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Platystemon posted:Usually Christmas lights strung backwards. I'm thinking pretty often it'll be: one circuit blown or tripped, and they're using this to re-power that circuit from an outlet, instead of fixing what is blowing the breaker. This is an excellent way to start a fire, as well as a fun way to possibly kill someone who throws a breaker and then assumes without checking that the circuit is now dead. The other option is powering your entire house from a neighbor's house. That's the one where you potentially kill a lineman. Again though, only if they fail to test the line before touching it, which they should never be doing, but... yeah, probably do anyway, sometimes. e. Oh just thought of another one: use a switched outlet to power another circuit or house, and now maybe you kill someone when you flip the switch! Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Sep 13, 2017 |
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Sep 13, 2017 22:32
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Leperflesh posted:I'm thinking pretty often it'll be: one circuit blown or tripped, and they're using this to re-power that circuit from an outlet, instead of fixing what is blowing the breaker. This is an excellent way to start a fire. DIY ring mains. I like it.
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Sep 13, 2017 22:34
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Platystemon posted:Usually Christmas lights strung backwards. OH GOD, i assumed they wanted makeshift plugs for generators.. That means that there are prongs exp.. OH GOD. the trees are made of wo.... What if it's laying outside in the sno... OH GOD! Generator story time. I once saved my ex mother in law from burning her house down, generator just outside the open attached garage door with the exhaust blowing into it. Connected to the 15A outlet in the garage with the cheapest harbor freight extension cord, makeshift pigtail, it MAY have been rated for 10A, I feel like it was less. They wanted to run like 1/2 the house on it. I closed the door, moved the generator further away turned the right direction and bought an actual extension cord rated for 15 amps, and turned off the main breakers. In our area linemen walked around and anyone that had a generator running was asked to shut it off.. they dont' like dying. Edit: All the possibilities for this are just straight up awful.
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Sep 13, 2017 22:34
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Platystemon posted:DIY ring mains. I like it. Think of apartment dwellers. Your neighbor has power, you don't, and the landlord says maybe he'll fix it next week. Awfully tempting to just run a line from next door and plug it right into your apartment's circuit.
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Sep 13, 2017 22:36
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I feel like if you know enough to know what to do with those, you should know not to do it. Like I didn't know what they were for, but my first thought was 'that's not how things go'.
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Sep 13, 2017 22:47
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Speaking of “the HOA will fix it” some dumb HOA needs to fix an alarm circuit, but wanted the condo’s owner to pay to fix the interior wall they would have to rip up. /R/LegalAdvice suggested telling the HOA “fix it from the outside”. Hopefully the HOA realises that the owner could demand that and they’re really better off just paying for the loving drywall. e: the thread Platystemon fucked around with this message at 22:55 on Sep 13, 2017 |
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Sep 13, 2017 22:50
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Never build half rear end, people.
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Sep 13, 2017 23:48
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Ashcans posted:I feel like if you know enough to know what to do with those, you should know not to do it. like a USB-to-USB cable
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Sep 14, 2017 00:09
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Drake_263 posted:Not really crappy construction in itself, but it fits: I used to do electricity distribution at a music festival. We once had a lighting tech from the main stage come to us asking for a male-male 63A 3-phase jumper. He wanted to backfeed their dimmers since the generators were shut down and the input side only took PowerLock. He acknowledged that yes this is dangerous, yes he knows what he's doing and yes he'll accept liability (since our group didn't do stage power, just food vendors etc). We showed him where the parts and tools were and then went for dinner. Nothing burned down.
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Sep 14, 2017 00:17
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Tunicate posted:like a USB-to-USB cable Like a USB-to-mains cable.
