How to install coat hooks securely when holes don't line up with studs (batten depth?, length of screws?) I have a single piece set of coat hooks to install on the wall.
By single piece I mean that they are 6 double hooks all attached to a single piece of metal as backing.

(source: pbimgs.com)

There are 3 holes in the backing metal and they don't line up with the studs - surprise surprise.

My current plan is to get a batten (or furring strip I believe it's called in the US) that is wide enough to hit the 3 studs, paint it nicely and screw the hooks into that.

My questions are:

how thick should the batten be?
how long should the screws be to ensure that the hooks can take the weight of the metal and a pile of coats, etc?

Is there a standard somewhere or some way of calculating this to set my partner's mind at rest (she's rather worried that the hooks will not take the weight and fall off the wall).

I should note that I'm aware that there is AC along one of the studs. My stud find shows it and there is a central communications box on the backside of this wall. I really don't want to hit any of that wiring...

I would think that if you used a nice hardwood for the wood strip that it can work well if it is 0.75 inch in thickness. Attach it to the studs with screws that are 2.5 inches long. Then use 0.75 inch screws to mount the hanger bracket to the hardwood board. Remember to drill proper type pilot holes for the screws rather than just trying to force the screws in without pre-drilled holes. It will be MUCH stronger if installed this way.

The hardwood such as oak or birch is recommended because it will hold the screws much more firmly than a soft pine board can. Would a pine board be strong enough and hold the screws OK for this application? -- Probably.


Is my Uponor ProPEX supply line plan efficient? I’m building a house and I’m considering installing the supply lines myself with Uponor ProPEX. My floor plans are here: https://imgur.com/a/w9gaM.

Making use of Uponor's multi-port tee's, I came up with the following supply line plan here: https://i.imgur.com/9vXVoGd.png. Thick lines are 3/4" and thin lines are 1/2".

Am I going down the right path with this plan? What improvements could I make?

I see your plan as basically sound and a good design.  One additional thing you may consider.  Many people use softened cold water for toilets, showers, clothes washers, dish washer and sinks except kitchen.  Don't use softened water for drinking, cooking & ice machine for health reasons and not to hose bibs because of volume. The softened water is less hard on your fixtures and they will be easier to keep clean.  Softened water in the shower is a little more pleasant and will extend the life of your soap products.  And as long as you have spent the money for the softener, you may as well reap the full benefits. You will also add apparent value to your house with softened cold water throughout the house.


Use Rivets for old corrugated Metal Roof I have an old barn with an rusty corrugated roof. The rafters are pretty rotten and the corrugated sheets come apart and I have slow leaks. The roof is nailed and some of the nails have worked their way out.
My plan is to hammer the nails back in (where they still would work) and use rivets to rivet the sheets together on the seems to tide me over until I have time to repair the rafters.
I am wondering if that is a good idea and if rivets are actually water tight or how I can make them watertight and if there are special metal roofing rivets. Any better suggestions?
Easy to see where the sheets are lifted at the seams.

I know aluminum boat manufactures use rivets with rubber seals. I have not seen rivets used on corrugated roofing. I would convert the leakers to screws with washers that’s how most metal roofs are put on and if the wood is a little compromised at the leaky nail hole a screw will hold better than putting in another nail the seal on the screw makes it dry.


Why would turning off a fridge/freezer for 24 hours then turning it back on make it work again? A family member's fridge freezer is now working well after being turned off for about 24 hours and then back on.
Before, it was not cooling items, reading around 20 degrees Celsius.
Now, after being turned back on after being left off for 24 hours, it has reached around 2 degrees Celsius for the fridge and -18 (minus 18) degrees celsius for the freezer.
Is this remedy a common thing for fridge freezers?
The model is a Hotpoint FF FL1810P.
Thank you.
P.S. of course, the food inside needs to be kept cool and frozen to remain safe for consumption - and in my case this was transferred to others' working fridge freezers temporarily.

