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Motronic posted:And when you're a known quantity that does good work some "signoffs" on minor work like this or even more extensive can be pictures/texts. It's all very regional. yeah, a good relationship with the local inspector goes a long way. couldn't even count the number of times inspectors would show up, see the guy who taught me almost everything i know, and pretty much just sign and leave.
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Jul 1, 2021 05:23
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Mimesweeper posted:yeah, a good relationship with the local inspector goes a long way. couldn't even count the number of times inspectors would show up, see the guy who taught me almost everything i know, and pretty much just sign and leave. And the opposite. I drew the short straw and had to work with this guy.... When the inspector showed up, he crawled over EVERYTHING, and eventually failed the inspection because the ground screws in the boxes weren't green. Short straw again, and I'm going to every box with a bottle of green nail polish. edit: box grounding screws don't have to be green by code, but it's a common misconception, and this guy was going to fail us for SOMETHING because the foreman was on his list. babyeatingpsychopath fucked around with this message at 08:34 on Jul 1, 2021 |
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Jul 1, 2021 08:28
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We were doing a large project in a town that had 2 inspectors. One was a complete rear end in a top hat who took a tape measure to everything, and would fail you for the slightest issue. Outlets on the counter actually 6 foot 1 inch apart? Failed. Shower temperature half a degree higher than allowed? Failed. The other inspector was wonderful, and only dinged is on things we had genuinely overlooked, and would often be like, "I'm signing off so I don't need to come back, but do me a favor and make sure this and this get done before you drywall". It was always rough as hell waiting to see who you got that day.
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Jul 1, 2021 11:14
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oof to both of those
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Jul 1, 2021 14:01
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Probably a heckin stupid question but figured I'd ask just in case: My AC is currently installed in one window, and it can't go to another window. Currently, it has an entire plug all to itself. Before, this was fine, but now, I need the convenience of that plug, and I need the AC to run. There is another plug, but it's about 7.5 feet away. The AC's current cable can probably make it a foot in that direction. Pretty much, everything needs to stay where it is, device wise. Could I use a 10g or 12g extension cord, which would not be going into a strip or surge protector, but directly into the wall in it's own outlet? https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-Pro-15-Ft-12-3-SJTW-Yellow-Extension-Cord-w-Indicator/1003051800 It's about double the length I need, but if it works, then sure. The AC says it can draw 15A and 1800W, so it needs at least a 14g cable, so I figure going to 12g will be safer for this purpose. Here's the stupid question: Could you chain 3 of these together? https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-Pro-2-ft-12-3-3-Prong-Outdoor-STW-Heavy-Duty-Lighted-Extension-Cord/3191735 if not, I'm gonna have to get a surge protector with 12' of cable then 
GreenBuckanneer fucked around with this message at 19:21 on Jul 2, 2021 |
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Jul 2, 2021 19:19
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GreenBuckanneer posted:Probably a heckin stupid question but figured I'd ask just in case: You want to use an extension cord to plug in your AC unit? Sure, what's the problem here? 12- or 10-gauge is fine; I wouldn't use 14, either. If you can't find one the precisely exact right length you need, buy a pair of ends and some SO cord. It's the same aisle in Lowe's already. What's wrong with the 15-foot 12-gauge one? Too long? The cord you want is "SOOW" or "SJOOW", 12/3. The ends are NEMA 5-15 (probably); get whichever ones inspire the most confidence, but "wet location" ones are probably overkill for your application.
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Jul 2, 2021 19:36
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:You want to use an extension cord to plug in your AC unit? Sure, what's the problem here? 12- or 10-gauge is fine; I wouldn't use 14, either. If you can't find one the precisely exact right length you need, buy a pair of ends and some SO cord. It's the same aisle in Lowe's already. What's wrong with the 15-foot 12-gauge one? Too long? The entire room is about 20' so a 15 foot cable is a bit overkill and reaching the next plug beyond that, which, I suppose is okay, but I don't really need that. Also I was hoping it'd be cheaper but I guess not. There is another plug around 8 feet away but it's across from a closet, and filled with computer/tv/consoles/internet and can't really take more items (studio duplex apartment).
