• litchraleeEnglish
    31·
    3 months ago

    This reminds me of the time I happened to be at a warehouse where an industrial motor control panel was being decommissioned. In the center of the panel is a large breaker, which was dutifully opened (ie powered off) before work commenced. But bizarrely, someone in the past managed to tap power from the supply-side of the breaker for some sort of monitoring sensor inside the panel. So when that circuit was cut through, there was a loud bang and the overhead lights went out.

    No one was injured, although everyone was jumpy from the inadvertent light-and-sound spectacle. And a set of cutters gained a 12 AWG-sized (approx 4 mm^2) hole.

    I may have misremembered some details, but my takeaway as a non-electrician was to 1) never assume a breaker handle at face value, and 2) don’t assume the prior person made sane choices.

  • TommySoda@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    3 months ago

    I swear I heard it when I saw the picture. I’m not an electrician, but that’s why I always call electricians instead of doing it myself.

    • SirQuackTheDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      3 months ago

      As an amateur house renovator (my own, not to flip), I’ve done that pop once or twice. It’s why we don’t buy the cheapest equipment, so the insulation actually protects us. € 20 is a cheap price for not going to the hospital for a mistake.

      • rjthyen@lemm.eeEnglish
        8·
        3 months ago

        If this has happened more than once i want to suggest you get a non contact voltage sensor, or start using a voltage tester before digging in lol.

  • j4k3@lemmy.worldEnglish
    132·
    3 months ago

    Steel is real, not all wire is created equal. Someone borrowed the soft jaws and chewed the wrong chow.

    That looks a bit deep to grind, but maybe. I grind the back face of my higher end diagonals to sharpen and extend their life.

    • 4am@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      3 months ago

      If the last idiot wired behind the breaker it won’t really matter