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I did a job the other day cleaning up the wiring in an attic after a wall was removed and beam added. Original house wiring is aluminum and the panel is PFE (yikes). I used purple wirenuts for all my junctions but I got to wondering, is there a wire nut rated for Al-Al connections? Purps and alumiconns only mention Al-Cu. What product do you guys use? Also yes I'm going to push for a service change because of the FPE panel. I'm surprised she can get insured tbh
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Mar 31, 2021 21:46
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SpartanIvy posted:I'm surprised you would take that job. If her house burns down is there any risk she could blame it on your work, even if it was from the FPE breaker or bad aluminum wiring? It's a friend of my wife, so I'm not worried about it. I'm thinking she's going to end up doing the service change if not a full rewire but she can't afford it right this moment.
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Mar 31, 2021 23:31
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I'll use the terminals next time I think. Either way her house is much safer with the purple wire nuts and properly installed junctions than the old blacks not in boxes all over the attic that she had before.
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Mar 31, 2021 23:50
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I think it would be easier to troubleshoot if you disconnect everything and use a multimeter rather than relying on the fan turning on and off, especially if you suspect a problem with the unit.
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Apr 1, 2021 17:13
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They might make them different now but fan remotes often have a controller that you install in the fan box itself and also usually don't have separate blue and black control wires because like you said, you are controlling power to an internal switch. In the fan box: The two wire romex is your incoming power, the black (hot) will provide power to the switches via the white wire on your 3 wire romex. The white from this 2 wire romex is your neutral and should be tied into the white wire coming from your fan. Your 3 wire romex is your switch leg/loop. Your white will be tied to the incoming hot to provide power to the switch. Your red and black will be tied to the black and blue coming from your fan, black is always the fan itself and blue the light kit. In the switch box: your white wire is your hot, drop that to the bottom of both switches. your black and red should be on the top of either switch respectively as your switch legs, which will bring power back up to the fan box and to your fan or light kit. Rufio fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Apr 1, 2021 |
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Apr 1, 2021 20:00
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SpartanIvy posted:I'm trying to research various pieces of code to figure out how I want to get conductors to my new panel box, and am having a hard time. The code book isn't going to make your life any easier I don't think. To be honest if you need more home runs, you should probably hire a professional but I guess that isn't what this thread is for. If its that box you posted last page that is surface mounted on the outside of the house, then you only have a few options. From first glance I would probably run another conduit up into the soffit and just push wires through there, much like they did with that sealtight flex conduit. Just use something large so you can bring a few romex without a problem. Maybe even run a few spares up into the attic so you don't have to try and push more wires through later.
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Apr 2, 2021 13:43
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I usually do suggest people cut circle holes in their sheetrock when they need a small window though. It's a lot easier to patch, especially if you aren't handy with mud. Something about straight lines sticking out in our eyes I'm sure.
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Apr 2, 2021 18:46
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The only thing you need to be worried about most likely is spaces in the panel. And looking at the size you have and the fact that it's 900sqft, that shouldn't be a problem. That size house I think trying to worry about THHN in conduit is going to be more of a headache than you think. What is your total goal here? Rewire everything to 20a breakers? Add more dedicated circuits? Bring up to code? It's probably a good thing that you are overthinking this because homeowners often do the opposite.
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Apr 2, 2021 20:22
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Word. You are correct
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Apr 2, 2021 21:34
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How difficult is it to access the crawlspace vs the attic? If you're going to be rewiring everything anyway and even busting out boxes, you could just work only in the attic and abandon the crawlspace wiring.
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Apr 2, 2021 21:56
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SpartanIvy posted:I should have probably mentioned it has no grounds! Original 1950 wiring. You bring up good points though. Ungrounded wires with metal boxes, you love to see that.
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Apr 2, 2021 23:17
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I would put my attic fans on their own circuit too but I don't think it is required. You've got that nice big breaker box, don't be shy about adding breakers. Keep in mind you may want to remodel at some point and change lighting or other power demands. Efficiency is good but having a little extra amperage around to tap into at some point is useful.
