Day 1: Power and a Toilet that Flushes (Part Two)

Here's the thing I didn't mention when I wrote before about replacing the shoreline: I really don't know a whole lot about how the whole electricity thing works. I've known people who do, and I've watched them wire up everything from a simple outlet to a really complicated three-way switch. But I haven't done a lot of it myself. A dozen light fixtures maybe. A couple of outlets here and there. A light switch just once.

I don't know a lot about electricity because I don't like it. It scares me. It scares me a lot. I've been shocked at least a hundred times over the course of my life and am surprised every time that it didn't kill me. I literally break into a cold sweat just replacing a light bulb. If I have to work doing anything where there's even the remotest chance of coming into contact with electricity, I flip all the breakers, as well as the main to the off position. All of them.

Today, I'll be working to get all 240 volts of power available at the post into the box where I actually have a way to do that.

I'm terrified.

In essence, it should be as easy as replacing the cord on, say, a lamp: you just take the lamp apart, disconnect the old broken cord, thread the new one in, hook it up, reassemble your lamp, plug it in, and - voila! - you have light again.

Lamp or breaker box, the overall process is the same with just a couple of differences. The cord I'm replacing is about an inch and a half thick. There are four really fat wires inside instead of three relatively thin ones. When I'm done, I won't be plugging it into a 120v outlet on your standard 15amp household circuit, but the 240v outlet controlled by one 50amp breaker inside a little metal box mounted to a post near the back of my trailer. If it works, it won't be just one light that comes on: every set of wires in my trailer will suddenly have power whether they're actually hooked up to anything or not.

I have some concerns.

First, the old shoreline is noticeably smaller in diameter than the new one. I'm assuming that's because the old one is original to the trailer, and was manufactured when people thought it was okay to use a smaller gauge of wire than they do now. But it makes me wonder if there might be other differences that maybe aren't so obvious - like in the colors used to designate which two wires are carrying current, which one is ground, and which one is neutral.

Second, I don't know if any of the breakers - those in my box or the one at the post - even work.

Third, I don't know if the outlet at the post actually works either.

Fourth, the wires coming out of my box are most definitely original to the trailer. They're covered in asbestos cloth and all look to be exactly of the same unknown gauge whether they're hooked up to one of the two 15 amp breakers, or one of the two 20 amp breakers inside the box. One of the very few things I do know about electricity is that the more amps you have running through a wire, the thicker the wire has to be. Running a 15 amp load on wire gauged for 20 amp service is fine. Running a 20 amp load on wire gauged for 15 amp service is not. It will burn your house down.

Fifth, I have absolutely no idea where any of those wires actually go once they leave the box and disappear into the wall. There are outlet, switch, and fixture boxes all over the place. Some just have a bunch of wires sticking out them, either dead-ending in, or hooked up to other wires by a wire nut. Some actually contain outlets, switches, and fixture bases - their wires already attached or hanging, bare, ready to be attached. Some are rated for 20 amps of current. Most are not.

My worry is that I'll go to all the trouble of getting the new shoreline installed only to not have it work because the breakers are bad - or - that it will work and something will explode or catch on fire - or, of course, that I'll simply be electrocuted to death the second the prongs of my shoreline plug make contact with the outlet at the post.

Much to my delight, none of those things ended up happening.

I pulled the old line through the floor, into the trailer, and let it hang from the box while I went outside to snake the new line in. I pulled the end of the old line through the hole in the box, and again let it hang while I brought the end of the new line in. One by one, I replaced each of the wires attaching the old line to the box with the same color wire from the new line. I was, and remain confused about why the red wire from the old line wasn't attached to anything, but decided to just go ahead and do the same thing with the red wire in the new line until I could figure out what it actually meant.

I walked through the entire trailer and double-checked every connection, redoing them when they appeared loose, adding wire nuts where they were missing, and securing everything with electrical tape just for good measure. I flipped all the breakers in my box to their off position, went outside, flipped the breaker at the post to its off position, grabbed the plug end of my new shoreline, held my breath, and pushed it into the outlet.

Nothing happened. Nothing was supposed to happen, so that was good. It wasn't a definitive indication that everything at the post was in working order, but it was a good start. The real test would come when I flipped the breaker in the box at the post to its on position.

Little as I may know about this kind of stuff, I did have the foresight to fork over the extra $10 it cost to get a plug that would light up when it got power. The shoreline, in fact, is the one thing I had to buy new - couldn't find used, couldn't make myself, and couldn't make do without. At $115, it's second only to the cost of the moving van in terms of what I've spent so far. If it doesn't work, I don't know what I'll do.

I take a deep breath, prepare myself for the worst, and flip the breaker. It's so bright outside that I can't really tell if it's lit up or not. I bend down to get a closer look. Still can't tell. Much as I dread getting near the thing, I get even closer and cup my hands around the end to create a little bit of shadow from which, I hope, its little light will be able to shine. It does, and while I am encouraged, I am now worrying about what all that power might be doing to the breaker box inside my trailer.

I run back, half-expecting to see it in flames.

It's fine. It's just sitting there, where I left it, looking exactly the same as I'd left it as well. Again, encouraging indication that it was working, but not definitive.

I get my fan, and plug it into the nearest outlet. One by one, I start flipping each switch to the on position, then off again, with a wooden spoon to see which one - if any - will actually bring my fan to life. I do not know if the spoon is necessary - or would even offer me any kind of real protection from the 240 volts of current now coming into my box, ready and waiting to leap out and stop my heart if I give it the chance - but it makes me feel a lot safer than touching it with my hands or even getting any closer to it than necessary while it's overall state of repair is still so much in question.

I am doing more than simply waiting/hoping for my fan to come on. I am also keeping a keen eye on everything in the box each time I flip a breaker switch to make sure there are no sparks, flames, smoke, or funny smells - and running through the trailer doing the same thing everywhere there are wires coming out of my walls.

Both 20 amp circuits - the ones I'm most concerned about - do nothing. I breathe a huge sigh of relief.

I flip the first of the two 15 amp circuits, and the blades of my fan slowly begin to rotate.

It catches me by surprise. It worked. I actually have power. Little as I know about, and much as I'm absolutely terrified of electricity in general, I made it happen. Me. All by myself.

I spend the next thirty minutes plugging my fan into various outlets, and flipping switches so I can start figuring out where all those wires actually go once they leave my box and disappear into the wall.

Nothing blows up. Nothing catches on fire. Everything is just fine even with all the breakers in the on position.

I plug in my little refrigerator. I plug in my kindle and phone. I plug in the fan. I slop the last of my Nescafe into a leftover cup from McDonald's, add water, the last of the ice from the night before, and sit down in front of the fan to relax.

It's just 10:00 and already over 90 outside.

I still have the toilet to hook up to the septic line, and am praying the wax ring I need in order to get it seated and sealed hasn't simply melted to nothing in the heat already.

I down the last of my coffee, and head outside to tackle some plumbing - another job I've seen done, but have never actually done myself.

It's going to be a long day, but I'm already thinking it's going to be a really good one.