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Shifty Pony posted:All wired: nice work, the clips you're looking for are the 3/8ths flex ones  klein meters take a beating and are reasonably priced. i've heard iffy things about fluke meters since the company changed hands. haven't used one of Ideal's meter and i'm not willing to take the coin flip on milwaukee's non-power tools.
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Jan 12, 2024 22:44
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right arm posted:wired the 50 amp inlet (in the dark lol) for my generator so that my wife doesn’t have to run extension cords this weekend while it’s 2° and the power inevitably goes out lol Yeah. Generac guys came out to replace one of my powerlink modules. Said everything was good to go. Power was out for 10 hours yesterday and the battery didn't kick in. Wife called Generac. "Your system isn't on the internet, we can't do anything." Yeah, guys. We know. The cell phone towers only have power for four hours after an outage. We're calling you on 1g voice-only because that saves battery.... I shouldn't have gone with Generac. Shifty Pony posted:And buttoned up for the future: Write the circuit number on top, too. SUPER helpful later. For DMM, anything autoranging at a big-box store is better than HF. I have an Ideal and a Greenlee, as well as a Fluke, and a cubic foot of HF meters (half digital, half moving-coil). The HF meters are sprinkled everywhere in vehicles, garage, etc, kinda like lighters. If you find one and it works, bonus. If not, no loss. I know exactly where the Fluke and Ideal are. Greenlee stays in the tool pouch. I'm 80% sure the Greenlee and Ideal product lines are made in the same factory and wear different colored plastic skins. babyeatingpsychopath fucked around with this message at 23:01 on Jan 12, 2024 |
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Jan 12, 2024 22:55
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Yeah. Generac guys came out to replace one of my powerlink modules. Said everything was good to go. Power was out for 10 hours yesterday and the battery didn't kick in. Wife called Generac. "Your system isn't on the internet, we can't do anything." What a loving joke. This is why I ostensibly want my system not to have internet access. "Oh, no, I don't have wifi at my house. Sorry." Is there literally no local troubleshooting they could walk you through?
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Jan 13, 2024 00:56
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H110Hawk posted:What a loving joke. This is why I ostensibly want my system not to have internet access. "Oh, no, I don't have wifi at my house. Sorry." Is there literally no local troubleshooting they could walk you through? No displays/no meters but a couple cheap sensors and a $2 wifi SoC is way cheaper than doing things "the right way" for consumer goods.
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Jan 13, 2024 01:06
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Motronic posted:No displays/no meters but a couple cheap sensors and a $2 wifi SoC is way cheaper than doing things "the right way" for consumer goods. Oh sure. I get it. But for fucks sake. Like, at least give me some blink-code LEDs and a couple of little buttons to push. Even my furnace has that, for now. I hate technology so much.
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Jan 13, 2024 01:12
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H110Hawk posted:What a loving joke. This is why I ostensibly want my system not to have internet access. "Oh, no, I don't have wifi at my house. Sorry." Is there literally no local troubleshooting they could walk you through? My wife was checking settings and stuff on the inverters and the guy just couldn't work out how to get to where he needed to be in his script without checking the settings himself in his little app onscreen. Fundamental inability for the tech support guy to actually know what's going on instead of following the script.
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Jan 13, 2024 01:33
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Write the circuit number on top, too. SUPER helpful later. I re-labeled the circuit in the panel:  It said "Computer Rec" before. I probably should number the circuits and jot the numbers on poo poo.
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Jan 13, 2024 01:40
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 Here's a good example of what not to do. I'm staying in a place tonight that has this extension cord stapled and screwed to the wall next to this bathtub. I think the pump for the tub jets is plugged into the back side of it through a hole drilled in the wall. The other end of this thing is plugged into a non-GFCI outlet in a bedroom, which I'd almost guarantee is on a non-GFCI breaker. This place also has two ceiling fans on dimmers for some reason.
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Jan 13, 2024 02:58
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the sheer amount of nuisance calls and equipment that just did not god drat do the one thing it's supposed to do with generac service calls...my god. if you had helpful support techs or field techs/engineers they were gone within months. they gave installers a complete run-around on the PV issues and never issued a recall. take your chances elsewhere imho
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Jan 13, 2024 03:16
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I know that you are talking about PV/battery systems but Generac service nightmare stories extend into the genset space and were a significant part of why I went with a Kohler generator. For some inscrutable reason Generac dropped their generators to a 5 minute exercise cycle, with no option to adjust the time. Even in a warm area that's not enough time to clear the moisture out of the oil. Kohler defaults to 20 minutes weekly and allows you to tweak time and exercise type up to running 30 minutes full speed with full load transfer.
