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I have a lightbulb (as best as I can tell, a PAR 16 Halogen Flood w/ E26 base) in an enclosure in the shower stall that keeps burning out after about a week. It burns out when I turn the light on, and no other sockets in the apartment has this problem. Upon inspecting the bulb, I notice scorch marks around the soldered contacts (both on the base and the top edge of the screw socket). Could this have something to do with replacing the original Halogen 35W with a 50W Xenon one, which was the only one of this type they stock at Home Depot? I've gone through about three of them now, and have resigned myself to just showering without that light lit.
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Feb 3, 2013 08:51
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Is there any reason I couldn't hook a bathroom vent fan up to a dimmer switch? I don't mean in a bathroom installation, this is actually for a small fume hood I'm building. I'd just like to be able to control the air flow to some degree.
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Feb 4, 2013 04:57
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I doubt an AC motor is going to be very happy about that kind of shenanigans, but AC motors aren't anywhere near my specialty.
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Feb 4, 2013 06:13
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If you want to efficiently change the speed of an AC motor, you need to change the frequency, not just the voltage. What will likely happen is you can slow the motor a little bit since induction motors have slip, the current draw will go through the roof as the motor stalls, and then you'll trip the circuit breaker. The motor is probably not designed to operate with that much slip.* A rotating motor generates counter-EMF. When the motor starts it's like a short circuit, but as the motor rotates that counter-EMF reduces the current draw from the motor. * - If you have a large synchronous motor, like they have in industry, any significant amount of slip is detected and will probably trip out the exciter and knock the motor offline. EDIT: on a bathroom fan, if it has a little "shaded pole" motor, it might be possible, but check the specifications on the dimmer switch. If you set it too low, the motor will stall and trip a breaker. I think that fan speed controllers are like dimmers but don't allow the voltage to go so low that it stalls the motor. Three-Phase fucked around with this message at 11:43 on Feb 4, 2013 |
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Feb 4, 2013 11:38
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Bad Munki posted:Is there any reason I couldn't hook a bathroom vent fan up to a dimmer switch? I don't mean in a bathroom installation, this is actually for a small fume hood I'm building. I'd just like to be able to control the air flow to some degree. On a bathroom fan with an old-style dimmer, you can probably "dim" from 40% to 100%. Below 40% you'll either overheat the dimmer, overheat the motor, or trip the breaker. Other than that, go hog wild. Crappy 1/6hp shaded-pole motors take ridiculous abuse.
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Feb 4, 2013 13:15
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I presume a dimmer would work just fine with a DC fan? My options are still pretty wide open since I'm just in the planning phase right now.
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Feb 4, 2013 16:14
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Bad Munki posted:I presume a dimmer would work just fine with a DC fan? My options are still pretty wide open since I'm just in the planning phase right now. What are you trying to vent?
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Feb 4, 2013 17:52
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A little spray booth, probably about 2x2x2, so roughly 8 cubic feet. Currently, my plan is to take some of that 1/2"-spaced grating used in fluorescent light fixtures, break it in half so I have two squares, and sandwich some fiberglass spray booth overspray filter between the two pieces and use that as a floor. Then, have a fan draw from underneath that (not directly underneath, but from a chamber underneath for even flow through the filter) so it acts as a downdraft chamber. I haven't decided if I'm going to vent to the outside or cycle the air back in through the top. Also vaguely considering craigslist a hairdryer I can disassemble and put on the air intake to provide heating service for faster drying. But yeah, pretty low volume, which is why I want to be able to control the flow, so I don't have a massive windstorm in there. The other option I've considered is just putting a damper in the ducting between the fan and the filter. I'll probably just do that because it'd be braindead simple.
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Feb 4, 2013 18:11
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Bad Munki posted:I presume a dimmer would work just fine with a DC fan? My options are still pretty wide open since I'm just in the planning phase right now. Yeah, you can dim a DC motor just fine.
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Feb 4, 2013 18:41
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Bad Munki posted:But yeah, pretty low volume, which is why I want to be able to control the flow, so I don't have a massive windstorm in there. The other option I've considered is just putting a damper in the ducting between the fan and the filter. I'll probably just do that because it'd be braindead simple. If you have a shop vac I would suggest just creating a small port to attach the vac hose and a couple of bleeder holes to control the suction. Can you use standard furnace filters? you would only need one level for the floor.
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Feb 4, 2013 18:42
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Could, but you can buy overspray filter by the roll that's made specifically for this sort of thing, filtering paints and solvents and poo poo. I think furnace filters would clog up way too fast, and would have to be replaced nearly every job or couple of jobs. The same is true for the overspray filter, but you buy like a hundred feet of it for about $50. The grate-filter-grate sandwich isn't really a problem, since I'd still need something to go above the filter and I can't buy half a piece of that stuff. It's cheap, besides.
