Re: Newbie Advice needed

[Elliot <Elliot@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Geesh!!  Give this guy a break!  At our counter we get a lot of
DIY'ers mixed in with the pros.  Generally speaking, the smart DIY'ers
who ask the right questions and study what they are doing are fully up
to the job.  I would say these types are probably going to do a better
job than half the pros I see.

I got into this thread late, but I went back and reviewed it.  From
the responses, I expected he had wanted to do something like run 240V
to every doorknob to greet visitors.  I think we have a problem of the
professionals not wanting any homeowner to ever touch the wires in
their house with overblown concerns of safety.  Where do you draw the
line: Can he replace a lightbulb without your paid help?  Can he
replace a switch which is all most X10 homeowners want to do?

Let's be helpful to the people who are trying to do it right and not
bring our hidden agendas into the discussion.


"Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>"Free" <Free-spam-me-not@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>
>> I am not an EE, a working electrician, and I obviously don't do this
>> for a living, but I do have some clue as to what is in a panel.  Once
>> upon a time, I added a breaker for my pool lights and - surprise! - no
>> one has been electrocuted in the pool :).
>
>Yet.  There's no telling whether you wired the hot, neutral and ground wires
>correctly.  We don't know if you used a required ground fault interrupter
>and wired and tested that properly, either.  No experienced inspector
>checked you work.  It's not beyond belief to think you may have dangerous
>current leakage that would only evidence itself if someone brought an
>extension cord from another circuit inside the house near the pool lights
>area and electrocuted themselves because you managed to connect the wrong
>wire and created a path for 240VAC to course through someone's body.
>
>There's lots more we don't know your skills or your worksite.  We don't know
>if you used the proper strain relief or conduit and clamps or the proper
>grade of wire for exterior use.  We don't know if you sealed your wiring up
>properly to prevent moisture from entering.  We don't know if the original
>wiring you are adding on to is sound.  Based on your questions so far, I'd
>bet money that your work would NOT pass inspection.  It's nothing personal,
>it's just that without proper training, you're just bound to miss something
>important.  And that "something important" could easily turn out to be
>lethal.
>
>A lot of "homebrewed" electrical fixes work - for a while - even if some of
>the most basic safety rules are ignored.  But eventually, when an
>unqualified "electrician" makes enough mistakes, one of them is bound to be
>serious.  Electricity can kill in more than one way.  It's not to be trifled
>with.  When you are installing couplers and repeaters, you are working with
>240VAC and that means there's little margin for error.  Do you wear your
>safety goggles?  You would if you had seen hot metal droplets spray from a
>tool vaporized from accidentally crossing 240VAC wires fused only by the 100
>amp master breaker.
>
>There's a tremendous advantage gained by experience which is why
>electricians have to go through a grueling certification and journeyman
>process.  Most jurisdictions would *never* allow someone of your limited
>ability (don't take it personally, it's just obvious from what you're
>asking) to touch anyone else's home wiring.  The reason is simple.  Hundreds
>of people are accidentally electrocuted yearly.
>
>According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 411 people were
>accidentally electrocuted, 500 were killed, and 5,000 were injured in
>electrical fires during 2001, the last year for which statistics were
>available.  You're certainly upping the odds that you or your family will be
>included in those grims stats in the future by doing your own wiring without
>having it inspected.  Even master electricians have their work checked.
>
>It's only the belief that a man's home is his castle that allows people to
>work with lethal materials with no training or oversight.  If you live alone
>and never have guests, I'm fine with that.  But if you have other people in
>your house, you have a responsibility not to experiment on their lives.
>
>I would NEVER, NEVER, NEVER publicly encourage someone who is not an
>electrician to go diving into their circuit panel.  In this litigious age,
>it might mean being dragged into a wrongful death suit.  Far stranger things
>have happened in the US court system.
>
>Hire an electrician and watch him work.  Have him inspect your previous work
>on the pool lighting while he's there and ask him lots of questions.  It may
>be the best money you've ever spent.