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

["dpb" <dpbozarth@xxxxxxxx>]

spamTHIS...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> z wrote:
> > Robert Green wrote:
> > > 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. ...
> > >
...
> > Then what the Hell good are the circuit breakers?
>
> The problem occurrs when there is some part of the system between the
> shorting-point and the breaker that is not up to code.

But if that is the case (as at least one poster has said was reported
in the subject event), it's also the case whether the short is induced
intentionally or not and so it isn't the shorting that's the
fundamental problem but the other fault.  If the intentional short
causes a catastrophic problem, it's highly likely an unintentional one
will, too.