Mistakes you have made

[James]

Just thought I would put a thread up to admit to some of our mistakes.

Like uncoiling a run of twin and earth off the side of the reel and finding out it has become a tangled mess.

Wiring a motor up so it turns into a large lump of mixed metal scrap.

Many years ago when I knew I was perfect, I have made both of these mistakes and more.
Anyone got some good tales to tell?

 

[Baddegg]

When he broke through did he say hello .

Morning! Turned out nice again! ?

 

[Let me think]

When he broke through did he say hello .

If he had been smart enough, he would have said 'Here's Johnny!!!'

 

[littlespark]

When he broke through did he say hello .

Nooo.... “here’s Johnny!”

X post

 

[G1ZQC_David]

Here is a little story that will amuse and make you laugh at my expense. I really don’t mind how loud you laugh. I am helping some friends refurbish an old cottage, I have done the re-wire and fitted most of the Kitchen up to date. I volunteered to plumb in the two toilets (one up one down). I got all the pipework fixed and the pan seated, turned the water on, and to my surprise, no leaks. I let the tank partly fill, and pushed the flush. One slight problem, I hadn’t yet connected the waste, so the water flooded out onto the floor-boards and ran through to make a small lake in the room below. Oops!! ????

 

[7029 dave]

Here is a little story that will amuse and make you laugh at my expense. I really don’t mind how loud you laugh. I am helping some friends refurbish an old cottage, I have done the re-wire and fitted most of the Kitchen up to date. I volunteered to plumb in the two toilets (one up one down). I got all the pipework fixed and the pan seated, turned the water on, and to my surprise, no leaks. I let the tank partly fill, and pushed the flush. One slight problem, I hadn’t yet connected the waste, so the water flooded out onto the floor-boards and ran through to make a small lake in the room below. Oops!! ????

Look on the bright side, someone could have put one down.

 

[Baddegg]

Look on the bright side, someone could have put one down.

We call em foreigners down here ?
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Here is a little story that will amuse and make you laugh at my expense. I really don’t mind how loud you laugh. I am helping some friends refurbish an old cottage, I have done the re-wire and fitted most of the Kitchen up to date. I volunteered to plumb in the two toilets (one up one down). I got all the pipework fixed and the pan seated, turned the water on, and to my surprise, no leaks. I let the tank partly fill, and pushed the flush. One slight problem, I hadn’t yet connected the waste, so the water flooded out onto the floor-boards and ran through to make a small lake in the room below. Oops!! ????

I’m only laughing because you just reminded me I’ve done that ????

 

[Highresdis]

Rushing to finish a rewire I put my foot through a ceiling...(seriously)

Me too! Right up to the rather high portions of my leg, slightly painfully...

 

[nicebutdim]

Once watched a colleague tip water from a waste pipe into the basin he'd just removed it from.

No major issues from such a small amount of water, but clearly remember scratching my head and wondering how he could be so daft as his face turned increasingly red.

 

[Phil L]

A colleague once had a young lad doing work experience with him, he asked him to strip back the cables ready for fitting sockets/switches young lad came back to him really chuffed and said he had cut them back and stripped them as asked, colleague went to check and asked where are the earths? Young lad just stood there and said I thought that was for stripping the cable back so I cut it off when I had stripped the cable, needless to say there were some expletives bounded about that Day

 

[FatAlan]

A few years back I remember doing a bit of soldering at Windsor Castle.

 

[7029 dave]

A colleague once had a young lad doing work experience with him, he asked him to strip back the cables ready for fitting sockets/switches young lad came back to him really chuffed and said he had cut them back and stripped them as asked, colleague went to check and asked where are the earths? Young lad just stood there and said I thought that was for stripping the cable back so I cut it off when I had stripped the cable, needless to say there were some expletives bounded about that Day

If he did not show the lad how to prepare the cable, its hard lines.

 

[Phil L]

If he did not show the lad how to prepare the cable, its hard lines.

100% agree and our boss had exactly the same thoughts and made it well known to the spark where the blame lies

 

[Andy78]

Somebody in the wholesalers told me he'd wired a whole ring in 1.5mm on a new build once.....which only got noticed during the second fix, don't know what the outcome was but it sounded like a real horror show.

1.5mm 3 core was used on one job I saw. By mistake. It got corrected though. Well at least the two legs from the board did. Still like that as far as I know. The house renovation was for the son of the owner of a local electrical wholesaler ?

 

[ChipFanDave]

Could of been a fatal mistake by my novice self. Good few years back after just starting out I worked maintenance in a factory. One time looking for a fault on a production line I went to remove a blown fuse. Got my tester, only one I had, (YEP ----ling multi-meter) and proved dead ??(multi-meter Only thing issued for us to use and as a novice I knew no better).

Just about to unbolt fuse (300A I think ABB switch fuse isolator 19mm socket) with an uninsulated socket set when the guy I worked with said (say with SA accent as that what he is) "Hey, W.T.F. you doing ? You F-ing stupid or something". "You've got your meter on DC, it's still live bell-end"!

Now I can't lie I was flipping livid, not that it was live or that I had F'd up and nearly killed myself but that probably the biggest, laziest useless MF bloke I have ever worked with most likely saved my life. Trust me this bloke did nothing for the four yest we worked together.

I am know an SAP, you wont get on my sites without the proper equipment for proving dead, if I catch you chancing it with a multi-meter your out.

I look back on that incident and shudder, It could of done for me and no good the investigation finding poor/non existent safe isolation training and lack of correct test equipment.

 

[Baddegg]

1.5mm 3 core was used on one job I saw. By mistake. It got corrected though. Well at least the two legs from the board did. Still like that as far as I know. The house renovation was for the son of the owner of a local electrical wholesaler ?

That’ll be fine then these no chance they’d spot the difference anyway! ?