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Sep 14, 2017 00:18
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Like a USB-to-mains cable. Obligatory http://www.fiftythree.org/etherkiller/
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Sep 14, 2017 00:36
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kid sinister posted:Power outage and they want to backfeed half their panel and shock the guy on the lines outside expecting to handle dead wires? or alternately blow out their generator by powering the whole block for a few seconds
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Sep 14, 2017 01:43
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Also obligatory https://forums.somethingawful.com/dictionary.php?act=3&topicid=1745
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Sep 14, 2017 04:54
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My billion year old great uncle lives out in bumfuck, where the power drops a lot during winter storms, and he's medically frail enough that having no heat overnight isn't just an annoyance. He has a little generator with one of those male-male cords to power up whatever circuit in his house the vital stuff is on. Is there a *correct* way to use that? I'm guessing you should kill the breaker to that circuit at the least before firing the generator up.
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Sep 14, 2017 07:13
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Javid posted:My billion year old great uncle lives out in bumfuck, where the power drops a lot during winter storms, and he's medically frail enough that having no heat overnight isn't just an annoyance. He has a little generator with one of those male-male cords to power up whatever circuit in his house the vital stuff is on. Is there a *correct* way to use that? I'm guessing you should kill the breaker to that circuit at the least before firing the generator up. The big issue is that if the cord gets knocked out of the wall socket, then you've got live prongs sticking out just waiting to electrocute something or someone. I would think to have it legitimately power a house it would have to be bolted in place and hardwired to the panel. Failing that you could run a power strip off it and plug vital stuff into that.
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Sep 14, 2017 07:38
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The correct way is to have the generator permanently wired, with interlocked breakers that allows either the generator or the grid to be connected at any time, never both.
Collateral Damage fucked around with this message at 12:00 on Sep 14, 2017 |
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Sep 14, 2017 11:56
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Tunicate posted:like a USB-to-USB cable This is the computer version of crappy construction:  (100% real btw)
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Sep 14, 2017 12:22
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Collateral Damage posted:The correct way is to have the generator permanently wired, with interlocked breakers that allows either the generator or the grid to be connected at any time, never both. I'm looking at getting a NG generator installed that will more or less power the entire house in case of a power outage (they aren't common, but they typically happen in the middle of summer and have lasted for for more than 10 days). This includes a cutover switch (I imagine it's more of a solenoid) to disconnect from the grid while the generator supply electricity. I believe this is also set up in such a way that if the generator is supplying power to the house, there's no way it can backfeed into the utility hookup. They make them in all sizes and can be powered by either Nat Gas or Propane. If you get one, I'd make sure it could at least power the "essentials" like water heaters, water pumps for wells, HVAC, etc... It goes without saying that if I get one, it will be done by a licensed electrician.
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Sep 14, 2017 12:22
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I used to work at a shop that had a portable generator to run the fridges during blackouts. There was a weird male-socket on the wall, and you used a regular extension cord to plug that in to the generator which you would have to lug outside. I'd like to think the male wall socket had some kind of interlock to stop the prongs from being live in normal operation...
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Sep 14, 2017 12:25
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~Coxy posted:This is the computer version of crappy construction: I'm genuinely confused about what's expected to happen here - power the laptop for free from the distribution board somehow? Why would it have a USB port?
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Sep 14, 2017 12:34
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cakesmith handyman posted:I'm genuinely confused about what's expected to happen here - power the laptop for free from the distribution board somehow? Why would it have a USB port? That looks like a relay box for controlling things like electric heaters. It's likely programmable.
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Sep 14, 2017 12:37
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"Home Automation" using a USB relay board and a PC connected to the home network as receiver for whatever jank or home-brew automation software their running. OR they just used that board as an example, and it's a programmable board that you can connect to.
