[TheForge] Light bulbs and shop power

[Andrew Vida]

On 8/3/2012 12:30 PM, Ries Niemi wrote:
> Electricity is one place I dont skimp.
>
> How much is your house worth? Could you replace it if it burned down
> because you saved a few hundred bucks on wire? What about pets and
> family? Are they worth endangering? Is $300 to much to pay for their
> safety? $500? a thousand?

This is seriously right thinking.  Nobody's life is worth risking over
such comparatively minor costs.  Electrical infrastructure is a radical
element of one's dwelling.  Build it to last as close to forever as you
can because a fire is not fun.  People who have not experienced this
CANNOT imagine what the real thing is like.  I could not until my house
burned down.  Nobody was home and short of the $48K in custom tailored
suits I had in the closet, the material loss was pretty well confined to
the house structure.  The event left me nauseated.  The odor is
disgusting and has left its mark in my thoughts.  It changes you.
Nothing wild and dramatic, but in a quietly deep way and you never want
to go through it again.

> Do the wiring right. Its a small price to pay, compared to what you
> risk.

Unfortunately, cost/benefit thinking is not in the repertoire of a great
many people.  I am sorry to say that blacksmiths, though they be some of
the finest, kindest, most generous, and warmly friendly people on the
planet, are disproportionately  guilty of this and it is not a good thing.
>
> Electricians sometimes trade- it cant hurt to ask.

Excellent point.
>
> Copper isnt getting any cheaper- 2 Billion or so people in China and
> India all want electricity too, and the world demand will just keep
> going up. Buy now, beat the rush.

Cannot argue thee either.