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I used too small of wire when I put in my doorbell... can I fix this by installing a relay at the chime, so that the button is only closing the relay, instead of having to provide sufficient current for the entire doorbell? Rerunning the cable is possible, but is going to be fairly annoying (but maybe less annoying then getting a relay to work the way I want?) Edit: I went and actually hung it up straight instead of having it leaning against the wall and it works fine now. loving gravity devicenull fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Sep 1, 2022 |
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Aug 31, 2022 23:57
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So I've got two outlets on either side of a wall. I tried installing a GFCI on either outlet, keeping in mind the line and load. No matter which outlet I had the GFCI on, I wasn't getting power in either room but one room was setting off my non-contact volt stick. I put regular outlets back on both and they work fine again. They don't have grounds which is why I want the GFCI so what could I be missing? The same circuit breaker cuts power to both rooms. Edit: There is a light switch on the wall that seems to control the outlets, could that be the problem? Admiral Joeslop fucked around with this message at 01:00 on Sep 1, 2022 |
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Sep 1, 2022 00:35
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ssb posted:Eh, I decided this was beyond my comfort/skill level even if someone were to tell me exactly what to do, so I have an electrician coming. Feel free to answer for other people's sake if you want, but I'm just having an outlet installed into the wall back there. This seems like a smart decision but I badly want to know wtf is going on under those huge lumps of electrical tape.
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Sep 1, 2022 01:31
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devicenull posted:I used too small of wire when I put in my doorbell... can I fix this by installing a relay at the chime, so that the button is only closing the relay, instead of having to provide sufficient current for the entire doorbell? I've had 12/24v door strikes that have failed ... but they work fine if you hold them upside down due to the direction of the action. Stupid gravity.
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Sep 1, 2022 02:01
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Danhenge posted:This seems like a smart decision but I badly want to know wtf is going on under those huge lumps of electrical tape. We will never know. I just cut them off to get poo poo out of the way. There's all sorts of weird bullshit like that in the wiring. I've fixed what I can and hire out what I can't. As an example, half the single/double gang boxes have 3-4 inches of romex sheathing inside the box on all romex coming into the boxes. ssb fucked around with this message at 04:11 on Sep 1, 2022 |
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Sep 1, 2022 04:08
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ssb posted:We will never know. I just cut them off to get poo poo out of the way. There's all sorts of weird bullshit like that in the wiring. I've fixed what I can and hire out what I can't. cut it open with a utility knife!! do it!!! (once it's not part of the circuit)
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Sep 1, 2022 04:33
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Danhenge posted:cut it open with a utility knife!! do it!!! (once it's not part of the circuit)
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Sep 1, 2022 04:55
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I'm putting my bet on "Uninsulated bolt and nut" like the one by the earth. ("Giant blob of solder" is also tempting)
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Sep 1, 2022 07:27
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Danhenge posted:cut it open with a utility knife!! do it!!! (once it's not part of the circuit) I'll see if I can find them in the trash.
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Sep 1, 2022 10:44
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They're the size, shape and in a location where I wouldn't be surprised to see split nuts ("bugs"). There's not really anything wrong with that other than being bulky and overkill for that service.
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Sep 1, 2022 15:40
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Motronic posted:They're the size, shape and in a location where I wouldn't be surprised to see split nuts ("bugs"). There's not really anything wrong with that other than being bulky and overkill for that service. After looking up a split nut I see that it's what they used to join the grounds (and the neutral?). I guess under the circumstances you need to tape or otherwise insulate the non-ground connections but since the copper wire is bare anyway you can leave that un-taped?
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Sep 1, 2022 17:36
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Be mindful: that tape is made of pure, sticky black. Like molybdenum grease, except hard to clean.
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Sep 2, 2022 04:34
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 This is something everyone has to learn for themselves. Also use an old blade.
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Sep 2, 2022 05:19
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I found one in the construction trash bag. It was indeed 2 more of those connectors wrapped in about ~40 feet of electrical tape each. I was able to just unpeel it to check. I hope everyone is pleased with the resolution of this mystery.
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Sep 2, 2022 15:00
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Do people still use the vanished cambric, then rubber, then vinyl tape to make monkey nuts like that or are they just big psychotic vinyl wads all the time now
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Sep 2, 2022 15:09
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You're supposed to use rubber tape over a split bolt but you know how that goes in the field.
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Sep 2, 2022 15:48
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It now has a properly installed outlet and I have a stove again. Good riddance to that mess.
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Sep 2, 2022 15:57
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ssb posted:It now has a properly installed outlet and I have a stove again. Good riddance to that mess. Congratulations!
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Sep 2, 2022 16:35
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I've got this old air conditioning receptacle with the horizontal plugs that I'm never going to use. What's the easiest way to get rid of it? Remove the receptacle and put wire nuts on the wires and make sure they're not touching anything, then just put a blank plate over the whole thing? It's got an actual ground which is only a little surprising since everything else doesn't.   This is the regular receptacle right next to it, with a couple taped up wires that don't connect to anything within the box. It looks like this plug was connected to the regular receptacle next to it and disconnected at some point. I don't want to assume it's safe then down the line someone electrocutes themselves on it. It wasn't popping on my voltage checker either but y'know, paranoia. 
