Popping everybody’s water balloon

craigiz1 said:

I agree. I was thinking of the safety issue, not the contractor. After some research, I found the information about "fooling" the GFI and the UPS conflict. And yes, drilling in the rain is stupid.

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Craigiz1;

Thanks for doing that research on GFI, UPS, and computers. Could you give a link or URL to the information you found?

Thanks

Pudge

I think the contractor is related to the Inspector and both were looking for a few extra bucks.

The contractor wanted $10-15 dollars for putting in a GFI

The inspector wanted $50 for looking away while you 'grease' his pocket

well the news is out I talked to others in my park - the contractor and the inspector do know each other and other homes have been asked to make "questionable" inside upgrades. On monday I'm going to town hall and speak to someone about this problem. I'm going to find the code and not allow the inspection by THAT inspector.

I should have never let that contractor into my home. The park is only doing all of this so they make more money and they are connected to the contractor. They passed on the outside upgrade cost to all the owners and now tells us we dont get plugged back in if we dont let there contractor and the town inspector in. - What a rip off. I'm not going to stand still for this.

However, one good thing came out of this - I want a safe computer and I'll be looking into a water detector system that cuts the power if a leak is found. Better safe then dead or fire.

The information I got about HOW a GFI works, I got at www.howstuffworks.com and the information on GFI and UPS was from doing a search on Google and going to one of the links, but I can't remember where that link was. Sorry.

Hehe Good thing to be living in Denmark (Europe) Here GFI 's (which we by the way call HFI ) is a law requirement which means it's already installed at the fuse box. Only annoying thing about those things is that they can start switching off if there is a bad lightning storm

Your inspector is wrong. That is not a permanent water source. (ie a sink or bath tub) If his logic were correct, you couldn't take a blender full of margarita mix and just plug it in anywhere.

I'm like Pepsi, and have been a contractor for 16 years.

Tobin Itharel said:

one more thought - a way to turn on the in case 120v before the motherboard is powered up would be a plus. This way the pump come on first then the system.

This would be a GREAT item for all water-cooled system builders. I hope someone would pick up on this.

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kind of off the main topoc, but I just wanted to jump in here and say that many people have done this, myself included, with a simple $3 or so relay from radio shack.

In case anyone is interested

Strangelove said:

Hehe Good thing to be living in Denmark (Europe) Here GFI 's (which we by the way call HFI ) is a law requirement which means it's already installed at the fuse box. Only annoying thing about those things is that they can start switching off if there is a bad lightning storm

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Better than killing your computer equipment Lightning has killed 2 monitors, 2 modems, 1 isdn adapter and 1 NT1 isdn box. I now have a grounded extension cable and distributor going from my kitchen to my living room (where my computer is and the outlets are not grounded), and I unplug everything when there's a lightning storm. Funny thing is, the GFI has never tripped, ever, and there's quite a few lightning storms every year.

Way to go !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love it ..go get em man I hope I see your story on 60 minutes. Get to the bottom of it ..............
Pepsi

The example of Tobin's problem with crooked government officials is not all that rare. Things of this nature happen all the time when someone gets a little power to abuse. I'm glad to hear that he is going to raise a stink about it and hopefully get this guy busted or at least let him know that others are watching him. This seems to be the only way to keep some people from ripping others a new one...

I live in Chile. Here we use mains plugs that use two or three equal pins. If there is an earth plug the three plugs form a straight line and the earthplug goes in the middle, a GFI in the circuit breaker panel is required by law.
So the neutral and hot connections though they are different they are not identified in any way from the outside of the wall plug.
I have a Belkin UPS, " THE REGULATOR PRO " it is called, plugged in this system and i have never had the mains power go off because of it (about two years).

this is off topic but about lightning . . .
Once I read a really interesting book on computer maintenance. It was interesting because that guy described his feeling and experience also not only boring stuff. He told there about a lady that taught him two tricks, one was that if you make a knot in the power cord of computers or appliances it protected them in case of lightning strike, he tried it and found it worked.
The other was about flat cables; I don't remember well that, but it was if they fail you may fix them straghtening them (don't remember if you had to iron them , seriously).

As a carpenter by trade I have come to hate GFI's they pop for little or no reason, like dropping your cord in a mud hole. I usually bash it off the power pole with my hammer, and hard wire direct to the meter. GFI=power interruptions. Also I don't believe they offer any sort of surge suppresion, just from frying yourself in the bathtub.

dream caster said:

this is off topic but about lightning . . .
Once I read a really interesting book on computer maintenance. It was interesting because that guy described his feeling and experience also not only boring stuff. He told there about a lady that taught him two tricks, one was that if you make a knot in the power cord of computers or appliances it protected them in case of lightning strike, he tried it and found it worked.
The other was about flat cables; I don't remember well that, but it was if they fail you may fix them straghtening them (don't remember if you had to iron them , seriously).

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"The Complete PC Upgrade and Maintenance Guide" by Mark Minasi refers to this, but he says to tie 4 or 5 overhand knots in the power cord. Most of the power cords in my house now have knots in them. Besides, it a good way to take up slack in the power cords also. To Quote the book:

"Believe it or not, some researchers found this one out. It makes the lightning surge work against itself, and burn out the power cord, NOT the PC. And it works--Washington had the biggest thunderstorm it had had in years in the summer of 1989, and the stuff with knots in the cords rode it out without a hitch. The TV didn't have knots in the cord, and I've got to get around to buying a new TV."

"The following year, a bolt hit my Telephone line. It literally toasted the line from the telephone pole to my house, little crispy brown bits flaked off at the touch. But once inside, the bolt hit my five knots, and nothing inside was fried. Why did I tie the knots? I got tired of losing a modem every summer to lightning."

Don't remember anything about straightening ribbon cables in this book. Doesn't mean it isn't there, I may not have read that.

Pudge

BUMP it's Monday I hope you do well. A little advice (I hope you can get a chance to read this before your town meeting). Go in with a cool head. Never get confrontational with these people and do NOT ever appear to be on the attack! Present your case bring documentation to back up (or witnesses) everything you say. Chances are the City Fathers don't know about this (if so you've got more troubles). State your case and nothing but the facts!!!!!!!!!! Stay calm then once you are finished see what happens. If things don't go your way keep your mouth shut and leave. If this doesn't resolve your issue there are other ways.
Please don't do anything stupid to get yourself into trouble. I'd feel like I'd was responsible for you wrecking your life there.
Stay Cool
Pepsi