The Powerless House: a Dummies Production

Tripped breakers: I don't see no red marker, Elizabeth

We're always happy to come across a new source that combines freelance greed with internet stupidity. A site called "The Spruce" came to our attention not long ago, but some poking around revealed that it's merely one of a number of niche sites for the old About.com. That doesn't mean, however, that we can't point out the stupidity and cupidity of its writers... writers such as returning DotD Elizabeth McGrath, here to sort of semi-educate us about "How to Fix Powerless Appliances and Fixtures."¹

The amusing notion of a "powerless appliance" notwithstanding, McGrath demonstrated the same inattention to detail and unfamiliarity with her topic this time as she did in her two previous appearances. Unlike most TheSpruce freelancers who publish their bona fides, McGrath's name remains unlinked. There's probably a good reason for that, perhaps one that can be discerned from Liz's description of a tripped circuit breaker and how to reset it:

"Step 1: Identify your tripped breaker. Open your breaker box door and look for the breaker in the off position. Most breakers come with an orange or red marker indicating a tripped breaker. If there is no indicator, look for the switch in the off position. This is normally the breaker with a switch pointing the direction opposite direction the others [sic]...
Step 2: Flip the switch. Push the switch into the on position to reconnect your circuit and restore power."

Only someone who's never seen a tripped circuit breaker would write those "steps." Here are your corrections, Elizabeth:

1. Not "most breakers," some breakers have a color-code to highlight the tripped position.
2. No, it's not "pointing the direction opposite direction the others," a tripped breaker is in a neutral position about halfway between ON and OFF (see image above).
3. No, you don't merely "Push the switch into the on position," you have to turn a tripped breaker completely OFF before you can reset it. Only someone who's never reset a breaker would make that claim!

McGrath's misinformation isn't limited to circuit breakers, though. No, she also thinks that fuses come in different "sizes" and that the little glass cylinders can be "under- or over-powered." Props for the punctuation, brickbats for the notion that fuses have "sizes" or "power." No, Elizabeth, when discussing fuses one mentions their "rating," "amperage," or "capacity." When you come right down to it, though, the problem is that some interior decorator was trying to write home repair content for About.com (the umbrella site now split into niches that include TheSpruce). When we see bull like that coming from the keyboard of the ignorant, we can't help ourselves: we slap 'em upside the head with a Dumbass of the Day award. Like this one.

¹ This post has been deleted by the site, and archive.org's Wayback machine never made a copy of the post. Oh, well, no loss...

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DDIY - ELECTRICAL