I Did Something Stupid...

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Theclash84

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Missouri
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Estimator
Hi All,

So I did something stupid.....I ran 12/2 romex on a 20 amp breaker to power a new circuit in my bathroom. I ran the wire to a new plastic box, pulled the wire into the box and stripped off the white and black both back about 3/8". Mind you, at this point the 20 amp breaker was wired to the breaker box, but in the OFF position.

I then attempted to flip the breaker ON. When I did this, BOOM! There was an arc of light about the size of my fist and the breaker immediately tripped.

I then went back to the black and white wires that were hanging out of the plastic box, they were touching each other where they were stripped, copper to copper contact. I created a short circuit.

I inspected the romex and there appears to be no visible damage to the cable jacket. I also pulled the breaker out of the panel, also no visible damage.

I then capped the black and white wires with wire nuts. Next, I turned the breaker back on and everything else on the circuit was operating correctly.

Without getting into why I turned the power on with the black and white wires not connected to anything...........

Should I remove and replace the romex? Could there be internal damage to the wire insulation? Should I replace the breaker?
 
Theclash84 said:
Hi All,

So I did something stupid.....I ran 12/2 romex on a 20 amp breaker to power a new circuit in my bathroom. I ran the wire to a new plastic box, pulled the wire into the box and stripped off the white and black both back about 3/8". Mind you, at this point the 20 amp breaker was wired to the breaker box, but in the OFF position.

I then attempted to flip the breaker ON. When I did this, BOOM! There was an arc of light about the size of my fist and the breaker immediately tripped.

I then went back to the black and white wires that were hanging out of the plastic box, they were touching each other where they were stripped, copper to copper contact. I created a short circuit.

I inspected the romex and there appears to be no visible damage to the cable jacket. I also pulled the breaker out of the panel, also no visible damage.

I then capped the black and white wires with wire nuts. Next, I turned the breaker back on and everything else on the circuit was operating correctly.

Without getting into why I turned the power on with the black and white wires not connected to anything...........

Should I remove and replace the romex? Could there be internal damage to the wire insulation? Should I replace the breaker?
Click to expand...
Nope it is fine. That’s the purpose of the breaker is to protect the insulation of the wire in those events.
 
Theclash84 said:
Hi All,

So I did something stupid.....I ran 12/2 romex on a 20 amp breaker to power a new circuit in my bathroom. I ran the wire to a new plastic box, pulled the wire into the box and stripped off the white and black both back about 3/8". Mind you, at this point the 20 amp breaker was wired to the breaker box, but in the OFF position.

I then attempted to flip the breaker ON. When I did this, BOOM! There was an arc of light about the size of my fist and the breaker immediately tripped.

I then went back to the black and white wires that were hanging out of the plastic box, they were touching each other where they were stripped, copper to copper contact. I created a short circuit.

I inspected the romex and there appears to be no visible damage to the cable jacket. I also pulled the breaker out of the panel, also no visible damage.

I then capped the black and white wires with wire nuts. Next, I turned the breaker back on and everything else on the circuit was operating correctly.

Without getting into why I turned the power on with the black and white wires not connected to anything...........

Should I remove and replace the romex? Could there be internal damage to the wire insulation? Should I replace the breaker?
Click to expand...
The wires are likely just fine. The breaker protected them as designed.

Not sure how many times a CB can trip into a short circuit before you have to replace it. It is not many times, Like 1 or maybe 3.
 
Theclash84 said:
Hi All,

So I did something stupid.....I ran 12/2 romex on a 20 amp breaker to power a new circuit in my bathroom. I ran the wire to a new plastic box, pulled the wire into the box and stripped off the white and black both back about 3/8". Mind you, at this point the 20 amp breaker was wired to the breaker box, but in the OFF position.

I then attempted to flip the breaker ON. When I did this, BOOM! There was an arc of light about the size of my fist and the breaker immediately tripped.

I then went back to the black and white wires that were hanging out of the plastic box, they were touching each other where they were stripped, copper to copper contact. I created a short circuit.

