WTH? It's electrical but not in an airplane..

SJ said:

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Not much room for a runway... unless it was a seaplane base and enough seaplane hi jinks has occurred over the years that it is no longer "forgiven".

The wall that pipe is on is on the left side of the house.

sj

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Interesting. If it was a gas line it would need to be wrapped black iron and certainly wouldn't need a heat tape. I wonder why the water line has a drop with a shut off valve on it, and I can't think of what the stains on the floor would be the footprint of. The romex looks like it was coiled and had gotten hot at some point in time. I'd test for power (yes - homeowners wire things in interesting ways) and just clip it off.

More importantly - Is it wise for you to show all these guys what your house looks like and where you live? Tents could appear overnight.

HA! So, I actually installed the new water main shutoff and the drain down (the drop with a shut off) as I am doing lots of rehab to this house and the old water main gate value was not movable. It also serves as a hose hookup (with a little GH adapter) My neighbor has a little acetylene tank which made it an easy job rather than trying to sweat with a propane torch.

sj

cubpilot2 said:

I had something like that in a house I bought. It ran outside to an underground sump pump which lifted water to a Mickey Mouse French Drain. It had been covered over and abandoned.

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Crashpad I was in up in Anchorage had this exact set up, the pit was 20' or so deep! Froze up in the winter and so it was unplugged. If it was forgotten in the spring we'd have an indoor swimming pool in the basement! It was the only house on the street with a basement, I think I know why.

I think it was added after the House was built. I would guess that there was a water problem in the basement and the previous owner put drain tile around the house and routed the pump output into the house to drain the water down the sewer. The sump was covered over so it wouldn’t show on the outside of the house and be a mowing obstacle. Plug it in. Worst case you will pop a circuit breaker or blow a fuse.

Diggler did it.

phdigger123 said:

I think it was added after the House was built. I would guess that there was a water problem in the basement and the previous owner put drain tile around the house and routed the pump output into the house to drain the water down the sewer. The sump was covered over so it wouldn’t show on the outside of the house and be a mowing obstacle. Plug it in. Worst case you will pop a circuit breaker or blow a fuse.

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My next big job is going to be replacing this federal pacific panel (known for burning down houses link), and having already had it not pop breakers when it should have, I think I will delay further shorting experiments...

SJ said:

My next big job is going to be replacing this federal pacific panel (known for burning down houses link), and having already had it not pop breakers when it should have, I think I will delay further shorting experiments...

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I know that feeling except ours was a Zinsco. The range quit, turned out the breaker had failed internally. It was only a grand to replace it including permits, etc. Good luck!

Now that's a peach, I'm afraid you'll blow the breaker in the souvenir shop when the band starts to play... (Reference: The Bob Roberts Society Band)

SJ said:

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double post

wireweinie said:

Sounds like a heat tape with crusty connections.

Go ahead. Plug it in and tell us what happens! lol

Web

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Measure current draw when you do this and report back with readings including changes over time, resolution of fractional seconds at first. If it goes above 15 amperes for more than a few seconds, disconnect the power.

Your pic shows more problems than just the Federal Pacific panel. And remember that the new installation doesn't meet code until all circuits are labeled as to what they feed (a common shortfall I see that unfortunately many inspectors let slide).

When I see things like that, an obvious hack, I immediately suspect the entire system. I can't see it very well in the photo, but Romex is not designed for use as an extension cord; it's for permanent installation inside a wall, not to be poked into a hole next to a pipe. Even if it's SO cord, that isn't the way it's done. If they did this, what else did they do? I can see some sort of box in your photo below the panel that looks like it's missing a bushing. That would instantly, and appropriately, fail after a casual glance by the drunkest of corrupt electrical inspectors.

I'll paraphrase whoever said "A cub goes just barely fast enough to kill you", into "there is just enough energy lurking there to kill someone or burn the place down". As an example, how would you react to this statement? "Aircraft hardware is expensive; that's why I got my prop bolts at Malwart for 1/8 of the price that Craftspruce Air sells them for. But it's okay because they were installed by the speedy-lube guys using their best rattle-wrench".

My experience with home inspectors is that they are useful and necessary, but most of them aren't electricians, plumbers, carpenters or hazmat specialists, and don't claim to be. They typically make statements like "problems were noted with electrical installations and further investigation by an experienced electrical contractor is recommended", which I think is appropriate.

My advice is to get a very experienced licensed electrician to evaluate everything, starting with the service entrance. Or at the very least, anything that looks like it was added after the original installation.

It may cost a few bucks to straighten this out, but the possible alternatives are pretty grim.

You guys worry too much. When I moved into our 1865 farmhouse back in 1981 we still had a couple runs of knob and tube wire hot in the cellar floor joist. Eventually got the whole house rewired over a ten year period. Most of the shops on main street in Cooperstown are over 200 years old and last time I was in some of the cellars (1990s ) knob and tube was still on a few old feeds.

Glenn

cubdriver2 said:

You guys worry too much. When I moved into our 1865 farmhouse back in 1981 we still had a couple runs of knob and tube wire hot in the cellar floor joist. Eventually got the whole house rewired over a ten year period. Most of the shops on main street in Cooperstown are over 200 years old and last time I was in some of the cellars (1990s ) knob and tube was still on a few old feeds.

Glenn

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the one place my mom had in stevens point wisconsin was pre electricity.... it was retrofitted with all that knob stuff, all the plugs were down in the base board they added....

cubdriver2 said:

You guys worry too much. When I moved into our 1865 farmhouse back in 1981 we still had a couple runs of knob and tube wire hot in the cellar floor joist. Eventually got the whole house rewired over a ten year period. Most of the shops on main street in Cooperstown are over 200 years old and last time I was in some of the cellars (1990s ) knob and tube was still on a few old feeds.

Glenn

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A good deal of the NEC was developed as the result of a fire, injury or death. Knob and tube works just fine until something bad happens (fairly easily) or until something better comes along, which it has.

We observe, we learn, we improve.

I stand by my position.