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How would you recommend people working on their own house implement anything more than turning off the circuit breaker? (I'm not doing anything electrical in ge

How would you recommend people working on their own house implement anything more than turning off the circuit breaker? (I'm not doing anything electrical in general, but sometimes small fixes are necessary for home owners.)

devb 7y ago
I think OP is referring to a job site where people coming and going have access to the panel. If you're home alone or only have a small handful of people to keep in contact with then it's far less of an issue.
- taneq 7y ago
  In those cases you're 'probably fine' but if someone gets home while you're working, sees that the power is out, and goes to check the circuit breaker (as you've probably trained them to do) then you could still get zapped without warning.
  - Gibbon1 7y ago
    That's why central air conditioners are supposed to have a disconnect within sight of the unit.
    - Scoundreller 7y ago
      I thought it was for easy-money from new/unfamiliar home-owners. https://youtu.be/fUAIBZKeK74 https://youtu.be/fUAIBZKeK74 For the Dateline Special.
swixmix 7y ago
I assume he means no lock was involved. Anyone who ventures in house electricity should have a circuit breaker locking device. Use it, lock it, and verify the circuit is dead each time before you work on it.
taneq 7y ago
It doesn't have to be anything fancy - you could just fit a hasp to the fuse box (if one's not already attached) to allow you to lock it closed with a padlock. Then you keep the only key for that padlock on your person until you've finished the job. If you want to get fancier or if others are going to need to access the fuse box while you're working, you can get "lock dogs" which let you lock individual circuit breakers. Then you just lock off the one for the circuit you're working on.
fingerlocks 7y ago
If we’re being honest with ourselves, few (if any) home owner is ever going to go through with locking circuit breakers. Because it’s completely overkill. In the Real World, you’ll just tell your wife/kids/roommates “Hey don’t touch the fuse panel until I’m done doing this thing” and it’s not an issue.
- Gibbon1 7y ago
  One of the funniest things I saw like that was my dad on a ladder in a closet trying to sort out a switch and light fixture with a voltmeter and my special needs brother repeatedly going outside and flipping off the circuit breaker. Leaving my dad cursing on a ladder in the dark.
nullc 7y ago
They make clip on lockouts for residential breakers. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004J173I8/ref=twister_B007NAGJJG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004J173I8/ref=twister_B007NAGJJG?... Personally, I just lock the panel. If your panel can't be locked a big piece of masking tape across the door, holding it shut, with "NOPE. call <you>" written with a sharpie should do the job. :) FWIW, the first photograph in that WP article with the tagged panel is one of mine... from close to 15 years ago.
zaarn 7y ago
What I learned when doing electrical work in germany, the procedure for safe electrical working is as follows: - Switch off (at circuit breaker) - Prevent switching on (lock the breaker) - Check voltage free (multimeter cleared for 230V/120V operation with long, isolated test leads) - Ground and short (put a plug into the socket connecting earth, live and neutral, you can DIY that at home safely by cutting open an unused cord and soldering all three wires together) - Cover nearby powered equipment
- matt-attack 7y ago
  Step three, don’t forget to unplug your short circuitter before flipping back on the breaker.
  - zaarn 7y ago
    Usually you just follow this list in reverse; from bottom up and undoing what you did.
- amluto 7y ago
  > Ground and short (put a plug into the socket connecting earth, live and neutral Hmm. Given that breakers in the US don’t disconnect the neutral, grounding the neutral can introduce potentially unpleasant stray currents. On the flip side, as far as I can tell, it’s entirely possible for a code-compliant installation to give you a moderate zap if you touch the neutral with the breaker off: if you have a long feeder to the panel, and someone turns on a big, single-phase load on a different breaker, the voltage drop on the feeder neutral could zap you. Imagine a 50A inrush current a across 1 ohm. That’s 50V for a few cycles.
  - zaarn 7y ago
    Atleast in germany the standard breakers don't either but the GFCI does and 3-phase breakers need to interrupt all phases. The neutral is also somewhat regularly grounded in the building's I've seen and atleast one grounding point is required at the distro point. Plus the breakers will trip at 50A inrush anyway. (From experience, 50V AC won't kill you unless you are standing in a bathtub and covered yourself in conductive gel, you'll just get some minor pain in most cases)
fargle 7y ago
Simple answer: close the breaker box lid and put a cheap padlock on it. You don't need a tag or special clip. That ensures that your wife or roommate doesn't try to flip the breaker back on while your arm is in the garbage disposal or you are holding the hot wire with your teeth. You can and should use a test light or DVOM to verify the power is out. You can and should treat the wires as if they were "hot" anyhow. You should keep a wire nut on the hot wire. Don't actually put any of the wires in your teeth. Now. You could do all that, but what I do at home is carry a lot of insurance and work "hot". I don't care about 120V or even 240V. I make sure what I'm touching one arm at a time with no ground path through my heart. Don't stand in water. Simply just don't touch the hot wire. I learned to work hot on a piecework job that payed by units completed and that was about 1000% more if you could work hot. And, you can, if you manage the risk. If you mess up 99% chance you'll say "OW" and NOT do that again. I wouldn't play Russian roulette with 1:6 odds. But 1:100 (die from) x 1:100 (mistake) x 10 hours per year (occasional fixes), fine not worth the bother. Far more chance of dying falling off the ladder than electrocution. DON'T stand on rolly chairs. Now at an uncontrolled job-site, where I'm payed by the hour, 2000 hours/year? NEVER. It's a lot different when you are a company of one vs. many. I know what I'm doing, and while I make mistakes, I can guess how often. If you have more than 0 co-workers, you cannot trust or predict their mistakes.
- vorpalhex 7y ago
  I uh, have been guilty of similar lack of safety protocols in the distant past. I fortunately learned my lesson by shorting a $900 AC control board and not shocking myself, but needless to say it really is worth taking the time to do it right.
  - fargle 7y ago
    I just zapped myself so hard my hand flew back and got cut on the metal box. Hurt a bit, but it was $900 cheaper than your lesson. :)
dsfyu404ed 7y ago
>How would you recommend people working on their own house implement anything more than turning off the circuit breaker? Tell the other inhabitants what you're doing and tape over the breaker with a note saying to see you before it's turned on. Sure you could stick a padlock clasp on the breaker box but when your job-site has a number of people you can count on one hand a note will have 99.99999% of the same benefit and if they're trying to recklessly kill you all a lock does is buy a little time.

