Submitted by AdmiralBofa t3_z8xx8n in LifeProTips
The electrical panel on an American house will have numbers for each breaker. When you finally find the right one to switch off, write it in Sharpie inside the outlet cover or switch plate where you were working. If you ever take that cover off again, you'll know exactly which breaker to turn off.
But how will me and my wife play the game where we yell at each other from the basement to the upstairs.
Now?
No!
How about NOW?
What?
HOW ABOUT NOW!
It's not working.
What? I can't hear you!
Gotta use two phones, but...yeah.
That's cheating!
But I'd be on board with walkie talkies, cuz walkie talkies are cool.
Is it off?
Yes!
You sure?
Yes!
Bang
Oh you meant the breaker? I thought you meant the lightswitch!
I just turn off the power to the whole goddamn house.
Wait, you guys have power?
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Not the cover, the socket itself under the cover. Or else you paint your whole house and misplace all the covers.
SLPT: If you don't know which breaker an outlet is on (you can identify a light too by using one of those socket-to-plug adapters), just wrap the handle of a fork in electrical tape, then...
That's kind of how we found the hidden fuse box in our old house. Young me was having fun putting a screw across a partially connected plug and then half the basement lights went out.
They were out for a month since none of the fuses blew in the only fuse box we knew about. Had to get some special equipment to trace the lines without tearing out the walls. The box was in the ceiling completely covered by drywall.
Not gonna lie, I keep a "tool" that I use when I don't have my circuit breaker finder. It's just one of those replacement plugs you can get in any hardware store for a dollar that I put a copper jumper inside of bridging the prongs.
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Comes in handy if your trying to swap out a switch
Aren't electrical plans a thing there? Where you could see which fuse is feeding which circuit.
PaladinRaphael t1_iydzmd6 wrote
Speaking as a homeowner with old, jacked-up electrical, this is a solid idea.
Even renters should do this.