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Meltathon posted:For electricians: Adding a timer is not tricky. The first thing you need to do is figure out WHERE to put the thing. There are timers made that replace the light switch, so that's always an option. The sensors will probably have two wires going into them. If you remove the sensor, you should just be able to wire-nut the two wires together to have the lights always on. First thing to do is make sure all the lights are on the same circuit and identify that. Then turn the circuit off, remove all the sensors, install (and program) the timer, then turn the circuit back on.
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Feb 24, 2008 18:37
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GWBBQ posted:My house is about 50-60 years old and has an old oil heating system. My dad always said that the control for it was 110v, and we always got thermostats that never really worked right (one even caught fire!) The guy at Home Depot said that there should be a transformer in the system that steps it down to 24v. Not knowing who to believe (and my dad died years ago so I can't really get a usable answer out of him) I pulled out my multimeter and started poking contacts with the thermostat both on and off. It's a 4-wire thing, and after testing every combination with the furnace both on and off, I finally got a reading other than 0 between two contacts; Which contacts are you poking to get 28v? Some oil-fired furnaces use a thermocouple to power the thermostat, so the voltage on those gets weird. The thermocouple only puts out tiny amperage and can't do very much; your multimeter may not be able to read its voltage under normal conditions with a scale that reads 28v. It is also possible to have 110V control, 12V control, and 24V control. You should go to your furnace and poke around near the wiring section to see if you can find the nameplate to get the voltage/current rating.
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Mar 7, 2008 23:11
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Schizoguy posted:That's what I do each time it happens, but it happens pretty often. There's probably some other underlying problem, but in the meantime, I was looking for a more permanent solution. In the spirit of "you can't possibly break it worse," go ahead and replace the chain with fishing line like you want. If it doesn't work out, put a chain back. It's not like you're going to break the bank with fishing line.
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Mar 28, 2008 10:57
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kri kri posted:I am painting my basement. I need to put on a layer of Kilz then use my texture paint. Are the power roller things really worth it? In my experience, the setup and cleanup time from a power roller doesn't make it so great for one (even large) room. Rent a power sprayer; a little bit faster, but significantly less overhead.
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Apr 22, 2008 20:08
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Alloyed posted:It is sort of a... roaring noise, I guess. Not squeaky, sounds like there may be some rattling involved. I will take a look at the bearings and see if that is the issue. If the noise goes away, great. If not, at least it smells good.
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Apr 27, 2008 03:24
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The Aphasian posted:Would a headphone splitter with individual volume controls (example) work "the other way" as a cheap two channel mic mixer for podcasting, or would the two channels combine into a terrible peaking death if the two people accidentally spoke at the same time? Probably the opposite. Neither one would be loud enough to hear. Your computer is driving the mics, and splitting the driving voltage may not deliver enough current. Depending on how that's wired, it may not pass voltage to the mics at all, or only to one, or not enough to either.
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May 1, 2008 03:11
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utopian180 posted:My bike, it-a break-a! Flip the bike over and spin the back wheel. Is it rubbing? If so, listen to discover where. If it's out of center, realign it so it's in the center.
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May 9, 2008 20:53
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Richard Noggin posted:In the bathroom I'm remodeling, the existing toilet flange is 1/4" below the height of the tile. I bought a 1/4" closet flange spacer (http://www.oatey.com/Plumber/Shared/ProductGroupDetail/107/Closet+Flange+Spacer.html). I can't for the life of me find any info on whether or not I should run a bead of silicone around the inner lip of the flange (between the wall of the existing flange and the lip of the spacer). Does anyone know? Better safe than sorry. I'd put a bead of the sealant down. At worst, you can scrape off whatever doesn't fit.
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Jun 29, 2008 05:16
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Blowupologist posted:I like using my 18V DeWalt cordless tools, but I'm also a gearhead and put them through a lot of different tasks. If you're doing traditional household stuff then you're pretty much good for anything. Look for higher voltages if you're going cordless; according to their website Home Depot sells a 12V cordless Ryobi drill for $50. In my experience Black and Decker also make very good consumer grade tools. Target has a $100 Black and Decker "Home Project Kit" which includes an 18V drill and a bunch of hand tools. I would stay away from the 12V ryobi; I had one and the brand-new battery lasts about 45 minutes when doing light drilling. I got an 18V Contractor's Milwaukee and haven't looked back. That Black and Decker kit, depending on which one you get, is really good. The one with the drill and saw and tiny tool X (light, handheld screwdriver) is a really good deal for home/condo owners. The kit my friend picked up even had a box of drillbits and box of misc screws and nuts and washers and whatnot. It was great.
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Jul 2, 2008 03:45
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bosko posted:In my apartment the Air Conditions fuse seems to be constantly flipping off. Is it perhaps being over worked? How long does it run before the breaker trips? If this is something new, you really should get an HVAC/electrician out there to look at the thing. It's probably loose/corroded connections.
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Jul 4, 2008 04:56
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FYAD KNIGHT posted:Does anyone know if there is an off-delay timer that can be used in a domestic setting? I will be using it for an exhaust fan and I am looking for something that will run for 10-20 mins when switched off. I did a demolition of a dormitory that had one of these in each bathroom. I used to have a box of them, but they disappeared in the move. They were Tyco Electrics Time Delay Relays. There's a whole great big product selector at http://catalog.tycoelectronics.com. I think they're about fifty bucks per and require a relay socket base as well. They were pretty easy to mount and use.
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Jul 15, 2008 05:14
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Carousel posted:I am an apprentice electrician but do not get to deal with phones much. So i was wondering if someone could give me a few tips before I go cutting into my line. Yes, you can. It's convention to use colors in a specific way when doing comms. 1st pair is blue, then orange, then green, then brown. The white with colored stripe is "tip" with the color being "ring." I don't know how to wire 610 sockets, but that information should get you going fine.
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Jul 21, 2008 12:25
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Soup and a Sandwich posted:After using a bottle as an outdoor ash tray, we managed to spill it inside my house, causing a horrific stain with a nasty smell. Any tips on removing this asap? Put straight borax down on the stain while it's wet then vacuum it up. Should come out smelling like nothing.
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Jul 25, 2008 23:22
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greatn posted:My toilet doesn't fill up enough. The stopper plug is not quite right for that toilet. If it's seating early, you won't get as much water in the bowl. If there's a hole in the top of the plug, make it smaller. If not, glue something mildy floaty to the stopper to keep it open longer. If you get too much water, take some floaty bits off.
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Jul 30, 2008 03:46
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greatn posted:The chain between the handle and the stopper is not taut. Would shortening the chain fix it, making it stay open longer? probably not. making the chain shorter (and thereby lighter) might help. That chain just pulls the stopper open. Is the toilet not flushing properly, or do you just not like the look of the amount of water in the bowl?
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Jul 31, 2008 03:40
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EssOEss posted:I bought a newly built apartment recently and noticed something odd when doing my checkup rounds. Three light fixture cables, all on the same circuit, have a voltage even when the switches are turned off. You have a loose neutral somewhere, almost certainly on a different circuit. Your house wiring has "pairs" of circuits that both have 120v to neutral. When the neutral on one of those fails, it goes through the circuit on the "other side" to get to ground, showing wierd voltage drops across components. Call a professional electrician; this one may take some serious troubleshooting to solve. Most likely, what happened is someone either forgot to hook a neutral up or there's a bad joint under a wire nut. If it's very newly built, I'd call the company that built it and explain the problem. It's possible that the exact electrician that wired your apartment remembers all the pain-in-the-rear end joints he had to make and knows which one it could be. If you're feeling lucky, start in your panel and work backwards towards devices. Look for neutrals not connected. Start checking voltage between neutral and ground. There should never be more than a tiny tiny voltage between neutral and ground. You can turn off breakers in the panel to see when the voltage on neutral in your lighting circuit drops, too. Good luck.
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Aug 11, 2008 12:13
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Delivery McGee posted:What's the best way to strip paint off concrete? I rented a (really disturbingly) high-pressure sprayer for a few hours to strip paint off of concrete. There were only very very small patches of paint left over after that that I feathered out with a spare brick before repainting. An angle grinder and wire wheel would take forever, but probably work better.
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Aug 16, 2008 05:51
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quadreb posted:Looking for the best (legal, OTC) local anesthetic to be applied topically and (inevitably) subdermally for some quick DIY surgery. Any suggestions? Lidocaine and Benzocaine are the most common OTC anaesthetics. You can buy Neosporin with Lidocaine in it and it works pretty well for cuts; it has very little numbing agent in it; just enough to take the burn out of deep cuts. Benzocaine works a bit quicker, and is usually sold with aloe and moisturizers in the sunburn remedy area; but I've seen it as just a straight Benzocaine spray, too. Both work on direct contact with nerve endings, so you can't dope up an area and expect more than the skin to lose feeling. Orajel (for canker sores, etc) is a benzocaine gel.
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Aug 20, 2008 12:26
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ashgromnies posted:I have a new couch and chair that are pretty light and they have these little 1" plastic nubs on the bottom that hold them up that love to slide all over my wood floor. Staple the rubber stuff to the bottom of the couch. When it eventually wears through, do it again. That, or take the plastic nubs off and put rubber nubs on.
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Aug 23, 2008 17:52
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ZeeBoi posted:Any electricians here? It's almost certainly a transformer of some kind. Do you have a doorbell? Sometimes the transformers for those can get noisy just before they fail.
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Sep 25, 2008 03:21
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redheadgeek posted:I make leather masks: Try finding a wooden wigmaker's block. It's a wooden head. Easy to pin to, and safe up to 500 degrees or so (maybe only 450). If that doesn't work, silicone rubber is probably a good bet for temperature resistance.
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Sep 26, 2008 03:50
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drchipotle posted:Is there an easy/smart way to fabricate a custom spring? Like an inch long and 1/4 inch around? Unless you live seriously out in the middle of nowhere, you should be able to find a place that has springs. Auto parts stores and hardware stores are great. If all else fails, you can take a spring out of a ballpoint pen. Those things have been fixing all manner of slightly broken household and garage items for YEARS.
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Oct 8, 2008 03:37
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Back_From_Termina posted:I'm building a sun dial but can't seem to find the supplies I want. I'd like to build it out of .5" thick cherry wood, but places like Home Depot and OSH only seem to sell lovely plywood and such. Where should I go to get the good stuff? Try woodfinder. They've got an embarrassment of sources, listed by state/province, city, and wood. babyeatingpsychopath fucked around with this message at 05:36 on Oct 14, 2008 |
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Oct 14, 2008 05:31
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wigtrade.cc posted:The bulb part of my light bulb just fell off after making an abortion joke Turn the light off. Cut a potato in half, and jam it over the filamenty bits. Unscrew per normal.
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Oct 27, 2008 05:20
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BrokenDynasty posted:My bathroom has a ceiling light and ceiling vent/fan. Currently the light switch (single switch) turns on/off the ceiling light but not the vent/fan. I removed the lightswitch plate and there are 4 wires: red, white, black and copper. The black and white are connected to the switch, and the copper is hooked up on the side (assuming that is to ground it). The red wire is loose with electrical tape over the end. Probably, yes. Before you do so, open up the light/fan box and make sure the red wire is hooked up at the other end, too. If they're following code (not likely) then the white wire coming into the switch should be the hot wire, and the black and red should be switched. Of course, the white should be "permanently marked" not white (i.e. wrapped in black tape or something). Use your handy meter to see where power is coming from, make a pigtail on that wire to your two switches, then send the switched power back to your light/fan. Inside the junction box for the light/fan, there should be a black/white/bare cable and a black/white/red/bare cable. The black/white/bare should be coming from your breaker box; black is hot, white is neutral, bare is ground. The black from the breaker should be joined to the white in the black/white/red, and that white should be taped or marked. The white from the black/white/bare should be made up to the white in the fan/light. The black in the black/white/red should be on the light, and the red should be on the fan. All the bare wires should be connected to any obvious green wires and each other, as well. It goes without saying that you should have the breaker off to do the wiring, but you're going to need it on at some point to check where power is; be careful. If any of this seems too complicated, hire an electrician.
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Nov 12, 2008 13:20
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hockeyfrog posted:This is more of a "break it fast" question, but does anyone know of a good way to saw through sticks of RAM? I am looking to make assorted sizes of tiles from them... Hacksaw works great. Bandsaw if you can get one. Use something with >24tpi; 32tpi worked great.
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Nov 29, 2008 04:54
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Buy a replacement lamp harp. I've seen them for sale at K-Mart, but you can probably get one for less than a dollar at a dollar store, or maybe even way less (with new [to you] lamp included) at a thrift store.
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Dec 18, 2008 04:49
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qlat posted:How would the harp attach to the shade? The harp attaches to the lamp at those "receptacles" and goes up and around. Once you're far away from the bulb, there are plenty of attaching options. Zip ties, tape, glue, solder, welds, etc. Or you just ditch that shade and get one that's harp-compatible.
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Dec 18, 2008 13:21
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Deegan posted:Last night I removed an old 4 foot long flourescent light from our kitchen ceiling, to replace with a new fixture, and I'm not sure how to determine which of the existing wires is +/-. The house was built in 1949 and all the wiring in the walls is original. There are two wires exposed which are both black, wrapped with yellow tape and have no distiguishing markings. If you're replacing it with a new fluorescent, then it may matter. If there's a ground wire at the fixture outlet, then you can use a meter to check. Turn the switch on, and put one meter lead on the ground. The wire that shows voltage is the hot. If there's no ground wire, then you can use something else; a cold water pipe, the ground prong of an extension cord, etc. Most modern fluorescent fixtures specify that the case needs to be grounded, so that's something you'll have to consider if there's no ground in the fixture box.
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Jan 1, 2009 22:11
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zaff posted:My house's toilet recently started crapping out. Do these things in order:
[2]replace the float/fill mechanism. [3]replace the toilet Flush toilets are shamefully easy to repair and replace; don't pay a plumber to do it. Just make sure you get your measurements and dimensions so you get a toilet/hardware that fits.
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Jan 7, 2009 06:16
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Melonhead posted:In my walls there's some power cables running up from an outlet into the attic through a hole in a 2x4. The builder put some sort of grey/black putty to plug the hole around the wire. What is this stuff called and where can I get some? It's called "duct seal" or "mastic" and is sold with the HVAC stuff.
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Jan 16, 2009 04:12
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nominal posted:I am getting my rear end kicked by a switch... There's a black wire and a white wire that come from the panel. There's a black wire and a white wire that go to the switch. The black and white that keep the light on 100% of the time go to the panel. Connect the black from that pair to the white from the other pair. "Permanently re-identify to indicate its use by painting or other effective means" i.e. mark it with electrical tape. Then the black wire from that pair goes to the black on the light, and the white from the panel goes to the white on the light. In the switch box, make sure the white from the ceiling is marked black (with tape or whatever) and goes to the top screw and the black goes to the bottom screw. Good luck. The reason you popped the breaker with black-to-black and white-to-white is that you created a short circuit through your dimmer to your panel with your light in parallel. Note that even with a direct short circuit drawing a significant number of amps (probably on the order of 50-100) it took 30 seconds for the breaker to pop. babyeatingpsychopath fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Jan 18, 2009 |
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Jan 18, 2009 05:40
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jackpot posted:I just looked at a house today that has an ancient electric stove but a propane fireplace (with tank out back). Would it be possible to replace the stove with a gas one and just run it to the propane tank? In general, yes. You do have to make sure that whatever gas oven you get has the proper orifices for propane. You may also need to find a 120V outlet nearby to plug the oven into for ignitors and clocks and whatnot. A competent electrician can turn that 250V 50A outlet behind the stove into a 120V pretty easily; if you post a picture of the plug, we can tell you if you can convert it yourself even more easily.
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Jan 21, 2009 13:21
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Blowupologist posted:Have you considered turning off the fridge and letting all the water evaporate before turning it on again? It would be messy (especially if your freezer has a lot of ice in it), but it might solve your problem. Yeah. The problem is almost certainly a blocked drain tube. Letting all the ice melt will get rid of it, and likely show you where the drain tube hole is. Find that and run a piece of wire through it, pull all the crud out, and see if your fridge works again.
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Jan 23, 2009 13:23
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Local Yokel posted:How easy/hard is it to fish wires behind walls? From what I now about framing, it seems like fishing a wire vertically would be easy. For example, I'd like to wall mount our tv, and tucking all those cables through a hole at the top, and a hole at the bottom would be simple. You like patching drywall? If so, use one of these!. If you have a chair rail, you can make all your holes on that line. If not, you're going to have to patch every 16" or so. That little crooked tool is to make the drill bit roughly horizontal so you don't go sideways through the stud and out the back of the wall; it really works! That little basket is so once you're done drilling holes, you can unchuck the bit, attach that basket to the bit, attach the wire to the basket, then pull the bit out and pull the wire in with one operation. Pretty clever. So lots of holes in the wall, or, if you can go into the attic, go up the wall, over in the attic, then down into the space you need. Replace attic with basement if you can get into a basement/crawlspace.
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Jan 26, 2009 13:29
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like.a.kite posted:I have a coffee maker, the vertical kind with a big "carafe" thermos bucket that fits inside the lower half. I am thinking about a way to modify the machine so that it can process more water at a time than the 7 cups allowed in the water tank before you reach the ridiculously-designed overflow hole. I am not sure if the heating element gets turned on for always the same length of time (long enough for 7 cups) no matter how much water is used, or if it will know when there is no water left and go off then. Is the heater more likely that to be on a timer, or more likely to only turn off when all the water is gone? The latter would make this modification a lot easier. I can't think of a way to check which way the electronics work, or find a readily-apparent second water level indicator. I'm sure there's a standard. Every coffeemaker I've ever taken apart has just had a thermal switch on the heater element. When there's no more water, it gets hot and shuts the heater off.
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Jan 31, 2009 04:05
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Mthrboard posted:I'm in the process of finishing my basement, currently all the framing is up and yesterday I started with the drywall. I bought a Rotozip DR1 for zipping around the outlet boxes, doorways and stuff, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to get a clean cut around boxes. I've watched YouTube videos, read tutorials and practiced, but I just can't get it. Either I melt through the box (and I'm not using the dime-a-dozen blue Carlon boxes, I sprung for the heavy-duty SuperBlue variety), or the bit wanders. What voodoo magic do I have to do to make this work properly? I can handle the Rotozip freehand, measuring and marking for the cuts, but I want to be like the cool kids and cut the boxes in place. Or does it just take tons of practice? Thanks in advance. The pros cut the drywall beforehand. Stupid cocksucker drywall-installing assholes cut boxes after the drywall is up and the wire is pulled into the box, cutting the wire and making my job harder. Sorry; I'm an electrician by trade and have a low opinion of people with wandering rotozips. Truthfully, even the pros have bits that wander if they're cutting the box in place, and we use metal boxes that don't get cut by rotozip bits. I haven't seen a drywall installer yet that can manage to make a decent cut after the rock is on the wall; they just leave it up to the tapers to tape around the box then fill it full of drywall mud and make my job harder and messier. To sum: if you want it to look good, measure and cut before putting it on the wall. If you want it to look like some Mexican did it for $4/hr, do it afterwards and use lots of tape and joint compound to cover up the ragged mess.
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Feb 2, 2009 06:09
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jovial_cynic posted:Regarding 10-year batteries, I was told by my local insurance claims guy that while the batteries may work just fine (which is demonstrated by pushing the test button), the actual sensor that detects the smoke isn't really meant to last more than 7 years or so, requiring a full detector change. I think it's a scam. I know the half-life of americium is a long time; hundreds of years, so that's not a factor. If my parents' 20-year-old CD player still works, I have to imagine the smoke detector will still work OK, being it is a much simpler circuit with far fewer moving parts. However, if your insurance company wants you to replace them every 7 years, then that's what you do; insurance companies don't make money by giving it out, and they'll take ANY way they can to not pay on a claim.
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Feb 9, 2009 22:53
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ease posted:I bought some photosensing socket adapters for my outdoor lights so they just turn on when it's dark. It says they are for use with incandescent bulbs, but it's working with a CFL. I guess I'll find out with time, but do modern CFL's break when used with whatever type of switch is in the adapter, or do they just flicker? Unless you get dimmable CFLs, don't use them with dimmers; other than that, I can't think of a switch technology that is incompatible with CFLs.
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Feb 15, 2009 03:12
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DOCTOR ZIMBARDO posted:Is installing artificial grass on a balcony or deck a realistic DIY project for someone of low-to-average ability or is it something a contractor should be contacted for? How similar is it to installing regular carpet? It's as complicated as "cut and glue." Spread your turf onto your area, cut to width/length/angles. Roll it up. Spread adhesive with a notched trowel. Unroll the turf. Stomp it flat. Let the adhesive cure. You don't have to use a carpet spreader to stretch the carpet to the tack strip or anything like that.
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Feb 23, 2009 03:49
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