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Sep 2, 2022 23:59
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Admiral Joeslop posted:I've got this old air conditioning receptacle with the horizontal plugs that I'm never going to use. What's the easiest way to get rid of it? Remove the receptacle and put wire nuts on the wires and make sure they're not touching anything, then just put a blank plate over the whole thing? It's got an actual ground which is only a little surprising since everything else doesn't. So that's a 240V outlet - there is no possible way it was connected to the outlet next to it *unless* your PO was doing incredibly sketchy things with electricity. Capping the wires and a blank faceplate is definitely the best way to go. I'd imagine this outlet was put in after the rest of the ones were, and that's why it has a ground.
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Sep 3, 2022 00:48
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devicenull posted:So that's a 240V outlet - there is no possible way it was connected to the outlet next to it *unless* your PO was doing incredibly sketchy things with electricity. Cool, thanks. Should I snip the ground wire just in case? Obviously it has nothing to connect to on this end once the receptacle is removed but who knows what's going on in the walls.
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Sep 3, 2022 00:56
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Admiral Joeslop posted:Cool, thanks. Should I snip the ground wire just in case? Obviously it has nothing to connect to on this end once the receptacle is removed but who knows what's going on in the walls. it's more of a moral choice than an electrical one. should you leave enough wire in the box to give some sucker down the line hope that this is a circuit they could make work again or should you cut it to crush the urge to hack something together....
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Sep 3, 2022 01:04
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Extant Artiodactyl posted:it's more of a moral choice than an electrical one. should you leave enough wire in the box to give some sucker down the line hope that this is a circuit they could make work again or should you cut it to crush the urge to hack something together.... This house has been kludged enough, I'm taking a stand.
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Sep 3, 2022 01:21
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Just leave a note in there
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Sep 3, 2022 01:23
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     Am I an idiot or is the white wire on the left not supposed to have power? Is this box wired wrong? When I hook a GFCI up to these wires with the two on the left in the line position, there's no power to it but when I use a regular duplex receptacle it's fine. Admiral Joeslop fucked around with this message at 23:56 on Sep 3, 2022 |
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Sep 3, 2022 23:50
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Do they make 1.406” Decora inserts? Context, I’d like to have a triple gang box with two regular receptacles + a NEMA 6-20… didn’t think about it until I placed the receptacles in the gang box to test fit and realized the 6-20 wasn’t Decora outline. E: nvm, shouldn’t have posted before checking Kyle: https://www.kyleswitchplates.com/1-4-round-outlet-2-gfci-decora-rocker-wall-switch-plates/ Will just have to paint it black. movax fucked around with this message at 05:02 on Sep 4, 2022 |
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Sep 4, 2022 05:00
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Admiral Joeslop posted:Am I an idiot or is the white wire on the left not supposed to have power? Is this box wired wrong? When I hook a GFCI up to these wires with the two on the left in the line position, there's no power to it but when I use a regular duplex receptacle it's fine. When was the house built? It's probably a switch loop. Or your non contact meter is wrong.
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Sep 4, 2022 14:41
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Motronic posted:When was the house built? It's probably a switch loop. Or your non contact meter is wrong. 1951. There's a switch on the wall but it only affects one of the outlets in the living room, and not even the outlet closest to the switch. I opened that box and it had six wires, three each of black and white. Two of the black and one white wire were twisted together and taped with what looked like seventy year old electrical tape so I cut all that crap off and used a wire nut. Two of the sets of wires were hot. The light switch only has two wires so it just gets power from that outlet I guess, which is why it has six wires? Sorry that I don't know all the proper terms 
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Sep 4, 2022 14:52
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Yes, it's a switch loop. I hope you know where all of those wires came from, because you really need to put them back and stop touching the wiring in this place. You do not know enough about wiring to be dealing with residential wiring that is essentially hard mode due to how it's run and th age and type of materials used. Please just stop doing this. Whatever the purpose of what you're attempting here (I assume changing switches) is not a safe DIY job for you in this situation.
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Sep 4, 2022 14:59
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movax posted:Do they make 1.406” Decora inserts? Context, I’d like to have a triple gang box with two regular receptacles + a NEMA 6-20… didn’t think about it until I placed the receptacles in the gang box to test fit and realized the 6-20 wasn’t Decora outline. the principle of a 20 dollar switch plate..if it was me, i would try to drill a hole in a blank decora insert to fit (and probably spend more than 20 dollars in failed attempts) Admiral Joeslop posted:1951. There's a switch on the wall but it only affects one of the outlets in the living room, and not even the outlet closest to the switch. I opened that box and it had six wires, three each of black and white. Two of the black and one white wire were twisted together and taped with what looked like seventy year old electrical tape so I cut all that crap off and used a wire nut. Two of the sets of wires were hot. The light switch only has two wires so it just gets power from that outlet I guess, which is why it has six wires? this is too advanced for just a non-contact tester. the age of these wires, the splicing methods used, the metal boxes and no equipment ground make this project really dangerous. with older wiring the ncvt is prone to false readings and let's say despite your most careful efforts, one of these old wires or splices touches a metal box that's not grounded. any number of metal parts in the room (baseboard heat, water pipes, even wire mesh in old plaster walls) could be live and ringing on the ncvt you're likely thinking is lying. a multimeter will give you a better idea of what is and isn't safe while you wait for the professional
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Sep 4, 2022 16:59
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Yeah I'm leaving all the poo poo for an actual electrician.