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Jan 13, 2024 04:03
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Our two year old Generac at work developed a coolant leak that kept it from kicking on. Just seems like a baffling thing to have already failed.
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Jan 13, 2024 05:20
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The reason I went with Generac is because I worked with their industrial power stuff and it was ROCK SOLID and had amazing customer support and technical help. I think the consumer division of Generac is a completely separate company wearing the skin as a suit.
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Jan 13, 2024 12:28
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:The reason I went with Generac is because I worked with their industrial power stuff and it was ROCK SOLID and had amazing customer support and technical help. I knew a lot of people who worked at the factory, I think its where Amazon learned how to churn through people. Average experience level was 2 weeks and topped out around 6 months, good or bad you would get fired before the benefits kicked in.
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Jan 13, 2024 15:14
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hello, i’m back with more questions! last time, we discovered that some parts of a 20a circuit were run with 14 instead of 12. happy to report that i reran these successfully. thanks for the help. while i was in the attic and have the wall open, i found a run that only powers 3 gfci outlets that are all currently unused, so i split off to add my 2new outlets (1 gfci, one regular on the load) on the same wall. next: there are 4 of these in my ceiling: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lithonia-Lighting-LED-Strip-Light-Actual-48-in-x-2-62-in-x-2-16-in/1000704806 these are wired to three prong plugs, plugged into outlets, through conduit, into a work box where they are tied to the 3 way switch. i want to get rid of the conduit and plugs and just wire them. there are knockouts in the top of the light fixture, but what does that transition into the attic look like? do i need to get a box for each or is it just a hole in the drywall big enough for strain relief into the frame, which is grounded? also: these switches are only rated for 15 amps, but googling suggests this is fine because the load will not exceed 15a for the lights. is this correct or should i just upgrade them to 20a?
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Jan 13, 2024 17:32
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Faustian Bargain posted:hello, i’m back with more questions! Hole in the drywall for the cable clamp is fine. NEC 404.14 posted:(A) Alternating-Current General-Use Snap Switch. A form of general-use snap switch suitable only for use on ac circuits for controlling the following: So, you're fine with putting a 15A switch as long as your load is considered inductive or resistive and less than 15A, and just plain fine as long as your load is <7A otherwise. IF you kept the plugs and outlets, then you'd be REQUIRED to have a 20A switch!
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Jan 13, 2024 18:58
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great thanks. i’m just inheriting some of this stuff from previous owner, makes me wonder what other weird stuff is hiding somewhere. …and trying to make sure the next owner isn’t going to inherit a bunch of wrong stuff from me.
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Jan 13, 2024 19:38
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Motronic posted:Outdoor motion sensors are a thing that has been solved since the 80s, but looking around based on your question led me to see that in the retail space this has been taken over with cheap garbage and iot gadgets. I hate RAB. It is what was installed for outdoor driveway lighting (w/ motion sensors) at my condo, and in the past 18 months, I've replaced 40% of the fixtures and both motion sensors (including of that model). Manufacture dates on the fixtures of the mid 2010s. Is it a brand that used to be good and then went to poo poo? No signs of water intrusion, I think the LED drivers failed and some of them I tore into to try and repair had worse solder joints than I had seen in AliExpress hardware. Very strange.
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Jan 13, 2024 20:05
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Shifty Pony posted:All wired: What is the key word / search term for that enclosure? Looks nice!
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Jan 13, 2024 20:07
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"LED power supply NEMA enclosure" will turn up a bunch of them. The on I used in the photo is this one from the same manufacturer as the lights and power supply I used. I think if I were doing it again I would get the enclosure with integrated encapsulated power supply, but this time I wasn't entirely sure where I was going to put it until I got everything but the enclosure together.
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Jan 14, 2024 00:41
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Stack Machine posted:
Welp, almost certainly not a GFCI breaker given it happily powers this lamp with the neutral on a protection ground.  This is a vacation rental so I might just leave this unplugged when I leave for the sake of the next guests.
