Hello All:

I was just curious to know: What is the dumbest thing you've ever done (if anything) electrically related, e.g. sticking paper clips in an outlet, or a finger in a light socket.

When I was a kid, I used to LOVE (and am still very fascinated by) electricals, wiring, and such.  Anyways, I sometimes wasn't too smart when it came to what I would do (I was a little kid, young and dumb , and had my share of moments.  One notable one was the time I found a mini neon glow lamp, without the resistor on it.  I had seen them operate on 120 volt before, but forgot about (or disregarded) the resistor (mistake #1).  Anyways, I took a stripped 120V power cord, plugged it in, and attempted to touch the wires to the bulb.  However, they crossed.  (***POP***!!!!!)  Wires turned black, and tripped the breaker.  My mom was PISSED!!!  Yes, I know this was kind of dangerous, but again, I wasn't being to smart.  I was only 10 at the time

A second time, I took a miniature lightbulb out of a soldering gun (A vintage half-dead Weller, with a light built in it).  What I didn't realize is that the electromagnetic coil (for the heating element), acted as a transformer.  I wanted to see the bulb lit, and figured it ran directly on 120.  I stuck it into an extension cord, and plugged it in.  Long story short, another pop.  Except the result was a little sweet this time.  There was a satisfying pop, and a bright white flash of light.  The flash was like that of a vintage flash bulb, and the bulb even turned silver inside!  This one was a bit cool, but still likely not the best idea out there!

Anyways, I look forward to hearing what you have to say!

Connect an 5mm LED to a adjustable power supply on the wrong setting, Without any resistors.
Connect an inverter to a 18AH lead acid battery without arc protection.
Another thing kind of related is putting my hand in front of my high power camera flash, And it hurt!

Should have done that with capacitors.

1. I had an NOS HPS multi-tap ballast that came out of my m250r2 before I converted it to PSMH.
One day I tried to wire it up but, rather than it powering the lamp, it went "PFFFFFSSHHHH!" and a huge mushroom cloud of smoke erupted out of it like Mount Saint Helens. I immediately unplugged it and opened some windows and put fans in them. I have no idea why this happened, as I am sure it was wired properly. To say the least, it really irritates me that I destroyed a perfectly good new HPS ballast that I was going to use in a county fair project.  

1. I had an NOS HPS multi-tap ballast that came out of my m250r2 before I converted it to PSMH.
One day I tried to wire it up but, rather than it powering the lamp, it went "PFFFFFSSHHHH!" and a huge mushroom cloud of smoke erupted out of it like Mount Saint Helens. I immediately unplugged it and opened some windows and put fans in them. I have no idea why this happened, as I am sure it was wired properly. To say the least, it really irritates me that I destroyed a perfectly good new HPS ballast that I was going to use in a county fair project.  

Maybe you connected the wrong tap.

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:44:33 AM

1. I had an NOS HPS multi-tap ballast that came out of my m250r2 before I converted it to PSMH.
One day I tried to wire it up but, rather than it powering the lamp, it went "PFFFFFSSHHHH!" and a huge mushroom cloud of smoke erupted out of it like Mount Saint Helens. I immediately unplugged it and opened some windows and put fans in them. I have no idea why this happened, as I am sure it was wired properly. To say the least, it really irritates me that I destroyed a perfectly good new HPS ballast that I was going to use in a county fair project.  

Maybe you connected the wrong tap.

Connecting the wrong tap shouldn't make it do what it did... I had the 120v tap connected

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 10:50:24 AM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:44:33 AM

1. I had an NOS HPS multi-tap ballast that came out of my m250r2 before I converted it to PSMH.
One day I tried to wire it up but, rather than it powering the lamp, it went "PFFFFFSSHHHH!" and a huge mushroom cloud of smoke erupted out of it like Mount Saint Helens. I immediately unplugged it and opened some windows and put fans in them. I have no idea why this happened, as I am sure it was wired properly. To say the least, it really irritates me that I destroyed a perfectly good new HPS ballast that I was going to use in a county fair project.  

Maybe you connected the wrong tap.

Connecting the wrong tap shouldn't make it do what it did... I had the 120v tap connected

Must have been faulty.

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:52:08 AM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 10:50:24 AM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:44:33 AM

1. I had an NOS HPS multi-tap ballast that came out of my m250r2 before I converted it to PSMH.
One day I tried to wire it up but, rather than it powering the lamp, it went "PFFFFFSSHHHH!" and a huge mushroom cloud of smoke erupted out of it like Mount Saint Helens. I immediately unplugged it and opened some windows and put fans in them. I have no idea why this happened, as I am sure it was wired properly. To say the least, it really irritates me that I destroyed a perfectly good new HPS ballast that I was going to use in a county fair project.  

Maybe you connected the wrong tap.

Connecting the wrong tap shouldn't make it do what it did... I had the 120v tap connected

Must have been faulty.

The ebay seller where I got the light from said that they came from a flooded warehouse. The box was water damaged and inside the light there was some water damage. maybe that caused it?

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 06:48:44 PM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:52:08 AM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 10:50:24 AM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:44:33 AM

1. I had an NOS HPS multi-tap ballast that came out of my m250r2 before I converted it to PSMH.
One day I tried to wire it up but, rather than it powering the lamp, it went "PFFFFFSSHHHH!" and a huge mushroom cloud of smoke erupted out of it like Mount Saint Helens. I immediately unplugged it and opened some windows and put fans in them. I have no idea why this happened, as I am sure it was wired properly. To say the least, it really irritates me that I destroyed a perfectly good new HPS ballast that I was going to use in a county fair project.  

Maybe you connected the wrong tap.

