Forgot to turn off the main before swapping a panel in an old house last Tuesday

Working on a 1950s house out in Oak Park, IL. Had to swap an old Pushmatic panel for a new one. Got in a hurry, thought I killed the main breaker on the meter side but I guess the feed was still hot from the street. Touched a screwdriver to the bus bar and saw a flash that made me jump back three feet. Melted the tip off my Klein. Nobody got hurt but my foreman chewed me out for a solid ten minutes. Now I double check with a tick tracer every time. You guys ever get complacent on a simple swap and almost eat it?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray64815d ago

That melted Klein tip is a hell of a souvenir... I'm guessing you kept it though, right? What did the foreman actually say during that ten minute chewing out? Was it more about the safety violation or the fact that you wrecked a good screwdriver?

ramirez.caleb15d ago

Whoa, wait - "melted the tip off my Klein"?! Dude that's wild (and terrifying). I mean, a melted screwdriver tip is like the universe yelling at you to pay attention, you know? I've done some dumb stuff in my day (who hasn't, honestly) but I've never actually vaporized a tool. That flash must have felt like a car backfiring right in your face. Glad nobody got hurt though, seriously. A tick tracer is cheap insurance compared to a trip to the ER, that's for sure.