Solving a Wiring Mess?

FueledByRamen asks: "While trying to run a new power line for a large Sun mass-storage cabinet (located nowhere near a 220 outlet of course), I had the misfortune of needing to pop the lid on my main power distribution panel (previously opened in the late 80s). The whole thing is a rats nest and probably a fire hazard - old-style wiring with broken-down cloth/plastic insulation strewn everywhere, and the utility's incoming power cables have some sort of junction in them that's the size of a 1-liter bottle (on each wire) and is covered in layers of electrical tape. Even (gently) putting the panel back on jiggled something important, and there was a nasty cracking noise and half the breakers blew (all breakers in one of the 2 columns). I've worked with mains voltage in the past (wiring new rooms, installing lighting), but nothing on this scale, both in terms of complexity and potential for death. How do you industrious Slashdot readers go about fixing a mess like this (on a tight budget, no less) without getting a mains-induced glimpse at the great beyond?"

Comments

Good grief

[mao che minh]

Good god man, leave that mess alone and hire a professional that knows what they are doing. Don't ever put your life in the hands of Slashdot; are you utterly insane?

Re:Good grief

[Catbus]

I think you get a qualified electrician to look at this and fix it. If the budget does not permit this, change the budget or consider the business failed. Next go-around, get better due-diligence review of the facilities. We techies can do some power if we are know what we are doing, but this sounds like it is out of our league. One may well have to turn off service power at the pole (or other building entrance) to redo this. Also, you are talking big conductors here, which our techie-tools can't handle. Leaving it alone is bad because there is already evidence of loose connections and grounding problems that will cause your 220 volts to vary over a wide range intermittently, eventually damaging the equipment, and possibly causing electric shock to employees touching poorly-grounded cabinets.

Auditioning for the Darwin award???

[TopShelf]

Maybe it's just me, but some things are worth paying for. I prefer juice in my stomach, not coursing through my entire body...

Good, cheap, fast: pick any two

[sphealey]

ow do you industrious Slashdot readers go about fixing a mess like this (on a tight budget, no less) without getting a mains-induced glimpse at the great beyond?"

There is a reason why good industrial electricans charge a lot for their services: they work with dangerous stuff, and they know what they are doing. Get an estimate from a good one. If the powers-that-be refuse to approve the project, resign. That day.

sPh

Hmm, well now ...

[petabyte]

I might not speak for everybody but I'd imagine that the majority of people went "Hire an electrician" when they read that story. I really don't think you want to be mucking around in there with "some sort of junction in them that's the size of a 1-liter bottle" as you don't appear to know what that is (neither do I).

I know you want to save money but you're likely to fry the electric equipment in your establishment and might take yourself with it. Hiring a professional would likely be cheaper in the long run.

If you have to ask...

[IIRCAFAIKIANAL]

... then you shouldn't be doing it.

Sorry, but this is the kind of thing that only years of experience can help with. If you didn't look at it and already know how to approach the problem, you probably shouldn't be messing around in there, unless you have all the time in the world to experiment and learn your way through the mess.

First I was surprised that IANAL advice hasn't landed some "Ask Slashdotter" in prison. Now we're aiming for our first fatality?

Electrician's Comment on 240V

[billstewart]

An American friend of mine was over in Australia, and watched an electrician who was being really conservative with turning all the power off while installing things. Since that didn't seem to be the usual Aussie approach to life, and since electricians in the US usually aren't that careful, he asked him about it. The guy replied that the difference between wimpy US 110 and 240 was "When you touch 240, you bounce about 3 meters farther.".

Basically, don't fsck with the stuff unless you know what you're doing.

Why Doctors are not Electricians

[sterno]

I lived in a rented house in college that had what turned out to be dangerous wiring.

LESSON 1: Polarity

Here's a cool tip for you. When wiring up electrical outlets, if you reverse the hot and the neutral lines, you actually create a voltage potential between the outlets. I discovered this because I touched the stove and the refridgerator at the same time accidentally. I got a huge jolt, shook a bit, and called the land lord.

LESSON 2: Breakers and Wiring Guages

If you should ever run wiring in your house, you need to make sure that the breaker that you use matches the capabilities of the wiring. If you should decide to run wiring into an attic using 15 amp capable wiring, it is a bad idea to put a 30 amp breaker on it. It's an even worse idea to hook up approximately 27 amps worth of electrical heaters to this circuit because it will cause the wiring in the wall to catch fire. Of course if one assumes that the person wiring the house isn't insane, you may not know to avoid plugging in said heaters.

LESSON 3: DOCTORS ARE NOT ELECTRICIANS

Eletricity isn't brain surgery, and just as you don't want an electrician siticking sharp metal objects into your brain, you don't want a doctor futzing with wiring. Actually I suppose if you are a doctor who does know how to work with electricity it would be okay, but the one who had previously owned our house had no clue on the subject. Worse, he had no clue and he mistakenly thought that he knew everything.

So, if you look in the electrical box and it instills fear in you, call a professional. Don't even think of doing it yourself.