Back to the refrigerator…
Back to the refrigerator issue.
The problem appeared to be a wonky breaker. A short internet search and a trip to the nearby hardware super store, because at 8 pm the local place is wise enough to not be open, we had a new breaker in hand.
Swapping out procedure was simple. Turn off entire house. Remove questionable breaker. Replace with new breaker. Turn house back on. Test outlet. And…nothing.
Maybe it wasn’t the breaker. Maybe the outlet was bad. It was kind of gnarly. A brief inspection revealed what looked to be a single outlet. Single as in only one plug. These are things you don’t really notice when they are hidden behind giant appliances.
A hands and knees closer inspection led Chad to find that we had a regular outlet, someone had simply wallpapered over the top part. Wallpapered poorly. And then calked it in place instead of using an outlet cover. Because of course they did.
Entire house back off, Chad scrunched himself into the refrigerator cubby working to free the outlet. As luck would have it, we had an extra brand new outlet hanging around. New outlet installed, I headed down to flip the breakers while Chad lay on the floor, ready to test the outlet when it came back online.
I had no sooner flipped the relevant breaker back on than I heard Chad very clearly shout “TURN IT OFF!” This was surprising, since he was not directly overhead and the basement door was shut. He may as well have been standing right beside me for the volume and clarify of his directive.
“So…” I asked, returning to the kitchen and seeing him still in one piece on the floor.
“Flames.”
“Ah.”
“Electrician it is, then.”
chris on August 31st 2017 in Blogroll