Never a dull moment!

[mjf]

Wasn't planning to touch the 3-way switch at the base of the stairs since only the upstairs is gutted and being rewired.

When I opened up the upstairs 3-way I found one of the traveler screws bonded to the metal box....using the old MC cable sheathing as a traveler.

Opened up the 1st floor switchbox and found the same. Been like that for many, many years. HO is lucky they never had a problem....scary stuff.

 

[Ponchik]

I bet you when you proposed to repair the issue they said: "it has been working just fine for the last 20 years, why does it need to get repaired??"

 

[Dennis Alwon]

It is amazing more people don't get hurt and more houses don't burn down due to this type of work. It shows how hard it is to start a fire with electrical.

 

[ptonsparky]

It is amazing more people don't get hurt and more houses don't burn down due to this type of work. It shows how hard it is to start a fire with electrical.

I could not agree with you more.

 

[qcroanoke]

It is amazing more people don't get hurt and more houses don't burn down due to this type of work. It shows how hard it is to start a fire with electrical.

Not really, electrical problems get blamed everyday.
My feeling is they blame electrical when they really have no idea.
But fire cause investigation has come a long way too.

 

[mjf]

I bet you when you proposed to repair the issue they said: "it has been working just fine for the last 20 years, why does it need to get repaired??"

Interestingly, I met with the HO yesterday and found out she bought the house 20 years ago and hasn't lived in it (nor has anyone else).

I explained what I found and she did not question my rewiring the 3-way or my extras invoice:thumbsup:.

 

[kwired]

Been like that for many, many years. HO is lucky they never had a problem....scary stuff.

Big difference between the AC jacket carrying an amp or two of current vs. depending on it to carrying many hundreds of amps from a ground fault condition. As long as no "bonding" becomes loose I would it expect it to operate for a long time even though it does create touch potential voltage issues, but if there are no grounded objects within reach that will go unnoticed also.

 

[masterinbama]

We had a church fire here recently where the jacket of the 10-2 AC to the water heater was forced to carry the fault current of the 1600 AMP 480 volt service. The ground and neutral bond had been compromised by some copper thieves.

 

[kwired]

We had a church fire here recently where the jacket of the 10-2 AC to the water heater was forced to carry the fault current of the 1600 AMP 480 volt service. The ground and neutral bond had been compromised by some copper thieves.

Care to explain that one a little further?

I can see copper thieves stealing an exposed grounding electrode conductor on the exterior of the building, but that itself should not be the ground to neutral bonding jumper, which should be located inside the service disconnecting means.

 

[masterinbama]

They were stealing pieces and parts a little at a time. The had gotten into the gear and removed bits and pieces as needed. All of the grounding had been gutted from the gear. I must add that the building was part of a larger complex and was not used regularly.

 

[kwired]

They were stealing pieces and parts a little at a time. The had gotten into the gear and removed bits and pieces as needed. All of the grounding had been gutted from the gear. I must add that the building was part of a larger complex and was not used regularly.

Did this cable armor actually carry a fault current to cause the fire to start? Maybe it ended up being the only path for neutral current once key components were removed and the service neutral became open. 10-2 cable sheath has fairly small CSA to carry potentially hundreds of "normal" neutral current amps on a 1600 amp service and it may have been trying to return via the water line if it had good continuity through other structures on its way back to the source.