Bozos And Horror Stories

Not something I have ever heard, and if it's a violation to have one in a large, walk-in closet (pictured in the POTD thread) then I'll risk it. Too much utility in having it, no point in not.
 
In fact, many apartment laundry units in closets would be against code then, among other examples I can think of having seen over the years, including when I worked in construction. I'm betting that's just a myth.
 
intjonmiller said:
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.
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Every breaker should have a number. Every outlet should be labeled with the number of the breaker controlling it. The label can be behind the cover in a residence. It's also useful to make a map and put it in the panel.
 
They were ALL open. The devices attached (such as an outlet, where the circuit is still open when you stick the prong of the sensor in the receptacle) had been removed a week earlier. They work anyway, on the hot side.
 
intjonmiller said:
In fact, many apartment laundry units in closets would be against code then, among other examples I can think of having seen over the years, including when I worked in construction. I'm betting that's just a myth.
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I know for sure it's against code here, because it's a common request from my customers who want to add an outlet in a closet, the electricians quickly point out that it cannot be done legally. A washer dryer installed on dedicated circuits would be okay as those don't count as general use outlets, also closet could become a "laundry" when the job is filed. That being said, most of those installations are probably done illegally.
 
intjonmiller said:
Not something I have ever heard, and if it's a violation to have one in a large, walk-in closet (pictured in the POTD thread) then I'll risk it. Too much utility in having it, no point in not.
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I imagine the reasoning is, closets sometimes get crammed full of stuff and some electrical device plugged in there could easily get buried and overheat.... Also, the codes were probably implemented long before the wave of rechargeable devices, thus no reasonable need for an outlet in a closet was envisioned.
I don't think there's any problem in having an outlet in a closet as long as proper sense is used.
 
intjonmiller said:
You can do that with your bare hands! ;)
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Ha Ha, been there done that... Seriously, those no contact testers are junk, if you are going to do electrical work get a proper solenoid tester, sometimes you don't get a second chance.
 
The fact is it has worked reliably for a decade, it worked on every other circuit in the home, and it's still working right now. It is *science*, not dark magic. There is a reason why it would not work in one situation when working in every other. The question was about identifying what it was about that specific situation which caused the failure.

Incidentally the products are all listed as being precisely for this purpose, by reputable manufacturers including Greenlee, Milwaukee, and Klein. They are a standard tool used by every professional electrician I have ever seen (a limited selection, granted, but still representing at least a couple dozen professionals by now) in every grade of work (including low voltage DC, contrary to the demonstrably false claims made in the stackexchange discussion, ironically by the very person who also claimed that they are so unreliable). Perhaps there is something they knew about when to trust them and when not to, but I didn't know to ask at the time.
 
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