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Feb 4, 2013 18:52
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Anybody know of a remote controlled light switch that supports CFLs? I prefer non-dimming but I'm having no luck finding anything either way. I've got some old ZWave stuff but it requires a minimum load that CFLs don't meet.
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Feb 4, 2013 19:06
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:If you have a shop vac I would suggest just creating a small port to attach the vac hose and a couple of bleeder holes to control the suction. Can you use standard furnace filters? you would only need one level for the floor. I'm not trying to be a problem here, but aren't you not supposed to vent flammable vapors through a shop-vac or blowers that aren't meant to ventilate out flammable vapors?
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Feb 4, 2013 22:30
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Three-Phase posted:I'm not trying to be a problem here, but aren't you not supposed to vent flammable vapors through a shop-vac or blowers that aren't meant to ventilate out flammable vapors? Yep, my brain was elsewhere. I was thinking only of air flow, not the need to ventilate. I had not acknowledged the fact the material is flammable. This also makes me think for safety 1) use a range hood or something rated for the removal of flammable gasses 2) vent somewhere safe, i.e. not your driveway 3) use extreme caution in selecting a motor, as I recall from my slot track racers of yore, DC motors can produce sparks.
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Feb 5, 2013 01:49
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:Yep, my brain was elsewhere. I was thinking only of air flow, not the need to ventilate. I had not acknowledged the fact the material is flammable. This also makes me think for safety As far as 2, I don't see the issue in venting to your driveway, unless Bad Munki is somehow painting an entire SUV in that little 2x2x2 box. I'd want it to be away from any running engines. Plus it would suck to get paint on someone's car! As far as venting back into the garage, if you're doing a ton of painting and the garage is small, you might be able to build up an explosive (or toxic) atmosphere in the garage. In that case, venting outside would be a much better idea. Yeah, the thing that worries me, again, is that either solution you're pulling potentially explosive vapor mixture past a fan, which probably has some kind of exposed motor on it. Brushes in motors can easily produce sparks. I wouldn't expect a normal AC squirrel-cage motor, like in a fan, to ever produce sparks unless there's a fault. But if it does fault and spark, it could cause a (hopefully small) explosion if it has vapors around it. Plus that blower will only operate when there's a presence of potentially explosive vapors. Also, I'd be concerned if there were bearings that could heat up to the flash point of the vapor you are sucking out as well. Not sure how possible this is. I'm looking for a solution on Grainger, but I'm having trouble finding something that costs less than $1000. Be sure to keep electrical stuff like cord-and-plug 120V out of that box when you're paining. Three-Phase fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Feb 5, 2013 |
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Feb 5, 2013 03:10
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Yeah, nothing electric in the box. Even the light sources would be outside the box itself, behind some plastic windows (with like drafting paper or something inside the windows for cheap replacement if it gets painted on). I'll have to look into what the overspray filters actually remove. I mean, they're literally made for filtering out solvent-based paints, so they might have some more active component in there as well, I don't know.
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Feb 5, 2013 03:15
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I'd say whatever you do right now, don't run fumes through a vacuum cleaner or you could have an explosion. I was wondering if you could use shop air from an air compressor to do any of this, but what you're describing is a situation where you need a vacuum. I have seen some air-operated vacuum pumps. If you have an air motor, unless you have something wacky like a bearing overheating, the electrical spark issue goes away. Could something like this be safely re-purposed to vent out fumes? Three-Phase fucked around with this message at 03:29 on Feb 5, 2013 |
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Feb 5, 2013 03:25
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Well, if I was really worried about it, I could always belt-drive a fan in the duct from a motor outside the duct. Or use a magnetic drive of the sort you'd see on an aquarium impeller. But really, to be honest, I'm not THAT worried about the fumes. There won't be much continuous spray, it'll be more short bursts than anything else, and the small amount of air I need to move will make it easy. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that everything would get covered in a fine mist of spray paint, I would just put a cardboard box in the corner and open a window.
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Feb 5, 2013 03:29
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Air movers like this http://www.usa-airtools.com/air-movers.htm. Some are built specifically for explosion proof applications. Pretty pricey though. Maybe you could make one or buy one cheap.
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Feb 5, 2013 07:06
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Bad Munki posted:Yeah, nothing electric in the box. Even the light sources would be outside the box itself, behind some plastic windows (with like drafting paper or something inside the windows for cheap replacement if it gets painted on). You also should make sure to ground the box, and ground yourself. Plastic + Charged Particles = Spark.
