How to quickly turn off the power to a room

[stav]

Answer, cut through the Romex supplying the room with a sawzall. There was a nice flash and some smoke too. Fun times.

Confession, I forgot to check for lines running in an attic space as I was working on expanding a very small closet door. Sawzalls cut through wires like butter. Fortunately no one got hurt (yet) and no fires started. If I don't get it all back together before the wife gets home from vacation, I may still end up with an injury over this.

Remember to check for wires. Don't make a rookie mistake like I did.

That is all.

[Stwood_]

Yes. Wire cutters also disable power to a room.
 
It's also hard on the cutters.

[6270_Productions]

Yes. Wire cutters also disable power to a room.
 
It's also hard on the cutters.

You show me a guy with an Electrician's Belt that doesn't have a pair of wire cutters with burnt notches on them and I will show you an electrician that hasn't cut many wires - or one with a new pair of wire cutters.


 

I carry a pair of cable cutters in my belt.  They are fine now and I am really not looking toward the day when they get burnt notches so I am real careful with the cables I cut.  

[stav]

I haven't gotten up into the attic to verify, but it looks like I may have severed the wire coming out of a junction.  All of this is accessible in the attic so I think I can replace that short length of romex from the box to the incident with a longer bit and then put another junction right there.

[fredhargis]

But that's the quickest way to figure out which breaker powers that circuit.

[Wild Turkey]

But that's the quickest way to figure out which breaker powers that circuit.

When I was working maintenance at a railroad bearing reman plant I always carried a short loop of heavy wire.

The wiring in the plant was so poorly marked I used it to pop the breaker on a circuit because I couldn't find it.

Several times I had thrown the marked breaker and found out it was the wrong one with little wire loop

[6270_Productions]

When I was working maintenance at a railroad bearing reman plant I always carried a short loop of heavy wire.

The wiring in the plant was so poorly marked I used it to pop the breaker on a circuit because I couldn't find it.

Several times I had thrown the marked breaker and found out it was the wrong one with little wire loop

I was a commissioner on the County Public Safety Commission.

An item for discussion on the agenda one meeting was the repair of some critical components of the 911 system.

I asked what the problem was. 

It seemed we were doing some "electrical work" in the communications center.  The electrician used "a short loop of heavy wire" to trip the breaker rather than manually shut it off.  (You know in a county public safety 911 communications center the breakers are properly labeled.) 

Anyway it seems that tripping the breaker also kicked on the emergency backup generator.  Not sure why but that is the way it was explained to me.  Anyway when the generator kicked on and since there was no need for the generator as the power was still on, the increased voltage burnt out a couple of rather critical and expensive components of the 911 system.

Yea, not good on the electrician's part.

[MauleSkinner]

My grandpa taught me to stick a screwdriver in the corner of the sub panel and ground out the main lead coming in to trip the CB at the main panel.

We both survived, but the screwdriver didn’t.

[John Mihich]

Learned the Navy way of dealing with electricity.  Check, check, and double check.  There were a lot of times there were 2 shutoffs to  room - both had to be on to power the room.  Of course tagging the switches was necessary.  I still go zapped once though.  Hit my watch on a piece of equipment I was working on.  It had to be on for the adjustments I was doing.  Oh did I add that you are suppose to take watches and rings off - maybe I didn't learn well enough.  


 

I live in an area where all houses are built with conduit - code has since been changed.  It's really easy to follow lines with stud finder.

[daddo]

Used to install wall furnaces back in the 70's for Montgomery Wards.

We cut the holes in the walls and many a time hit a wire you just couldn't/didn't know was there. We always wore gloves when holding the saw just for that reason. Never had a problem- breaker would always trip or fuse open.