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dreesemonkey posted:This is a dumb question with hopefully a simple answer. Can I buy blank plates for my breaker box? My 200amp box is full (I have been slowly removing baseboard heaters) so I don't think I have any remaining in there. You mean filler plates for breaker slots? Lowes does carry them. http://www.lowes.com/pd_111880-76863-THFILLER_0__?productId=3192659 What project do you have in your bathroom that would need 30 amps on only 120V?
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Mar 19, 2014 18:54
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Federal Pacific panels are the Ford Pinto of breaker panels. I'm not sure there was actually anything good about them.
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Mar 19, 2014 18:54
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kid sinister posted:You mean filler plates for breaker slots? Lowes does carry them. http://www.lowes.com/pd_111880-76863-THFILLER_0__?productId=3192659 Awesome, thank you that's exactly what I'm looking for. I was told 30 amp is code for bathrooms these days so was going to "do it right" since I'm sure it's only a dollar or so more for a 30A breaker. I could probably get away with a 20A pretty comfortably. It's a tiny 3/4 bathroom (4'x~7.5') I'm going to have: 110v electric in floor radiant heat (very small, like 7.5sq ft - 90W) 1 outlet (GFCI) 2x 6" recessed lights for the shower (yes I have the special lenses) Vanity light Exhaust fan
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Mar 19, 2014 20:14
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NEC 210.11(C)(3) posted:Bathroom receptacles shall be supplied by at least one 20-amp circuit that shall have no other outlets.
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Mar 19, 2014 20:42
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Any ideas? e: derrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp Bad Munki fucked around with this message at 02:33 on Mar 20, 2014 |
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Mar 20, 2014 02:26
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Uhh, this is the electrical thread. Is it an electric water heater?
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Mar 20, 2014 02:30
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Hahaha. Whoops. It has the same icon as the plumbing thread. Sorry.  And no, it's gas. 
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Mar 20, 2014 02:32
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Bad Munki posted:Hahaha. Whoops. It has the same icon as the plumbing thread. Sorry. Anyway, have you ever flushed the thing? Getting sludged up is a common water heater problem that causes a number of symptoms.
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Mar 20, 2014 02:33
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I haven't, although it can't be any older than 6 years, is that enough time for trouble like that? And I wouldn't expect that to create a sudden and noticeable effect.
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Mar 20, 2014 02:40
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I just saw a spark, or some kind of small explosion, in the bathroom in my house, but I don't know what caused it. I had just finished cleaning the bathroom a few minutes previously. I was sitting in my room which is at the other end of the upstairs hallway from the bathroom; my door and the bathroom door were open. The bathroom light was off, but I had left the power to the shower unit on (power to the shower unit is controlled by a pull-cord; an LED at the top of the pull-cord indicates when it is in the "on" state, and when it is in the "off" state, the shower cannot be operated). Out of the corner of my eye I saw a brief flash of white light and heard a loud "pop" noise. I woke up my landlord (it's the middle of the night here) and we very carefully checked the room out. The light can be turned on and off without issue, the shower unit likewise (it can be turned on and off via the pull cord, and the water flow can likewise be turned on and off in the usual way when the power is on). There are to my knowledge no other electrical appliances in this bathroom. There was no sign of anything damaged or out of place, and no unusual smells. As far as I can tell none of the circuits in the house have been affected by whatever it was that happened. The ceiling of the bathroom has an extensive damp problem; my landlord has indicated that he intends to spend some of his bonus on getting it repaired and an extractor unit installed. I am not aware of any leaks in the bathroom floor, nor to my knowledge did I spill any significant quantity of water while cleaning the bathroom, though it is possible that there are leaks and/or that I did spill water. Some of the sealant around the bath was rotten, and it detached while I cleaned; in several places it now does not properly seal the area around the rim of the bath. The room below the bathroom is the kitchen. Nothing appears to be out of the ordinary there. I realise that the correct answer is "get my landlord to call an electrician", but I am a bit baffled as to what it could have been.
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Mar 20, 2014 03:52
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Motronic posted:Bathroom receptacles shall be supplied by at least one 20-amp circuit that shall have no other outlets. Thanks, I don't know where I got 30A from. Makes sense since I couldn't find any 30A outlets/switches anyway.
