DIY ELECTRICIANS.. PLEASE NOTE

[Industrial Toys]

I had to explain to a long time mostly industrial electrician why he was getting voltage on unused conductors running with others in a conduit. He seemed baffled, like he had no idea how electricity was generated.

Yeah. It's why I left the trade.

 

[mbohuntr]

Wow! Most of you completely missed the point..... None of us is born with electrical knowledge, and each one of us have a different skill set. That wasn't the point at all.

Everybody has a story about an "ELECTRICIAN" that didn't know something.

If you do not know the difference between 3ph, and 1ph, and you're playin with it, maybe you should ask... If you have never heard of Live-dead-live, maybe you should ask before you touch the panel box.

You don't need a degree to do wiring, but doing it wrong can be fatal. There is no shame in asking for help, and admitting you don't know something.

That's all I was trying to say...I went through a 4 yr apprenticeship, and got a degree, but someone can always teach me something new, or I stop and get some advice from a more experienced journeyman if I'm unsure what i'm doing.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

So which member of TBN were you refering to in post 1? The one i referred to, that was putting in a 3ph converter in his shop, did know the difference. What he didnt know was details on the 3 ph converter, so he did ask questions, and got an answer, and got his 3 ph converter running without issue.

Unless there was another 3ph converter thread instead, the one i referenced doesnt support your point. Maybe i missed the thread

Working with electric is like driving a car, none of us was born with the knowledge, but it's not hard to learn. You can have accidents doing both, most aren't fatal, some are. Just because some people can't drive and they wind up dead, i guess that means no one should try to learn, and they all should hire a driver to do it for them, instead of touching the steering wheel themselves.

 

[newbury]

<snip> To answer your question"How does one find a REAL electrician?) have them pull a permit if required by your local jurisdiction. If the job doesn't call for permitting,ask for their license number. You can confirm any license by phone or the net at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. In the unlikely event you have something like those examples,call the local jurisdiction or TDLR with the license #. You are at your own risk with plumbers and hvac contractors.

And do not trust them if they say it doesn't need a permit/inspection.
I've houses in several different jurisdictions. Fairfax County, Va is strict and code requirements are updated frequently. I wouldn't be surprised if they made a permit required to change a light bulb. Itawamba County, Mississippi is lax. No permit/inspection required out in the country.

I've "interviewed" "electricians" for work on my houses in Fairfax and immediately crossed them off my list if they told me "don't really need a permit" when I knew it did. Or if I was told that a permit will mean just more $$ because they will have to "pull" the permit and get inspection so skip it.

I view electricity and gas lines as much more dangerous than HVAC or plumbing. I don't know the numbers but I bet more houses are QUICKLY destroyed by bad electrical wiring than by bad plumbing.

 

[mbohuntr]

So which member of TBN were you refering to in post 1? The one i referred to, that was putting in a 3ph converter in his shop, did know the difference. What he didnt know was details on the 3 ph converter, so he did ask questions, and got an answer, and got his 3 ph converter running without issue.

Unless there was another 3ph converter thread instead, the one i referenced doesnt support your point. Maybe i missed the thread

Working with electric is like driving a car, none of us was born with the knowledge, but it's not hard to learn. You can have accidents doing both, most aren't fatal, some are. Just because some people can't drive and they wind up dead, i guess that means no one should try to learn, and they all should hire a driver to do it for them, instead of touching the steering wheel themselves.

Not dropping names, not the point, and that wasn't the poster.. The poster did not understand the basic purpose of a starter circuit, and when it was suggested to seek out a qualified electrician, they were rather indignant and said they can learn by doing, and people shouldn't be afraid to learn things themselves.. this is coming from memory, and not exactly quoted.
Either way, it is a good recipe for smoke and sparks. Maybe you get it right, maybe you die.. maybe you burn down your home with your family in it...
I have seen scorch marks where someone was standing before they died, another friends home burn down, and personally smoked circuitry because I didn't understand what I was touching.. this stuff is serious and not a "Hold my beer" hobby..

 

[CobyRupert]

Like a lot of subjects, people that know a little about electricity are more dangerous than people who don't know anything at all.

I really hope someone didn't claim "I can learn electricity by doing" - No you can't.

 

[MitchellB]

I helped my grandson replace a 3 wire stove cable & outlet to a 4 wire setup. I jokingly told him, trying to impress upon him to be careful, "You only get to scream ouch once." Actually, I doubt you'd even be able to scream in some cases.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Driving isn't a "hold my beer" hobby either, yet i would guess more people have died from mistakes there, than what have died from their own electrical work.

Anyone not knowing what they are doing should seek help, which is why they probably came and asked on TBN.

People are scared when they don't know. I'm with the guy who wants to learn.

Sure it's serious, but not unlearnable. Once you know what you are doing, you can do it safely. Yet accidents still happen. That's the point.
From the article referenced in post 1, where the guy died, it looks like he knew what he was doing, and unfortunately made a fatal mistake. Several people posted about electricians also can make mistakes.

And for another poster, Improper plumbing can easily kill you. Gas from an improper or missing trap, or CO from your garage or heater due to bad or improper ducting.

 

[DaveNJ]

I do this every time I use one.

Since you mentioned testers, i bought one once that flat out didnt work. Fortunately i tried it first on a known energized circuit, which it indicated was dead. So you cant always trust your tester.

 

[CobyRupert]

You may think you know about electricity, and even realize there's thing you don't know (so they get ignored if everything works). But I guarantee there are aspects you don't even know that you don't know. And you know it.

Like Rumsfeld said:
"there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know"