I'm not going to burn my house down, right?

October 25, 2008 1:51 PM

I bought an Ikea Kassett cardboard box with drawers, and have rigged the bottom drawer for a power strip, top for my mobile gadgets power station-style. Is this a fire hazard?

Neither the power strip nor the plugs seem to heat up, if that helps. The material of the box is thick cardboard. Thanks in advance.

posted by GamblingBlues to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

If the power strip ever does overheat, as with a short circuit where the breaker fails to trip, then yes, it would be a fire hazard. Paper (cardboard) catches fire pretty easily.
posted by zippy at 2:18 PM on October 25, 2008

I wouldn't do this. Overheating may happen when something fails, even if everything seems cool now, like zippy says. Also, I may be wrong but I think a loose plug in a power strip may produce heat/ sparks, you don't want this happening in a cardboard box.
posted by ghost of a past number at 3:47 PM on October 25, 2008

Just me, but I wouldn't worry about it. Electricity doesn't just jump out of the sockets. You might for fun just put a thermometer in each drawer and make sure it doesn't get above 120-130 degrees or so when charging so it doesn't damage the electronics.
posted by JackFlash at 7:27 PM on October 25, 2008

How about cutting some ventilation holes in the back or sides? Just to increase air flow. And seconding JackFlash's idea about checking the temperature!
posted by JtJ at 6:12 AM on October 26, 2008

I can't find them on the Ikea site, but I know that in the store I've seen similarly-price lacquered metal boxes with drawers. That would be a lot safer.
posted by rokusan at 7:00 AM on October 26, 2008