|
Farside posted:How would I go about joining 10/3 romex to 10/3 UF in an indoors electrical box? I can't find any type of box connections for the UF. what type of box specifically are you trying to use? if it's just a plastic nail-on box with like..bendy plastic clamps you can just put it in the box like normal. if it's a metal box or one with 1/2" or 3/4" knock-outs you can use a plastic push in connector or a 2-screw style one. you can treat UF just like romex entering a box, i've never seen any specific sort of connector for it. if you're referring to how to junction them together just use regular wirenuts.. UF is a pain in the rear end to strip but once you get it just tie them together like normal.
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2012 04:14
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 12, 2024 01:07 |
|
|
Agreed, be VERY careful removing the sheath from the UF. I like to use my sharpest utility knife blade and carefully slit it to the bare minimum depth that results in it tearing off when I yank on it.
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2012 07:13
|
|
|
I was having a brain fart. I went out and grabbed a box with 3/4" knockouts and grabbed a few 3/4" clamps. For some reason I had it in my head I could only get 1/2".
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2012 17:25
|
|
|
I found this over at Reddit. I've never seen one of these before: A box-less old work switch?
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2012 21:42
|
|
|
How is that anything but a short circuit at the bottom of the pic, there? 
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2012 21:45
|
|
|
Bad Munki posted:How is that anything but a short circuit at the bottom of the pic, there?
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2012 22:00
|
|
|
I get that, but I see a strip connecting the contacts directly. How, pray tell, does the area in red switch?
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2012 23:08
|
|
|
Bad Munki posted:I get that, but I see a strip connecting the contacts directly.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2012 23:13
|
|
|
Huh, maybe it's the focus on the pic then, because when I look at it, it sure looks like a continuous piece, but I'll buy it. v v
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2012 23:26
|
|
|
So that can't be legal, right? The recent "every switch needs a neutral" code update aside, there's no enclosed box or cable clamp. Or does this thing have some cover that isn't pictured that does those jobs too? edit: the reddit guy says that his receptacles are like this too? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 23:50 on Oct 6, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2012 23:47
|
|
|
Bad Munki posted:Huh, maybe it's the focus on the pic then, because when I look at it, it sure looks like a continuous piece, but I'll buy it. v  Can't say I've ever seen switches with pigtails coming direct off like that, though. Weird. grover fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Oct 7, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 7, 2012 00:40
|
|
|
My house was built in the 1950s and about 50% of the wiring is the old type without a ground (not knob and tube). Can I just add a separate ground wire from the box (bonded to the neutral) and run it to the first receptacle and then the second and so on or do I have to replace it with entirely new wiring that has all three? If I can add just a single wire, does it matter if it is bare (it just seems weird to have bare copper wire next to a wooden beam or inside a wall)? I just want to make sure this is code insofar as NEC goes for when I eventually go to sell my house.
masada00 fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Oct 8, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 00:48
|
|
|
In the 60s/70s you could get away with just grounding to the nearest pipe or whatever, I'm not sure where things stand now. I'd suggest asking your town building inspector, but he'll almost certainly tell you to run all new cable, especially since running all new cable and running a single ground wire are about the same cost time wise, it's all in the time to either fish the wire in or open the wall and install it the traditional way.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 01:25
|
|
|
One of the pipes in the bathroom sprung a leak and when I cut the wall open to look at it I found that the bathroom outlet had been grounded to the pipe that was leaking.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 02:15
|
|
|
masada00 posted:My house was built in the 1950s and about 50% of the wiring is the old type without a ground (not knob and tube). Can I just add a separate ground wire from the box (bonded to the neutral) and run it to the first receptacle and then the second and so on or do I have to replace it with entirely new wiring that has all three? If I can add just a single wire, does it matter if it is bare (it just seems weird to have bare copper wire next to a wooden beam or inside a wall)? I just want to make sure this is code insofar as NEC goes for when I eventually go to sell my house.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 02:54
|
|
|
Looking at what I can see in my basement, I see your point about the degradation of the insulation. All the updated wiring seems to be 14. Should I stick with this?
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 03:46
|
|
|
Check the fuse or breaker the circuit is powered by. If it is a 15A you only need 14 (but could use 12 no problem, I often do if I think I may want to upgrade to 20A on that branch in the future) but if it is a 20A breaker everything on the circuit needs to be 12ga or better.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 04:17
|
|
|
kid sinister posted:I found this over at Reddit. I've never seen one of these before: Apparently those are for use in pre-fab (mobile) homes, not sure if they're listed for anything else. I agree about needing the neutral but I don't see anything in there that you could actually ground to.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 08:48
|
|
|
kastein posted:Check the fuse or breaker the circuit is powered by. If it is a 15A you only need 14 (but could use 12 no problem, I often do if I think I may want to upgrade to 20A on that branch in the future) but if it is a 20A breaker everything on the circuit needs to be 12ga or better. Is sole reason to use 12 on a 15A so that I won't have to rewire everything if I upgrade to 20A, or is using 12 on a 15A safer?
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 15:25
|
|
|
masada00 posted:Is sole reason to use 12 on a 15A so that I won't have to rewire everything if I upgrade to 20A, or is using 12 on a 15A safer?
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 15:32
|
|
|
masada00 posted:My house was built in the 1950s and about 50% of the wiring is the old type without a ground (not knob and tube). Can I just add a separate ground wire from the box (bonded to the neutral) and run it to the first receptacle and then the second and so on or do I have to replace it with entirely new wiring that has all three? If I can add just a single wire, does it matter if it is bare (it just seems weird to have bare copper wire next to a wooden beam or inside a wall)? I just want to make sure this is code insofar as NEC goes for when I eventually go to sell my house. For the record, I wrote up a big post on upgrading to 3 prong outlets. I can't find the specific entry in my NEC book either though.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 16:39
|
|
|
Ah, found it, NEC 250.130(C) permits you to pull a ground off any other grounded circuit for retrofit of an ungrounded receptacle: Also worth noting: 250.120(C) requires the ground wire to be protected where not run within wall cavities.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 17:10
|
|
|
It's time to put some nice overhead shop lights in my garage. Currently, there's a 15A circuit running to the garage lights. There are a few outlets on that circuit, but they will be more or less unused, since I put in a couple dedicated circuits recently. I think that 15A circuit also drives the garage door opener. Maybe the lights outside the garage as well, although I haven't checked. These are the fixtures that are in there now:  (What's up with that discoloration around the fixture? I hadn't noticed that before.) There are three of them all together:  A couple questions: 1) I'd like to put in a few 4' two-tube fluorescent shop light fixtures. Originally, I was thinking of doing them in addition to the above fixtures, and putting them on a separate switch. After thinking about it more, I think it'd be better to just rip those little fixtures out and put the big shoplights right on the existing wiring. Would this be considered "good sense?" 2) How many lights could I reasonably put on this 15A circuit? For starting off, I'd like to have three fixtures, one for each of the existing lights. Each fixture takes two 40W bulbs. Will that leave me enough growing room that I could perhaps add two more fixtures over my workbench at a later date? 3) And in relation to (2), those fluorescent light fixtures can be treated as a receptacle, right? So I could just run some conduit from one of the fixtures along the ceiling and put another light in there? 4) I don't know if the existing lights are GFCI protected. The house is pretty new (2007) and the wall outlets are all GFCI, so I suspect the lights are protected through one of those, but since this is on the ceiling, do I need to do anything extra or use some special light fixture that is going to ruin my budget for this? I can't imagine that anything I put in would be "less good" than what's there now.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 22:14
|
|
|
Bad Munki posted:It's time to put some nice overhead shop lights in my garage. Currently, there's a 15A circuit running to the garage lights. There are a few outlets on that circuit, but they will be more or less unused, since I put in a couple dedicated circuits recently. I think that 15A circuit also drives the garage door opener. Maybe the lights outside the garage as well, although I haven't checked. You can run conduit (1/2" EMT) from one light to another, they're designed with that in mind and have knockouts you can use. The lights are not on GFCI, only the receptacles. Unless the builder was very abnormal, at least; I mean, it's not impossible or illegal, but nobody ever puts lights on GFCI. Shouldn't make any difference to what you're planning either way. grover fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Oct 8, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 22:19
|
|
|
Bad Munki posted:These are the fixtures that are in there now: Air is flowing from whatever space is above your garage into your garage, bringing dirt along with it. Notice the screw blocked the air, resulting in less dirt in that area.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 22:23
|
|
|
Speaking of discoloration around fluorescent lights, I was changing bulbs in my mom's kitchen a while back and noticed this: Think I should recommend that she replace those fixtures? They're probably original to the house, which would make them about 30 years old. Never heard, seen, or smelled any arcing or other misbehavior there, though.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 22:26
|
|
|
grover posted:The lights are not on GFCI, only the receptacles. Unless the builder was very abnormal, at least; I mean, it's not impossible or illegal, but nobody ever puts lights on GFCI. Shouldn't make any difference to what you're planning either way. Oh, okay. I guess I was thinking that anything in a wet location like a garage had to be protected, but I guess it only applies to outlets? Anyhow, thanks, this should be a SUPER easy upgrade and will make my garage muuuuuuch nicer. Guy Axlerod posted:Air is flowing from whatever space is above your garage into your garage, bringing dirt along with it. Notice the screw blocked the air, resulting in less dirt in that area.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 22:35
|
|
|
IOwnCalculus posted:Speaking of discoloration around fluorescent lights, I was changing bulbs in my mom's kitchen a while back and noticed this: Maybe check to see if that spot gets abnormally hot the next time that fixture has been on for a while. The ballast is mounted in the center of the fixture so if there does happen to be a problem it could be the wiring or those lamp-holders are ready to melt.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 22:39
|
|
|
Got my lights installed, that was a SUPER easy job. Possibly the easiest I've done yet. Went from this: To this:  And eventually to this:  Soooo much better, I can't even describe how excited I am about this. Not only is it brighter, but that brightness makes everything look sharper in there (due to your eyes not having to dilate to compensate.) Also glad I stuck with the 2-bulb fixtures: since this is a shop, the added light really does make an improvement. I went from roughly 3,600 lumens to just shy of 25,000. Also with this upgrade, the color temperature isn't all dicked, either. 6500K 4 EVA Anyhow, since I added those two hanging lights over the bench, I decided to get the ones with a plug attached, and then I'm just going to install an outlet in the ceiling above, so I don't have to otherwise mess with the exposed wiring. That shouldn't be a big deal: the joists in the ceiling run parallel to the first three lights I installed, so I should have a straight run from the middle light to the space between the two hanging lights. My remaining questions are thus: What's the best way to fish wire along the space between the joists and get it into the original receptacle? I can fish the wire along the space just fine, I'm sure, but I'm not sure how to get it into the old receptacle. And secondly: how does one go about installing a receptacle into an existing wall? I mean, you cut the hole, great, but then how do you actually attach it to a joist or stud?
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2012 01:39
|
|
|
You generally use what's called an "old work" box and fish the cable in. It just clamps itself onto the drywall, no stud attachment needed.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2012 01:43
|
|
|
Oh, okay, cool. I guess tomorrow is fish day, then.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2012 01:43
|
|
|
Bad Munki posted:since this is a shop, the added light really does make an improvement. It's also safer. It's always a good idea to have the place with utility knives and wood chisels and saws and power tools to be well lit. kastein posted:You generally use what's called an "old work" box and fish the cable in. It just clamps itself onto the drywall, no stud attachment needed. Bad Munki, there are some old work boxes that use diagonal screws on the interior to attach to studs if you really want to, but most are like kastein said. They have tabs on the front that extend past their hole, then you tighten the screws on the face to make little wings pop out on the back, then keep tightening until those wings are snug against the back side of the drywall. Start inserting the cable into the box a little bit before you put the box in the wall. And if those don't work, there are always steel switchboxes with the bendy brackets... I don't like those because I inevitably end up dropping the brackets inside the wall cavity and lose them. Still, they are useful for very thick drywall/plaster jobs and also for very shallow cavities like furring strip walls. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Oct 11, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2012 03:32
|
|
|
That looks good Bad Munki but get a prismatic acrylic lense for each of those fixtures and it will look a lot better.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2012 03:39
|
|
|
Papercut posted:That looks good Bad Munki but get a prismatic acrylic lense for each of those fixtures and it will look a lot better. And/or a wire cage. It sucks to hit the center of a tube with a piece of wood and suddenly be in the dark and covered in phosphor.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2012 11:59
|
|
|
Bad Munki posted:
to get it into the old receptacle without tearing out the box..pull out the plug and knock out one of the KOs in the box. get a flexible fish rod and fish FROM that box, through the KO, down the bay to where you have your new hole cut in the sheetrock. the other way is to carefully take out the old box and just fish between the holes and once the new wire is there install a new box and remake it all up.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2012 14:36
|
|
|
Nemico posted:Maybe check to see if that spot gets abnormally hot the next time that fixture has been on for a while. The ballast is mounted in the center of the fixture so if there does happen to be a problem it could be the wiring or those lamp-holders are ready to melt. Forgot to mention that both ends of all three fixtures looked just like that one. If only one had been all blackened, I would've pulled the bulbs out of it and told her to go buy a new fixture.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2012 15:31
|
|
|
I'm going to be installing a garbage disposal this weekend, but I saw some resources that claim it has to have it's own circuit. Is this true? I was hoping to place it on one of my kitchen outlet circuits, after the GFCI but before the other outlets. e: The circuit, today is Box -> GFCI Outlet -> 3x Single Gang Outlets Dragyn fucked around with this message at 15:43 on Oct 12, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2012 15:39
|
|
|
IOwnCalculus posted:Forgot to mention that both ends of all three fixtures looked just like that one. If only one had been all blackened, I would've pulled the bulbs out of it and told her to go buy a new fixture. Then that's all the troubleshooting I can do, sorry. Maybe the other guys know more. That style of fixture is usually cheap enough that if changing the lamp-holders or ballast won't fix it, then the whole unit just gets replaced
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2012 15:43
|
|
|
Dragyn posted:I'm going to be installing a garbage disposal this weekend, but I saw some resources that claim it has to have it's own circuit. Is this true? grover fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Oct 12, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2012 16:08
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 12, 2024 01:07 |
|
|
grover posted:Garbage disposal should have a dedicated outlet, not necessarily an entire dedicated circuit. Your plan is quite common, as it's the easiest way to get power to a garbage disposal. However, it's not quite 100% as the kitchen outlets are supposed to be dedicated just to kitchen appliances, and aren't supposed to have other circuits stubbed off them- a GFCI outlet below the sink would be permitted, though. So, this is a gray area where you're *probably* OK, but you might want to call and ask your inspector first to be sure they're not going to ding you on it. Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but wouldn't a disposal qualify as a kitchen appliance? I'll check with the town (if I can get through to anyone), but theoretically, I should be able to install a standard outlet (and a switch above the counter), since the GFCI is handled between there and the breaker, right? Is there is purpose for having a pair of GFCI outlets on the same circuit?
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2012 18:47
|
|