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

[Tom The Great <Post@xxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 12 Jan 2007 01:03:28 -0500, "Robert Green"
<ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> 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. 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.


Good info.  I was always told, never intentially create a makeshift
fault to test a protective device, because it might only be designed
to work once, or it might fail badly, and never work right ever again.
Creating a dangerious situation.

Always use 'approved' techniques, test buttons, etc.  Oh and only use
qualified electricians.  ;)

tom @ www.BlankHelp.com