# Incompetent



## Mastertorturer (Jan 28, 2009)

This is what happens when an Electrical Supervisor who doesn't give a damn hires the lowest bidder with no accountability. The hackers are *NEVER* pursued to correct the blatent code violations they create. 

Instead; another contractor is hired to correct the problem at an even greater expense to taxpayers. Then they joke around and say stuff like "Well it keeps you working... ha ha ha" 

F**k'n morons.

#1 - The rats who scurry around at night ripping people off with their wham-bam electrical never label circuits. So while tracing I came across this un-powered receptacle.
















Who the hell takes the time to make this instead of getting a cover plate?

#2 - This was found while replacing ballasts for (347V, Single Lamp, 26 W CF) pot lights. So they didn't realise the breaker they shut off was from a 347/600 panel or did they change it live and get lucky? Too bad it didn't kill'em; that would be one less moron on the planet.

120v ballst. So how hot would glass have to be to melt? I'm guessing pretty damn hot. 









Since when is yellow the correct colour of bonding wire? 









#3 - Hey check it out that wood is growing roots again! Oh wait that's power cords, lets investigate. 
















Ah ha! This is so much more aesthetic than those disgusting receptacles in the wall that are easy to plug into and easy to f**k'n see. 

#4 - Adding in a new gym must be very confusing. As you can see by the pen and marker on the registry for a BRAND NEW PANEL! All renovation prints contain a complete panel registry as to what each breaker should control. 
















The eletricians from Pakistan they hired who work for $15/h with out a license must not have been trained to read prints.

Our society has forgotten how to fire people not fit to do the job. These people should be banned from the trade and those responsible for hiring them charged with criminal negligence.


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## knowshorts (Jan 9, 2009)

I've seen receptacles like in your first picture used as security cameras in beer coolers.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

knowshorts said:


> I've seen receptacles like in your first picture used as security cameras in beer coolers.



Browse around some of the security-type web sites. You can get just about anything with a camera installed. Exit lights, sprinkler heads, clocks, pencil sharpeners, sunglasses, you name it and a security camera can be installed in it.


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

Well it keeps you working... ha ha ha


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## robnj772 (Jan 15, 2008)

OMG what a cry baby 

I guess every panel you have come across has always been labeled 100% correctly and you never had to change/move anything around


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

I try to stop worrying so much about what other people do, and choose to instead worry about what I do.


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

MDShunk said:


> I try to stop worrying so much about what other people do, and choose to instead worry about what I do.


 Yep if you worry about everybody else you will worry yourself to death.


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## Jim Port (Oct 1, 2007)

MDShunk said:


> I try to stop worrying so much about what other people do, and choose to instead worry about what I do.


I agree, but why is there no accountability for how our tax dollars are spent? I watched a project where different fixtures were installed, cables weren't properly secured and numerous other problems. I asked the rep from the organization paying to have this built why this was allowed to happen. The quote was it would delay the building to throw the clown off the job and then it would need to be re-bid. I asked about the on going maintance issues caused by the poor workmanship being an ongoing liability and he said they would deal with it when it came up. BTW the 1 year walkthru was a joke. Items were listed and never made to be fixed.


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

well, that's just poor management. I have worked at alot of bases in DC and Maryland, and they held our feet to the fire on most jobs. (I have seen a lot of crap though on certain bases, but I wasn't sure who did it - contractors or gov. maintainance guys)


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## Bob Badger (Apr 19, 2009)

Jim Port said:


> I agree, but why is there no accountability for how our tax dollars are spent?


Don't worry about it, it was Canadian tax dollars.:thumbsup:


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## BuzzKill (Oct 27, 2008)

wildleg said:


> Well it keeps you working... ha ha ha


zing! :laughing:


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## JohnR (Apr 12, 2010)

just looking at pic #2, why would someone put a staycon on a what appears to be solid wire.? cool. must have been t&m


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

Mastertorturer said:


> This is what happens when an Electrical Supervisor who doesn't give a damn hires the lowest bidder with no accountability. The hackers are *NEVER* pursued to correct the blatent code violations they create.
> 
> Instead; another contractor is hired to correct the problem at an even greater expense to taxpayers. Then they joke around and say stuff like "Well it keeps you working... ha ha ha"
> 
> ...


What is that black cabinet in the first picture? None of that stuff seems all THAT bad. I have seen much much worse! Still annoying though.

