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carticket posted:So, lots of snow coming tomorrow, got my generator all setup. One thing I figured I'd ask: do I actually need to worry about grounding the generator separately from the connection to the house? If so, can I just throw some copper and wrap it around my well head (~8" metal pipe going straight down for who knows how far, it's 600 ft deep) and call that good enough? At least rough up the black iron to get some kind of decent metal-to-metal touching and use a hose clamp. "Wrapping" does literally nothing when you NEED the grounding. If you want to go out and buy a part, then a ground clamp is the right answer, but most normal ground clamps don't go above 4" pipe. If you find where your electrical service ground rod comes out of the ground then you can run a wire to that and be fine.
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Jan 29, 2022 07:41
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It's literally on the opposite side of the house from the garage where the inlet is. I can drive another one near the well when the ground isn't frozen and snow isn't falling.
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Jan 29, 2022 14:35
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If the generator is hooked up to your panel via an inlet it should be grounded through the panels ground and not need any additional grounding.
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Jan 29, 2022 17:42
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SpartanIvy posted:If the generator is hooked up to your panel via an inlet it should be grounded through the panels ground and not need any additional grounding. Yeah, that was my hope from the first part. The good news is we didn't lose power.
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Jan 30, 2022 05:13
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If I want to add some lights to my crawl space so when I encapsulate it later on this year I don’t have to work in the dark, what do you folks like? I am assuming some LED tube light style? Going to put a switch and outlet right by the crawl space door.
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Jan 30, 2022 17:43
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Unless you plan on being in your crawlspace a ton past the project, why not just buy a good work light or two in whatever battery system you have?
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Jan 30, 2022 17:56
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LEDs, definitely. There's a bunch of form factors. Perhaps the simplest would be to get a handheld battery-powered light with a magnet, and just stick it next to the entrance.
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Jan 30, 2022 17:59
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T8 LED replacements in junkyard fixtures, then steal the tubes for elsewhere when you’re done down there.
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Jan 30, 2022 18:07
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Would Walmart be factory seconds sometimes? I thought it was just as legit. We have Target here instead of Walmart but same thing.
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Jan 30, 2022 18:25
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I'm probably going to be the weird one here, but just put up edison bases during the process. Have some nice, bright LED bulbs in there while you're down there, then get a six-pack of incandescent fridge/oven light bulbs to leave down there forever. Incandescents don't wear out just by sitting in the damp so there's no worry that you turn the switch on and NOTHING works.
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Jan 30, 2022 18:40
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I have some solar questions. Friend is redoing his solar setup, with new 48v LFP batteries (2 Egyll 51.2v 100amp), a rack for six batteries, and a Growatt 5000ES. He plans to continue to use the six 120w panels that are hooked to his 12v lead acid system. The batteries have 125A breakers built in, would we need additional protection between the batteries and the inverter controller? Currently the panels have no disconnect to the controller in use now, no breaker, no switch, just ran directly to the cheapest controller on the market 2 years ago. Any suggestion for a cutoff or breaker between the panels and the new Growatt unit? This question currently is more about insulation and maintaining temperature. The shed all of this is in gets down to 0°F at night (winter at 7500ft elevation). Currently planning to insulate the battery rack with 2" R13 foamboard, sealing gaps in the shed, insulating over the window. Would using something like 20w terrarium heat pads or seedling heat mats under the batteries sound reasonable to keep the batteries above freezing? We would need to do the same for the Growatt, as the low operating temp is 32°F. Good idea, bad idea, fire hazard? Can't really afford to fully insulate the shed, and the generator/gas is stored in there so no open flame heat is ideal. And finally, what gauge wire should we be looking at in copper for that kind of load from Growatt to panel? Growatt maxes at 5000w, current wiring involves a cut up 15a extension cord, and while that's handy for switching from the Harbor Freight inverter to the Harbor Freight generator (all PO work/supplied), I'd rather he not burn his shed down with half a Harbor Freight drop cord. There's no grid tie, no electric poles for about two miles, an electrician will be handling the Growatt to panel, also double checking our DC work before anything gets turned on, also likely wiring the generator to the Growatt. We just want to make sure we have all the necessary supplies on hand before getting an electrician out there for a few hours. We're aware of the differing versions of Growatt 5000ES models, his came from Signature Solar so it's definitely the US model, no plans to parallel another unit anyhow. CRUSTY MINGE fucked around with this message at 00:49 on Jan 31, 2022 |
