My kingdom for a fuse
I remember once Kevin O'Connor, the host of This Old House, saying "Never start a project on a Sunday afternoon, because the hardware store closes early."
Well, I wasn't actually doing a project, but I had just finished one. And it wasn't Sunday, but it was 10:15 at night. I was so proud of my dishwasher installation, that I decided to do a load of dishes while I was making a late celebratory dinner. Hmmm. What should I have? How about a potato to go with my beet salad? Cool, I'll just stick it in the microwave—5 minutes should do it. Wait, I wonder if I should turn off the dishwasher, because I remember last time I ran it at the same time as the blowdryer, all the lights went…
Yup. Blew the fuse. (Yeah, I still have a fuse box. I'm pretty sure the electrical hasn't been updated since the 1930s.) And I'd used my last one during the blowdryer incident. Isn't that a bitch, I think. But okay, it's 10:30. I have time to find at least a grocery store open until 11:00.
I must have hit every grocery, bodega, deli, and all-night drugstore within a 10 block radius. Nothing. On my very last stop (of course), I looked at the clerk and muttered for the 20th time, "Do you sell fuses?"
"Yeah, whadya need?" he said. Huh? Really? In this crappy, rundown, cockroach-infested little store? My god, there are boxes of them behind the counter!! Okay, okay—I need 15-amps. Gimme the blue one. In fact, gimme 3. Oh joy—there will be no darkness in the city tonight!
Except…wrong thread size. I needed type S fuses, not type T. AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!
So, in the end, I cribbed the fuse from the living room so the fridge wouldn't shut off, moved my alarm clock in the bedroom to the other side where there was still power, and bought 8 new fuses at the hardware store on my way to work the next day. The moral of the story is, never, EVER, let yourself run out of fuses!
Posted by Alex Bandon | Categories: What I Learned Today | Permalink
(5) Comments
Could you run an additional circuit or is there too much red tape in NY? In our little burg as long as you do the electrical work yourself no permits are required. Scary, I know, but oh so nice.
Oh, definitely not. Electrical codes in NYC are incredibly strict, basically because it's a union town. We still can't use Romex -- only conduit allowed. (The same goes for plumbing: no PEX, just copper.) It's all about prohibiting things that could take away work or work time from the union guys, which I definitely get given the cost of living in my fair city. So I leave the complicated electrical work to the pros. I'll just stick to dishwasher hookups and dimmer installations.
Hi Alex, I really enjoy reading about your adventures in and around your house. I'm thinking of buying my own house and the one I really like, really needs a lot of work. So I read your blog also to maybe get used to all the stuff that needs to be done, by someone else 'cause I really don't know what I'm talking about.. But you do inspire me. Like it's not so crazy to get this not nearly finished house and make it my own. Thanks for that and lots of luck with all your projects.
Alex--I learned this at my old place in Beacon Hill. It was always a Saturday night with me--and the places closed at 6. Needless to say, I stocked up after going out that evening in December with a wet head!
WOW, love your blog!
We could be separated at birth - i love DIY and own my own drill, etc too but no circular saw YET!
I have rented in NYC and now in Irvington - ironically my first and now this current apt were/are railroads. This one is the largest I have had.
Anyway, it was a hovel really when i moved in - and have totally redone it. Lots of color on the walls - blueberry, cardinal red, sage green, golden yellow, cranberry pink. Its been a lot of fun - and now for the last two months have been redoing the garden - you can see it at my gardening blog. (link on the website above).
Those rains really put a crimp in the progress and am almost finished - but it was a really dump.
anyway, love your blog and cant wait to read more!
also LOVE the magazine - any jobs going? it must be FUN to work there!