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Feb 5, 2013 15:24
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I was crawling around in my attic and found an interesting junction box. I've got three wires coming in, call them A, B, and C. They're all on one circuit breaker and are wired up as such: A Black to B Black A White to C White B White to C Black  All grounds tied together. It's like it's wired in a big circle. All the wiring in the house seems to work properly, everything tests well, but the people that have looked at it are really confused about why a neutral and a hot are tied together.
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Feb 5, 2013 16:21
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Johnny Cache Hit posted:All the wiring in the house seems to work properly, everything tests well, but the people that have looked at it are really confused about why a neutral and a hot are tied together. Switch leg that's not properly re-identified?
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Feb 5, 2013 17:50
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Does anyone have experience with Emergency Ballasts? I'm having a hard time finding decent information on them. I've got a few troffers I'd like to retrofit with them in my office, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to wire them in so the regular light switch still works but if the actual power goes out they come on even if the switch is off. Likewise, do they replace the standard ballast or get wired in line with the standard ballast? They are all 4 light fixtures (4ft), and I'd like to power at least 2 lights in each fixture. I'm looking at something like this: http://www.exitlightco.com/product/EB-8.html
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Feb 5, 2013 18:01
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ncumbered_by_idgits posted:Switch leg that's not properly re-identified? Seconding switch leg, especially for a ceiling box in an attic. by the way Johnny Cache Hit, idgits is talking about taping that white wire with black tape to show that it's now a hot carrier. Maniaman posted:Does anyone have experience with Emergency Ballasts? I'm having a hard time finding decent information on them. I've got a few troffers I'd like to retrofit with them in my office, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to wire them in so the regular light switch still works but if the actual power goes out they come on even if the switch is off. Likewise, do they replace the standard ballast or get wired in line with the standard ballast? They are all 4 light fixtures (4ft), and I'd like to power at least 2 lights in each fixture. Battery ballasts are meant for night lights, those that are constantly powered and not switched, just like exit signs and flood lights. If you put one of those on a switch, when switched off they will interpret that as the power going out and the battery will kick on. That being said, they are straight replacements for normal ballasts. You may see some confusing website listings about adding them to fixtures because some troffers take multiple ballasts since each ballast inside only powers 1 or 2 tubes. Some emergency ballasts are confusing too, in that they can power multiple tubes in normal operation, but will only power 1 or 2 during a power outage. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Feb 5, 2013 |
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Feb 5, 2013 18:08
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Maniaman posted:Does anyone have experience with Emergency Ballasts? I'm having a hard time finding decent information on them. I've got a few troffers I'd like to retrofit with them in my office, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to wire them in so the regular light switch still works but if the actual power goes out they come on even if the switch is off. Likewise, do they replace the standard ballast or get wired in line with the standard ballast? They are all 4 light fixtures (4ft), and I'd like to power at least 2 lights in each fixture. I've installed, replaced, repaired, and rewired hundreds of the stupid things. Almost all of them supplement the ballast that's in the fixture; they are "wired in line with the standard ballast." You need a constant (unswitched) hot leg in your fixture. That goes straight to the emergency pack. Where the switch leg goes is variable. In fact, where ANY of the wires go (if anywhere) is variable between packs. You'll get a wonderful booklet in the box like this. Those last two pages are what you're supposed to be able to decypher. It makes sense once you cross out all the stuff you DON'T have, then figure out what you DO have, and what you want. Make sure you know what kind of lamps you have, then look at that little table and figure out whether or not the brown plug gets connected. Then there are test switches and charging lights. The bad stuff that can happen if you wire these up wrong: Fixture catches fire, lamps burn out in minutes to hours, lamps don't come on, batteries explode, wiring melts, breakers constantly trip, OTHER fixtures on the circuit fail to work, other fixtures in the string have high voltage on them when the breaker's off. I've witnessed all of these (none due to my work), and many of them aren't fun. It's really not all that bad, just pay attention, be careful, turn the power off, and double-check your wiring before connecting the red and white plug. edit: quote:Battery ballasts are meant for night lights, those that are constantly powered and not switched, just like exit signs and flood lights. If you put one of those on a switch, when switched off they will interpret that as the power going out and the battery will kick on. babyeatingpsychopath fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Feb 5, 2013 |
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Feb 5, 2013 18:27
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Next question.. I see msot of these ballasts are rated by lumens. I'll be using them in standard troffers with 40 watt T-12s. The spec sheets say they'll power 2 40 watt 4ft bulbs, but then they are rated by lumens, so does that mean the lights won't be as bright? I always thought fluorescent lights were either all or nothing.
