Electrical issue

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greybeard":3euty5ll said:
melking":3euty5ll said:
Bigfoot":3euty5ll said:
Your right. I'm going to check around.
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I don't agree, electricity is nothing to mess with. Use a professional, there are many other things that you can save money on.
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True. It's rocket surgery and none of us should ever mess with it at all. :roll:

Good lord...it's a freaking wall receptacle probably with no more than 3 wires going to it..no one's suggesting he re-wire New York City in it's entirety.
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Oh My, have I offended the mighty greybeard?
 
melking":3kv3hgjd said:
greybeard":3kv3hgjd said:
melking":3kv3hgjd said:
I don't agree, electricity is nothing to mess with. Use a professional, there are many other things that you can save money on.
Click to expand...

True. It's rocket surgery and none of us should ever mess with it at all. :roll:

Good lord...it's a freaking wall receptacle probably with no more than 3 wires going to it..no one's suggesting he re-wire New York City in it's entirety.
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Oh My, have I offended the mighty greybeard?
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I sure hope not.
 
I needed to move a electrical receptacle last summer.
I don't really grasp how electricity works and scared I'll wire something wrong and burn something down.
I watched a YouTube video that explains the hot, ground, neutral wires and how the receptacles and light switches have colored screws showing which wire goes to what screw.
5 minute video and I'm an electrician now :D
 
Back in '71 I helped build my parent's home and spent a good amount of time on wiring the house. By the time the house was finished I thought I was probably at least a journeyman. I hadn't been in my new HS school very long when the principal poked his head in our class and asked if anyone knew about electricity. Of course, I raised my hand. I spent the rest of the day rewiring the stage and it was actually done right. Almost joined up with our local union after graduating as they would have put me thru their school and given me a job if I dedicated an extra 4 years to them after graduating their school. Of course, I didn't and have only had a few small things come up since then. Anyway, 47 years later, I've forgotten just about everything I had learned and I'm basically scared of messing with it for fear I'll burn the house down.
 
It's hard to offend me.

I realize I look stupid, but it was confusing (for me anyway).

Shy of changing everything, I didn't know what to do. I switched the breaker for one that did work. Not it. I took the receptical out of all 7 plugs affected. All were still attached to their respective wires, and had no visible signs of damage. One upstairs light was affected to-----Not sure what that was about. I don't have any "testers/meters" nor do I know how to use.


I don't mind admitting where I'm deficient. I consider myself a life long learner. I wired my stable, with info in an old textbook. I could not go back and trouble shoot it if there was a problem.
 
Bigfoot":1so0z5ms said:
It's hard to offend me.

I realize I look stupid, but it was confusing (for me anyway).

Shy of changing everything, I didn't know what to do. I switched the breaker for one that did work. Not it. I took the receptical out of all 7 plugs affected. All were still attached to their respective wires, and had no visible signs of damage. One upstairs light was affected to-----Not sure what that was about. I don't have any "testers/meters" nor do I know how to use.


I don't mind admitting where I'm deficient. I consider myself a life long learner. I wired my stable, with info in an old textbook. I could not go back and trouble shoot it if there was a problem.
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https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools ... ctrical%20>%20Electrical%20Tools%20>%20Voltage%20Testers&utm_campaign=Northern%20Industrial%20Tools&utm_content=163100&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn8bEw7Dz2AIVwiWBCh2K5wdcEAQYCCABEgJu2fD_BwE
You need a multimeter, you can check everything, I use it mostly to check the batteries in deer feeders, but it'll check from AA to 8D batteries. It'll tell you how much voltage your alternator, or a solar panel is putting out also. A multimeter isn't used just for AC power. And YouTube makes it easy to learn how to use one.
 
when I was 10yrs old my parents built a house. I was constantly in the way of the carpenters , electricians and plumbers watching everything they did. I soon replicated what I saw on different projects on and around the farm and I have been lit up several times over the years by electricity but you soon learn what to touch and what not to touch. yes it can be dangerous but so are a lot of things we take for granted every day. How many people wait till the fire goes out to put another log on ??
 
When I built my house I bought a "Wiring Code Made Simple" book ( I think that's what it was called), I never got a permit either. Once I realized house wiring is basically just extension chords run through the walls it got fairly simple. Nothing to be afraid of. And knock on wood, house is still standing 13 years later.
Of course, the plug in the bathroom never did work, I may have just forgot to wire it, but it's all sheeted in now so I guess that's the way it will stay :dunce:
 
Silver":1nxghdqa said:
When I built my house I bought a "Wiring Code Made Simple" book ( I think that's what it was called), I never got a permit either. Once I realized house wiring is basically just extension chords run through the walls it got fairly simple. Nothing to be afraid of. And knock on wood, house is still standing 13 years later.
Of course, the plug in the bathroom never did work, I may have just forgot to wire it, but it's all sheeted in now so I guess that's the way it will stay :dunce:
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Good analogy. As long as you don't put too much on one breaker.
 
melking":3bau6pi7 said:
Oh My, have I offended the mighty greybeard?
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No. It wasn't me that you inferred that shouldn't learn the basics of residential electricity.

Bigfoot, electricity is like working cows. You don't have to be afraid of them but always have respect for what they can and might do..same with electricity.
For the record, I DO always trip the breaker when working on a circuit and will check the circuit with a meter even after flipping the breaker off. In my younger days, I've been hit by lightning and once by 480 3ph off a gen set..it hurts. I even make sure my meter is working correctly by checking voltage at a different and energized receptacle.
Why?
Breakers can go bad and tho physically in the off position, the insides can still be conducting current--they aren't simple on/off switches. I don't trust a VOM to always work either. Doesn't happen often but once is all it takes to get a surprise. I used to have a Wiggins and it was pretty handy but someone wanted it more than I did and it walked off.

As far as the upstairs light not working, just guessing I would suspect someone daisy chained that light's power and or neutral from one of the receptacles in the affected bedroom. Not a good practice but it's sometimes done and in older homes, it was pretty common. Also common if another room add-on was done; the thinking is that a single permanent light fixture won't add much load to the existing circuit.
House I grew up in had fuses, not breakers and there were only 4 fuses for the whole 3 bedroom house. When a fuse blew, 1/2 the house went dark. :bang:
 
greybeard":dxqsdsqf said:
melking":dxqsdsqf said:
Oh My, have I offended the mighty greybeard?
Click to expand...

No. It wasn't me that you inferred that shouldn't learn the basics of residential electricity.

Bigfoot, electricity is like working cows. You don't have to be afraid of them but always have respect for what they can and might do..same with electricity.
For the record, I DO always trip the breaker when working on a circuit and will check the circuit with a meter even after flipping the breaker off. In my younger days, I've been hit by lightning and once by 480 3ph off a gen set..it hurts. I even make sure my meter is working correctly by checking voltage at a different and energized receptacle.
Why?
Breakers can go bad and tho physically in the off position, the insides can still be conducting current--they aren't simple on/off switches. I don't trust a VOM to always work either. Doesn't happen often but once is all it takes to get a surprise. I used to have a Wiggins and it was pretty handy but someone wanted it more than I did and it walked off.

As far as the upstairs light not working, just guessing I would suspect someone daisy chained that light's power and or neutral from one of the receptacles in the affected bedroom. Not a good practice but it's sometimes done and in older homes, it was pretty common. Also common if another room add-on was done; the thinking is that a single permanent light fixture won't add much load to the existing circuit.
House I grew up in had fuses, not breakers and there were only 4 fuses for the whole 3 bedroom house. When a fuse blew, 1/2 the house went dark. :bang:
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My house has fuses, Far more than 4 , Several Real electricians Ive known over the years have said they were safer than breakers because of what you mention. You can still buy the square d fuse blocks and most convenience stores sell the fuses ,
 

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