Not telling you to do it but I would prolly just turn the breaker on and see what happens. If anything's wrong it'll just trip.
This is the way we all need to handle things here on the forum. We don’t want anyone to ever get injured on advice we give or work beyond their abilities. We need to help when we can and watch out for others who’s advice we may question. It is the OPs job to explain everything they can about their problem and to read and comprehend all the advice they get back.
If a 50 or 60 amp breaker is protecting those 15 or 20 amp exterior outlets, and there is no smaller breaker in between, then the wires could melt or burn if there is a short, or other funky situation out under the deck.Not telling you to do it but I would prolly just turn the breaker on and see what happens. If anything's wrong it'll just trip.
First off that’s kind of a misconception laying on wet ground under a deck messing with 120v lines or a 240v service will both have what it takes to kill you dead as a door nail.If it were only 110, I might. 220, Ah Hell Naw!
I tried to point that out a couple times.If a 50 or 60 amp breaker is protecting those 15 or 20 amp exterior outlets, and there is no smaller breaker in between, then the wires could melt or burn if there is a short, or other funky situation out under the deck.
Even cheaper and more simple, just a typical contact type voltage tester with a small display window, which lights up to indicate whether voltage is 240 or 120.First off that’s kind of a misconception laying on wet ground under a deck messing with 120v lines or a 240v service will both have what it takes to kill you dead as a door nail.
Non contact testers have a place but I would never trust one totally.
There is a device called a megger and it is not what you need or want in this case. What you need is a simple multimeter that has the ability to measure at least voltage. You can pick one up at Ace Hardware for 25 bucks. They come digital or analog and I have one of each but being old school I kind of like watching a needle move rather than numbers jump around. Ether will tell you what you need to know and better to buy one now as once you get one you will wonder why you didn’t do it a long time ago.
It does have to be GFCI, but GFCI does nothing with limiting current it looks for unbalanced current in the mil amp range, thus detecting a second path to ground.Sorry I misunderstood, I thought the breaker for outdoor wiring had to be GFCI.
That’s correct about GFCI.GFCI doesn't detect current to ground it checks for balance in the lines assuming any imbalance is going to ground.
I guess you are suggesting a short could occur between conductors w/o impacting the ground wire. I suppose that could be a possibility.
This is mostly correct.That’s correct about GFCI.
I have many things in my home that only have a two prong plug like lamps etc. My electric drill is double insulated and only has two prongs. If that gets an internal short plugged into a 15/20a outlet and the outlet is protected with a 50a breaker the wires in the walls or the wires to the drill become the fuse and have to burn thru as they can’t carry 50a.
The breaker in the main panel could be a regular breaker, feeding a sub panel or disconnect outside for the hot tub, which then has the tub gfci breaker inside it.Sorry I misunderstood, I thought the breaker for outdoor wiring had to be GFCI.
BTW 240V is 120V to ground rather than 240V. Will still kill you though.
If a 50 or 60 amp breaker is protecting those 15 or 20 amp exterior outlets, and there is no smaller breaker in between, then the wires could melt or burn if there is a short, or other funky situation out under the deck.
First off that’s kind of a misconception laying on wet ground under a deck messing with 120v lines or a 240v service will both have what it takes to kill you dead as a door nail.
Non contact testers have a place but I would never trust one totally.
There is a device called a megger and it is not what you need or want in this case. What you need is a simple multimeter that has the ability to measure at least voltage. You can pick one up at Ace Hardware for 25 bucks. They come digital or analog and I have one of each but being old school I kind of like watching a needle move rather than numbers jump around. Ether will tell you what you need to know and better to buy one now as once you get one you will wonder why you didn’t do it a long time ago.
A megger is not an easy meter to use. Since a common VOM cannot measure high resistances a megger is used to look for insulation breakdown. The circuit must be completely isolated and the megger generates a high enough voltage to force a current in high resistance insulation. This is a IIRC comment as I haven't seen a megger used since my first job out of college.
So far you/we/us don't even know if you have a problem. You just have to determine what's on that 50A breaker.
A current of 10 mA or 0.01 A is a severe shock, but it would not be fatal. As we approach 100 mA or 0.1 A, muscle contractions set in. It is imperative to realize that due to the low resistance of the heart, a current of only 10 mA is sufficient to kill us.
I have read that about as much current as it takes to light up a flash light is enough to kill you, if it goes through your heart..
Swimmer_spe
I will chime in with the misconception that working with 240v is more dangerous than working with 120v.
One thing you must remember, it takes less than an amp to kill you and 120v and 240v have amps sufficient to kill you.
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