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SpartanIvy posted:Are wires just hanging out of the conduit or something? Typically the conduit terminates at a box that is sealed up reasonably well. No, it's enclosed. Tentatively I'm thinking Dow 737 neutral cure silicone sealant, because it's data sheet does not warn against any plastic reactivity.
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Sep 15, 2020 19:16
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 Inspection went well. Just need to add grounding screws to some metal boxes, and some steel plate behind two of the plastic boxes.
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Sep 15, 2020 19:32
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SpartanIvy posted:Are wires just hanging out of the conduit or something? Typically the conduit terminates at a box that is sealed up reasonably well. That's not often the case with low voltage wiring.
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Sep 15, 2020 20:21
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Elder Postsman posted:
Did they tell you why they wanted steel behind the boxes?
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Sep 15, 2020 20:49
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tater_salad posted:Did they tell you why they wanted steel behind the boxes? Yeah. 2x4 wall so the back of the boxes where the wires are coming out are pretty close to the outside edge of the wall.
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Sep 15, 2020 20:59
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Skinnymansbeerbelly posted:No, it's enclosed. Tentatively I'm thinking Dow 737 neutral cure silicone sealant, because it's data sheet does not warn against any plastic reactivity. The listed product for this type of thing is cat poo poo (duct sealant) but a silicone sealant that doesn't produce (butyl?) Acid when curing should be fine too.
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Sep 15, 2020 21:09
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Elviscat posted:The listed product for this type of thing is cat poo poo (duct sealant) but a silicone sealant that doesn't produce (butyl?) Acid when curing should be fine too. In Canada we call that bear poo poo
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Sep 16, 2020 01:43
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I've been trying to get an electrician out to open up one of our walls (it's sheet rock) and install some new boxes and outlets lately. For some reason every time one of them hears "open the wall" they ghost me or act like it's never been done before. I don't get it...is this an uncommon request?
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Sep 16, 2020 06:37
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Normally you just fish wires in from above or below and use old work boxes, you shouldn’t need more than a couple small holes to get the wire where it needs to be. Open the wall implies major work and/or some idiot used expanding foam insulation that needs to be dug out to make it possible for a cable to be pulled.
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Sep 16, 2020 06:45
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El Mero Mero posted:I've been trying to get an electrician out to open up one of our walls (it's sheet rock) and install some new boxes and outlets lately. For some reason every time one of them hears "open the wall" they ghost me or act like it's never been done before. I don't get it...is this an uncommon request? yeah you can just fish wires through wall and cut a hole for the box with a zip tool or oscilating tool. maybe just tell them you want an outlet added and have them come.
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Sep 16, 2020 12:22
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Can anyone throw some suggestions at me for wire runs for my overhead lights? I’m a bit confused. Wanting two circuits - one with living room, dining room, office and one with bedroom, hallway, utility room. Kitchen and bath are separate and wired already. Living room, dining, and utility will have to be three way switches. I have attic access to all of them but the hallway - it’ll take some fishing to get to the fixture but I think I can get to the existing switch easily enough. 
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Sep 16, 2020 14:53
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skylined! posted:Can anyone throw some suggestions at me for wire runs for my overhead lights? I’m a bit confused. It's possible to both drill down from the attic and drill up from the wall boxes. It takes a bit of measuring the walls and making a map in your head, but you can drill down through the top plate to the existing boxes. Drilling up from below requires the long bendy drill bit. Fishing cable into an existing box when the walls are closed is technically possible, but extremely difficult. It might be easier to remove the boxes from the walls. Drilling up from below requires removing the wall boxes. Now it is possible to remove the existing boxes out of the wall through their existing holes in the drywall/plaster. In normal home construction, boxes are fastened to the studs with 2 nails: one on top, one on bottom. What you'd want to do is stick a saw in the gap in the drywall between the box and stud and cut through those nails. A pocket hacksaw can work for this, but if you're doing several boxes, I'd recommend an oscillating tool. Release the cable clamps in the old box and maneuver it out of the wall. Once you got the old boxes out, an old work box can take their place. You may have to enlarge the hole in the drywall/plaster slightly. Protip: before you start, take the face plates off of the wall boxes. Stick a piece of painter's/masking tape beside the box. Mark the level of the box's top or bottom screw on the tape. You now have a reference for how high to mount the new box so it matches the old one while having a mark that's easy to remove when done.
