Need some ideas for teaching electricity to a pool and spa company.

[njelectrician]

Hey guys. I was asked to teach 4 electrical courses at a local pool and spa company. They are not supposed to be doing electrical work. But i was asked to give them more of an understanding and some electrical background. The first course was on safety.That being said I have three more course to teach at an hour and a half a piece. I was thinking of dividing the courses into 1) a basic understanding of electricity and wiring systems 2) Using testing equipment and testing circuit boards and relays (requested) and 3) a complete run through of a swimming pool site. panel, equipment wiring, bonding, article 680.. I am looking for some topic ideas and things that you think are relevant to a pool company. By the way, I am not an instructor, i am just a licensed electrician who was asked to teach a course. any and all help will be appreciated.

 

[domnic]

pool and spa

pool and spa

Walk away ! Tell them to get a licensed electrician to do the work. YOU ARE LOOKING FOR TROUBLE !

 

[mgookin]

Walk away ! Tell them to get a licensed electrician to do the work. YOU ARE LOOKING FOR TROUBLE !

+200

 

[Fulthrotl]

By the way, I am not an instructor, i am just a licensed electrician who was asked to teach a course. any and all help will be appreciated.

well, i'd a passed on giving something like this, but you are already there.....:blink:

i'd limit my remarks to a safety course, so that someone armed with your
information knows how to look at something and see obvious flaws
needing attention, and call a licensed person to perform the work.

i would not go into means and methods at all. these are NOT electricians,
they don't need to know how to do it. it might be helpful if they were
able to see something grossly wrong and ring a bell to get it fixed.

pools are hinky. i gave someone some FREE advice about one once,
and ended up giving more free information in front of a grand jury.

the wording of the advice was....

"you need someone with a bigger bond than me to come in here and make
this right. your exposure financially, legally, and morally is unlimited.
you HAVE to make it right. i've told you how dangerous it is."

no charge. gratis. free advice. ended up having to explain this to a grand
jury a year later.

then i, along with 20 other people, got sued for $2.5 M each... including
the guy who cleaned the pool, and the fellow who delivered pizza to the party.

as you are not a licensed teacher, anything that comes back to haunt you
on this will be to you personally.

consider this your free warning... i got sued for $2.5 million for giving free
advice. think how much you can get sued for if you get paid for the advice.

 

[Ragin Cajun]

Ditto.

But, R U N !!!!!!!!!

RC

 

[jmellc]

Dittoes. They will take what you teach them and use it to do their own wiring, licensed or not. They may bring you in on the 1st job or 2 but then you will not hear from them. Later, they will call that something went wrong on a job and they need you to fix it. You probe and find that they have done several jobs without calling you in. This one got too big, too messy and they had to call you. They may or may not have secured permits. If they did, probably in your name. Now you are liable for several jobs you never even knew about.

 

[Transportation Guy]

well, i'd a passed on giving something like this, but you are already there.....:blink:

i'd limit my remarks to a safety course, so that someone armed with your
information knows how to look at something and see obvious flaws
needing attention, and call a licensed person to perform the work.

i would not go into means and methods at all. these are NOT electricians,
they don't need to know how to do it. it might be helpful if they were
able to see something grossly wrong and ring a bell to get it fixed.

pools are hinky. i gave someone some FREE advice about one once,
and ended up giving more free information in front of a grand jury.

the wording of the advice was....

"you need someone with a bigger bond than me to come in here and make
this right. your exposure financially, legally, and morally is unlimited.
you HAVE to make it right. i've told you how dangerous it is."

no charge. gratis. free advice. ended up having to explain this to a grand
jury a year later.

then i, along with 20 other people, got sued for $2.5 M each... including
the guy who cleaned the pool, and the fellow who delivered pizza to the party.

as you are not a licensed teacher, anything that comes back to haunt you
on this will be to you personally.

consider this your free warning... i got sued for $2.5 million for giving free
advice. think how much you can get sued for if you get paid for the advice.

Someone die or get shocked in this pool you didn't work on?

 

[petersonra]

I would not get too excited about the liability associated with teaching such a class. It is what you have liability insurance for. Now and then someone gets sued over this kind of thing, it is just part of doing business these days.

OTOH, I would be real careful just what I was teaching these guys. I agree with some previous posters that there is a good chance what they really want is for you to tell them in 6 hours how to do pool electrical installs, which to me seem to be some of the most convoluted things in the code (short of article 725).