Got the electronic timer installed on the electric hot water heater. That went fine. I mentioned to Electrician about that old combination electric outlet/ switch , that has been dangling off of the Basement ceiling joists since I bought the house. " Wish I could find someone to fix that thing. It's a nuisance !" He looks at it, and says" Oh , heck no big deal; I will fix it for ya." I asked how much " Nothing, consider it part of the job . "

So, he goes to nail that OLD switch/outlet up to the wood beam. As he is doing that , I noticed the light flickering. I said to him, "Do you see that ?" "Old wire, must be a short" He says. A minute late, smoke was coming out of the metal box the old wires were in. He shuts the breaker off, and pulls the whole box down to check out the wire inside. "The things they did years ago". He says Shaking his head !! 30 Minutes and about 6 feet of new wire later, he got it all fixed.

Oh, the joys of owning an OLD HOUSE!!

Sounds like a loose wire. It was losing connection when he was moving it and heated up because of that loose connection. I see it a lot, it gets worse the bigger the wire.

Bet he was sorry he offered a freebie!

Nice fix as that could of turned into bigger problems