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Electrical Outlets Seem to be Blown but not the Fuse

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Electrical Outlets Seem to be Blown but not the Fuse Jeffy3 05-27-2008
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Posted by Jeffy3 on May 27, 2008, 2:55 pm
I am not at home but my wife called today, said when using wet/dry vac
in our basement the outlet seemed to blow as the vac stopped working.
She also said that two other outlets in the basement aren't working
now. None of them are GFI outlets. The weird thing is that no fuse
was blown (we don't yet have circuit breakers, still have a fuse
box). In fact, the outlets are on the same fuse as the ceiling lights
and they are working just fine. Is it possible to blow out a series
of electric outlets? I will be calling an electrician tomorrow but
like to be somewhat knowledgeable when dealing with repair guys so I
don't get taken !

Posted by RBM on May 27, 2008, 3:57 pm

>I am not at home but my wife called today, said when using wet/dry vac
> in our basement the outlet seemed to blow as the vac stopped working.
> She also said that two other outlets in the basement aren't working
> now. None of them are GFI outlets. The weird thing is that no fuse
> was blown (we don't yet have circuit breakers, still have a fuse
> box). In fact, the outlets are on the same fuse as the ceiling lights
> and they are working just fine. Is it possible to blow out a series
> of electric outlets? I will be calling an electrician tomorrow but
> like to be somewhat knowledgeable when dealing with repair guys so I
> don't get taken !

Outlets and lighting circuits are daisy chained together. Sometimes a heavy
load, like a vacuum causes a weak link, either at an outlet or in a junction
box, to come loose, killing part of the circuit. It's an easy fix, once the
"open circuit" is located. Just give the electrician the details of what
happen, and he should find and repair it in a short time



Posted by Silver Surfer on May 27, 2008, 3:57 pm
Possibly a loose connection in the feed to those outlets, especially if they
are daisy chained.

>I am not at home but my wife called today, said when using wet/dry vac
> in our basement the outlet seemed to blow as the vac stopped working.
> She also said that two other outlets in the basement aren't working
> now. None of them are GFI outlets. The weird thing is that no fuse
> was blown (we don't yet have circuit breakers, still have a fuse
> box). In fact, the outlets are on the same fuse as the ceiling lights
> and they are working just fine. Is it possible to blow out a series
> of electric outlets? I will be calling an electrician tomorrow but
> like to be somewhat knowledgeable when dealing with repair guys so I
> don't get taken !


Posted by HeyBub on May 27, 2008, 4:01 pm
Jeffy3 wrote:
> I am not at home but my wife called today, said when using wet/dry vac
> in our basement the outlet seemed to blow as the vac stopped working.
> She also said that two other outlets in the basement aren't working
> now. None of them are GFI outlets. The weird thing is that no fuse
> was blown (we don't yet have circuit breakers, still have a fuse
> box). In fact, the outlets are on the same fuse as the ceiling lights
> and they are working just fine. Is it possible to blow out a series
> of electric outlets? I will be calling an electrician tomorrow but
> like to be somewhat knowledgeable when dealing with repair guys so I
> don't get taken !

Easy fix if your hand fits a screwdriver.

Find the outlet with the stabbed-in connector that's no longer making
contact. Replace.

You should be out for less than $2.00 (not counting gas).



Posted by Rick-Meister on May 27, 2008, 7:42 pm
Hey Bub is right on the money.

Stab in connectors usually fail when there's a high electical
load--like a shop vac. They heat up and lose their spring tension.
After a few rounds of heating up, they're worthless. Every time I've
seen this problem, it's always solved by replacing the receptacle and
using the screw terminals rather than the stab in connectors.



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