I had an outage due to my own ****ing foolishness. Flipped the
relevant breaker & all was well -- I thought.

Went to watch a little TV before sleep; whole "entertainment center"
dark. Traced it to wall outlet which powered the whole shebang. So
now great big yellow power cord trailing across bedroom floor to
unaffected outlet.

My few attempts at installing new outlets in another room didn't work
out too great (though I followed instructions exactly), and I can ill
afford to pay an electrician to do the job.

Is this do-able by a non-techie?

(Also, why just that one outlet fried?)

TIA

HB

I had an outage due to my own ****ing foolishness. Flipped the
relevant breaker & all was well -- I thought.

Went to watch a little TV before sleep; whole "entertainment center"
dark. Traced it to wall outlet which powered the whole shebang. So
now great big yellow power cord trailing across bedroom floor to
unaffected outlet.

My few attempts at installing new outlets in another room didn't work
out too great (though I followed instructions exactly), and I can ill
afford to pay an electrician to do the job.

Is this do-able by a non-techie?

(Also, why just that one outlet fried?)


*Shut off the power to that circuit and take the outlet apart to see what's
going on inside. It may have fried because you use it more than others or
maybe that outlet feeds other outlets or things on that circuit and as a
result there is a lot of heat. There could also be loose connections that
finally failed. You didn't mention what you did to trip the circuit
breaker, but by doing that you may have pushed a marginal problem to
failure. It's also possible that the problem may be from another outlet
that feeds this particular outlet.

Take your time. Double check that the power is off at each outlet that you
work on. If you get stuck, post some pictures and give us the link so that
we can properly advise you.

On May 13, 5:01*pm, "John Grabowski" wrote:
I had an outage due to my own ****ing foolishness. *Flipped the
relevant breaker & all was well -- I thought.

Went to watch a little TV before sleep; whole "entertainment center"
dark. *Traced it to wall outlet which powered the whole shebang. *So
now great big yellow power cord trailing across bedroom floor to
unaffected outlet.

My few attempts at *installing new outlets in another room didn't work
out too great (though I followed instructions exactly), and I can ill
afford to pay an electrician to do the job.

Is this do-able by a non-techie?

(Also, why just that one outlet fried?)

*Shut off the power to that circuit and take the outlet apart to see what's
going on inside. *It may have fried because you use it more than others or
maybe that outlet feeds other outlets or things on that circuit and as a
result there is a lot of heat. *There could also be loose connections that
finally failed. *You didn't mention what you did to trip the circuit
breaker, but by doing that you may have pushed a marginal problem to
failure. *It's also possible that the problem may be from another outlet
that feeds this particular outlet.

Take your time. *Double check that the power is off at each outlet that you
work on. *If you get stuck, post some pictures and give us the link so that
we can properly advise you.

Just remember, black wire goes to the copper screw that is also
associated with the narrower of the two plug/outlet blades./ The
white wires goe to the silver screw which is associated with the wider
of the two outlet blades. The round pin / safety ground of the outlet
goes to any green wires and to the metal box the outlet should be
mounted inside of.

On Fri, 13 May 2011 18:01:23 -0400, "John Grabowski"
wrote:

I had an outage due to my own ****ing foolishness. Flipped the
relevant breaker & all was well -- I thought.

Went to watch a little TV before sleep; whole "entertainment center"
dark. Traced it to wall outlet which powered the whole shebang. So
now great big yellow power cord trailing across bedroom floor to
unaffected outlet.

My few attempts at installing new outlets in another room didn't work
out too great (though I followed instructions exactly), and I can ill
afford to pay an electrician to do the job.

Is this do-able by a non-techie?

(Also, why just that one outlet fried?)

Wasn't that the outlet where you were foolish?


*Shut off the power to that circuit and take the outlet apart to see what's
going on inside.

When I was just out of college, my girlfriend's friend asked how I
fixed things, and I said, Well first you look at it until you
understand it.

Twenty years later she still brought that up, thought that was funny,
I guess because when she looked at whatever it was, she didn't see
anything.

It may have fried because you use it more than others or
maybe that outlet feeds other outlets or things on that circuit and as a
result there is a lot of heat. There could also be loose connections that
finally failed. You didn't mention what you did to trip the circuit
breaker, but by doing that you may have pushed a marginal problem to
failure. It's also possible that the problem may be from another outlet
that feeds this particular outlet.

Take your time. Double check that the power is off at each outlet that you
work on. If you get stuck, post some pictures and give us the link so that
we can properly advise you.

On May 13, 5:08*pm, Higgs Boson wrote:
I had an outage due to my own ****ing foolishness. *Flipped the
relevant breaker & all was well -- I thought.

Went to watch a little TV before sleep; whole "entertainment center"
dark. *Traced it to wall outlet which powered the whole shebang. *So
now great big yellow power cord trailing across bedroom floor to
unaffected outlet.

My few attempts at *installing new outlets in another room didn't work
out too great (though I followed instructions exactly), and I can ill
afford to pay an electrician to do the job.

Is this do-able by a non-techie?

(Also, why just that one outlet fried?)

TIA

HB

On May 13, 5:08*pm, Higgs Boson wrote:
I had an outage due to my own ****ing foolishness. *Flipped the
relevant breaker & all was well -- I thought.

Went to watch a little TV before sleep; whole "entertainment center"
dark. *Traced it to wall outlet which powered the whole shebang. *So
now great big yellow power cord trailing across bedroom floor to
unaffected outlet.

My few attempts at *installing new outlets in another room didn't work
out too great (though I followed instructions exactly), and I can ill
afford to pay an electrician to do the job.

Is this do-able by a non-techie?

(Also, why just that one outlet fried?)

TIA

HB

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL??? WHAT ARE YOU IF A MCDONALDS COOK ?
YOU DO NOT NEED A DEGREE IN ARHRICULTURE, ENGINEERING OR SCIENCE TO
CHANGE AN OUTLET.......ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY 25$ TO 75$ TO HAVE
SOMEELSE DO IT PROPERLY FOR YOU?
WA WA WAAAAAA, GRIPE GRIPE GRIPE, ALL YOU GUYS DO IS GRIPE.
GET A HANDYMAN OR A CONTRACTOR, OH AND ASK FOR A RAISE TO AFFORD IT.
TGITM

On May 14, 2:34*pm, wrote:
On Fri, 13 May 2011 14:08:20 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson





wrote:
I had an outage due to my own ****ing foolishness. *Flipped the
relevant breaker & all was well -- I thought.

Went to watch a little TV before sleep; whole "entertainment center"
dark. *Traced it to wall outlet which powered the whole shebang. *So
now great big yellow power cord trailing across bedroom floor to
unaffected outlet.

My few attempts at *installing new outlets in another room didn't work
out too great (though I followed instructions exactly), and I can ill
afford to pay an electrician to do the job.

Is this do-able by a non-techie?

(Also, why just that one outlet fried?)

TIA

HB

Either your entertainment center is huge and sucking a ton of power,
or else you have some large loads on that outlet besides the
entertainment center. *Normally a tv and stereo only draw a few amps
at most. *What is all on that circuit? *(including other outlets)?

Could be the outlet itself was bad. *Worn contacts and loose wires can
cause them to overheat and fry. *

Why are you hesitating to replace the thing? *In the time it took you
to post this message, you could have changed the outlet, and a new
outlet only costs $2 to $3. *Less if you get a cheap one (not
recommended).

If you're afraid to change it, call an electrician, or at least find a
friend or relative who knows how to do it and is handy with tools.
This is normally a very simple repair, and is safe as long as the
power is shut off during the repair. *Personally, from what you said,
I'd suggest getting temporary second job to earn the money to pay an
electrician, because it sounds like you're too stupid to do this
repair yourself.

FOR REAL...HE SOUNDS LIKE A NEW CASE STUDY POSTER CHILD FOR DANGEROUS
CONNECTIONS ON A RESIDENTIAL ELETRICAL OUTLET....BOOOWAHAHAHAHAHA !

TGITM

Ask your neighbors, and at church. Perhaps you have a friend
who can do the work. Watch the first couple, can be a much
safer way to learn. compared to reading web sites, and
learning by failure.

Electrical "learning curve" can hurt. This, I know.....

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Higgs Boson" wrote in message
...
I had an outage due to my own ****ing foolishness. Flipped
the
relevant breaker & all was well -- I thought.

Went to watch a little TV before sleep; whole "entertainment
center"
dark. Traced it to wall outlet which powered the whole
shebang. So
now great big yellow power cord trailing across bedroom
floor to
unaffected outlet.

My few attempts at installing new outlets in another room
didn't work
out too great (though I followed instructions exactly), and
I can ill
afford to pay an electrician to do the job.

Is this do-able by a non-techie?

(Also, why just that one outlet fried?)

TIA

HB

So, his talents are in other fields. Doesn't imply that he's
stoopid.

I've met some very smart people who can't wire sockets.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


wrote in message
...

