Blew a fuse, or something

[Shorts]

Hey guys, last night turning on mah stitchin' machine I managed to blow the circuit to my workroom and the room next door. I checked the electrical panel, cycled all the circuits and nada. Do I need to call an electrician out?

My current fix is a giant orange extension cord trailing down the hallway

 

[thorkyl]

Sounds like you may have a GFCI in circuit.

Was one of the rooms a bathroom or if not have a power outlet on the outside nearby?

If the breakers are set you either popped a GFCI or you popped a wire.

If you popped a GFCI I would look at getting it on it's own circuit.

 

[okie556]

Sounds like you may have a GFCI in circuit.

Was one of the rooms a bathroom or if not have a power outlet on the outside nearby?

If the breakers are set you either popped a GFCI or you popped a wire.

If you popped a GFCI I would look at getting it on it's own circuit.

Shorts.......probably already know but this will be an outlet with a little red tab in the middle. Should push in to reset it.

 

[Shorts]

Both rooms out are bedrooms.

 

[okie556]

Both rooms out are bedrooms.

Are you sure the all circuit breakers are re-set and click in the on position? If the outlet where your sewing machine was plugged in has wires that got hot and melted together.....the circuit breaker will not re-set completely. If all are in fact re-set.........keep looking for that GFI.....it could be in a bathroom or kitchen......some distance away from the work room.

 

[txinvestigator]

How new is your house? In newer construction there is a new breaker type they are putting in bedrooms; [url]http://www.ask-the-electrician.com/circuit-breakers-gfci-afci.html[/URL]

 

[thorkyl]

Sub breaker panel?

Go to home depot and get this tool
Klein Tools Non-Contact Voltage Tester - NCVT-1SEN at The Home Depot

and this tool
Ideal Volt-Tester Solenoid Voltage Tester - 61-065 at The Home Depot

The first will tell you if you have power in the wire without touching the wire.
The second will require you to touch the wire with the probes

Use the second tool to test the breakers
red on the screw where the wire attaches to the breaker
black on the bar where the white and bare wires attach to the box

If it "buzzes" and the indicator moves you have power
You could have a breaker that is on but is no good.

If you find a bad breaker just pry it out (lift side opposite where the wire attaches)
Unscrew the wire, attach new breaker and reset.

If all of the breakers are good then use the first tool in the attic and start chasing the wires.

It could be broken in a junction box.
they look like this
Raco 4 In. Square Steel Box - 8232 at The Home Depot

if the "toner" buzzes on one side of the box but not the other turn its breaker off
test again, remove the cover plate and repair after testing again.

It could also be as simple as needing a new outlet as they run them in series not parallel.

 

[Shorts]

The freakin' breaker was in the hot tub box. Give me a break.


I hate the POs.

txinvestigator, house was built in '85 and it does have some issues with the electrical so its no surprise something in the system gives me trouble.

Sorry Okie, I jumped down your throat. I'm not happy today, not one bit and you caught my fire. And you called it, while the breaker was in the other junction box it was tripped, but not sure how it was missed. DH was in that on and he did cycle them.

And the fuse is a 15 to cover 2 bedrooms. That sound about right? Anyway to upgrade that without negative effect on the system so this crap doesn't happening?

thorkyl, thank you very much for the details. I've got a multimeter, voltage tester and a circuit breaker finder. With a couple outlets out we've got a few related fixes we need to get done. This helps a bunch!

 

[MadMo44Mag]

I had this issue once in a shop I had.
Solution was to have an electrician pull me in a 2 new lines 50 amps each on their own breakers with mutli gang external boxes . No drywall damage that way other than one hole where the line came in.
He came overhead to the eve, down the outside wall and back through the wall to the inside.
Total cost was less than $400.00
That gave me a diversified load of 12.5 amps per plug or 25. amps on two or 50 amps on one.
With two lines like that I never ran out of juice and never flipped another breaker.
This is a good time for this kind of project.
Most electricians right now are starving and willing to work cheap.
This is very simple and I am sure Tim could pull it off for less than $200.00 and a trip to Lowes or Home Depot
Even if you have to install a secondary panel its still an easy project.

 

[M. Sage]

The freakin' breaker was in the hot tub box. Give me a break.

LOL it sounds like it was wired by Germans.

 

[usmcpmi]

M. Sage, No, probably not by "Germans" if it was it would have had 2 seperate breakers in different parts of the house... double wired through different panels using 10 different numbered wires... then they would have sent 20 pages of drawings, none of which had anything to do with that circuit, and in 3 languages, none of them English...MG

 

[thorkyl]

Built in 85

Can we say aluminum wiring?
They stopped using Aluminum in 86.

If you have Aluminum wires then you could have a break anywhere.

Most of the time the break is at the outlet.

What you have to do is replace the outlet with a CO/AL outlet
CO=Copper
AL=Aluminum

Don't use the push holes use the screws to attach the wires
You may need to pigtail all of the outlets.

If you have Aluminum I would start talking to some electricians about pig tailing if it makes you nervous.

The Aluminum wires are silver.

A bedroom wall outlets should be on a 20 amp
2 bedrooms on a 20 is ok 15 is weak
lights should be on a separate 15 amp unless you have a fan then a 20 for 2 rooms

Now I am not an electrician but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night
(i have done my fair share of re-wires through the years)

 

[thorkyl]

M. Sage, No, probably not by "Germans" if it was it would have had 2 seperate breakers in different parts of the house... double wired through different panels using 10 different numbered wires... then they would have sent 20 pages of drawings, none of which had anything to do with that circuit, and in 3 languages, none of them English...MG

He jetzt ähnele ich dieser Anmerkung

(Hey now I resemble that remark)

 

[MadMo44Mag]

Burn the house down and rebuild with cooper!!!!
That's the Chicago way!!! LOL!!!!

 

[Shorts]

Burn the house down and rebuild with cooper!!!!
That's the Chicago way!!! LOL!!!!

I won't lie, it's crossed my mind as a path to a good and total repair. The catch is not actually committing arson or fraud; coincidence is the closest to the edge I should go.

 

[thorkyl]

65 bug bombs and leave the pilot light on in the stove

That was one I could not prove as arson, and since stupidity is not an excluded peril in the homeowners policy they paid...

 

[Shorts]

65 bug bombs and leave the pilot light on in the stove

That was one I could not prove as arson, and since stupidity is not an excluded peril in the homeowners policy they paid...

lol

Electric stove.

Maybe we should have left the faulty old stove in the kitchen?

 

[okie556]

Sorry Okie, I jumped down your throat. I'm not happy today, not one bit and you caught my fire. And you called it, while the breaker was in the other junction box it was tripped, but not sure how it was missed. DH was in that on and he did cycle them.

No problem ma'am! Glad you found it. Honestly I stopped replying after your post to me because after 43 years with the same wonderful wife......I recongnized that tone and just shut my mouth.
Sadly.......I haven't always been that wise!

 

[M. Sage]

M. Sage, No, probably not by "Germans" if it was it would have had 2 seperate breakers in different parts of the house... double wired through different panels using 10 different numbered wires... then they would have sent 20 pages of drawings, none of which had anything to do with that circuit, and in 3 languages, none of them English...MG

You're right. I shouldn't have simplified it that much, but I was assuming nobody else had worked on German cars before.

 

[usmcpmi]

Not cars....construction equipment.... try reading (figuring out) hydraulic schematics when everything is in german....and the guy at the factory is from Italy....and I only speak Texan! MG