Originally Posted by NightTrain
I guess 'Cable Guy' is better than the usual "Commie" (communications) I get called by the smartasses as we're engaging in the usual banter. Knuckle-dragger and Narrowback phases them about as much as the Commie digs do to me - zero.

We had an inspector talk one of my coworkers into changing out a lug on the end of a cable running into an old school Nortel power bay - it was a 1-hole lug and he wanted a 2-hole because code had changed in the last 20 years since it had been installed. It wasn't even part of our scope. There was no room to work in there, and I told him to tell the Inspector to fuck off... but he did it anyway to make him happy.

He got the nut off the lug, and it slipped and fell onto the hot bar inside, and naturally shorted out and began glowing. The 300 amp breaker didn't trip. So he quickly stuck his 8" Klein screwdriver in there to knock that stupid nut off the bar, and suddenly we were blinded by a lightning bolt and deafened by the blast. It sounded like a 12-gauge going off in a closet. I thought he was dead for sure.

When I could see again, he was still standing there, blinking and holding the handle of that screwdriver - that Klein had vaporized with nary a trace of the steel. And that damn breaker was still closed.

Then our phones started ringing, because suddenly no one on this network had service in the middle of Anchorage. It seems a few cards had suddenly vaporized internal circuits and had a few air gaps. The Inspector got his ass chewed for it, and our boss told us of the virtues of sticking with the scope of work. There was right under $100,000 worth of electronics that fried over something that didn't need to be done and $15,000 in fines for an unscheduled outage, all paid by the Inspector's employer.

We ended up with a few hours of overtime to bring her back online, I was just thankful I didn't witness my buddy's death.



GUNNY wrote:

Okay. Can you say "I did everything wrong by the numbers"?

!. That lug is not in your scope. Period. That's my job.

2. Doesn't matter a damn what current code is if pre-existing code allowed it, and you aren't changing out the entire service.

3. Your partner was a dipshit. Putting a screwdriver into a panel that is shorting out is about as smart as pulling the clip and pin from a grenade and sticking it in your pocket. You get the f- away and pick up the pieces later. I've seen too many idiots buck phases with a screwdriver and blow themselves up. And I ain't talking a singe phase house panel. You buck phases at 480 volts guess where you're going? If you live. The ER.

That inspector was out of line and y'all aren't even licensed to do high voltage electrical. He was in the wrong. I change lugs in the panel. You don't. I suspend the ground. You don't. What an idiot. You could have had his license for that.

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Night Train, That was (IS) one of the funniest posts I've EVER heard!!! I can relate to all that has been posted by everyone participating to this thread. Ironically, I'm putting in a shower and toilet to its own private room away from the room with the vanity and two person power tub off of the master bedroom. Kinda freaked when I saw the title of the thread and had hoped for some pointers. HA!!! I do pretty much EVERYTHING at my house: from foundation to roof and everything else from plumbing, masonry, electrical, windows and even all the wiring for our media room that contains routers and such.

I also got a bit unnerved when I read Gunny's mention of the "tingle" being more dangerous cuz it leaves you thinking that you're too tough to be effected. Just three weeks ago, I was "tingled" twice. HA!!! Right in the back as an exposed wire got me as I was wiring the huge vanity and was between the vanity and the wall. Yeah, yeah...I should have cut the juice off and I certainly should have topped them until I was ready to work with them but I was in a hurry.

Good to know that there are posters out there who know their stuff.