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Jan 14, 2024 20:06
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movax posted:I hate RAB. It is what was installed for outdoor driveway lighting (w/ motion sensors) at my condo, and in the past 18 months, I've replaced 40% of the fixtures and both motion sensors (including of that model). Manufacture dates on the fixtures of the mid 2010s. Is it a brand that used to be good and then went to poo poo? No signs of water intrusion, I think the LED drivers failed and some of them I tore into to try and repair had worse solder joints than I had seen in AliExpress hardware. Very strange. RAB is what a contractor installed at my parents house for their side yard (people cut through from the alley often). Stepdad supplied it, so no warranty. A week in, it took a poo poo and just cycled on and off constantly, no matter what you did to the switches on it. Fine, went to Orange Box. RAB? Bah whatever. A week in, the new one took a poo poo and just cycled on and off. Exchanged it. SAME loving poo poo. Exchanged again. Same poo poo, gave up. There's now just a cheap outdoor fixture w/photocell with a camera next to it. Couldn't find any issue with the electrical work except the contractor ran 14 gauge wire from the inside switch to the fixture (20A circuit, they replaced a single switch in a bedroom with a double for it). No loving idea why we went through 4 motions in as many weeks. That's the ONLY thing that never lasts there.
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Jan 17, 2024 21:53
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Motronic posted:No displays/no meters but a couple cheap sensors and a $2 wifi SoC is way cheaper than doing things "the right way" for consumer goods. Man, all they gotta do is this but put a status page on a basic webserver on the device so you can poke it with a cell phone browser if you don't have Wi-Fi available. If only they gave enough of a poo poo to do so.
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Jan 17, 2024 22:05
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kastein posted:Man, all they gotta do is this but put a status page on a basic webserver on the device so you can poke it with a cell phone browser if you don't have Wi-Fi available. If only they gave enough of a poo poo to do so. I'm confused. How do I turn my customers data into a revenue stream if they're not connected to my cloud servers?
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Jan 17, 2024 23:21
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kastein posted:Man, all they gotta do is this but put a status page on a basic webserver on the device so you can poke it with a cell phone browser if you don't have Wi-Fi available. If only they gave enough of a poo poo to do so. their clean energy stuff works like this
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Jan 18, 2024 03:52
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I was recently without power for 4 days and never want to go through that again. I'm researching options to at least run our gas furnace off of our small portable generator (basically a Honda 2200i clone). I'm assuming that if my furnace is on a 20 amp breaker that i'll also need a 20 amp transfer switch? If so, I think this'll fit the bill nicely for just running one circuit, right? https://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Controls-Corporation-TF201W-Generators/dp/B00AHTWM9Q/ It might be nice to be able to switch on/off other circuits, but it's been dificult to find something like this 4 breaker switch in 20 amp with a regular 3 prong inlet port. This is close, but only 15 amps: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C535GCZ?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_KJ18CE3V9TG24YF4EZ5G&language=en-US#customerReviews Also, i'm going to hire an electrician to install this, I just wanted to do a little research before I called them up.
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Jan 18, 2024 18:23
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frogbs posted:I was recently without power for 4 days and never want to go through that again. I'm researching options to at least run our gas furnace off of our small portable generator (basically a Honda 2200i clone). I'm assuming that if my furnace is on a 20 amp breaker that i'll also need a 20 amp transfer switch? the transfer switches that do like 4 to 10 circuits are generally all 30A inlets. might be worth getting a second one of those generators with the parallel kit or selling it to get the next size up. that amazon listing...is strange. that's an off the shelf pro/tran switch being sold as part of a portable battery backup system? furnace is likely much less than 1000w so if it's on a 20A breaker then it's likely due to other things on that circuit so you wouldn't want to kick it down to 15A to fit the transfer switch's breaker. Extant Artiodactyl fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Jan 18, 2024 |
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Jan 18, 2024 23:12
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Extant Artiodactyl posted:furnace is likely much less than 1000w so if it's on a 20A breaker then it's likely due to other things on that circuit so you wouldn't want to kick it down to 15A to fit the transfer switch's breaker. Furnaces include the forced air unit typically so you're sizing for inrush of the blower. Mine is a dedicated 20a as well.
