US verses Europe

[dlhoule]

Re: US verses Europe

Originally posted by jimwalker:
When we do have electrical fires it usually is because of handyman type work and not code compliant.Or from stupid things like cords under carpet.

do you know this as a fact, or is this just a personal belief?

I would buy the second statement since there is evidence to support that position, but am not so sure about the first.

I have seen no evidence to support the idea that unlicensed work is responsible for any substantial number of fires. It may be, and logically, one might infer it is, but that is not evidence.

Bob, I know it is not evidence per se, but of the fire jobs I have worked on that were caused by electrical problem, I am guessing about 80% were obviously done illegally. One that comes to mind was a basement that had been finished into living area. 18-2 lamp cord on with another wire on 30 amp edison fuse with a penney behind fuse. Entire basement off of this lamp cord. Color TV, iron, coffee pot, toaster, lighting and refrigerator and electric space heater on this lamp cord. I never could understand why the heater. I would have thought the lamp cord would have given off enough heat.

The thing that really got me on that job was everything else was fine. Plumbing for kitchen sink; beautiful marble counter top; paneling that was a full 1/4 inch high quality.

 

[LawnGuyLandSparky]

Re: US verses Europe

.. the number of fires in homes due to electrical failure is much lower in Europe than it is here in the US.

>snip<

If higher rates of electrical fires do exist in the US, European eletrical services could be intrinsically safer.

Considering their intrinsically simpler metric system, foods that digest easier, and a church that pays taxes, it seems the relatively well designed electrical system was no accident.

My god man... are you trying to force Mike to buy another server? :roll:

 

[ramsy]

Where have you been. Mike already upgraded his servers twice over since then.

Yes, some of us take note of the finer designs when we see them. About the food, I never found a dive in Germany until US fast-food chains moved in.

wyatt wrote: I'm not sure but in Germany you can't work on electrical things if you are not a tradesman. IMO electrical fires here (in the states) are more caused by DIYers and uncertifed workers.

I agree. In 1986 my German landlord told me several property owners near Bitburg GE were prosecuted for running their own power through tenant meters, and fines were compounded because this also broke laws prohibiting unqualified owners from modifying the electrical.

My landlord also warned me about the neighbor's stock pile of Kraft macaroni & cheese, prior tenant resold it to him from the base commissary, which resulted in re-seller fines and a Bad Conduct Discharge for the tenant I was replacing. Not long after that, I was asked, but did not sell.

Germany's regulatory enforcement is a sharp contrast to the states, especially when it comes to owners being able to pull their own permits.

Pardon my bias, but this culture will always have my greatest respect for how well prepared it was for human nature, and for enjoying that nature in moderation vs deleterious excess.