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Deadite posted:I don't have a digital dimmer, so I just turn down the dial to the point where the LED bulb turns on and then I turn it back up to full strength. Once the bulb is on everything works fine, but finding the sweet spot of dimness when it will switch on is tricky. Is this low-voltage track lighting with an individual transformer on each socket or standard 120V lighting. If it's the former, then yeah lighting store guy could be right-- but if it's the latter, there should be no issue with the individual fixtures. Either they'll all work or none of them should. You could try swapping the 'bad' ones into sockets that you've seen work to verify the bulbs themselves are OK.
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Sep 6, 2013 02:46
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I really don't know. The website for the product says it's 120V Single Circuit Track, but the luminaries are called low voltage, so I guess it's the former? I swapped out a "bad" bulb for one of the working ones and I have the same issue where it only works if dimmed first, so I think I'll just see if I can get new ones with the warranty.
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Sep 6, 2013 03:15
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Outdoor dusk-to-dawn porch light question: I have a front porch with an existing ceiling mounted light. I'd like to install a light that comes on at dusk and off at dawn but Ive only seen them for vertical wall mounting and I'm not sure given the overhang if the light sensor would work properly. Any thoughts? I'm considering possibly having an external light sensor wired in but Im not sure where to buy such a thing
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Sep 6, 2013 06:27
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No Wave posted:So the cheapest option is probably to find a door then to get someone to cut it down to size? I'm still living the recent graduate city apartment-to-apartment lifestyle. Hardware stores will usually cut sheets of plywood or fiberboard down for you if you don't have the means to do it yourself, but a second-hand door would almost certainly be cheaper. All you'd need to cut it to size is a circular saw and surely someone you know has one.
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Sep 6, 2013 07:19
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No Wave posted:So the cheapest option is probably to find a door then to get someone to cut it down to size? I'm still living the recent graduate city apartment-to-apartment lifestyle. http://www.lowes.com/pd_10700-77999-10700_4294859728__?productId=3406588&Ns=p_product_price%7C0 If you can't find someone with a saw to cut it, Lowes has a 30x80 door for $19. I wonder if you could have them cut it in half in the store like they typically do for lumber (this would also be pretty funny to see). It's a hollow core, but I imagine you could make it work.
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Sep 6, 2013 13:20
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Killing Flies posted:You're both right. The truth is that these days running flooring perpendicular to the joists isn't as much of a necessity as it used to be. The stability of modern engineered lumbers means you're probably safe either way, but it's still a good idea, of aesthetics allow, to run them perpendicular if you can. Thanks, now I'm thinking of still running them perpendicular because eventually if/when we do hardwood in the rest of the house, it will run that same way down the hallway, so it might make more sense to keep it all going the same way? Ahhhhg I don't know.
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Sep 6, 2013 13:49
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Frohike999 posted:http://www.lowes.com/pd_10700-77999-10700_4294859728__?productId=3406588&Ns=p_product_price%7C0 Pretty sure you can't cut a hollow core door more than the solid 3 or 4 inches on each end because, well, you know, it's hollow. Besides, who wants to use a hollow core door for anything? Yuck.
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Sep 6, 2013 14:07
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I would probably just get a small sheet of plywood from home depot and have them cut it to 30x40 and then buy some sand paper (and some stain if you care about that).
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Sep 6, 2013 15:59
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If you cut a hollow core door you'll need some timber to fill the hollow end. Better to cut a solid door or find a timber merchant.
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Sep 6, 2013 20:54
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Personally I never cut my doors and just enjoyed having a bigass desk. One of them was hollow core and it was never a problem--although when I moved out a (fortunately very lithe) friend of mine climbed up on top of it to take some art off the wall, and it really strained under the weight but didn't break.
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Sep 6, 2013 21:38
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I have an Electric AC unit outside of my home, inside my home in the unfinished basement is the gas-powered heater as well as an electric water heater. This picture is of the gas-powered heater (which is right at the junction of all the ducting) today with the AC on, heat off. I know the picture is horrible but it is leaking water/dripping from the junction of that pipe and the unit as best as I can tell. It is leaking fast enough to cause a nice bit of moisture and puddles on the floor of the basement as well. This is the pipe going down into some sort of other box thing (I didn't get close to attempt to read anything on it, I can if you internet geniuses can't tell what it is):  How best to fix this? What is even wrong (beyond a leaking pipe)?