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Jan 18, 2024 23:32
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frogbs posted:I was recently without power for 4 days and never want to go through that again. I'm researching options to at least run our gas furnace off of our small portable generator (basically a Honda 2200i clone). I'm assuming that if my furnace is on a 20 amp breaker that i'll also need a 20 amp transfer switch? just get an extension cord for the furnace to run to the gen. you can probably fit it under the weatherstripping for the door. I ran mine through my cat door as a test before I wired my interlock and inlet since I wasn’t sure if my ng meter would feed both my 13000w gen and my furnace make sure it’s a 20amp cord and you can save yourself both $120 for the switch and $$$ for having an electrician install it
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Jan 18, 2024 23:37
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right arm posted:just get an extension cord for the furnace to run to the gen. you can probably fit it under the weatherstripping for the door. I ran mine through my cat door as a test before I wired my interlock and inlet since I wasn’t sure if my ng meter would feed both my 13000w gen and my furnace This is precisely what I was going to recommend.
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Jan 18, 2024 23:48
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Extant Artiodactyl posted:the transfer switches that do like 4 to 10 circuits are generally all 30A inlets. might be worth getting a second one of those generators with the parallel kit or selling it to get the next size up. that amazon listing...is strange. that's an off the shelf pro/tran switch being sold as part of a portable battery backup system? Thank you for the info! I think at this point my choice is either: 1.) Get a single circuit transfer switch rated for 20a just for the furnace: https://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Controls-Corporation-TF201W-Generators/dp/B00AHTWM9Q/ 2.) Get a larger generator and a transfer switch for 4 or 6 circuits with a 30a inlet. Generator: https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-WGen9500DF-Generator-9500-Watts-Gas-Powered-Electric/dp/B07Q1DLKBG/ Transfer switch (edit, this might actually not be the best choice for this generator, but something like this) https://www.homedepot.com/p/Reliance-Controls-30-Amp-250-Volt-7500-Watt-Non-Fuse-6-Circuit-Transfer-Switch-Kit-3006HDK/202213700 I'm a little leery of upgrading to a much bigger generator because it's going to use a heck of a lot more fuel and be harder for my girlfriend to set everything up. The little portable unit is pretty efficient and easy to move around. right arm posted:just get an extension cord for the furnace to run to the gen. you can probably fit it under the weatherstripping for the door. I ran mine through my cat door as a test before I wired my interlock and inlet since I wasn’t sure if my ng meter would feed both my 13000w gen and my furnace The furnace is hardwired to the panel and doesn't have an existing inlet on it unfortuantely. I also wanted to set it up so that we don't have to go down into the crawlspace to hook it up. Would prefer to do everything from the garage where the panel is located, or even have an inlet port on the outside of the garage to make it super easy. frogbs fucked around with this message at 01:29 on Jan 19, 2024 |
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Jan 19, 2024 00:52
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frogbs posted:Thank you for the info! I think at this point my choice is either: I vote bigger generator and bigger inlet. champion makes a trifuel inverter that isn’t much more than that westinghouse for $1200 and probably has a dual fuel for even less. or you could get a dual fuel predator from harbor freight and have a better warranty than both. running an inlet and an interlock is what I’d prefer over a transfer switch imo
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Jan 19, 2024 02:27
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Yeah, this is a buy once cry once situation; the multi-circuit transfer switch isn't going to be a huge amount more effort to install. Also, I think I'd probably trust a HF inverter generator more than whatever is getting a Westinghouse sticker slapped on it.
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Jan 19, 2024 02:44
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right arm posted:I vote bigger generator and bigger inlet. champion makes a trifuel inverter that isn’t much more than that westinghouse for $1200 and probably has a dual fuel for even less. or you could get a dual fuel predator from harbor freight and have a better warranty than both. running an inlet and an interlock is what I’d prefer over a transfer switch imo Ugh, y’all might be right. Thinking about this more, I’ve already got natural gas for the furnace, I could probably have someone run a line to wherever we’re gonna put the generator and just not have to worry about fuel (as long as natural gas is till available!).
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Jan 19, 2024 02:58
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In a hilarious stroke of luck my power just went out AGAIN. Really wish I had listened to my father and ordered the single port and just installed it when I had the chance a few days ago. It’s pretty icy and windy, I think a transformer blew this time.right arm posted:I vote bigger generator and bigger inlet. champion makes a trifuel inverter that isn’t much more than that westinghouse for $1200 and probably has a dual fuel for even less. or you could get a dual fuel predator from harbor freight and have a better warranty than both. running an inlet and an interlock is what I’d prefer over a transfer switch imo Why do you prefer the interlock and inlet over a transfer switch? The interlock looks sort of janky to me, but maybe I don’t fully understand the difference.