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Jul 2, 2021 19:51
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GreenBuckanneer posted:The entire room is about 20' so a 15 foot cable is a bit overkill and reaching the next plug beyond that, which, I suppose is okay, but I don't really need that. Also I was hoping it'd be cheaper but I guess not. You're talking plugs but not circuits. If both of those outlets are on the same circuit you're going to want to check the breaker. Is it a 20a? What's the second load you're adding?
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Jul 2, 2021 21:03
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H110Hawk posted:You're talking plugs but not circuits. If both of those outlets are on the same circuit you're going to want to check the breaker. Is it a 20a? What's the second load you're adding? Not sure what "circuit" these are on, to be completely honest. I think the upstairs might be split over two breakers, tops, but I'm not sure which is which offhand. There's 7 outlets upstairs, one outlet is pretty much an AC in one plug + surge protector in the other (mostly LED desk lights and charging block for various devices) and where I want to move the AC to is currently 1/2 sockets being used for a "on at night pointed at the bed, 8" fan" + alarm clock. (the others are, which isn't on all the time 3. anti mouse speaker thing 4. 5" fan + heating pad + phone charger 5. xmas led lights 6. few electronic devices (router and such, into a UPS) 7. computer/tv/consoles also into a different 1500va UPS (6/7 are spread out across each other basically) As for what I'd like to plug in where the AC is now, is an LED lamp that needs an actual two prong plug instead of USB power, and sometimes be able to run a glue gun, airbrush compressor (very small, about 1/5 horsepower), spray hood fan, heat gun, though, not all at the same time. GreenBuckanneer fucked around with this message at 21:33 on Jul 2, 2021 |
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Jul 2, 2021 21:28
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GreenBuckanneer posted:Not sure what "circuit" these are on, to be completely honest. I think the upstairs might be split over two breakers, tops, but I'm not sure which is which offhand. Basically keep this in mind when running anything in there with a heating element if the breakers start popping. Click off the AC while you use the heat gun or whatever if that happens. Or map them out now so you can make sure you aren't causing problems. Turn off anything which can't sustain the loss and go flip a breaker to see what stays on.
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Jul 2, 2021 22:02
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GreenBuckanneer posted:Not sure what "circuit" these are on, to be completely honest. I think the upstairs might be split over two breakers, tops, but I'm not sure which is which offhand. Is there a reason you're not using the extension cord for the other things instead of the AC? quote:3. anti mouse speaker thing FWIW, there is a very strong chance this is nothing more then an LED in a fancy looking case
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Jul 3, 2021 02:05
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Yeah mice and rats don't give a poo poo about ultrasonics. We kept an ultrasonic humidifier in our rat room and they didn't care at all.
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Jul 3, 2021 13:53
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Not that it matters one way or the other at this point, but I'm pretty sure that when the PO upgraded the house from a 60 amp fuse box to a 100 amp circuit breaker in 1965 (yeah, it was in the family a while) they installed a subpanel in the detached garage by just... reusing the fuse box. And there's a 240V AC circuit out there (not actually in use) that's powered with one of the hots on a 30 amp fuse and the other on a 25 amp fuse. And then when they added onto the garage and needed a new circuit they just screwed onto a terminal of one of the fuses in the box. And all the fuses are 25 or 30 amp which I'm quite sure is too much for the receptacle. And then for some reason, there's a circuit in the house labelled "garage" that powers some entry lights in the back of the house, plus some lights in the garage, and those garage lights are controlled by 3-way switches, one in the garage and one in the back entry. None of it is really a problem because I'm going to replace the sub panel and rewire the whole thing. I'll power the garage lights off a circuit from the new subpanel, and leave the interior "garage" circuit for those backlights. Oh, but the connection to the service panel doesn't currently have a neutral, just two hots and a ground connection. So I'd better hope the underground conduit between the house and garage will let me pull a new wire through. Oh, yeah, and the 1965 service upgrade moved the service connection from the attic to the basement, and so they just ran a couple of wires up into the old service box to tie into the knob & tube wiring upstairs. And there are squirrels in the attic that have chewed up some of that knob & tube so I should REALLY get the whole house rewired (the first quote is $30k for a rewire and 200 amp service upgrade). At least that would take care of all my shared neutrals!
