hj
Master Plumber
- Messages
- 33,603
- Reaction score
- 1,042
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Cave Creek, Arizona
- Website
- www.terrylove.com
neutral
In this case the neutral had failed, and the "ground wire" was the metal casing from a piece of BX the builder had laying around. It was steel so it rusted away and the hot water line, including the heater became the neutral. When the union was disconnected all the power in the house became 240 volts and anything on an unbalanced circuit, which is usually everything, that was turned on burned out. Working in Chicago with all the DIY landlord repairs, you quickly learned NEVER to separate pipes with your hands. You hit them with a hammer or wrench and watched for sparks.
In this case the neutral had failed, and the "ground wire" was the metal casing from a piece of BX the builder had laying around. It was steel so it rusted away and the hot water line, including the heater became the neutral. When the union was disconnected all the power in the house became 240 volts and anything on an unbalanced circuit, which is usually everything, that was turned on burned out. Working in Chicago with all the DIY landlord repairs, you quickly learned NEVER to separate pipes with your hands. You hit them with a hammer or wrench and watched for sparks.