I inspected the romex and there appears to be no visible damage to the cable jacket. I also pulled the breaker out of the panel, also no visible damage.

I then capped the black and white wires with wire nuts. Next, I turned the breaker back on and everything else on the circuit was operating correctly.

Without getting into why I turned the power on with the black and white wires not connected to anything...........

Should I remove and replace the romex? Could there be internal damage to the wire insulation? Should I replace the breaker?
Click to expand...
The "Estimator" in you should include a line for hiring an electrician for future electrical projects!
 
infinity said:
Is the number really that low? On a construction site circuit breakers for temporary power may trip a hundred times during the course of the job and still work fine.
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It all depends on the amount of current the breaker had to open. If you did not twist the wires together (i.e. they just touched) you did not see the maximum bolted fault but instead experienced a medium level fault. You definitely shortened the life of your breaker but probably not by much, seeing how it will probably never see another fault greater than an overload.
 
petersonra said:
The wires are likely just fine. The breaker protected them as designed.

Not sure how many times a CB can trip into a short circuit before you have to replace it. It is not many times, Like 1 or maybe 3.
Click to expand...
Just from observation, I believe the second or third trip places a breaker on very shaky ground. By the 4th or 5th, it's a ghost
 
James L said:
Just from observation, I believe the second or third trip places a breaker on very shaky ground. By the 4th or 5th, it's a ghost
Click to expand...
And if the current is in the range which risks breaker damage (approaching its ACI, for an extreme example) the damage may be progressively worse if you immeidiately reclose on a short circuit without leaving time for the breaker to cool and for ionization components to dissipate.
 
Wire looks good, so I'm gonna leave it. For the cost of a beer, I can replace the breaker, so that's what I'm gonna do. Thanks for the feedback all, appreciate the comments.
 
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GoldDigger said:
And if the current is in the range which risks breaker damage (approaching its ACI, for an extreme example) the damage may be progressively worse if you immeidiately reclose on a short circuit without leaving time for the breaker to cool and for ionization components to dissipate.
Click to expand...
Yup.
 
Since you are going to replace the breaker anyway. Rather than throwing it away. I would be interested in what the insides look like. That may give you some idea how long the breaker "would have" lasted. Whenever I do stupid things, I like to learn from that experience. This way I could learn without having to go through the experience of an arc flash.
 
RCC1 said:
Since you are going to replace the breaker anyway. Rather than throwing it away. I would be interested in what the insides look like. That may give you some idea how long the breaker "would have" lasted. Whenever I do stupid things, I like to learn from that experience. This way I could learn without having to go through the experience of an arc flash.
Click to expand...
I found OSHA 1910.334(b)(2) regarding re-energizing popped breakers to be of interest considering my dumb move. At any rate, I'd be happy to post some pictures of the breaker this evening when I get home.
 
Theclash84 said:
I then attempted to flip the breaker ON. When I did this, BOOM! There was an arc of light about the size of my fist and the breaker immediately tripped.
Click to expand...
I don't know what brand of breaker you were useing but it doesn't sound like it was in good condition to start with.

Normally with a 20 amp breaker you won't hear any boom and no big arc flash even when it's a short. Normally the breaker will just click off.

What brand of breakers are you dealing with? Federal Pacific may get you a good boom (can be hard to trip) but they cost more than even an expensive imported beer ( purchased at the airport).
 
growler said:
I don't know what brand of breaker you were useing but it doesn't sound like it was in good condition to start with.

Normally with a 20 amp breaker you won't hear any boom and no big arc flash even when it's a short. Normally the breaker will just click off.

What brand of breakers are you dealing with? Federal Pacific may get you a good boom (can be hard to trip) but they cost more than even an expensive imported beer ( purchased at the airport).
Click to expand...
It was a brand new Square D breaker.
 
Theclash84 said:
I then attempted to flip the breaker ON. When I did this, BOOM! There was an arc of light about the size of my fist and the breaker immediately tripped.
Click to expand...
Where was the arc, at the short or at the breaker?
 
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