Humorous electrical stories

[rcooke]

I was doing an inspection almost 2 years ago.
This was a lovely large house 3 car garage .
The owner said to me we are going our please lock up when you are done and go out the garage we can get in with the garage door opener.
Finishing up the inspection I am putting the panel cover on an off goes the power .
I swore and tried to turn the main breaker back on no luck .
Got my testers no line voltage Dam I have blown the outside transformer fuse .
This is going to screw every thing up how can I lock the house.
How can I get the fuse fixed late in the day .
This is going to cost me some money .
Just then my Buddy calls me and says did you hear what has happened .
He said the power is of all of southern Ontario and northern USA .
Wow ! Now I am excited
How am I going to explain this to my insurance company I sure do not have enough insurance for this .
Then Reality hit me no way could I have done this much damage .
I sure was nervous for a few seconds ..
Just then the owner of the home came back he had heard it on the radio and new I would not be able to close the Garage for him to open it .
Roy Sr

[Paul W. Abernathy]

lol....That is one of those moments when you heard...."The power is off to the entire area" and you said....OMG.....all I did was try to put the panel back on...lol.....LOVE those moments then as you said..reality sets in and you say.....NO WAY.....and can only laugh.....

Very nice.....I liked that..

[Michael Martin]

During a power outage a couple of years ago, I decided to plug a lamp into an inverter that was hooked to a car battery. At the precise moment I turned the inverter on, the entire house came back on. I thought "what the..." only to realize after a few seconds that power was restored at that moment.

[Paul W. Abernathy]

lol......hard to describe that moment......it is like a BIG HMMMMMM moment that is funny to use ONLY when we figure it out...lol

[phinsperger]

Many years ago I had permission to salvage the copper pipe from an old dorm building that was on the the property of a univeristy. All the buildings including the one that was going to be demolished were connected by underground passageways that also carryied the utilities.

On a sunday afternoon this basically no one around except for me and my 2 helpers, we double checked that the water was turned off and proceeded to cut the pipes for removal. Again, I did have permission to be there and do this.

In the basement as one of my helpers stood on a ladder and cut into a copper tubing (not pipe but hey copper is copper ), Sparks few like crazy and knocked my help clear off the ladder and several feet away. The lights all went out. We heard him utter few choice words so we knew he was alive.

Seems that the use to use copper for sheathing. Huh. Learned something new that day.

After finding our way back up where there was natural sun light, we discovered that no only did the building to be demolished had no power but neither did the rest of the buildings on the university campus. Uh Oh!

[rcooke]

Originally Posted by phinsperger

Many years ago I had permission to salvage the copper pipe from an old dorm building that was on the the property of a univeristy. All the buildings including the one that was going to be demolished were connected by underground passageways that also carryied the utilities.

On a sunday afternoon this basically no one around except for me and my 2 helpers, we double checked that the water was turned off and proceeded to cut the pipes for removal. Again, I did have permission to be there and do this.

In the basement as one of my helpers stood on a ladder and cut into a copper tubing (not pipe but hey copper is copper ), Sparks few like crazy and knocked my help clear off the ladder and several feet away. The lights all went out. We heard him utter few choice words so we knew he was alive.

Seems that the use to use copper for sheathing. Huh. Learned something new that day.

After finding our way back up where there was natural sun light, we discovered that no only did the building to be demolished had no power but neither did the rest of the buildings on the university campus. Uh Oh!

It was not copper pipe Paul it was mineral insulated wire Pyrotenax
http://www.buildingdesign.co.uk/elec/pyro/pyro-7.htm
I have put in miles of it It is almost indestructible . ( Please do not ever arm wrestle with that helper ) I have had to use a Pyro hickey to bend the larger size . It is used in places where power must get through in case of fire or dampness. Glad your Buddy was not hurt .
Roy Cooke Sr
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[phinsperger]

Thanks Roy, I haven't seen that stuff since that day 22 years ago. Now I know