Rant: my 240v outlet nearly cooked me because of one loose lug

Last Tuesday I was running my 50 lb Little Giant and smelled something hot, so I killed the breaker and pulled the cover off the plug. The neutral lug had backed out maybe a quarter turn and the insulation on that leg was black and crispy down about 3 inches. I torqued everything to spec with a real wrench instead of a screwdriver handle and it hasn't run warm since. Anybody else find loose connections hiding behind a dust cap?

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wren_carr18d ago

Nothing like finding a crispy wire to really wake you up in the morning. Those screwdriver handle "tight enough" jobs are how people end up with a new career in fire watching. Glad you caught it before the smoke show turned into the real thing.

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