26

Water heater breaker shut off and when I flipped it back on a wire burnt(imgur.com)

posted
by
Avatar
kjpctech@lemmy.world
in
Avatar
plumbing@lemmy.world
9 comments
hidereport

Why would this happen? Should I try replacing the wire nut and turning it back on or is there something deeper going on? Thanks for any tips!

Sort:
HotTopControversialNewOld
You are viewing a single thread.
View all comments
Avatar
Rognaut@lemmy.world
4 points

You have what is called an electrical short to ground.

You need a professional.

This is caused by excessive current traveling straight to ground. Which in turn causes the point of highest resistance to become very hot. Which in turn increases the resistance of that point in a sort of runaway effect of increasing heat and resistance. Until you reached the flash point of the material.

Changing the wire nut will not solve the problem. It was only an indication of a problem.

permalink
report
reply

Plumbing

!plumbing@lemmy.world

Create post

A place for Plumbers and those interested in Plumbing to ask questions and discuss the trade.

Community guidelines:

If you have a plumbing question please include a picture in your post.

If you have a question such as “does this look correct?” please include the code your area adheres to. If you’re not sure please include state/province/country you’re in. Codes can vary state to state and what’s wrong in one area may be perfectly acceptable in another.

Just as codes vary, prices do too. That’s why we won’t discuss any pricing because there’s so many factors that can’t or shouldn’t be conveyed to strangers over the internet.

Community stats

  • 1

    Monthly active users

  • 19

    Posts

  • 44

    Comments

Community moderators