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grover posted:Those are connectors for 3-phase 208V power. For high powered connections. Kinda funny they'd pretend to plug in a powerstrip. I like this one, too: There's a whole series of these. Ethernet, BNC, IDE, etc: http://www.fiftythree.org/etherkiller/
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May 6, 2013 16:56
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I moved into a very old apartment with 2 prong plugs. Can I put in a 2 prong to 3 prong converter, then plug my electronics into this device? Will it provide protection? My general goals are to not set my house on fire or fry my electronics. Thanks goons. http://www.amazon.com/APC-Essential...=pd_sim_sbs_e_2
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May 8, 2013 23:55
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madkapitolist posted:I moved into a very old apartment with 2 prong plugs. Can I put in a 2 prong to 3 prong converter, then plug my electronics into this device? Will it provide protection? Your link is broken. My apologies, that cheater plug stuff wasn't in the OP like I thought. Cheater plugs don't provide protection by themselves unless they're screwed into a grounded 2-prong receptacle. The problem is that 2 prongers are almost never grounded. That 2 prong circuit wouldn't happen to have GFCI protection, would it? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 00:39 on May 9, 2013 |
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May 9, 2013 00:32
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Sorry its this thing http://amzn.to/YvfH2l
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May 9, 2013 00:36
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madkapitolist posted:Sorry its this thing Eh, most surge protectors will protect without a ground, some won't. The older ones usually wouldn't protect without a working ground. Also, read the included paperwork for them. Sometimes the manufacturer's "attached equipment insurance" policies won't pay out without proper grounding.
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May 9, 2013 00:43
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Those 2-prong adapters are unsafe and illegal to use in this way. There are only two safe and legal ways to plug 3-prong grounded appliances & equipment into 2-prong outlets: 1) Upgrade it to an actual grounded 3-prong outlet by pulling in a new ground wire. If you're REALLY lucky, the ground is already in the box, and all you have to do is hook it up. I've yet to see it, though. 2) You can install a GFCI receptacle on the circuit, which will allow you to legally install 3-prong receptacles on all downstream outlets that are protected by it. It still won't be grounded, but the GFCI provides shock protection and allows for this in the electrical code. This must be labeled "UNGROUNDED" and "GFCI PROTECTED"
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May 9, 2013 01:08
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grover posted:1) Upgrade it to an actual grounded 3-prong outlet by pulling in a new ground wire. If you're REALLY lucky, the ground is already in the box, and all you have to do is hook it up. I've yet to see it, though. My own house was! Well, half of it. Half the house the original electrician twisted the grounds together outside the boxes and attached them to a box gang screw, the other half he clipped the ground off where he removed the outer insulation. That's when I got double lucky and the ground wire was bent zigzagged inside the outer sheath so I was able to tug out an inch to twist pigtails onto. And what about GFCI extension cords? Would they work for his instance, beyond getting expensive per outlet really quick? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 03:12 on May 9, 2013 |
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May 9, 2013 03:08
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kid sinister posted:My own house was! Well, half of it. Half the house the original electrician twisted the grounds together outside the boxes and attached them to a box gang screw, the other half he clipped the ground off where he removed the outer insulation. That's when I got double lucky and the ground wire was bent zigzagged inside the outer sheath so I was able to tug out an inch to twist pigtails onto.
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May 9, 2013 10:47
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grover posted:protect probably half the house, which could then be upgraded to normal 3-prong receptacles. Nope, I believe the max is 8 receptacles if you want to maintain the UL listing for their purpose. I'm sure it will tell you just how many on the instruction sheet that comes in the box though.
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May 9, 2013 18:21
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grover posted:A GFCI cord should be OK, I think; especially the ones that only have a 2-prong plug and don't require an adapter. GFCI receptacles are pretty cheap, though, and one could protect probably half the house, which could then be upgraded to normal 3-prong receptacles. He's in an apartment. His landlord might not like him doing his own upgrades.
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May 10, 2013 00:09
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SneakyBeef posted:Nope, I believe the max is 8 receptacles if you want to maintain the UL listing for their purpose. I'm sure it will tell you just how many on the instruction sheet that comes in the box though. Missed the apartment bit; yeah, you can't do poo poo like this no matter how much it makes sense if you're renting, sorry. GFCI power strip'll have to do.
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May 10, 2013 01:51
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grover posted:you can't do poo poo like this no matter how much it makes sense if you're renting, sorry. madkapitolist, you might be able to talk your landlord into doing the GFCI upgrade if you offer to pay for the electrician, but that's really up to how agreeable he is. It would have to be a pro, you couldn't do it. Insurance can be a bitch like that.
