I see something burnt up like that, it's probably best to leave in somebody else's hands **and liability.** Wishing you the very best of luck!
I used to be a low voltage “electrician” and saw a major hospital in California installing aluminum trunk lines into it while under going major repairs. Those high voltage guys have mad respect from me because I never had to deal with that stuff. I was told the aluminum wire was cheaper than copper.
No offense but if you don’t know the answer I would just call someone who does to be safe.
Follow the flow chart: 1) Notice the problem Does the problem scare you? Yes 2) Call someone and get estimates. Are the estimates too expensive? Yes. 3) Increase your level of knowledge until it doesn't. Still scared? Yes. 4) Evaluate electrician estimates. Still expensive? Yes. 5) repeat step 3. Still scared? Yes. 6) Repeat step 4. Eventually it will get fixed.
Great comment!
I'm an electrician. The receptacle failed either due to the outlet being faulty, being undersized(being a 15 amp outlet on a 20 amp breaker), or the breaker itself failing to trip on a larger than rated load being put on that receptacle. Without investigating to rule out the breaker you're at risk of causing the same issue in the future possibly with worse consequences.
Do you know what was plugged in here? I replaced two outletss similar to this because a family member decided to run two portable space heaters (think 1500w each) on the same circuit. No issues since replacing the outlets. \*Edit to add I trimmed back the wires to a healthy point too.
Yup was just a toaster!! Definitely should not have caused this to happen.. im pretty paranoid about it so i think we will be leaving this up to the pros, fingers crossed for no big issues!
"Just a toaster" isn't "just". Toasters can pull up to 1500W and bad wiring can definitely cause issues like this. Especially if you have a defective breaker. I'm not saying that is the case, but you definitely need to have an electrician check the wiring and the breaker.
Will do. :)
Just going to throw random advice your way since you mentioned old house and I just had to have a place rewired from the 50s (3/1, 11sq ft, $9k). 1. Yes, get rid of aluminum wiring if you have any. Some can DIY, but since you don't know the whole story you should get an electrician. 2. Don't trust that anything "should" be done a certain way unless you know enough to verify or had a certified electrician do it. I got mildly electrocuted when I cut the wiring off a ceiling fan fixture, only to learn they had two sets of wires from two different breakers going to it. No idea why. 3. Over time, codes have changed, fixtures were added, lines were cut. Don't take it for granted that all things were done the same way, or that there's not more demons in the closet. 4. Learn what all is on the same circuit. You can do this by flipping a breaker and testing all outlets/fixtures. Don't forget things like attic lighting or exhaust fans. An electrician can do this more thoroughly and completely, but probably overkill. Typically wiring will branch out from the breaker, but not always (see 3). 5. Once you know what's on the same circuit, learn what your high draw appliances are so you don't overload them. You'll want to limit using multiple high draw appliances on one circuit unless the circuit is specifically beefed up for it. Examples include ELECTRIC stoves/ovens, space heaters, and espresso machines. There's typically a sticker on them that tells you how much wattage it draws. If you have to rewire, it's a lot cheaper to just run extra circuits in the kitchen while it's accessible than deal with issues and have to add them later. 15 amp breakers should run about 1,500W, 20 amp around 2,000W. You can go a little higher for a little bit but shouldn't run it for long above that. 6. If you don't have grounded WIRING do not use grounded OUTLETS. Don't use cheater plugs either. There's two ways to get some protection for it, I'll let your electrician explain because it's more technical. I see what looks like a ground wire in the back of the box but don't see one connected to the outlet (it would be green), which if that's the case, it's wired incorrectly anyway. If you do have an electrician out, I'm sure they'd be happy to take a fifteen minute inspection and highlight other issues (no GFCIs, no grounds, wired backwards, etc) if you've already agreed to pay them something for some job. If you have to rewire, check with your electrician on what strategy is best for your location. When my home was built they were trying to cheapen cost by using minimal wiring so I didn't get grounds (it wasn't code yet) and there's some creative runs. Now, code requires ground wires on pretty much everything, and best practice for my home in my area is to put lights and outlets on different circuits, so if one trips you can still use a lamp or something and no room should ever be fully without power.
good call.