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Sep 4, 2022 17:18
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Extant Artiodactyl posted:the principle of a 20 dollar switch plate..if it was me, i would try to drill a hole in a blank decora insert to fit (and probably spend more than 20 dollars in failed attempts) Yep… I’ve tried before for a towel warmer and burned through a few inserts. If I had better machining / mech skills, I’d probably DIY it, but value of time and all that… just need to get it done.
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Sep 4, 2022 18:13
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My 1942 build/2004 reno home was pre-wired for fire and CO sensors. PO left the old detectors but they were very tired, so I bought new versions at HD and connected them to the existing 3-pin wiring using the adaptors they came packaged with. For a week or so everything was fine, then I started getting false alarms from the combo smoke/CO near the kitchen. I assumed it was a battery issue and pulled that down. A day or so later, the two in the bedrooms started to go off in the middle of the night. Thoroughly inspected the property, no fire or smoke - but the internals of both alarms smell of burnt electronics. Got a new battery in the combo detector and put it up since I took the other two down and it did the same thing within an hour - went off for fire when there was none and the internals all smell burnt. Any thoughts as to what might be causing this?
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Sep 5, 2022 21:09
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Did you buy a "Smoke Alarm" or a "Smoke, Alarm"?
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Sep 5, 2022 21:30
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taqueso posted:Did you buy a "Smoke Alarm" or a "Smoke, Alarm"? loving Oxford comma 
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Sep 5, 2022 23:27
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I'm helping a friend with solar. Going to quote my post from another thread.CRUSTY MINGE posted:Keep in mind this is currently temping into place, we'll be polishing the turd more thoroughly in a week or so. Also that this is entirely off grid. So the question is mainly, what the hell do I do with L2 from the transformer, if anything. I'm not kidding when I say no electrician here wants anything to do with solar, even though a lot of homes have it. E: my friend is currently in frustrated "just hook it up" mode but we've already discussed conduit, wire that isn't meant for a dryer, moving the Growatt to another wall to give the transformer and the growatt room. He's hesitant to ripping the drywall down to put up concrete board to mount these onto, but I'll break him eventually. CRUSTY MINGE fucked around with this message at 00:50 on Sep 6, 2022 |
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Sep 6, 2022 00:42
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If you need to ask questions like this why are you the one "helping"? Asking online is not a substitute for actual knowledge when working with dangerous amounts of current and it's even worse when it's for someone else. The biggest issue is that you're asking about this thing/things, but you don' know what you don't know and either do we. This is basically a nightmare liability scenario. Find a qualified local contractor. If you can't your friend should leave it until they can and you shouldn't be involved.
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Sep 6, 2022 01:09
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CRUSTY MINGE posted:I'm helping a friend with solar. Going to quote my post from another thread. i also wouldn't loving touch this thing. you want it to be utility interactive without any sort of transferring? you want to tie it into a jerry-rigged subpanel fed by 10ga 120v on a 240v 125a breaker (bonus, neutral and ground bonded)? no loving way. you're going to melt something or kill a line worker backfeeding onto the grid during an outage e: missed that its entirely off-grid but that panel still says enough for me. find another hack to see it through i guess Extant Artiodactyl fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Sep 6, 2022 |
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Sep 6, 2022 01:10
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Extant Artiodactyl posted:i also wouldn't loving touch this thing. you want it to be utility interactive without any sort of transferring? you want to tie it into a jerry-rigged subpanel fed by 10ga 120v on a 240v 125a breaker (bonus, neutral and ground bonded)? no loving way. you're going to melt something or kill a line worker backfeeding onto the grid during an outage This is entirely off grid. Nearest power pole is two miles away. I'd like to see a lineman get shocked in this situation. Motronic posted:If you need to ask questions like this why are you the one "helping"? Believe me, I'm blue in the face over telling him to literally call every contractor in a 50 mile radius about this for months. I'm basically there to make sure he doesn't make basic fuckups even I would recognize. It took me a long time to convince him to put the batteries in the separate shed. We ran about 60 feet of 1/0 for the battery connections. I would much rather ask the dumb question and not burn his house down than just let him lackadaisically underwire everything and burn it down himself. Which he's pretty determined to wire this to the panel tomorrow regardless of my "help". The panel is currently fed from a 12v harbor freight 1800w inverter. Believe me, this is an improvement.
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Sep 6, 2022 01:20
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CRUSTY MINGE posted:I would much rather ask the dumb question and not burn his house down than just let him lackadaisically underwire everything and burn it down himself. That's great and all I guess but anyone actually answering your questions/engaging with this is an idiot for already stated reasons as well as many more. poo poo like this has no place here.
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Sep 6, 2022 01:25
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