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May 12, 2013 21:55
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Is this the thread to talk about lighting? I'm looking at beefing up my kitchen lighting, and track lighting will probably work the best. I have two light drops in the ceiling about 2 feet apart from each other, but the builder put them both in one side of the S-shaped kitchen (think that one Tetris piece that's annoying as poo poo to use). Rough layout:  I've been looking at flexible track stuff, thinking that I'd run an eight foot piece from each drop in this rough shape (it'd look better than I'm drawing here) with a mix of pendants and spots on each track:  Now, is all flex track the kind that have the embedded copper conductor with the lights making the electrical connection as they clamp on the track? Or is there some that actually wire up like normal? Because judging by customer reviews on all these kits I'm looking at, poor contact (leading to blown/dim/flickering lights) seems to be a problem for a lot of buyers. I'd rather run something that wires directly from outlet to lights, if it exists. If not, how feasible is it to bend and run my own conduit (painting it whatever that rubbed bronze color my wife is nuts about)?
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May 13, 2013 18:25
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Bending conduit is pretty easy, the only problem is that you'd have to buy a pipe bender which is about 60-70 bucks for a decent one. So it'd be cheaper/easier to run track lighting
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May 13, 2013 21:54
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If it's just that galvanized conduit, a cheap $20-$30 bender from HD/Lowes will do just fine. Still better to just go with the track lighting, though.
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May 13, 2013 22:01
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Pufflekins posted:Bending conduit is pretty easy, the only problem is that you'd have to buy a pipe bender which is about 60-70 bucks for a decent one. So it'd be cheaper/easier to run track lighting Buddy of mine is an industrial electrician, he's got enough scrap pieces and a bender that material/work on that part is free. The only drawback is whether I could make an installation with it look decent. What's the tradeoffs between a line voltage and low voltage lighting system? The low voltage system I looked at, it was close to 300 bucks just for the 300w transformer alone.
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May 13, 2013 23:10
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Those are cam-lock connectors, typically seen on welding cable. The relative size of those looks like they'd be on a 100A cable. Do they make those rated for 4160V? EDIT: They do! Sort-of. Cord-and-plug up to 15kV class (for 13.8kV applications). Three-Phase fucked around with this message at 00:14 on May 14, 2013 |
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May 14, 2013 00:08
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I'm adding a new exterior door to an older home, which means I need to add an exterior light by the new entry. I'd also like to add an exterior outlet by the door while I'm doing this. The house is mostly wired in older armored cable, without a dedicated grounding conductor. It does have thin aluminum strip though (bonding strip?), and from what I've poked at the bonding strips were actually clamped down at every junction box. House was built in 1972 if that helps. Is there any code compliant way to extend an older circuit like this? My only other option will be to run a new cable all the way back to the main panel. The panel and sub panel are completely full, so I can't add any new breakers. I've got a 15 amp lighting circuit with AFCI breaker in the sub panel that has very little actual load on it, and I would add my new light and outlet to this circuit. I'd rather avoid going back to the panel just because I don't want to drill through every single joist in the basement, which is about what this would involve. Also - I could actually add a new breaker in the main panel, because there are a couple of circuits in there that are no longer used. But, I can't get any of the fancy modern AFCI or GFCI breakers for this old panel. Does an exterior light need to be on an AFCI circuit? For that matter, is there any problem having a GFCI outlet on an AFCI circuit? Thanks!
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May 14, 2013 13:04
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GD_American posted:Buddy of mine is an industrial electrician, he's got enough scrap pieces and a bender that material/work on that part is free. The only drawback is whether I could make an installation with it look decent. If you've never bent conduit before, get a LOT of scrap pieces, because it's going to look pretty terrible. It's going to look bad anyway, or at the very least industrial, no matter what color you paint it. You need a strap of some kind within 18" of every box, and within every 10' thereafter. I haven't found an EMT strap yet that looks any good. As far as flexible track lighting, I've never had any complaints about flickering light when I install it. We usually just set the track, ask the customer where they want the lights, ensure that they're actually hooked in properly, and then the customer never moves them and they're always fine. I suspect the "flickering lights" and whatnot comes from improper installation; not tightening screws, not making sure the contact is actually between the track pieces, etc. I'm a fan of the low-voltage power-limited two-wire halogen spots from Ikea. 20' of wire, 5 spots, and a transformer for $80. We got some eye bolts with grommets in them from some place and were able to run around a corner with no problem, so any geometric shape should be easy. Raised by Hamsters posted:I'm adding a new exterior door to an older home, which means I need to add an exterior light by the new entry. I'd also like to add an exterior outlet by the door while I'm doing this. Exterior lights don't need to be on any special kind of circuit. Exterior outlets need to be GFCI. Having a GFCI on an AFCI circuit may be interesting, and may have nuisance trips, but if the AFCIs aren't tripping with the old AC installed, then you're good. As far as extending the current circuit, just use whatever you'd like, and pretend that the AC bonding strip is, in fact, a clean ground, and just connect to that at your box when you run your new cable.
