Plumbing

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A place for Plumbers and those interested in Plumbing to ask questions and discuss the trade.

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If you have a plumbing question please include a picture in your post.

If you have a question such as "does this look correct?" please include the code your area adheres to. If you're not sure please include state/province/country you're in. Codes can vary state to state and what's wrong in one area may be perfectly acceptable in another.

Just as codes vary, prices do too. That's why we won't discuss any pricing because there's so many factors that can't or shouldn't be conveyed to strangers over the internet.

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Water heater breaker shut off and when I flipped it back on a wire burnt (imgur.com)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Why would this happen? Should I try replacing the wire nut and turning it back on or is there something deeper going on? Thanks for any tips!

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

You have what is called an electrical short to ground.

You need a professional.

This is caused by excessive current traveling straight to ground. Which in turn causes the point of highest resistance to become very hot. Which in turn increases the resistance of that point in a sort of runaway effect of increasing heat and resistance. Until you reached the flash point of the material.

Changing the wire nut will not solve the problem. It was only an indication of a problem.