So, I went to a friends vacation home this weekend. I was asked if I could help figure out why the fridge in the garage wasnt working.

Oddly, the outdoor ceiling fan was also not working...

I started looking for tripped breakers... Tripped GFIs... Then I noticed this beauty.



I flicked the switch to 'on' on the strip and...sure enough... fridge goed on, as does the fan on the other side of the house and god knows what else. I advised this friend they should address this.

Would you 'just' put a box in correctly (instead of backwards) at the bottom, add another junction box and some wire (all on the surface) to cheaply fix this?



Obviously I would do a more thorough investigation and see whats circuited where, but this person is overwhelmed right now by managing the house after losing a spouse--so quick and safer is all we're shooting for right now...

 

Why is the box backwards, what is inside the box and why is it there? I suspect another mess will be found in there. My advice would be to have the friend call an electrician.

 

Temporary Fix only. The power strip has to go. Put a box where the top cable comes out and change the orientation of the bottom box. Connect the two boxes with PVC conduit and run THHN between them. Blank cover plates on both boxes when finished. Be sure the breaker or fuse is 15 amp.

Or better follow Joe's instructions, call an electrician.

 

My thinking is this. With a hazard as bad and as obvious as this is, the OP's friend isn't a good candidate to being DIY electrical work yet. This could be a good opportunity to learn.

 

thanks for the replies... Yeah--this is why I didnt offer to help. I'm really scared what else I might find. The previous owners of the house did this--how it wasnt called out in the home inspection, I'll never know..

That backwards box is what really frightens me--that and the wires shoved into the power strip...

 

I would agree..... that is pretty frightening.

 

Gotta love the nonsense you find in vacation homes. They really are treated differently by inspectors, in my experience. My first cottage had the power from the meter run to a range receptacle, then to the fuse box via an ordinary 220V range/dryer cord. The inspector only objected to the taped connections, not the wonky vinyl cord & plug carrying the entire load of the house!

 

The lighting in the second picture makes it look like a modern art piece to me. Overt pieces of technology strung together in a way so wrong that it can only be a statement about our inability to connect in the technological age...or something. The only thing missing from the picture is a plastic plaque screwed to the wall with the artist's name and ENERGIZED DESPAIR: sculpture in mixed media engraved in Helvetica.

 

But, I have seen worse. I once saw where a circuit had been extended to a 120 volt air conditioner, behind the drywall, with lampcord. I got there just as the fire truck was about to leave.

 

... and it isn't just with homes. Back when my youngest son was in high school he was in ROTC and I went to watch him march in a parade thru a nearby town. [1980?] I was shocked when I noticed the city had electric run from tree to tree with receptacles presumably for Christmas lights. No conduit, just romex stapled to the trees, the boxes weren't even water proof Several years later a storm took out those trees and best I can tell driving by there are no electrical receptacles of any kind to take their place.

 

Thats funny, my city did the same but they at least ran teck.

OP, do what ray said but use bx. Its cheaper.

 

Good call! Thnx for the reply