In many cases (particularly with "modern" fridges that use one set of coils in the freezer and blow air around for the freezer & fridge, rather than having a set of coils in each space and no fans blowing air) the problem root cause is frost buildup in concealed air-duct spaces or ice actually blocking a fan from running.
While this may be from a failure in the defrost system, often it's just marginal design (the defrost system is not broken, but not completely effective as designed, so frost and ice gradually build up, and there's no "broken part you can replace" to magically cure the design error.)
Taking more care to seal up things in the fridge that will add humidity to the air that will freeze out on the coils can help. Replacing the door seals if the door seals leak can help reduce the inflow of humid air from outside.
If a door was left slightly open for a while, that can cause this all by itself, due to humid air entering, and may need nothing more than "be sure the doors are closed" to "fix" it long term.
I have had a fridge in a rental that I could not get the landlord to deal with, so I'd have to put everything in a cooler and remove the back panel of the freezer about once a month in summer to clear the ice buildup (it would cause fan noise when it was getting bad) with a blow dryer (don't use an ice pick or other hard tool - poking a hole in the refrigerant system is usually going to cause a repair so expensive you might as well just replace the whole fridge.) The defrost heater clearly operated, but ice built up beyond where it reached.
I've had far fewer frost problems with "old fashioned" manual defrost fridges, but those are difficult to find new, now-a-days.
Anyway, the day of not running allowed (at least some of) the ice to melt, clearing the  path for cold air movement. Or at least that's the most common scenario I'm familiar with to cause this "fix" to work.


How to repair wood rot on exterior (decorative) exposed beam? I have a split level mid-century built in 1969. It has protruding exterior beams that have been painted. I noticed that one has rotted internally and was sloppily repaired with foam backer and spackle that has fallen off. I'm going to craft aluminum flashing to install on top to shed water off of all beams, but what is the best way to repair this beam? I'm thinking about removing the rotten wood and filling the void that is probably 4-5" wide and and inch deep.  What is the best filler to use?  Or should I try something else?

[

but what is the best way to repair this beam?

It depends how you personally define best. The absolute best (money and time no object) is to replace it.

  I'm thinking about removing the rotten wood

Before you start, be prepared that the rot may go a lot further than you expect (though maybe it won't of course).

  What is the best filler to use?

For small areas, Wood filler :-)

For slightly larger areas, Wood. Appropriately treated and/or painted.

If there is a lot of rot, I'd be thinking of remedial action more significant than filling.

  Or should I try something else?

For small areas, you might be able to use a wood hardener.

If it is non structural, you can scarf in a replacement section.

If it is structural, i.e. holding up your roof. I would consult a specialist, in my part of the world that might be a surveyor, elsewhere, a structural engineer maybe.


Remodeling Floors and Closets On my list of home improvements I want to get done soon, I'm replacing my carpets with hardwood floors and also remodeling my closets. Does the order in which I do these home improvements matter? Will I regret doing the closets first if I have to change the floors later?

Thanks!

That depends on a couple of things the first being is it real wood or laminate? The second is are the closets in the same room as your plan on doing the new flooring? If the closets are to be in the same room I assume they will most likely have the same flooring. If this is true it would be easiest to get the floor in first and then proceed to do the closet(s).

Does the closet have a door? Or is it a walk in closet?

Edit based on reach in closet:
Most of the time reach in closets don't touch the floor but sometimes have about a half inch base that rests on the floor. Based on what you have told me the closets would have the same floor as every where else and shouldn't be a problem. Good luck!


Determine if wire in switch box is safe to re-purpose? I need to pull a neutral wire to my light switch for a smart switch.  It's presently switching an outlet that I don't need switched, and the other side of the outlet already has unswitched power.  My plan is to use a smart switch, which requires neutral, to control a different device wirelessly.

I can't feasibly run a new wire, because the wires aren't run through conduit.  Instead, my plan is to repurpose the switched wire to get neutral from the outlet.

The switch, which controls an outlet has two wires, one black and one red.  The switched outlet has a white neutral wire, plus the red and black wires that I assume run directly to the switch.

I've completely disconnected the red and black wires from the outlet and the switch.  The black wire is measuring 120V AC when measured against ground using the box as ground, both at the outlet and at the switch. Using my DMM, the red wire is measuring 24V AC with respect to the box/ground at both sides.  I assume this is a ghost voltage caused by induction from the charged black wire over to the floating red wire.

Our house is ~100 years old and this particular switch seems to be run using armored cable (note the paper wrap around each wire.)  There are literally only two wires in the switch box; no wire nuts.

If relevant, we do have some old knob and tube wiring active, but I'm pretty confident there's none on this circuit.

Is there some way I can determine with enough confidence that the red wire isn't connected elsewhere such that I can know it's safe to connect the red wire at the outlet to netural?

I bet that the 40V measurement is likely a "ghost voltage," which is a misleading reading that can show up as a side effect of using a digital voltmeter on a dead wire.  The misleading measurement happens because there is capacitive coupling when you have an un-energized wire running next to an energized one.  The impedance of the voltmeter itself causes the high voltage to register, though the current it is capable of delivering would be miniscule. In this case, it would be from the switched wire running next to the hot wire.