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May 14, 2013 16:06
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:It's going to look bad anyway, or at the very least industrial, no matter what color you paint it. That's what I was wondering about exactly, thank you. babyeatingpsychopath posted:As far as flexible track lighting, I've never had any complaints about flickering light when I install it. We usually just set the track, ask the customer where they want the lights, ensure that they're actually hooked in properly, and then the customer never moves them and they're always fine. I suspect the "flickering lights" and whatnot comes from improper installation; not tightening screws, not making sure the contact is actually between the track pieces, etc. Yeah I'm probably going to end up going low voltage anyway, just because line voltage kits aren't looking anywhere near as customizable. Just looking for something cheaper than Tiella, because goddamn. I might buy one of those Hampton Bay kits from Home Depot and just change shades and lights.
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May 14, 2013 16:12
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The problem is, P=VI. To get the same amount of power to a low voltage light, you need a thicker wire to handle more current. On the other hand, lower voltage means less hazard, so the manufacturers can use less bulky wiring/track insulation that (on some 12 volt systems I've seen, anyways) can even be bare, open wires, which can add to the appearance of the lighting system instead of having to try and hide it. So thicker wires may not be that big a deal, I've seen ones that looked really great even though (because?) they were made from 3/16" brass rods as conductors.
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May 14, 2013 18:44
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Exterior lights don't need to be on any special kind of circuit. Exterior outlets need to be GFCI. Having a GFCI on an AFCI circuit may be interesting, and may have nuisance trips, but if the AFCIs aren't tripping with the old AC installed, then you're good. Exterior outlets also need to be weather- and tamper-resistant GFCIs as per 2008 code.  For what it's worth Raised by Hamsters, I retrofitted my own house with outdoor GFCIs on AFCI breakers, and yes, there are quite a few nuisance trips. They were all from power tools, my neighbor's ancient miter saw in particular. BTW it was the AFCI that tripped, not the GFCI.Also, who made your box that you think you can't get "fancy" breakers for anymore? I know that they still make GFCIs for Pushmatic boxes...
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May 14, 2013 18:52
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kid sinister posted:Also, who made your box that you think you can't get "fancy" breakers for anymore? I know that they still make GFCIs for Pushmatic boxes... Well, it's a Cutler-Hammer - the breakers may well exist, but the real problem would be fitting the things. The only ones I have seen have a rather wide shape, and this panel is pretty narrow. Plus, it is a complete mess of overcrowding and poorly laid out wiring. Some day I'm going to have the whole works replaced. Anyway thank you both, this thread is awesome.
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May 15, 2013 13:05
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Raised by Hamsters posted:Well, it's a Cutler-Hammer - the breakers may well exist, but the real problem would be fitting the things. The only ones I have seen have a rather wide shape, and this panel is pretty narrow. Plus, it is a complete mess of overcrowding and poorly laid out wiring. Some day I'm going to have the whole works replaced. You likely need Cutler Hammer CH series breakers. The wide ones are BR series.
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May 15, 2013 15:32
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ncumbered_by_idgits posted:You likely need Cutler Hammer CH series breakers. The wide ones are BR series. Raised by Hamsters, the panel in my own house is a Cutler Hammer CH box, and yes they do have both AFCI and GFCI breakers available in any store, even Home Depot and Lowes. They are a little weird looking as they are about twice as long yet just as narrow as a regular breaker. Their extra bits hide in the panel under the casing, back where hot wires are normally ran in breaker boxes. edit: Cutler Hammer is now owned by Eaton I think. edit2: I just found out that quite a few breaker makers now offer 2-pole AFCI and GFCI breakers... Those might be useful in certain retrofits. I could see a 30A 2-pole GFCI for a dryer in an unfinished basement or next to a utility sink, or maybe an AC condenser since they're outdoors. I wonder how long it will take for them to become code? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 22:06 on May 15, 2013 |
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May 15, 2013 21:51
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I just bought a house that isn't wire for cable at all. I need to get it wired ASAP as I need Internet at home for work. I called an electrician who quoted me $3500 for five rooms cable and Ethernet. Is this way out of line? I'm willing to pay a premium to get it done ASAP, but not if I'm getting totally ripped off...
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May 16, 2013 19:14
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Why do you need cable in all those rooms? Get the cable company to drill a hole in the wall and fish a cable through. Put your cable modem/wifi router there and you're done. They'll usually do that much just as part of the standard over-priced installation fee.
