Amusing Circuit Breaker Failure

SPIKER · Jul 27, 2014

One of the ones I found was Rat SKULL (inside a garage wall) where a outlet quit working in past. It was my sisters place no less. The odd part was JUST the SKULL no other bones inside the wall and I didn't see any holes where it got in. It was full sized skull and was hanging from a chewed thru wire... He managed to remove the insulation and was working on the copper. The copper wires were burnt thru about 6" away and no insulation with burn marks inside the wall. Was close to taking out the house/attached garage though it was an outside wall...

Found cooked & mummified mice in boxes and switch gear panels too, still nothing like the rat skull... It HAD to burn off wires right when rat chewed thru it as skull was bleached white no burn marks on it...

Mark

kenmac · Jul 27, 2014

We get tons of A/C calls where ants (yes ants) for some reason cover the contactors and screw up the contacts. If the contacts can't make contact... No A/C I can't figure why ants seem to be drawn to electricity

k0ua · Jul 27, 2014

kenmac said:
We get tons of A/C calls where ants (yes ants) for some reason cover the contactors and screw up the contacts. If the contacts can't make contact... No A/C I can't figure why ants seem to be drawn to electricity

This does not exactly answer you question, but people are working on it.

"Ants have been a major factor in air conditioner failures. Service personnel in Texas have reported that fully one third of all summer repairs stem from ants shorting out terminal blocks. They also have been found to have set up housekeeping in televisions, well pump controls, telephone junction pedestals, airport runway lights, utility watthour meters, electrical plugs and lamp sockets, computers, and transformers-where they prefer to nest on the high-voltage side. Why are imported red fire ants attracted to electric fields? No one is yet ready to offer a theory. But biologist Dr. William P. MacKay of the University of Texas at El Paso and entomologist Professor S. Bradleigh Vinson of Texas A&M have succeeded in eliminating a number of possible factors.
They have found fire ant behavior does not correlate with a-c frequencies, or with the presence of ozone, electromagnetic or magnetic fields. Nor is the type of insulation used on wiring a factor. In tests up to 140V a-c and 350V d-c, both attracted almost the same number of ants at the same voltage and distance. However, they did find that when electricity was turned off, ants attracted to d-c power dispersed more rapidly than those who had been experiencing the nirvana of an a-c source. While the Texas researchers still don't understand the reasons why the ants have a fatal attraction to electric fields, they have been able to devise successful control techniques. Based on their studies, they recommend using terminal cap protectors to prevent bridging, and denying entrance to the insects by enclosing mechanical relays in metal or plastic cases and sealing them, as well as all entrances to padmounted equipment, with epoxy cement. In laboratory tests, silicone rubber sealants and roofing cement proved ineffective."