devb 7y ago

I think OP is referring to a job site where people coming and going have access to the panel. If you're home alone or only have a small handful of people to keep in contact with then it's far less of an issue.

taneq 7y ago
In those cases you're 'probably fine' but if someone gets home while you're working, sees that the power is out, and goes to check the circuit breaker (as you've probably trained them to do) then you could still get zapped without warning.
- Gibbon1 7y ago
  That's why central air conditioners are supposed to have a disconnect within sight of the unit.
  - Scoundreller 7y ago
    I thought it was for easy-money from new/unfamiliar home-owners. https://youtu.be/fUAIBZKeK74 https://youtu.be/fUAIBZKeK74 For the Dateline Special.

swixmix 7y ago

I assume he means no lock was involved. Anyone who ventures in house electricity should have a circuit breaker locking device. Use it, lock it, and verify the circuit is dead each time before you work on it.

taneq 7y ago

It doesn't have to be anything fancy - you could just fit a hasp to the fuse box (if one's not already attached) to allow you to lock it closed with a padlock. Then you keep the only key for that padlock on your person until you've finished the job. If you want to get fancier or if others are going to need to access the fuse box while you're working, you can get "lock dogs" which let you lock individual circuit breakers. Then you just lock off the one for the circuit you're working on.

fingerlocks 7y ago

If we’re being honest with ourselves, few (if any) home owner is ever going to go through with locking circuit breakers. Because it’s completely overkill. In the Real World, you’ll just tell your wife/kids/roommates “Hey don’t touch the fuse panel until I’m done doing this thing” and it’s not an issue.