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Sep 16, 2020 15:16
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kid sinister posted:It's possible to both drill down from the attic and drill up from the wall boxes. It takes a bit of measuring the walls and making a map in your head, but you can drill down through the top plate to the existing boxes. Drilling up from below requires the long bendy drill bit. Thanks for all this but I’m more stuck on the wire topology. Physical access isn’t a problem - my house is plaster and lathe with no fire breaks and I can mostly follow the old runs for pre drilled holes to run through. Wondering if this is a good use case for a star topology, running power to a junction and then branching off from there to switches or if there’s a better way to do it.
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Sep 16, 2020 15:50
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skylined! posted:Thanks for all this but I’m more stuck on the wire topology. Physical access isn’t a problem - my house is plaster and lathe with no fire breaks and I can mostly follow the old runs for pre drilled holes to run through. Stop overthinking it, just run power from box to box, if it makes it easier put a junction box above/below each switch.
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Sep 16, 2020 16:22
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corgski posted:Normally you just fish wires in from above or below and use old work boxes, you shouldn’t need more than a couple small holes to get the wire where it needs to be. Open the wall implies major work and/or some idiot used expanding foam insulation that needs to be dug out to make it possible for a cable to be pulled. Guess that makes sense then. Yeah the space I'm trying to wire has no attic and is built directly on the slab - so there's no space to fish from.
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Sep 16, 2020 16:26
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Messadiah posted:In Canada we call that bear poo poo LOL, we call it monkey dung. And silicone uses aceric acid for curing, it smells like vinegar. Silicone II (2) or Advanced Silicone II from GE doesn't, and is reasonably priced.
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Sep 16, 2020 17:03
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https://twitter.com/TubeTimeUS/status/1306359385656946688?s=20
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Sep 17, 2020 13:24
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Normally I hate Twitter, but that's a good read. I worked as a telephone lineman in college and was amazed at how old poles, connectors, and hardware are. Demo'ing old lines was fun, you'd cut the 3/8" steel strand on one end and watch 20 telephone poles fall down like dominos. The only thing supporting some sections was the fact that they were still standing and anchored on either end.
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Sep 17, 2020 13:52
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skylined! posted:Thanks for all this but I’m more stuck on the wire topology. Physical access isn’t a problem - my house is plaster and lathe with no fire breaks and I can mostly follow the old runs for pre drilled holes to run through. Star topology doesn't really work with NM. You run into issues with box fill at the star centers. When it comes to NM, it's mostly shortest route daisy chaining, running /3 as necessary.
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Sep 17, 2020 23:08
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kid sinister posted:Star topology doesn't really work with NM. You run into issues with box fill at the star centers. When it comes to NM, it's mostly shortest route daisy chaining, running /3 as necessary. The shortest route is black to bare. 
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Sep 17, 2020 23:36
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If you're coming up from the basement or down from the attic where you can fit accessible junction boxes and not doing any wall demo, trunk it and branch off for each individual outlet. You'll only ever have 6 current carrying conductors in a box at a time that way and you won't have to gently caress around with daisy chaining through existing walls, which loving sucks at the best of times.
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Sep 18, 2020 00:55
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So I know the code requirements for panel space inside but what is required outside around the meter and service panel? Same? We’re maybe looking at building a deck on the same wall our panel is on that would come up to the siding and the panel is about a foot above the siding - starting to wonder if that would violate code. Nothing would permanently be in front of it but it’d only be a foot or two above the hypothetical deck, and I’m not sure what is required for outside.
skylined! fucked around with this message at 13:59 on Sep 18, 2020 |
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Sep 18, 2020 13:42
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skylined! posted:So I know the code requirements for panel space inside but what is required outside around the meter and service panel? It's the same. I think the deck would be considered the floor, and there's no minimum height requirement for the panel, so you should be fine so long as nothing is covered up.
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Sep 18, 2020 14:14
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Blackbeer posted:It's the same. I think the deck would be considered the floor, and there's no minimum height requirement for the panel, so you should be fine so long as nothing is covered up. That’s what I was hoping. Thanks!