At least they took the time to fix/re lable the panel schedule.


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## Mastertorturer (Jan 28, 2009)

cdnelectrician said:


> What is that black cabinet in the first picture? None of that stuff seems all THAT bad. I have seen much much worse! Still annoying though.
> 
> At least they took the time to fix/re lable the panel schedule.


That black cabinet is for controlling the heating and cooling in the building. It's an Input/Output system that allows the building to be controlled remotely or on site. 

I was "they". The entire building had 14 panels all with incorrect directories and it was my task to update them. It took 4 days to correctly trace them because all the computers were causing interference with the tracer. Two people, 64 man hours later and over $2500 wasted because idiots don't take 10 seconds to label their new work. 

These are all from schools. That $2500 could have been spent to improve kids education but it went down the drain.


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## Mastertorturer (Jan 28, 2009)

JohnR said:


> just looking at pic #2, why would someone put a staycon on a what appears to be solid wire.? cool. must have been t&m


Very good observation. I didn't even notice that myself. More fuel in the fire.


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## LogicDB (Feb 12, 2010)

A temperature control panel...


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## Podagrower (Mar 16, 2008)

The funny thing is, when I looked at the panels, I thought it looked like typical school work from here in Florida

These are all from schools. That $2500 could have been spent to improve kids education but it went down the drain.[/QUOTE]


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## John Valdes (May 17, 2007)

JohnR said:


> just looking at pic #2, why would someone put a staycon on a what appears to be solid wire.? cool. must have been t&m


T&B told me that stacons were listed to #14 or #12 solid. This came up once before and I called them. I am not sure if it was the #14 or #12. But they are listed for this.

What about the 3/8" flex from box to gutter?


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## Frasbee (Apr 7, 2008)

I worked on a job where a lot of the journeyman would argue that we didn't need to follow the spec book because they believed code compliant was sufficient enough.

It didn't take long for the GC to discover this and the company had to go back and re-pull a lot of #12 homeruns with 10 solid, and replace shared neutrals with #8 stranded.


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## Fredman (Dec 2, 2008)

knowshorts said:


> I've seen receptacles like in your first picture used as security cameras in beer coolers.



Great idea, till a service guy actually plugs something in. It would be funny to watch on the monitor though.


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## Mike in Canada (Jun 27, 2010)

I spend an inordinate amount of time pulling out illegal runs of liquid-tite conduit and running EMT in its place. I've pulled out runs of it over 40 feet long. Crazy stuff. Some people are afraid of bending pipe. EMT is the cheapest way to run wire if you are used to it. Cheaper than BX.

Mike


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## Bob Badger (Apr 19, 2009)

Mike in Canada said:


> I spend an inordinate amount of time pulling out illegal runs of liquid-tite conduit and running EMT in its place.


Why was it illegal?


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## Stan B. (Jul 25, 2008)

Bob Badger said:


> Why was it illegal?


2006 CEC Rule 12-1302(3) Liquid-tight flexible conduit shall not be used
[...]
(b) as a general-purpose raceway;
(c) in lengths greater than that essential for the degree of flexibility required;
[...]


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Stan B. said:


> 2006 CEC Rule 12-1302(3) Liquid-tight flexible conduit shall not be used
> [...]
> (b) as a general-purpose raceway;
> (c) in lengths greater than that essential for the degree of flexibility required;
> [...]


 Man, do I wish like hell we had that rule. Liquid-tight is the handy-man's raceway. I see so much of that just run like garbage. No supports; waaaay more than 360 degrees worth of bends. There will be some piece of equipment with the stuff just draped on it like a plate of spaghetti. 

The funny thing is, you mention how you hate straight pieces of LT? I once did a job where they spec'd *all* the wiring on some cooling towers was to be in liquid-tight. We had a rack of straight runs 60 or 70 feet long of 3/4" liquid-tight. Looked like hammered dog-$#&%. :hammer:

-John


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## mattsilkwood (Sep 21, 2008)

Big John said:


> Man, do I wish like hell we had that rule. Liquid-tight is the handy-man's raceway. I see so much of that just run like garbage. No supports; waaaay more than 360 degrees worth of bends. There will be some piece of equipment with the stuff just draped on it like a plate of spaghetti.
> 
> The funny thing is, you mention how you hate straight pieces of LT? I once did a job where they spec'd *all* the wiring on some cooling towers was to be in liquid-tight. We had a rack of straight runs 60 or 70 feet long of 3/4" liquid-tight. Looked like hammered dog-$#&%. :hammer:
> 
> -John


 I hear ya. There is one plant I work in where the plant electrician runs sealtite for *everything.* Don't get me wrong, it has its place and I use a lot of it but a lot of what I see is just lazyness.


