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What in Tarnation?
What in Tarnation?
by timmp, September 10
Plumber meets Electrician
Plumber meets Electrician
by timmp, September 10
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#186737 05/26/09 12:41 AM
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 144
JoeKP Offline OP
Member
here is a switch that i found in my grandfathers shed, it is just a replacement pull chain switch, oh, and an extension cord going to the lights (end cut off, coming out of the top)

[Linked Image from i245.photobucket.com]


-Joe
“then we'll glue em' then screw em'”
-Tom Silva
TOH
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JoeKP #186738 05/26/09 12:44 AM
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 144
JoeKP Offline OP
Member
oh, and on the right is the wire feed to the shed, (the splice on the wall. and fed to the shed with water-type PVC pipe, with NO connectors)


-Joe
“then we'll glue em' then screw em'”
-Tom Silva
TOH
JoeKP #186757 05/26/09 01:12 PM
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 745
E
Member
Ah, yes. A shining example of "Yankee thrift". It is amazing how someone will spend twice the amount of time making something improper "work", when they could have done it correctly in half the time, including a trip to the store to buy the $10.00 worth of parts to make it happen.


---Ed---

"But the guy at Home Depot said it would work."
EV607797 #187167 06/16/09 01:27 AM
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 25
L
Member
Nice Nice Nice


Luke McCoy The NEC Crazy Boy
lukemon2 #187875 07/13/09 12:55 AM
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 812
Member
Amazing what people will do, well, Ed already said it!

Ian A.


Is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 169
C
Member
Quote
Amazing what people will do, well, Ed already said it!


Out of curiosity, do you honestly think it will burn down anytime soon? Maybe take a life by means of electrocution or arc flash? Have you personally come across a similar installation that has been in place for decades without indecent? I know I do regularly.


While its true that a quick trip to the hardware store with the correct information in mind would have yielded a superior and code compliant installation, I think at times we might be forgetting exactly where the roots of everything we take for granted came from. Seat of the pants innovation and engineering. We seem to blatantly disrespect the very spirit that lead to the development of not only our trade but all things technical in a routine manner here on this board. We all sound like lobbyists for major manufacturers or trade organizations some times.

Would you see that spirit killed in the name of "safety"?

Safety is an illusion that one chases when they feel insecure or one sells when they perceive a market. Not that things can't be made safer but the trend today is disturbing. Its like a giant boa constrictor that slowly, code cycle by code cycle is squeezing the life out of new construction, all phases of it. People don't want to pay for BS and we are the ones who will suffer when they have had enough.

I apologize for the rant and I do believe that safe installations are important but I see a lot of reactions that I think would be comparable to the reaction Galileo received when he proposed that the Sun was center of the solar system.

And no, I wouldn't have wired that way.

ChicoC10 #187895 07/13/09 07:35 PM
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 613
M
Member
Unfortunately I can't see the pix as my computer at work does not have the right software but in response to the rant. I investigate fires when it is suspected of being electrical. They can't call it an electrical fire until I agree. I have seen fires that started 80 years before the first flame in the form of a bad splice. There are lots of things that are done that don't reveal the hazard until long after the responsible person is dead and gone. Lots of things work so people just assume it is also done correctly. Telephone wire can power a plug and if you plug a clock into it the clock will work fine but we here all know it is a time bomb where no one knows the detonation time.
I am of course also assuming there is some kind of maintenance issue or other form of DIY ingenuity. Mcguiver might be able to get out of a tight situation with a swiss army knife and a few clothespins but longevity and safety are not the objectives.

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mikesh #187898 07/13/09 08:40 PM
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 169
C
Member
I've heard that all before and I hope you don't doubt my ability to appreciate truth when told.

But you failed to answer the question:

Quote
Would you see that spirit killed in the name of "safety"?


The spirit of ingenuity is what is in danger of being squelched and while it does tend to be in direct conflict with safety (an illusion at best) is it really something we want stamped out of our society?

Call me a troll if you must.

ChicoC10 #187933 07/14/09 01:40 PM
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 613
M
Member
chico
I appreciate you are being the devil's advocate and I agree that safety can go so far as to prevent everything from happening.

mikesh #187953 07/14/09 11:23 PM
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 745
E
Member
Very true. You simply can't fix stupidity. I agree that many of today's codes, laws, rules, etc. do get a bit carried away in the interest of our own good. What I often see is the only people who do things correctly are the ones who know and adhere to the rules. Those who don't know the rules obviously don't see any harm in what they are doing.

Driving a car is a perfect example of how those who never paid enough attention to learn the rules think their driving is just fine. They just memorized them long enough to squeak by on the driving test.


---Ed---

"But the guy at Home Depot said it would work."
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