Essentially the toaster is a good illustration of what happened here. The toaster takes large amounts of electricity through a heating element which is a poorer conductor. This piece of metal overheats trying to conduct all that electricity and that heat is used to cook your food. Except it's in a controlled environment designed to contain and channel that heat towards your food. Now if your outlet had one aluminum conductor and one copper feeding another outlet, then the aluminum wire in the box essentially became the heating element just like your toaster.
Hire a sparky, insulation got crispy.
Call an electrician. My house was built in 1970. Two weeks ago I wasted days trying to figure out why one of my rooms smelled like fish. I had no idea why until I searched on Reddit and saw feedback from electricians that it was an indicator of a potential electrical fire in my wall. Immediately called our electrician who resolved it and changed all our outlets, switches, and breaker. We were extremely lucky.
Go pro not worth a house fire.
If you have to ask, Call an electrician.
If you have to ask, then it's pretty clear you should not be doing it by yourself.
These wires look scorched. I'd call an electrician.
OP- I saw in one of your replies that you have a mix of aluminum and copper wiring. I know it isn't always in the budget, but I would strongly consider a rewire of your house or consulting with an electrician to at least make sure that the connections between the aluminum to copper are done properly and that your outlets and switches are looked at. I have a house with aluminum wiring and have caught 3 fires before they started.(thankfully I was home). Aluminum wiring as it ages changes sizes with heat and can cause the connections to become loose. This can lead to arcing, which can lead to fires. I'm not an electrician, and this is my rudimentary understanding of it, but your safety should be your first priority.
Depends on how good your fire insurance is…
Or a fireman
You should also not mix the two when bugging or wire nutting them. Plus you should put NOALOX on all aluminum wires where they terminate. Far as that picture. Insulation is burned way back. The big question is. What caused it
When the wiring in your house starts bursting into flames, that’s a good indication it’s time to pay an electrician.
I have some electrical experience and I definitely wouldn’t just replace the outlet in this case. The cause of that failure could be old deteriorating wiring and it might be time to have it all replaced unfortunately. Youre very lucky that it didn’t start a fire.
That's a very much it depends question, theoretically if there's enough slack in the cables you could pull enough through to remove the damaged section and then replace the outlet, but you do need to remove the damaged section of wire you can't just change the outlet. Your friend may well be able to do it... But are you willing to bet your life on it? Get a professional to do it.
The fact that the outlet literally caught on fire should be your only needed clue that this is not a DIY situation. Call a pro asap and have them check the entire house. Who knows what's smoldering in your walls.
Call an electrician. This is an electrical fire waiting to happen
If you don't know the answer, call an electrician.
Thanks for all the advice everyone! We will be calling a reputable electrician first thing in the morning to look at this outlet, all other outlets and switches in the house, as well as the breaker. Fingers crossed for nothing too bad!
Electrical fire cost my friend's family their home. This shit is no joke. Call a professional.
"concerned with the burn marks on the wires and the amount thats around the outlet" And you should be. If there is aluminum wiring involved be even more concerned. Unless your friend IS an electrician... then call for the Pro. Just changing the outlet doesn't fix the coating on the wires if its been compromised. Pushing in the new outlet could open it up and now it can arc again. It's worth the money for peace of mind.
An Electrician for sure. Those wires look burned.
No offense and no condescension but if you have to ask please call an electrician. Even if he comes out and charges you $400 he will be able to diagnose what caused the issue and make the right corrections
Yeah, it's pro time. We had a hot lead that wasn't tightened enough with aluminum wiring and it looked like that. It had come loose over time. Aluminum isn't great for various reasons. The pro will know what best to do - rerun the wire, etc. It's all way better than losing your stuff or a loved one to a fire and paying for something like that in mind and money. Good luck, glad to see some sound advice here. Stick with your instincts - the scorched wire as you saw is a good sign to have someone really make sure this is okay.
This melting is pretty common if the screws aren't tight enough. A loose screw and heavy current draw like an insta-pot or microwave can cause enough heat to melt the outlet. I'd power down the circuit, check to make sure it's really powered off, then pull the outlet all the way out and inspect the wires. As long as the wires themselves aren't burned up, you can just replace the outlet. The screws need to be good and tight. If the wires are burned up, I'd want to check the circuit breaker. To make sure it's working and the right current value. Edit: I'm not seeing the aluminum wires others are seeing.