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Jan 31, 2022 00:47
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This is in the US, right? Be careful how you set it up for use if this is in the US, the growatt 5000ES is a source of some controversy regarding the safety of that thing when you wire it up US-style, even if Signature Solar removes the neutral-ground bonding screw. If it's putting out 5000 watts, that's a little over 40 amps at 120 volts, so you want to size your wire by amperage and expected distance to whatever load center you're using. Danhenge fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Jan 31, 2022 |
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Jan 31, 2022 01:10
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From my understanding, the ground-neutral bond issue is only really a problem when wiring them in parallel. When the day comes that he needs a larger inverter, he plans to just buy a larger inverter/controller with a better reputation. A simple system like this, the 5000ES was picked for price and ease of installation, but we'll definitely ask the electrician his opinion when wiring it up. Solar shed is separate from the house and he's updating his insurance anyhow. He has a 600 sq ft cabin, his electric demand is pretty low. Refrigerator, well pump at 50 ft, personal electronics and a tv or microwave. He has gas heat, gas water heater, and a gas range, no laundry equipment. E: His current setup, wired by the previous owner, is a clusterfuck. 12v Durastart deep cells of varying amperages (lowest 80, highest 140, so 80 on all 10, basically). He put a Kill-a-watt on his inverter one night when they batteries indicated charged, got less than 2kw out of them before they hit low voltage cutoff. It's not a pure sine wave inverter either, but modulated, and probably what killed his tv. CRUSTY MINGE fucked around with this message at 02:48 on Jan 31, 2022 |
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Jan 31, 2022 02:43
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I have a small deck with one pathetic little light in the corner, and I'd like to reuse that light's power for some string LEDs. The current light is connected to a convenient switch inside the house. With the waterproof cover off, here's what I've got:  Are there boxes out there that I could rewire this with to connect the string lights directly? I'm thinking I'd replace this entire light fixture and mount the new box in its place. Or maybe take off all the CFL stuff and reuse the box, although I'd have to find a way to get the wires out of the waterproof area.
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Jan 31, 2022 02:45
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KKKLIP ART posted:If I want to add some lights to my crawl space so when I encapsulate it later on this year I don’t have to work in the dark, what do you folks like? I am assuming some LED tube light style? Going to put a switch and outlet right by the crawl space door.
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Jan 31, 2022 04:50
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CRUSTY MINGE posted:From my understanding, the ground-neutral bond issue is only really a problem when wiring them in parallel. When the day comes that he needs a larger inverter, he plans to just buy a larger inverter/controller with a better reputation. A simple system like this, the 5000ES was picked for price and ease of installation, but we'll definitely ask the electrician his opinion when wiring it up. Solar shed is separate from the house and he's updating his insurance anyhow. Your best bet is to do some measuring and look at wire sizing charts on the internet.
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Jan 31, 2022 04:52
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Inner Light posted:Would Walmart be factory seconds sometimes? I thought it was just as legit. We have Target here instead of Walmart but same thing. Factory seconds is not exactly the right terminology, probably. The problem with Walmart is they squeeze manufacturers so hard on prices that they won't/can't make their goods to the same spec. Tide is known for being a different formula from Walmart, for example. In my own experience, yarn from the same brands and even lots is lower quality at Walmart than at other big box retailers. I also find their produce to be half rotten garbage, but I'm willing to allow that's location-dependent. I've never purchased a national brand anything at Target that was lower quality than at other retailers. Their house brands, sure those suck sometimes.
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Jan 31, 2022 11:19
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My AFCI+GFCI I use in my bedroom-turned-office is nuisance tripping. It happened once randomly a few months ago, now is happening about once a week. I think this is what's going to get me to actually put in a new panel and protect it with breakers instead of an outlet. Wiring: Spending $500 on a project to avoid paying $30 to replace a 1 year old part.
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Jan 31, 2022 18:42
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Hed posted:My AFCI+GFCI I use in my bedroom-turned-office is nuisance tripping. It happened once randomly a few months ago, now is happening about once a week. Are you sure it's a nuisance if it's only 1 year old? You could have a degrading arc fault somewhere along your line that this product is accurately protecting you against. Try replacing the outlet first. Leviton seems to have a 2 year warranty on their GFCI outlets, at least the random product line I googled.
