|
kastein posted:Speaking of fire alarms. Should fire alarms be on an AFCI circuit? My opinion is that they shouldn't be, since I want them getting power no matter what, but I'd like a pro answer instead of my intuition on this for all the obvious reasons. They definitely shouldn't be.
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2012 21:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 12, 2024 03:48 |
|
|
So if I wanted to pull a second red conductor, that would be pigtailed on the initial connection, and would home-run so to speak to the garage door receptacle?
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2012 21:44
|
|
|
SuicidalSmurf posted:So if I wanted to pull a second red conductor, that would be pigtailed on the initial connection, and would home-run so to speak to the garage door receptacle? Oh, important note: run a second neutral, too! Otherwise you'll trip the GFCI every time you open the garage door. Almost forgot about that.
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2012 23:34
|
|
|
Does anyone know of a manufacturer making a product similar to this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Perkins-Fat-Boy-Light-Socket-Wall-Mount-Lamp-Paddle-Switch-/221144017125 I'm looking for a right angle light socket that will mount to a junction box on a wall (doesn't need the switch) dwoloz fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Dec 9, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2012 02:30
|
|
|
I'm pretty sure that these ones should work. All you`d need is a steel box cover with a knockout like these and all you`ll need is a screwdriver. (lemme know if that link doesn`t work)
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2012 03:32
|
|
|
Nemico posted:I'm pretty sure that these ones should work. All you`d need is a steel box cover with a knockout like these and all you`ll need is a screwdriver. YES! Thank you so much, that is perfect. This one is even carried in the store http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...51#.UMQAsJPjnd4
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2012 04:08
|
|
|
So we rented out a 220 volt wet saw from Home Depot and it came with an adapter to fit a regular outlet. I plugged it in my garage, turned it on, all the lights and power in the garage went out. I'm on a time limit so I say gently caress it, I'll deal with it later and just use an extension cord to keep the saw going. At the end of the day I go to my circuit breaker inside the house and hit every single one on and off and the main one as well. Power didn't come back to the garage. There is no circuit breaker in the garage either. Any idea's on where I can start looking to figure out this problem?
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2012 14:16
|
|
|
There is probably a gfci outlet somewhere on that circuit that has tripped. Check for that first.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2012 15:22
|
|
|
Seconding that you tripped the garage GFCI. It's probably the closest receptacle to the panel. You're not going to be able to plug a 220V saw into a 120V outlet, it's not going to work. There are some dodgy illegal harnesses that will get 220V by pulling 120V hots from two separate receptacle circuits; is that what they gave you, or is it actually dual-rated to work at 220 and 120V? The split plugs won't work if those circuits are GFCI or AFCI-combo protected, and are dodgy and illegal and you shouldn't use it. You could maybe plug it into a clothes drier or stove outlet, which are typically the only 220V outlets in a home. grover fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Dec 10, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2012 16:04
|
|
|
Volume posted:So we rented out a 220 volt wet saw from Home Depot and it came with an adapter to fit a regular outlet. Are you sure it's a 220v plug? There are a lot of weird plugs out there, and not all are 220. How about a picture?
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2012 16:45
|
|
|
It could be a 120 to 220/240 transformer, too. Depending on how it was built and how much it has been abused I could see that tripping a gfci.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2012 16:55
|
|
|
kastein posted:It could be a 120 to 220/240 transformer, too. Depending on how it was built and how much it has been abused I could see that tripping a gfci.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2012 19:02
|
|
|
grover posted:Seconding that you tripped the garage GFCI. It's probably the closest receptacle to the panel. It just seemed like an extra little plug with a reset and test switch on it like a GCFI outlet. kid sinister posted:Are you sure it's a 220v plug? There are a lot of weird plugs out there, and not all are 220. How about a picture? going to check for a CGFI outlet when I get a chance. Currently finishing up the floor that I was cutting tiles for.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2012 20:48
|
|
|
Volume posted:It just seemed like an extra little plug with a reset and test switch on it like a GCFI outlet. That's a GFCI plug, hair dryers have them too. It sounds like you just needed to reset it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2012 04:15
|
|
|
Question on wiring up 240V service to my garage, for an electric heater This is how my garage is currently set up:  As you can see, I have a water heater power box sharing a wall with my garage. I am tempted to tap into that and just put an outlet on the other side of it. However, I am worried that if the water heater and the garage heater are running at the same time, I will pop a breaker at best, and melt wiring at worst. The garage heater is 2500 watts @ 240V, so 10.4 amps. I do not know offhand what the water heater is. My other option is to run a new line from the breaker box out to the garage through the attic (we have no basement, the house is on a slab). I was thinking of following this guide: http://homerepair.about.com/od/electricalrepair/ss/240v_breaker.htm My only issue with that is the actual stringing of wire from the box to the garage. I'm assuming I should use romex? Is there different romex for 240v vs 120v? I also dont want to do it in any way that will present an electrical hazard, so what is the standard for running 240v service through an attic?
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2012 18:02
|
|
|
Jim Silly-Balls posted:Question on wiring up 240V service to my garage, for an electric heater Just run a dedicated circuit for it. You got it right, romex is what you want. You could probably get away with 14 gauge, but I would step it up to 12 gauge just to be safe. There is no difference per se regarding 120v vs. 240v cabling. They use the same cables and colors. It really comes down to if your device needs a dedicated neutral or not. Does this heater have any fancypants features like touchscreens or digital thermostats that need a dedicated neutral? Better yet, look at the hookup wires. Does it have a white wire? If so, you need 12-3 wire... or you could just buy 12-3 wire and just leave a wire nut on the end if you don't need it its neutral wire. The rules for running cable are pretty simple: 1. if you have access to the wood, then run cable at least 1&1/4" from the stud and joist faces 2. try to drill through the center of boards if you have to cross any. Be careful if you're drilling near other wires. If you have to go shallower than 1&1/4", use a steel nail-in plate on the wood face 3. if you have access to the wood, then cable must be stapled within 6" of any box and 4' between supports. Staples and drilled holes count as supports, but that 6" box fastener has to be a staple. If you don't have wood access (in a finished wall), then the cable is allowed to dangle in the wall cavity. 4. leave a little slack at the corner when pulling cable through wood 5. you're allowed to lay wire directly across the top of attic joists if you staple it down, you don't have to drill through them 6. no splices outside of accessible junction boxes
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2012 19:08
|
|
|
Slight change of plans. I was browsing the hardware store, picking up the things I would need to run the extra circuit, and I realized that I bought a used heater, and havent tested it yet, so I figured I would wire the heater up with a plug first, which I need to do anyway. Then I would plug it into the outlet for the dryer to test it before I crawl up in the attic and start running romex. The dryer has a 4-prong plug, the wiring instructions for the heater (found here, diagram on last page: http://www.marleymep.com/en/assets/pdf/F2500wiring.pdf) assume 3 wires coming in to the heater, black, white and bare. I bought a 4-prong plug and some cord to run to the heater. How do I wire up that 4-prong plug in a manner which the heater will be happy with? EDIT: If this is what is in my wall right now powering the dryer, how do I wire the plug that is going to the heater to make this all work? I am guessing that, since the heater is expecting white, black and bare, I can hook black to black, white to red, and bare to bare?  Beve Stuscemi fucked around with this message at 20:26 on Dec 11, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2012 20:04
|
|
|
Jim Silly-Balls posted:Slight change of plans. I was browsing the hardware store, picking up the things I would need to run the extra circuit, and I realized that I bought a used heater, and havent tested it yet, so I figured I would wire the heater up with a plug first, which I need to do anyway. Then I would plug it into the outlet for the dryer to test it before I crawl up in the attic and start running romex. Don't use plugs for heaters. They're meant to be hardwired. If you're just testing it though, here's how to wire a plug. Those instructions assume you're wiring it for 120v, and you will be wiring it for 240v. Don't go by colors inside devices, go by function. Here, these are better. For 240v you would connect the black and red wires from the plug to the 2 black wires inside the heater, and the bare/green wire from the plug to the bare wire inside. White would be capped off. One question: how will you be turning this thing on and off? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Dec 11, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2012 22:04
|
|
|
It has a thermostat on it that has on/off functionality. Also, I would not be running it 24/7, just when I'm out in the garage working.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2012 22:22
|
|
|
Jim Silly-Balls posted:It has a thermostat on it that has on/off functionality. Also, I would not be running it 24/7, just when I'm out in the garage working. That's why I asked. I figured you might be wiring it up for a plug and would just unplug it while not in there. Is it a dual pole thermostat?
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2012 22:26
|
|
|
That I do not know, as I dont know what that is.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2012 22:30
|
|
|
Jim Silly-Balls posted:That I do not know, as I dont know what that is. Look at the label. According to step 10 in that first set of instructions you linked to, the product label is on the inside cover of the thermostat. I can read "UBLE POLE THERMOSTAT" off the one pictured just under the model number.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2012 23:14
|
|
|
Mine is a double. What does that mean/how does that affect what I'm doing?
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2012 23:58
|
|
|
Jim Silly-Balls posted:Mine is a double. What does that mean/how does that affect what I'm doing? A double pole thermostat is meant to cut off two hot lines. It also means that you might not need to run a neutral conductor. You should get a double pole 20 amp breaker and 12/2 romex. Heaters should always be run on 20 amp circuits. Here is a diagram of the double pole thermostat 
Ultimate Shrek Fan fucked around with this message at 00:07 on Dec 12, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2012 00:05
|
|
|
To expand on what Pufflekins wrote, you can use just 12-2 and not 12-3 since your heater and thermostat don't need a neutral. To use 12-2 wire however, you will need to repurpose its neutral (white) wire to be a hot wire. In Pufflekins' picture, it will be the red wire from the tandem breaker to the thermostat. When you repurpose a neutral, you're supposed to wrap black tape around the white sheathe at both ends of that run to show that wire is no longer a neutral. Or you can just use 12-3 and cap off the white wire at the thermostat.
|
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2012 03:06
|
|
|
Well, in the spirit of the thread title, I managed to hook up a cord and plug, and tested the heater without burning my house down! The good news is, it works!! Now on to running a separate circuit for it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2012 04:14
|
|
|
What kind of breaker did you get for it? You need a 20A tandem breaker. Breakers are manufacturer-specific as to whether they will work with your box or not.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 02:34
|
|
|
This may or may not fit in this thread. General-purpose LED bulbs are dropping in price pretty fast - for example, the Home Depot nearby has 6" can replacements for $25 now. They screw into a PAR40 can (6 inch recessed light) and claim to put out the same light as a 65 watt bulb, and also replace the ceiling trim. Since a 6 inch can usually takes 90+ watts, I was a bit hesitant. Instead I snagged a $10 EcoSmart "40 watt replacement" bulb that, well, mostly looks like a regular bulb - I've never tried a general purpose 120V LED bulb before now. First off, we have six 6" recessed cans in the kitchen. Currently they all have R40 CFL replacements, but they take several minutes to warm up - as in, you turn them on, and it's like holding a match in front of you for a few minutes. They take a good 10 minutes to warm up. These were purchased with the goal of cutting down on heat and electricity, and as they're the lights used more than any other lights in the house, they made a huge impact on the electric bill (particularly in the summer). The $10 "40 watts!" bulb I bought... is actually loving painful to look at. It's very directional while giving a diffused light, but beyond that it's more like shoving a 75-100 watt bulb into the same fixture, and really looks "natural" - except with absurd amounts of light with basically zero heat. I'm really hoping that the "65 watt" replacements will give similar performance. The 6W "40 watt replacement" absolutely blows away the 13W CFLs I use in most lights in terms of usable light, though I can't see using it in a ceiling light due to the directional nature. Anyone have experience with the CREE retrofit bulbs that go into existing 6" recessed lights? I don't care much about dimmer functionality (even though most LED swaps claim to work with dimmers), but it would be awesome to go from "turn on the light 5-10 minutes before walking into the kitchen, let lights warm up" back to "flip the switch, actually do poo poo". These lights normally go for $40+, so if someone can vouch for them before the $25 sale runs out, I'm all for it. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 11:38 on Dec 13, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 11:34
|
|
|
some texas redneck posted:re. They are, in fact, bad rear end. Very bright, not quite as directional, and very quiet, even when cold. Get 'em for $25 and be happy with never having to buy light bulbs again.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 12:50
|
|
|
I bought a recessed LED PAR light a few years ago and paid about $25, and we liked it, except it died after just 6 months. Turns out cheap mass produced electronics create their own mtbfs that can fall fsr short of how we expect LEDs to age. I have another really small one, think it's 1.5w or so, that has been on neadly continhously for about 7 years now, with no issues.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 15:22
|
|
|
grover posted:Seconding that you tripped the garage GFCI. It's probably the closest receptacle to the panel. So I checked the garage, no GFCI outlet. I don't know what to do now.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 16:42
|
|
|
some texas redneck posted:Anyone have experience with the CREE retrofit bulbs that go into existing 6" recessed lights? I don't care much about dimmer functionality (even though most LED swaps claim to work with dimmers), but it would be awesome to go from "turn on the light 5-10 minutes before walking into the kitchen, let lights warm up" back to "flip the switch, actually do poo poo". These lights normally go for $40+, so if someone can vouch for them before the $25 sale runs out, I'm all for it. I bought 6 of these over a year ago for $39 and I can in fact say they are awesome. I also bought a bunch of the 40 watt ecosmart ones for $9 and they do give out tons of light. I had to switch out them from my night stand lights to a different brand because they were keeping my wife up. I used these ones instead. http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical...51#.UMoShuS_Ds4 they also come in diffent color temperatures.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2012 18:51
|
|
|
Volume posted:So I checked the garage, no GFCI outlet. I don't know what to do now. So what exactly is wrong now? You don't have power in your garage?
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 01:47
|
|
|
Volume posted:So I checked the garage, no GFCI outlet. I don't know what to do now. how old is your house? check to see if you have a bathroom gfi that might be tripped.. back in the late 80s/early 90s sometimes the bath gfi would cover the garage and outside plugs and vice versa where the garage gfi would cover the bath and outside plugs. worth a shot.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 05:31
|
|
|
kid sinister posted:So what exactly is wrong now? You don't have power in your garage? Pretty much, yeah. Volume posted:So we rented out a 220 volt wet saw from Home Depot and it came with an adapter to fit a regular outlet. I plugged it in my garage, turned it on, all the lights and power in the garage went out. I'm on a time limit so I say gently caress it, I'll deal with it later and just use an extension cord to keep the saw going. At the end of the day I go to my circuit breaker inside the house and hit every single one on and off and the main one as well. Power didn't come back to the garage. There is no circuit breaker in the garage either. Any idea's on where I can start looking to figure out this problem? crocodile posted:how old is your house? check to see if you have a bathroom gfi that might be tripped.. back in the late 80s/early 90s sometimes the bath gfi would cover the garage and outside plugs and vice versa where the garage gfi would cover the bath and outside plugs. worth a shot. 72. I'll poke around in the bathrooms and laundry room.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 05:37
|
|
|
'72? Was the house ever retrofit with GFCI?
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 07:00
|
|
|
I need to make a special extension cord with outlets at certain points along its length, because I'm tired of my christmas light extension cord situation being what it is, and I'd like to just custom-tailor a cord to work perfectly with my installation. So I can find the male and female ends for making cords just fine, you can get those anywhere, but what would a female interstitial that doesn't terminate the cord be called? I'm sure I've seen prefab cords of that sort, with a plug somewhere along the length as well as at the end, but I want to roll my own.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 22:49
|
|
|
I don't know why I've never thought about it before, but that's genius. Seems like you could, in a worst-case, approximate it with junction boxes as if you were running outlets in conduit...
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 23:06
|
|
|
It's driving me nuts because I know I've seen them before, but I have no idea what to look for in search for the part. Really don't want big clunky boxes all over, though.  e: Here's such a cord, for instance: http://www.cerrowire.com/12-3-in-line-multi-outlet-cords ah-HA! Vampire/zip plugs, at least that's what this little guide calls 'em: http://www.johnsonschristmascorner.com/Cords.html ("zip plugs" seems to yield better results when searching) Bad Munki fucked around with this message at 23:19 on Dec 14, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 23:08
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 12, 2024 03:48 |
|
|
Woah, mid 90's flashback!
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2012 23:34
|
|