Electrical Safety At Home

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Just figured I'd throw this out here. Some people think of this kind of stuff, most don't.

A friend of mine was working on his great aunt's electrical panel. He had to turn a breaker off to install a new receptacle on an existing circuit. He told me it was weird because the breaker didn't feel "right" when he turned it off and on. He said it was actually rather difficult to turn off, but it did, and then seemed to be freed up after that and was fine.

Well, about 2 hrs later his great aunt calls and says her fridge, toaster, and microwave will not work. I am at his house so we walk down to aunty's. She live a block away. I look inside the panel and see signs of water damage from long ago. The whole interior of the panel is rusty, mostly the bottom though. The buss looks to be fine and breaker, visually look to be fine. I ask which breaker it was he was using. I touch the handle and it is limp. No feeling in any direction, totally free moving. I say to him "This thing is effed up" I remove it and shake it. It sounded like it was full of rocks.

It wasn't rocks, it was rust. Long story short, EVERY breaker in her panel box is rusted closed (on). If she were to have a direct short or overload in a circuit the breakers would NOT do their job and they would not automatically shut off preventing damage which could very possibly lead to a fire.

Long story short "EXERCISE YOUR CIRCUIT BREAKERS AT LEAST EVERY 6 MONTHS"

When you exercise the breaker be sure that even though the handle may move smoothly, that it opens the circuit (turn everything off). Just because you flip the handle, doesn't always mean it is working.

And why is it that every 80+ year old persons home smell the same. What the hell is that smell?

 

[Noxx72]

And why is it that every 80+ year old persons home smell the same. What the hell is that smell?

Dust farts.

And thank you for your post. As an electrician the sort of simple maintenance that is routinely neglected drives me batshit sometimes.

Like the man says, exercise your CB's. If you have a Federal or a Zinsco panel, get the hell rid of it, make sure you have GFCI's and that they work. Take the 40A breaker off of the Xmas light circuit, you're not being clever, you're an arsonist.

So on and so forth......grumble.

 

[[email protected]]

Dust farts.

Federal or a Zinsco panel,

LOL, dust farts.

The affected panel was in fact a federal pacific with stablok breakers.

Water had migrated in where the service entrance cable penetrated the wall. The was no weatherproofing at the wall penetration. Just the SE cable coming in thu a hole in the concrete block. C'mon, at least plug it w/some duct seal man!

 

[Noxx72]

LOL, dust farts.

The affected panel was in fact a federal pacific with stablok breakers.

Water had migrated in where the service entrance cable penetrated the wall. The was no weatherproofing at the wall penetration. Just the SE cable coming in thu a hole in the concrete block. C'mon, at least plug it w/some duct seal man!

Should spend a few dollars and throw that sucker out.

It's not for nothing that Federal breakers lost their U.L. listing. Even in good condition they often fail to open under thermal load, and left neglected they may as well be a solid point of connection. I can't tell you how many Fed panels I tore out back in the days when I pulled residential service, but it was a shit ton of em. A circuit breaker that doesn't work is just a splice.

 

[kaboom]

I have a Square D QO box.....

Works goodunk:

 

[Noxx72]

I have a Square D QO box.....

Works goodunk:

Fuckin A.

The SDQ series is the basis of all "modern" distribution panels, it's copied by everyone else, but it's all essentially the same, which is good. That sort of uniformity means that something finally is working well as it was intended, and perhaps the days of the "scary breaker", the Feds, the XO's, Sidewinders, etc, are finally behind us.

 

[kaboom]

My idea of safe electrical is to hire someone I trust to come in and do what needs to be done.....:clapping:


Me and electricity do not get along.....

Me and pressurized flammable gases have issues as well....:ummm:

 

[Noxx72]

Me and pressurized flammable gases have issues as well....:ummm:

Sounds like you've been into my wifes cooking.....

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

You guys should be comedians...freakin funny!!. On a serious note though, its nice to know about the breakers.

 

[kaboom]

Sounds like you've been into my wifes cooking.....

:rofl_200::rofl_200:

Not what I meant....but FUNNY:biglaugh::rofl_200:

 

[lilsnel]

You can buy a square D homeline panel for half the cost of a QO panel.The guts of the hom breakers are the same as a QO breaker without the little orange window.It is Square D's way of competing with the residential market.
I agree get rid of the federal pacific panel, the cost of a new fed breaker is almost the same as buying a new panel.If the panel is a fed pac then the service is probably neoprene cable and not new pvc.Neoprene takes on water and disengrates the neutral.Neoprene is thicker insulation wire and is usually grey painted, you can usually see the black underneath bleeding thru.

 

[Noxx72]

You can buy a square D homeline panel for half the cost of a QO panel.The guts of the hom breakers are the same as a QO breaker without the little orange window.It is Square D's way of competing with the residential market.
I agree get rid of the federal pacific panel, the cost of a new fed breaker is almost the same as buying a new panel.If the panel is a fed pac then the service is probably neoprene cable and not new pvc.Neoprene takes on water and disengrates the neutral.Neoprene is thicker insulation wire and is usually grey painted, you can usually see the black underneath bleeding thru.

The whole concept of Service Entrance Cable gives me the jibblies. I know thats how lots of the country does it, but here in CA it's pretty alien, and would get you bounced in short order. I know it's legit, but I can't get over the idea of feeding a house with a giant Romex