My house might burn down - I'd better go on the internet

Forums: Community, Electrical, Wiring, Safety, Q And A
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I recently joined Q&A website. Having worked in the electrical field for 28 years, I thought maybe I might be able to help some people occassionally. Unfortunately this is normally along the lines of "If you have to ask, then you don't have the skills. Hire a person who knows what they're doing before you kill yourself or someone else."

I've just answered a question from a person who has an electrical outlet that is "getting hot - like burning up". HELLO. This ******* idiot's house is in danger of burning down, but instead of calling an electrician and getting the problem checked immediately, he's logged onto a Q&A website, to ask what the problem might be. Christ there are some ******* morons in the world.

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Type: Discussion • Score: 15 • Views: 4,031 • Replies: 42

@Wilso,

I think you are being a bit harsh.

Part of expertise is knowing when things are emergencies. There is a danger in overreacting, getting a simple opinion on what to do is worthwhile.

I assume you gave this guy the information he needed. You might have also given him simple ways to stop the problem (i.e. throw the circuit breaker).

It seems to me that going to this Q&A website might have really helped this guy. Didn't it?

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won't help much if his house burns down. I've given the guy all the advice that i can from 20 000km away. Throw the breaker, pull the fuse, get the power off, it's a "hot joint" caused by a bad connection, call someone who knows what they're doing to fix it. But jesus christ, this is not something you want to screw around with. But pal, I can promise you that the first thing this guy should NOT have done was go on the web to try to get some free advice, so that he can fix it himself. That's how people die.

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@Wilso,

This kind of amateur tinkering is what earns people their very own Darwin Award!

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@Wilso,

I think the point Max was trying to make is that while you know how serious this is, the person asking for advice did not.

1 Reply

@DrewDad,

I agree. Someone just asked about a re-do on some canning produce and I really think she didn't fully consider the fact that she could kill people by doing that. At least now she is warned. I think more people died before the internet because they were too poor or stuborn to call a professional or too lazy to drive to the library.

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@Wilso,

Quote:

But pal, I can promise you that the first thing this guy should NOT have done was go on the web to try to get some free advice, so that he can fix it himself. That's how people die.

But this guy didn't die. And that's the point.

He went on the web and got good advice. He likely got this advice quicker then it would have taken him to get in touch with an electrician.

He needed information fast about how dangerous the situation was, and where he went turned out to be a very good and fast source of the information he needed.

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I can really see Wilso's point. People treat the internet like every single thing they read on it is the absolute truth. I know a woman in a chat room that every ache and pain she has she looks it up on the internet and decides she has almost every disease known to man.

Maybe Wilso is acting out of a kind of fear for someone's life. A couple of weeks ago I nearly rolled my truck because this little old man pulled out in front of me. Since then, he's done it twice more. I was angry for sure but I think that anger was really fueled by sooner or later, if he keeps doing it, I am afraid he's going to get killed or kill someone else. I would know to call an electrician if a wall socket was hot but not everyone does and there are those out there that will want to save money by looking it up and probably

If I am understanding Wilso correctly, he's really talking about common sense here.

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@Wilso,

I don't think it's that easy to jump on someone for not knowing something. I've wired houses with my uncle and dad since I was little, but I know most of friends have no idea how to change a lighting fixture, and would probably get a nasty jolt just trying.
In this day and age how can we expect people to know everything? I'm not a gearhead, I don't know the first thing about the mechanics of a car, so if I ask a question does that make me an idiot?
I watch DIY shows and I'm constantly amazed at how many people have never picked up a tool. But... they are probably experts in things I know nothing about. So the guy asked a question, better he asks than attempting something he knows nothing about and then, based on experts telling him the correct procedure, he can make an informed decision. What's so wrong with that?
Maybe, you should have told him to switch the breaker off and call an electrician instead of making fun of him. Maybe he just bought the place and a crooked inspector told him the place was A-OK only to find out the wiring was circa 1930's or he had a renovator do a shitty job. Who knows, but asking a question does not an idiot make.

