Here's a thought that may be irrelevant or naive, I know: manufacturers should complain to the publishers and retailers about how-to books with bad instructions that show their product(s).
If you think the DIY books are bad, try taking trade courses at your local community college!
The text and the art are often done by different people. Neither the artist, nor the editor know anything about the topic.
The sad fact is that the publisher relies upon complaints from the customers to do the editing for them. Then, maybe, the errors are corrected in the next edition.
It's unfortunate that folks see something printed as if it were infallable and wise. The simple truth is that anyone can publish everything, and never be held to account for it.
My NEC handbook has artwork that directly contradicts the code text right next to it.
One major publisher (Time-Life) told me that Canada doesn't allow the use of wire nuts - which is news to the Canadians.
Let's not also remember that the internet, according to the media, is a frightfully unreliable source of information.
It amazes me that NEMA or NFPA do not report this to Congress about the unsafe conditions that exist due to the existance of Wir*** 1-2-3 by a certain box store. This is probably the most popular.
These books, although they may be loaded with misinformation, are not illegal.
If the government was powerless to do anything about the infamous "Anarchist's Cookbook", which was packed with recipes for bombs and drugs that were (intentionally?) incorrect and likely to injure/kill the reader if actually used, do you really think that the government is could really pull DIY home wiring books off the market?
And we shouldn't wish it any other way. The First Amendment is a wonderful thing...
Maybe the DIY books should just be relegated to the fiction aisle.
I imagine the publishers have a disclaimer in these books that gets them off the legal hook. All they really have to say is "your local codes may vary, check with your building department" or words to that effect.
You don't have to take courses or use DIY books. All the instruction you need is here on this here internet!! And as you all know, all the information on the net is accurate and truthful! You should of heard my sound system before I bought a $90 audio grade receptacle and $15 a ft oxygen free wire fo the speakers. Man what a difference!! i would have never known if I had not read it on the net!!
The single most egregious DIY artwork I've seen is Reader's Digest's [ISBN 0-89577-378-3] -- pages 252 & 253:
Repeatedly the switch-leg in Romex is color-banded white.
Illustration #2 shows Romex leaving the box as TWO neutrals, one banded, and popping out as black, white, bare-ground!
This banded-switch-leg notion appears in many other DIY efforts, too. I just don't have them ready-to-hand.
If errors this glaring populate the electricity section one can only fear for those trusting the foundations and framing instructions.
The book is advertised by one on-line retailer as, "The most complete and authoritative home repair manual ever published, this book is the yard-stick by which all other books on do-it-yourself are measured. The definitive guide to home repair, maintenance, and improvement. Over 4,000 illustrations."
