I’m not sure that part is correct - laser toner is usually just very fine powder made from plastic and/or wax. There might be carbon black in there for the tint, but the electrostatic operation of the toner drum requires the toner to be non-conductive - it wouldn’t work with a conductive material.
Sorry, you’re right - I was thinking of the carbon.
Definitely flammable, though. Especially when dispersed.
WAG: the line-side electrolytic cap(s) in the printer’s SMPS finally ruptured, resulting in failure of the cap plus other components as a result.
Oh absolutely - pretty much the poster child for dispersed powder explosion potential
I just gotta say - this thread is to me a blast from the past in terms of what this board offers and is this board at its best, working together to puzzle out the answer to something that seemed unsolvable but was still very worrisome, helping one of our own in the process.
I don’t get impressed by the collective “us” as much as I once did, but this thread (the process not just getting the answer) impresses the shit out of me!
I forgot to say that! D’oh!
Thanks to everybody for their time, knowledge, and concern. I am very glad that things are resolved. Without all of you a real literal and actual panic attack would have happened at least once.
Glad everything worked out and you can relax now!
BTW I missed replying to a short post about a CO detector. You kinda sorta think your fire alarm checks. You can get one of your own for about $20. Even better, you can get one that doesn’t plug in and runs on batteries for about $30.
I just had my furnace replaced and the service included a free CO detector. It runs on batteries. The installers suggested I mount it about chest high, in the central hallway, using Command Strips.
Seeing that your living space can be kind of dodgy at times, it wouldn’t be a bad investment for you to have the peace of mind of a CO detector.
Actually, a CO detector ought to be in every home, not just dodgy ones, along with a smoke detector, fire extinguisher and other stuff I can’t think of at the moment.
Cats, at least one cat.
I just checked I have a smoke alarm in the hallway and in the bedroom. I still don’t know just how high the ceiling is in this place. I do know it is a few feet higher than I can reach. At present, I don’t have a ladder. I own two chairs. They both swivel and have wheels on them. So, I have no safe way to exam the smoke alarms or to change the bulbs in the recessed fixtures.
Now that I think about it, might not be a terrible idea to call or email the fire department to let them know what happened. If for no other reason, it’s an anecdote they can use going forward the next time they find themselves in a similar situation.
@DocCathode, l’d ardently suggest following this excellent advice before you sleep overnight in your apt again. Mounting a carbon monoxide alarm chest high (or following the manufacturers recommendation) with no-damage Scotch Command strips can be easily done, no ladders needed. Some alarms are fire/smoke alarms only, some are carbon monoxide alarms only, it is easy to find combination ones that have both. I got mine at Costco after researching alarms through Consumer Reports resources available free through my public library.
or is it
Anyway, my bet is that the printer power supply is dying. I had a Compaq (yeah, that old) that did the same thing. First, it popped (but I was in the other room). I looked in the computer room and all was fine. A day or two went by and I was walking by and it popped again, and I saw a flash. I pulled the power cord, bought a new power supply off e-bay, installed it, and was fine for the life of the computer.
If you have the 8360 printer, power supplies go for $40 or $50 on e-bay. My guess is that a computer shop would charge you maybe $75 for one and another $100 for installation. Less than $200 (if you know the guy, probably less than $100).
If it is the 8360 printer, that’s a nice printer. It’s worth repairing,
And if the 911 operator says it isn’t, s/he could certainly point you to the correct place to call. It’s NOT a frivolous call, anyway.
And if it’s a slow day, they may send a bunch of trucks.
A couple years back, housemate (who lives in the basement) noticed what appeared to be smoke in the furnace room.
We called 911 and got out of the house.
At least 4 trucks - maybe 5 - showed up. Which isn’t too crazy, had there been an actual fire it might have been needed. And an ambulance, despite there being no reports of any injuries.
They all hung around for a while even after it was determine there was no fire (a furnace component had a short - so a fire may well have ensued had we not turned things off quickly).
Speaking of cats…
A laser printer develops pretty high voltage (not insane, but probably over 500 volts) while in operation. I would think that hair (whether from cats or people) would not mix well with this. Wonder if some cat hair may have made its way into the printer?
I know for a fact that cat whiskers don’t work well with 240 VAC.
As to your first question- I am not sure I understand the difference.
As for the rest of your post- Thanks! I would love for it to just be a bad power supply.
A full truck is 4 or 5 people; at a volunteer dept, especially during the day, you may only get two who can make the call. It’s not uncommon to have the neighboring fire companies automatically respond during certain hours to ensure you have enough personnel in the event it is a real file.
Any confirmed working fire gets an EMS dispatch just to be there on stand-by & a RIT team; guy who stand around & hopefully do nothing as they are a dedicated to rescuing injured/trapped/lost firefighters in the building.
Two different model numbers. Could you double-check which model # is correct?
Well, the numeric part of one is 8360 while the other is 8036. That’s a difference of 324 (for the mathematical minded).
or a lefty transposing number. (i am a lefty who transposes numbers a lot.)
i’ve been following this thread, sdmb is a very impressive group.
an fyi, space heaters/radiators/heaters should be on an outlet not a power strip. they can melt very easily.