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@Ceili,

Ceili wrote:

I've wired houses with my uncle and dad since I was little, but I know most of friends have no idea how to change a lighting fixture, and would probably get a nasty jolt just trying.

Are your uncle and dad qualified to wire houses? The reason I ask is because a father of a good friend of mine, and the man himself was also a good friend of mine, DIED in the roof of a house, because someone unqualified, had done something that they shouldn't. I've had 2 friends die. 1 is too many. I've decided to leave the site in question behind, because there are people there, experts in their field, who are instructing people who don't have the qualifications, in how to do electrical work. There are just too many things that can go wrong.

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@Wilso,

It is a good thing none of your friends died having sex.

1 Reply

@Wilso,

Yes, they are qualified.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

It is a good thing none of your friends died having sex.

If there's something supposed to be funny there, I'm not seeing it.

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@Wilso,

Sounds to me like you have some transference.... Your (perfectly reasonable and normal) anger about your friends' deaths is affecting your emotions toward the person you reference in the original post.

1 Reply

@DrewDad,

DrewDad wrote:

Sounds to me like you have some transference.... Your (perfectly reasonable and normal) anger about your friends' deaths is affecting your emotions toward the person you reference in the original post.

Don't start with all that psych stuff. If you try to fix your car (especially the computer driven cars of today) and you don't know what you're doing, for the most part, the worst that will probably happen is you'll break down in the middle of heavy traffic. You'll suffer embarrassment and inconvenience. But if you're not qualified to perform electrical wiring, and you do it, you could hurt or kill yourself, you could hurt or kill others, you could lose your home, etc etc. There's just too many things that can go wrong. I think it's irresponsible for a web site to be instructing people in how to do it, when they obviously don't have the skills.

1 Reply

@Wilso,

Quote:

But if you're not qualified to perform electrical wiring, and you do it, you could hurt or kill yourself, you could hurt or kill others, you could lose your home, etc etc.

I think for run of the mill household wiring, you are exaggerating. This is something that people have done for decades. My grandfather (a farmer) did his own wiring. When I was a teen, my father (not an electrician) installed an outlet. We followed the instructions from a book.

It wasn't that difficult. This is something that countless people have done on their own without dying or burning down their houses.

The idea that people can't do things for themselves is new. Our grandparents didn't think this way. I think this is a bad trend in society.

1 Reply

@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

Quote:
But if you're not qualified to perform electrical wiring, and you do it, you could hurt or kill yourself, you could hurt or kill others, you could lose your home, etc etc.

I think for run of the mill household wiring, you are exaggerating. This is something that people have done for decades. My grandfather (a farmer) did his own wiring. When I was a teen, my father (not an electrician) installed an outlet. We followed the instructions from a book.

It wasn't that difficult. This is something that countless people have done on their own without dying or burning down their houses.

The idea that people can't do things for themselves is new. Our grandparents didn't think this way. I think this is a bad trend in society.

Get this clear. I am not exaggerating in any way, shape, or form. If some ignorant ******* ****, had NOT done what you are suggesting, then at least one of my colleagues would STILL BE ALIVE TODAY. It is attitudes like yours that kills people. I sincerely hope that one day you are installing an outlet, and you die. Then at least, it won't happen to someone else who comes along after a ********** like you has fucked it up.

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Nice. Not. I hope you never need help with anything, cause bad karma's a bitch.

1 Reply

@Wilso,

Wilso wrote:

I sincerely hope that one day you are installing an outlet, and you die.

Dude... think about what you're saying. Max isn't the one that harmed your friend.

1 Reply

@Ceili,

Ceili, I'm your fan. I'm pretty handy with tools, but have my stupid spots. Oh, I'm a girl.

1 Reply

My house might burn down - I'd better go on the internet

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