Stupid things we all must have done

[ColinJ]

Stupid is trusting a wife to go downstairs and turn the power off when you are changing a light socket, she came back up with a drink which the idiot had slurp of before shoving the screwdriver in the socket, a shocking experience.

The wifes excuse, she knew she went downstairs for something but could not remember what.

I fitted a couple of bedroom lights for my sister at the weekend. I asked her to turn the old lights on and then I would turn them off at the circuit breaker board. She asked why - the circuit breakers on the board are labelled and one label says 'upstairs lighting'. I said that I don't trust other people's labels and wanted to make sure that I was switching the right circuit off!

She thought I was being over-cautious, but turned the lights on for me anyway. I flicked the circuit breaker off downstairs and then went upstairs. She told me that the lights had been on but had gone off when I switched the power.

Me: "Do you notice anything?"

Sister: "Yes - the bedroom lights HAVE gone off."

Me: "True, but the one on the upstairs landing has NOT gone off - they have fed power to it from the downstairs circuit!"

Sister: "Ah - maybe you are not crazy after all!"

Oh, 'belt and braces' - I use one of those electrical screwdrivers with a neon light in to double-check that there is no power on the cables before I touch them!

 

[ColinJ]

You do not need to spend an evening stripping old wallpaper off a wall you are going to knock out in the morning.

And you also don't have to spend 3 days getting a new Windows 7 installation fully updated, and downloading and installing several GB worth of applications immediately before reformatting your hard drive and doing a free upgrade to Windows 10!

 

[Bodhbh]

Daft things as a kid...

Inflating tyres with water....

I recall doing that stupid trick as a kid, but I have no recollection how it turned out. Do you remember what happened?

Daftest thing as a kid was to put a racing wheel and forks onto my Chopper. Hilarious to ride, but I never really worked out the forks connected properly with the stem - so the forks wouldn't always turn with the bars. Not that it mattered too much as with the 'improved geometry' the front wheel only had a loose connection with the ground anyhow.

 

[Tom B]

Partially filling them with water resulted in a seriously out of balance wheel that was interesting to control. Filling them with as near as possible totally with water resulted in a rather heavy wheel that shook your fillings out.

 

[Dave the Smeghead]

Thirty odd years ago, carrier bag dangling off the drops, took a junction fast which required some lean-over-age, straigtened out, carrier bag swings in, gets stuck between wheel and forks, locks wheel, over the top I go.

Snapped my collarbone clean in half and skinned part of my scalp and shoulder with a period of unconsciousness as well.

Not the best start to the school summer holidays as a fifteen year old.

Did exactly this with some fish and chips picked up for my uncle in a carrier bag. He never got his dinner, I spent the night in hospital, and several weeks getting the money together to repair my bike. The paper round I had took absolutely ages without my bike (and hurt with a broken collar bone).

 

[Blue Hills]

My mechanical faux pas is putting a new chain on, feeding it through the jockeys correctly but on the outside of the chain guide

I used to do that pretty often. Eventually (slow learner) I cracked it.

 

[Blue Hills]

I fitted a couple of bedroom lights for my sister at the weekend. I asked her to turn the old lights on and then I would turn them off at the circuit breaker board. She asked why - the circuit breakers on the board are labelled and one label says 'upstairs lighting'. I said that I don't trust other people's labels and wanted to make sure that I was switching the right circuit off!

She thought I was being over-cautious, but turned the lights on for me anyway. I flicked the circuit breaker off downstairs and then went upstairs. She told me that the lights had been on but had gone off when I switched the power.

Me: "Do you notice anything?"

Sister: "Yes - the bedroom lights HAVE gone off."

Me: "True, but the one on the upstairs landing has NOT gone off - they have fed power to it from the downstairs circuit!"

Sister: "Ah - maybe you are not crazy after all!"

Oh, 'belt and braces' - I use one of those electrical screwdrivers with a neon light in to double-check that there is no power on the cables before I touch them!

Lucky you didn't live in our student flat. With all the breakers/fuses off the light on the landing remained on.

 

[ColinJ]

Lucky you didn't live in our student flat. With all the breakers/fuses off the light on the landing remained on.

That's why I want to see the light on, and then I want to see it off AND I use a screwdriver with a power indicator in it! (The only question then is how to stop someone turning the power back on when working on the wiring! )

 

[themosquitoking]

I fitted a couple of bedroom lights for my sister at the weekend. I asked her to turn the old lights on and then I would turn them off at the circuit breaker board. She asked why - the circuit breakers on the board are labelled and one label says 'upstairs lighting'. I said that I don't trust other people's labels and wanted to make sure that I was switching the right circuit off!

She thought I was being over-cautious, but turned the lights on for me anyway. I flicked the circuit breaker off downstairs and then went upstairs. She told me that the lights had been on but had gone off when I switched the power.

Me: "Do you notice anything?"

Sister: "Yes - the bedroom lights HAVE gone off."

