this post was submitted on 21 Dec 2023
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A genius solution! (startrek.website)
submitted 11 months ago by The_Picard_Maneuver@startrek.website to c/memes@lemmy.world
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[–] spicytuna62@lemmy.world 71 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I'm calling fake now.

Christmas lights, if made correctly, should have a fuse. These cords aren't made to handle the full 20A the breaker can. They usually cap somewhere around 3A. Nothing is stopping you from plugging a two prong 12A vacuum cleaner into them. So if you actually tried that, you'd blow the fuse in your lights before you tripped the breaker.

This is how 16 gauge extension cords should be made, too. Unfortunately, they aren't, and people light those up all the time.

Either that, or here goes Amazon, once again not vetting the shit they sell, and selling average intelligence people fire hazards.

[–] jettrscga@lemmy.world 39 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

The strands' fuses probably wouldn't see that current though. These are connected in parallel.

The first plug has all the current passing through it, but I'm not sure that would reach a fuse if it's down-circuit protecting the lights.

[–] EtherWhack@lemmy.world 23 points 11 months ago

Also, trying to tie a breaker in the closed (on) position like that won't stop it from tripping. It'll just make it more difficult to reset.

When tripped, the internal electrical part detaches from the lever mechanism and switches to the off position. The lever will then normally be ether free floating or spring to the middle (between on and off) until it is moved to the off position. Moving it to the off position will reattach the lever mechanism to the electrical part, which then allows it to be turned back on.

[–] DannyMac@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Also, I think the lights would be perfectly happy being plugged in like that because they are LEDs. I don't know how many it would take stacked like that before you would have trouble, but I feel like it would be a lot more.

[–] DocMcStuffin@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I was comparing lights two weeks ago. The sets I was looking at had 150 bulbs. The manufacturer recommended a max of 4 incandescent strings in series. For led it was 30 in series. Led only draws around 7 watts each.

[–] nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 11 months ago

Yeah and 7watts at 120 volts is only around 60mA. To get to a standard home circuit’s 15 amps (15,000mA) would take 250 LED strings. There may be some inrush current, but not of there are resistors in the led sets (every set I own has em).

[–] EatYouWell@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

The fuse doesn't matter. Those LEDs draw like 69W per 1k LEDs. You'd need about 12,000ft of lights to pass 20A

[–] banneryear1868@lemmy.world 67 points 11 months ago (6 children)

They would still trip in this case

[–] Luci@lemmy.ca 49 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, the switch isn't the breaker it's just the reset is my understanding.

[–] lugal@lemmy.ml 9 points 11 months ago (3 children)

So would this reset immediately or not reset at all?

[–] GrayBoltWolf@lemmy.world 35 points 11 months ago

Not at all, it has to be flipped off before you can turn it back on.

[–] QuinceDaPence@kbin.social 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

When a breaker pops the switch moves to the middle, to reset, you have to turn it all the way off and then back on. If it's in the middle and you go straight to on then it's just springy and nothing happens, and it moves back to the middle.

So yeah, ruins the joke but nothing's compromised here.

[–] Gambler@lemm.ee 8 points 11 months ago

That actually is good context tho. Ive sometimes turned a switch from middle to on and wondered why it did nothing and then turned them all off and on and it worked. I assumed i was flipping the wrong switch

[–] lugal@lemmy.ml 4 points 11 months ago

Thanks!

So yeah, ruins the joke but nothing's compromised here.

I wouldn't say you ruined the joke but used it as an opportunity to teach. Thanks again

[–] Rivalarrival 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Would not reset at all.

Basically, the breaker has an internal switch and an external operating handle. When it trips, the internal mechanism of the breaker disengages the internal switch from the external handle, and flips the internal switch to its open position. The handle can't toggle the internal switch while it is disengaged.

To re-engage, you have to move the handle to the full "off" position. The internal switch re-engages the handle, and the handle can now toggle the switch again.

This breaker cannot be shut off manually, nor can it be reset manually. But, it can still trip in case of a fault.

It's kinda like if you have a pushbutton start car, but you drop off the passenger who has the key fob. The car will continue running until it is shut down or stalls out. But once that happens, you can't restart it without the key fob.

[–] AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 1 points 11 months ago

Neat, that's a really clever mechanism

[–] grue@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago

...over the stack of plugs sticking so far out from the wall.

[–] 21Cabbage@lemmynsfw.com 7 points 11 months ago

Yeah just makes it harder to reset

[–] EatYouWell@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

I highly doubt those LEDs are drawing over 20A in the first place. Those lights only draw like 0.2W per ft, or 69W per 1k LEDs.

You'd need nearly 35,000 LEDs, or about 12,000ft of lights to trip the breaker.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 3 points 11 months ago

Yeah the best option is to just bypass the breaker box completely.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 66 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Fun fact: holding the breaker in the closed position don't stop it from kicking off.

[–] danielbln@lemmy.world 30 points 11 months ago

And that's just smart design, so you don't get fried if the breaker or RCD is physically blocked or is wilfully held in place, like with hillbilly Bob over here.

[–] dipshit@lemmy.world 51 points 11 months ago (1 children)

~~Electricians~~ Fire departments hate this one weird trick!

[–] thesilverpig@lemmy.world 21 points 11 months ago

Electricians either have and easy service call or a new contract to wire a new house. Win win.

[–] InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works 44 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I really do like the festive warm glow of a bonfire more than LEDs.

[–] brbposting@sh.itjust.works 7 points 11 months ago

(Water those trees!)

[–] Lemjukes@lemm.ee 3 points 11 months ago

Something something Technology Connections!

[–] oleorun@real.lemmy.fan 17 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Nothing wrong with grounding the plastic breaker switch to the breaker box AND preventing the breaker from tripping. Genius work, genius.

(Note: sarcasm)

[–] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

Could be improved by placing a bucket of water nearby in case of an electrically caused fire.

[–] CalicoJack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 11 months ago

Worth noting, the breaker will still trip just fine if you do this. It'll just be more annoying to reset since you'd need to remove that wire first.

Still very stupid, just not in the way it seems at first glance. Pointless, but not dangerous.

[–] IWantToFuckSpez@kbin.social 17 points 11 months ago

That’s lit.

[–] franklin@lemmy.world 13 points 11 months ago

I guess they need to get the chestnuts ready for that open fire they're about to have.

[–] Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 11 points 11 months ago

I always wondered what those holes are for!

[–] Adubya@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

This is the sanest Lemmy user

[–] aeronmelon@lemm.ee 5 points 11 months ago

Every Christmas they find another fragment of that person and their house underneath the snow.

[–] Voyajer@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

In-wall heating to boot!

[–] bruhduh@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

Same vibes as 2kilowatt pc

[–] nick@midwest.social 2 points 11 months ago

Oh my god.

[–] pimento64@sopuli.xyz 2 points 11 months ago

Brings back fond memories of moving into a house that still had a fuse box and discovering the one for the dryer was a screw.