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Sep 6, 2013 22:22
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Sounds like drainage from the evaporator coils. Drainage here is normal, draining on the floor isn't. Somewhere a connection has corroded or come loose.
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Sep 6, 2013 22:29
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Totally TWISTED posted:I have an Electric AC unit outside of my home, inside my home in the unfinished basement is the gas-powered heater as well as an electric water heater. This picture is of the gas-powered heater (which is right at the junction of all the ducting) today with the AC on, heat off. That is the condensate drain. It is going into a condensate pump, which has a float that makes it turn on when the reservoir fills up and pumps it out to.....wherever the (formerly) clear hose goes. First thing to check is if the condensate pump works. You can just fill it up with water and see if it turns on and pumps. If not, replace it (make sure it is plugged into an outlet that has power first). Any decent hardware store will have one for under $60. If the leaking is from the pipe itself (assuming it's not backed up because the pump isn't working).....which is likely because it looks like it's cracked and most condensate pumps will just leak all over if they fill up.....just replace the whole pipe run. It appears that you have the pretty standard 1" threaded PVC connector connecting to the evap coil. Just get one of those, some 1" PVC and a 90 degree bend along with some PVC primer, PVC cement, and a saw you can cut the pipe with and you'll be all good. This looks like a $20 fix.
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Sep 7, 2013 00:02
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My condensate drain pipe, or actually maybe the bung that it screws onto (on the a-coil-containg chassis) got filled up with crap once and made water drip all the gently caress over out of all 4 sides of that chassis. Could be that, clean it up, $0 fix. Edit: but I've never seen a pump like that. Anywhere I've ever been there's a floor-drain the ac condensate pipe point into as well as the water heater overheat drain pipe, is a pump (pumping it somewhere outside I presume?) a pretty common thing? Would the water heater drain point just to the floor or something since it's unlikely to ever happen? Vin BioEthanol fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Sep 7, 2013 |
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Sep 7, 2013 01:32
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Wagonburner posted:Edit: but I've never seen a pump like that. Anywhere I've ever been there's a floor-drain the ac condensate pipe point into as well as the water heater overheat drain pipe. Yeah....floor drains typically go to the sanitary sewer system, which is not supposed to get condensate put in it (by most codes). Condensate is supposed to be treated like a sump pump (and you'll sometimes find it put into sump holes). That little condensate pump is a bog standard unit that is used on drat near everything (at least near me). Wagonburner posted:Would the water heater drain point just to the floor or something since it's unlikely to ever happen? That's just fine, because not only is the water form the heater from the domestic water source, but it's alson unlikely to happen. Condensate happen all the time and isn't from the domestic water source. (they bill sewer based on on much water you use, so they get pissy about putting water you haven't bought from them into the sewer) Motronic fucked around with this message at 02:03 on Sep 7, 2013 |
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Sep 7, 2013 02:01
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dwoloz posted:Outdoor dusk-to-dawn porch light question: I have a light switch that you program the approximate location and time and it works out whether it is time to turn on and off by the sunrise/sunset times for that location during the year. Even has a setting for daylight savings too! Like this guy: http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Econoswitch-RPLS740B-Programmable-Switch/dp/B004AP92N2 Leviton makes them too, I think that's what mine is.
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Sep 7, 2013 04:21
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No Wave posted:I'm putting together a desk - I have a filing cabinet and a leg that are the same height. I'm looking for a desk-appropriate piece of wood that's 30" x 40". What's the best solution to find a "custom" sized piece of wood like this? Ikea sells desks for their modular leg series that you could use. A variety of sizes of prefinished panels that will look way more professional than a used door or hastily sanded and painted piece of ply. Not to mention that they're cheaper than an equivalent sheet of ply before finishing.
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Sep 7, 2013 19:47
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I know a guy that is selling three pressure washers with bad pumps for $50 for all three. Generac 1670-0 / Craftsman 580.767202 Generac Quantum XTL Clean Power 60, 2.0GPM 2100psi 6.0HP Ex-cell VR2300, 2300psi 2.1GPM 4830cu 6.0HP Is it worth repairing them with upgraded pumps (if I can find them) and reselling two of them, or should I just walk away?
