electrotomfoolery

the pilar apartment is kinda shy a few electrical outlets. this was they way its always been, ever since we moved in.

case in point: the ground floor has provisions for about seven power outlets, but only two of them were installed with the appropriate receptacles (one in the kitchen, the other beside the front door).

now, having gotten my hands on a tv and dvd player (courtesy of makati roomie glenn), it behooved me to attempt to make use of the other blank outlets. so i got a bunch of receptacles just like the ones already installed (at a reasonable cost, seemingly).

one day, went home a little earlier than normal to maximize the sunlight (have to turn off the power mains before working on electricals, after all). get tools ready, open one of the packages...

...hmm... ...no screws...

after a while, it occurred to me that these units were designed to take solid wire -- you just had to plug the end into the provided holes (and hoped that the mechanism inside would grasp the wire firmly).

okay. opened one of the outlet blanks, and looking at the coiled wires within -- and my resolve left me. best leave this to the (semi) professionals. off to unit "a," and the landlords then. this time, no beer (thankfully!) as the brothers were on their way out to pick up a childhood friend who'd appeared out of the blue after 20 years...

electrician was not available on such short notice, but their "multi-talented" handyman was about (he could open car doors without the key...).

hmm...

anyway, lets see how he does. by this time, though, the sun had gone down, so it would be an electrical job by flashlight.

i showed him the power outlet in question, and the destined receptacle.

he pulled the wires out of the cavity, and with a pair of pliers, cut off two lengths of wire from the coils within. i know the pliers had insulated handles, but still...

turns out the house uses stranded wire. he stripped the insulation off the ends of the wires he had liberated from the wall, and used these to bridge the connections between the two sockets in the receptacle. at this time, he asked for the power mains to be shut, so i did that.

working by the light of my handy-dandy ledlenser flashlight (very useful thing indeed, many thanks to jo who made the purchase possible - by being on hand to loan me the cash. hehehe), the handyman proceeded to install the receptacle. he cut off more lengths of the wire, and essentially spliced the receptacle into the wiring circuit: power going into one plug, across the bridging wires, and out the other plug (so to speak). then he pushed the entire assemblage into the cavity.

power mains back on, and test.

right socket, fan runs fine.

left socket, i think i hear the muted sound of sparks, and the compressor of the ref behind me begins to make a chugging sound. i hastily unplug the ref, and thank the handyman for his work...

and away he goes.

okay, working quickly -- power mains: off. remove cover plate, unscrew receptacle...

i said before that the receptacle is designed for solid wire...

what he'd done was to take the stranded wire ends and twisted it, and then plugged that into the requisite holes in the backs of the plug assemblies.

however it happened, as soon as i got the receptacle freed, one of the "out" connections had come free...

oh boy...

(to be continued)