"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
When in doubt... Throw the main

Assuming your panel has main that is....


"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..

"DanG" wrote in message
news
I agree with you totally, but the advice is for someone who is
uncomfortable and on new territory. He is not asking how to work
something hot.

--

I appreciate the swift responses. I am relatively new to doing this kind
of repair work and so there were these questions that came to mind. I
had to replace the dimmer, I've seen it done and know how to do it, but
wires won't show electricty in them, so before grasping them to undo the
pigtail I grabbed my voltmeter and touched the wires. I didn't see any
readings so I thought - Hmm maybe my voltmeter isn't working. So I was
about to stick the probes in the outlet when the thought occured to me
that maybe that isn't such a smart idea either. So I figured, why not,
I'll ask here and save myself a trip to the emergency room and only pay
the price of looking stupid.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DanG
A live Singing Valentine quartet,
a sophisticated and elegant way to say I LOVE YOU!
(local)
http://www.singingvalentines.com/ (national)


"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
Personally, I feel that I have better control over my well-being when I
use both of my hands when handling live wires and devices. I also try
to use my head


"DanG" wrote in message
...
The phone lines are safe. You won't feel any shocks.

Power lines are a bit different.There should not be power on the
colored power wire, usually black, when the breaker is turned off.
Neutrals, the white one, are usually shared by two circuits. In a
perfect world there should not be power on the neutrals if everything
is wired correctly. DO NOT assume so. You do not tell if your wiring
is new enough to have a ground, either green or bare. Turn off the
breaker, check between black and white - no power; then use your
tester between the black and the green - no power; use your tester
between the white and the green - no power, you're good to go.

It is good practice to never use both hands around electricity that
can allow current through your heart. If you are not grounded,
barefoot, in a puddle of water, or some other grounding you might feel
a tingle, but the current can't go through you. I am not suggesting
this, but some old electricians might use their finger in a light
socket to check for power.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DanG
A live Singing Valentine quartet,
a sophisticated and elegant way to say I LOVE YOU!
(local)
http://www.singingvalentines.com/ (national)


"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
A couple three basic questions that I'm not willing to test myself.

When pigtailing wires together, you won't get shocked so long as 1)
the breaker to that circuit is off 2) you aren't touching both the
neutral AND the hot wire. Meaning, if I grab two hot wires and
pig-tail them (like when adding in a dimmer) I won't get shocked so
long as I'm not touching the neutral wire AND the breaker to that
circuit is off. I'm not trying to be ultra safe here so much as I'm
trying to make sure that in situation where switching off the breaker
isn't a guarentee that power is off for that fixture.

Second question, if I take the probe leads from my volt meter and jam
them into an outlet, it's not gonna short the circuit but do exactly
what I would expect it to do - read the potential difference between
the two sockets in AC volts (assuming your voltmeter is reading AC
volts).

And finally, when splicing phone line, do the wires normally carry
voltage sufficient to shock or could you essentially splice them with
your teeth if you had to?