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Apr 3, 2021 00:50
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Sounds like a loose connection. I'm a little surprised you didn't find anything burnt or at least smelling burnt. When you reinstalled your devices, did you wrap around the screw or stab them in? I would recommend always wrapping the wire. When troubleshooting I try to trace what I think is the path of the circuit away from the panel and disconnect devices along the route. On your receptacles, you could remove them and just wire nut. On your switches you mostly want to check your neutrals that are bundled together and any pigtailed hot. You said some of your circuit works fine, I would start at the last place it works. Also maybe check the attic for a junction box in that area. Edit: Do you have a multimeter? It's a lot easier to troubleshoot if you have one. Rufio fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Apr 4, 2021 |
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Apr 3, 2021 12:42
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Sounds like circuit A needs to be split up
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Apr 4, 2021 14:45
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Oh wow that's the incoming and outgoing hot connected to different switches then spliced after the loop? Lmao that is a new one for me
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Apr 5, 2021 15:41
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Why not go straight up into the attic then straight back down to where you want it? It would be more wire but you could avoid that funky saddle.
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Apr 9, 2021 01:02
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What about using a tray cable? I believe you could get something rated for wet/damp to be able to use in the outdoor conduit and also able to route in the attic without conduit.
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Apr 9, 2021 16:09
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I don't think a GFCI breaker will work properly on a 3 wire plug. Keep your standard breaker. GFCI on a dryer is brand new in 2020, isn't it? Is your area already on 2020?
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Apr 12, 2021 00:53
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I would never pull a permit for that type of stuff but I also wouldn't blink an eye if a homeowner wanted to. All it's going to do is add to their cost.
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Apr 24, 2021 03:12
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Most people I do jobs for are more of a "if it ain't broke don't fix it" type but I'd do a service overview and inspection if asked. Though like Elvis said it would be pricey because you're just sending someone on a fishing expedition. I would say that the number of 20a breakers in your panel isn't really indictive of anything. Also, if you aren't having problems with breakers tripping then chances are low that anything is "dangerously overloaded".
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May 21, 2021 16:03
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What do you expect to get out of pulling a permit aside from a lighter wallet?
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Jun 29, 2021 23:58
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That's why you hire a licensed and insured professional. A permit in many cases where they are called for is just going to be a waste of time for everybody involved and a waste of money for the homeowner because they will end up paying more for the job from the electrician and also the tax from the city. You are supposed to pull a permit for lighting change or adding a receptacle. What do you think the inspector is gonna do? Test that it works and call it a day.
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Jun 30, 2021 00:19
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The Bananana posted:
Do nothing, just plug it in That receptacle shape is for some big appliances that actually have a 20a cord. Usually what I call a T-slot receptacle is a 20a 220v plug, and it doesn't allow a regular 120v plug to be inserted. Rufio fucked around with this message at 00:45 on Jul 5, 2021 |
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Jul 5, 2021 00:41
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SpartanIvy posted:I was a little concerned that there was other damage along the wire since it was an original wire from before my new panel was put on and the electrician found some other questionable things with the other original wiring, so I figured better safe than sorry and reran the the whole length. You wasted your whole day to avoid a wire nut in a panel? Strange stuff.
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Jul 5, 2021 00:49
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Thanks, I hate it
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Jul 5, 2021 18:54
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My hunch is that this circuit is sharing a neutral with your bedroom circuit. So when something in your bedroom was on while you were working, it put a load on that white wire and shocked you. Any other wires tucked away in the back of the box?
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Jul 5, 2021 21:40
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Kase Im Licht posted:I think the only other wires I'm seeing in there are the ones connected to the other yellow wire nut (not the one with the ground wire). It's joining a black and a red wire that both go back into the wall without connecting to anything else. Yep that's what I thought. Everything looks normal. I'd hook it back up like you found it, except I suggest you pigtail out the white wires. You don't want to ever use the stab in part of the receptacle and you can put only one wire under each screw. So you want to take a small section of white wire, connect it to those three under a wire nut and then connect just that single wire to the receptacle.
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Jul 7, 2021 21:19
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Just the ease of pulling one wire instead of two. Actually they should be on a two pole breaker in your panel so the situation like you had doesn't occur.