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Feb 5, 2013 18:50
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Maniaman posted:Next question.. I see msot of these ballasts are rated by lumens. I'll be using them in standard troffers with 40 watt T-12s. The spec sheets say they'll power 2 40 watt 4ft bulbs, but then they are rated by lumens, so does that mean the lights won't be as bright? I always thought fluorescent lights were either all or nothing. Modern fluorescent ballasts are strange, and the way they interact with lamps is also strange. On emergency, with full battery, the lamp will be nearly as bright as normal. As the battery is used, the lamp gets dimmer, until after the rated time of the ballast (usually 90 minutes), the lamp is JUST bright enough to meet the "emergency lighting" lumen output, which is really dim. Eventually the lamp will just be kinda glowing a little bit blue at either end. With u-shaped lamps and the mini CFLs, even stranger stuff happens, but the net effect is the same: Bright at start, dim at end. If you're just trying to keep enough light in a space to leave when the power goes out, none of this is a problem. If you want to keep working for an hour in a power outage, you're going to want a different technology, most likely a backup generator of some kind.
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Feb 5, 2013 19:41
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So I was working in the garage the other night and one of the three fluorescent fixtures on the ceiling turned off on its own. This a relatively new house (2006) and the fixtures are 2 bulb 4 foot T8s. I tried swapping known good bulbs in and it still didn't work so I figured it was the ballast. I went looking for a new ballast and couldn't find one so I got a new fixture. The old fixture had the wire nut connections inside the fixture. The new fixture is slimmer and the instructions say the wire nut connections should be done inside a junction box. So I pulled the old fixture off and see no junction box:  (I wire nutted those back together before calling it a night.) I have access to the attic to install a junction box but I have no idea what kind to use. Metal, plastic, shape and size? There were at least 8 different shapes of each material at the hardware store.
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Feb 11, 2013 22:42
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Cpt.Wacky posted:So I was working in the garage the other night and one of the three fluorescent fixtures on the ceiling turned off on its own. This a relatively new house (2006) and the fixtures are 2 bulb 4 foot T8s. I tried swapping known good bulbs in and it still didn't work so I figured it was the ballast. Do you have the old fixture? You can swap ballasts out now. If not, get an octagon (round) box in whatever material you want. Plastic or metal is fine. If metal, get a ground screw, as well. Cut a hole for the box so the opening is flush with the face of the finished drywall. Make sure you get a cable clamp for the romex, as well. A plastic box may have integral clamps. If you do this right, you may not need to go to the attic at all.
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Feb 11, 2013 23:21
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:If you do this right, you may not need to go to the attic at all. That would be wonderful. I do have the old fixture but the old ballast wiring diagram has more wires than the new one, so I wasn't sure if it was compatible. This is the old one: 
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Feb 12, 2013 00:02
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Cpt.Wacky posted:That would be wonderful. Since nobody's touched this: what's the old one look like? It's usually pretty straightforward to interpret wiring diagrams, including what wires you can ignore.
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Feb 12, 2013 16:44
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Cpt.Wacky posted:That would be wonderful. That's... odd. It depicts yellow wires that aren't there? What about the new ballast? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Feb 12, 2013 |
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Feb 12, 2013 18:44
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gently caress 750 kcmil teck cable. It's a bitch.
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Feb 14, 2013 00:32
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Pufflekins posted:gently caress 750 kcmil teck cable. It's a bitch. 
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Feb 14, 2013 00:36
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grover posted:Fortunately, not too much of this in the average house There is, however, a bunch in these dorms we're wiring 
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Feb 14, 2013 01:17
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Pufflekins posted:There is, however, a bunch in these dorms we're wiring
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Feb 14, 2013 02:50
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Triplex 500kcmil, 15kV class - I think that's rated for 90C or 105C terminations. I think the nominal bend radius for that is at least eight feet.
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Feb 14, 2013 03:13
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I saw some 1000 kcmil cable at a substation last week. poo poo is massive.
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Feb 14, 2013 03:18
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My brother had to trench some (I believe) 3 conductor 750 TECK cable once. No one could pull it so they had to tie it to a trailer hitch and drive the truck along the ditch and push it in.
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Feb 14, 2013 03:57
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Nemico posted:My brother had to trench some (I believe) 3 conductor 750 TECK cable once. No one could pull it so they had to tie it to a trailer hitch and drive the truck along the ditch and push it in. And it still laid flat? I wouldn't be surprised if the memory in that cable would still be able to pull it out of the ground even after the dirt was dumped back in the trench.
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Feb 14, 2013 04:13
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