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Sep 18, 2020 14:23
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Hey guys, dumb question. I'm switching out a switch for a z-wave switch. The line power goes into the light box in the ceiling, and a 14/2 runs from the bow to the switch. The switch just breaks the hot, like this: With this setup, I can't use a Z-wave switch. I can easily repull the wire between the switch and the light and replace it with 14/3. Then I can just connect it like this:  This way, in the 14/3 - black is line - blue is load - white is neutral - ground is ground EDIT: Actually, it looks like this will work, and it's code for this reason. https://mrelectrician.tv/light-switch-wiring-diagrams/  Super-NintendoUser fucked around with this message at 15:15 on Sep 18, 2020 |
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Sep 18, 2020 15:03
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Yep, that will work. The code changed for switch legs a couple decades ago. You can't repurpose the white wire for light switches anymore, every switch box now needs a dedicated neutral, even if it's capped off. That's for future support for fancy switches that require neutrals, like motion sensors.
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Sep 18, 2020 19:45
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kid sinister posted:Yep, that will work. The code changed for switch legs a couple decades ago. You can't repurpose the white wire for light switches anymore, every switch box now needs a dedicated neutral, even if it's capped off. That's for future support for fancy switches that require neutrals, like motion sensors. Thanks! I have some work being done in my house so there's a bunch of removed dry wall, I'm using the chance to replace a bunch of old switches/wires that don't have ground with their grounded buddies. Just a question, some of my house is old armored cable, I can use that as the ground for smart devices, since they require hot, neutral and ground, right? Googling shows it's ok and it's not ok, so I'm not sure specifically. Electrically it works, though right?
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Sep 18, 2020 19:56
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If this is a spot that might ever have a fan you might want to pull /4 or just add the /3.
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Sep 18, 2020 20:26
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H110Hawk posted:If this is a spot that might ever have a fan you might want to pull /4 or just add the /3. I'm actually removing two NEW FANGLED LED FANs because the LEDs in them are terribly. The integrated LEDs are so bring it's impossible to manage. The dimmers don't dim enough. I'm putting in some recessed can lights, and replacing the fans with no-light fans. I think it will make the room look better. The already have 12/3 there, so but the light circuit will not be connected.
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Sep 18, 2020 21:08
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Jerk McJerkface posted:I'm actually removing two NEW FANGLED LED FANs because the LEDs in them are terribly. The integrated LEDs are so bring it's impossible to manage. The dimmers don't dim enough. I'm putting in some recessed can lights, and replacing the fans with no-light fans. I think it will make the room look better. The already have 12/3 there, so but the light circuit will not be connected. Just saying it's dollars in materials while the walls are open.
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Sep 18, 2020 21:32
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H110Hawk posted:Just saying it's dollars in materials while the walls are open. Man, 12-4 must be a nightmare to pull.
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Sep 18, 2020 21:43
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Jerk McJerkface posted:Man, 12-4 must be a nightmare to pull. Yeah I wouldn't want to pull it, 12/2 was bad enough. If the walls are open though it's in theory easy enough to snake an extra 14/2 in there to be your supply, then use your /3 for the device and potential future fixture change out.
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Sep 18, 2020 21:57
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Spotted today. As a former commercial electrician, this pendant light leveling method definitely caused an involuntary eye twitch.
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Sep 18, 2020 23:25
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tbh the first thing I noticed was the almost-swastika conduit
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Sep 18, 2020 23:37
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It must have been tricky using only white wires 
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Sep 19, 2020 14:31
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Nevets posted:It must have been tricky using only white wires You almost got it Must have been tricky using only white power cables.
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Sep 19, 2020 14:40
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Oof.
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Sep 19, 2020 19:07
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I was actually annoyed by the fact they knotted the pendant cords instead of appropriately shortening them!
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Sep 19, 2020 19:29
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You just loosen the strain relief and connections in the base that clips into the track, pull wire to length, cut and tighten everything back down in those right?
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Sep 19, 2020 19:32
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is that ceiling sloped? The angle of the vent and wall art in relation to everything else is throwing off my brain
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Sep 19, 2020 19:47
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