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Super Waffle posted:Protip: Don't do that in Florida in August. ...in the afternoon. Been there, done that. I do my attic work during the summer at 4 in the morning.
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Aug 6, 2016 05:17
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Super Waffle posted:Edit - ok are the two sides of the panel the two different phases? So my double pole has to bridge the two rails? I saw you put in an edit after I replied. It's not the "sides" per se that are the different phases, but the two bars at the very back of your panel that the breakers clip into that are the 2 phases. If your want 240v on your new 2 pole breaker and run the least amount of wires to your shed, then either pole of your new breaker needs to clip into its own phase. You would need to move around at least one existing breaker to make this happen in your panel. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 06:22 on Aug 6, 2016 |
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Aug 6, 2016 06:19
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Can I use schedule 40 PVC conduit or do I need to use schedule 80 for the underground portion?
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Aug 7, 2016 15:46
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Super Waffle posted:Can I use schedule 40 PVC conduit or do I need to use schedule 80 for the underground portion? PVC conduit "used exposed in areas of physical damage shall be identified for the use", which schedule 80 is, but I don't think that's the case for any 40. What I did was use 40 underground and 80 above. Which you'll likely have to do anyway, since I've never seen a sweep in 40 (do NOT use a plumbing 90 degree - you won't be able to pull though it....you want an actual sweep).
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Aug 7, 2016 17:25
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Dealing with a new (to me) house here (built in 06). It's largely good, but I think the previous owner did a lot of the finish work himself, and lacked the DIY chops to do it, which is just super loving depressing because while it means there's nothing apparently critical to the well-being of the house, I have plenty to do before I'm at what I consider an appropriate starting point on actual improvements and it makes me wary of what I'm possibly not seeing, inside the walls. On that note: A number of my light switches can be held or carefully flipped such that I can hear arcing inside the switch, nothing visible with the wall plate off, but I thought switch design 101 would be to have the mechanism buckle prior to making contact to avoid exactly this. Also, the switches and outlets all appear to be using the backstabs. Are these just lovely switches that I can cause them to not fully close and arc internally, or is that normal? I don't recall being able to do that at my last place. Also, do I need to go through and replace or re-connect all the backstab usage? Additionally, the dimmer in a bathroom is super glitchy, it doesn't dim smoothly at all and as you slide it slowly the actual brightness will be up and down and all over the place, and sometimes I even see the brightness jitter while it's just sitting there untouched at full brightness, is that just a dimmer on the fritz and needing replacement, or is it possibly an underlying issue in the wiring itself? To recap: 1) Backstabs throughout house, fix that? 2) Lightswitches can be heard arcing internally if slowly closed, replace them? 3) Fritzy dimmer or bad wiring? gently caress this guy and his assessment of his own abilities. I'll probably be posting my kitchen floor in the crappy construction thread. :/
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Aug 7, 2016 20:30
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Bad Munki posted:1) Backstabs throughout house, fix that? 1) Yes, as you get to it. Not important in and of itself. 2) Yes, they'll only get worse. Pay a buck a switch instead of 49 cents, and your quality more than doubles. 3) Bad dimmer. Replace It sounds like this guy got the absolute cheapest possible stuff. Get something with some quality and these problems will go away.
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Aug 7, 2016 21:47
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:1) Yes, as you get to it. Not important in and of itself. Make sure your new dimmer has something about using it with CFL/LED lighting. No need to have to replace it twice.
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Aug 7, 2016 23:27
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H110Hawk posted:Make sure your new dimmer has something about using it with CFL/LED lighting. No need to have to replace it twice. Yeah, I actually plan on replacing the bulbs for that one with LED bulbs straight away, so that's on the list of requirements for the dimmer. Alternately, I'll just blank out that switch and bypass it, and put in a couple of those philips hue color change bulb things. The lights in question are over the master bath jetted tub, after all...  
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Aug 8, 2016 03:41
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Just for fun, here ya go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNrOCEfEfmY
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Aug 8, 2016 04:05
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Bad Munki posted:Just for fun, here ya go:  E: maybe you should just lean into it and install a Jacob's Ladder for some accent lighting?
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Aug 8, 2016 14:44
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Ok so my mom was afraid I would burn the house down so I went to the county to look into getting a permit. Went over my plan with the nice electrical man and the only thing I'm doing wrong is I need an additional ground rod at the shed. Does this mean that I don't have to run a ground wire through the conduit, and just connect my ground bar in the sub panel to the new rod?
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Aug 8, 2016 16:16
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Super Waffle posted:Ok so my mom was afraid I would burn the house down so I went to the county to look into getting a permit. Went over my plan with the nice electrical man and the only thing I'm doing wrong is I need an additional ground rod at the shed. Does this mean that I don't have to run a ground wire through the conduit, and just connect my ground bar in the sub panel to the new rod? We just went through this one and I was beaten to death for providing bad/old advice (as I should be). You need a ground in the conduit.
