MiamiCuse wrote:
....

May be I need to hire another electrician for a second opinion. The problem
is the answer to "should I rewire all my old wires" is probably going to be
"of course new wires will be better than old wires" and "I cannot tell you
unless I pull them all out..."


I'd not put too much into the first off-the-cuff comment--as you say,
it's more reaction than analysis.

I'd definitely go inspect the wiring myself -- one should be able to
tell where the arc happened and perhaps see why as noted.

If the insulation is extremely brittle (cracks simply w/ a bend, for
example) that's pretty self-determinant that it's a potential problem
down the road. Then you can have the discussion of why they didn't do
what they said.

The hard part is if it isn't so clear-cut as it probably will be...I'd
still do the investigation and at least know whether I thought it was a
fluke, something as clearly expected because an exposed end did contact
the panel or an obvious nick that was mechanically caused, or the
insulation does actually crack/break easily. If it's a clear cause, you
can probably relax. If it's clearly that the insulation is failing,
well, it's only money. If it's in between, again, you're needing a
decision that nobody here can really help...

That's repeating the same answer in different (or sometimes the same,
even) words, I know...

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