Electrical Wire Theft From Vacant Homes in Milwaukee

A last month on June 29th, 2011, a homeowner in Milwaukee needed the services of an electrical contractor. I was the master electrician and estimator that answered the telephone and also the one the visited the home to provide the free estimate. A customer called regarding his vacant duplex that was vandalized by predatory copper wire thieves. They often prey upon the poor and innocent trying their best to fend for themselves and survive independently from the need of government handouts. So what happened? What did the thieves do? They broke into the property of a retired man’s retirement project of fixing up an old vacant duplex with the hope to supplement his needs during his retirement. Don’t you like the man already?

Here is what they did. The thieves climbed up a ladder, reached up to the connections made by the power company, WE Energies. The electrical connection height was 16’. The wires were cut at the top of the electrical service riser that was connected to the power company wires, they were hot at the time if the theft and since most people are very cautious around electrical wires, it was probably perpetrated by someone with some electrical experience. Once disconnected from the live feed from WE Energies, they pulled the service riser down off the outside rear wall and broke the conduit hub and meter socket and the terminal lugs inside the meter socket. This way they got three large copper conductors to scrap for pennies on the dollar. The criminals did not stop there. Next, they broke into the house at the front door because the rear door was boarded up for security reasons.

The next stop was the basement; they stripped out the two electrical panels of half of the circuit breakers and all of the wire that was easily stolen. They did not stop there. They stole all of the copper wire they could steal by either pulling the wire out of the conduit or by stealing it with the conduit. The next theft was pulling out any copper wine in the basement conduit system, which was the majority of the wire in the basement feeding both the first and second floor tenants. The only wire left were six-inch lengths of wire from cables that were dropped down from the upper floors.

I have been doing this work for 34 years and during that time, I have seen this predatory thievery repeatedly over the years. It is always amazing to me that neighbors who are often outside playing in the streets or walking down the sidewalk or just sitting on their porches never ever seem to see anything or anybody doing anything illegal to their neighbors properties.

Hum, how does that happen? I am told fear plays major a role in it. Those same neighbors often have several kids that they would like to see come home at the end of the day, alive. Those same neighbors also want to make it home themselves or maybe avoid having their homes broken into and robbed. For the most part, Milwaukee is a great city and a great community but like any community, it has those that will prey upon the vulnerable.

It is easy to criticize the Milwaukee Police Department but it is an extremely difficult job for the police to do anything when the neighbors are afraid to say anything or do anything. That is why the crime rate in the hood is very high, along with the murder rate. It is this same reason why many electrical contractors and electricians prefer not to do electrical work in the inner city. Therefore, when it is hard to find qualified electrical experts to do any electrical work or electrical emergency repairs, it is hard to find the qualified help to make the repairs. The inner city if full of many very nice people but there is also a lingering cancer that needs to be cut out and gotten rid of for the sake of Milwaukee and the good people. It has to start with the neighbors who have to start standing up to the criminal element in the inner city, or any part of the city

Moving Violations 4

Another short 1 min video from Joe, NEC consultant from EC&M regarding electrical code violations.

http://ecmweb.com/nec/moving_violations/moving-violations-4/

Moving Violations 3

Vince Saputo from EC&M Magazine produces short 1 minute electrical code related videos for electrical contractors, electricians, and readers of the online magazine. Here is the link: http://ecmweb.com/nec/moving_violations/moving-violations-3/

WIN AN AMPROBE

WIN AN AMPROBE REAL DEAL TOOL KIT VALUED AT OVER $500.

I’ve always liked Amprobe and Fluke meters, here is an opportyunity to win some Amprobe meters, any electrician would like these.

http://www.amprobe.com/RealDealSweeps.html?utm_campaign=REALDEALSWEEPS&utm_source=ECM07252011&utm_medium=EMAIL

Indoor Air Quality

Indoor Air Quality

Is your indoor air quality better than the air in LA? How about your indoor air quality compared to the exhaust behind a bus? You might be surprised by what you learn from the three short videos from the Dr. Mercola link below.

The video’s will stress using low or no VOC type cleaners in your home, also, to avoid any formaldehyde products in the home, like formaldehyde type insulation or pressed wood products.

Another source for indoor pollution and radiation is radon gas, a naturally occurring radioactive gas coming out of the ground and seeping into your basement. I’ve had my basement tested and it tested at the high end of the acceptable range. How much radon gas is safe? How much of anything that can cause cancer an death is safe?