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Aug 8, 2016 16:20
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Rain has been a huge pain in the rear end this weekend. Finally got some sun today and got 2/3 of the conduit laid out Trencher only went about 16" deep so had to hang dig the last couple inches. Super Waffle fucked around with this message at 14:30 on Aug 10, 2016 |
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Aug 9, 2016 19:26
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Super Waffle posted:Rain has been a huge pain in the rear end this weekend. Finally got some sun today and got 2/3 of the conduit laid out How many right angles are there in the conduit part? There's actually a rule in the code book for that too, mainly for ease of pulling. You're only allowed 360 degrees of bends between pull points. That's 4 right angles.
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Aug 10, 2016 06:31
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kid sinister posted:How many right angles are there in the conduit part? There's actually a rule in the code book for that too, mainly for ease of pulling. You're only allowed 360 degrees of bends between pull points. That's 4 right angles. Yeah I'm aware of the whole 360 degrees thing, originally was going to have two 90's and a 45 buuuuut the trencher is a lot harder to steer than I thought and welp. Current path calls for 4 90's so I'm ok there, but just barely.
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Aug 10, 2016 14:32
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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > DIY & Hobbies > Don't burn your neighborhood down: the wiring thread http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...paign=thetwoway NPR posted:Faulty wiring on a hot tub caused California's third most destructive wildfire, which left four people dead and destroyed more than 1,300 homes last year, California fire authorities say.
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Aug 11, 2016 23:36
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My family is renting a beach house this week, and my bedroom happens to also have the (rather large, 200A) circuit breaker panel in it. Last night I noticed it was periodically making a little "clickbzzzzzz-click" sound, lasting maybe a couple of seconds. Anyone have any idea what that could indicate? No other signs that anything is wrong electrically in the house, and nothing obviously wrong with the panel, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't making that noise on previous nights.
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Aug 12, 2016 15:15
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Are there any mechanical timers powered by this panel?
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Aug 13, 2016 04:25
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It's hard to know for certain, since the house is huge. I don't think so? It did occur to me that maybe it's from extra draw while the AC cycles on? How rapidly are ACs expected to cycle? Whatever, I've slept my last night in this room, so it's a moot point now. I was just curious what could cause a breaker panel to make noise in a not-obviously-catastrophic manner.
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Aug 13, 2016 12:15
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Shed update! Finished laying the conduit and manage to run the wire!   I feel like the worst is behind me now. Gonna climb into the attic early tomorrow and get that connection made before it gets too hot, then hook up the breakers and see whether or not I messed up.
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Aug 14, 2016 03:56
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This is my first foray into home wiring, so trying not to burn my house down! Bought it a few months ago, am getting around to installing some GFCI's in the bathrooms and kitchen as there are none anywhere (house was built in 1980). I go downstairs to the panel to shut off the power and find one of these on the bathroom outlet circuit breaker: However, it doesn't have a label facing outward, so I don't know for sure that it's a GFCI vs an AFCI. Should I still put GFCI outlets in the bathroom anyway? It's also the only breaker in the panel with a test button, the rest are regular ones.
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Aug 14, 2016 14:29
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Frinkahedron posted:This is my first foray into home wiring, so trying not to burn my house down! Bought it a few months ago, am getting around to installing some GFCI's in the bathrooms and kitchen as there are none anywhere (house was built in 1980). I go downstairs to the panel to shut off the power and find one of these on the bathroom outlet circuit breaker: Do you have an outlet tester? Does it have a GFCI test button? Hubis fucked around with this message at 17:05 on Aug 14, 2016 |
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Aug 14, 2016 16:57
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Hubis posted:Do you have an outlet tester? Does it have a GFCI test button? I have a multimeter, I assume you want to test if pressing the test button on the breaker kills power to the outlets? e: Ah I misread your post initially, no I do not, probably worth getting a dedicated one. Frinkahedron fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Aug 14, 2016 |
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Aug 14, 2016 17:29
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Frinkahedron posted:I have a multimeter, I assume you want to test if pressing the test button on the breaker kills power to the outlets? If you feel comfortable jamming things in outlets, a 20kOhm resistor between the hot and ground should trip the GFCI. GFCIs trip between 3 and 6 mA. 120V/6e-3mA = 20kOhms.6. Just note that 20kOhm at 6mA dissipates about 3/4 watt, so don't hold it in there very long unless you've got a resistor that can handle that kind of power. babyeatingpsychopath fucked around with this message at 18:41 on Aug 14, 2016 |
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Aug 14, 2016 18:37
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Not an in-wall wiring question, but since it's generally similar I thought this thread might have some insight. I have some yard equipment (max draw is about 10amps) that I need to use well away from the house. I thought my existing 100ft 16/3 (rated for 10amps) would be enough, but it turns out I'm a bit short of my farthest locations. I know connecting another 16 gauge cord would be a major issue, but is it okay to connect a 12/3 50ft or 100ft to the house end and connect the 16/3 to that and then to the equipment I'm using. My understanding is that he increased resistance of of the lower gauge wire over distance is what limits the safe amperage, but if I'm using additional length that has more headroom I'm thinking I should be okay?
