Moved to another area. ;)

It was pretty simple. I had to replace a light switch in another
room. The old switch had started a nasty habit of flickering the
lights, complete with a little "crinkling" sound if you happened
to be standing next to the switch when it did it.

Yes, that switch definitely needed to be replaced! Not that difficult a
job but one with which to take a lot of precautions: electricity across
the body is not a good thing!

Yes indeed. I turned off (and verified) the breaker for that area,
replaced the old with the new, turned on the breaker, tested it, then
turned the breaker back off (and verified) before finishing up. ;)

Mike


* SLMR 2.1a * 53.7% of all statistics are totally incorrect
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: Ilink: CCO * capitolcityonline.net (454:1/105)

Hi Mike!

Moved to another area. ;)

Now everyone will wonder from where! <g>

It was pretty simple. I had to replace a light switch in another
room. The old switch had started a nasty habit of flickering the lights, complete with a little "crinkling" sound if you happened
to be standing next to the switch when it did it.

Yes, that switch definitely needed to be replaced! Not that difficult a
job but one with which to take a lot of precautions: electricity across
the body is not a good thing!

Yes indeed. I turned off (and verified) the breaker for that
area, replaced the old with the new, turned on the breaker,
tested it, then turned the breaker back off (and verified) before finishing up. ;)

Double (and triple!) checking is always a good idea. As a teenager was
taught the 'One-handed Rule': stick one hand in your back pocket while
testing with the other -- you don't complete the circuit that way and
even if you do touch a voltage source without an exit point you should
be OK. (Highly summarized -- there are a few flaws as phrased.)

Here had an interesting event: I was changing a light switch. Located
on the wall between the Kitchen and the Dining/Family Room. Switch box
has my switch, which controls lights, and the other switch goes to an
outlet (switched outlet). Had the lights on and something plugged in to
the switch. Flip breaker, both go off - good. Also had the TV on in
the Kitchen -- forgot why.

Open the box to remove the switch. Seems like more wires than necessary
in there. Didn't like the look of one connection - SPARK! TV goes off.

Ended up the original house wiring had a common to the Kitchen circuit
and the Dining Room circuit. When we bought the house the electrical
panel was four fuses and two circuit breakers -- the fuses to the
original house and the two breakers for the added-on Dining Room. When
we had the house rewired the Dining Room went to Circuit Breaker #10 and Kitchen to #12 - with the mystery link undetected.

So yes, there is a note in the switch box about that quirk, as well as a
note in the binder I have by the Service Panel with where-does-this- breaker-control page, the specs for the service panel box, whole-house
surge suppressor, etc.


¯ ®
¯ BarryMartin3@MyMetronet.NET ®
¯ ®


... "Static electricity routing is acting up." "I hope I won't be charged."
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Here had an interesting event: I was changing a light switch. Located
on the wall between the Kitchen and the Dining/Family Room. Switch box
has my switch, which controls lights, and the other switch goes to an
outlet (switched outlet). Had the lights on and something plugged in to
the switch. Flip breaker, both go off - good. Also had the TV on in
the Kitchen -- forgot why.

Open the box to remove the switch. Seems like more wires than necessary
in there. Didn't like the look of one connection - SPARK! TV goes off.

So far, I have not had to deal with any switches or outlets that had had a common to another circuit. I did have a small surprise with the breaker
box, though. Apparently, there is not a "main switch" in the box... it
takes two switches to kill the power and IIRC, there is one circuit that
stays on (the one that lights the room the box is in).

I had an electrician in to work on something once. I mentioned that to him
and he said that brand (or type) of box usually does not have one main
switch. I figured it was a goof on whoever installed the box but I guess
not. ;)

Mike

* SLMR 2.1a * "La Quinta." Spanish for "Next to Denny's."
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Barry, Thanks for the reminder about the one hand rule.

I ain't done any Electrical work lately.

Re: the one hand rule - I was in High School when the Teacher in the Radio Electronics classroom show how to make sure it was safe to work inside the 19" Rack Cabinet of the Kilowatt AM Transmitter when it was disconnected from the AC Power Mains.
On the back of the cabinet was mounted a long metal rod that had a wooden handle.
Where the rod met the handle a wire was attached that had a clip on the end.

The Teacher showed us to open the jaws of the clip and fasten it to the metal cabinet just after opening the door on the back.of the cabinet.

Next he touched the Electrolytic Capacitor(S) to make sure they didn't have a charge stored in them. I remember hearing a CRACK! when the rod touched the first capacitor.
He touched each one several times and then said it was safe to reach in to work on it with one hand in your pocket.

Thanks for the reminder.
Ed
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
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Hi Mike!

Here had an interesting event: I was changing a light switch. Located
on the wall between the Kitchen and the Dining/Family Room. Switch box

So far, I have not had to deal with any switches or outlets that
had had a common to another circuit.