To determine whether or not the voltage is actually present and being fed from a true voltage source, rather than being a misleading reading of an induced voltage from an adjacent wire, you need a low-impedance voltmeter.  Fluke makes several.

Given that this is the only time I am likely ever going to need this test, I'm not going to purchase a dedicated low-impedance tester.  Instead of doing that I'm going to do a few brute-force tests.

We're going to start with the assumption that the red wire is likely connected to nothing other than the outlet.  Today, when the switch is closed, it sends connects the black wire to the red one and sends hot down the red wire.

As far as we know, no other devices are connected to this switch.  If we shut off the circuit breaker, connect both ends of the red wire to ground, then turn it back on, the circuit breaker shouldn't trip.  If this is the case, measure the current from the red wire to ground on each side, and from the red wire to neutral and hot.  There shouldn't be any current flowing into or out of a dead wire, period.

Obviously, this was done at my own risk.  Current to ground came up with .001 mA.  Tied the red wire to neutral at the outlet, connected the smart switch, and works like a charm.


How should I extend the wiring so I can move a 220v subpanel? I have a 22 subpanel for my hot tub. I have a 220 line that runs about 50 feet to the subpanel and then 5 feet to the hot tub. I need to move the subpanel another 6 feet to the fence. I do I add the length of the 220 line to make it to the fence? Can I just put a junction box in the ground and connect wires together to make it the length I need? Thanks in advance.

The junction box needs to be accessible, so "in the ground" cannot mean "buried without access."

In many cases it makes more sense to just replace the wire from end-to-end, but if you can put a junction box (that is accessible) either at the former sub-panel location or somewhere closer to the supply (so that you are shortening the supply wires before extending new wire to the new sub-panel location) that should also work.


What should I do about excess flex in cement board that will be behind tile? This is around a tub/shower. The studs are spaced at 24in, cement board is 1/2in.

We're surprised at how much flex there is between the sheets of cement board. I'm worried that tiles may pop off.

We're planning to use 12in floor tiles on the wall.

Some options I've considered:

Leave it. It's fine.
Aim the tile grout lines at the seams of the cement board. Flex won't affect whole tiles.
Add blocking behind the seam. PITA.
Add another layer of cement board, maybe 1/4", shifted over so the seams don't overlap.

What should I do? If anything.

Since they're up, I agree adding blocking is a PITA.

However, if its an inside wall that you have access to the other side of, use a "BIG GAP" polyurethane foam.  Drill a series of 1/4" holes every 12" down the middle of each joist bay.  Spray a 3 sec burst in each.  Wait 12 hr and try the flex, it should be quite firm now.

You may not want to do this near the plumbing valve, for replacement purposes.  It won't hurt it, though.


Lifetime of, and repairing, an aluminium AC condenser? I have an LG 1.5 ton AC. It stopped cooling. The Service eng. checked it and identified a coolant leak at the joint of the aluminum condenser and the copper tubing.

He explained that welding it is not possible between the aluminum condenser and the copper tubing. He wants me to replace it with a copper condenser.

I just want to confirm if it is correct that you cannot weld this leak?

What is the expected life of an aluminum condenser in an AC?

Welding of aluminium to copper is frequently done by pressure welding. During that process both materials are pressed together under very high pressure thereby creating a durable bond. Such welding can not be done by a service engineer. So for him the only option is to select two materials of the same kind. Copper tubing and also copper condenser and braze the two together.

Therefore the technician is right.

As far as the expected life of the aluminium condenser is concerned. If the environment is more or less neutral, a long life can be expected. In your case you were just unlucky the joint failed.


Will transformer operate a door bell/chime 200ft away? I want to install a doorbell with two bells and one button so it can be heard in two places. One location is within 25ft of the button. The other is about 200ft from the button. Will the transformer work from 200ft away or should I place it so it's 100ft from each bell?

Not a standard door bell transformer no.  #1 A standard door bell transformer is sized to drive one chime only.  If you want a second chime you need to design a system.  I recommend you call a manufacturer of chime kits and ask for a tech rep. Broan, Nutone.  Tell him your situation. He will tell you what you need.  A standard chime transformer are 16-volts.  I have used 24-volt transformers on longer runs with success.


How long does screw have to be to anchor bookcase? I'm trying to anchor an IKEA Billy bookcase to the wall it doesn't contain screws for the wall (I don't think any IKEA furniture does). And their instructions don't explain how long the screws need to be.

How long does the screw have to be to go into the wall (stud)? I have a 1 inch screw on hand, would that be enough?