Me: "True, but the one on the upstairs landing has NOT gone off - they have fed power to it from the downstairs circuit!"

Sister: "Ah - maybe you are not crazy after all!"

Oh, 'belt and braces' - I use one of those electrical screwdrivers with a neon light in to double-check that there is no power on the cables before I touch them!

Two way lighting on an upstairs/downstairs hallway has to have power fed from either the upstairs or the downstairs mcb. Don't use those electrical screwdrivers, one very cheap component failure and you'll be getting the full 240, get a cheap multimeter or a voltage indicator instead, much safer.

 

[young Ed]

Not maintenance or repair, but who would be stupid enough to put their bike in the car, drive to the ride meeting place, and then realise they'd left the front wheel leaning against the recycling bin at home?

now you'd have to be a right kn*b to do that! haha
Cheers Ed

 

[young Ed]

i've been down the workshop since i was about 5 or 6 playing about with vehicles and bikes etc and whilst it wasn't a bike i was playing with the other day it was a 1930's petrol engined sprayer towed behind a horse
just finished doing a minor engine rebuild so went to fill the oil up (very expensive special oil) and forgot to put the drain plug back in! haha

bikes wise though, tried screwing pedals in the wrong way, not much else TBH. or atleast not as i can remember!
Cheers Ed

 

[ColinJ]

Two way lighting on an upstairs/downstairs hallway has to have power fed from either the upstairs or the downstairs mcb

I can see that a cable has to be run between downstairs and upstairs to enable the light to be switched on/off from both floors but it seems to me that it would have been more logical to run the cable down from the upstairs circuit, rather than up from the downstairs circuit since only the upstairs light works off those switches. There is a separate switch for the downstairs light.

Don't use those electrical screwdrivers, one very cheap component failure and you'll be getting the full 240, get a cheap multimeter or a voltage indicator instead, much safer.

I was trying to get another light working today but it wouldn't come on. I tried a couple of different new led bulbs in the fitting, but still no joy. I used my trusty screwdriver and that didn't light up either. Then I started thinking that I haven't used it for years so I wasn't even sure that it would work even if a mains supply WAS connected. I took a look at the gubbins inside the screwdriver and my thoughts were near enough exactly what you wrote - very dodgy looking! Great minds think alike ... I will keep the screwdriver because it is a handy size but I have slung the neon bulb, spring and resistor.

The two wall lights that I wanted to replace have never worked since I moved in and I had assumed that both lamps had blown. I didn't like the over-fancy design of those lights anyway so I aimed to replace them with more elegant ones. I'll try connecting the other light tomorrow and see if that one works. If it doesn't, I can't be bothered tracing the wires, lifting carpets, floorboards etc. to try and work out what is wrong. I'll do without!

 

[Milkfloat]

The only question then is how to stop someone turning the power back on when working on the wiring!

Just take the fuse out of the consumer unit and put it in your pocket.

 

[themosquitoking]

I can see that a cable has to be run between downstairs and upstairs to enable the light to be switched on/off from both floors but it seems to me that it would have been more logical to run the cable down from the upstairs circuit, rather than up from the downstairs circuit since only the upstairs light works off those switches. There is a separate switch for the downstairs light.
I have come across them when they have been fed from both the upstairs and downstairs supplies.


I was trying to get another light working today but it wouldn't come on. I tried a couple of different new led bulbs in the fitting, but still no joy. I used my trusty screwdriver and that didn't light up either. Then I started thinking that I haven't used it for years so I wasn't even sure that it would work even if a mains supply WAS connected. I took a look at the gubbins inside the screwdriver and my thoughts were near enough exactly what you wrote - very dodgy looking! Great minds think alike ... I will keep the screwdriver because it is a handy size but I have slung the neon bulb, spring and resistor.

The two wall lights that I wanted to replace have never worked since I moved in and I had assumed that both lamps had blown. I didn't like the over-fancy design of those lights anyway so I aimed to replace them with more elegant ones. I'll try connecting the other light tomorrow and see if that one works. If it doesn't, I can't be bothered tracing the wires, lifting carpets, floorboards etc. to try and work out what is wrong. I'll do without!

They are very nice little screwdrivers just never put them near anything live. £10 in maplins will get you something immeasurably better. I've seen those electrical screwdrivers in pound shops, i shudder to thing of how cheaply the components we're made when you buy the shole thing for a pound.

 

[Tom B]

They are very nice little screwdrivers just never put them near anything live. £10 in maplins will get you something immeasurably better. I've seen those electrical screwdrivers in pound shops, i shudder to thing of how cheaply the components we're made when you buy the shole thing for a pound.

I've had some interesting tingles from shite neon screwdrivers, interestingly thing tingle seems to build rather than being the usual crack.

On of my favorite hobbyhorses is the folly of cheap tools you can get a set of quality VDE screwdrivers for just over £20 exceeding EN 60900 for electrical safety up to 1000V.

£20 its not much is it?