I think they're semi-common but not sure. Maybe 'discontinued' by the
NEC because one hot could be active while the other is shut off, so
posing a hazard if both hots in the same electrical box -- thinking along
the lines of a split duplex outlet where one hot to the top outlet and
the other hot to the bottom. (Why that configuration -- who knows!)

The incoming drop to the house does use that circuit: two hots, opposite phases, and a common neutral.

I did have a small surprise
with the breaker box, though. Apparently, there is not a "main
switch" in the box... it takes two switches to kill the power and
IIRC, there is one circuit that stays on (the one that lights the
room the box is in).

That makes sense but doesn't seem right. Here there is a breaker just
for the outlet next to the service panel but it looses power when the
Main Breaker at the top of the Service Panel gets turned off. ...I
suppose the Main Breaker/Switch is in a box with a little breaker box
just for power to the room.

I had an electrician in to work on something once. I mentioned
that to him and he said that brand (or type) of box usually does
not have one main switch. I figured it was a goof on whoever
installed the box but I guess not. ;)

Guess not! One one hand it makes sense but on another not. Apparently
does make sense for some!

¯ ®
¯ BarryMartin3@MyMetronet.NET ®
¯ ®


... I think, therefore I dam -- the guy who designed the Hoover Dam
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Hi Ed!

Barry, Thanks for the reminder about the one hand rule.
I ain't done any Electrical work lately.

You're welcome! A reminder of the basics is always good as we tend to
skip over those steps as get more proficient. When I was working at the
store there was an AT&T troubleshooting video entitled "It Works Better
Whe You Plug It In"!! It's true! Wall wart comes loose from the wall,
or someone uplugs because need the outlet temporarily....

Re: the one hand rule - I was in High School when the Teacher in
the Radio Electronics classroom show how to make sure it was safe
to work inside the 19" Rack Cabinet of the Kilowatt AM
Transmitter when it was disconnected from the AC Power Mains.
On the back of the cabinet was mounted a long metal rod that had
a wooden handle.
Where the rod met the handle a wire was attached that had a clip
on the end.

The Teacher showed us to open the jaws of the clip and fasten it
to the metal cabinet just after opening the door on the back.of
the cabinet.

Next he touched the Electrolytic Capacitor(S) to make sure they
didn't have a charge stored in them. I remember hearing a CRACK!
when the rod touched the first capacitor.
He touched each one several times and then said it was safe to
reach in to workon it with one hand in your pocket.

You don't want that CRACK! across your body! The other thing is when
working on CRTs discharge the anode -- IIRC a 1 meg resistor to
resistor to slowly bleed off. Then keep the resistor on while working
inside as the current tends to regenerate.

Here's another tip. The switch to the light over my Electronics
workbench also shuts off the power to the outlet strip. Done, shut off
the light, wnich also kills any power to whatever is plugged in - like a soldering iron! There is a separate always-on outlet, on purpose
positioned a bit inconveniently as an additional reminder.

¯ ®
¯ BarryMartin3@MyMetronet.NET ®
¯ ®


... Our mountains aren't just funny they're hill areas.
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I think they're semi-common but not sure. Maybe 'discontinued' by the
NEC because one hot could be active while the other is shut off, so
posing a hazard if both hots in the same electrical box -- thinking along
the lines of a split duplex outlet where one hot to the top outlet and
the other hot to the bottom. (Why that configuration -- who knows!)

I do have one of those split outlets. The reason for it was to keep the
two sump pumps on their own dedicated circuits. I have never took that
outlet apart to see how it is wired (as I have had no reason to) but that
is how the electricians installed it.

I had an electrician in to work on something once. I mentioned
that to him and he said that brand (or type) of box usually does
not have one main switch. I figured it was a goof on whoever
installed the box but I guess not. ;)

Guess not! One one hand it makes sense but on another not. Apparently
does make sense for some!

At least I now know that I need to turn off 2 or 3 breakers to get the
whole house. ;)

Mike


* SLMR 2.1a * Thesaurus: prehistoric reptile with a great vocabulary.
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
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Hi Mike!

I think they're semi-common but not sure. Maybe 'discontinued' by the
NEC because one hot could be active while the other is shut off, so
posing a hazard if both hots in the same electrical box -- thinking along the lines of a split duplex outlet where one hot to the top outlet and
the other hot to the bottom. (Why that configuration -- who knows!)

I do have one of those split outlets. The reason for it was to
keep the two sump pumps on their own dedicated circuits. I have
never took that outlet apart to see how it is wired (as I have
had no reason to) but that is how the electricians installed it.

AFAIK perfectly legal. I think I recall there was a statement in the
NEC (National Electrical Code) there should be a note in/on the outlet
to indicate two separate circuits. (And I no, I am not an electrician,
have not studied; my forays into the NEC were due to Google searches
which took me into it.)