A really robust answer to this requires some idea as to whether the IKEA bookshelf is sitting on the floor or if it is meant to hang up on the wall with no support from the floor. For the case that you are proposing that there would be no floor support I would strongly suggest that you abandon that idea and stay with the unit sitting on the floor. This style of unit really needs good solid support under the vertical side panels.

You do not want to secure the BILLY bookcase by screwing through backer material into the wall. The back of these units is basically a paper board material that slides into some side grooves and gets a couple of nails at the bottom. It will not be a secure anchor point.

To prevent tipping from the wall you need to use the supplied bracket or a similar separately purchased item. It would look something like this:

The installation directions will show how to install the brackets in a way that they are attached to the wall using a user supplied screws. The screw should be a #8 or #10 size screw and penetrate the wall stud at least 1" to 1.5". Make sure to accommodate the thickness of the wall covering such as 1/2" drywall when selecting the screw length.


I have a 70 amp breaker for a hot tub i'm getting rid of the new one is only 50amp can I use the same breaker? I have a 70 amp breaker for a hot tub i'm getting rid of the new one is only 50amp can I use the same breaker ?

If the manufacturer of the hot tub recommends a maximum circuit size of 50 amps then you should change the breaker to 50 amps. The conductors can stay the same.

If the 50 amps is a minimum rating for the hot tub then you can leave the 70 amp breaker and conductors.

You should always follow the manufacturer's instructions. The National Electrical Code requires it.

Good luck!


How can I attach a new drain to a drain pipe that's fallen away from the tub? Hello everyone,

Noobie here and I think I shot myself in the foot!
I wanted to replace the old drain with a new one so my almost 2 year can have bubble baths.
I was able to remove the old drain but ran into this issue.  The pipe sank in and I cant seem to screw on the new drain/old drain.  I've used a metal hanger to try and lift the pipe while attempting to screw on the drain and cant seem to do it.  Getting under the top isn't an option!  Suggestions!?!?

Yeah, you're in a spot of trouble. There's likely a nut around the flange of the waste pipe that you need to turn as you hold the drain flange in place.

If it's not possible to get behind the wall where the drain is, how about from below? Crawlspace / basement / first floor?

Even if you could get the threads started, you'd likely end up with leaks if you're spinning the drain flange- you want a thin bit of plumber's putty under the flange, and spinning the flange would likely lead to a broken seal and leaks.


How to remove high ridges on concrete flooring I ripped up the carpet in my basement and I have some good curling (approx 3/8”)that I need to fix before I lay down new flooring.
I Looked at renting a wet grinder from HD but they are immensely heavy and getting that into my basement would be impossible. I looked at dry grinding but apparently the dust is extreme, I thought about creating a dust tent.
I Contacted a few guys to see if they would do this, but service is terrible and seems companies don't want business.
I am Just checking in here  for  other ideas.
What’s the best way to fix this?

I would use a angle grinder with a carbide block / diamond impregnated masonry grinding wheel.
the concrete can be kept damp with a spray bottle to limit the airborne dust, make sure to use a GFCI protected receptacle or extension cord when working with power tools and water.
This method will make a slurry that is cleaned up with a sponge and water.
Your high spots don’t look that severe and could be cut down with a 4-1/2” grinder.
The wheels cost for a 4-1/2” grinder run from 40-100$ I find these are better for surfacing than abrasive disks those don’t work as well with water but can be used it will take a few and as these get smaller it is easy to create divots where the wheels stay the same size. Of corse a larger grinder like a 9-1/2” with a larger wheel will be easier, faster and less chance if divots but cost more
A 4-1/2” Grinder can do this at a reasonable cost even if you need to purchase a GFCI extension cord so you can keep the concrete damp and eliminate the dust.


Adapter: 1/8" Dremel shank to 1/4" chuck Situation: I have a Dremel rotary tool with normal 1/8" shank and a Dremel Multi-Vice.
Need: I wish to attach this Dremel tool (with standard 1/8" shank held stead with my  Dremel Multi-Vice) for cleaning with a larger-diameter wire-brush that is normally available with 1/4" shank.
Question: Is there an adapter that has a 1/8" shank with a 1/4" chuck?

