Iwire: I have to say I fully agree with mistakes in the past coming back to haunt us in the future.. Believe me I have seen some interesting things done by people in the past that could have been deadly.. I guess that is why I tend to lean towards electrical repairs only being done by qualified people as well. Yes we all can make a mistake as we are human but the qualified person is less likely to do something where it could be lethal to themselves or someone in the future, versus someone that hasn't a clue or a at best some general electrical knowledge and experience. God knows I could go on about one of the supers in the ex-girlfriends apartment complex taking it upon himself to do electrical repairs without any knowledge whatsoever and causing at minimum a "minor inconvience" all the way up to a full out blackout local to some areas of the buildings!
Reno: I also hear what you are saying in regards to almost being forced to change ballasts and such "hot".. Agreed I have done it, it was a 347V fixture, and I know I shouldn't have but it was an issue of " Do I black out the whole store to do this or do I take extra precautions".. On went the gloves and up I went on the fiberglass ladder... I will note that the code has changed here in Canada where all 347V+ fixtures are required to have "disconnects" wired into them and I did wire one into the fixture and each subsequent fixture I repaired, not so much for my safety but for the next guy down the road that may have to change out this ballast a decade from now. Agreed these little disconnects are pricey little things but better safe than sorry correct?
The thing that really puzzles me is Canadian code requires them in all 347V+ fixtures ( yes there is the rare 600V fixture). I figure why not make them manditory for ALL fixtures regardless of voltage?!
Sorry for rambling on but 'ya know, just my $0.02 worth!
A.D
