LCHIEN
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I was helping my daughter pack Friday before the movers came Saturday morning. She asked me if she should bring the fire extinguisher I gave her and her hubby for Xmas or leave it with the old house they were to rent out. I said sure, its not to protect your renters but to protect you and your house.
So on Saturday they moved and we went over in the afternoon. They had two A/Cs running (Upstairs and down stairs) and not much else besides a TV.
The power went out and they were going to call the power copany I told them to check the breakers first. The main 150A breaker kicked out. They reset it and about an hour later it kicked again. I went to my house and brought the clamp on ammeter and took off the panel and the ACs were drawing about 20 and 10 Amps and the main feed was showing around 32 amps.
I noticed the main wire into the main breaker was a bit discolored and said try again but you'd better call a electrician to look at it.
We put the panel back on and closed the door, to close the door you have to bump it. When my SIL's father bumped the door shut there was a large arcing sound followed by sparks coming out the seams of the breaker box, sparks coming off the gound wire to the ground rod (like a fourth of July sparkler), followed by smoke and then flames and continued arcing noises. The power metere was spinning madly. When the flames came out about 6 inches from the top of the box, I told the SIL to call 911 and get the fire extinguisher which they had brought following my comments the night before,
Finally the arcing stopped with a pop and the fire extinguisher put out the flames. I was worried something night be on fire in the walls but then the FD arrived they checked the inside walls with a thermal imager and said it was OK. We took the panel off and here's what it looked like (the white is the extiguisher chemicals). The tiny wires at the left are the 12 Ga branch wiring. The Big wires are the main breaker feed - the left one melted in two and peeled the insulation off. The FD called the power co who came out and disconnected and red tagged the meter.
Having fire trucks with flashing lights and all outside your house is a good way to meet all the new neighbors. All in all an exciting day. After $2600 repairs they found the big screen LCD TV had been zapped, too.
So on Saturday they moved and we went over in the afternoon. They had two A/Cs running (Upstairs and down stairs) and not much else besides a TV.
The power went out and they were going to call the power copany I told them to check the breakers first. The main 150A breaker kicked out. They reset it and about an hour later it kicked again. I went to my house and brought the clamp on ammeter and took off the panel and the ACs were drawing about 20 and 10 Amps and the main feed was showing around 32 amps.
I noticed the main wire into the main breaker was a bit discolored and said try again but you'd better call a electrician to look at it.
We put the panel back on and closed the door, to close the door you have to bump it. When my SIL's father bumped the door shut there was a large arcing sound followed by sparks coming out the seams of the breaker box, sparks coming off the gound wire to the ground rod (like a fourth of July sparkler), followed by smoke and then flames and continued arcing noises. The power metere was spinning madly. When the flames came out about 6 inches from the top of the box, I told the SIL to call 911 and get the fire extinguisher which they had brought following my comments the night before,
Finally the arcing stopped with a pop and the fire extinguisher put out the flames. I was worried something night be on fire in the walls but then the FD arrived they checked the inside walls with a thermal imager and said it was OK. We took the panel off and here's what it looked like (the white is the extiguisher chemicals). The tiny wires at the left are the 12 Ga branch wiring. The Big wires are the main breaker feed - the left one melted in two and peeled the insulation off. The FD called the power co who came out and disconnected and red tagged the meter.
Having fire trucks with flashing lights and all outside your house is a good way to meet all the new neighbors. All in all an exciting day. After $2600 repairs they found the big screen LCD TV had been zapped, too.
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Loring in Katy, TX USA
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