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Mar 20, 2014 12:46
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A more proper and manageable way that stuffing the wiring of multiple devices into the same contacts of a luster terminal is to shunt(?) things and do this? (I have N and L1 of my fridge and exhaust hood stuffed together in the terminal, now I need a power line for my new thermostat (smart device) and all wires being flexible, it's a pain in the rear end and looks messy.)
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Mar 20, 2014 20:58
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Hammerite posted:I just saw a spark, or some kind of small explosion, in the bathroom in my house, but I don't know what caused it. No-one responded to this, but just to update: My landlord investigated, there are some scorch marks underneath the bath, so something most likely got wet and reacted badly. The sealant around the bath has been reapplied. We aren't to use the shower unit, in case it has been made unsafe - an electrician will be coming to look at it. We can use the bath once the sealant has been given time to dry. Moral of the story: Don't clean your house, just live in filth
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Mar 21, 2014 08:05
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Hammerite posted:No-one responded to this, but just to update: My landlord investigated, there are some scorch marks underneath the bath, so something most likely got wet and reacted badly. The sealant around the bath has been reapplied. We aren't to use the shower unit, in case it has been made unsafe - an electrician will be coming to look at it. We can use the bath once the sealant has been given time to dry. At least it sounds like your landlord is a stand-up guy.
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Mar 21, 2014 10:58
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Hammerite posted:No-one responded to this, but just to update: My landlord investigated, there are some scorch marks underneath the bath, so something most likely got wet and reacted badly. The sealant around the bath has been reapplied. We aren't to use the shower unit, in case it has been made unsafe - an electrician will be coming to look at it. Speaking of bathroom electrical mishaps, my bathroom is windowless, so I bought one of those combo night light/power failure lights and plugged it into the gfi over the counter. My wife (then gf) was just sitting down to pee, and the drat light arc flashed and blew out of the receptacle, tripped the breaker. Left a scorch mark because pictures are better: 
angryrobots fucked around with this message at 14:01 on Mar 21, 2014 |
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Mar 21, 2014 13:40
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angryrobots posted:When you say 'shower unit', this is a tankless heater or what? I suppose the electrician will check it out, but did you or your landlord check the panel box for a tripped breaker? Could be a circuit for another room and you haven't noticed it is off, yet. Well it's a good thing she was already sitting on the toilet.
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Mar 21, 2014 14:27
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angryrobots posted:When you say 'shower unit', this is a tankless heater or what? I suppose the electrician will check it out, but did you or your landlord check the panel box for a tripped breaker? Could be a circuit for another room and you haven't noticed it is off, yet. I guess I don't know the right terminology to use, it's a device that heats and mixes the water for the shower on demand, like the ones on this page: http://www.redring.co.uk/showers/electric-showers.html So probably what you said, yes. There aren't any tripped breakers, I better mention that because it seems (speaking as someone fairly ignorant of electrical safety) like a major electrical fault really ought to trip something somewhere. ncumbered_by_idgits posted:At least it sounds like your landlord is a stand-up guy. He was very prompt at taking a look at the situation. It might not have been clear from my posts, but he lives in the house too, so it's his bathroom as well!
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Mar 22, 2014 04:01
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Hammerite posted:I guess I don't know the right terminology to use, it's a device that heats and mixes the water for the shower on demand, like the ones on this page: http://www.redring.co.uk/showers/electric-showers.html Anyway, given what you saw, I'd be kinda scary about using that thing. Make sure the electrician checks it thoroughly, especially that the ground is hooked up in the unit, and the ground is connected in the panel that feeds it. So, your landlord thinks a chemical reaction caused the flash you saw? You must clean with some really hot chemicals.
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Mar 22, 2014 04:36
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angryrobots posted:I bought one of those combo night light/power failure lights and plugged it into the gfi over the counter. My wife (then gf) was just sitting down to pee, and the drat light arc flashed and blew out of the receptacle, tripped the breaker. Left a scorch mark Something like.. this?  That's the one I have, though it's plugged into a power strip on my desk. I.. think it may find a new home in a garbage can soon. (and that would be the light that failed, not the GFCI)
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Mar 22, 2014 09:09
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I would think so too, but there was more damage to the receptacle, and I had a receptacle fail internally one time in a warehouse I was working on. I should have rung it out before I threw it away. It was a Sylvania light. They still sell them at Lowe's. I stuck it in a toolbox somewhere, figured I'd try it in an extension cord outside and see what happened.
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Mar 22, 2014 13:28
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dreesemonkey posted:Thanks, I don't know where I got 30A from. Makes sense since I couldn't find any 30A outlets/switches anyway. Feel good story of the minute, I wired the circuit in today and all is well.
