ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area 2+2=4

My friend called me up. Just got back from big box supply-all. He needed a breaker for his dryer and told the lady that the instructions call for a 2-pole 30 amp.
"Well," says she, "30 + 30 = 60". And gave him a 2-pole 60. I would guess that he now has a 120.

But, the dryer probably doesn't run on 120, so maybe he should have bought 2 C/Bs so that he could have 240

I was at the big 'Orange' place one day and heard a conversation: Man wants to buy pvc pipe to run wire in his back yard. Employee tells him he can not use the white stuff because electricity "gets hung up at the 90s". Customer says 'I never thought of that'.I Didn't hear the rest...laughing too hard.

wolfdog,

LOL!!!

Definitely fits into David Letterman's "Top 10 List Of Stupid Electrical Superstitions", maybe at #4

Scott SET

Not to sound too stupid, I hope, but I recall electricians talking about electricity blowing out of a conductor because of a tight radius bend. Maybe this was extremely high voltage or something.

Anyone...comments?

Oh yeah,

that guy better get a bigger dryer!!

Steve T

I’ve done jobs where there was a bending radius spec for the ground. This was for the Telephone Co. has to do with lighting hits. Any one else seen this?

yes,
the idea being that heavy charges travel in straighter lines.

1999 NEC Section 280-12. Routing of Surge Arrester Connections

The conductor used to connect the surge arrester to line or bus and to ground shall not be any longer than necessary and shall avoid unnecessary bends.

Commentary: 280-12.
Arrester conductors should be as short and be run as straight as practicable, avoiding any sharp bends and turns, which would increase the impedance. High-frequency currents, such as those common to lightning discharges, tend to reduce the effectiveness of a grounding conductor.