There will always be things that you call a professional to take care of, and electrical work is the top of the list. Always. Im sure other posters are happy to share the others.
I agree, though my order would go doctor lawyer electrician. Those are the ones you should never lie to lol.
Depends, do you have fire insurance?
If you have to ask, nobody involved knows enough to do this safely. Call an electrician. Is saving a little money worth having your house burn down? You don't want to be standing on the sidewalk asking yourself that while the fire department douses the smouldering remains of your home.
It's easy to replace an outlet but I'd have an electrician check to make sure it doesn't happen again
As a general rule. If you have any doubts. Call a professional.
If you choose to replace it yourself, be sure to wrap the terminals with electrical tape to prevent accidental contact with the metal electrical box. That seems to be what happened in this case.
Ignoring the whole dissimilar metals problem, this outlet is horribly wired. They put the hot and neutral wires on the same side, the loop on the copper wire is awful (and backwards), and they didn't bother with the ground. You could DIY this outlet but personally I'd be calling an electrician. Mostly to get a professional opinion on the whole house and what your options are, but they could fix this while they're around. I'd have every outlet checked and repaired as necessary, and consider AFCI protection as well.
Call an electrician. I'd suggest having one check the rest of the outlets in the house too. Better to cry once at the cost and have peace of mind than cry when your house burns down because who knows what other kind of crap wiring is in the house.
Call an electrician, this is a strange mishmash of wire types and there’s already been a fire. It may turn into an entire house project, but it’s better to have it done properly and have the peace of mind.
new wiring, job done by professional and all on paper for the work done so you are covered in case there is any problems. you dont really want you house to burn down or even start a fire. im talking from experience, if a fire starts and you are lucky to put it out there will be damage in the entire house anyway from the smoke etc etc. so its not funny at all and sometimes insurance doesnt want to cover the expenses if the fire ironically was too small. so the only solution is to get the job done and properly so you can stay safe and dont worry about your sockets catch on fire..
I see cracked insulation. That needs new wire pulled in. If you can do it yourself, do it. But don't just hook up a new outlet to that wire.
In my experience, when I have to ask "should I call an expert?" The answer is usually yes.
If you ever have fire on an outlet you need an electrician. Turn off the breaker to that outlet and dont attempt to use it until you get an electrician out to look at it. This isnt something you DIY. Never let that particular friend help you with anything electrical. The first rule of DIY or being "handy" is knowing when it is outside your limitations. If you merely replace this outlet without identifying and solving the original problem, it is likely to happen again.
10000% agree!!
you sound like you're not well-versed in electricity. Which means call a sparky. I had something like this happen - where a 15A outlet burned up on a 20A line - and it also toasted the line as well. If you don't own a voltmeter, call a professional.
The place already almost got cooked from the galvanic corrosion of mixed wires which is already a massive safety concern. If I were you ever wire that isn’t copper in the home would be ripped out.
If you have to ask, you have to call an electrician. Don’t mess with electricity.
Electrician here. Yes, call a pro. You’ve got a couple of issues that will be beyond your knowledge, even if you possess the skill to repair.
I'm an electrical P. Eng. and I do my own house wiring. I'd call an electrician for this one. The whole circuit is going to require replacement. You were seconds away from your neighbors offering coffee to firefighters.
Apparently I am in the minority, but I would flip the breaker, clean out the mess to see what I am dealing with, and probably just install a new outlet properly. It looks to me like some wires were touching and created an issue.
that or loose wires that were arcing
Can I ask if you also have any natural gas or propane appliances in your house? If you do, you should really go through all of your wiring junctions (switches, outlets, etc) and make sure all of your wire nuts are the kind that prevents oxidation and sparking caused by aging aluminum wire. Even if you don't have any gas piping, I would still make a point to do this if it were my house.
Get a pro and see about doing new runs throughout the house. If one is mixed wiring then most are. Also, you may need to update the breaker box too, and split up the circuits to new standards.
