Why deliberately shorting equipment to blow breakers might be a bad idea . . .

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

I can't recall whether it was here in CHA or in alt.home.repair (hence the
crosspost) but I am certain I read messages from people who short outlets or
wiring with a screwdriver (instead of using a meter or a fox and hound toner
set) to find the controlling circuit breaker for that branch.  The article
below points out the possible downside of that approach:

Missouri: Inquiry Ties Wiring to Fatal Group Home Fire

 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/20/us/20brfs-Fire.html

By LIBBY SANDER
Published: December 20, 2006
Hours before a fire killed 10 people in a group home for the mentally ill
and disabled on Nov. 27 in Anderson, a maintenance worker trying to repair a
furnace short-circuited wiring in the attic, where fire investigators said
they believed that the fire started. The worker told investigators that he
did not know which circuit breaker operated the furnace and that he
deliberately tripped the system, according to a report from the Missouri
Fire Safety Division. The wiring may have become overloaded, the report
staid. The fire marshal said the home did not have sprinklers. The report
was obtained by The Associated Press under an open-records law.


--
Bobby G.