Even if someone makes an adapter in this direction, it's a Very Bad Idea.
1/4 down to 1/8 - no problem. 1/8 up to 1/4 - big problems.
You may exceed the speed rating of the larger shank tool - small shank tools tend to spin a lot faster, and can do so because their tools are smaller. Spin a tool that's too large too fast and you can explode it by centrifugal force. Shrapnel in all directions. Messy and frequently causing injuries.
Big to small does not need to extend the tool shaft. Small to big does, and that extension is inherently unstable. You're overloading the bearings both by putting on a tool that is bigger and heavier AND by giving it more leverage - this is bad for the bearings. You can actually bend the shaft, and once bent, it will bend more and flail about, also likely causing injuries.


moving big shed footings i need to move a 16x20 shed back about 12', so half the shed will remain on existing footings. the current footings are all poured concrete. do i need to dig new footings or can half the shed just sit on concrete blocks on the dirt or even on 2'x2' concrete pads about 2" thick. i'm in central NJ
thanks

For a shed, concrete blocks should do fine. Hundreds of thousands of sheds and mobile homes across the US have proven that.


Where can I get an air compressor that can blow air (not just inflate tires)? I have been able to find this

and this,

but they don't come with the fitting/handle that allows you to blow air - for instance, if you want to blow dust from your keyboard, etc.

Does anyone know if this kit

will fit any of those pumps?

Or if not, what other small, portable, air compressors are there that can do what I want (also, I DO want to inflate tires - just not ONLY).

Here is a suggestion that may make some sense on several levels. Buy an air tank. I have a moderately big one, that holds 10 gallons of air. Of course, it is heavy to carry around, being steel. But when I need to pump up a tire beyond the range of the several hundred feet of hose I have, or for whatever use I need, I just disconnect it from my compressor lines where I have it coupled with a quick disconnect.

In your case, my suggestion is to pump it up with a foot pump. :) Ok, yes, this will take some work, but once pumped up, it will keep that air under pressure until you want it. And since you are looking for a "green" solution, this is as green as you can imagine, using foot power. Or, I suppose you could always just go to the local service station and pump it up to 100 PSI or so. Once the valve is shut, it will maintain that pressure for a long time.

Fix up a short length of air hose so you can use it to blow air. One of those plastic spiral air hoses might be perfect, allowing you about 20 feet of walking distance.

An even cheaper solution is to just buy a truck tire inner tube. Pep Boys sells them for about $15. Go to the gas station to pump it up, and then you can carry it anywhere you want, for a ready source of compressed air that weighs very little to carry around. Again, you will need to figure out how to put a line on the tire valve, but this is not hard to do. Go to your local hardware store and they should be able to get you set up. (I did not say to go to Lowes or Home Depot, but to go to a store where they actually understand hardware.)

EDIT:

Then here is what I'd do. The first part will be to put a hose onto an inner tube. I don't know what thread an inner tube valve is, so I would go to my local hardware store and get them to help me find a nipple with the proper thread. They tend to stock entire shelves of them, so this is not a real problem. Once you have that, you need to be able to couple it to a 1/4 inch NPT (National Pipe Thread.) This is a standard thread for air hoses and the like.  When you add the coupling to the tire valve, you will need to remove the needle valve inside. This will allow air to go freely in and out of the tire tube.

Next, add an Air line ball valve. This will let you shut off the air positively, because you want it to stay pumped up. Notice that the threads on the ball vavle are 1/4 inch NPT, exactly what you need.

Next, I went to Amazon and typed in "coiled air hose" into the search field. Typically, these run from $10 - $30, depending on the length of the hose. I find they work nicely, giving me an extensible hose. You don't need a long one though.

Finally, I looked online for a quick connect coupler. Central Pneumatic or Campbell Hausfeld  are common names here. The quick connect coupler will allow you to easily attach a handheld air blow gun as you show. Note that it will have a 1/4 inch NPT thread! You can also attach a regular tire valve, to use that to blow up your reserve of compressed air, using either foot pump or a gas station pump.

All of these items are common things you will find in any local hardware store, or even most auto parts stores.

Of course, the amount of air you can put into such a tube is somewhat limited, but it will easily be sufficient to keep a keyboard clean. You can put far more into a steel air tank, because you can store higher pressures there.


Have I derated my cable correctly? I am based in Canada.  I am planning to install an electrical outlet above a gas fireplace in which to mount a TV.   I plan to fish 14/2 NMD90 to that outlet which means the cable will be routed directly above the gas fireplace and radiating heat inside the finished wall cavity.  The cable has a temperature rating of 90 degrees.  The circuit would be 15 amp circuit breaker.

I have dropped a thermometer into the wall cavity at the approximate cable location to measure the ambient temperature after fireplace running for 2 hours.  It is averaging 36 degrees.

From googling; I am learning that if the ambient temperature is above 30 degrees Celsius, I must derate the cable ampacity using ambient temperature table.

Using the CEC and NEC tables; I have concluded the following but hoping someone can validate my work and understanding to advise if I have factored this correctly.

