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Hot potato bag causes fire
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Posted by Kurtkampy (My Page) on Tue, Jan 17, 12 at 21:44
| Hi
I saw some people discussing hot potato bags and how great they are for cooking baked potatoes in the microwave. My sister in law was cooking with one and they smelled something burning. Her husband took the bag to the garage because it smelled bad but he didn't notice any heat coming off the bag. The cotton of the bag must have ignited and half the house burnt down. These bags are not safe and should not be used. Even though the potato might cook fine the bags may ignite also.
Kurt Kampy |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Hot potato bag causes fire
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| I've never heard of a potato bag (other than the ones they come in from the store). A casual look seems to indicate that these are a crafty, novelty item and may not have gone through sufficient safety testing for use in a microwave. I think too, folks don't necessarily associate microwave with "fire" because there aren't the visual indicators as with a traditional oven. Still it's unfortunate for your family to have something so terrible happen. I hope no one was injured. |
RE: Hot potato bag causes fire
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| They probably operate about the same as microwave popcorn, a ferrite absorber heats up from the microwaves and then heats and cooks the food. The popcorn ones occasionally burn through the bag also (you only need around 450F to ignite paper, that is where Michael Crichton got 'Fahrenheit 451' for the book tile from). We have drips of melted oil in our microwave at work from the burn troughs (and as usual, not everyone cleans up after themselves). |
RE: Hot potato bag causes fire
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| These bags are a home crafter thing. They are quilted cotton bags. You wrap your potato in a wet paper towel and nuke them in a quilt. |
RE: Hot potato bag causes fire
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| I have never liked steamed potatoes, and they are a poor version of baked. |
RE: Hot potato bag causes fire
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| Yes, those potato bags are dangerous. They also steam, not bake, potatoes. And Michael Crichton did not write "Fahrenheit 451", Ray Bradbury did in 1953. |
RE: Hot potato bag causes fire
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| Actually I've never had a problem with mine. The problem is when you poke holes in the potatoes (which the instructions specifically tell you not to). The DH should never have put anything in his garage that smelled burnt. It should have been put outside. Years ago I had a roommate who knocked over a candle on her bed. She thought she had it out (boy was there a lot of smoke) but I made her pull it out onto the grass in the back. In the morning there were just springs. |
RE: Hot potato bag causes fire
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| I don't like the way these potato bags "bake" either. Glad no one was injured. |
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