Anyway, I decided to have a company install a radon pump for my building. I called Jerome form Wisconsin Radon & Environmental, LLC, located in Milwaukee to install a radon pump and seal off my sump crocks. Jerome did an excellent and very professional job. The quality of his workmanship was perfect. The end result was phenomenal. My basement smelled fresher and dryer, almost like outdoor air quality.

After having my radon pump expertly installed and operating perfectly for several months, many others coming down to my basement have commented how fresh, dry, and cool the basement air always smells, it smells like the fresh outdoor air. Fresher basement air also means fresher first floor or second floor air. And as far as the radon reading now, it is now reading 1.5 compared to 1 for outdoor air. If you are interested in learning more regarding radon, check out Jerome’s website at:

As far as the electrical work involved by Sparks Electric, our electrician installed an outdoor weather proof box on the outside wall, a duplex receptacle in a weather proof bell box, a weather proof bubble cover, and a cord on the pump motor with a weather proof cord connector. The cord and plug connection also acts as a disconnect at the pump motor. In the basement, our electrician installed a switch in the basement as another disconnect.

Goodbye Illinois — A Nice Place To Be From

How sad, the residents of Illinois are being driven or chased not just out of town but out of the state. As an electrician and an electrical contractor, I’m sensitive to the state of the state in Wisconsin, and Milwaukee in particular since that is where I live and work from. Let Illinois be an example to all of us of what not to turn into. Here is an email I want to share:

Goodbye Illinois

Nice place to be from.

Former State Senator and Republican Cook County Board President candidate Roger Keats and his wife Tina are leaving Illinois to live in Texas . They bid farewell to their Illinois friends in a Wilmette Beacon article and with this letter this weekend, saying they’re “voting with their feet and their wallets”:

GOOD BYE AND GOOD LUCK

As we leave Illinois for good, I wanted to say goodbye to my friends and wish all of you well. I am a lifelong son of the heartland and proud of it. After 60 years, I leave Illinois with a heavy heart. BUT enough is enough! The leaders of Illinois refuse to see we cant continue going in the direction we are and expect people who have options to stay here. I remember when Illinois had 25 congressmen. In 2012 we will have 18. Compared to the rest of the country we have lost 1/4rd of our population. Dont blame the weather, because I love 4 seasons.

Illinois just sold still more bonds and our credit rating is so bad we pay higher interest rates than junk bonds! Junk Bonds! Illinois is ranked 50th for fiscal policy; 47th in job creation; 1st in unfunded pension liabilities; 2nd largest budget deficit; 1st in failing schools; 1st in bonded indebtedness; highest sales tax in the nation; most judges indicted (Operations Greylord and Gambat); and 5 of our last 9 elected governors have been indicted. That is more than the other 49 states added together! Then add 32 Chicago Aldermen and (according to the Chicago Tribune) over 1000 state and municipal employees indicted. The corruption tax is a real cost of doing business. We are the butt of jokes for stand up comics.

We live in the most corrupt big city, in the most corrupt big county in the most corrupt state inAmerica . I am sick and tired of subsidizing crooks. A day rarely passes without an article about the corruption and incompetence. Chicago even got caught rigging the tests to hire police and fire! Our Crook County CORPORATE property tax system is intentionally corrupt. The Democrat State Chairman who is also the Speaker of the Illinois House (Spkr. Mike Madigan) and the most senior alderman in Chicago each make well over a million dollars a year putting the fix in for their clients tax assessments.

We are moving to Texas where there is no income tax while Illinois just went up 67%. Texas sales tax is ½ of ours, which is the highest in the nation. Southern states are supportive of job producers, tax payers and folks who offer opportunities to their residents. Illinois shakes them down for every penny that can be extorted from them.

In The Hill Country of Texas (near Austin and San Antonio ) we bought a gracious home on almost 2 acres with a swimming pool. It is new, will cost us around 40% of what our home in Wilmette just sold for and the property taxes are 1/3rd of what they are here. Crook County’s property tax system is a disaster: Wilmette homes near ours sell for 50% more and their property taxes are ½ of ours. Our assessed home value was 50% higher than the sales price. The system is unfair and incompetent.

Our home value is down 40%, our property taxes are up 20% and our local schools have still another referendum on the ballot to increase taxes over 20% in one year. I could go on, but enough is enough. I feel as if we are standing on the deck of the Titanic and I can see the icebergs right in front of us. I will miss our friends a great deal. I have called Illinois home for essentially my entire life. But it is time to go where there is honest, competent and cost effective government. We have chosen to vote with our feet and our wallets. My best to all of you and Good luck!

http://www.wilmettebeacon.com/Articles-c-2011-03-18-218533.114133-Political-couple-leaves-legacy-in-Wilmette.html%5C%22

Never Retiring Electrician

One of the best ways to stay healthy is to stay physically fit, eat healthy, and keep your mind active. Work does help in keeping you busy and productive. Competition helps keep your mind sharp. As an electrical contractor working as an electrician, the work can be very physically challenging at times, it helps to maintain a high level of physical health and fitness, this serves both me and my customers. This is one reason why I am never planning on retiring, at least not before the age of 120. This is also why I can offer a lifetime warranty on my work. Here is some inspiration for US all.

Up in Canada there is an example to our politicians, she is a politician I like. SHE IS AWESOME, and funny. Mississauga is the 6th largest city in Canada and debt free with a 700 million surplus. This 88 year old Lady mayor in Canada should be held up as an example to the people of the world, especially to those that think they deserve to retire at 55 years of age. We need people in office like her. Here is the link: http://www.garynorth.com/public/6791.cfm

Electrical Safety In A Bad Economy

In the June issue of EC&M, the magazine of electrical design, construction, and maintenance, on page 18 an article is entitled Safety Patrol. The article talks about how OSHA is cracking down on violators to discourage employers from cutting corners or underfunding safety programs. Why the change? Simple, it’s the economy. From the crazy political decisions made and still being made by the current politicians, the economy isn’t getting any better.

Over the past 10 years, the private sector has added 1% to the total number of new jobs. Government on the other hand has added 15% to the number of new jobs. How does that affect electrical contractors, electricians, small business, home owners, and everyone else? With a more aggressive big government that has morphed into an enormous government, there isn’t enough money in the economy to pay for this bloated tax absorbing monstrosity that lays a heavy and oppressive hand on individuals and companies, both large and small.

Employment is bad, with an official unemployment rate of 9.2%, it’s really double that if not triple that if you count short hours and short weeks and what is now called under-employment. The high cost of gasoline is also very oppressive to the electrical contractor, the electricians that drives to a job, and everyone other driver and consumer I the country. With a government that looks upon the oil industry being the bad guy, the current politicians, both elected and unelected like EPA rule makes, have cancelled hundreds of oil leases in the gulf and on land. The USA is spending billions of dollars per day t buy foreign oil, sending our money and otherwise out jobs to overseas oil lands,…

What the solution? Pretty simple, common sense is the answer. Electing politicians that will make practical decisions for the consumer and business that will help our people and our economy that will automatically stimulate the economy, stimulate job creation, and not send jobs overseas. It really matters who we vote for,… So with the bad economy, this is why we are seeing people taking cheap short cuts that are compromising safety.

More Storm Damage Power Outage Video from TMJ4

TMJ4 had another news clip, within a few hours they were reporting 2,000 WE Energies customers without power, than 6,000, than 20,000 customers without power. It during such storms that so many can lose their power, during rain storms, if you lose power, you could end up with a flooded basement. If the cost of an automated generator and automated transfer switch are beyond your budget, at least consider a small $300 generators just to keep your sump pumps running. I saw Home Depot today had a sale on 5,000 Watt manual Generators for $659. 5,000 watts is 20.8 amperes max, or 16 amps continuous, that’s at 120/240 volt. With that, you could keep one or two sump pumps operating, the refrigerator, your TV or radio, and a few more small loads.

If you have a manual transfer switch installed alongside your circuit breaker panel, you could easily control 6, 10, or 12 small loads by just flipping the manual transfer switch. A transfer switch and a power inlet receptacle, and the power cord from the generator to the power inlet receptacle will cost around $1,000 installed depending upon your job particulars.

Automatic systems are the most convenient and fully automated, the price tag is several times the manual but you don’t have to be home to keep valuable equipment operable. We have free brochures and a free DVD if you’re interested in a quote for emergency back-up power. Call your electrical contractor to receive a free estimate and then to have his electrician or electricians come to your home for the emergency back-up power generator for peace of mind.

http://www.todaystmj4.com/multimedia/videos/?bctid=CLIP_ID_1948539

Power Outages Across Milwaukee Area After Storm

TMJ4 has a nice video here with film of the damage caused by the storm. 21,000 WE Energy customers lost their electric power due to tree limbs falling on power lines. We would suggest every homeowner have at least a small portable back-up generator to keep the sump pumps operating during and after a storm just in case you lose your power. Most customers will get their power restored within a day or so, some could wait for 5 days before their power is restored. If you are considering a generators, call your favorite electrical contractor. If you have lost power or know of someone who lost power, call you favorite electrical contractor and ask if they have an electrician that can repair any damage done to your wiring. Sparks Electric provides emergency repairs for such damage.