Romex 14/2 NMD90 rated for 90 degrees

CEC table shows 90 degree 14 gauge cable as capable of carrying 35 amps at 30 degrees Celsius ambient temperature.  (with a caveat that circuit breaker cannot exceed 15 amps).

NEC table shows that a 36-40 degree ambient temperature when using a 90 degree rated cable should be derated at .91 of its ampacity.

So, 35 amps x .91 = 31.85 amps (albeit 14 gauge must be restricted to 15 amp circuit breaker).   I would assume based on this, that it would be safe to install the 14/2 NMD90 as planned?

So, 35 amps x .91 = 31.85 amps (albeit 14 guage must be restricted to 15 amp circuit breaker). I would assume based on this, that it would be safe to install the 14/2 NMD90 as planned?

You are correct, the ampacities of #14 NM for 15A circuits and #12 NM for 20A circuits are conservative.  Even after derating for ambient temperature, you wind up using the same cables.  For this same reason #14 and #12 NM are typically used in hot attics without derating.


Is this a cockroach that I just found in my basement? Upstate NY USA here.

For the last few days I have been finding several of these bugs in my basement:

Top-side:

Bottom-side:

Is this a cockroach?!? If so, what species/subspecies/type is it? And if not, what else could it be?

Nope. It's a beetle. 99% sure. Can't be 100% because I'm not there but I'll try to verify in a book.  I'm a marine biologist not an entomologist so this may take a while. Lol

Look up ground beetle pics and see if you agree.


Outdoor outlet tripping all other outlets when used As of about two days ago (admittedly a heavy storm) if I connect any device to my outdoor outlet, it'll trip not only that socket but also the only other outlet attached to this circuit. The main breaker doesn't flip, but the only way I can reset the outdoor outlet is to also reset the other, indoor, outlet.

I am thinking the outdoor socket is hosed, but was curious if anyone had any other ideas...

If rain is getting into the box from outside, you could put a new rain resistant cover on the outlet which might solve the problem.

If there is a leak into the box that you cannot immediately stop, then you can remove the receptacle and wire the circuit through with wire nuts. This will prevent this one spot from tripping a GFCI breaker or receptacle. Wire nut connections are much more resistant to moisture than a receptacle.

I had to do this for a receptacle on an outside wall which was getting wet from a roof leak into the wall and tripping an essential circuit protected by a GFCI breaker. I used regular Scotchlok (red size) wire nuts, filled them with antioxidant paste, and turned the nuts upward so they would shed water. I attached a blank cover plate over the box.


The plug for my laptop is slowly changing colour, is it still safe to use until I get a new one? So, right now my charger plug, that connects into the extension cord is slowly changing colour and it looks like it has small bumps, I can’t really tell though.

Is it because i’m using an extension cord or is it something else?

I use an extension cord instead of the actual outlet because, the outlet is too far from where I’m situated with the laptop. I know I can move but there isn’t much room in my apartment to move furniture around.

I’ve never had this problem with my older laptop and that was also plugged into an extension cord, but it was one of the bigger multiple outlet ones, with the ability to turn it on or off.

I just want to know is it still safe to use until I get a new one, or do I need to change my extension cord?

Laptop is - Acer Spin5
Input - 100-240V-50-80hz 1.2A
Output- 19V-2.37A

Extension - 16 gauge calibre
Wire type: SPT-3
6’7”/6pi 7po(2m)
Length 0-50ft/pi(0-15m)
       51-100ft/pi(16-30m)
Max.Amperage: 13-10
I got this extension cord at Canadian tire

Thank you

UPDATE:
I want to thank everyone for there suggestions as to what the problem could be. Sorry for not getting back quick enough it’s been an insane month.
When I first posted this, I decided I would leave my laptop alone until I got a new extension cord and new plug. If anyone has any recommendations on a new extensions cord, that would be greatly appreciated.

Before I continue into that, I do want to thank everyone here who is, at this point in time and when it all started, an essential worker. Really thank you so much for all that you’ve done!

So back to the plug; I got the extension cord, maybe a couple months after the laptop, and that was at the beginning of January 2018. So from what I could remember it started to change colour around the end of 2018-beginning of 2019.
It started small but slowly started to change over time. I suppose with being home now a lot more than before I’m really noticing it. The plug won’t heat up but, when I do pull it out of the ext. cord, it will be warm, not like warm-hot but cold-warm, if that makes sense?
Someone did suggest that it could be the extension cord, this has never happened other extension cords before, so I hope it’s only that.
Edit: Then again, I’ve plugged other things into the extension cord, like; my portable charger, hair dryer, stuff like that, and none of there prongs have ever started to change colour.