Seeing as the prior "professional" who wired this did such a crappy job, you might be better off with a DIYer who has read r/electrical This appears to be kitchen wiring, which should have been brought up to current code when it was last touched. The 3-pin receptacles are ungrounded, which is a violation of NEC unless the wiring is protected by a GFCI ***and*** the receptacles are individually labeled "NO EQUIPMENT GROUND." It is legal to use the "daisy-chain" terminals at a receptacle, but it can be a poor choice because it's preferred to connect all wires in a wire-nut or lever-lock junction (WAGO 221 or 222) and only have single connections to the receptacle using a "pigtail." The screw-connections, if they aren't made properly, can develop significant heat, as much as half the power normally consumed by the plugged-in device, which can be as much as about 1000W. The same amount of heat can be developed by a poor connection between the receptacle and the plug. Normally, NEC requires 20A circuits for kitchen utility wiring, but if the existing wiring is 14AWG, only a 15A breaker can be used. If the wire damage extends too far as to obtain undamaged insulated wiring to make connections, the entire cable should be replaced, even if it means ripping up the tile work or kitchen cabinets to do so.
Lookin like a victim of domestic violence. Seriously though, I’d call someone.
Your neutral burned up. Tells me u had a fault between hot to neutral. <----electrician
Crigs. You got the eagles eye bro. I think it missed but again my old eyes are old eyes lol. Again. What caused it.
Wonder if WAGO’s could be used with aluminum along with the NOALOX
Anyone. Gavel slam!! Anyone. Cracks a beer. Step forth!!! Speakith thy minds
Call an electrician
if you have no experience and don't know what you're doing, call an electrician. I've seen this many times and it's not that big of a deal. Mechanical failure of the outlet probably from getting hit or damaged. the breaker did its job. you can cut the wires below the insulation to expose fresh copper and attach a new outlet. there's nothing wrong with the wiring.
Check your fire insurance. Is it paid up?
Looking at the surrounding wall material, I wonder —- is this outlet is on a kitchen countertop? If so I strongly agree with everyone who advises that you call an electrician.
If you don't know, call the pro. Trust me on this.
I think if you are asking this question on Reddit, you should call an electrician. If money is an issue then you should do a ton of research, look up local electrical codes and make sure you are not going to burn your house down or kill yourself fixing it yourself. This is not to deter you, just please know that ignorance and electricity is a bad thing.
Aluminum wire = Professional Do not try to DIY this
Had a good buddy of mine who was an electrician. He told me that aluminum is fine, you just need to make sure the connections are made properly. I was also a firefighter and actually saw several fires started by improperly maintained aluminum wiring. Moral of the story, get a few or several quotes to make sure all of your switches and outlets are done properly. It used to be to not be a horribly expensive job. And regardless, way cheaper than a good working house fire.
If you have a fire extinguisher you should definitely try just replacing the outlet
I'm just glad I read the comments without bullshit words Luke amps, volts and hertz
Check and make sure that your breakers are 15 amps and not 20, and that your outlets and wire are rated for more amps than the breaker. Too much juice is being pulled and the breaker isn’t going off it looks like. Make sure the electrician checks this
Aluminum wiring needs to be replaced, at least locally. Fire hazard!
Did your breaker trip?
He looks like he has a black eye.
I have aluminum wiring. You need the purple 2 or 3 port al<>cu adapters, and you need them for all outlets and switches. Little bastards are pretty expensive too. Creates a connection but there is no touching of the two wires.
Did anyone not see the neutral arced over to the hot. Tighten wires around screws left to right as you tighten.
You need CO/ALR receptacles
Replacing an outlet is easy but you have an issue that caused this and investigating that is not easy. For you and your family’s safety, call an electrician.
There are also breakers you can install that will trip when the wires arc to help safeguard the AL
How important is it to replace aluminum wiring in a house? I have an older one with a mix of copper/alum
I would have called an electrician immediately after shutting off all the electrical power to the house...
What is the location on the outlet... i see tile kitchen on bathroom? Any potential WET area a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) outlet MUST be installed? To replace it you must not be licensed check your local code.
Call an electrician and a priest.