John E wrote:

This is the basic question I'm asking. Is it common and regular practice to
inform the owner of a voltage as high as 245? And to suggest that he have
factory personnel come and look at each machine and examine PS taps and such?
And if he had hired a licensed electrician would the electrician likely had
informed the owner of the voltage difference?

What you have not said is what was the voltage supposed to be?

Where? Common and regular practice as you call it varies from country to
country.

Also what was the actual voltage at the old location. If it was supposed to
be 240 volts then 245 is well within actual variations, or the calibration
of a meter.

If it was supposed to be 208 or 220 or 308, etc then it is too high.

This to me is starting to get tedious. A simple question of "who was at fault"
has become a "****ing contest" over who can make the most outrageous guess
as to why their champion is guilt free.

IMHO it really boils down to exactly what the owner of the business expected
when he hired "the guy". If he hired someone he knew was unlicensed, he
should have had the work inspected or hired a licensed electrician. Otherwise
he was taking a chance that he would never get caught cheating, and he lost.

As for the CNC device failing, his expectation of "the guy" to open it up
and adjust the voltage tapes is unreasonable. Again he took a chance that
he could move the device without hiring the proper technician to pack it up,
unpack it after arival and set it up. And again, he lost.

Considering the worst outcome of it would have been a fire destroying the
building, everything in it and killing all the people involved, a $4000
controller failure, which was probably not caused by the voltage problem
anyway, is a small price to pay for loosing.

As for insurance, no property insurance will cover damage due to illegal
repairs, etc, which includes uninspected work done by unlicensed electricians,
and no manufacturer will cover damage due to untrained technicians modifying
the equipment (even to move the voltage taps), or damage caused by over
voltage due to an unlicensed electrician wiring the equipment.

There may also be civil and criminal liability here, the best thing to do
IMHO is to have the company and "the guy" come to an agreement where they
will leave him alone, and eat the loss. They will then pay for any repairs
to the equipment and "the work" as legally mandated.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM