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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 40
G
Member
Sorry, I should have mentioned safety in my reply. Chris, I would tell you safety, safety, safety. Even experienced people can make a mistake or have a bad day. Dont mess with meter pan unless there is someone with experience with you, like a friend from work. If you are not comfortable doing something while trying to identify and learn from this problem, do not perform it. Think about what you are about to do and what you are doing when you do it. And last, make sure you have TPI (Two person intergrity) when working on or near energized equipment. You do not want to get hurt by yourself when no one is home.


Brian Gibbons
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 827
Likes: 1
J
Member
My take is that someone who has told me of doing a panel swap, has already had his share of chances to assume room temperature. I figure that he must already know not to let those metal thingys touch those other deadly do-dads. But even experienced electricians might not think of using commonly available relays as about the cheapest, although crude, event recorder for a problem that might rarely manifest itself.

Years ago, a friend of mine was the CE of a 10 KW stereo FM co-located with the 2MW UHF transmitter that I maintained. He installed relays, indicators, and reset buttons on his 3 phase 480 input power. I had never given it any thought prior but realized that it was a clever idea. After that, I would walk back to his area after resetting a power outage on my transmitter. Seeing one of his phase lamps out would mean that I had to look no further for the source of my outage. Such a simple concept yet it saved a lot of time.

So Chris, I also want to welcome you to ECN! Measure twice cut once! Don't cut the pink one! Clear the airspace above you before opening or the runway in front of you before landing. Watch out for Pit Bulls with mood swings and most of all, never date women who REAAAAAALLY liked "Fatal Attraction"! There are centuries of combined experience on this board and much to be gained from frequent visits so read on, take care and be safe.
Joe

Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 5
C
Chris21 Offline OP
New Member
Figured out what the problem is. I took some meter reading as soon as the power went out. I found one of the legs coming into my main breaker (which is on the outside of the house) goes dead. In other words it's the power companies problem. So I called them and they are coming out to fix the problem. The thing that threw me was that I simply didn't fully understand how a panel box works. I never realized each leg powers roughly half the circuits. Pretty stupid. But once I understood that I turned out to be pretty easy to figure out.

Since I'm so inexperienced I'm just gonna lurk on the board for awhile and just read what you guys are talking about.

I LEARNED A LOT FROM YOU GUYS! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I hope someday I can return the favor!


Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,445
Likes: 2
Cat Servant
Member
Chris, why don't you drop into the chat room some evening? It's not all technical discussion ... and a great place to pick the minds of folks with experience slightly different from yours! PoCo, AHJ, EE, even a REAL rocket scientist sometimes drop in.
Check it an evening ... you might get lucky!

OTHERWISE.....

Joe, one of the most dangerous times to be an apprentice is to be at the start of the second year. Guys at that point THINK they're 'almost electricians,' that they just need to put in their time and they're done.

This is in stark contrast to the same guys when they're near the end of the apprenticeship; by then, they've had their eyes opened to just how large a field electric work is .... and how only now can they really 'start learning.'

Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 812
Member
Chris, come on in here tonight. Heck, I'm not even an apprentice yet (only 15 Y.O) and am a regular visitor on Friday-Sundays.

Ian A.


Is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 827
Likes: 1
J
Member
Chris,
Congratulations on your successful troubleshooting! But please don't just be a lurker. This place has been a little slow lately. I have to imagine that some of the postings have brought follow-up questions into your mind. Please don't hesitate to ask that follow-up question.

Reno, what you say makes perfect sense to me. But Chris, by the very way he presented himself to us, makes me think that he seeks information before acting. The ones that think they know everything probably don't spend much time here.
Joe

Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 193
G
Member
Originally Posted by JoeTestingEngr
The ones that think they know everything probably don't spend much time here.



This could not be any more true. Some of the guys in my class at school do not try to learn anymore than what they have to to pass a test. They have no real interest in this trade, other than a paycheck, and their work in the field shows it.

The school gets together with the contractors and sends out "progress" reports. One guy had his come with a very low score and said he worked as a 2nd year apprentice. Funny thing is we just finished our fourth year of school. Shows he still has a ways to go.



"If common sense was common, everyone would have it"-not sure, someone here

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