We need to have a contest for the most stupid breakdown. Here are 2 or 3:
1. About 2 years ago my television refused to turn on. The power relay would click and then drop out. Knowing that the water level switch in a washing machine can malfuntion because of invisible metal oxides on cheap steel terminals, I unplugged the television and did some simple things. I wiped out some dust out of the inside, then removed the fuse, cleaned the fuse and fuseholder with kleenex, then put everything back together. Televsion worked like a champ.
2. For those of you that use your rigid conduit skills on gas pipe, this will make you laugh your rear end off. Electricians are usually the first ones called in to diagnose a breakdown so this is somewhat on topic. Also, I have encountered stranded wire with intermittent continuity due to broken wire strands and this problem is somewhat similar.
About a month ago somebody's furnace started having the flame blowing out. After checking a few things, I decided to replace the gas/pilot control valve. Since you never ever recycle unions when gasfitting, I took off the union and there was a piece of foam rubber pipe insulation lodged INSIDE the gas pipe!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How the heck did that get in there? The pipe insulation must have been inside the main gas pipe and took 30 mumble something years to work its way into a 3/4 inch pipe and then into the 1/2 inch pipe.
Anyways, I had to replace the 165 degree Fahrenheit high limit with a 170 degree one. The highest limit switch for which the furnace is rated is 200 Fahrenheit. I suspect that the furnace installer had compensated for poor gas pressure when the foam rubber was inside the 3/4 inch pipe by changing the burner orifices to higher BTU ones but we are putting off that check until summer.
Oh yeah, the occupants were so used to this furnace running incessantly that I got false callbacks when the thermostat stopped calling for heat. They thought that the furnace shutting off automatically when it was supposed to was another breakdown.
3. Back in the Fall of 2001, a machine operator at a factory was having a bad enough day that the reason for troubleshooting the machine was that he forgot to turn on the power. Most machines work better when plugged in and turned on. Also helps when the operator is pushing the right buttons. No matter how much experience an operator has, he can have a bad day. I have had an occasional bad day.
Similarly, sometimes Tiger Woods hits 18 over par instead of 18 under par in a tournament. I thought that he was in a bad enough slump that he was close to getting kicked off of the professional circuit.
Mike Cole
1. About 2 years ago my television refused to turn on. The power relay would click and then drop out. Knowing that the water level switch in a washing machine can malfuntion because of invisible metal oxides on cheap steel terminals, I unplugged the television and did some simple things. I wiped out some dust out of the inside, then removed the fuse, cleaned the fuse and fuseholder with kleenex, then put everything back together. Televsion worked like a champ.
2. For those of you that use your rigid conduit skills on gas pipe, this will make you laugh your rear end off. Electricians are usually the first ones called in to diagnose a breakdown so this is somewhat on topic. Also, I have encountered stranded wire with intermittent continuity due to broken wire strands and this problem is somewhat similar.
About a month ago somebody's furnace started having the flame blowing out. After checking a few things, I decided to replace the gas/pilot control valve. Since you never ever recycle unions when gasfitting, I took off the union and there was a piece of foam rubber pipe insulation lodged INSIDE the gas pipe!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How the heck did that get in there? The pipe insulation must have been inside the main gas pipe and took 30 mumble something years to work its way into a 3/4 inch pipe and then into the 1/2 inch pipe.
Anyways, I had to replace the 165 degree Fahrenheit high limit with a 170 degree one. The highest limit switch for which the furnace is rated is 200 Fahrenheit. I suspect that the furnace installer had compensated for poor gas pressure when the foam rubber was inside the 3/4 inch pipe by changing the burner orifices to higher BTU ones but we are putting off that check until summer.
Oh yeah, the occupants were so used to this furnace running incessantly that I got false callbacks when the thermostat stopped calling for heat. They thought that the furnace shutting off automatically when it was supposed to was another breakdown.
3. Back in the Fall of 2001, a machine operator at a factory was having a bad enough day that the reason for troubleshooting the machine was that he forgot to turn on the power. Most machines work better when plugged in and turned on. Also helps when the operator is pushing the right buttons. No matter how much experience an operator has, he can have a bad day. I have had an occasional bad day.
Similarly, sometimes Tiger Woods hits 18 over par instead of 18 under par in a tournament. I thought that he was in a bad enough slump that he was close to getting kicked off of the professional circuit.
Mike Cole
