Fireman at the Big Box store.

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iaov

iaov

Senior Member
Location
Rhinelander WI
Was at one of the local DIY stores this morning and saw a guy with a fire fighters jacket on from one of the local departments. He had a 200 A panel in his basket and was asking the kid that worked there about what kind of breakers he needed. I asked him if he was a fire fighter and he enthusiasticaly told me he was. I told him that he should know better than any one that the work he was about to do should only be done by a qualified person.He turned red and headed for plumbing!!:D Not a word!! I know that all the fire Chiefs here are stressing inspection of electrical work even in areas where the law still does not require it. I still find it hard to believe that the clueless are so willing to gamble with thier lives and the lives of thier families, esspecialy some one who should know better.
 
I cannot stand running into electricians that hold your attitude, and they are usually the ones that are the least knowledgeable. He walked away from you because he was polite, but I am not known for being polite. I would have laid into you until you were the one that was red.

There is nothing mystical or magical about electricity and wiring, but from my experience, the electricians that go out of their way to make it seem mystical are the ones that are the least secure in their own knowledge.
 
Rick Christopherson said:
There is nothing mystical or magical about electricity and wiring, but from my experience, the electricians that go out of their way to make it seem mystical are the ones that are the least secure in their own knowledge.
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well certainly nothing mystical about it to an electrician, but to someone who's not qualified things can certainly go wrong. one bad connection is all it takes.

there's nothing wrong with a homeowner doing his own work, but there's nothing wrong with an actual electrician thinking that's a bad idea.

i keep my mouth closed when i'm in these places, but i did tell a customer once it was a bad idea to put a 50A CB on the dryer recep he was purchasing, to run an arc welder he said. the guy said he'd been doing electrical work for years, and i just went about my own.
 
10 years ago a buddy electrician(Licensed) was asked to put in a 50A breaker for an arc welder. When he went to look at the job, it was in a trailer. He looked at the situation and said he would have to upgrade the panel. Home owner said nope and my buddy left. It wasn't to long after that again 3 Am call came in working structure fire. GUESS WHERE? Well home owner thought he could do it temperary ROFL. He loosened up the main and slipped the wire down along side the feeders and didn't tighten the screws back up tight. It almost cost him his families life because he thought he could be a WING NUT MYSTICAL WANNA BE ELECTRICIAN.
I wonder if the fire fighter covers his own house while on duty??
 
benaround said:
If you want to let the homeowner do the wiring then get someone from the bank to do it.
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Why the Bank? They don't care as they require you to have Homeowners insurance,that's who should care!

Another question- Did you even think to ask this person IF he was doing the install?
Ever think he was buying the materials for a project that a PROFESSIONAL was installing for him or better YET - He was an electrician himself? Professional firefighters have been known to hold another job as they have a number of days off.

Ever think he walked away out of courtesy as you have insulted him and it not his place to prove his qualifications / reasons to a complete STRANGER who comes on aggressively?

Get ALL the facts before jumping to conclusions
 
Rick Christopherson said:
I cannot stand running into electricians that hold your attitude, and they are usually the ones that are the least knowledgeable. He walked away from you because he was polite, but I am not known for being polite. I would have laid into you until you were the one that was red.
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I can't believe I'm hearing this from you.

There is nothing mystical or magical about electricity and wiring, but from my experience, the electricians that go out of their way to make it seem mystical are the ones that are the least secure in their own knowledge.
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Just a safety thing some of us take quite seriously. I must be stupid like iaov.
 
Rick Christopherson said:
I cannot stand running into electricians that hold your attitude, and they are usually the ones that are the least knowledgeable. He walked away from you because he was polite, but I am not known for being polite. I would have laid into you until you were the one that was red.

There is nothing mystical or magical about electricity and wiring, but from my experience, the electricians that go out of their way to make it seem mystical are the ones that are the least secure in their own knowledge.
Click to expand...
Nothing mystical and magical. Nothing to it. Nothing to know realy. Thats why the NEC is 3 pages thick. Thats why Masters exams are so easy!!
 
William1978 said:
What is wrong with his attitude? People like that fireman are the ones out there cutting everyones throat.
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How do you figure he's cutting someones throat, so far, the fireman sounds just like the other gazzilion customers that do the same thing every day. In our town , my belief is that more resi panels are bought like this rather by an electrician from a supply house.....sad? yes, but that's the way it is...
 
I'm going to toss this in the ring. I've seen a lot of work by licensed electricians that I wouldn't want in my own house. I've also seen many homeowner wiring jobs that were downright dangerous and scary. My view is that we need to have more in depth inspections to verify that work is safe and meets code. 110.12 needs to be enforced much more often also.
 
wawireguy said:
I'm going to toss this in the ring. I've seen a lot of work by licensed electricians that I wouldn't want in my own house. I've also seen many homeowner wiring jobs that were downright dangerous and scary. My view is that we need to have more in depth inspections to verify that work is safe and meets code. 110.12 needs to be enforced much more often also.
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Amen.....thorough, consistent code enforcement is the answer.....:wink:
 
According to the style manual 110.12 is not enforcible.


Roger
 
wawireguy said:
My view is that we need to have more in depth inspections to verify that work is safe and meets code.
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#1 - I don't think the added cost of that would be worth it in residential, which is what we are discussing and where most of the danger is. I think putting AFCI's everywhere is a better investment.

#2 - It is ultimately up to the contractor to provide a safe installation.
 
I know! We could get some inspectors to go in posed as employees at the big box stores. Sort of a sting operation if you will. That'll show them!
 
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