What the hell are those green sparks?
I bought this budget hairdryer a few months ago, after the previous one took fire. Is this one going to follow as well?
It is running at full speed, sparks are present no matter if heat is turned on or not.
I’d venture a guess that the manufacturer skimped on the motor. Most good hair dryers use brushless AC motors, which are quieter and don’t spark. This looks a lot like a brushed DC motor similar to what you’d find on power tools. Where the carbon rods (called brushes) contact the rotor, some arcing occurs, leading to the sparks. Normally these are blue, but I think your motor behind some slightly yellow plastic, resulting in the green hue. The sparks generated by these types of motors are harmless (as long as you don’t put something super flammable through the hair dryer).
IMO, you’re probably just fine to keep using the dryer as long as those sparks are staying internal and there aren’t any signs of burning. Keep in mind that brushed motors do have kind of a weird electrical smell to them when they are running. Of course if this makes you uncomfortable, you should just get a new one. I’m just a random dude on the internet, please use your own best judgement.
Sparks flying if the heat is off means the most likely culprit are cheap brushes (the contacts that send the power into the coil/) used in the fan motor.
I know it’s appealing to get cheap kit, but do yourself a favor and save up and just get a quality hairdryer.
The problem is that nowadays even ‘quality’ brands are willing to cut costs and make cheap shit because they can rely on brand recognition; or a quality brand is bought by another company and enshittidication ensues.
Nothing is made with pride anymore, it’s all made for profit.
What’s the model? Does it have ionization? Is there a green status light that could be failing?
Really old post here https://ask.metafilter.com/126638/Why-is-my-hair-dryer-flashing-green-inside
https://p-cube.panasonic.com/ph/s/article/Sparks-can-be-seen-inside-the-hair-dryer-pph
Adhered dirt or dust?
“sparks are present no matter if heat is turned on or not.”
Yeah… You should unplug it and get your money back, if possible.
Yup, normal plasma and ozone. Totally fine for polymerization.
Well, if it catches on fire, you can always throw it in the bathtub
I would unplug that immediately, just to be safe.
I can’t see that going well, especially for your hair.
