Bozos And Horror Stories

intjonmiller said:
Usually I also test a live circuit but we didn't have any nearby that were still live. So he went ahead and pulled the wire nuts off of and as he pulled the wire out of the old metal box it arced with a LOUD pop and tripped the 100 amp breaker. HOW?? He had just tested it! I saw him do it! He passed it along quite a bit of the wire, on both sides of it. Fortunately he had on good gloves appropriate for the task. I can't get him to keep his safety glasses on his face, so he was fortunate that the box shielded him from any injury there. The detector still worked fine on other circuits after that, but I think I'm going to upgrade to the Milwaukee with a louder beep and an integrated LED flashlight. Crazy.
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You should never rely on those detectors to assure you that a circuit is not hot. That is not what they are for,
 
I thought that was precisely what they were for. If not that then what?? They aren't sensitive enough to trace a wire that is behind a wall.
 
I mean if it can't reliably detect 240v 30 or 50 amp current when in contact with the wire insulation, then what good are they for anything at all?
 
I only trust a solenoid type electrical tester. You can see, hear and feel when in contact with an energized circuit.
 
you might want to rethink the kitchen outlets. If all are on one circuit then if you use the toaster and say a microwave oven you will trip the breaker. The National electrical Code recommends and many local and state inspectors require multiple circuits.

Ray
 
The old kitchen had a separate circuit for EVERY outlet, and another for lights. Major overkill, and made it difficult to do any electrical work, like replacing an outlet or switch, because every time you thought that breaker was off it wasn't yet. The new kitchen is in another room. Now the outlets in the area that used to be the kitchen are on one circuit. One is in a coat closet (battery charger or whatever is needed), one is on the outside of that wall, and one on the wall adjacent to it. Not going to exceed the current rating unless she decides to set up a bunch of power tools she doesn't own or know how to use, in her living room, and doesn't use the outlets on the other walls of the room.

The explanation about moving the kitchen is in the POTD thread. I didn't explain fully here.
 
rdean said:
you might want to rethink the kitchen outlets. If all are on one circuit then if you use the toaster and say a microwave oven you will trip the breaker. The National electrical Code recommends and many local and state inspectors require multiple circuits.

Ray
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Yes I believe the minimum is 2 circuits for wall outlets in addition to dedicated circuits for each appliance.
 
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