this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2024
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This was in a guesthouse bathroom, there was a showerhead pointed right at it.

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[–] [email protected] 57 points 1 day ago (3 children)

This is a 20 amp circuit breaker, not only is it unprotected, when it failed someone bypassed it instead of replacing it with something correct. If you took a shower in the morning and water splashed on these open contacts you wouldn't need coffee to get your heart started.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

Is it a suicide shower (the kind where an unprotected 3000W+ heating wire runs through the water) with disconnected ground? (A grill around the nozzles is connected to a ground wire that is supposed to prevent the current from flowing into your body, but it tends to trip GFCI/RCD so stupid desperate people disconnect it against the advice in the manual. If they were desperate but smarter, they would connect the grill to neutral instead to prevent GFCI/RCD from tripping while maintaining slightly better leakage prevention.)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 21 hours ago

No it wasn't one of those, though I have gotten a surprise from them a few times.

This was a small wall mounted unit with a thermoblock heater. There was no ground of course.

[–] krashmo 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ignoring all the obvious bad decisions, what were they trying to accomplish? Even if that was wired correctly in a breaker panel enclosure I can't figure out why it would be placed in a location that had a shower head pointed at it.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Honestly I thought about it and I'm not sure what the intention was. It could have been mounted on the other side of the wall (outside the bathroom) just as easily.

I'll have to dig it up but I have a photo of the old electric meter from the same place. It was buzzing quite loudly, then it melted. It would have been marginal when installed and was connected to only lights and ceiling fans, then they did a reno and added aircon and water heaters.

[–] krashmo 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The meter melted? Jesus, that's a unique place isn't it haha

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 21 hours ago

Thanks for the pictures.

What country are those from (can't make out the markings on the meter)?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

Or stopped for that matter.