Finding some truly strange electrical connections

[SeaCat]

It's getting cool down here. I have several space heaters plugged in as well as several lights going. (So I can see.) I have popped another Circuit Breaker because of this.

Talk about some strange hookups in this place. I'm thinking I'll be rewiring this place soon. When I do I will be adding several more circuits.

Currently one breaker runs the outside wall of the Living Room, the den and an outside light. Another runs the Bathroom Plug, the Master Bedroom and the inside wall of the living room. One breaker runs the hallway light and the dining room light. Yet another runs the back bedroom and back bathroom. Six run the Lamp Posts of my neighbors, for another couple of days.

I'm thinking that when I redo the walls I will redo the wiring. If I do so I will add a new circuit box, with two breakers per room.

Cat

 

[rgraham666]

I gave myself a bad shock just thinking about that.

 

[mjl2010]

If you are rewiring then make sure you put the bathrooms each on their own circuit. I'll assume you know what you're doing. Otherwise I'll be looking for the AV with your hair standing out and a shocked look on your face.

MJL

 

[drksideofthemoon]

I'm thinking that when I redo the walls I will redo the wiring. If I do so I will add a new circuit box, with two breakers per room.

Cat

Why are you going to add a new circuit box? I take it you mean the breaker panel. You are going to have 6 open slots once you get the street lights out of there.

Why are you planning on putting 2 breakers per room, that sounds like a bit of overkill. What size are your current breakers? I'm guessing 15amp. If your wiring is 12/2, you should be able to upgrade to 20amp breakers.

Do yourself a favor, if you plan on doing your own rewiring, pull a permit and have it inspected after you are done.

 

[SeaCat]

If you are rewiring then make sure you put the bathrooms each on their own circuit. I'll assume you know what you're doing. Otherwise I'll be looking for the AV with your hair standing out and a shocked look on your face.

MJL

Ummmmm, yep. Done this a time or three.

Cat

 

[SeaCat]

Why are you going to add a new circuit box? I take it you mean the breaker panel. You are going to have 6 open slots once you get the street lights out of there.

Why are you planning on putting 2 breakers per room, that sounds like a bit of overkill. What size are your current breakers? I'm guessing 15amp. If your wiring is 12/2, you should be able to upgrade to 20amp breakers.

Do yourself a favor, if you plan on doing your own rewiring, pull a permit and have it inspected after you are done.

LOL
Yep a Circuit Box is a Breaker Panel.

I could upgrade to 20 Amp Breakers but I don't know the condition of the wiring in this place. It is the original (1969) wiring.

As for the two breakers per room, one will be for the wall sockets and the other for the overhead lights. (The reason I want to do it this way is because the overhead lights in the bedrooms and the living room will also include ceiling fans with built in heaters.)

I can't pull a permit for this because I am not a Liscenced Electrician, but I will have it inspected by a neighbor who is an Electrician.

I have done this type of thing before on several occasions.

Another thing I will be doing is putting a completely seperate circuit for the generator. This will run from an outside socket to an area near the fridge and stove with another line running to the deep freeze. This will be a dedicated circuit running through it's own breaker.

Cat

 

[glynndah]

I have a friend who's a licensed plumber who tells me the only two things you need to know about electricity are

1. It's fast.
2. It wants to kill you.

 

[drksideofthemoon]

LOL
Yep a Circuit Box is a Breaker Panel.

I could upgrade to 20 Amp Breakers but I don't know the condition of the wiring in this place. It is the original (1969) wiring.

As for the two breakers per room, one will be for the wall sockets and the other for the overhead lights. (The reason I want to do it this way is because the overhead lights in the bedrooms and the living room will also include ceiling fans with built in heaters.)

I can't pull a permit for this because I am not a Liscenced Electrician, but I will have it inspected by a neighbor who is an Electrician.

I have done this type of thing before on several occasions.

