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Almost lost my shop today!

Glad the Bee is safe! Hopefully you'll have it repaired quickly.
 
Thats really odd, usually a rodent will only eat the outer jacket.
Dont run romex in conduit, it diminishes the rating due to the heat build up which can cause a fire, especially if that circuit is loaded.
The max load you are allowed is 80% for continious (>2hrs), I try to stick to 50% for safety. Wire should be sized to the breaker at minimum.
 
I lit up a car just outside my back overhead door. There's a 25x25 foot carport out back and that's where I was working on it. Bad gas leak and I hit it with water which I knew would make it bigger....at first....but just when all hope was nearly gone and was about to call 911, the fire went down. It's a scary thought when you can visualize it all gong up in smoke because it's well on it's way! Glad things turned out good for you.
 
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FYI that spray foam in a can is highly flammable also! Let's just say I was filling a plumbing hole next to water heater and leave it at that. Also it turns into sticky flaming napalm if it lands on you.:BangHead:
 
If you are worried about rats and mice chewing your wires watch Shawn Woods' YouTube Channel for lots of effective ways to get them dead.

 
I would be wanting some answers as to why you were getting Jacked around by the 2 F.D.'s, maybe even getting a Lawyer to show your not playin around. Next time someone may/will not be so lucky. Glad it's not worse.
 
Thats really odd, usually a rodent will only eat the outer jacket.
Dont run romex in conduit, it diminishes the rating due to the heat build up which can cause a fire, especially if that circuit is loaded.
The max load you are allowed is 80% for continious (>2hrs), I try to stick to 50% for safety. Wire should be sized to the breaker at minimum.
Upon closer inspection it does appear that the fire started near wear it went through the ceiling I to the loft.

Shop was built when I was 3 years old.
My father grandfather and father are both notorious cheapskates. In sure they could have hired a more competent electrician.

I have a scissor lift coming. We are going to repair the structure are wiring today.

This winter we are going to rewire the rest of the shop. Properly with conduit and pull wires. Back in the early 80s farmers didn't necessarily do things properly. And still don't always
 
Upon closer inspection it does appear that the fire started near wear it went through the ceiling I to the loft.

Shop was built when I was 3 years old.
My father grandfather and father are both notorious cheapskates. In sure they could have hired a more competent electrician.

I have a scissor lift coming. We are going to repair the structure are wiring today.

This winter we are going to rewire the rest of the shop. Properly with conduit and pull wires. Back in the early 80s farmers didn't necessarily do things properly. And still don't always
I know all about working with cheap grandads ( dairy farmer)! lol!! If you dont want the cost of conduit you can use MC cable, cheaper and faster though its not suitable for wet locations.
 
Fire is no fun, had a house fire years ago. You'll never forget that smell, and it doesn't take a whole lot of smoke to not be able to see or breathe.
Rodents teeth keep growing so they have to chew all the time to keep their teeth from getting too long. I was servicing our combine one morning a few years ago and happened to look up and saw that mice had completely chewed the outer layer off of the lower radiator hose. I'd ran that thing for a week before I noticed it. Hard to believe that it held up.
When we built our shop about 15 years ago I mounted all the light fixtures, conduit, and junction and work boxes on the walls and ceiling, to make it easy to modify or add fixtures in the future. I had an electrician friend run all the wiring and make the connections. He set up his spool rack and we had all the wires pulled and connected in an afternoon. He charged me a couple hundred dollars, it would have cost more than that to buy the spools of wire and would have had a lot left over. Good luck with your repairs.
 
Upon closer inspection it does appear that the fire started near wear it went through the ceiling I to the loft.

Shop was built when I was 3 years old.
My father grandfather and father are both notorious cheapskates. In sure they could have hired a more competent electrician.

I have a scissor lift coming. We are going to repair the structure are wiring today.

