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Lights Out, Again
Jun. 14th, 2024 10:09 pmBefore we left for Fallon, I had put a load of laundry on. After we got the swamp cooler running, I went to take the laundry upstairs. (We typically hang our laundry out to dry on a rack upstairs unless we need it dryer sooner. In our low-humidity climate, it works well.) Except that I discovered that the laundry had not run, and the lights were out in the utility room, rear bathroom, and the family room.
( Better Call Lisa )
We saddled up for yet another trip out (our third today) to run to Lowe's which was about to close. We bought two breakers so we would have a spare and went home quickly so we could try to work on the breaker box before we lost the light, although we did end up needing our flashlights.
As Lisa started to work, I reminded her to throw the main breaker first; she was so intent on fixing things that she'd forgotten to do so. She then started to remove the bottom-most breaker, and got a nasty surprise when it mildly shocked her. That should not have happened, not with the main breaker off. She made sure every breaker was off and gingerly tested it again, and things were now cold.
Unfortunately, those breakers are old, and the bottom one broke as she was starting to remove it. Then she realized that she'd picked out the wrong type of breaker. Our box uses the older-style "Zinsco" circuit breakers. We'll have to take these breakers back tomorrow and return them and see about getting some of the older type. This will probably be a special order, although I see that they can still get them.
So this leaves us with a couple of rooms in the house dark for now. Fortunately, as the washer only runs on 110V current, Lisa was able to run an extension cord into the next room where there is a live outlet and I could get the laundry done. I needed a flashlight to get upstairs to hang up the laundry, but the upstairs itself is on a different circuit and the lights were working up there. This is a nuisance, not a crisis.
Thus ends our adventures in home repairs for now, but it looks like there will be more tomorrow. I'm certainly glad that I have no early-morning commitments on Saturday.
( Better Call Lisa )
We saddled up for yet another trip out (our third today) to run to Lowe's which was about to close. We bought two breakers so we would have a spare and went home quickly so we could try to work on the breaker box before we lost the light, although we did end up needing our flashlights.
As Lisa started to work, I reminded her to throw the main breaker first; she was so intent on fixing things that she'd forgotten to do so. She then started to remove the bottom-most breaker, and got a nasty surprise when it mildly shocked her. That should not have happened, not with the main breaker off. She made sure every breaker was off and gingerly tested it again, and things were now cold.
Unfortunately, those breakers are old, and the bottom one broke as she was starting to remove it. Then she realized that she'd picked out the wrong type of breaker. Our box uses the older-style "Zinsco" circuit breakers. We'll have to take these breakers back tomorrow and return them and see about getting some of the older type. This will probably be a special order, although I see that they can still get them.
So this leaves us with a couple of rooms in the house dark for now. Fortunately, as the washer only runs on 110V current, Lisa was able to run an extension cord into the next room where there is a live outlet and I could get the laundry done. I needed a flashlight to get upstairs to hang up the laundry, but the upstairs itself is on a different circuit and the lights were working up there. This is a nuisance, not a crisis.
Thus ends our adventures in home repairs for now, but it looks like there will be more tomorrow. I'm certainly glad that I have no early-morning commitments on Saturday.