Another thing I will be doing is putting a completely seperate circuit for the generator. This will run from an outside socket to an area near the fridge and stove with another line running to the deep freeze. This will be a dedicated circuit running through it's own breaker.

Cat

Most states will allow a homeowner pull a permit. The work has to be signed off by a licensed electrician (some states require a master electrician, and others will accept a journeyman).

Just make sure the work is compliant with the NEC.

 

[EmeraldKitten]

Either turn everything in your house off, or re-wire it right now.
I'm a bit of a paranoid freak at this stage...

At the beginning of the month, our house (trailer) caught on fire.
Something shorted out, and it burnt the kitchen, living room, down the hall and into our bedroom.
When dawn arrived, they started the investigation.
The company that wired the trailer had wired the kitchen and living room on the same breaker.
Then bolted it open so it wouldn't trip.

What part of the house didnt burn was so smoke and water damaged that not much was salvagable.
On top of that, two dogs and four cats lost their lives.

The only reason we got out with ours was because one of my boyfriend's friends happened to see smoke and was being nosy. He pounded on the doors and windows to wake us up.

The fire was just a small lil thing by the front door when we ran out, but come to find out, (thanks to the neighbor taking pictures and the fire dept's investigation) the whole underneath of the trailer was already on fire when we ran out. It's a wonder the floor didn't give out when we ran through.
That explained all the smoke.
They said had the window by the door not busted out, and had we not had the bedroom doors shut, the smoke would have killed us before his buddy even saw that the house was on fire.

Do yourself a favor Cat, and get busy!

 

[SeaCat]

I have a friend who's a licensed plumber who tells me the only two things you need to know about electricity are

1. It's fast.
2. It wants to kill you.

LOLOL

Electricity like anything else can be dangerous. You have to respect it.

On the other hand electricity can be fun. It can give you light and heat. It can cook your food and heat your water. Hell it powers your computer. Hey it can even give you bait for fishing.

Water too can be dangerous.

Cat

 

[drksideofthemoon]

I have a friend who's a licensed plumber who tells me the only two things you need to know about electricity are

1. It's fast.
2. It wants to kill you.

LOL...I have a friend who is a plumber, his rules for plumbing are;

1. Shit flows downhill.
2. Payday is Friday
3. The boss is an ass

 

[SeaCat]

Either turn everything in your house off, or re-wire it right now.
I'm a bit of a paranoid freak at this stage...

At the beginning of the month, our house (trailer) caught on fire.
Something shorted out, and it burnt the kitchen, living room, down the hall and into our bedroom.
When dawn arrived, they started the investigation.
The company that wired the trailer had wired the kitchen and living room on the same breaker.
Then bolted it open so it wouldn't trip.

What part of the house didnt burn was so smoke and water damaged that not much was salvagable.
On top of that, two dogs and four cats lost their lives.

The only reason we got out with ours was because one of my boyfriend's friends happened to see smoke and was being nosy. He pounded on the doors and windows to wake us up.

The fire was just a small lil thing by the front door when we ran out, but come to find out, (thanks to the neighbor taking pictures and the fire dept's investigation) the whole underneath of the trailer was already on fire when we ran out. It's a wonder the floor didn't give out when we ran through.
That explained all the smoke.
They said had the window by the door not busted out, and had we not had the bedroom doors shut, the smoke would have killed us before his buddy even saw that the house was on fire.

Do yourself a favor Cat, and get busy!

Kitten,

The first thing I did when I moved into this place was replace the smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors. In a 66 foot long trailer I have four smoke detectors.

All of the circuit Breakers work correctly. (Two were slightly corroded and were replaced.)

I was a Firefighter for several years. I responded to too many fires in Mobile Homes. Hell I responded to too many house fires caused by faulty electrical systems. I don't play with Juice.

Cat

 

[glynndah]

LOLOL

Electricity like anything else can be dangerous. You have to respect it.

On the other hand electricity can be fun. It can give you light and heat. It can cook your food and heat your water. Hell it powers your computer. Hey it can even give you bait for fishing.

Water too can be dangerous.

Cat

What I learned from personal experience: Water and electricity do not mix. I found this out while wallpapering a kitchen. I took off the outlet plates to wallpaper close to the outlet. I wet the sponge and smoothed the paper. Yow! I had neglected to turn off the circuit breaker!

 

[EmeraldKitten]

Kitten,

The first thing I did when I moved into this place was replace the smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors. In a 66 foot long trailer I have four smoke detectors.

All of the circuit Breakers work correctly. (Two were slightly corroded and were replaced.)

I was a Firefighter for several years. I responded to too many fires in Mobile Homes. Hell I responded to too many house fires caused by faulty electrical systems. I don't play with Juice.

Cat

Both smoke detectors had new batteries.... they didn't go off.
Later, when they were still putting out the fire, they started going off.
Fine time for them to decide to work.

I'm very glad you dont play with juice... that's a very smart move!

Ya better believe I want a smoke detector in every room of my house, and a fire extinguisher too. Maybe two of them per room. Hmm, haven't decided yet, lol.

 

[SeaCat]

What I learned from personal experience: Water and electricity do not mix. I found this out while wallpapering a kitchen. I took off the outlet plates to wallpaper close to the outlet. I wet the sponge and smoothed the paper. Yow! I had neglected to turn off the circuit breaker!

LOL

When I worked in Maint. in a Motel I learned that Old Ladies and Elcetricity don't mix. Ouch. (Here let me turn on th light so you can see what you're doing as you replace the burned out light.)

Cat

 

[SeaCat]

Both smoke detectors had new batteries.... they didn't go off.
Later, when they were still putting out the fire, they started going off.
Fine time for them to decide to work.

I'm very glad you dont play with juice... that's a very smart move!

Ya better believe I want a smoke detector in every room of my house, and a fire extinguisher too. Maybe two of them per room. Hmm, haven't decided yet, lol.

I have three largish extinguishers. One in the bedroom, one in the front room and one in the Kitchen.

The older Mobile Homes were considered fire traps because they only had one exit. Ours has three. (As well as a modified window in the bedroom. No I didn't modify it, someone else did.)

I have more experience with electrical and gas systems than I should have. I respect both. With my experiences in Fire Fighting I have an even higher respect of fire than most. I do not take risks. (Hey I have my wife and the "Herd" to worry about.)

Cat

 

[glynndah]

LOL

When I worked in Maint. in a Motel I learned that Old Ladies and Elcetricity don't mix. Ouch. (Here let me turn on th light so you can see what you're doing as you replace the burned out light.)

Cat

Hey, who're you calling "old"? PS I learned my lesson. When I replaced the light fixtures in the bathrooms, I flipped the main breaker and turned off everything.

 

[SeaCat]

Hey, who're you calling "old"? PS I learned my lesson. When I replaced the light fixtures in the bathrooms, I flipped the main breaker and turned off everything.

Bwahahaha

I was replacing a short, two foot long, Flourescent Bulb. I had turned off the power to the sockets. I grabbed the metal ends and was turning the bulb into place when I was kncked across the room.

The little old lady who was renting the room had decided I couldn't see what I was doing and had turned on the light.

I picked my ass off of the floor on the other side of the room and finished the job, after turning off the switch and making her promise to not to turn on the switch until I told her it was okay.

After that I always made sure to kill the power to a room until I was done.

Cat

 

[~Avalon~]

My sister found some bizarre things while redoing her basement.

Her basement had been flooded repeatedly due to faults in the town sewage. They agreed to pay to redo her basement. Originally the basement was finished by the original homeowner. In the middle of doing the work, the contractor called her down and said they couldn't do anymore. They had taken all the drywall off.. and underneath they found an electricial nightmare. It was as though the person who wired it read a book on the rules of electricity and purposely set out to break everyone of them. He used electrical tape instead of those plastic end cap things on the wires. He had wires wrapped around studs. So their free basement ended up costing them quite a bit as they had to have an electrician in to change everything.