So about the laptop, it does heat up when it’s plugged in and I’m using it, but it’s always done that, since I first got it. I do put it down to let it rest for a couple hours until I’m back in again.

The outlets in the apartment are pretty old, maybe as old as me, I’m not sure? When I asked my parents they said that they don’t remember when the outlets were last changed. Some of the outlets I did notice are a lot stronger, most of them could handle objects that need to stay plugged in for a long time without causing a fire. Others have at this point become loose, so using them is a no go. Once I do get a new extension and plug, I’ll probably move into the living room.

Here’s the thing I would love to have them all replaced, but it would only give the new owners of the building more incentive to add onto the rent we already pay. Even if we had someone, not in a contract with the buildings, to come do it, they would still probably add onto our rent anyway. Trust me they’ll do that to just about anyone in the apartment, no matter what.

Thank you though for reading this, if you did get down here, again if you have any good extension cord recommendations, it would be appreciated. Also I think I’ll start using it again for a short while, I’m back to work (New Job!), so I think I would be ok to use it for 3hrs and then stop for about an hour or two and then go back? This is just until the new extension cord and charger come in.

I hope some of the new information on both the laptop and plug for it was helpful, if you do need more info just ask. Again thank you! I hope you and your families stay safe during this time!

Marks like that suggest that one of the receptacles that you are plugging into may be worn out. they do not suggest a problem with your laptop power supply.

The marks on your plug are cosmetic only, they will not significanly affect its performance.

However the socket end of that extension cord is faulty and there's a potential for fire if you continue using it.


Is this wiring diagram for a series of outlets correct? NOTE: There should be a hot/black wire going from source wire to the lower connector on the switch.

The 3 outlets are going into a 3 gang box.  The 3rd outlet (the one on the far right) will be controlled via the switch to the right (the switch is located on the same wall a few feet away).

I understand different areas have different code, but in general, will this work?

Your drawing is confusing and you have no power going TO the switch.

Also you showed no grounding to the receptacle boxes.

Use three core to the switch and cap of the extra white wire for future needs.


Should I caulk over grout where the bathtub meets the tiles We have an old house, (170 years).
The last owners grouted the bath to the wall and then caulked over it.
It's now black and mouldy.  If I remove the caulk and bleach the grout is it ok to caulk over or should I completely remove the grout before caulking it again?

Mouldy material should be completely removed - sometimes there is more mold behind it.
The tub should be filled with water before caulking in order to avoid pull forces. Push forces are less problematic to caulk.
A slope of 25 degree or more prevents standing water on the surface of the caulk, which is a frequent reason for mouldy caulk.


How can I remove a stuck screw that will still turn? I put a too short screw into the screw hole.  I thought this would sort things out.  It didn't.  Now I cannot get the screw out even though it will turn quite freely with a Phillips screwdriver.  Any ideas?  Could I superglue another similar sized screw to it, head to head?

I have found two methods that work for me:

Use plyers instead of screw driver
Use a paint scraper pressed underneath the screw head while you turn the screw with driver.  Between the additional friction, and the scraper blade, frequently the screw thread will start to catch, and allow it to back out.


How to install a utilitech heater ventilation fan with light? Just trying to replace an old Broan heater/fan/light with a new Utilitech one and very confused about how the wires are meant to go.
I  suspect the initial set up was not to code.   Very novice on this stuff.
There seems to be a loose single copper wire unsheathed in there. Not sure if that’s relevant.

Your switches are single pole double throw with center off. You have a hot black pigtailed to the two switched with the red wire nut in the front of your switch box. The light switch has a yellow wire and a brown wire out of it, spliced together and connected to a black wire in one of the NM cables. The switch was probably meant for a light/nightlight combination unit and the old unit only had a light, as your new one does. The switch will operate the light in both positions with center off
Where your black hot enters the switch box, you'll have a white neutral that should be connected to a white wire from one of the cables going to the ceiling. That should put a black switched hot and a neutral up at the ceiling, possibly the one marked "l."
The other switch has a blue wire and a red wire that would be switched hots to turn on the vent or the heat depending on the position on the switch. The blue wire is connected to a black wire going up to the ceiling and the red wire appears to be connected to the other white wire going up to the ceiling, possibly the other cable.
Which ever white wire at the ceiling is the neutral, you'll connect it to the three white wires out of your new unit with a wire nut. The other white wire that appears to be a switched hot will go to the red wire out of your unit. That white wire should have some black tape wrapped around it to show it's hot. One of the black wire out of the ceiling, possibly the one marked "l." will go to the blue wire out of your unit for the light. The other black will go to the black wire from your unit for the vent.
You will need to verify which wire is which, we can't do that from here. You also need to verify the breaker will handle the load of the heater. The copper wires, ground wires, need to be connected together in the box and to the box. They also need to be connected at the ceiling and to the green wire out of your unit. The two cables going into your unit need the proper connector to secure them to the unit. The two cables are not code compliant and one of the NM cables would need to be replaced with a three wire plus ground to meet code.


