Jimmy’s Electrical Adventure

Me Knows Better Than to Say This… but I will.   Jimmy was reminded today while he was fighting an obvious direct short in an electrical circuit about some good common sense when it comes to dealing with electricity.  Luckily he had some valuable “real-life” experience to draw upon that occurred a few years ago while running an extra set of outlets in the basement.  Jimmy had the “brilliant” idea to finish all six outlets and then join them at an inconspicuous box in the utility room.  It’s all about the planning.

The plan was coming together very well until I realized that the only light in the utility room was on the same circuit as the hot input outlets where I had to connect– but this vital bit of information was not available until after all the outlets were installed.  The best and most sensible solution at that moment was to stop, get a portable light, and turn off the breaker.  At that moment, sensibility left the room and Jimmy had the “brilliant” (there’s that word again) idea.  I thought that it would be much quicker if I just wired them hot rather than go find a portable light and trudge all the way back to the panel to shut off the system.  What could go wrong?

Now I know that most of you are thinking – wow, what a stupid idea, but none of you were around to provide that type of insight. 

I had insulated handles on the long nose pliers.  I was standing on dry ground.  I didn’t plan on touching any bare wires for obvious reasons.  I had done this before.  This should work out just fine.  I grabbed the first wire with the pliers, had a hold of the outlet and then… BANG.  I’m standing in total darkness… not a sound of any kind in the house… total silence.  Apparently things didn’t go as planned or I was about to meet St. Peter.  I found my way out of the room and noticed that my pliers were missing a chunk of metal.  Actually a chunk of metal melted away leaving a gapping hole in the shape of a non-existent 14 gauge wire rendering the tool useless.  At that moment, I realized – wow, that was a stupid idea, and I kicked the breakers back on to inspect the rest of the damage… which was contained to one burn mark up the side of the wall. 

 

Jimmy reminds people not to try this with your home.

Note:  This is not a photo of the described event.  On a dumber note, this was the second attempt.