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## Mike in Canada (Jun 27, 2010)

I don't have a copy of the NEC, but I understood that NEC 645 prohibited runs of liquid-tite that are longer than 6'. Up here we're supposed to max out at 1.5m, which is roughly 4' 6".

Mike


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Mike In Canada said:


> I don't have a copy of the NEC, but I understood that NEC 645 prohibited runs of liquid-tite that are longer than 6'.


I don't have it in front of me, either, but chapter 6 in the NEC is Special Occupancies, and maybe LT is restricted in whatever occupancy Artricle 645 is. But the general uses for liquid-tight are laid out in Article 350, and I'm pretty sure there aren't length restrictions except where run unsupported.

-John


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## WIREDOG (May 27, 2007)

I agree with the original poster. Lack of craftsmanship and low bidders have made every Joe blow an "electrician" and there are not enough old timers left to teach good quality work like I was taught.


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## John Valdes (May 17, 2007)

mattsilkwood said:


> I hear ya. There is one plant I work in where the plant electrician runs sealtite for *everything.* Don't get me wrong, it has its place and I use a lot of it but a lot of what I see is just lazyness.


Surprised as many plant electricians believe in the 6' rule. :laughing:
Can't count how many times I have heard that. Had a smart aleck production manager measure some sealtight I used for a motor and reported to my supervisor that I was not following code. Found out later after he was truly embarrassed in front of all his men, and that his brother in law told him it was a code violation.
Give a guy some cotton a few machines and a couple black guys and he's all of a sudden a southern plantation owner. :whistling2:


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## mattsilkwood (Sep 21, 2008)

John Valdes said:


> Surprised as many plant electricians believe in the 6' rule. :laughing:
> Can't count how many times I have heard that. Had a smart aleck production manager measure some sealtight I used for a motor and reported to my supervisor that I was not following code. Found out later after he was truly embarrassed in front of all his men, and that his brother in law told him it was a code violation.
> Give a guy some cotton a few machines and a couple black guys and he's all of a sudden a southern plantation owner. :whistling2:


 I saw a pretty good one the other day. I was walking through a plant looking at some safety violations they wanted fixed and they had cords draped through the bar joists off the busduct. The longest ones were about 150' #8. I guess they couldn't find the bender that day.:whistling2:


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## superdeez (Sep 13, 2010)

How about finding a recep on the ceiling with some tape on it and the word "NO!" written on the tape. Stick your meter in the sockets and it reads 277 volts...


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## wwilson174 (Apr 25, 2008)

mattsilkwood said:


> I hear ya. There is one plant I work in where the plant electrician runs sealtite for *everything.* Don't get me wrong, it has its place and I use a lot of it but a lot of what I see is just lazyness.


Sealtite is the choice of those who are not in possession of the skill and experience necessary to run EMT or GRC, the excuse is usually time or cost. A familiar debate for me.


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## Mike in Canada (Jun 27, 2010)

Mastertorturer said:


> Since when is yellow the correct colour of bonding wire?


 Just as a data point, I've run into automotive electrical (12V) which uses yellow as the ground and green as the hot. It might be a colour convention from... somewhere.

Mike


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

wwilson174 said:


> Sealtite is the choice of those who are not in possession of the skill and experience necessary to run EMT or GRC, the excuse is usually time or cost. A familiar debate for me.


 My p/t helper ran 40' or sealtite stapped to walls like conduit for another electrician he works for. For some it is becuase they cannot bend conduit.


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## Mike in Canada (Jun 27, 2010)

Shockdoc said:


> For some it is becuase they cannot bend conduit.


 It makes me money doing the work to replace it, so I shouldn't complain.... still do, though... 

Mike


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

Mike in Canada said:


> It makes me money doing the work to replace it, so I shouldn't complain.... still do, though...  /quote] It's alright , I correct alot of installations by the big names when they send helpers to do a mechanics work.


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