Help with electrical question...

I realize there is a board just for electrical discussion
but I was hoping someone would be able to answer a
few questions I had. It appears the electric board is
very slow and has few members.

This is my problem:

In our hot water heater closet is a large heating and cooling unit,
plugged into the wall. The wall did not have a switch plate, just
the bare essentials.

I asked hubby if I could unplug the unit, which was off, then move
the cord because it was twisted around a shelf, and then plug it
back in. I unplugged it, then when I was pulling out the cord,
the plug part touched the metal insides of the outlet, causing a
large spark.

Suddenly the power went off in certain areas of the house.
Hubby came in to see what the heck and while we
were standing there, the power came back on.

The end of the plug has a black spark mark on it. Hubby plugged
it back into the same outlet and tested the unit which is functioning.

My question is, what are the ramifications of this incident?

How did the power come back on? It did not throw any switches or
breakers, just suddenly came back on. Do we now have a screwed up
wire in the ceiling or walls? Is there an unknown short now that will come
back to haunt me? Will the house burn down while I go shopping?

No need to mention hubby (love ya, but...) is no electrician.

Could anyone tell me what to do, what to expect before I call
an expert?

Many thanks,
Karen

Karen,
It sounds like you had a power surge to me. When you said the unit was off does that mean it had an on/off switch that you turned to the off position, or that it just wasn't running when you pulled the plug? There's a big difference.

When my DH gets home I'll have him read over your post and see what he thinks. He's not a licensed electrician, but he's wired newly constructed buildings, put new breakers boxes in, etc. and had his work checked by pros to make sure all was safe and he's never been told he did anything wrong. He knows his stuff, he's just never gone to school for it. He has done wiring for the kind of things that you are talking about too.

I wouldn't call in a pro to look at anything just yet. I think that would be a waste of money at this point. Most likely the unit kicked on right as you were unplugging it which caused a surge through your house. You probably only noticed the surge in the rooms where you could see the lights go off. Next time you want to unplug the unit shut the breaker for it off first, it should have it's own breaker and nothing else should be on the breaker but this unit.

I'll have my DH look over your post and what I've written to see if he agrees and I'll let you know what he says. I really don't believe you're in any danger of a fire or anything else, so don't be worrying about that. If you are very concerned about a fire go throw the breaker for the unit before you leave the house. A power surge is the same thing that happens when the lights go out from lightening, when they flash on and off really fast...and sometimes you hear popping sounds when everything is starting up again. It's extremely bad for computers. As far as I know it doesn't hurt wiring at all.

Hope that helps,
Heather

Hi Heather,

Many thanks for your reply. The unit was not on at all, it was
in the off position, not cooling or heating. I was simply moving
the plug when it touched the side of the unprotected outlet.

I guess what really puzzles me is that it took a moment for
the power to come back on, and we did not throw any breakers.

I'll look forward to your reply from hubby, too. Many thanks!

Karen Marie

Sent you a d-mail. Sorry for the delay, d-mail explains that.
Heather