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Jul 4, 2021 03:36
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Opened up my breaker panel to run a conduit out the back of it but realized it wouldn't fit where I'd hoped. Then I noticed that one of the neutrals in my panel had the insulation sliced off on part of it and was exposed so I had the pleasure of rerunning that whole length of wire which went to an outdoor outlet and required chiselling the old wire out of mortar on the back of the box. Then when hooking up the new wire, the breaker wouldn't clamp down properly on the new wire so I swapped it for a new GFCI/afci breaker. And there goes my whole day!
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Jul 4, 2021 22:22
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SpartanIvy posted:And there goes my whole day! So it goes...
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Jul 4, 2021 23:54
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SpartanIvy posted:Opened up my breaker panel to run a conduit out the back of it but realized it wouldn't fit where I'd hoped. Why not just cut out the bare part and put in a new section of wire within the panel?
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Jul 5, 2021 00:07
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devicenull posted:Why not just cut out the bare part and put in a new section of wire within the panel? I was a little concerned that there was other damage along the wire since it was an original wire from before my new panel was put on and the electrician found some other questionable things with the other original wiring, so I figured better safe than sorry and reran the the whole length. Also wire nuts in a panel look like poo poo  e: I also reran it with UF-B instead of romex because even though it's behind brick, and there was no sign of moisture issues, I still think it's a smarter choice. SpartanIvy fucked around with this message at 00:21 on Jul 5, 2021 |
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Jul 5, 2021 00:19
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Recommendations on the following situation: Just moved to a new house, and my washer uses a normal* looking 15 amp 3 prong plug. *normal in that, it basically looks like it could plug into any of my wall outlets.  - In this new house, the washer area has a plug for the dryer, and a plug for the washer. The washer plug is a 20 amp with a t-blade(?).  Anyways, the question for yall is, what's the best course of action: 1. Change wall outlet from 20amp to 15 amp 2. Buy an adapter from 15 fml to 20 male 3. Replace the washer cord 4. An option I don't know about Mind you, I have no real knowledge handling or working on wiring/electrical. The current solution was running an extension cord to the next room, and a compatible outlet. Pls advise, thanks.
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Jul 5, 2021 00:23
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Why wouldn't you just...plug that washer into the outlet you showed a picture of? I think I get your hangup now. That "T" is really a horizontal or vertical blade, there isn't an actual plug that has a T shaped prong like that.
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Jul 5, 2021 00:39
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The Bananana posted:
Do nothing, just plug it in That receptacle shape is for some big appliances that actually have a 20a cord. Usually what I call a T-slot receptacle is a 20a 220v plug, and it doesn't allow a regular 120v plug to be inserted. Rufio fucked around with this message at 00:45 on Jul 5, 2021 |
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Jul 5, 2021 00:41
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Yeah you can just plug it in to that outlet and cal it done.
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Jul 5, 2021 00:41
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SpartanIvy posted:I was a little concerned that there was other damage along the wire since it was an original wire from before my new panel was put on and the electrician found some other questionable things with the other original wiring, so I figured better safe than sorry and reran the the whole length. You wasted your whole day to avoid a wire nut in a panel? Strange stuff.
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Jul 5, 2021 00:49
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The Bananana posted:Recommendations on the following situation: Electrical stuff is designed in a way that it's nearly impossible to plug something in to the wrong kind of outlet if you're just behaving normally (not hitting poo poo with a hammer or cutting off prongs). I can't think of a case where you can have a plug and outlet that are physically compatible that would damage something.
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Jul 5, 2021 00:58
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Yeah, I dont think so; against my better justment, I tried pretty drat hard to just force it in. The right vertical prong is the problem. The vertical receptor on the outlet is *just* barely too narrow (top to bottom, not width-wise), to allow the prong to enter. Mind you, I'm not above trying once more.
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Jul 5, 2021 01:06
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The Bananana posted:Yeah, I dont think so; against my better justment, I tried pretty drat hard to just force it in. Try once more. There is no "close but not quite" configuration that would be usable here. Any incompatible configuration would be so obviously wrong that you wouldn't have to ask. Maybe both the receptacle and the plug are at the opposite ends of their manufacturing tolerances. Or maybe one of them has a counterfeit NRTL listing and is some half-rear end knock-off. Looking closer, that looks like a "tamper resistant" receptacle, they're often really hard to plug things in to until they've been broken in (which won't really happen for a washer since you plug it in once and leave it forever).
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Jul 5, 2021 01:17
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Well.. I hope you're all proud of yourselves. You proved me very wrong, and gave my wife a month's worth of "told ya so".  Lol, on the real, thanks for the speedy help!
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Jul 5, 2021 01:32
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Random side question that popped in my head while reading the last few posts: It's pretty much standard for multiple 15A outlets to be served by a single 20A circuit. Does the same thing apply to 20A outlets where a duplex outlet or series of outlets might be served by a 25-30A circuit or is that a unique special case for 15A outlets? Also are duplex outlets and multi-outlet circuits a thing at larger sizes? Aside from RV park pedestals where you're only expected to use one of the outlets at a time of course. devicenull posted:I can't think of a case where you can have a plug and outlet that are physically compatible that would damage something. As the saying goes, any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough. wolrah fucked around with this message at 16:17 on Jul 5, 2021 |
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Jul 5, 2021 16:15
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This just pooped up in the EV thread: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ND6CTGK/ Looking forward to reading what y'all think of it!
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Jul 5, 2021 18:46
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Thanks, I hate it
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Jul 5, 2021 18:54
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cruft posted:This just pooped up in the EV thread: Who hasn't made one of those. You use the outlet under the sink and run it out the window over the sink.
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Jul 5, 2021 19:12
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cruft posted:This just pooped up in the EV thread: Ah, I see you've met this year's winner for the "highest number of code violations with the least amount of material" contest
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Jul 5, 2021 19:46
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cruft posted:This just pooped up in the EV thread: I think if you know enough about circuits to use this you should know why it's a terrible idea.
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Jul 5, 2021 19:52
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Is the problem 240v neutral going back to the panel on wire meant for 120v and undersized grounds?
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Jul 5, 2021 20:50
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I was directed here after some light chastising for being careless in the homeownership thread. Wondering if someone can tell me what's going on with this outlet of mine. We bought a new house a couple months ago. We have slowly been replacing switches and outlets throughout the house and I was getting to the last room, my office, the other day. The outlets are old and many have been painted over, so we decided to replace them all so they would match and look nice and not have paint inside them. I have replaced all of the outlets save one in the office, and also have not yet done the switch. Most outlets had 2 black and 2 white wires, the last one I opened up had 2 black and 3 white. I tested the outlet before and after shutting off the breaker with both the computer that was plugged in and the non contact tester. Everything seemed normal. However, after cutting them from the old outlet (all the old ones used the push holes in the back, very rarely were any on the screws in this place) and stripping them, I noticed some pricks. It was minor so I thought maybe I was poking myself on the wires or some other metal. Then I felt one that was a little bigger and clearly not a piece of metal, though nothing explosive or painful. Took the tester back out, tested everything individually, and one white wire was testing hot. -this was where I posted in the other thread, was called a dumb dumb, and told to post here - Later on, on a hunch, I turned off the circuit to the master bedroom next door, and now that white wire is no longer hot. The office circuit controls the entire office, a bedroom on one side of the office, and one wall of outlets and the overhead light/fan in the master bedroom on the other side of the office. There's also an over head light and fan in the office which is controlled by the wall switch. I have not opened that up yet to see the wire situation but it clearly doesn't control any outlets or I'd have had things going on and off whenever I entered the room and flipped it. So far the wiring in the house hasn't been too weird, just a couple of issues with three-way switches that we had an electrician fix. We're getting a bunch of work on the house done, so if the electrician is around when we run into something, we ask him to fix it and they add it to the total. Unfortunately we are nearing the end of this project and I don't think he's coming back any time soon or possibly ever. So options here are do this myself or call someone in and pay some large flat fee to change one outlet. So now that I can turn that wire off, I can copy what they did before and just put three white wires and 2 blacks into the new outlet and keep on using it like I was using it before, or is this something bad that needs additional investigation or fixing? Kase Im Licht fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Jul 5, 2021 |
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Jul 5, 2021 21:09
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My hunch is that this circuit is sharing a neutral with your bedroom circuit. So when something in your bedroom was on while you were working, it put a load on that white wire and shocked you. Any other wires tucked away in the back of the box?
