Hello Ben and everybudy
Electrical Cod Canada and USA is wery close .
Photo showing a GFCI receptacle installed in a bathroom. I tested it using the disconnect and reset buttons. GFCI’s were installed in all bathrooms and exterior of the house but none in the garage. This might be due to age of house or not a requirement of the local electrical code. No AFCI’s either.
On another note I was disappointed to see the instructors in the training video not wearing the recommended PPE, specifically safety glasses. If they are as important as indicated in the Safe Practices course then I would expect any training videos to include the use of all PPE not just mention it. I have been in the construction industry for 30+ years and am well aware of the importance of safety and use of proper PPE for the task. Having instructors not adhering to your own minimum safety standards is not setting a very good example for your students.
excellent course. I am in Ontario Canada, does anyone think that purchasing a building code book would be beneficial?
These are two pictures - one is of a burnt wire off of a breaker and the other is a burnt breaker. Both required a full evaluation by a licensed electrician
this is a 100 amp fuse panel
it is located within a closet.
this would still be considered as code compliant until an upgrade to a 200 amp circuit was completed.
at that time it would have to be moved out of the closet by a qualified professional electrictian
after taking this course and reviewing my own electrical panel.
it seems to me that an upgrade is needed not only for safety but for better power use in my home
As per instructions of the Electrical training course here are a few pictures of a breaker box I inspected.
What we have here is;
Multiple GFCI’s on the same circuit. Only the first in the circuit is necessary. Nothing wrong with this, but it is an indication that a do it yourselfer was handling some of the electrical work and it is a good idea to be on the look out for their handy work.
We also have a breaker box with multiple wires entering through a single strain relief, and cable jackets striped beyond the entrance to the box.
Hope this is of value to someone,
David Zimmerman
As instructed here is a description of my experience inspecting the electrical system in a home for completion of the course titled “How to Perform Residential Electrical Inspections”
The service drop crosses the driveway before entering the house. The clearance was greater than 12 feet above drive and 10 feet entering the the mast head. The gooseneck and drip loop appeared correct in functioning condition.
The Electric meter appeared to have no issues and was in good condition.
The Service Panel is Siemans brand rated at 150A with a 150A main disconnect.
The service Entrance Conductors appeared to be adequate AWG but not all of the strands of the wire were in the lug. I would recommend this be assessed by a licenced electrician.
The main service was NM
The Main Service Disconnect is rated at 150A
All Branch Circuit wires were NM and copper. No Aluminum wires found.
The over-current protection devices all appeared to be of the correct brand and in working order. Only one of the branch circuits was of the AFCI type because this is an older home and only that portion of the service was considered new. For safety reasons I would suggest replacing all branch circuits not in need of a GFCI to be replaced with a AFCI circuit breaker by a licenced electrician.
The Service grounding and bonding appeared to be correct.
I in spectec a representative number of receptacles. The all appeared to function properly. All GFCI’s were in place where needed and appeared to function properly.
Carbon-monoxide and smoke detectors were not inspected as they were not present. For safety reasons I suggest installing smoke detectors and carbon-monoxide detectors as directed by the manufacturer.
All of the breakers appeared to match with the correct AWG.
The following defects were observed, which I recommend a Licenced Electrician inspect (Photographs attached);
-Low Voltage wires, uncapped inside of Service Panel (Security Alarm)
-Wire connecting Neutral and Ground buss Bars crosses over exposed Main Bus Bar.
-The Service Conduit was modified (Strands not under lugs)
-The Service Conduit was not secured entering the Service Box.
-Water Pump Circuit was not grounded.
Due to these safety and Functional Defects further inspection by a licenced electrician is suggested.
I hope this satisfies the requirements of this assignment,
David Zimmerman
The SEC going into meter and going into structure is not properly sealed and water will get into meter and possibly into main panel.
This is a picture of the dead front of the service disconnect. You will see that it has been exposed to water and rust is beginning to form at the bottom. There was no evidence of moisture intrusion beneath the cover or of arcing or further water damage.
Finished Electrical Residential Inspection course. Here’s an image of two kitchen receptacles above a counter top. Both are GFCI protected and working. Receptacle on left is within 2 feet from edge of sink. Both receptacles are within 4 feet of each other.
During a Palm Coast, FL home inspection, I came across this old Federal Pacific panel. This is clearly a safety issue. It was recommended that a licensed electrician evaluate the panel.
Lawrence N. Petraglia
South Country Home Inspections
http://home-inspection-palm-coast-fl.com
Missing blanks
This Is The Computer Wiring in the office at Home. Bad HUH!
http://www.nachi.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=87524&stc=1&d=1427659384
I have been a full time home inspector for 20+ years and an active general contractor before that.
Recently, I saw eight electrical services located in perhaps the most dangerous locations I have ever seen – the meters and service panels were located in bathrooms, within reach of the bathroom sinks. The main building electrical ground was only via cold water. There was no secondary ground. There was no bond wire between the hot-cold-gas line at the water heater.
So if one were to place one hand on the faucet and place the other on the service entrance panel, a dead short of stray voltages to ground could easily pass through the person’s heart potentially resulting in electrocution.
I noted the dangerous locations (8 units) in my report and recommend a complete electrical system evaluation by a licensed and bonded electrical contractor, noting also that the meter and service panels would need to be relocated to a safe and utility approved new location. The listing and selling agents had left the scene so I could only verbally report the facts to the buyer.
To make the condition even more dangerous, the conductors between the original 1920s meter base and the service panel were original, badly frayed, cloth-covered wire with no bond whatsoever between the meter base and the service panel.
To make matters even worse, phase A and phase B was doubled lugged with two different size wires connecting the two phases of the service panel so that it was a 120 volt only panel and there was no way a good electrical connection could be made between the two conductors and the panel connection, so that a potential fire hazard existed on top of the other things wrong. I did not insert a tester to check voltages between phase A and B, as Standards do not require it.
The individual meter bases were such that one would disconnect power to the apartment were one to remove the meter from the base. There was no way to bypass the meter to change it out.
The service entrance conductors were concealed within conduit from the outside of the building to the back of the meter base, preventing evaluation. There was a single set of service conductors attached to the building that (apparently) terminated at an (unmarked) (240 volt) service disconnect that apparently served all four units in an individual building of the complex. There was no way to trace down the path from the single building service disconnect to any one of the individual services located in each bathroom. In short, this whole scene was a real mess and quite dangerous.
I included multiple photographs of this/these conditions in my report so that there could be no equivocation on anyone’s part, claiming I was exaggerating.
This email is already too long. There are other issues, but I’ll leave it at that. I hope none of you ever come across a service this bad.
Sincerely,
P. J. Severtson
nice ones guys. cant get the attach image paperclip working