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Sep 7, 2013 20:52
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SkunkDuster posted:I know a guy that is selling three pressure washers with bad pumps for $50 for all three. If it's anything like Karchers, a pump is worth more than you'll pay for a used but working full unit. I'd check pricing/availability as well as what they're worth before getting into that.
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Sep 8, 2013 00:53
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Update on the wet floor boards.  What we currently think happened is that water got splashed on the tile in front of the shower whenever it was used, then went under the wall and slowly built up over several years. We've been looking everywhere and there isn't any plumbing leaking, and the floor got much drier just from the carpeting being lifted up. What we plan on doing next is trimming the edge of that board coming from under the wall so it is only covering half the beam, and getting a new sheet of wood to staple down. Any advice? For reference this is before the board was removed:  
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Sep 8, 2013 03:37
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Yes, rip out that wall and make sure you remove all the carpeting. Replace all the subfloor and check the joists for damage. Fix it the proper way. You have no clue currently what type of damage is on the other side of that joist and it's something you need to find out. You need to just suck it up and remove, inspect, and replace the shower.
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Sep 8, 2013 05:27
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Ahz posted:Ikea sells desks for their modular leg series that you could use. A variety of sizes of prefinished panels that will look way more professional than a used door or hastily sanded and painted piece of ply. Not to mention that they're cheaper than an equivalent sheet of ply before finishing. I'm planning on buying four of their table tops to build a big headboard myself. The ones I am looking at are 60" by 30".
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Sep 8, 2013 15:57
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Motronic posted:That is the condensate drain. It is going into a condensate pump, which has a float that makes it turn on when the reservoir fills up and pumps it out to.....wherever the (formerly) clear hose goes. Thanks for this. I probably won't be able to get around to it until later this next week, hopefully I won't have to pop back in with more questions.
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Sep 8, 2013 18:38
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Last weekend our house either got hit with a surge, or a lightning strike, or a lightning cause surge, and a bunch of our electronics got fried. Took out our alarm, DSL modem/router, TV, DVR, Xbox 360, Wii, etc. This weekend I've noticed that the lights are flickering occasionally while the central AC runs. Could this be related? Could what caused the electronics to fry also damaged something in the AC? It is happening on all the lighting in the house, regardless of what circuit its on.
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Sep 8, 2013 22:11
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n0tqu1tesane posted:Last weekend our house either got hit with a surge, or a lightning strike, or a lightning cause surge, and a bunch of our electronics got fried. Took out our alarm, DSL modem/router, TV, DVR, Xbox 360, Wii, etc. Check your service entrance. Actually, hire a professional to do so. This sounds a while lot like a floating neutral, and I've seen many occur after lightning strikes. It's probably not a big deal to repair - likely a single connection (outside) that's been damaged and making poor intermittent contact.
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Sep 8, 2013 22:56
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n0tqu1tesane posted:Last weekend our house either got hit with a surge, or a lightning strike, or a lightning cause surge, and a bunch of our electronics got fried. Took out our alarm, DSL modem/router, TV, DVR, Xbox 360, Wii, etc. Your surge protector didn't save the electronics? Please let me know what one you're using so I can make sure I'm not using it.
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Sep 8, 2013 23:31
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Motronic posted:Check your service entrance. Actually, hire a professional to do so. This sounds a while lot like a floating neutral, and I've seen many occur after lightning strikes. Do this, but first call your hydro company, they will check the transformer connection for free. It might not be the problem, but if it is, it will save you money.
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Sep 9, 2013 00:10
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rockcity posted:Your surge protector didn't save the electronics? Please let me know what one you're using so I can make sure I'm not using it. I honestly think half of what got fried happened over cat5, when either the DVR or the DSL modem/router failed. Either way, they were cheap and/or old power strips. Pufflekins posted:Do this, but first call your hydro company, they will check the transformer connection for free. It might not be the problem, but if it is, it will save you money. Just called them, apparently they're going to send someone by tonight. Hopefully that fixes it, because the electrician everyone in my family uses is in Dubai working right now.
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Sep 9, 2013 02:20
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Power company just showed up, and he's seeing a big voltage dip on one of the phases at the meter. He's checking it from the street back to the house now.