This is normally a very simple repair, and is safe as long
as the
power is shut off during the repair. Personally, from what
you said,
I'd suggest getting temporary second job to earn the money
to pay an
electrician, because it sounds like you're too stupid to do
this
repair yourself.

On Sat, 14 May 2011 04:30:52 -0400, mm
wrote:

When I was just out of college, my girlfriend's friend asked how I
fixed things, and I said, Well first you look at it until you
understand it.

Or.............I fixed your computer, but it still doesn't work.

On May 13, 2:08*pm, Higgs Boson wrote:
I had an outage due to my own ****ing foolishness. *Flipped the
relevant breaker & all was well -- I thought.

Went to watch a little TV before sleep; whole "entertainment center"
dark. *Traced it to wall outlet which powered the whole shebang. *So
now great big yellow power cord trailing across bedroom floor to
unaffected outlet.

My few attempts at *installing new outlets in another room didn't work
out too great (though I followed instructions exactly), and I can ill
afford to pay an electrician to do the job.

Is this do-able by a non-techie?

(Also, why just that one outlet fried?)

TIA

HB

Let me count the ways to say: "I am an idiot".

1. Not just one outlet fried. Traced other outlets on that circuit;
all dead.

2. Huge panic; I may have to call electrician to deal with whole
circuit.

3. Then wondered why one circuit came right back on after the short,
when I flipped breaker, but not the other.

4. So went out to look at breaker box again. No breaker was out of
line, as when a circuit blows.

5. But I thought whatthell, I'll flip the appropriate breaker just in
case.

6. So of course everything came back on.

7. Never was a fried outlet.

8. I am an idiot

BUT: Now curious why the 2nd breaker didn't look like it had blown.
Aren't they all supposed look conspicuously out of place? Inquiring
minds..

HB.

On May 14, 9:04*pm, Higgs Boson wrote:
On May 13, 2:08*pm, Higgs Boson wrote:





I had an outage due to my own ****ing foolishness. *Flipped the
relevant breaker & all was well -- I thought.

Went to watch a little TV before sleep; whole "entertainment center"
dark. *Traced it to wall outlet which powered the whole shebang. *So
now great big yellow power cord trailing across bedroom floor to
unaffected outlet.

My few attempts at *installing new outlets in another room didn't work
out too great (though I followed instructions exactly), and I can ill
afford to pay an electrician to do the job.

Is this do-able by a non-techie?

(Also, why just that one outlet fried?)

TIA

HB

Let me count the ways to say: "I am an idiot".

1. *Not just one outlet fried. *Traced other outlets on that circuit;
all dead.

2. *Huge panic; *I may have to call electrician to deal with whole
circuit.

3. *Then wondered why one circuit came right back on after the short,
when I flipped breaker, but not the other.

4. *So went out to look at breaker box again. *No breaker was out of
line, as when a circuit blows.

5. *But I thought whatthell, I'll flip the appropriate breaker just in
case.

6. *So of course everything came back on.

7. *Never was a fried outlet.

8. *I am an idiot

BUT: *Now curious why the 2nd breaker didn't look like it had blown.
Aren't they all supposed look conspicuously out of place? *Inquiring
minds..

HB.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

My experience has been that some breakers trip and move visibly, while
other breakers trip and it is impossible to see that the handle has
moved. I routinely just cycle them off and then on.

You know, that sounds Shakesperian. Let me count the ways.
Most of us have done much the same, at some time. The handle
"should" move when tripped. Sometimes they don't.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Higgs Boson" wrote in message
...

Let me count the ways to say: "I am an idiot".

1. Not just one outlet fried. Traced other outlets on that
circuit;
all dead.

2. Huge panic; I may have to call electrician to deal with
whole
circuit.

3. Then wondered why one circuit came right back on after
the short,
when I flipped breaker, but not the other.

4. So went out to look at breaker box again. No breaker
was out of
line, as when a circuit blows.

5. But I thought whatthell, I'll flip the appropriate
breaker just in
case.

6. So of course everything came back on.

7. Never was a fried outlet.

8. I am an idiot

BUT: Now curious why the 2nd breaker didn't look like it
had blown.
Aren't they all supposed look conspicuously out of place?
Inquiring
minds..

HB.

On May 15, 5:51Â*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
You know, that sounds Shakesperian. Let me count the ways.
Most of us have done much the same, at some time. The handle
"should" move when tripped. Sometimes they don't.

--
[...]

Close (by a few centuries) but no cigar. One of the most famous
love poems in the English language. Elizabeth Barrett Browning to her
husband Robert:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday�s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood�s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,�I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!�and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

HB