My uncle told me to always check for backfeed before touching a panel, and it saved my butt

He was an old union guy who retired about five years ago. I was helping a friend rewire a small garage in his house, a job from last month. The main was off, but my uncle's voice in my head made me grab my meter anyway. Sure enough, there was 120 volts coming from a line tied into a solar setup the last owner never told us about. I mean, I would have just started pulling wires. It was a cheap Chinese inverter with no clear labels. I shut it down at the source and the job went fine. Has anyone else found a surprise power source like that in a simple residential job?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricianguyen11d ago

Man, that's a scary find. I've seen something similar with a forgotten backup generator tie-in that wasn't marked. It's wild how people just leave that stuff live. Your uncle gave you solid advice, glad you listened to it. That meter check is the easiest thing to skip when you're in a hurry, but it's so important.

bethh2011d ago

Ever check for stray voltage before you start?