Whether this waits until morning is the one thing you need answered tonight, and Chris answers that on the phone for nothing.
Sparks, smoke, a burning smell, a hot cover plate, scorch marks or a buzzing panel are all tonight. So is a breaker that will not reset with nothing plugged in, and so is half the house going dark with nothing tripped. A cracked faceplate on an outlet nobody uses is not. Most of those calls wait until morning because an after hours visit sounds expensive, and finding out which one you have costs nothing. Call and say what it is doing.
- He answers his own phone, day or night
- Free estimate, price agreed before work starts
- Licensed and insured, NJ #19320
Turn it off, leave it alone, and call him with what you actually saw.
Kill the power to it
Switch off the breaker for the circuit, or the main if you cannot work out which one it is. A breaker that has tripped and will not reset is doing its job, so leave it off. Off is the safe state. It stays off until somebody has traced what tripped it.
Do not go looking for it
The panel is the one place in the house nobody should open, and a burning smell with no visible cause is still a live fault. Visible smoke or flame is 911 first, an electrician second.
Call and describe what it is doing
You do not have to work out what the fault is yourself. Just tell him what you saw, what you smelled, which rooms are out and whether anything is warm. He can tell you from that whether it waits.
You get the price before the work
The estimate is free and the number is agreed before anything starts, at two in the afternoon or two in the morning.
The first thing people write about is that he answered, and the next thing is the price.
Their words off his Google listing, not edited. There is no photo of an emergency call here, because the photos he takes are of finished work.
- Lauren Greenfield
- Chris was really helpful and responds right away! Puts the time into his work and helped me understand everything, very professional. Wouldn't go to anyone else!Google review, in their words.
- Danny Lobell
- Chris did a great job at our cabin. He was quick and the price was very reasonable.Google review, in their words.
- John McGuire
- One of the best electricians I know. He'll get any job you need done for the right price. Would recommend his services to everyone.Google review, in their words.
Neither of those last two was an emergency call and neither says it was. They are here because the price question is the same question at two in the morning.
The midnight questions.
Every question here is one somebody actually asked on a forum or an inspection site, and each answer links to where it was asked.
Is there actually a 24 hour electrician in South Jersey who picks up?
Yes, and it is Chris, not an answering service. He confirmed the overnight line in writing, and the call and the look are both free. If it can wait until morning he says so on the phone, so nobody drives out at two in the morning for nothing.
His Google reviewsCan this wait until morning, or do I need an electrician now?
Now, if there are sparks, smoke, a burning or melting plastic smell, an outlet or cover plate that is warm to the touch, scorch marks, a panel that buzzes under load, a breaker that will not reset, or half the house is dark with nothing tripped. A single dead outlet on a panel that otherwise looks normal can wait for the morning. If you are not sure which one you have, call and say what it is doing.
The original question on RedditThere is a burning smell but I cannot see anything. Am I overreacting?
No. A burning or melting plastic smell means something is overheating right now, and a fishy or urine like smell is the same thing: hot plastic. Kill the breaker for that area, or the main if you cannot isolate it, stop using the circuit, and get a licensed electrician on it. Do not reset it and go to bed. If you can see smoke or flame, that is 911 first.
The original question on RedditThe breaker will not reset and nothing is plugged in. Is that an emergency?
It is a fault, and the breaker is telling you about it. A breaker that will not reset with nothing on the circuit has found something it does not like, and forcing it is the wrong move. Leave it off, which is the safe state, and get it looked at rather than lived with.
The original question on RedditI turned the breaker off. What about the fridge and the air conditioner on that circuit?
It stays off. A circuit you have not traced the fault to is not one to put back, and that is the inconvenient answer rather than the comfortable one. If the fridge is on it, move what matters onto a circuit that is fine and leave the bad one alone. Putting it back on to keep the food cold overnight turns a morning call into a worse one. Ask him on the phone, because sometimes there is a safe way to split it and sometimes there is not.
The original question on RedditHalf the house lost power and no breaker is tripped. Is that a power outage or my problem?
Usually one of the two legs feeding the house is gone, which can be a failed main breaker, a loose lug inside the panel, or a fault on the utility's service drop before it ever reaches you. It is not something to chase with a screwdriver. Call the utility and a licensed electrician, because depending on which side of the meter it is on, both end up involved.
The original question on RedditThe lights get brighter in one room when the air conditioner starts, and dimmer in another. Is that bad?
That one is worth calling about tonight. Lights that get brighter on one side of the house while they dim on the other is the classic sign of a lost neutral, and the voltage climbs on the light side and cooks electronics while it does it. Shut off what you can, and call the utility and a licensed electrician rather than waiting to see if it settles.
InspectAPedia diagnostic notes