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Mar 23, 2014 20:59
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Witness my (rented house's) basement wiring: That's the only light socket down there. The (old, cloth-covered) wire you see leading off to the left goes into the little room next door with the A/C, heater, and hot water heater, where it powers another bulb (strung up from the ceiling by that same cloth cord). Here's the sole outlet:   It's all knob and tube in there. I've been looking around down there because I'm thinking of setting up a darkroom. However, to do that, I need to get at least one power strip plugged in somehow and frankly I'm not even sure I want to touch that outlet in any fashion. I have yet to locate a breaker panel in this house. Maybe I just haven't looked in the right place, but I have a nasty suspicion that there might just be a fusebox tucked outside in the little cupboard with the electric meter. Assuming I could figure out how to turn off the power to that outlet, and assuming my landlord says it is ok: could I remove that scary-rear end outlet and wire in a new one with a proper box around it without triggering some sort of code violation? I recall reading about how making certain modifications to your existing wiring means you are then required to bring the whole thing up to code. I am in California, if that helps.
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Mar 24, 2014 18:28
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I wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole, literally or figuratively, especially not in a rental situation.
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Mar 24, 2014 18:31
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There is one legal way to deal with that and it is ripping it all the gently caress out or abandoning it in place, then rewiring it all to modern code. As far as I know.
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Mar 24, 2014 18:43
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kastein posted:There is one legal way to deal with that and it is ripping it all the gently caress out or abandoning it in place, then rewiring it all to modern code. As far as I know. Ok so basically I should just lock the door to the basement, do darkroom stuff somewhere else, and look forward to moving out in a few months?
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Mar 24, 2014 18:58
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Pham Nuwen posted:Ok so basically I should just lock the door to the basement, do darkroom stuff somewhere else, and look forward to moving out in a few months? Definitely move out before it catches fire
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Mar 25, 2014 03:16
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ntd posted:Definitely move out before it catches fire I plan to keep telling myself that the wires in the wall are better, and that it's safe, and then move out before it burns down (I hope). I love this house otherwise, great rent, close to downtown, kind of pretty in its own 90 year old way, but the wiring scares my poo poo out. I do regret not taking advantage of the hot tub during the short California winter (I already have the A/C on)
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Mar 25, 2014 04:06
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as a renter i would definitely not touch that (that's what your landlord's "electrician" is for...good luck.) as an electrician who deals with knob and tube on a daily basis none of the pictures really worry me in the...oh poo poo something is gonna catch fire today mode but there are obvious safety issues that need to be addressed. the old 2-prong k&t cord plugged halfway into the light. the other extension cord strung up doing who knows what. the exposed terminals on the porcelain light itself and...obviously that plug. i would be fine with taking the hot and neutral wires feeding the plug, putting them in a box, and installing a GFCI outlet in it's place..there's no need to tear it all out and replace it, especially if the wire is in decent condition. if you can't find a panel inside chances are it's still outside in that cabinet. it may or may not have been updated at some point. the cabinet itself is more than likely lined with asbestos though and i wouldn't touch it. so basically if your landlord isn't willing to get someone in there don't bother with it yourself.
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Mar 25, 2014 06:29
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Yeah, from an engineering/electronics standpoint I see no problem with doing what crocodile said, I'm just not 100% on whether you're allowed to retrofit things that were badly hosed up (all the stuff he listed) to a more safe state, but still use the knob and tube. My understanding was that to comply with code at that point you have to redo it all, which is non ideal obviously. If no one has stuck pennies in the fuse box, the wire is likely still in good shape. What I'm saying is that it is probably not in good shape.
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Mar 25, 2014 15:19
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it really depends on what your city requires. where i'm at (in western WA) you are definitely not required to replace it all if you're replacing an outlet. in this circumstance i don't see it as any different than if you were to go into the main part of your house and replace the old 2-prong plugs with newer two prongs/GFCI outlets..you're improving the safety of the current situation. what is NOT allowed is adding onto/extending the old ungrounded circuits in any way..and depending on the situation it's usually just easier to pull an entire new circuit anyway. there is a lot of fear mongering that surrounds knob and tube and while some of it's definitely justified telling someone to move out of a house before it catches on fire just because it has knob and tube is a little extremist. in general people need to be more educated about it but honestly most people just don't care and it's easier to put the fear of god into them than explain why they can't run 2 1500w space heaters, a microwave and their hair dryer off of a 90yr old 2 prong k&t plug with an extension cord.