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Sep 9, 2013 03:01
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Motronic posted:If it's anything like Karchers, a pump is worth more than you'll pay for a used but working full unit. I'd check pricing/availability as well as what they're worth before getting into that. I was looking on a site that sells replacement pumps and they say that manufacturers use the cheapest pumps they can get away with and overdrive them so the pump lifespan is about 20-50 hours and the motor lifespan is about 500 hours. Looking at all the pressure washers with blown pumps on craigslist, I have no reason to doubt that at all. Because of that, I'd be very leery of buying a used pressure washer. To answer my own question, I'm guessing that if I installed upgraded pumps that will last the life of the motor, I wouldn't be able to sell them. I'll probably offer him $20 for one of the pressure washers. The question now is which one of those three should I get? I don't know poo poo about pressure washers, but I could use one around the house. I've spent most of my life repairing poo poo, so taking one apart and replacing the pump wouldn't be an issue.
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Sep 9, 2013 03:27
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n0tqu1tesane posted:Power company just showed up, and he's seeing a big voltage dip on one of the phases at the meter. He's checking it from the street back to the house now. He found a bad connection at the transformer. One short power outage later, and we're fixed.
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Sep 9, 2013 03:28
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n0tqu1tesane posted:I honestly think half of what got fried happened over cat5, when either the DVR or the DSL modem/router failed. Either way, they were cheap and/or old power strips. Wow, I didn't know that could happen. Was your router/modem on a surge protector too out of curiosity?
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Sep 9, 2013 04:53
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n0tqu1tesane posted:He found a bad connection at the transformer. One short power outage later, and we're fixed. Awesome. Free is best.
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Sep 9, 2013 15:12
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priznat posted:I have a light switch that you program the approximate location and time and it works out whether it is time to turn on and off by the sunrise/sunset times for that location during the year. Even has a setting for daylight savings too! Thanks for that Im trying to keep my house historic looking so don't want the digital plate visible but that did get me thinking. I'm going to try to hardwire in a digital timer and hide it in the fixture itself. Should work, we'll see. I also ordered a kit to convert the circline T9 fluorescent to an LED ring (the bulb burned out so it was an opportune time)
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Sep 9, 2013 18:20
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I just put a new showerhead on, and I can't get it to stop leaking at the connection to the shower arm. I've tried varying amounts of teflon tape and degrees of tightness on the connection, but it keeps dripping. The fitting on the showerhead is round so I'm hesitant to use a wrench on it, but I don't think I can get it any tighter by hand (if that is indeed the problem). What am I doing wrong here?
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Sep 9, 2013 20:05
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stubblyhead posted:I just put a new showerhead on, and I can't get it to stop leaking at the connection to the shower arm. I've tried varying amounts of teflon tape and degrees of tightness on the connection, but it keeps dripping. The fitting on the showerhead is round so I'm hesitant to use a wrench on it, but I don't think I can get it any tighter by hand (if that is indeed the problem). What am I doing wrong here? I've found that it helps to wrap the teflon tape in the same direction as the screwing-on motion of the showerhead. I've wrapped the teflon tape the opposite way and screwing on the showerhead inevitably tore the tape and caused leaks.
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Sep 9, 2013 20:21
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n0tqu1tesane posted:He found a bad connection at the transformer. One short power outage later, and we're fixed. The power company ensuring their end works for free is one of the best little known facts.
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Sep 9, 2013 22:18
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rockcity posted:Wow, I didn't know that could happen. Was your router/modem on a surge protector too out of curiosity? Yeah, they were on surge protectors as well, but the fact that the power supply was still good on both devices leads me to believe that what fried them didn't come in over the power lines, but the data lines. Lightning can create enough of an EMP to cause enough inductive current to damage equipment connected to a length of copper cabling. We've got a site that blows a power over ethernet linecard in a switch just about every time there's enough lightning in the area, due to the amount of copper cabling connected into the switch, and the current that runs over those lines. The lightning is probably hitting the rods on the building, and not directly sending current onto the copper. Doesn't help that the building is the tallest thing within ~200yds.
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Sep 9, 2013 23:38
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pseudonordic posted:I've found that it helps to wrap the teflon tape in the same direction as the screwing-on motion of the showerhead. I've wrapped the teflon tape the opposite way and screwing on the showerhead inevitably tore the tape and caused leaks. Yeah, that's the way I'm doing it also. What's the correct amount to use?
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Sep 10, 2013 00:16
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stubblyhead posted:Yeah, that's the way I'm doing it also. What's the correct amount to use? I know that's not actually an answer to your question, sorry.
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Sep 10, 2013 00:38
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