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It's really very validating to have my dad finally really examine my electrical panel. I'm only level 1 or 2 in electrickery (which goes up to Epic levels), and I've heard a lot of "No, really, it makes sense" and felt like a bit of an idiot -- so when he looked at it, looked at my map of what-turns-off-what, looked at the panel again, and said "What the hell, someone really screwed this up" I felt vindicated.
I mean, I still don't understand it. But at least I have corroboration that I don't understand it because it's screwed up, not because I'm a dunce.
The panel itself is old and weird and has no main shut-off, which is a bit freaky. As of last week, we were definitely planning on replacing it. As of today, we're no longer sure -- it's connected to the meter with two fairly short leads (maybe 15"), so my previous hope -- that we'd install a newer one higher up the wall -- would have to include changing out the main leads, which means paying the utility company another $200 to shut the power off at the pole or mast. And there's some question of whether we could actually get the leads in without bending them too sharply even if we did that. And none of this sits nicely flush with the wall because... we're not quite sure why, actually, there are spacers in there for some reason.
One way or another, though, we're going to have to take the panel completely apart and figure out how to work it in a way that makes some kind of sense -- whether we put it back in the old panel or a new one.
It'd be nice not to have one half the power for a single heater going through one breaker, while the other goes through a different one. Or the water heater apparently controlled by two (so you have to flip two breakers to off it -- probably the same situation as the heater, where they got 220 power in an ... unconventional... way). And that probably explains why the light on the back porch I never use flickers like it's possessed when you shut off one breaker, but only actually turns OFF if you shut off a different one.
*tears hair*
OH! But all the subfloor is down and the water heater's back in position!
...aaaaaand some of the subfloor is squeaking. *cries* Right over the spot where the cement slab shattered, so there's probably bugger-all I can do about it.
I mean, I still don't understand it. But at least I have corroboration that I don't understand it because it's screwed up, not because I'm a dunce.
The panel itself is old and weird and has no main shut-off, which is a bit freaky. As of last week, we were definitely planning on replacing it. As of today, we're no longer sure -- it's connected to the meter with two fairly short leads (maybe 15"), so my previous hope -- that we'd install a newer one higher up the wall -- would have to include changing out the main leads, which means paying the utility company another $200 to shut the power off at the pole or mast. And there's some question of whether we could actually get the leads in without bending them too sharply even if we did that. And none of this sits nicely flush with the wall because... we're not quite sure why, actually, there are spacers in there for some reason.
One way or another, though, we're going to have to take the panel completely apart and figure out how to work it in a way that makes some kind of sense -- whether we put it back in the old panel or a new one.
It'd be nice not to have one half the power for a single heater going through one breaker, while the other goes through a different one. Or the water heater apparently controlled by two (so you have to flip two breakers to off it -- probably the same situation as the heater, where they got 220 power in an ... unconventional... way). And that probably explains why the light on the back porch I never use flickers like it's possessed when you shut off one breaker, but only actually turns OFF if you shut off a different one.
*tears hair*
OH! But all the subfloor is down and the water heater's back in position!
...aaaaaand some of the subfloor is squeaking. *cries* Right over the spot where the cement slab shattered, so there's probably bugger-all I can do about it.
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Date: 2013-10-13 05:06 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2013-10-14 04:24 pm (UTC)From: