| DMala |
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Sleep is overrated
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Reged: 05/09/05
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Posts: 3989
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Loc: Waltham, MA
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I would very much like to meet the electrician who wired my house...
#274587 - 01/31/12 08:05 AM
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...so I can call him a dickhead to his face.
I had FIOS installed today. The installer put the box in the basement, and ran the power adapter for it over to the only outlet in the basement, which is about three feet from my breaker box. Everything was set up and looking good, the installer left, and a few hours later my wife is messing around with channel lists in the TiVo. I notice that the basement light got left on and flick it off, and 30 seconds later my wife notices that we've lost the TV and Internet. I'm about to get on the horn to Verizon, when it suddenly dawns on me... flick the basement light back on and the TV signal pops right back in.
The damned outlet is wired into the same switched circuit as the lights.  Maybe someone more electrically inclined will tell me there's a perfectly legitimate reason for it, but to me it looks like 100% pure laziness. It's far from the only bit of electrical nonsense I've discovered in this house.
So at the moment, FIOS is working great, so long as I leave my basement lights on. The scary part is that when I first moved in, that outlet had a CO detector in it. 
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| Breetai |
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Semi-Lurker "full time drinker"
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Reged: 11/02/03
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Posts: 419
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Loc: Omaha
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E over I R = Ohms law (NT)
[Re: DMala]
#274588 - 01/31/12 08:09 AM
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> ...so I can call him a dickhead to his face.
>
> I had FIOS installed today. The installer put the box in the basement, and ran the
> power adapter for it over to the only outlet in the basement, which is about three
> feet from my breaker box. Everything was set up and looking good, the installer left,
> and a few hours later my wife is messing around with channel lists in the TiVo. I
> notice that the basement light got left on and flick it off, and 30 seconds later my
> wife notices that we've lost the TV and Internet. I'm about to get on the horn to
> Verizon, when it suddenly dawns on me... flick the basement light back on and the TV
> signal pops right back in.
>
> The damned outlet is wired into the same switched circuit as the lights. Maybe
> someone more electrically inclined will tell me there's a perfectly legitimate reason
> for it, but to me it looks like 100% pure laziness. It's far from the only bit of
> electrical nonsense I've discovered in this house.
>
> So at the moment, FIOS is working great, so long as I leave my basement lights on.
> The scary part is that when I first moved in, that outlet had a CO detector in it.
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Stiletto |
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They're always after me Lucky ROMS!
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Reged: 03/07/04
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Posts: 6472
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Re: I would very much like to meet the electrician who wired my house...
[Re: DMala]
#274589 - 01/31/12 08:12 AM
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> ...so I can call him a dickhead to his face.
>
> I had FIOS installed today. The installer put the box in the basement, and ran the
> power adapter for it over to the only outlet in the basement, which is about three
> feet from my breaker box. Everything was set up and looking good, the installer left,
> and a few hours later my wife is messing around with channel lists in the TiVo. I
> notice that the basement light got left on and flick it off, and 30 seconds later my
> wife notices that we've lost the TV and Internet. I'm about to get on the horn to
> Verizon, when it suddenly dawns on me... flick the basement light back on and the TV
> signal pops right back in.
>
> The damned outlet is wired into the same switched circuit as the lights. Maybe
> someone more electrically inclined will tell me there's a perfectly legitimate reason
> for it, but to me it looks like 100% pure laziness. It's far from the only bit of
> electrical nonsense I've discovered in this house.
>
> So at the moment, FIOS is working great, so long as I leave my basement lights on.
> The scary part is that when I first moved in, that outlet had a CO detector in it.
Both plugs? Often enough, only one of the two is on the switch...
- Stiletto
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| italie |
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MAME owes italie many thank yous, hah
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Reged: 09/20/03
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Loc: BoomTown
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Re: I would very much like to meet the electrician who wired my house...
[Re: DMala]
#274590 - 01/31/12 08:36 AM
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There are so many people who take on home electrical projects that just shouldn't. These are probably the same breed of homeowners that thought the proper response to a repetitive fuse pop was to install a bigger fuse...
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| DMala |
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Sleep is overrated
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Reged: 05/09/05
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Posts: 3989
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Loc: Waltham, MA
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Re: I would very much like to meet the electrician who wired my house...
[Re: italie]
#274593 - 01/31/12 09:16 AM
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> There are so many people who take on home electrical projects that just shouldn't.
> These are probably the same breed of homeowners that thought the proper response to a
> repetitive fuse pop was to install a bigger fuse...
I could almost forgive a dumbass homeowner trying to save a few bucks. This was almost certainly done by the "electrician" hired by the property flipper who created the condos. Hire cheap contractors to do sub-standard labor, pocket the profits, and let the suckers pay for all of the problems down the road. Bastard.
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| italie |
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MAME owes italie many thank yous, hah
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Reged: 09/20/03
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Posts: 15246
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Loc: BoomTown
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Re: I would very much like to meet the electrician who wired my house...
[Re: DMala]
#274595 - 01/31/12 09:20 AM
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> > There are so many people who take on home electrical projects that just shouldn't.
> > These are probably the same breed of homeowners that thought the proper response to
> a
> > repetitive fuse pop was to install a bigger fuse...
>
> I could almost forgive a dumbass homeowner trying to save a few bucks. This was
> almost certainly done by the "electrician" hired by the property flipper who created
> the condos. Hire cheap contractors to do sub-standard labor, pocket the profits, and
> let the suckers pay for all of the problems down the road. Bastard.
I'd think if an electrician did it (even a crappy one), they would have just double breaker-ed a box tap with it being so close. There had to be a reason it was switched then if it looks like it was done well.
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| DMala |
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Sleep is overrated
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Reged: 05/09/05
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Posts: 3989
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Loc: Waltham, MA
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Re: I would very much like to meet the electrician who wired my house...
[Re: italie]
#274689 - 02/01/12 09:38 AM
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> I'd think if an electrician did it (even a crappy one), they would have just double
> breaker-ed a box tap with it being so close. There had to be a reason it was switched
> then if it looks like it was done well.
The only think I can think of that remotely makes sense, is that the basement is shared with the unit downstairs, but each unit has its own lights which are controlled from a switch inside the unit. By having the switched outlet, I can prevent my neighbor from accidentally (or deliberately) using my power when he's down there.
I *guess* it kind of makes sense, even if it's completely useless for my purposes.
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Index 
Threaded 
I would very much like to meet the electrician who wired my house...
Reply
Maybe someone more electrically inclined will tell me there's a perfectly legitimate reason for it, but to me it looks like 100% pure laziness. It's far from the only bit of electrical nonsense I've discovered in this house.
[Re: 
