I'm gonna sound like a broken record here but since none of y'all seem to be listening: :grin:
The damage Jim talks of and has shown in his pics DOES NOT fit the overloaded drop scenario! The fact that it is at pretty much regular one-foot intervals, coupled with the damage I highlighted in earlier post #38, screams defective/damaged insulation resulting in corrosion and hot spot failures.
If the drop was damaged from overload the ENTIRE length of insulation would have been melted/bubbled. I have seen this firsthand.
Another thing that doesn't fit with the overload theory: Unless the party lighting is full-on and static (very unlikely), every single A/C unit he has is running, every popcorn popper and crock pot was heating full tilt (only at startup of the party at worst), and his sound system was feeding a sustained signal of low frequency (the most power-hungry of audio spectra), the steady-state draw would not be sustained long enough to melt the drop, not without tripping the main.
I'm wiling to bet that Jim is about to go through a lot of unnecessary work and expense. :roll: