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Swapping the breaker and outlet is a great idea a 14-20 is a great idea. Write inside the outlet cover that it's 10awg home run so future you can know it's safe to upgrade. You can't then branch off 5- series outlets from it, it's an either or thing.
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Mar 25, 2023 19:26
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sorry, should I be using 14-20 instead of 6-20 for some reason if all my machines have 6-20 plugs?
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Mar 25, 2023 21:09
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Fellatio del Toro posted:sorry, should I be using 14-20 instead of 6-20 for some reason if all my machines have 6-20 plugs? The only reason would be future proofing assuming (big rear end-u-me on my part) there is a neutral in the box. Otherwise yeah 6-20 is fine.
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Mar 25, 2023 21:15
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I have a space in my home (a little landing area at the top of my stairs) where there are 4 mechanical switches that control the same overhead lights. I use all of them unfortunately and I hate that they get out of sync. What can I replace these mechanical switches with so that I don't have a bunch of out of sync switches? Is there a switch that is just one single push button that just always toggles it's states? Are there any smart switches that will keep these in sync for me?
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Mar 26, 2023 17:55
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Woodsy Owl posted:I have a space in my home (a little landing area at the top of my stairs) where there are 4 mechanical switches that control the same overhead lights. I use all of them unfortunately and I hate that they get out of sync. What can I replace these mechanical switches with so that I don't have a bunch of out of sync switches? Is there a switch that is just one single push button that just always toggles it's states? Are there any smart switches that will keep these in sync for me? Oh boy. Sounds like you have several “3 way switches” at work, you can google that term to read how they operate. If you are starting from scratch and aren’t familiar with how to navigate replacing 3 way switches with a smart option, or turning some into 2 way switches — paying an electrician or handyman dude $200 to come by and get it all how you want it in 15 minutes is pretty compelling. If you still want to DIY, I’ll let the other threads folks recommend smart model options to make that situation less annoying, you can have certain lights on a schedule or just use your smartphone, etc. and they can have a physical switch too. E: re reading again it’s possible they’re not 3 way switches. I have not had to reduce the number of switches for light fixtures you wish to be synced, so will defer to others for best way to do that. E2: you could also replace all the bulbs with smart bulbs (I like Wyze, Motronic will get angry) then the switches would stay, and you’d use your phone to get them synced. Inner Light fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Mar 26, 2023 |
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Mar 26, 2023 18:01
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I took it to mean 3-way as well, and "out of sync" means you need to flip some up and others down when you're trying to turn them all on or off from that location, because you use the other end of the 3-way switch as well. If that's the case, yeah, smart switches would solve that. Many will require neutrals. You can get decora lookalikes -- as an example (can't super recommend them) Leviton D215S switch + DD0SR remote combo would give decora-like switches that are rocker switches rather than toggles.
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Mar 26, 2023 18:29
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Woodsy Owl posted:I have a space in my home (a little landing area at the top of my stairs) where there are 4 mechanical switches that control the same overhead lights. I use all of them unfortunately and I hate that they get out of sync. What can I replace these mechanical switches with so that I don't have a bunch of out of sync switches? Is there a switch that is just one single push button that just always toggles it's states? Are there any smart switches that will keep these in sync for me? These l4 switches are all in different locations or behind the same faceplates or what?
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Mar 26, 2023 18:36
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Fwiw when I hear mechanical switches I think mechanically timed with the rotating dials and the pins that set on/off.
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Mar 26, 2023 19:01
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KS posted:If that's the case, yeah, smart switches would solve that. Many will require neutrals. You can get decora lookalikes -- as an example (can't super recommend them) Leviton D215S switch + DD0SR remote combo would give decora-like switches that are rocker switches rather than toggles. Do the new rocker style ones from Lutron (new at least for Caseta) have a matching Pico? Picos make multi-location setups a breeze.
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Mar 26, 2023 21:17
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Hmm I didn't actually like the lag of the Picos. For all of their (mostly corrected) faults the Leviton remotes are wired, instantaneous, and include dimming on the remote. Looks like the Lutron Claro switch and Diva dimmer do have wired remotes now, but the remote is missing dimmer control if that matters. Weirdly the claro switch is only 5A which is limiting if you're doing switched outlets.
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Mar 27, 2023 04:09
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There's a light switch on each of the four walls that all control the same fixture. By out-of-sync I'm talking about the dumb thing where you have one light switch flipped up, then you flip up one if the other switches and the circuit is broken. I either want a switches orientation to reflect the state of the circuit (up is on, down is off) always, or just not use switches anymore and use like a single big button that behind-the-scene is just flipping the switch for me (in effect).
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Mar 27, 2023 07:28
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So this sounds like a typical 3-and-4-way switch setup, and in that scenario there is no way to maintain those switches and yet also have it such that "switch state = system state". The idea is that this is for lighting and you can tell whether the light is on by looking at it. 3-way and 4-way switches don't have a true "off" position, they're always connecting an input to one output or the other, and whether that results in "on" or "off" is dependent upon the other switches. If that's your isssue, the only solution is to convert the light fixture to just be controlled by a regular 2-way smart switch, removing all of the other switches from its circuit. Some (at least TP-Link Kasa, which is what I have experience with) smart switch systems will let you set up a rule so that toggling one switch also controls another. I haven't done anything this way (yet) but it seems like it would allow you to install 2-way switches in the other boxes as well which don't actually directly switch anything, but just act as remotes for the 2-way switch controlling the light.
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Mar 27, 2023 16:07
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Woodsy Owl posted:There's a light switch on each of the four walls that all control the same fixture. By out-of-sync I'm talking about the dumb thing where you have one light switch flipped up, then you flip up one if the other switches and the circuit is broken. I either want a switches orientation to reflect the state of the circuit (up is on, down is off) always, or just not use switches anymore and use like a single big button that behind-the-scene is just flipping the switch for me (in effect). Most of the time when people say "out of sync" for 3- and 4-way setups they mean that toggling any one switch doesn't toggle the state of the lights. You have to do some complicated dance to get them to turn on or off, or that one specific switch must be "on" to make the whole system work. In your case if any any state of the switches toggling one switch exactly one time changes the state of the lights from off-to-on or on-to-off then it is working as intended for a N-way setup. You can either learn to live with it or spend a lot of money on retrofitting it to be "smart." If you look closely you will notice that the 3- and 4-way switches don't say "on" or "off" on them, but a regular toggle does. This assumes the older style. Decora style don't say it regardless on the outside. I would highly suggest trying to live with it if it's working rather than spending a bunch of time and money and headache making sure the 2 or 3 "remotes" (in a 3 or 4 way setup) always have power. Maybe the smart switch handles that for you I've never set one up.
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Mar 27, 2023 17:46
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Thank you for the advice friends. I'm starting to give up. The switches are operating as intended, yes. My final question before I give up is: is there a non-smart switch that exists that is just a single push button? My thought here is, instead of having to throw standard switch up or down, a single push button would close the circuit on the first press, open the circuit on the second press, close on the third, etc.
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Mar 27, 2023 18:21
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The Kasa 3-way switches are like that (as are all of their wall-mount switches) in that they look like a Decora rocker but it's just a momentary switch that toggles the state of a relay inside. However, they don't make a 4-way switch, so even if you replaced the two 3-way switches you'd still have two regular 4-way switches in the middle. I suspect the Kasa switches have current monitoring or something built into them because they do still track the actual state of the circuit even if one of the dumb 4-way switches is toggled. This also means that you only need one smart 3-way switch to control any N-way circuit, just have to install it at the start where the first 3-way connects to the line and not the end where the last 3-way connects to the load. If you're not averse to the Internet of H110Hawk posted:I would highly suggest trying to live with it if it's working rather than spending a bunch of time and money and headache making sure the 2 or 3 "remotes" (in a 3 or 4 way setup) always have power. Maybe the smart switch handles that for you I've never set one up. The way I'm thinking of it, you'd need an always-hot line and a neutral everywhere you want a remote switch, but you wouldn't need anything connected to the actual load terminals of the remote switch. You then set up in the app such that toggling switch X also toggles switch Y.
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Mar 27, 2023 18:34
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IOwnCalculus posted:The way I'm thinking of it, you'd need an always-hot line and a neutral everywhere you want a remote switch, but you wouldn't need anything connected to the actual load terminals of the remote switch. You then set up in the app such that toggling switch X also toggles switch Y. In theory you can just have the smart device hookup all the wires and it would feed the correct voltages around to run the remotes.
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Mar 27, 2023 18:37
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H110Hawk posted:In theory you can just have the smart device hookup all the wires and it would feed the correct voltages around to run the remotes. Yeah, I could see that, though in that situation you'd have to give up any compatibility with dumb 4-ways in the middle. My only real experience is with the Kasa switches, which act as drop-in replacements and still work with every other switch on that line being a dumb 3-way or 4-way.
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Mar 27, 2023 19:14
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Woodsy Owl posted:Thank you for the advice friends. I'm starting to give up. The switches are operating as intended, yes. My final question before I give up is: is there a non-smart switch that exists that is just a single push button? My thought here is, instead of having to throw standard switch up or down, a single push button would close the circuit on the first press, open the circuit on the second press, close on the third, etc. You can do this pretty easily with a set of Lutron Caseta. If I recall correctly the switches don't hold position. Is an up click and a down click and return to center. Personally, I wouldn't bother. I do understand the complaint and a cheaper and simpler offer I have is to use all decora rocker switches instead of toggles assuming that's what you have. I noticed my behavior switches from swiping up and down to slapping a portion of the wall for the light and position didn't matter anymore.
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Mar 27, 2023 19:21
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Woodsy Owl posted:Thank you for the advice friends. I'm starting to give up. The switches are operating as intended, yes. My final question before I give up is: is there a non-smart switch that exists that is just a single push button? My thought here is, instead of having to throw standard switch up or down, a single push button would close the circuit on the first press, open the circuit on the second press, close on the third, etc. If you want a pushbutton toggle, sure. There is almost certainly a way to have pushbutton toggles act as 3- and 4-ways. This is not going to be easy or cheap. Lemme see if I can come up with some solution for you. edit: There is no toggle pushbutton that I can find somewhat reasonably that is in the identical state when it is "on" and "off." This is not a typical feature; most people want to be able to see if a switch is on or off. To do what you want to do, you're going to have to have some kind of relay setup with four buttons that can turn that relay on/off. Home automation time! babyeatingpsychopath fucked around with this message at 02:26 on Mar 28, 2023 |
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Mar 28, 2023 02:14
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I have a central vac that was previously operating plugged into an extension cord that was plugged into an outlet on a 15a breaker that did that one outlet, all the outlets in my garage, and all the exterior outlets. I recently got my basement finished, and as part of that I had them install a dedicated outlet next to the central vac in the still unfinished utility room to eliminate the janky extension cord. The electrician who did that chose to put it on a dedicated 20a breaker with a single outlet (so not a duplex), with no gfci or afci protection (which I believe is allowed for a dedicated outlet circuit). I’m adding a fridge to my utility room, which happens to be right next to that dedicated outlet for the central vac. My original plan was to just add another dedicated outlet on a 15a breaker, but my box only has a few breaker spots left and it felt silly to run another dedicated outlet to the exact same spot. It occurred to me I could just swap the single outlet for the central vac for a duplex and plug the fridge and central vac into the dedicated 20a circuit for the central vac, but I’m not sure if there is a reason to avoid doing that? I assume I may risk nuisance trips but I never had a trip when the central vac was on a shared 15a circuit, I’m guessing the 20a should have more then enough headway?
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Mar 28, 2023 02:53
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Woodsy Owl posted:Thank you for the advice friends. I'm starting to give up. The switches are operating as intended, yes. My final question before I give up is: is there a non-smart switch that exists that is just a single push button? My thought here is, instead of having to throw standard switch up or down, a single push button would close the circuit on the first press, open the circuit on the second press, close on the third, etc. Well there are things where you wire in a small RF receiver online with the light then use wireless push button switches to activate the receiver. This US-based company has a battery-free version that looks like it uses some sort of piezoelectric energy harvesting in the switches to power the transmission. They say a single controller can have 25 associated switches  . Good reviews on Amazon but they are NOT cheap. There are also cheaper no-name WHARGARBL brand stuff on Amazon like this that use batteries in the switches but are much cheaper. That one in particular mentions five-way operation. I have absolutely no idea whether they are reliable or not, but I probably wouldn't put them in my house.
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Mar 28, 2023 04:47
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Shifty Pony posted:Well there are things where you wire in a small RF receiver online with the light then use wireless push button switches to activate the receiver. This US-based company has a battery-free version that looks like it uses some sort of piezoelectric energy harvesting in the switches to power the transmission. They say a single controller can have 25 associated switches I used those RunLessWire switches to turn on the yard lights and shed lights from my living room without running new wire. It works great, and not running new wire under concrete or along the outside wall of the house was worth the $200 in my mind. The switches look like Decora, and they sit in a "middle" position, where you can then push the upper half to switch on, and the lower half to switch off. They would accomplish OP's goal of having all 4 switches look the same at all times regardless of the on/off state of the light, for the low low price of ~$320 + tax for the 2-switch+receiver kit and 2 extra switches.
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Mar 28, 2023 05:30
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:If you want a pushbutton toggle, sure. There is almost certainly a way to have pushbutton toggles act as 3- and 4-ways. This is not going to be easy or cheap. Lemme see if I can come up with some solution for you. Honeywell (or other) zwave toggles. They rest in the middle. You flip up or down to turn them on/off/dim. The remotes/3 ways are wired so they will work without automation as manual switches (at least the Honeywells are). (any money spent on this would be better spent addressing the reason this is a fixation)
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Mar 28, 2023 13:55
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Motronic posted:
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Mar 28, 2023 14:06
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If you really want to invoke industrial controls in your room lighting setup a bistable latching relay at the lamp and any number of momentary pushbuttons wired in parallel to the coil will do what you want. That said:Motronic posted:(any money spent on this would be better spent addressing the reason this is a fixation)
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Mar 28, 2023 14:34
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Woodsy Owl posted:Thank you for the advice friends. I'm starting to give up. The switches are operating as intended, yes. My final question before I give up is: is there a non-smart switch that exists that is just a single push button? My thought here is, instead of having to throw standard switch up or down, a single push button would close the circuit on the first press, open the circuit on the second press, close on the third, etc. Go full retro, put the lights on central relays and then use low voltage momentary contacts anywhere you want control. https://www.kyleswitchplates.com/low-voltage-switches-plates/
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Mar 28, 2023 14:46
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Qwijib0 posted:Go full retro, put the lights on central relays and then use low voltage momentary contacts anywhere you want control. I stayed in a house with this and it didn't work well, probably all the switches were worn the hell out. It wasn't that long ago the hospital I was working on was all low voltage switches though, cat5 to every plate.
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Mar 28, 2023 21:58
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My inlaws have a house that's got the Sierra system and it's great. N-way switches, no weird toggle states.
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Mar 29, 2023 02:52
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Can someone use relatively small words to explain the advantages/situations you would use a tandem breaker? I recently replaced the box/outlet our washer and dryer plug into, and the circuit was on this breaker, which is the only one of its kind in the box (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Square-D-Homeline-2-20-Amp-Single-Pole-Tandem-Circuit-Breaker-HOMT2020CP/202353308).
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Mar 29, 2023 19:26
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Blowjob Overtime posted:Can someone use relatively small words to explain the advantages/situations you would use a tandem breaker? When you're out of space for single breakers. That's it. Other than I guess "this tandem is the only thing I have."
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Mar 29, 2023 19:33
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Blowjob Overtime posted:Can someone use relatively small words to explain the advantages/situations you would use a tandem breaker? Space reasons. Many (but not al!) panels have separate limits on the number of spaces and the number of circuits. A normal breaker takes up one space for one circuit, a tandem can handle two in the same space. This is different from a two-pole that takes up two spaces which gets you 240v by using adjacent spaces. There are also quad breakers that are two pole and tandem to get you two 240v circuits in two spaces
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Mar 29, 2023 19:33
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Qwijib0 posted:Space reasons. Many (but not al!) panels have separate limits on the number of spaces and the number of circuits. A normal breaker takes up one space for one circuit, a tandem can handle two in the same space. Motronic posted:When you're out of space for single breakers. That's it. Good to know, thanks. There are two breaker boxes, and this is in the second one which is only about half full, so no physical space concerns. I figured "This tandem is the only thing I have" was in the realm of possibilities, especially in consideration of other PO choices.
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Mar 29, 2023 19:50
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Also, be aware that some panels only accept tandem breakers in certain slots.
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Mar 29, 2023 21:20
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Just gonna leave this here... Gotta trigger Motronic.  In B&H's defense, it's NOT reversible, so it hopefully won't helicopter itself out of the socket... randomidiot fucked around with this message at 22:43 on Apr 1, 2023 |
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Apr 1, 2023 22:41
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 The easy way to power outbuildings. I don't understand why people dig long trenches.
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Apr 1, 2023 22:57
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STR posted:Just gonna leave this here... Gonna buy 50 of these for some cafe light stringers
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Apr 6, 2023 16:02
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That reminds me I should really fix the title on this thread.
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Apr 6, 2023 16:16
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By title do you mean — Hopefully it won’t helicopter itself out of the socket?
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Apr 6, 2023 22:14
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guys when I turn on the light in my garage everything else in my neighborhood dims, is this a problem?? stole this from reddit. It is... amazing.
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Apr 7, 2023 13:17
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I have an old Halloween inflatable that I'm considering using one of those lights in to replace some old sketchy repair wiring in it. I can't imagine just how eye-scorching FIVE of them are. Said inflatable: 
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Apr 7, 2023 14:01
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