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Jan 31, 2022 18:54
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H110Hawk posted:Are you sure it's a nuisance if it's only 1 year old? You could have a degrading arc fault somewhere along your line that this product is accurately protecting you against. Thanks for saving me a google on the warranty. I talked it over with some of the other engis; it's very possible the old SmartUPS I have is tripping it since those have a propensity for leakage current. We landed on this: https://www.apc.com/us/en/faqs/FA369034/. It makes sense to me that given 5% of receptacles are going bad in the first year, and that I have a continuous load on it (computers) it would stress out anything that's slightly out of tolerance. I'll replace it since I'm not getting around to adding a subpanel in the next few weeks. Other than that, hard to diagnose the issue given that it is currently still quite infrequent. I wish it would indicate which side (arc or ground fault) tripped.
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Jan 31, 2022 19:29
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I have a few can / recessed lights that I think makes sense to get some LED retrofit trims for, and I'd like to do the white dimming ones (i.e. white, but color temp changes w/ dimming). 1. What the hell search term should I use? Changeable CCT works, but I don't want a switch, I want it automatic. Seems like everyone has their own brand-name / trade-name for it... Juno calls it White Dimmable (good one), Halo calls it VividTune, etc. 2. Who makes these? I found Juno (most of the stock fixtures in my house were Juno) and I've installed HALO in a few places. The spec sheet for Juno's RL6 listed 'comparables' too from Lithonia and a few others. Any brands you guys like / to stay away from? 3. Am I correct in understanding there's basically two major types -- 'retrofit', where you cut hole in drywall and install the new fixture (usually via mousetrap springs) and then 'trim' where it slots into an existing can, and there is a little bulb-base adapter? I'm going to do mostly 5/6", but I have two tiny 3" ones above my TV that I'd rather just replace with LED fixtures and then never use vs. repainting the ancient eyeballs.
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Feb 3, 2022 23:12
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Hed posted:My AFCI+GFCI I use in my bedroom-turned-office is nuisance tripping. It happened once randomly a few months ago, now is happening about once a week. I'll share an anecdote about my AFCI breaker in my old panel, in the hopes it helps you. The entirety of the upstairs plus all the lights on the main floor where on two circuits, which had a shared neutral (and they were all knob & tube). At some point in the past an AFCI breaker was put in for those two circuits, which is what's required there by code. During the summer I'd have an AC unit plugged in via a power strip, and during the winter a warm mist humidifier (so both high current devices). When I'd use the microwave downstairs (totally separate circuit) it would often trip the AFCI circuit. If I remembered to turn off the high current device before I used the microwave, no trips. When we got the house rewired and all the knob & tube taken out, I asked the electrician about it. He said that most likely what was happening is there was actually a tiny arc in the power strip, since it wasn't a super expensive one and I probably shouldn't have had an AC unit plugged into it. The area of contact between the AC plug and the clips in the power strip is not great, and so in that moment when the microwave (1200 watts) is powered on there might be a slight dip in power to the rest of the house (voltage? current? not sure, the thing that makes the lights flicker) and that would cause a tiny arc momentarily, and the AFCI breaker would detect that and trip. Reading that APC faq, it sounds like you could have something similar going on there, rather than the outlet just going bad.
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Feb 3, 2022 23:26
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I hope this is an appropriate place to ask. About a month ago my sump pump failed to activate and my basement had about three inches of standing water in it. I only discovered it when I went downstairs to kill the breaker box because the power had just gone out and we tend to get spikes as the service is restored. The power outage didn't kill the sump pump; it had probably been off all night for the basement to fill that much. But since the power was out, I made my way through the water to the breaker box and killed it as planned. I eventually got rid of all the water, and as rooms dried out down there I turned power back on one at a time. The last room to get power was the one finished room down there, which is a bedroom that my wife and I use as a hobby room. I used a shop vac to get the bulk of the water out of the carpet and then ran dual dehumidifiers in there for a couple weeks. Once it was dry, I flipped the breaker for that room and got nothing. None of the outlets was active and the lights wouldn't come on. There's a GFCI on the outside of that room, and the indicator light was red and it wouldn't reset. I killed the power and replaced the GFCI, connecting the wires to the new one in the same places as the old one (according to the load/line labels). I turned the power on. A green indicator light came on on the new GFCI, but there was no power to its outlets and none of the downstream stuff had power. I checked the four wires going into the GFCI and only one black wire was hot. After watching some more videos, I think I have two problems - the first is that I think one of the white wires is also supposed to be hot when the power is on. Right? The other problem is that the videos show hooking a bare copper wire to the ground on the GFCI, and the old one didn't have that wire connected to it. There is a bare copper wire in the box, but it comes in one side, goes into a twist cap connector thing, and goes right out the other side. No loose end to attach to the GFCI. What the heck is happening here?