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Jan 19, 2024 03:19
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frogbs posted:Thank you for the info! I think at this point my choice is either: My personal favorite right now is a 240V/30A L14-30P generator inlet, some 10/3WG cable of the correct sort for your jurisdiction (usually NM-B but may require conduit for example Chicago), 30A tandem breaker for your panel, and the correct generator interlock kit to prevent the generator and main from being turned on simultaneously. Finding that last piece can be somewhat annoying due to unclear ad copy by the sellers of the kits but they're available for most common panels. I prefer the inlet and interlock over the multi circuit transfer switches because it leaves what gets powered and what doesn't up to my choices at the time of the power outage rather than hardwired at install time. If I want to turn off everything for an hour to run the clothes dryer on low, because the power has been out for a week and I need to run laundry, I can do that.
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Jan 19, 2024 03:25
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frogbs posted:In a hilarious stroke of luck my power just went out AGAIN. Really wish I had listened to my father and ordered the single port and just installed it when I had the chance a few days ago. It’s pretty icy and windy, I think a transformer blew this time. like the previous poster I prefer to be able to pick and choose what breakers I have on (all of them since I have a 13000w and 50amp inlet lol) rather than having to wire a transfer switch. wiring a single 50amp breaker and drilling some holes in my panel cover for the interlock was maybe 30’ worth of work and pretty hard to gently caress up gen interlock will sell you the interlock you need. they’ll even ID you the correct one from photos if you can’t figure it out. I got mine from there and it fits my panel perfectly
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Jan 19, 2024 18:12
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I did two single circuit transfer switches. Initially I just did furnace for convenience, and then later did one for fridge since I now have to keep the kiddo's insulin cold. Luckily, some weirdo put the dining room outlet on the fridge circuit, so I have at least one usable outlet. I had gotten an okayish generator from Tractor Supply previously, so everything has been sort of incremental "just in case". Once we're done shoveling money into the daycare machine, likely doing whole house auto failover generator, since the wife works in incident management. I wish I had been able to source a multi fuel generator, but I bought it right before a prior "major snowstorm of epic proportions" and didn't have choices. What I need to do when it's not lovely out is install an in wall pass through that runs to the breaker panel area.
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Jan 19, 2024 19:17
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The mental health difference between flashlights/lanterns and working overhead lights is well worth the extra fuss to install the interlock and inlet imo. But as I've discussed in this thread before I have a not so fun experience with power outages and my opinions probably don't match everyone else's. Put the generator on a little wheel cart and have your girlfriend have a few trial runs setting it up and firing it up. Being able to hook it into the house gas is much safer than having to mess with gasoline, but remember that gas pipe work isn't cheap.
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Jan 19, 2024 21:52
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Can I ask a low voltage question in here? I'm looking to run a data line (or maybe two) inside my house. It seems relatively easy, but looking for any advice or things to watch out for. Essentially my issue is that I'm getting a fiber line run into my house, but they need to put it in the basement. The previous owners had a coax cable run onto the 2nd floor where my office is, but the installer isn't really able to follow the same path because it goes up and over my roof which is currently covered with snow. So my thought is I put my modem in the basement and then run a CAT6 cable to a data port on the 2nd floor where my stuff is now so I can still keep my router in the same spot. I want to keep it there because this is where my desktop is and it's also close to my wife's office, so it's where most of our internet use is happening. It's also directly above my living room for any TV streaming needs. Leaving the router in the basement isn't the end of the world, but it would be better on the 2nd floor. I have a path to fish a line from my basement to this spot, so that shouldn't be a huge hassle. I can get from the basement up next to a duct chase up to the attic and then back down to where I want the outlet. There's actually an existing phone jack here and I'm hoping I could possibly just reuse that and pull the ethernet cable by using the old phone line. I need to trace this phone line to the basement though, so far I haven't found where it comes through. I've done some minor power wiring before, but this is a little different.
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Jan 19, 2024 21:58
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You have already got it. Wrap the whole thing in some scrap bubble wrap over the end of it to give yourself something soft as your leading edge. Heavy on the tape. Don't scrimp on the terminations if you're doing keystones. If you can pull one, pull two. And pull one to your TV area while you're at it (Office -> TV) then you can wire your roku ultra/apple tv or whatever. Basically be real careful going by your ductwork so you don't tear the ducts. Don't be afraid to cut a little inspection hole if you get caught up, measure it with your fish tape and use either a drill bit + boroscope or cut out a nice little square to help yourself along. Then patch it using that very square. Consider if you want to just use pre-term'd wire of sufficient length.
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Jan 19, 2024 22:19
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