Re: Newbie Advice needed

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"brobin" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

> Point well taken but I don't think most (if any) of us here are actually
> licensed electricians so there's really no turf to protect. Instead, heavy
> handed as some of us may have been,

Guilty, as charged.  (I *thought* my hands put on weight recently!) It seems
I'm apologizing a lot lately :-(  Oh well.

> the comments were really aimed at keeping him safe when
> it comes to opening up the service panel.  While adding breakers
> is certainly no big deal,

Oh, it can be.  And that's the problem, IMNSHO.  When inexperienced DIY'ers
hit on something out of the ordinary, the risk factors rise dramatically.
Lots of old homes have been worked on by lots of DIY'
ers of varying skill levels.  Now I'm certain that some of those DYI'ers
actually do a better and more professional-looking job than some pros, but
I'll bet that's the exception and not the rule.

Until you've seen breakers not designed for the box they're in but forced to
*fit* anyway, you can't believe what happens.  I've bought "fixer uppers"
for most of my housebuying life.  I should post some photos of DIY plumbing
that went from iron to copper to plastic and back without the proper
couplings.  Remember that rat's nest (Centralite, IIRC) panel that looked
like one of the first handwired mainframe computers?

I've found, in many cases, the DIY'er is not only faced with his current
challenge (call the pun police!) but correct mistakes made by unknown
predecessors.

> from the tone of his questions it sounded like he needed some
> coaching on the basics.

Yes, I got the same feeling although you expressed it far more
diplomatically than I, Mister FatHands, did!  I'm just very wary of
assisting people with 110 and 240VAC without finding out what they know
about the basics.  It's just too easy to give them the answer but not the
knowledge, if that makes sense.  And though I take hits for it, the
underlying rationale is to keep people from getting hurt.

I have witnessed three tragedies in my life where children have died under
very preventable circumstances.  When a child dies and a parent even
*thinks* they have some blame, they suffer torments I wouldn't wish on my
worse enemy.  So many kids could be saved each year if people took better
pool precautions, if they used kiddie locks on cabinets, self-covering
outlets and a host of other simple protective devices and techniques.

When we see people posting each year about putting appliance modules outside
to run X-mas lights or modifying antennas on RR-501/TM-571's without
realizing the consequences I go a little crazy.

There are some interesting facts here:

http://ceenews.com/news/electric_electrical_contractors_unite/

    Electrical contractors are joining together in an attempt to educate
    the public about ways to lower the number of deaths each year by
    electrocution.

    Designated ?Electrical Safety Month? by the Electrical Safety
    Foundation International (ESFI), May provides a special
    opportunity to educate the public about the high number of
    children?s deaths by electrocution.

    "Countless children die each year from accidents that could have
     been prevented,? John Masarick, IEC Codes and Safety Manager,
     said. ?IEC encourages its contractors and member companies to
    distribute the safety kit sponsored by the National Association of
Electrical Distributors (NAED) to children everywhere.?

    This kit which features Petey the Plug, Edison the Light Bulb,
    and Flip the Light Switch can be downloaded at:
    www.naed.org/images/safety.pdf, or by visiting the NAED website
   (www.naed.org). The kit contains several activity pages, ranging
   from word scrambles to coloring pages and can be duplicated for
   educational purposes.

    Electrocution is the fifth leading cause of accidental death in the
    United States, according to the National Electrical Safety
    Foundation (NESF). According to the U.S. Consumer Product
    Safety Commission (CPSC), one person is electrocuted in the
    home every 24 hours.

While I suppose the number of deaths is not "countless" even one death
that's preventable it a tragedy.

In the case of the OP, I hope he would come back, tell us exactly how he put
those pool lights that "haven't killed anyone *yet*" and enter into some
discussion on how to test the circuit to see if the polarization is correct,
there's a working GFCI and that there's no leakage to ground.  Screwing up
the polarity  is very simple to do, especially if the DIY'er has read that
there's no polarity in AC wiring.

A simple three pin neon tester:

http://www.stayonline.com/electrical_testers/3713.asp

and a non-contact current detector:

http://www.stayonline.com/electrical_testers/4259.asp

and a good multimeter are MUST HAVE tools for anyone working on AC wiring.
(FWIW, I have seen both devices for less than half the cost but these were
the first sites I found via Google that had good illustrations and
descriptions - no affiliation or endorsement)

The results can be devastating when appliances from different circuits are
brought together if the polarity is incorrect or the wires are not correctly
connected.  That's why unpolarized three wire cheater adapters are so
dangerous.  Too easy to reverse the polarity.

As you say, Bruce, we're (you and I at least) not trying to protect a trade,
we're trying to protect someone's life.  Again, I apologize if I've come
across as MacGruff the safety nut.  Humans are like electronics - once the
magic smoke comes out, there's not much you can do to get it back in!

--
Bobby G.