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Aug 14, 2016 20:31
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Not an in-wall wiring question, but since it's generally similar I thought this thread might have some insight. I have some yard equipment (max draw is about 10amps) that I need to use well away from the house. I thought my existing 100ft 16/3 (rated for 10amps) would be enough, but it turns out I'm a bit short of my farthest locations. I know connecting another 16 gauge cord would be a major issue, but is it okay to connect a 12/3 50ft or 100ft to the house end and connect the 16/3 to that and then to the equipment I'm using. My understanding is that he increased resistance of of the lower gauge wire over distance is what limits the safe amperage, but if I'm using additional length that has more headroom I'm thinking I should be okay? That's good thinking you have there. Big guage at the house end, bigger the better. Smaller gauge out towards the equipment. Your thing is still going to be seeing some significant voltage drop after 150' of flexible cord and two plugs.
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Aug 14, 2016 21:04
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I bought a house with aluminum wiring on the main floor. Is it acceptable to use AlumiConn connectors to update the lovely looking old outlets and switches with updated ones? Will I need to get an inspection done afterwards? My insurance company is aware the house has aluminum wiring and they had an electrical inspector out to make sure everything was terminated properly (it was).
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Aug 14, 2016 21:07
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Electricity doesn't work that way, it doesn't matter which end he puts the fatter extension cord on. The run will drop voltage by the sum of resistances.
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Aug 14, 2016 21:10
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JustAwful posted:I bought a house with aluminum wiring on the main floor. Is it acceptable to use AlumiConn connectors to update the lovely looking old outlets and switches with updated ones? Will I need to get an inspection done afterwards? You need a torque screwdriver to properly install those AlumiConn connectors. An easier option would be just to use CO/ALR devices.
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Aug 14, 2016 21:29
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:That's good thinking you have there. Big guage at the house end, bigger the better. Smaller gauge out towards the equipment. Ah, I didn't consider the voltage drop. I guess I can just plug in the cables and see what the voltage is on the far end. insta posted:Electricity doesn't work that way, it doesn't matter which end he puts the fatter extension cord on. The run will drop voltage by the sum of resistances. I'm less concerned with the voltage drop (or was, I'll have to see what the end result it) than the amperage being pulled trough the cords themselves. As I understand it (which certainly may be incorrect) if the device is pulling 10amps at the far end of the cord, some larger amount is actually being sent through the line from where it begins with some amount of that getting converted to heat along the way. Edit: Forgot to add that I believe the amount converted to heat relates to the resistance of the cable which would relate to the gauge. BeastOfExmoor fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Aug 14, 2016 |
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Aug 14, 2016 22:56
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Ah, I didn't consider the voltage drop. I guess I can just plug in the cables and see what the voltage is on the far end. Think of amps as flow in a pipe, since it is pretty much analogous in this case. You cannot have a single run of pipe that has more flow at the beginning than it does at the end (see Kirchhoff's laws)
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Aug 15, 2016 01:49
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Ah, I didn't consider the voltage drop. I guess I can just plug in the cables and see what the voltage is on the far end. Its the other way around -- you'll lose voltage throughout the run. You'll lose less voltage along the 12awg cable, but since the 16awg is either before or after it, the total loss is the same. The voltage loss is also proportional to the impedance of the device being run. A multimeter draws fuckall in terms of power (microamps?), so the voltage drop won't show up. You'd have to measure the voltage with your device at full amp draw to get a meaningful voltage drop.
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Aug 15, 2016 04:33
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insta posted:Its the other way around -- you'll lose voltage throughout the run. You'll lose less voltage along the 12awg cable, but since the 16awg is either before or after it, the total loss is the same. Toss a Kill-a-Watt on the furthest out outlet while running your device.