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Mar 25, 2014 23:05
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crocodile posted:telling someone to move out of a house before it catches on fire just because it has knob and tube is a little extremist. 
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Mar 26, 2014 17:34
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That looks totally legit. I mean there's some 10 year old electrical tape to keep you from touching the live wires, and it's supported by that nail so it's not down on the ground getting all wet and junk.
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Mar 26, 2014 17:43
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Three wraps of tape is good for 600v.
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Mar 27, 2014 04:16
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angryrobots posted:Three wraps of tape is good for 600v. My advanced math skills tells me that means it only takes 1 wrap for typical household wiring. And 200 wraps for 40kV! Seems legit.
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Mar 27, 2014 04:56
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Today's project - replacing failing ballast on fluorescent lamps. Breaker is off and I tested the leads to be sure. Otherwise, I am brand-spanking new to electrical and fixtures so please let me know if I'm on the right track. Also happy to move this if it's not the right thread. Here's the old ballast - Sunpark SL15 I went to Home Depot and didn't see SL15 but I did know I wanted to replace my T12 bulbs with T8 so I grabbed a ballast that said T8 2 bulbs since I had been using T12 2 bulbs.  Here's the new ballast - Phillips Optanium IPA-2P32-N  Question #1 - Did I buy the right thing? First thing I notice is the wiring diagram is different. The old ballast has a lot more wires, and the new ballast doesn't have a ground wire. Instead it just says "ballast case must be grounded." Question #2 - can I just clip the green ground wire off the old one and tie it to the case on the new one? Here are the wires on the old ballast. Note the mystery yellow wire not present on the new one. Not shown is that the line (black and white) wires come out of this end.  Here is the other end, with double red and double blue going into the ends of the fixture. Also the ground is green (hard to see here).  So Question #3 is how am I supposed to run these wires since I have 1 red and 2 blue where I used to have 2 red and 4 blue? Anything else I should check?
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Mar 30, 2014 22:31
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porkface posted:Today's project - replacing failing ballast on fluorescent lamps. Yes, that ballast should work just fine. porkface posted:Question #2 - can I just clip the green ground wire off the old one and tie it to the case on the new one? If there is not a green wire on the new ballast then I would assume that when you bolt it into place it will be grounded, but I can't find a good picture online so I can't say that for sure. Also, if there is a screw on the ballast with the ground symbol then you could use the old ground wire to attach it to the case. porkface posted:Here are the wires on the old ballast. Note the mystery yellow wire not present on the new one. Not shown is that the line (black and white) wires come out of this end. Connect the red wire of the new ballast to the red/blue/yellow wires (on the side of the fixture with the yellow wire). Then connect one of the blue wires to both of the blue wires on the other side of the fixture and the other blue wire to the red wires on that side of the fixture. This is how I remember changing from a T12 to a T8 at work and it worked just fine.
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Mar 31, 2014 05:17
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Looks like the ballast you bought it instant-start variety that does not pre-heat the electrodes before turning on. That's why it has less wires. The lamp should turn on faster, but the bulb life will be decreased if its a lamp that is cycled on/off frequently.
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Mar 31, 2014 20:03
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I'm buying a house from 1944 that has 2 prong receptacles, some not-actually grounded 3 prong receptacles, and some cheater plugs. GFCI is obviously the way to go. Do I understand correctly that if I have a GFCI first in line in the circuit, the rest of the outlets can have not-actually grounded 3 prong receptacles safely? If not, is it bad/stupid/overkill to just go hog wild and make everything a GFCI outlet?
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Apr 10, 2014 09:05
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I like turtles posted:I'm buying a house from 1944 that has 2 prong receptacles, some not-actually grounded 3 prong receptacles, and some cheater plugs. That's correct, every outlet between the GFCI and the end of that circuit would be GFCI protected (so there's no need to ever have more than one GFCI outlet on a circuit). I believe you are required to mark those new three-prong outlets as "Not Grounded", though.
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Apr 10, 2014 14:25
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And while there may not be a specific rule about how many downline receptacles you can protect with one gfci, think about what kind of load you will have, whether they are occasional use, or will regularly be loaded. Especially given this is an older wiring job, back then they ran way more receptacles on a single circuit, than is commonly done now.
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Apr 10, 2014 15:51
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