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Feb 3, 2022 23:27
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Does that GFCI have a sticker on it that says something like "not grounded"? If you've got a ground wire running through I have no idea why you wouldn't ground the outlet, but technically it's allowed to install a GFCI with no ground as long as it's appropriately marked. I think a neutral would only show as "live" with a non-contact voltage tester if there was actual current flowing (aka a device is plugged in and pulling power) but I also think that if the GFCI was working properly/connected properly, that you'd be reading hot on the black wire coming out as well. But I'm a bit out of my element with GFCI, I don't have any outlets because all my breakers are GFCI.
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Feb 3, 2022 23:31
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I don't recall any markings about it being grounded or not; I'll take a look.
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Feb 4, 2022 04:59
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movax posted:I have a few can / recessed lights that I think makes sense to get some LED retrofit trims for, and I'd like to do the white dimming ones (i.e. white, but color temp changes w/ dimming). I have a bunch of philips "warm glow" dimmables and I really like them, I don't think there's a generic term, maybe "dim to warm"?. Mine are probably 5 years old now when it was a novel technology, so I have no firsthand knowledge of anyone else's. Yeah, either you're going to do a trim replacement and leave the can up there and just screw in with an adapter which is dead simple, or replace the cans with a puck. Looks like you can still find the philips trim replacement kits for now but I think they have stopped making them (which for the life of an LED is probably not actually a concern) https://www.amazon.com/Philips-801035-Equivalent-LED-Downlight/dp/B072NY1W4L
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Feb 4, 2022 18:46
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I'm looking for some help figuring out what exactly I need to buy to solve a problem. I'm in the midst of renovating a bathroom in our house and we had some drywall repair done to the ceiling a while back when we first bough the house. The drywall guy didn't wire the ceiling light back in place and I couldn't find it after they were done, so I just left it capped off for over a year because it wasn't the only light in the room. I went to go wire a light in there today and I realized that light wasn't on the light switch circuit because the light wouldn't turn off with the switch. I went back to the listing photos and realized it was a pull chain light socket. I'd like to avoid having to rip open drywall to try to run a wire to the receptacle to run it on that light switch. What I'm looking for is some kind of rf/wireless transmitter and receiver relay that I can wire the transmitter to the existing switch circuit and the receiver relay to the ceiling light. I feel like this has to exist, but I can't figure out exactly what to search for. Has anyone seen anything like this? Any time I try searching, I just keep seeing versions that have a physical remote control, which is not what I'm looking for. I'm trying to have both lights turn on simultaneously with the existing switch. Edit: To clarify, I'm not looking for an actual wireless light switch, I'm looking for some sort of set of wireless relay modules where I could put one maybe in the receptacle for the existing vanity light that is on the switch circuit and the other where this ceiling light is. An alternative would be some kind of physical wireless light switch/receiver that can also act as a traditional light switch. rockcity fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Feb 6, 2022 |
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Feb 6, 2022 05:38
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Just remembered this so not sure where to buy it, but isn't this vid exactly what you're describing? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chHEgbf0baw
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Feb 6, 2022 05:54
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Inner Light posted:Just remembered this so not sure where to buy it, but isn't this vid exactly what you're describing? I've seen stuff like that, but that's not quite what I'm looking for. I'm not looking to add a new switch, I'm looking to utilize an existing light switch that powers controls the vanity light in the same room. I'd like both lights to come on at the same time ideally. If they make a wireless light switch that can also act as a physical switch to the existing light, that could also work.
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Feb 6, 2022 05:58
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rockcity posted:I've seen stuff like that, but that's not quite what I'm looking for. I'm not looking to add a new switch, I'm looking to utilize an existing light switch that powers controls the vanity light in the same room. I'd like both lights to come on at the same time ideally. If they make a wireless light switch that can also act as a physical switch to the existing light, that could also work. Replace the existing switch with wireless receiver, and install another receiver for the pull chain light. Put a new wireless switch on the wall, I recommend a battery-free one, and use that to control both lamps.