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Aug 15, 2016 04:36
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BeastOfExmoor posted:I'm less concerned with the voltage drop (or was, I'll have to see what the end result it) than the amperage being pulled trough the cords themselves. As I understand it (which certainly may be incorrect) if the device is pulling 10amps at the far end of the cord, some larger amount is actually being sent through the line from where it begins with some amount of that getting converted to heat along the way. Not quite, there is some power being dissipated as heat but that's not quite how current works. The voltage drops from the additional resistance of the long run (volts = current x resistance), then whatever you have plugged in doing work will have to pull more amps to do whatever it's doing (watts = voltage x current). As the wire warms up the resistance climbs a little more, causing the voltage to drop more, and so on, until it reaches an equilibrium or the breaker trips. If things are built right that equilibrium will be a nice safe temperature. That's why undersized wire on a large breaker is really really dangerous, you pull enough current to turn that wire in your basement or attic into a fuse and you're in real trouble. Mimesweeper fucked around with this message at 04:49 on Aug 15, 2016 |
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Aug 15, 2016 04:44
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insta posted:Electricity doesn't work that way, it doesn't matter which end he puts the fatter extension cord on. The run will drop voltage by the sum of resistances. Indeed. I would recommend putting the skinny cord on whichever end gets pulled out straight first; it's more likely to overheat if it's crossing over itself or coiled up.
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Aug 15, 2016 17:30
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Shed has power!   I'll be picking up my electrical permit tomorrow. All that is left is to install a couple outlets and a switch (for now) and to call the inspector. I want to thank all you guys for your amazing advice, couldn't have done it without you.
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Aug 15, 2016 19:37
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Super Waffle posted:Shed has power! Good job! One last thing, but don't worry, it's really easy. Grounds are only allowed to be green or bare. Turn off the power and use a razor to strip that entire wire down to your grounding stake. Maybe use some clips and fasten it to the shed.
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Aug 15, 2016 22:37
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Zhentar posted:Indeed. I would recommend putting the skinny cord on whichever end gets pulled out straight first; it's more likely to overheat if it's crossing over itself or coiled up. Put the big wire close to the house. That way, when you don't need the skinny wire anymore, you can unplug your tool and plug it in to a larger gauge and set less stuff on fire. Best would be to just get a 100' 10ga cord and use that, but those things are pricey.
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Aug 15, 2016 23:14
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Thanks for the education regarding extension cords. I have a Kill-A-Watt so I'll plug it in and give it a check before I do anything crazy.
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Aug 16, 2016 01:53
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I'm wondering what people generally do to handle running wires from an unfinished basement to an unfinished attic? We had electricians out here who did this and cut holes in the drywall inside the attached garage to get up there, but I want to patch these holes over to prevent CO/Heat/Air/Bugs/Fire from traveling between the garage and the basement. I however want to make it easy to run future wires into the attic for further network expansions and I thought since we have these holes there now, we might be able to do something before I patch the dry wall up. The house is a 2 story house with a partially finished basement (insulation, electric, hvac, no drywall or interior framing) and an attached garage which has a finished ceiling and the attached wall is finished. The garage sits about 1.5 feet down from the first floor, so you can access the top of the basement via the bottom of the garage. The master bedroom extends out over the garage but right above the wall that attaches the garage to the house is an empty-ish wall cavity that is used to frame out the closets which appears to be a straight shot into the attic (and that's what they did previously when they ran my two cat6a runs). I thought about trying to run conduit in the wall here prior to closing it up, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea (or even really doable). Where the garage meets the basement is flat 2x4 (bottom plate?) that they had to drill through to get the wire from the basement into the garage wall cavity, it appears I can maybe get a 1" through this legally (not more than 40% hole) and then it's a straight shoot to the top of the garage wall, where we run into problems, the electricians notched out the top plate of the garage wall slightly to allow the two wires to go in, but they also had two notch out part of what looks to be 2x10s or so sistered together sitting on top of the top plate to make this work. Once they got above the top plate, they then took a 90 degree turn into the garage ceiling for about a foot then straight up again. It looks like you're not allowed to notch very far at all into this (I'm assuming it's a floor joist) and since it's kind of sitting on top of the top plate, there's no way to get a conduit through it without doing that. Even if we do all of that, the conduit would still end up with 2 90 degree bends which would make pulling through harder. So given all of this, I can think of a few options, but I'm not sure if they're any good or not. 1. Leave the holes, but put access panels in (is this even allowed in the wall/ceilings of an attached garage where it attached to the rest of the house?) and just manually run wires through them just how the electricians did previously, without having to cut the drywall next time. 2. Put conduit through the bottom plate of the garage, up to the top where I put a surface mounted box that is mounted on both the ceiling and the wall (essentially in the corner between them) with conduit then running from that box up into the attic space as well, essentially a surface mounted pull box that also allows the wires to go around the top plate and the joist instead of through them). 3. Close all of the holes up now, and when it comes time to run wires again, cut a hole in the exterior basement wall, and run a conduit up alongside the exterior of the house, and then cut a hole in the attic exterior wall and run the conduit inside the attic through there. 4. Give up, patch up the holes, and when we run more wires in the future live with the fact we'll have to open the walls up again. 5. Some other idea?
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Aug 16, 2016 20:28
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