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Sep 14, 2017 12:40
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Proteus Jones posted:I'm looking at getting a NG generator installed that will more or less power the entire house in case of a power outage (they aren't common, but they typically happen in the middle of summer and have lasted for for more than 10 days). This includes a cutover switch (I imagine it's more of a solenoid) to disconnect from the grid while the generator supply electricity. I believe this is also set up in such a way that if the generator is supplying power to the house, there's no way it can backfeed into the utility hookup. You use transfer switches to isolate certain breakers that are on emergency circuits so that they can be fed by only either mains or generator power. It functions as a double throw switch to move a load from one source to another. They can be had in automatic or manual and are pretty key to safely using a generator to power house circuits. Manual transfer switches can use a temporary cord that hooks to a male plug on the switch so that you can safely hook up to a generator temporarily. e: Here's an automatic switch at work. Front panel has indicator lights to tell you what it's doing.  Settings inside.  The double throw switch. The T phases are the load, the N phases are normal power, and the E phases are emergency generator power. 
glynnenstein fucked around with this message at 13:03 on Sep 14, 2017 |
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Sep 14, 2017 12:51
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Uh. So, those are to kill things that need to stay dead and go away, I think? Like, make sure the ancient hardware never hurts anyone again? Or just to punish users. It's hard to tell from the page's tone. ~Coxy posted:I used to work at a shop that had a portable generator to run the fridges during blackouts. Those male wall sockets are called "shore power" connectors, typically for connecting a boat to external AC power. I have one on my shed so I can run an extension cord for lights without hard wiring it (and thus, without pulling an electrical construction permit.) In my case, the male plug on the shed is never powered when unplugged, since it's the only way for power to get to the shed. edit: like this: http://www.freeportmarine.com/catalog/product/view/id/76044/s/marinco-15-amp-125-v-shore-power-inlet/category/9660/ They also come in 220V, twist-lock, etc. Darchangel fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Sep 14, 2017 |
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Sep 14, 2017 16:32
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https://twitter.com/sotomiru/status/907316834986348544
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Sep 14, 2017 17:10
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Pretty low glory hole.
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Sep 14, 2017 17:12
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We don't go in....that room.
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Sep 14, 2017 17:14
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Stop posting half life 2 screenshots in the Crappy Construction Tales thread
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Sep 14, 2017 17:15
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I worked in a mom and pop grocery store during high school, and this was basically how we locked all the doors except the front (which had a key). 2 boards per door; one on top, one on the bottom.
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Sep 14, 2017 17:25
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That is how the basement door to the storm door is locked at my place. Which I am ok with because the basement only connects to the back stairwell so there are still locking interior doors to each unit. Also because the space between the interior door and storm door is basically stuffed full of spiders and centipedes locked in a turf war, so anyone committed to getting through there wouldn't by stopped by much.
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Sep 14, 2017 17:30
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Trap house locks.
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Sep 14, 2017 19:04
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Until they put lotion on the door stays locked...
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Sep 14, 2017 20:17
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Tunicate posted:like a USB-to-USB cable Back in my day it was called firewire.
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Sep 14, 2017 21:40
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glynnenstein posted:Settings inside. That really is a thing of beauty. Everything clearly labelled and explained. Such a rarity
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Sep 14, 2017 22:14
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Platystemon posted:Usually Christmas lights strung backwards. This is it. It seems to be failry common.   An Ace Hardware even had to put a FAQ on their website https://www.westlakehardware.com/frequently-asked-questions/is-there-an-adapter-out-there-with-two-male-ends-for-my-christmas-lights/
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Sep 15, 2017 00:00
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spog posted:That really is a thing of beauty. It's so pretty 
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Sep 15, 2017 01:59
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Tunicate posted:like a USB-to-USB cable Trigger warning that poo poo. Christ, gave me retail flashbacks.
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Sep 15, 2017 04:09
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Avenging_Mikon posted:Trigger warning that poo poo. Christ, gave me retail flashbacks. I just want to transfer my files from one laptop to the other, can't I just hook them up?
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Sep 15, 2017 04:16
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A long time ago I got a dual serial cable and did just that between my old and new computers. Is it weird and bad??? btw I'm a ghost
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Sep 15, 2017 04:21
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Target disk mode was a godsend.
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Sep 15, 2017 04:26
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