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jimlongley wrote:... The Romex from the light switch had a clumsily installed staple holding it in place. The staple had been driven through the jacket and had penetrated the insulation of the hot side as well as the ring side of the telephone line, which had been run immediately adjacent.

I have seen this many times as well as overdriving the staple. The sad part is that, no matter how many times you tell a helper not to get carried away hammering in the staple, it still happens. I've even heard some electricians claim that the staple has to be very snug to keep the cable from pulling out of a box if someone trips on the wire in the attic. This is ridiculous. The purpose of the staple is to secure the cable in the wall cavity for the drywall installation step of construction. Heck, for wires that are fished into a box after the drywall is installed, no staple is required. What does that say about the purpose of the staple? When I checked the work of a helper or apprentice and I noticed a staple that looked like it was driven in too far, I would remove it (with diagonal pliers) and check to see if the cable sheath (outer covering of NM (or Romex) cable) retained a mark. If it did, the staple was driven in too far.

waynev wrote:

ninemm wrote:I don't do much electrical work nowadays but still keep my state Master Electrician license current. But when I did, I never gave much thought to the shoes I wore, so the comment that "electicians wear rubber soled shoes" surprised me. I hardly ever bother to turn a breaker off. Instead, I (and almost every other electrician I know) just intentionally shorts the circuit since you can spend a lot of time determining which breaker controls the circuit you want to work on. Touching something with the back of your hand to test for voltage is not too smart. Just stick an old screwdriver in there (you could ruin a good one if it is hot) and short it out first.

This has got to be the worst advice I've ever seen. DO NOT SHORT THE CIRCUIT!!! Have you ever heard of a Federal Pacific breaker not tripping? If you cannot find the circuit, turn off the main breaker. You are guaranteed to have the power off to the circuit you are working with. Also, be careful with the white wire. Depending on how it 's connected, it may be the "hot" to the switch. If you need any help or advice, PM me.

The failure mode for Federal Pacific breakers is that some fail to trip on overload (125% - 200% of rating). I've run across thousands of them over the years and have never experienced one that fails to open up when the circuit is short-circuited. I know of many instances of people receiving an electric shock after they've supposedly tripped the breaker and used a meter (or touch voltage detector) and "knew" the power was off. Normally, I just work it hot (without gloves) because I know what I'm doing. But there are times when I know I can't work it hot (metal box, crowded box, etc.). You can't trust panel labeling anyway. I know lots of fellow electricians and don't know any who do it any differently than what I have described. Even after I've shorted something out, I still don't just willy-nilly go grabbing bare wires. I still work it like it is hot. Have you ever heard of a shared neutral?

I don't do much electrical work nowadays but still keep my state Master Electrician license current. But when I did, I never gave much thought to the shoes I wore, so the comment that "electicians wear rubber soled shoes" surprised me. I hardly ever bother to turn a breaker off. Instead, I (and almost every other electrician I know) just intentionally shorts the circuit since you can spend a lot of time determining which breaker controls the circuit you want to work on. Touching something with the back of your hand to test for voltage is not too smart. Just stick an old screwdriver in there (you could ruin a good one if it is hot) and short it out first.