Connecting the wrong tap shouldn't make it do what it did... I had the 120v tap connected

Must have been faulty.

The ebay seller where I got the light from said that they came from a flooded warehouse. The box was water damaged and inside the light there was some water damage. maybe that caused it?

Must have not dried out.

Ouch, sorry for your loss. Also, quoteception.

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 06:52:16 PM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 06:48:44 PM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:52:08 AM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 10:50:24 AM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:44:33 AM

Quote from: Solanaceae on June 02, 2016, 07:45:19 PM

1. I had an NOS HPS multi-tap ballast that came out of my m250r2 before I converted it to PSMH.
One day I tried to wire it up but, rather than it powering the lamp, it went "PFFFFFSSHHHH!" and a huge mushroom cloud of smoke erupted out of it like Mount Saint Helens. I immediately unplugged it and opened some windows and put fans in them. I have no idea why this happened, as I am sure it was wired properly. To say the least, it really irritates me that I destroyed a perfectly good new HPS ballast that I was going to use in a county fair project.  

Maybe you connected the wrong tap.

Connecting the wrong tap shouldn't make it do what it did... I had the 120v tap connected

Must have been faulty.

The ebay seller where I got the light from said that they came from a flooded warehouse. The box was water damaged and inside the light there was some water damage. maybe that caused it?

Must have not dried out.

Ouch, sorry for your loss. Also, quoteception.

It's not hard to do.

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 07:21:56 PM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 06:52:16 PM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 06:48:44 PM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:52:08 AM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 10:50:24 AM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:44:33 AM

Quote from: Solanaceae on June 02, 2016, 07:45:19 PM

1. I had an NOS HPS multi-tap ballast that came out of my m250r2 before I converted it to PSMH.
One day I tried to wire it up but, rather than it powering the lamp, it went "PFFFFFSSHHHH!" and a huge mushroom cloud of smoke erupted out of it like Mount Saint Helens. I immediately unplugged it and opened some windows and put fans in them. I have no idea why this happened, as I am sure it was wired properly. To say the least, it really irritates me that I destroyed a perfectly good new HPS ballast that I was going to use in a county fair project.  

Maybe you connected the wrong tap.

Connecting the wrong tap shouldn't make it do what it did... I had the 120v tap connected

Must have been faulty.

The ebay seller where I got the light from said that they came from a flooded warehouse. The box was water damaged and inside the light there was some water damage. maybe that caused it?

Must have not dried out.

Ouch, sorry for your loss. Also, quoteception.

It's not hard to do.

the quote caption or drying the ballast? To dry the ballast, either use an infrared bulb about 6 in from the ballast or put it outside and flip it every so often over a series of a few sunny days.

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 08:15:23 PM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 07:21:56 PM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 06:52:16 PM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 06:48:44 PM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:52:08 AM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 10:50:24 AM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:44:33 AM

Quote from: Solanaceae on June 02, 2016, 07:45:19 PM

1. I had an NOS HPS multi-tap ballast that came out of my m250r2 before I converted it to PSMH.
One day I tried to wire it up but, rather than it powering the lamp, it went "PFFFFFSSHHHH!" and a huge mushroom cloud of smoke erupted out of it like Mount Saint Helens. I immediately unplugged it and opened some windows and put fans in them. I have no idea why this happened, as I am sure it was wired properly. To say the least, it really irritates me that I destroyed a perfectly good new HPS ballast that I was going to use in a county fair project.  

Maybe you connected the wrong tap.

Connecting the wrong tap shouldn't make it do what it did... I had the 120v tap connected

Must have been faulty.

The ebay seller where I got the light from said that they came from a flooded warehouse. The box was water damaged and inside the light there was some water damage. maybe that caused it?

Must have not dried out.

Ouch, sorry for your loss. Also, quoteception.

It's not hard to do.

the quote caption or drying the ballast? To dry the ballast, either use an infrared bulb about 6 in from the ballast or put it outside and flip it every so often over a series of a few sunny days.

Both. Another option for drying the ballast is to put it in a toaster oven for 30 seconds.

Quote from: Solanaceae on June 02, 2016, 08:16:46 PM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 08:15:23 PM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 07:21:56 PM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 06:52:16 PM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 06:48:44 PM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:52:08 AM

Quote from: wattMaster on June 02, 2016, 10:50:24 AM

Quote from: Zarlog on June 02, 2016, 10:44:33 AM

Quote from: Solanaceae on June 02, 2016, 07:45:19 PM

1. I had an NOS HPS multi-tap ballast that came out of my m250r2 before I converted it to PSMH.
One day I tried to wire it up but, rather than it powering the lamp, it went "PFFFFFSSHHHH!" and a huge mushroom cloud of smoke erupted out of it like Mount Saint Helens. I immediately unplugged it and opened some windows and put fans in them. I have no idea why this happened, as I am sure it was wired properly. To say the least, it really irritates me that I destroyed a perfectly good new HPS ballast that I was going to use in a county fair project.  

Maybe you connected the wrong tap.

Connecting the wrong tap shouldn't make it do what it did... I had the 120v tap connected

Must have been faulty.

The ebay seller where I got the light from said that they came from a flooded warehouse. The box was water damaged and inside the light there was some water damage. maybe that caused it?

Must have not dried out.

Ouch, sorry for your loss. Also, quoteception.

It's not hard to do.

the quote caption or drying the ballast? To dry the ballast, either use an infrared bulb about 6 in from the ballast or put it outside and flip it every so often over a series of a few sunny days.

Both. Another option for drying the ballast is to put it in a toaster oven for 30 seconds.

or an oven-oven. And stupid fone, i meant to say ception.