I had an electrician in to work on something once. I mentioned
that to him and he said that brand (or type) of box usually does
not have one main switch. I figured it was a goof on whoever
installed the box but I guess not. ;)

Guess not! One one hand it makes sense but on another not. Apparently
does make sense for some!

At least I now know that I need to turn off 2 or 3 breakers to
get the whole house. ;)

But ther there's that one remote breaker to shut the lights off in the
room with the service panel!

...Sort of throwing this in: when the electricans were here rewiring the
house (from four-fuses-two-circuit-breakers to a panel with I think 20 breakers) I did ask how my wiring jobs were -- I had added/modified some circuits (the basement lights used to be on an always-on circuit, turn
on/off with pull strings, now on a switch) and to try to balance the
loads I had moved some portions of circuits. The washer and [gas] dryer
were originally on one of the four fuses - don't do laundry with some
other function! Remember those two breakers? Were added when a previous
owner added the Dining/Family Room -- one breaker for the DR, the other
to a single outlet in the DR! That was all: one outlet! I moved the
washer and dryer to that outlet!

Anyway, had the electricians comment on my work. The loved I had a list
of what fuses went where -- made their separating of the circuits
easier. I had also labeled some of the wiring as it came out of the
junction boxes; that also made circuit tracing easier for rewiring. The
only 'bad' comments were I tended to leave a couple inches extra which
made folding the wire into the box more difficult. I also wrapped the
wires: curled around the screw terminals and twisted together in the
wire nuts. They also commented that was a sign of an training in
electronics: I do remember being told to make a secure mechanical
connection and then solder.

* SLMR 2.1a * Thesaurus: prehistoric reptile with a great
vocabulary.

I bought a paperback one probably in late elementary school: there was
some sort of a programme students could buy books in class/through the
school. It definitely helped with writing assignments. I also remember
being fascinated with all the options (eventually found the correct term
was 'nuances') there were


¯ ®
¯ BarryMartin3@MyMetronet.NET ®
¯ ®


... Mr Roget's Neighborhood: It's a beautiful/lovely/gorgeous day...
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At least I now know that I need to turn off 2 or 3 breakers to
get the whole house. ;)

But ther there's that one remote breaker to shut the lights off in the
room with the service panel!

That would be covered by the "or 3." :) I have a chart on the wall next
to the box.

...Sort of throwing this in: when the electricans were here rewiring the house (from four-fuses-two-circuit-breakers to a panel with I think 20 breakers) I did ask how my wiring jobs were -- I had added/modified some circuits (the basement lights used to be on an always-on circuit, turn
on/off with pull strings, now on a switch) and to try to balance the
loads I had moved some portions of circuits. The washer and [gas] dryer
were originally on one of the four fuses - don't do laundry with some
other function! Remember those two breakers? Were added when a previous owner added the Dining/Family Room -- one breaker for the DR, the other
to a single outlet in the DR! That was all: one outlet! I moved the
washer and dryer to that outlet!

I have never got "brave" enough to change any circuits on my own... not yet anyway. ;)

* SLMR 2.1a * Thesaurus: prehistoric reptile with a great
vocabulary.

I bought a paperback one probably in late elementary school: there was
some sort of a programme students could buy books in class/through the school. It definitely helped with writing assignments. I also remember being fascinated with all the options (eventually found the correct term
was 'nuances') there were

Yeah, they can be real handy.

Mike

* SLMR 2.1a * The bold print giveth and the fine print taketh away.
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
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Hi Mike!

At least I now know that I need to turn off 2 or 3 breakers to
get the whole house. ;)

But ther there's that one remote breaker to shut the lights off in the
room with the service panel!

That would be covered by the "or 3." :) I have a chart on the
wall next to the box.

LIS I have a notebook with the chart and anything associated with the
service panel (like the whole house surge suppressor). The listings are
good, just don't trust them 100%.

...Sort of throwing this in: when the electricians were here rewiring the house (from four-fuses-two-circuit-breakers to a panel with I think 20 breakers) I did ask how my wiring jobs were -- I had added/modified some circuits (the basement lights used to be on an always-on circuit, turn on/off with pull strings, now on a switch) and to try to balance the
loads I had moved some portions of circuits. The washer and [gas] dryer were originally on one of the four fuses - don't do laundry with some
other function! Remember those two breakers? Were added when a previous owner added the Dining/Family Room -- one breaker for the DR, the other
to a single outlet in the DR! That was all: one outlet! I moved the
washer and dryer to that outlet!

I have never got "brave" enough to change any circuits on my
own... not yet anyway. ;)

That's good too! You know your limitations. I feel reasonably
comfortable with 120v but that 240 stuff -- triple- and quadruple-check!


¯ ®
¯ BarryMartin3@MyMetronet.NET ®
¯ ®


... People buy tickets for The Cure actually see band Placebo; still enjoy!
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