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May 16, 2013 19:30
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Do you have an attic, unfinished basement, or crawl space for easy access? Running the cable is very easy to do
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May 16, 2013 20:21
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ShadowStalker posted:Do you have an attic, unfinished basement, or crawl space for easy access? For less than $3500 he could butcher the drywall, run the cable himself and have it repaired by a drywall company. And still have money for a nice TV and professionally clean the carpets. I've only had cables run for work projects, fishing an Ethernet cable through drywall to a wall plate and back down the hall in the ceiling was only a couple hundred bucks though. For our new construction house, admittedly a lot different than retrofit, it was $100 per Ethernet/cable.
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May 16, 2013 20:47
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ShadowStalker posted:Do you have an attic, unfinished basement, or crawl space for easy access? Agreed. Hell, if you have a basement or attic above/below every room you need it in, I would literally fly to you and do it for half that with all materials included. That's a ridiculously high price unless it's a masonry house and/or has absolutely no above/below access to the rooms from an unfinished space.
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May 16, 2013 20:49
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It's a split level. I think running the cable to the extension in the back is gonna be a pain. I absolutely need hard-wired Ethernet, though. Wifi is not an option. The quote did sound really high, but trying to find someone to do the work on short notice is tricky I guess. kastein, how close to DC are you?
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May 16, 2013 21:27
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I'm in Mass, not that far away. I was mostly making a point, not offering, as I'm not a licensed electrician (not sure you need a license for ethernet/catv... the cable company installers certainly don't, though they do a horrible job of butchering houses with drills generally) but post up pics of the general areas you'd need to put drops in and I'd be more than happy to either walk you through doing it or whatever. Hell, there may be an actual licensed electrician local to DC in this thread. I could swear there are at least a few guys from Virginia who post here regularly.
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May 16, 2013 21:44
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I've got a guy who quoted me $125 a drop so problem solved I guess.
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May 17, 2013 03:25
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Baruch Obamawitz posted:I've got a guy who quoted me $125 a drop so problem solved I guess. Yeah 3500 is ridiculous as all hell. Most cable installers I knew did around 75-100 a drop, although that jumps if they have to do something retarded (like a split level). How many drops? You're just running Cat 6, right?
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May 17, 2013 07:27
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GD_American posted:Yeah 3500 is ridiculous as all hell. Most cable installers I knew did around 75-100 a drop, although that jumps if they have to do something retarded (like a split level). Yeah, and it is a split level.
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May 17, 2013 11:55
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Baruch Obamawitz posted:Yeah, and it is a split level. You got a "I really hate doing LV/comms, but I'll do it if you're stupid enough to pay me enough" quote. I give out quotes like that when people say "dig through clay" and whatnot. I will do it, but at $100/ft, it's probably cheaper to find someone else....
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May 17, 2013 16:14
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Yeah, that's for sure. I give out quotes like that for stuff I really don't want to do, like crawling around in crawlspaces full of mold for wiring/insulation, doing a transmission in a FWD car, or significant rust repair on unibody vehicles. And once in a while someone actually accepts it.
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May 17, 2013 16:52
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Well I got a quote for $1200-1500.for ten runs depending on what's involved.
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May 17, 2013 18:11
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How would you feel about wrapping the house, because if I was installing I'd try to sell you on that.
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May 17, 2013 18:46
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I suck at wiring. In my stairwell are two light fixtures, one at the top and one at the bottom. There is a 3-way switch in each location. I have attempted to install an occupancy sensor in the top location, so that entering the stairway turns the light on. So, I follow the directions: 1. Sensor black wire to either black wire in the box. Check. 2. Sensor red wire to the other black wire in the box. Check. 3. Sensor white wire to the neutral wire in the box. Neutral is the two wrapped together usually. Okay, check. 4. Sensor blue wire to the red traveler wire. There is no red wire. There's an unused, uncapped white wire, is that it? Must be, check. 5. Green to ground, easy, check. Now it says pull out the other 3-way switch (this would be the one at the bottom of the stairs). Okay, directions again: 1. Connect the two black wires together. Check. 2. Connect the two white wires together, then connect both to the common terminal. Check. 3. Connect the red wire to eithe— wait, there are no more wires. Two white, two black. Now what? So how do I figure out what the traveler is? I've been loving around down there for an hour and a half, and I got the occupancy sensor to work by connecting the two blacks together and the two whites together at the lower box. This entirely cut out the bottom 3-way, but the sensor works and both lights come on. I know this is  and I'm going to post some pictures after I eat some breakfast, but I wanted to type it out first and see if something suddenly made sense on the way. What did I gently caress up?edit: Top of the stairs:  Lower left must be coming from the panel, and the one on the upper right had its black wire crammed into the box and unused. So one set goes to the upper fixture, and the other goes to the lower switch? Or to the lower fixture? How the hell would I find out? Bottom of the stairs:  So one here goes to the lower fixture, I can see the Romex at the top of the unfinished wall. The other one goes to the other fixture? This should not be this confusing. Slim Killington fucked around with this message at 14:25 on May 19, 2013 |
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May 19, 2013 13:22
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