Coalpail.com Forum

Wood'nCoal wrote: I would, just to be safe. It will also give you a chance to inspect the bare ends of the line, and be sure the lugs are tight.
Just make sure to shut the power off first!

Really? I like working with hot circuits better because it makes my heart beat faster. Seriously, thanks for the advice, I'll delve into this.....after my Rotties stop trying to kill each other....I'm not Kidding.

THEORETICALLY You can tighten the lugs one at a time with the power on, just make sure that you have rubber soles on and an insulated screwdriver and that you aren't touching anything. Keep one hand in your pocket. I had my main circuit breaker changed and the inspector came to inspect it because we had to pull the meter. He didn't shut off anything and tightened the main lugs to make sure the electrician did his job.

e.alleg wrote:THEORETICALLY You can tighten the lugs one at a time with the power on, just make sure that you have rubber soles on and an insulated screwdriver and that you aren't touching anything. Keep one hand in your pocket. I had my main circuit breaker changed and the inspector came to inspect it because we had to pull the meter. He didn't shut off anything and tightened the main lugs to make sure the electrician did his job.

In theory you can. Would I, no. I have done lots of wiring in breaker boxes with the power on, that doesn't bother me. The breakers and the main are between me and the service entrance. The thought of that rather high amperage potential available from the service entrance cable is enough to make me pull the meter.

e.alleg wrote:THEORETICALLY You can tighten the lugs one at a time with the power on, just make sure that you have rubber soles on and an insulated screwdriver and that you aren't touching anything. Keep one hand in your pocket. I had my main circuit breaker changed and the inspector came to inspect it because we had to pull the meter. He didn't shut off anything and tightened the main lugs to make sure the electrician did his job.

That is a very stupid practice . I wouldn't even do it with the lower circuit breakers .And I mess with electricity all day . It takes less than 0.5 amps to be fatal . Not worth the risk . The rubber soles on shoes do not meen they are electrially insulated . Chances are the way you describe you may get away with it most times . But is it worth the risk ? Dave

Flyer5 wrote:is it worth the risk ?

Its never worth it. Sometimes you have to do some things live, make them as few and far between as possible. Its no different than Russian roulette.

i've been thinking of heating my hot water with the alaska, by using a ac condensor and a circulating pump and my 50 gallon single element electric water heater.......what tempature can cpvc handle? I always use the good metal to cpvc connectors....cause plastic threads just don't work.

PVC is 140* and CPVC goes as high as 220*.

ok so the cpvc would be fine then? I only use cpvc for hot water.....copper is just too expensive these days....i'm sure i'm making some pipefitters shreik lol

I hope Yanche chimes in here, I think he has done this. I get the willies thinking about it from my experiences in an industrial setting.

i installed cpvc in my parents house around 1990......the copper and galvanized pipe were corroded almost shut when I ripped out all the old plumbing......they have hard water, and my parents and I hate water softeners......hard water here too, we ran all plastic pipe here also as the copper was rotted away......in an industrial setting plastic pipe is a headache yes I know..........years ago I was a maintenance man at the morgantown pa holiday inn..........they had a closed loop system with a heat pump in every room.........the rooms supply was pvc pipe with plastic threaded pieces going to brass ball valves to shut off each unit so you could remove it and service it......more than once the threads gave out and there was water everywhere........i'm a poor auto mechanic.....i cant afford copper either lol

coaledsweat wrote:I hope Yanche chimes in here, I think he has done this. I get the willies thinking about it from my experiences in an industrial setting.

I'm not sure what the question is but I've had good luck with CPVC piping for hot and cold water lines in residential use. The important detail is the transition from metal to CPVC. Always make the CPVC a threaded MALE fitting into the FEMALE metal fitting and use Silcone RTV instead of pipe dope. The plastic expands more than the metal with temperature increase so you get a joint that naturally tightens as the temperature increases. I've also had good luck with CPVC ball valves and poor luck with CPVC gate valves. Be sure to use the pre-cleaner solvent and the cement made just for CPVC, not the general purpose stuff. Cut your pipe at right angles using a miter box, or tubing cutter and de-burr both the OD and ID. Look at how the pipe goes into a fitting and notice how important it is to have a square cut. You want glue down at that interface where the pipe will bottom out. Glue ball valves when they are open and be careful not to use so much glue and glue the ball in place.

Flyer5 wrote:

e.alleg wrote:THEORETICALLY You can tighten the lugs one at a time with the power on, just make sure that you have rubber soles on and an insulated screwdriver and that you aren't touching anything. Keep one hand in your pocket. I had my main circuit breaker changed and the inspector came to inspect it because we had to pull the meter. He didn't shut off anything and tightened the main lugs to make sure the electrician did his job.

That is a very stupid practice . I wouldn't even do it with the lower circuit breakers .And I mess with electricity all day . It takes less than 0.5 amps to be fatal . Not worth the risk . The rubber soles on shoes do not meen they are electrially insulated . Chances are the way you describe you may get away with it most times . But is it worth the risk ? Dave

Exactly. Just because the soles of your shoes are rubber doesn't mean they are dielectric. Also, tools have to be very well insulated, and if you are working standing on dirt or concrete you need to use a dielectric rubber mat. I once helped an electrician do a live splice from a new service entrance to the lines from the pole. We spent more time wrapping the tools in about a mile of electrical tape then doing the actual work.

lincolnmania wrote:ok so the cpvc would be fine then? I only use cpvc for hot water.....copper is just too expensive these days....i'm sure i'm making some pipefitters shreik lol

I guess I'm just "old school". I prefer copper.
Where I live the water is very hard with some iron content. I finally was able to afford a water softener a few years ago. It's made a world of difference, esp. with laundry, the dishwasher, I can wash my car or truck without it being covered in lime stains (using towels to dry them made it worse-the laundered towels were loaded with lime from the water). Cleaning the bathtub was a chore, first hot water and phosphoric acid to remove the lime, then scrubbing. I actually had the toilet clog up with calcium carbonate! It wouldn't flush properly. A few hours with hot water and acid cleared it up. All the outlets under the rim were clogged.
Many industrial settings with hard water soften all or just the hot water, esp. commercial laundries. And a shower with very hard water really hurts, you have to just let the water dribble out of the shower head!
So what's wrong with water softeners?

you cant get the soap off of you in the shower.....my grandparents had a water softener I hated it! hard water for teh win!
purple power works great for cleaning the bathroom.....removes all the hard water stains

lincolnmania wrote:you cant get the soap off of you in the shower.....my grandparents had a water softener I hated it! hard water for teh win!
purple power works great for cleaning the bathroom.....removes all the hard water stains

The soap does come off, it just feels (at first) like it's still there. Once you get used to soft water, you'll hate the feeling of hard water. Use much less detergents for everything also. Our front loader washer uses less than 2 tablespoons of detergent for a huge load of oversize towels. A big jug of detergent lasts nearly a year.