Gibbon1 7y ago
One of the funniest things I saw like that was my dad on a ladder in a closet trying to sort out a switch and light fixture with a voltmeter and my special needs brother repeatedly going outside and flipping off the circuit breaker. Leaving my dad cursing on a ladder in the dark.

nullc 7y ago

They make clip on lockouts for residential breakers. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004J173I8/ref=twister_B007NAGJJG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004J173I8/ref=twister_B007NAGJJG?... Personally, I just lock the panel. If your panel can't be locked a big piece of masking tape across the door, holding it shut, with "NOPE. call <you>" written with a sharpie should do the job. :) FWIW, the first photograph in that WP article with the tagged panel is one of mine... from close to 15 years ago.

zaarn 7y ago

What I learned when doing electrical work in germany, the procedure for safe electrical working is as follows: - Switch off (at circuit breaker) - Prevent switching on (lock the breaker) - Check voltage free (multimeter cleared for 230V/120V operation with long, isolated test leads) - Ground and short (put a plug into the socket connecting earth, live and neutral, you can DIY that at home safely by cutting open an unused cord and soldering all three wires together) - Cover nearby powered equipment

matt-attack 7y ago
Step three, don’t forget to unplug your short circuitter before flipping back on the breaker.
- zaarn 7y ago
  Usually you just follow this list in reverse; from bottom up and undoing what you did.
amluto 7y ago
> Ground and short (put a plug into the socket connecting earth, live and neutral Hmm. Given that breakers in the US don’t disconnect the neutral, grounding the neutral can introduce potentially unpleasant stray currents. On the flip side, as far as I can tell, it’s entirely possible for a code-compliant installation to give you a moderate zap if you touch the neutral with the breaker off: if you have a long feeder to the panel, and someone turns on a big, single-phase load on a different breaker, the voltage drop on the feeder neutral could zap you. Imagine a 50A inrush current a across 1 ohm. That’s 50V for a few cycles.
- zaarn 7y ago
  Atleast in germany the standard breakers don't either but the GFCI does and 3-phase breakers need to interrupt all phases. The neutral is also somewhat regularly grounded in the building's I've seen and atleast one grounding point is required at the distro point. Plus the breakers will trip at 50A inrush anyway. (From experience, 50V AC won't kill you unless you are standing in a bathtub and covered yourself in conductive gel, you'll just get some minor pain in most cases)

fargle 7y ago

Simple answer: close the breaker box lid and put a cheap padlock on it. You don't need a tag or special clip. That ensures that your wife or roommate doesn't try to flip the breaker back on while your arm is in the garbage disposal or you are holding the hot wire with your teeth. You can and should use a test light or DVOM to verify the power is out. You can and should treat the wires as if they were "hot" anyhow. You should keep a wire nut on the hot wire. Don't actually put any of the wires in your teeth. Now. You could do all that, but what I do at home is carry a lot of insurance and work "hot". I don't care about 120V or even 240V. I make sure what I'm touching one arm at a time with no ground path through my heart. Don't stand in water. Simply just don't touch the hot wire. I learned to work hot on a piecework job that payed by units completed and that was about 1000% more if you could work hot. And, you can, if you manage the risk. If you mess up 99% chance you'll say "OW" and NOT do that again. I wouldn't play Russian roulette with 1:6 odds. But 1:100 (die from) x 1:100 (mistake) x 10 hours per year (occasional fixes), fine not worth the bother. Far more chance of dying falling off the ladder than electrocution. DON'T stand on rolly chairs. Now at an uncontrolled job-site, where I'm payed by the hour, 2000 hours/year? NEVER. It's a lot different when you are a company of one vs. many. I know what I'm doing, and while I make mistakes, I can guess how often. If you have more than 0 co-workers, you cannot trust or predict their mistakes.

vorpalhex 7y ago
I uh, have been guilty of similar lack of safety protocols in the distant past. I fortunately learned my lesson by shorting a $900 AC control board and not shocking myself, but needless to say it really is worth taking the time to do it right.
- fargle 7y ago
  I just zapped myself so hard my hand flew back and got cut on the metal box. Hurt a bit, but it was $900 cheaper than your lesson. :)

dsfyu404ed 7y ago

>How would you recommend people working on their own house implement anything more than turning off the circuit breaker? Tell the other inhabitants what you're doing and tape over the breaker with a note saying to see you before it's turned on. Sure you could stick a padlock clasp on the breaker box but when your job-site has a number of people you can count on one hand a note will have 99.99999% of the same benefit and if they're trying to recklessly kill you all a lock does is buy a little time.