Moss Hill Ruritans give back to community
Members of the Moss Hill Ruritan Club gathered food for the donation of two Thanksgiving dinners for needy families.
The children of those families attend Moss Hill Elementary School.
The presentation was made Nov. 18, in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Home Solutions: Four common electrical mistakes
Some electrical wiring projects can be easy enough for do-it-yourself savvy homeowners, but frequent mistakes that can be easily corrected can be safety hazards and ultimately cause electrical fires. Don’t become a statistic by making these common mistakes.
N If the fuse keeps blowing every time you replace it, or the breaker continues to trip after you reset it, you decide to replace the fuse or breaker with a larger size. Never do this. Breakers and fuses are designed to interrupt the current flow in a circuit if the current flow becomes excessive. The reason for the breaker tripping or the fuse blowing should be corrected at once.
N Most incandescent light bases in your home require 60-watt bulbs. A wattage limit is posted next to the socket for safety purposes. The problem arises when a 100-watt bulb is screwed into the socket. The bulb fits fine and lights just likes the 60-watt bulb, but brighter.
So what’s the problem? This bulb uses more power and gets much hotter than the 60-watt bulb. The socket contacts are not designed for this extra load and as a result, the base will get hotter, possibly causing the base to overheat and start a fire. Always use the recommended wattage bulb in any light fixture.
N Multi-outlet power strips seem to provide an outlet for half of the house. The only problem is that the circuit you plug it into can only handle 20 amps. Every appliance in your home needs its own circuit, so spread out the electrical load. Appliances all draw a lot of power and need their own supply. For example, if a freezer and a refrigerator are on the same circuit, the load is too great and the breaker can trip. Don’t overload a power strip.
N Using a drop cord for an electrical load it isn’t rated for can cause the cord to get smoking hot. This is a great way to start an electrical fire. If you must use a drop cord on a heavy load appliance, use a cord that is rated for the appliance. The overloaded drop cord is most popular in the family room where all types of electronics are used: TV, DVD player, sound system, game consoles and other “necessities” of modern life. Drop cords should only be used for short terms, and never overloaded.
Check your home for these common electrical mistakes to save your family from a fire hazard.
Source: University of Arkansas
Trudy W. Pickett is extension family and consumer agent at the Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Office, 1791 N.C. 11/55. Reach her at 252-527-2191 or trudy_pickett@ncsu.edu.