Not really!
All the power in my office & utility room crapped out this afternoon. Sometimes i've had brownouts where the power will come back on after a second or two, but this took out the whole house. Checked the breaker panel, and noticed the main breaker was off. Switched it back on again, and it instantly went off. Hmm.
So, i flipped off all the RCB's and tried again. It stayed on. Flipped the RCB's back on one at a time, and found that the one that controls the sockets for the office & utility room, would arc, and refuse to turn on. It was then that i noticed a burning smell. I checked the office, and couldn't see anything wrong, unplugged everything, tried the RCB again. Nothing, arced out, and refused to turn back on.
This was getting wierd.
I could smell burning, but couldn't see any smoke. Until, i looked behind the freezers. Oops.
There was the socket, smouldering away on the wall, whisps of smoke coming from it. Tried to grab the plug for the freezer, and ended up with burns. Dumbass? Yep.
Fire extinguisher came into play to stop the smouldering, but CO2 or not, the plug and socket were still melty-hot. So, i grabbed the cable, and yanked it so hard, the socket ripped out of the wall. The devastation behind the socket, as well as the socket itself, was insane. Cabling going back a good 4/5 inches had melted insulation, so live/earth & neutral were all exposed and touching. No wonder the RCB tripped the whole house!
I needed the freezers back up and running ASAP, so, i rewired the plug, and brought in my cable reel from outside, hooking it up to the phase the rest of the house runs off (i'm on 660v 3-phase here). Phew. Now at least the food was safe...
So, what do i do now? Fix it, of course. Like hell i'm paying an electrician to do a job i can do!
Drove out to the local hardware store, picked up a new socket (this time a newer, thermosetting plastic one, and two gang) and some cable. Came to $50. OUCH.
By this time, it was starting to get dark - about 5:30pm.
Electrics + working in the dark = less than ideal.
The socket that melted, was just the first link in the ring main, so rather than put the double socket back there, i thought i'd just rejoin the incoming, and ongoing cables to the next socket (also a very old 1980's socket), and tomorrow, when it's light, replace the socket there instead.
Joining it up though, was a BASTARD. Needed to hack back the sheetrock (an arse pain to replace), and delve into a wall cavity filled with fibre glass wool. Mmm. Itchy Arms.
Still, i have power once more, and tommorrow i'll get around to doing the socket. Have some pictures of the ensuing carnage as well:
All the power in my office & utility room crapped out this afternoon. Sometimes i've had brownouts where the power will come back on after a second or two, but this took out the whole house. Checked the breaker panel, and noticed the main breaker was off. Switched it back on again, and it instantly went off. Hmm.
So, i flipped off all the RCB's and tried again. It stayed on. Flipped the RCB's back on one at a time, and found that the one that controls the sockets for the office & utility room, would arc, and refuse to turn on. It was then that i noticed a burning smell. I checked the office, and couldn't see anything wrong, unplugged everything, tried the RCB again. Nothing, arced out, and refused to turn back on.
This was getting wierd.
I could smell burning, but couldn't see any smoke. Until, i looked behind the freezers. Oops.
There was the socket, smouldering away on the wall, whisps of smoke coming from it. Tried to grab the plug for the freezer, and ended up with burns. Dumbass? Yep.
Fire extinguisher came into play to stop the smouldering, but CO2 or not, the plug and socket were still melty-hot. So, i grabbed the cable, and yanked it so hard, the socket ripped out of the wall. The devastation behind the socket, as well as the socket itself, was insane. Cabling going back a good 4/5 inches had melted insulation, so live/earth & neutral were all exposed and touching. No wonder the RCB tripped the whole house!
I needed the freezers back up and running ASAP, so, i rewired the plug, and brought in my cable reel from outside, hooking it up to the phase the rest of the house runs off (i'm on 660v 3-phase here). Phew. Now at least the food was safe...
So, what do i do now? Fix it, of course. Like hell i'm paying an electrician to do a job i can do!
Drove out to the local hardware store, picked up a new socket (this time a newer, thermosetting plastic one, and two gang) and some cable. Came to $50. OUCH.
By this time, it was starting to get dark - about 5:30pm.
Electrics + working in the dark = less than ideal.
The socket that melted, was just the first link in the ring main, so rather than put the double socket back there, i thought i'd just rejoin the incoming, and ongoing cables to the next socket (also a very old 1980's socket), and tomorrow, when it's light, replace the socket there instead.
Joining it up though, was a BASTARD. Needed to hack back the sheetrock (an arse pain to replace), and delve into a wall cavity filled with fibre glass wool. Mmm. Itchy Arms.
Still, i have power once more, and tommorrow i'll get around to doing the socket. Have some pictures of the ensuing carnage as well:
