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That wasn't so bad.
Oct. 2nd, 2006 01:19 pmEric and I both called in to work because we needed to get the electrical problem fixed today. He didn't want to try and work with electricity without me there to dial 911 if he had an accident.
Besides that, once he was under the house he needed me to jiggle wires and get tools for him.
Since my dad and uncle Jim grounded all of our outlets before we moved in, I called Uncle Jim to see if he remembered how the wiring was set up in that wall. He didn't. It's been over 13 years since they did that. He was in town for his weekly golf date. My dad used to be part of that group.
Everything was good from the breaker box all the way to the outlet for the stove. After that it was all dead.
We used my volt meter and the 100 foot extension cord that's missing one end because it frayed dangerously. Eric cut it off with the intention of getting another end for it but that hasn't happened yet. It came in handy today to test circuits. I'd touch a wire to the "hot" wire in the breaker box (power was off) and he'd check the other end to see if any power was getting through.
Halfway through the exercise my uncle Jim came to see if he could help. He said he "couldn't stay away!" He had stopped to pick up a nifty little circuit tester to give us. It's the size of a large pen and has two little button batteries in it. If you hold the pocket tab in on it, it will beep if it's near a live circuit. Eric figured things out without it.
It turns out the outlet behind the stove is the main outlet for the wall. It has a circuit breaker built in on it. Because it wasn't red and it's a bit dark behind the stove, neither of us realized the thing sticking out in the middle was a popped circuit breaker until he re-examined it after exhausting every other possibility. He pushed it in and BINGO!
We carefully powered up the house with only the stove plugged in. It was fine. We added one kitchen device at a time and there were no problems. I'm reheating pizza for lunch right now. :)
Besides that, once he was under the house he needed me to jiggle wires and get tools for him.
Since my dad and uncle Jim grounded all of our outlets before we moved in, I called Uncle Jim to see if he remembered how the wiring was set up in that wall. He didn't. It's been over 13 years since they did that. He was in town for his weekly golf date. My dad used to be part of that group.
Everything was good from the breaker box all the way to the outlet for the stove. After that it was all dead.
We used my volt meter and the 100 foot extension cord that's missing one end because it frayed dangerously. Eric cut it off with the intention of getting another end for it but that hasn't happened yet. It came in handy today to test circuits. I'd touch a wire to the "hot" wire in the breaker box (power was off) and he'd check the other end to see if any power was getting through.
Halfway through the exercise my uncle Jim came to see if he could help. He said he "couldn't stay away!" He had stopped to pick up a nifty little circuit tester to give us. It's the size of a large pen and has two little button batteries in it. If you hold the pocket tab in on it, it will beep if it's near a live circuit. Eric figured things out without it.
It turns out the outlet behind the stove is the main outlet for the wall. It has a circuit breaker built in on it. Because it wasn't red and it's a bit dark behind the stove, neither of us realized the thing sticking out in the middle was a popped circuit breaker until he re-examined it after exhausting every other possibility. He pushed it in and BINGO!
We carefully powered up the house with only the stove plugged in. It was fine. We added one kitchen device at a time and there were no problems. I'm reheating pizza for lunch right now. :)