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Jul 8, 2021 12:43
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Did the first guy charge you for the work/estimate? The other guy may have just been coming to do an estimate and wasn't gonna start digging around since he knew everything would be replaced. Basically the only thing you need to know about knob and tube is that it needs to go. I don't need to look at it to tell you that. Also on a job that size, I'd find a painter to do all the patching instead of letting the electrical guys do it/contract it out.
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Jul 12, 2021 19:45
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Speaking as a "guy with a truck", I can definitely say that you won't always get better work just because they work for a big company. I've seen the opposite plenty of times, both working for them and being called in after them. Electrical work isn't rocket science and there isn't some special technique one company is gonna use that's gonna make them way better than the other most likely. A lot of time picking a contractor comes down to which dude gave you a better impression. And it isn't always the right move to pick someone based on a low bid. I say go with your gut.
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Jul 13, 2021 16:00
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Motronic posted:Oh wait, never mind. I perfected it on my second try. I was imagining a romex trunk line with the splices twisted on, but this is also beautiful. 10/10 would service this house.
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Jul 17, 2021 15:13
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floWenoL posted:I'm having trouble with the simplest possible circuit: Have you tested for 120v inside the switch box?
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Jul 19, 2021 01:03
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Blackbeer posted:I also really want to see how they terminated the wires with that extra bit hanging off. Never seen that before. This is the way I was taught to terminate stranded wire on a receptacle screw. You leave a bit of insulation hanging off the end to keep the strands from flaring out.
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Jul 24, 2021 23:40
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Inner Light posted:If I don't wire nut the orange wire, and connect it the same way it is today only with an unbroken fin, is that a safety issue? If it is I'll go pick up a few wire nuts, I happen not to have any at the moment. If you don't know where the wire is going for sure, its best not to energize it imo. Maybe you'll notice something not working in the future and you'll remember that little orange guy. Like Blackbeer said, you could buck phases and dead short both breakers.
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Jul 25, 2021 19:46
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Look at you big ballers that can afford 12/2/2 and 12/4!
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Jul 26, 2021 21:23
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Customer had an inspection done that revealed several open grounds on receptacles in a bedroom. I investigated and found this when I opened up a receptacle in the other bedroom that also read open ground.  This is really something special. The receptacle was being fed hot from the white wire, used the bare wire for the grounded conductor, and then just had the black wire capped off.
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Aug 3, 2021 01:20
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The ground on that receptacle was actually only connected to the outgoing wire lmao so not bonded ground-neutral. When I opened the receptacle feeding it, it was the same situation. I hooked up the wires as they should and everything went fine. I half expected a dead short on the black wire to kindof explain not using it but nope.
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Aug 3, 2021 14:39
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cruft posted:If the wires are correctly hooked up on the other end, then wouldn't this mean any grounded thing plugged into that circuit could electrocute anyone touching it? If the wires on the other end were hooked up correctly, there would be no hot feeding this receptacle because the black wire from incoming power was capped off. The thought process or lack-there-of that went into this installation boggles the mind. I like that the bare wire on the grounded conductor terminal was the only one wrapped the correctly around the screw lol.
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Aug 3, 2021 19:02
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It was in the middle of a multi outlet branch circuit. The previous receptacle was wired incorrectly on the outgoing power and this was wired incorrectly to match. That's what makes it so wild. Someone who was replacing receptacles didn't even bother hooking wires color to color. We will never know what went on here because we don't know what it's like to not have a brain.
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Aug 3, 2021 22:13
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H110Hawk posted:And you know that tab was broken off when the drat breaker kept popping. It's just the angle of the picture that makes it look broken. The tab is actually in tact, else the other room would have had an open neutral. Everything down the line was fine except for open ground. All of the receptacles on the circuit were functioning just fine, except that anything drawing power on the circuit would put a load on that bare wire. The owner (landlord) had no idea there was a problem until she wanted to sell and a home inspection found open ground. Rufio fucked around with this message at 00:03 on Aug 4, 2021 |
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Aug 3, 2021 23:34
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