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Feb 6, 2022 06:01
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Platystemon posted:Replace the existing switch with wireless receiver, and install another receiver for the pull chain light. Ok, so put a receiver in each wiring receptacle and then use a wireless light switch to control both? That could work, I just have to do some digging for the right stuff. If I'm replacing the wall switch, I need it to fit inside a standard rocker slot as I want it to go in the same double gang receptacle that the fan switch is in. Edit: Does anyone know if there is any way I could do a smart light switch and then buy a smart light fixture or smart bulbs for the ceiling and control that wirelessly and simultaneously with vanity light fixture? I have a couple spare TP-Link smart light switches. If I could replace the existing normal light switch with that and somehow have that link to either a compatible receiver or bulb, that could maybe work. rockcity fucked around with this message at 20:29 on Feb 6, 2022 |
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Feb 6, 2022 07:53
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I have a 60' boom lift w/ jib at my house right now for the HVAC guys that are doing some installation work. This seemed to me to be the perfect time to finally toss some conduit on the outside of my house to get data from my office / top floors down to the network rack in the basement. Is MoCA currently sufficient for my needs? Yes, 100%, but goddammit, I want to have my beautiful copper and fiber runs. Anyways -- I'm going to run 2x 2" PVC (Sch. 40) conduit down the side; I think I only need 12 Cat6 + 2 fiber, but I'm not doing this again. I'm going to use this junction box here: https://www.homedepot.com/p/8-in-x-8-in-x-4-in-Junction-Box-R5133712/202043419, drilling in the holes for the 2" fittings. At the top, I'm going to also drill holes in the back of the box so it can enter my unconditioned space / "chimney"; at the bottom, I'm just going to use another one to route out the side along my house to another penetration (so just a route through box). I was going to start at the bottom, mount the box, attach conduit, work my way up (so it is supported) until I get to the box at the top. My question is... the sides of this box are at slight angles, which I just noticed. What do folks generally do here? Is PVC slightly bendable? I need it to be close to 90 so I can run it up along the side of the building... e: poo poo -- do I use whatever the non-metallic FMC equivalent is? I wonder where I can find 2" of that in stock local if I'm only need like 2-3' to straight out the exit from the box. movax fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Feb 7, 2022 |
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Feb 7, 2022 18:34
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run the conduit where you want it and put the boxes on last
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Feb 7, 2022 20:00
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shame on an IGA posted:run the conduit where you want it and put the boxes on last Huh, and just have the clamps hold it up against the side of the building? My basic structures brain figured a box at the bottom to support the weight would be a good starting point and then I put the box at the top aligned with where the conduit ended up.
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Feb 7, 2022 20:21
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that's what the clamps are for, yes
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Feb 7, 2022 20:36
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shame on an IGA posted:that's what the clamps are for, yes Well, I found something fun — I don’t have room to fit a standard radius 2” PVC 90 degree bend where I need it. On the brighter side, the 2” meter offsets I found at Home Depot should work perfectly to compensate for any angles / offsets / etc from the wall! I’ve been working on some water cooling stuff lately; do they make 45 deg fittings I could use instead of a straight one? This won’t carry line voltage, so while annoying that a few inches are all that won’t be UL listed, it’s not the end of the world (plus I’m painting everything / this is in the shade). Or should I go get a short segment of the flexible NM stuff to get the bend done?
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Feb 8, 2022 07:45
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Can you fit some type of 2" conduit body? https://www.homedepot.com/p/Cantex-2-in-Type-LB-Conduit-Body-R5133668/202043420
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Feb 8, 2022 15:43
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Motronic posted:Can you fit some type of 2" conduit body? Yes, but unless I’m incredibly spatially challenged / an idiot, the turn I have to make would have the screws / panel for that body butted up against the wall which would make pulling more difficult vs using the slightly shorter but still decently large plumbing 90 deg sweep. E: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Charlotte-Pipe-2-in-PVC-DWV-90-Degree-Long-Sweep-Elbow-PVC003040800HD/203393490
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Feb 8, 2022 17:20
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movax posted:Yes, but unless I’m incredibly spatially challenged / an idiot, the turn I have to make would have the screws / panel for that body butted up against the wall which would make pulling more difficult vs using the slightly shorter but still decently large plumbing 90 deg sweep. FYI, that was just an example. There are a ton of different configurations of those things, so one might work and keep you all with the proper pipe/connections. You'll likely not find many options at a big box place, but your local tradie store will likely have some weird poo poo.
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Feb 8, 2022 17:44
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Motronic posted:FYI, that was just an example. There are a ton of different configurations of those things, so one might work and keep you all with the proper pipe/connections. You'll likely not find many options at a big box place, but your local tradie store will likely have some weird poo poo. I'm a dummy; yep, looks like LR and LL conduit bodies are what I need and will end up in the proper orientation. LL on top, LR on bottom. The pricing sucks rear end for me though, I'm pretty sure my electrician saw ~$19 but Platt has them listed as $40. I will have to offset from the side to go over some 3/4" condensate drain lines; can I use Superstrut on the outside + cold galvanizing spray? movax fucked around with this message at 20:49 on Feb 10, 2022 |
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Feb 10, 2022 20:43
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