This winter we are going to rewire the rest of the shop. Properly with conduit and pull wires. Back in the early 80s farmers didn't necessarily do things properly. And still don't always
We all cuss the wiring codes and inspections but they do have their place. Most counties didn't have codes and inspections back then. If you lived out of town you could do things any way you choose.
 
I know all about working with cheap grandads ( dairy farmer)! lol!! If you dont want the cost of conduit you can use MC cable, cheaper and faster though its not suitable for wet locations.
Conduit is affordable. Some people are just absurd though. That would be my dad and grandfather.
I through the gauntlet down. Told them it gets fixed my way or do it your damn self.

They're not opposed to doing things two or three times because it ain't their sorry *** crawling around in a loft full of insulation of standing on their tippy toes on a twelve foot step ladder.
 
We live in a log cabin built in 1975. Fire is always on our minds. Glad you got it out! Glad your ok.
 
Damn you got lucky!
when i was 13, i watched our next door neighbors
2 story 5 bedroom house burn down to the ground
with nothing left but the foundation and rubble.
electrical was the cause..
 
Glad you are Ok, and hopefully you can get it repaired soon. It is very scary, and hopefully this never happens to anyone, but it does cross my mind occasionally. My buddy wired most all of the buildings up, as he is a Master electrican, and trust him 100%. I'm a firm believer in using the best electrical supplies available, as our main building and all of the connected wing buildings all have Square D boxes, breakers, etc. Plus, we have separate breakers for the Air Compressor, Wire welders, Hot water heater, and keep all wall plugs pulled when not here. I have lived here on this property for 32 years, and this is a lifetime investment (a little over 7000 sq ft) and we would be extremely devasted if something happened. Show cars, project cars, parts, tools, and memrobilia that could not be replaced. The best part is that my brother/sisterinlaw have an apartment out in the southwest wing, and that is there living area, so usually someone is alway's here. God bless to all!
 
Glad you are Ok, and hopefully you can get it repaired soon. It is very scary, and hopefully this never happens to anyone, but it does cross my mind occasionally. My buddy wired most all of the buildings up, as he is a Master electrican, and trust him 100%. I'm a firm believer in using the best electrical supplies available, as our main building and all of the connected wing buildings all have Square D boxes, breakers, etc. Plus, we have separate breakers for the Air Compressor, Wire welders, Hot water heater, and keep all wall plugs pulled when not here. I have lived here on this property for 32 years, and this is a lifetime investment (a little over 7000 sq ft) and we would be extremely devasted if something happened. Show cars, project cars, parts, tools, and memrobilia that could not be replaced. The best part is that my brother/sisterinlaw have an apartment out in the southwest wing, and that is there living area, so usually someone is alway's here. God bless to all!
I've pondered saving my $$ and building a really nice shop with living quarters above.
Problem is... when I was 20 years old a buddy and me were living in a trailer park and a tornado came through. Frightening experience, (more so than this fire).
I told God "if you get me through it, I would never live in a house with wheels again!"
And he held up his end of the bargain. Lol
I kinda think that carries over into any house w/o a basement. :rolleyes:
 
Conduit well be part of the repair and a part of all out buliding wiring correct? Metal prefured.
 
You have to pay the Fire department for responding to a fire at your property? Just curious, from the time your dad called 911, how long before fire dept were there and how far are they away? Thank God you both are ok.
 
I would assume you pay for their services. It's only fair to the taxpayer.

They are 5 miles away and it took 45 minutes. 30 of the minutes were spent arguing with the 911 dispatcher and getting transferred and transferred back.
Until she finally just hung up on us. I finally just called the somebody who had the fire chiefs cell phone number. We had the fire out when they got here but still they made sure of it.

Next time if there is trouble I will just call:
A.- the fire chief directly. (Who is also an AMR) or
B.- the Sheriffs Office.

Depending on the nature of the emergency


911 in my area is very inept. We live right on the border between two counties and to fire stations jurisdictions. They (dispatch) continually punt back and forth. Although this time the FD was livid over the lack of Cooperation on the part of the dispatch. I think there will be a policy change.
 
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