Apparently I Wasn't Careful Enough (Short Circuit)

[Junket]

I blew my needlenose to f*ck.

Kinda aw inspiring, though.

[Yggdrasil]

Did the tip break off, or did you arcweld it off due to a short?

[doppelgaenger]

Breaking your tools is so manly.

Your avatar presents you very well. A guy without a head on his shoulders. Heh heh.

[Junket]

Breaking your tools is so manly.

Yeah, I have a tool breaking quota I try to reach every month to reassure myself of my manliness. I cannot respect a guy that doesn't carry a broken tool on his person.

Did the tip break off, or did you arcweld it off due to a short?

As the title suggests, (and if you look closely), it's the result of a short.

My first mistake was that I didn't turn the breaker off.

That's pretty much how all of these stories start.

[doppelgaenger]

So does yours: a skinless tool who hides behind mask.

Dast kein Bobbes ina Hose.

[Yggdrasil]

As the title suggests, (and if you look closely), it's the result of a short.

I figured so much but I rather confirm. That must have been one nice short. Do you still have hair on your body?

[doppelgaenger]

So what was it like?

[Junket]

Fail...

__

It's an ongoing dilemma in this trade.

Yes, in this instance it was a definite fail.

Even more so because there wasn't a single soul even in earshot of the massive bang that accompanied it.

There were several circuits in the junction box, and I had turned off the light circuit, but what I believe now was probably the home run was of course still hot (I was aware of this). Well, under the circumstances I capped off the black and white wire and since I was told to remove 1 of the 2 box extension rings I had to tuck everything further into the box.

If you look at the pliers, you'll see that there are some rather pronounced teeth on it. Some models have smaller teeth, and others are smooth. Since I don't believe there were any knicks in the insulator, I believe the teeth of the needlenose penetrated enough to make contact and when I pushed them up, made contact with the box and grounded out. I really wasn't worried about getting shocked since I was not in contact with anything on the box or on the ceiling, (and the ladder is fiberglass). The only thing that really frightened me was the pliers exploding. That shrapnel could have gone anywhere.

It's funny because at the time I thought of only 2 ways to get them up there (I was hustling so I didn't spend a lot of time considering the options). Grip them with the needlenose, or push them with the blunt end of my lineman's pliers. Because whoever last made the connections didn't do a very good job, and the j-box was a cluster f*ck of other wires that were entangled, I was afraid pushing them would risk a wirenut or splice to come loose and cause a short. Now, looking back, under those circumstances, I would have wrapped the needle nose with electrical tape to keep the teeth from biting.

But of course, yes, in that situation I should have turned off the breaker.

[Yggdrasil]

It's an ongoing dilemma in this trade.

Yes, in this instance it was a definite fail.

Even more so because there wasn't a single soul even in earshot of the massive bang that accompanied it.

There were several circuits in the junction box, and I had turned off the light circuit, but what I believe now was probably the home run was of course still hot (I was aware of this). Well, under the circumstances I capped off the black and white wire and since I was told to remove 1 of the 2 box extension rings I had to tuck everything further into the box.

If you look at the pliers, you'll see that there are some rather pronounced teeth on it. Some models have smaller teeth, and others are smooth. Since I don't believe there were any knicks in the insulator, I believe the teeth of the needlenose penetrated enough to make contact and when I pushed them up, made contact with the box and grounded out. I really wasn't worried about getting shocked since I was not in contact with anything on the box or on the ceiling, (and the ladder is fiberglass). The only thing that really frightened me was the pliers exploding. That shrapnel could have gone anywhere.

It's funny because at the time I thought of only 2 ways to get them up there (I was hustling so I didn't spend a lot of time considering the options). Grip them with the needlenose, or push them with the blunt end of my lineman's pliers. Because whoever last made the connections didn't do a very good job, and the j-box was a cluster f*ck of other wires that were entangled, I was afraid pushing them would risk a wirenut or splice to come loose and cause a short. Now, looking back, under those circumstances, I would have wrapped the needle nose with electrical tape to keep the teeth from biting.

But of course, yes, in that situation I should have turned off the breaker.

As your boss, I'll only tell you this once: don't do it again.

I know what you are talking about though. Some electricians are literary idiots. Instead of putting in a second junction box they try to cram as much wires in a box as possible and then the next guy is so fcked it's not even funny anymore.

[Junket]

Actually, this was the opposite.

You had the box.

Plus 2 extension rings. So it was essentially 3x's as deep.

It was total overkill as it was, plus since I was performing demo, there were even less circuits in there.

It's just tough, there's just me and 1 electrician to work on this project when there were 7 more before they all got laid off 2 weeks ago. It's just crazy right now.

[IndiReloaded]

I watched a Hydro guy reconnecting the power to our house cause a HUGE spark & cloud of smoke. He was in a cherry picker, in full kit, and his buddy was down in the truck. Guess he touched the high voltage wire where he shouldn't have. We were all watching, big flash/bang/cloud of smoke. Guy below was like 'dude... yaokay?'.

He was fine but OMG. That was worth the $200+ bucks it cost for them to come out. Plumbing (beyond changing washers) & electric are the two things I won't touch in our house.

Like pilots Fras... no old, bold electricians. Be careful babe.

Actually, that vid AJ showed looked a LOT like what we saw. Just one flash, tho. Yikes.

[Illusional]

it's a very good thing that i have a durable hammer that withstand years of beating.

raverboy

[Cbrider]

I guess you're going to have to find yourself a new needle nose TOOL.

A wise man once said: "If you have no idea what wires do and the first thing you think of when you see three colored wires is a stop light, then you shouldn't mess with electrical anything."

I'm compelled to believe that said wise man was correct. I don't do electrical anything, electricians need to make a living too.

[Junket]

It's a Craftsman tool.

No, they're not top of the line, but what they do have that bests all the rest is a no questions asked, full lifetime warranty. I'll just stop by Sears and swap out for a new pair.

w00t.

[Lipp]