One on me

[northstarair]

I'll show one on e. Just happened today. This is what happens when you're not thinking.

[philjafo]

What happened? forget to pull the disconnect.

[dandyme]

crap like that happens all the time, put a new connector on it and life moves on.

york, huh?

hell, at least you didn't short it to low voltage wire.

[northstarair]

What happened? forget to pull the disconnect.

yep.

One positive was I got to see a bit of a fireworks show. And stars, because that was one hell of a bright flash

[Oldsolarguy]

Fried a screwdriver pushing in a contactor for customer to show them the compressor was okay. I wasn't paying attention and it slipped off onto the line side. Talking about fireworks. But yes happens

[SBKold]

And that was only single phase 240.

[pacnw]

Fried a screwdriver pushing in a contactor for customer to show them the compressor was okay. I wasn't paying attention and it slipped off onto the line side. Talking about fireworks. But yes happens

any time I am doing this type of thing I use something non-metallic, like a Sharpie pen, for just that reason.

I also bought the plastic pliers for removing fuses from disconnects.

they sent me back after another tech, for a second opinion and I noted some burn marks on the capacitor, connection and wall. customer said he watched the other tech arc his screwdriver. Scared them both!!

[Jkb79]

A friend of mine who's new to the industry went on an A/C maint. This past spring, he said the condenser wouldn't turn on, he opened disconnect box and found melted wires. He made the rookie mistake of asking the home owner to turn breaker off, he said he went to unscrew the lugs and got thrown back about five feet landed on his back and the sparks lit the vinal siding on fire. The homeowner grabed the garden hose to spray the fire. Luckily my friend was fast enough to stop him before he killed them both. When he told me this story all I could do was to laph, he got a little upset I told him well that's the last time you trust someone else to kill the juice. I also told him the volt meter in his bag is a good thing to use too. After seeing pictures I don't understand how the heck he got the disconnect taken apart without getting hit.

[jimmyed]

Fried a screwdriver pushing in a contactor for customer to show them the compressor was okay. I wasn't paying attention and it slipped off onto the line side. Talking about fireworks. But yes happens

I always use my finger to keep that from happening...

[nick muniz]

So you gents are saying its wrong to use a screwdriver to short out an outlet/switch when one cannot locate the proper breaker due to zero labeling & boss will not spring for a tracer.

[Jkb79]

I'm not an electrician, but I've hear that if a breaker is triped due to direct short you are supos to technically replace the breaker. This is what I've heard don't know if its true. Has anyone heard of this.

[Core_d]

So you gents are saying its wrong to use a screwdriver to short out an outlet/switch when one cannot locate the proper breaker due to zero labeling & boss will not spring for a tracer.

Lol

[STEVEusaPA]

I'm not an electrician, but I've hear that if a breaker is triped due to direct short you are supos to technically replace the breaker. This is what I've heard don't know if its true. Has anyone heard of this.

I think I remember being told in my Electrical Class (way back in the 80's so it could be a hallucination lol) that a breaker is UL rated to only guarantee to trip once by direct short and should be replaced. To me that means if your house burns down and you say you just reset the shorted breaker, someone will try to put the blame/liability on you.
Can anyone else weigh in....(teach me, teach me)

[Core_d]

I was told by my instructor after every break they become weaker and will break under a lower amperage. He also said after 3 trips they should be replaced and same goes for surge protectors.

[jimmyed]

I had a furnace that I couldn't find the breaker for. So I grounded it out. 20 amp breaker. Tripped the main... Oooops!

[Toddbrewster]

I had rep. for a electrical company tell me that breakers are only guaranteed for one trip, they may work after that but are only guaranteed for one trip.

[jakeesspoo]

So if you buy a "new" or different home first thing you should do is change the breakers cause you don't know how many times they have been tripped? Can honestly say I have never seen anyone do anything like that, and I would think if breakers had such a short life span that would be common practice. I would have to agree that I would think direct shorts cannot be good for breakers but not sure how they could put a number on it. If they were that susceptible to damage you would think they would make them inoperable after a dead short. In fact I'm surprised they haven't being that they could sell a lot more breakers and take more liability of themselves (the manufacturers) that is. If we just go back to glass screw in fuses we will all be safe

[DeltaT]

I do that kind of stuff when I am thinking! Changing a contactor two weeks ago while talking to my help and felt my pinky go into hyper drive....forgot to turn off the disconnect.

[fridgitator]

I have replaced many breakers because they had gone soft from being tripped repeatedly. I have also replaced breakers because they were Federal Pacific. That's about the same thing as not opening when they are supposed to.

[johnqpublic]

breakers do get weak but no they are not rated for one trip only. One trip only is called a fuse. When breakers came into being the old sparkies started the one trip only fantasy to sell stuff or just out of ignorance and its still with us all these years later.