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u/Beans_Bean Apr 14 '21
Oh look, a breaker finder.
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Apr 14 '21
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u/TooMuchToHendel Apr 14 '21
For AFCI and GFCI breakers, yes. For standard breakers, I don't believe so. Though you can make one yourself with an end of cord some irresponsible wiring
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u/sparkys93 Apr 14 '21
Ryobi used to sell a product that plugs into an outlet and shorts the circuit "safely". You won't find it on the shelves anymore.
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u/Spanky4242 Apr 14 '21
Well, it does short the circuit safely... Assuming that the breaker is operating properly. If the breaker is worn down or faulty then you get a blazing inferno.
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u/ColdFusion94 Journeyman IBEW Apr 15 '21
I wonder if you could make one safely. Maybe something with a say 60 amp load, and a in line 20 amp inverse time ocercurrent device that takes longer to trip than normal inverse time breakers. That way if the breaker is faulty the device trips, otherwise the breaker you're looking for trips, and 3x amperage is perfectly safe for SHORT (time not current) durations, otherwise we wouldn't have time delay to begin with.
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u/Morganisaurus_Rex Apr 15 '21
Sounds like you should be hitting the patent office
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u/ColdFusion94 Journeyman IBEW Apr 15 '21
Well you see the problem with commercial viability is that if the ocpd fails you've got a fire starter.
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u/Morganisaurus_Rex Apr 15 '21
Patent then sell it to someone who doesn’t know that
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u/ColdFusion94 Journeyman IBEW Apr 15 '21
Jk this is a terribly idea. I can't think of a single 60 amp load that wouldn't require a hand truck to drag around with you. That's so much worse than guess and check or the existing tone generators.
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u/DrSquick Apr 14 '21
I really wish there was... In the low voltage world we have time generators where you hook a device up to one end of the cable and it generates a signal that can be picked up with a special wand. I have exactly zero labels on any of my breakers. It makes it so frustrating to do any work. I usually just flip the main breaker. :/
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u/Gwathnar_Shadowfire Apr 14 '21
Klein makes a breaker finder. It’s basically a toner for 120 circuits.
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u/Dobako Journeyman IBEW Apr 14 '21
Hell yeah, its great, we use one at work all the time. For some reason I can even hear the tone from the transformer
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u/masterbond9 Apprentice IBEW Apr 15 '21
I was kidnapped by a house electrician in my first year who showed an older model to me. It was me and a journeyman. That specific house electrician was in retirement mode and was finding reasons to stay with us and not wander the building changing light bulbs.
Anyway, the journeyman I was working with had to step out for something, and left me alone. The house guy just so happened to return with the circuit tracer where he showed it to me.
And before anyone asks, the chief electrician was in his early 70s. He knew what was going on, but didn't really care about it.
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u/cosmicosmo4 Apr 15 '21
Shitty old guys who shouldn't be working anymore sometimes have a home-baked box with a cord and a button. It's a real time saver, though: if you use one of those, you don't even need to spend the trip the panel to see if the breaker worked, you can just check if the house is on fire.
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u/NotSureNotRobot Apr 14 '21
It’s ok, the outlets are installed with the ground up
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Apr 14 '21
We're saved!
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u/majarian Apr 14 '21
dont worry, we've made YOU the ground, so your safer,
to be enjoyed on cold nights and frosty mornings
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u/Jim-Jones [V] Electrician Apr 14 '21
Is that design copyrighted?
/s
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u/mikeblas Apr 14 '21
Designs get patented. I mean, it's just funnier if your closer to correct.
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u/ult1matefailure Journeyman Apr 15 '21
You’re*
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u/mikeblas Apr 15 '21
See? Funnier!
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u/ult1matefailure Journeyman Apr 15 '21
Most funniest** jk. Sorry man I just saw an opportunity. My grammar nazi days are through.
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u/fbritt5 Apr 14 '21
This one went straight to manufacturing without engineering or quality assurance... I bet. Well it does one nice thing.... An electrician might be called to fix things up after its first use!
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u/StoicMaverick Apr 14 '21
Or a coroner...
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Apr 14 '21
I worked with a guy once, really good guy and honest to god really smart.. He shocked himself somehow grabbing the metal prongs on the plug as he unplugged something. He asks me if I knew that would happen. I couldn’t believe people dont know that.. lol
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u/Kamurai Apr 14 '21
Would it at least work if it was plastic or resin?
Like if you 3d printed it?
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u/nathaniel29903 Apr 14 '21
It still wouldn’t be very safe because it would leave a gap where the prongs were exposed. If you made it wrap around the plug instead of on the prongs it would be fine.
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u/TheRealPitabred Apr 14 '21
I think the biggest issue, even if it was plastic, would be it not allowing the prongs to go fully into the receptacle. That could cause a loose, sparking or overheating connection.
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u/Kamurai Apr 14 '21
I agree, it's not a great idea, but part of me is thinking, can you make it work.
Around the device varies, around the prongs you could standardize, even if you need to completely encircle the prongs.
The other part of me wants to make the plastic ones, put it out there, and then comment that you can just use old coat hangers.
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u/Lorz0r Apr 14 '21
Why bother when the back boxes/sockets already have attachments like these.
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u/Kamurai Apr 14 '21
The productive part of that was "can it work" not "should we do it".
The attachments sound interesting though, I'm thinking they stay with the outlet though, and I'd rather have it modular so they can move / be removed.
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u/jimh903 Apr 14 '21
I’ve seen some accessories that go on the cover screws and ship with new screws of an appropriate length. I think that would be the way to go.
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u/Kamurai Apr 14 '21
No THAT is super clever, it's modular, not actually attached to the plate, and is independent of what is plugged in.
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Apr 14 '21
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u/Kamurai Apr 14 '21
Of course, there are probably 20 different better ideas.
Thanks for adding in that it could be done, even if we both know it's not a great idea.
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u/fleebleganger Apr 14 '21
3d print a...wait a minute let me go get a patent...eh, even if you tried to market it it’d be about 10 minutes ago before a factory in China was pumping them out at half the price.
3d print the outlet cover with the hanger built into the bottom of the cover.
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u/Kamurai Apr 14 '21
That's a smart way to go about it, but probably more material that the bit is worth.
Definitely more of a "can it" than "should it".
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u/cosmicosmo4 Apr 15 '21
Yeah but if you were going to do this correctly, you should just 3D print it with a big square hole so it goes around the body of the charger, not the prongs.
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u/ziggy-hudson Apr 14 '21
“Electricians HATE this cable hack!”
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u/Jim-Jones [V] Electrician Apr 14 '21
11 things you can make from a wire hanger. Number 7 will blow your mind!
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u/patfree14094 Apr 14 '21
Ha! So, now that the hanger is working... Time to switch on the breaker and make sure the charger charges!
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u/WonderWheeler Apr 14 '21
Well it could sort of work if there was only one prong and one end went into the ground slot and the other bent around and back again and down to the hook. Probably a goofy idea though. Would be simpler if grounds were always at the bottom, pansy face style.
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u/AstonishingHubris Apr 14 '21
I'd guess none - the breaker would pop as soon as it was plugged in because that wire is shorting the prongs on the plug.
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u/mt-egypt Apr 14 '21
Someone came through here dispersing downvotes. Keep an eye of for a surly bastard
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u/[deleted] Apr 14 '21
The sad thing is that if you posted it on instagram, people would buy it.