Tapping a cable for small loads

[Wotname]

The use of the wire nut in top right corner seems quite professional in comparison!

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I guess it's before the meter, so it's "free" power?
Ever seen anyone use jumper cables on a meter box, who's meter has been removed?

Actually, this one is after the meter so no freebies here. But when I was still an electrician many moons ago and living in the south, I did a lot of hurricane damage repairs. I saw a lot of car jumper cables, extension cords etc. used to feed services from portable generators after the meter was removed. The worst, and after every major hurricane there are plenty, were the the ones feeding the house panel without removing the meter.

[Colin A]

I'm willing to bet it was live while they did it too. I have seen plenty of screws in cables on boat but usually it was by accident not on purpose.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Colin A

I'm willing to bet it was live while they did it too. I have seen plenty of screws in cables on boat but usually it was by accident not on purpose.

Ahhh yes........ you've wrestled and inched your way into some boat cavity way too small for your body, you are ready to drive that screw in and you think "isn't there a wiring loom on the back side?" You are hot and cranky and not wanting to squeeze your self out and in again. You drive the screw home thinking "what are the odds I'll hit it anyway?"
Yep, sure enough, you hit a wire on the back side...

[Colin A]

Years ago I was prepping boats at a large boat dealer for delivery, I had two aluminum boats from the same builder start smoking when I connected the battery and fired them up. This was within a month of each other. One was right thru the harness into the fuse panel feed (8 or 10 gauge I believe) under the console. The other was the ignition lead in the engine harness (turn the key and watch the smoke some up from under gunwale).

[a64pilot]

My Brother many years ago was screwing in metal strips for the shower wall that covered the seams between the panels, he was standing barefoot in a cast iron bathtub and the screw went into the 220V main power cable for the stove, it actually welded the screwdriver to the screw and knocked him on his arse of course.

[DefinitelyMe]

Yup, i ran across a boat a couple of years ago where all the wiring was done exactly like this. The guy had just run a thick positive and negative wire down each side and then screwed things in like this along the way. The thing is, it's a really nice boat and he maintained it well, so it's not as though he couldn't afford to do it properly, he just couldn't be bothered!

[Saltyhog]

And I thought my PO was bad. He did a lot of funky stuff, but never anything like that. Geesh!