 

[SeaCat]

My sister found some bizarre things while redoing her basement.

Her basement had been flooded repeatedly due to faults in the town sewage. They agreed to pay to redo her basement. Originally the basement was finished by the original homeowner. In the middle of doing the work, the contractor called her down and said they couldn't do anymore. They had taken all the drywall off.. and underneath they found an electricial nightmare. It was as though the person who wired it read a book on the rules of electricity and purposely set out to break everyone of them. He used electrical tape instead of those plastic end cap things on the wires. He had wires wrapped around studs. So their free basement ended up costing them quite a bit as they had to have an electrician in to change everything.

Oh now that sounds familiar.

When my wife and I started rebuilding the house in Mass. we were surprised to find the Electrical Box still used screw in fuses. That wasn't the worst part of it though. When we opened up the walls we found the wiring was shall we say somewhat dated? Dated hell, it was a great mix of technologies that must have spanned well over 100 years. The owners of the place had just added as they saw fit.

Thankfully we had started in the kitchen, the room closest to the Electrical Box. We ripped out all of the wiring and replaced it. All of it. As we went from room to room we did the same thing even as we replaced the Fuze Box with a nice shiny new Circuit Breaker Panel.

We found paper insulated wires, we found aluminum wires. In one case we found bare wire wrapped around glass insulators. (Thankfully an unused circuit.)

We also found old newspapers stuffed into walls as insulation. Hell we found Cotton stuffed in there as Insulation.

We found a ton of shit in that place, much of which I still have. Coins dating back to the early 1800's. Old Tintypes, two long guns and one revolver were also stuffed into the walls.

My wife found some jewelry and even some true silverware as well as a couple of Pewter Plates.

It took us 2 1/2 years to rebuild that house but we did it. We were proud of the place and sad to move out even though we were going on a great adventure. (Our move to Florida.)

Cat

 

[TheeGoatPig]

When we replaced our kitchen we found an extention cord spliced into the oven and pluged into a wall socket. It makes me afraid of what else is screwy in the house and should be looked into.

Another oddity, though decidedly less dangerous, is that my bedroom lightswitch is outside the room in the hallway. It is the only room in the house (or on the block for that matter, big developement) with that particular location for a switch.

 

[cloudy]

I dated an electrician for quite awhile, and he asked me to help him rewire a body shop while I was on vacation.

The memory that sticks out that most of that week is standing at the top of a twenty foot ladder, with a voltage meter in my hand, and yelling down at him "there are two black wires....which one?"

"well, if it's the wrong one, you'll know."

Last time I ever helped.

 

[drksideofthemoon]

When we replaced our kitchen we found an extention cord spliced into the oven and pluged into a wall socket. It makes me afraid of what else is screwy in the house and should be looked into.

Another oddity, though decidedly less dangerous, is that my bedroom lightswitch is outside the room in the hallway. It is the only room in the house (or on the block for that matter, big developement) with that particular location for a switch.

Sounds like when they did the prewire, they nailed the rough-in box on the wrong side of the stud...I've seen it before...and I know I will see it again....

 

[SeaCat]

I dated an electrician for quite awhile, and he asked me to help him rewire a body shop while I was on vacation.

The memory that sticks out that most of that week is standing at the top of a twenty foot ladder, with a voltage meter in my hand, and yelling down at him "there are two black wires....which one?"

"well, if it's the wrong one, you'll know."

Last time I ever helped.

Oh god that sounds familiar.

I was helping my fathers neighbor rewire his Barn. I was unhooking some wires, (220 Volt) when I asked him if they were shut down. His Comment?

"Damned if I know but you'll find out soon enough."

I never went back to help in that barn again.

Cat