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Jul 5, 2021 21:40
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BonerGhost posted:Is the problem 240v neutral going back to the panel on wire meant for 120v and undersized grounds? There shouldn't be anything on the neutral. It's just using the 2 hots (and hopefully the grounds). The real dumb is that it provides a NEMA 5-15 receptacle with 240v on it. I'm not even sure why car chargers would expect/allow 240 from a 5-15, but I assume the dumb ones don't care what plug you have attached. Any dope that plugs a 120v appliance into that is in for a rude awaking, but they supply caution tape, so I guess it's all good!
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Jul 5, 2021 21:52
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B-Nasty posted:There shouldn't be anything on the neutral. It's just using the 2 hots (and hopefully the grounds). I assume most residential ones are 90-240 but I have a sample size of 0 to back that up with so there you go. https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=1302 These go great in datacenters to easily let you charge laptops and explode drill chargers.
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Jul 5, 2021 22:14
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B-Nasty posted:There shouldn't be anything on the neutral. It's just using the 2 hots (and hopefully the grounds). My assumption is most car chargers are built for both the US and EU market and are a designed to take 120 to 220 volts and the only difference is the plug.
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Jul 5, 2021 23:01
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B-Nasty posted:There shouldn't be anything on the neutral. It's just using the 2 hots (and hopefully the grounds). Reading the listing, I'm guessing that the chargers accept a wide voltage input, but charge faster using 240v. Makes sense to me based on the little I know about battery chargers... IIRC charging speed is going to depend on voltage, all else equal. This is just the way things are done these days. Manufacturers tend to make the electronics so they can take any global voltage/frequency and only change the plug. Your laptop charger does it, that's why the wall side is removable... the brick is the same, the only thing that changes is the cable. For high volume stuff, it's a lot easier to design things this way than to have to maintain half a dozen different part numbers. BonerGhost posted:Is the problem 240v neutral going back to the panel on wire meant for 120v and undersized grounds? Way more simple: literally no part of that assembly is rated for 240v. If you zoom in on the receptacle, it says "125V" on it, which is the typical max rating for a NEMA 5-15 receptacle. edit: it's a huge safety issue to put 240V on that receptacle. Anyone could come along and plug in a 120V device in to it. This is why plugs are designed different, to physically prevent that from happening. A NEMA 6-15 receptacle is rated for 240V, but will NOT allow a NEMA 5-15 plug to mate with it specifically to prevent a lay person from accidentally doing it. This dipshit's design is going to get someone killed, or worse. After your house burns down, have fun explaining to your insurance company why you bought an unlisted product and then ran a couple extension cords to various rooms in your house just so your car would charge a bit faster. edit: lmao just submitted a report to CPSC. This thing infuriates me so much, it's such a blatant disregard for safety, and the dude just litters the listing with "hey this is hazardous don't do it okay we're not liable" bullshit as if any lawyer would have approved of it. DaveSauce fucked around with this message at 02:05 on Jul 6, 2021 |
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Jul 6, 2021 01:21
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DaveSauce posted:
  
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Jul 6, 2021 04:00
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