Speaking of electrical....

S

Steve Tarak

Sophomore
Jan 12, 2011
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Indy
On the stage they sat. Two quad boxes, steel, with three prong receptacles. Attached was a three hundred foot piece of 14 -2 mc cable. Hmmm. Can you say "brown out?" Sure you can.

I never, ever, ever, ever, ever ( ya feel me?) plug in without checking for proper voltage and wiring. SO, since the event coordinators shared that the "house electrician" had placed these drops, I pondered - does Mr. Electrician know how to wire these up?

Mr. Fluke meter is brought to the stage, I open the pouch, pull the meter out and turn it to AC setting. I then, with left hand, pick up one of the steel quads and ZAAAAAAP! rassin' frassin' g....d....s..o..b...m..f...x*&##%$@@
WTH? Hit like a punch from Tyson. This is not 120v. This is easily 240. I could barely let go of the box.

I follow the MC cable to a light post in the main yard (sorry, this was an out door Catholic festival) and.....voila....it is stripped, no bushing and tied into a 277v feed, no neutral or ground connection. NO NEUTRAL OR GROUND CONNECTION!

Even better ...no GFCI protection for the band or victim.

I disconnect MR. Electricians feed, go back open the box and see the black 14 wire tied to the silver screw of the receptacle.....heh, heh...(for you uninformed types, that's the neutral side of the receptacle. WHICH MEANS WHEN YOU THEN ATTACH THE GROUND SCREW TO THE METAL BOX, ENERGIZE THE CIRCUIT AND TOUCH THE THING...YOU SAY BAD WORDS.....

I share this only to remind you that even though I was an electrician for 11 years, I failed in making any contact with that box. I could have checked voltage easily without touching the damn thing. SO, having learned another valuable lession and getting my ventricular tachycardia back to normal, I will be even safer next time...

you do the same...

have fun out there...

trust noone...

now come help me bury the body of the "house electrician"

Steve
 
Re: Speaking of electrical....

Reminds me of a phone call with a hotel's 'co-electrician' or whatever you want to call it...
Skipping all the 'Hi! How are you's, I'm good, etc etc'....
Me: So what kind of power services do you have available?...
Guy: We have a few.
Me: What's available?
Guy: You know, the standard.
Me: So... What do you mean 'the standard'?... Do you have anything like cams at all?
Guy: What do you mean by cams? We have different kinds of standards and a few like that, but you'll be fine with the normal wall plugs.

Need I say more?.. :P Although he was the 'co-electrician'... It'd be a huge help if they're able to speak 100% fluent english and certified. Nothing against non-fluent speakers, but when it's with electricity... Blah. You know what I mean. :)

Did you end up telling them anything?
 
Re: Speaking of electrical....

I don't care if you bury him or not, I want him outed in front of the promoters and the local building inspectors.

If still alive at that point, please pass on his name to all your professional friends in the area, so they are aware of the dangerous presence he brings to an event.

I'm glad you're okay, that was close.

Best regards,

John
 
Re: Speaking of electrical....

"Did you end up telling them anything?"

I did. Actually took the high road. He was an older man, 72 or so, and he had been the churches electrician for years. (wow) I sat him down, and explained everything and how it should have been done.

He was pretty much silent, I did nothing to offend, only to help him. This was an incredibly dangerous situation and he needed to know why. The organizer was informed, and hopefully will consult qualified help next time. Huge liability here.
 
Re: Speaking of electrical....

I don't know who this "noone" guy is.....
Click to expand...

PeterNoone.jpg
 
Re: Speaking of electrical....

Steve Tarak said:
"Did you end up telling them anything?"

I did. Actually took the high road. He was an older man, 72 or so, and he had been the churches electrician for years. (wow) I sat him down, and explained everything and how it should have been done.

He was pretty much silent, I did nothing to offend, only to help him. This was an incredibly dangerous situation and he needed to know why. The organizer was informed, and hopefully will consult qualified help next time. Huge liability here.
Click to expand...

I hope you started by encouraging him to touch the quad box himself..
Any electrician who won't touch his own work (especially one who clearly hasn't) doesn't deserve to get off so easy.

Jason
 
Re: Speaking of electrical....

Steve,

Thanks for sharing this, it's an extremely important story that you are telling, and is another excellent reminder to never make assumptions about things which have the power to seriously harm or kill us.

Cheers
Jeff
 
Re: Speaking of electrical....

Silas Pradetto said:
I'm fortunate to not have enough electrocution experience to know the difference between 120V and 240V!
Click to expand...
Nobody posting here has any electrocution experience.

240v is significantly more unpleasant than 120v. 120v lets you know it's there. 240v LETS YOU KNOW IT'S THERE. This is with dry hands, I'm glad I've never screwed up without that conductivity barrier.
 
Re: Speaking of electrical....

Ben Lagman said:
Reminds me of a phone call with a hotel's 'co-electrician' or whatever you want to call it...
Skipping all the 'Hi! How are you's, I'm good, etc etc'....
Me: So what kind of power services do you have available?...
Guy: We have a few.
Me: What's available?
Guy: You know, the standard.
Me: So... What do you mean 'the standard'?... Do you have anything like cams at all?
Guy: What do you mean by cams? We have different kinds of standards and a few like that, but you'll be fine with the normal wall plugs.

Need I say more?.. :P Although he was the 'co-electrician'... It'd be a huge help if they're able to speak 100% fluent english and certified. Nothing against non-fluent speakers, but when it's with electricity... Blah. You know what I mean. :)

Did you end up telling them anything?
Click to expand...

Yeah, delt with a few guys like that along the way. Often it was a school custodian, drama teacher or shop teacher. I remember one from the Chicago suburbs in a high school theater:

Our systems guy: "OK, we're supposed to have three 20-amp circuits"
School custodian: "Right there. There's your power" (points to two outlets on the wall). "Those gotta be 20 amps"
Our systems guy: "They don't gotta be anything"
Custodian: "Sure they are. They have the sideways slot. They're 20 amp".
Us: "Ok, sure."

As soon as he left, we found the main disconnect box and tied in with our own tails. For some reason, it always amazed me that these guys were willing to let our show bomb because of their incompetence. We never let it happen because we knew it would be our ass, not theirs. Thus, we traveled with bolt cutters, several 4' copper ground stakes, a sledge hammer, lots of feeder, our own distro, etc.

The one time I remember actually going down mid-show as at the US Capitol, outside on the steps. We were supposed to have the usual 3 20s but mid show the band power died. Turned out the electricians had given us 2 20s and the 3rd one was just run off the 2nd one. They just couldn't understand "why you need 3 20 amp circuts..." Why do they care why? We needed it, we asked for it, and their job was to give it to us! Sheesh.
 
Re: Speaking of electrical....

Bennett Prescott said:
Nobody posting here has any electrocution experience.

240v is significantly more unpleasant than 120v. 120v lets you know it's there. 240v LETS YOU KNOW IT'S THERE. This is with dry hands, I'm glad I've never screwed up without that conductivity barrier.
Click to expand...

Does a customer being electrocuted count? I don't have to die to learn from other's mistakes, and yes even 120V can kill you deader than a doornail.

JR

PS: I've never touched a red hot stove either...
 
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