Doesn’t your charger stop charging when the battery is full?
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Its supposed to, yes.
for years I have been leaving my chargers plugged in. this is the first I have heard of it being an issue…
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Therein lies the key IMO.
I’m not trying to cause undue stress or panic…
but tech’s (like doctors) always seem to see the worst examples by nature of the job. So keep that in mind.
Unless I knew the ‘standards’ of the whole house…I’d be leary personally. But I always lean to the caution side on these types of things when a simple action can save a house, or belongings, etc etc.
Unless I’ve personally verified the hardware operation (being an electronics technician allows me the luxury that most don’t have) -and yes, I’m just retentive enough to be the one that does that (lol)- that it actually does shut off as it’s supposed to… I’m not one to trust ‘cheap electronics’; regardless of geographical point of origin. “When you’ve seen the worst that can happen…”, you tend to be overly cautious.
Other things that come to mind (since some aspects were mentioned) are:
- the gauge of wire?
- the age of the house wiring?
- insulating material type on it?
- the length of the run (to the drop)?
- the rating on the drop box (J-box)?
- etc etc
There’s just too many factors…especially when you read references to a common hair-dryer tripping the circuit in the same thread, so the mind automatically starts down the paths of things that could be. [Which, incidentally, I’d be concerned if the hair-dryer trips a circuit regularly, as it’s almost certainly a sign of a potentially serious issue somewhere. Whether the dryer itself is heading south, or more likely, the drop to that particular outlet can’t handle the load, which could easily mean the wires in the wall are possibly overheating as well…in trying to keep up with the current demands (read as: amperage).]
I’d have more ‘piece of mind’ if it was on a GFCI than if it wasn’t…but… that’s not to say that I’d not still be concerned about what happens before an actual short-condition was created by an overheating unit, or in melt-down state (pre-short). And that also assumes that the charging unit has a grounded (3-prong) plug (which most that I’ve seen don’t).
Typically, a GFCI should only come into play when a ground fault comes into play (hence: Ground Fault Circuit Interruptor). To my recollection, it’s not designed to protect against over-volting (spikes), under-volting (brown-out), etc. Only a power regulation device will account for that.
Try not to worry, especially if you live in a ‘newish’ facility. But if you are close enough that it’s not a major inconvenience…I’d say it’s worth-while enough to check on. If nothing more that simply regaining that piece of mind!
Do you have a family member or neighbor with a spare set of keys to the place to ‘solve this’ situation that’s weighing on you?
I hate that nagging feeling too. Never any fun worrying about stuff like this.
EDIT: more technical details
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BTW…again, more for point of reference, lol
I’m one of the few who actually unplugs his more expensive gear when lightning-rich storms are coming. Not worth replacing when something so simple can prevent the loss. So there’s that.
I lost a very expensive (to me) OPPO dvd player in a surge/brownout situation a couple years ago that reminded me to get back into the habit. 6 surge-protectors in use here…and it was on one of the few setups that didn’t have one. Go figure. ><
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You are awesome! Thank you! Home is an hour away…going to probably go this morning.
Sorry I’m a little late to the party, but I think @Sprkslfly has it covered. 
My thoughts on this are…if it gives you peace of mind for a particular device to not be plugged in when you’re not at home, make a habit of unplugging it when you are finished using it…every time. Yes, I unplug my cheap ass battery charger every time I get through using it…it’s habit, because I’ve seen too many screen shots of charred cheap ass battery chargers.
But, let’s throw some perspective on this issue. How many other devices do we leave plugged in when we’re away from home and trust they won’t burn our house down? 
I’d say every single one we own. 
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We went home and unplgged it. Had to do some shopping anyway lol
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If it makes you feel any better, I left my parents Oven Hobs on for 4 hours once… All that happened was the house got a little warm…
In this day and age things are designed to NOT blow up…
Piece of mind is piece of mind though…
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Its an hour away…my kid kept telling me I was fine and…yeah, I went home. Paranoid of fires. Might have something to do with pyromaniac firework neighbors though too. A guy two houses down gets a half a semi load of fireworks every year (big ones) and half the time the schrapnel is landing on our roof…
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Yeah, but when a guy whose nickname is short for Sparks Will Fly tells you it should be unplugged…well there you go. Full blown freak out! 
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Yeah. About that, I was trying not to have it be either full blown, or a freak out. LOL
And that’s why I added the “disclaimers” about seeing the worst, etc.
But then again, not knowing the conditions of their particular environment… some things just naturally come to mind, and are, in fact very legitimate factors in being strong concerns in given situations.
Take for example a house that was built in the 40’s to 60’s: old two wire conductors, no internal earth ground, and worse still, using paper insulators. Almost the worst case scenario. I know someone in this exact situation, and it’s always a concern that I try to impress on them every time I can about safety in this area… But they’re extremely limited in finances and the costs that it would take to update the whole house are beyond their reach.
I’m no guru by any means, but I’d rather speak my peace and potentially “warn” someone, than not to have done so, and later hear/learn that it could’ve been averted by simple means (either a comment or action).
Appreciate the humor though (and kudos for ‘getting my nym’ lol) but just wanted to make sure folks understand why I presented it the way I did.
Again, sorry if I did scare you (or anyone else) @Maureeenie!
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0.0
And then there’s the whole other topic of “freak stuff just happens” that you just can’t plan for…
(posting link strictly because of topic coincidence, not any kind of BS “validation”)
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I’m glad you caught the intention for humor. I swear if it weren’t for emojis I think everyone would see me as a complete shithead all the time. Oh…and here’s another
I knew you must have something to do with the juice with that moniker. I imagined you being a lineman.
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No worries. I scare myself just fine lol!
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Your charger isn’t regulated?
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It probably is…
Oh okay, I’ve never had an issue or scare with any of my chargers so this grabbed my curiosity lol
Don’t worry, It will be fine if we leave it on…
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It’s not plugged in I swear!
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