Drill hole through rock wall? I have boulder stone foundation and would like to drill a hole through it for a gas line. How can I do this?

The rocks in the foundation tend to be about 12 to 20 inches and diameter and they are mortared together.

Diamond hole saws work well for this with water. If this is anything like the stone foundations I have worked with there will never be a straight mortar line that could be used. On one of the first walls I drilled through I used a hammer drill and bit , The hammer drill caused the rock to break out on the back side and it was very tough to repair. This is the type of drill. once I get about an inch in I chip out the center and go deeper repeating the chipping process as I get close to the bottom of the saw. A really Good quality one may make it depending on the rock type. Don't go cheap or you will spend more time getting new ones and even though they are close to the same size sometimes you ending up having a slightly larger bit the second time (also found this out the hard way)


What is the proper way to perform work in an attic? (UPDATED) For an attic with rolled fiberglass insulation, what is the proper way to perform work in the attic?

Is it okay to just walk on top of the insulation, stepping where there are beams underneath it?  Or is the proper way to roll up the insulation so that you are not walking on it?

Or is there a different method?

The goal is to not reduce the insulating properties of the fiberglass insulation.

UPDATE: I attempted to write this question in a generic way to help as many people as possible, but I can now see that by doing so, I've missed the mark.  My apologies.  I am not the one who will be performing the work in the attic.  It will be contractors who work for a third party (warranty).  They claim they can just walk on top of the fiberglass insulation along the beams (and sit on it), and that it won't harm the insulation at all.  I have no idea, hence this question.

So although I truly appreciate the answer suggesting cutting up wood to make walking planks, I know the contractors will never be willing to do anything like that.  Basically, I'm interesting in knowing if it's fine for them to walk on top of the rolled fiberglass insulation and sit on it while they perform work, or if doing so will reduce the effectiveness of the insulation.  This attic gets very extreme temperatures within it.

I don't want to make unrealistic demands of the contractors, but I also don't want the effectiveness of the insulation to be reduced.

Honestly, I would get some sheets of plywood (is OSB stiff enough?) and rip em down to 2x8 or other appropriate size, making a compromise between spanning enough joists and fitting in your car.  Float them around as needed to do your work.  "Just step on the joists" has a fairly high penalty for error, at the least, refinishing a ceiling.


garage door opener motor running constantly I have a B & D controll-a-door 4 (CAD-4) opener for a tilt garage door.  The model no. is 062200 and the unit was installed about 20 years ago.  About a week ago, the motor started running constantly, even when the door was not in use.  Needless to say, the opener does not function - just the motor running non-stop. I've had to disconnect the power supply because of the noise.

I've been told it might be a worn drive gear but when a repairman visited, he said the problem was the circuit board (although he didn't actually look at it).    He said replacing the circuit board was not an option because the (long) antenna is 28 MHz which is no longer made.  Only replacement boards with (short) 433 MHz antennas are available and they are not compatible with my unit.  He said due to its age, the whole unit would have to be replaced with a brand new opener.  Does this sound plausible?  I'm a keen re-cycler and would rather repair than replace so I'd appreciate any advice.

At 20 years the controller probably has failed. But if he did not look at it I would question his diagnosis. There are things in some openers like belts that break, some direct drive couplers the coupler breaks or a sheer pin,  if the door did not make its turn off cog or sensor the motor would keep running trying to make it. The frequency band has changed over the years along with the safety eyes and even motor requirements have changed for energy efficiency so it is possible the newer model controller is not compatible but I would want to check the mechanical out. When you push the button can you hear the motor stop and reverse directions? If so I would say it is a broken drive component not the controller.


Is there a way to prevent sliding window from freezing? I have a window that slides to the side, and each time temperature outside drops below 0*C it freezes and there is no way to open it (not that there is ice all over it, just moisture from the room  freezes somewhere inside I guess). Are there any (easy) solutions to prevent freezing or making it open when needed?

My suggestion would be to pull out the window and clean everything really well to make sure nothing is gumming things up.  Then I would use a clean rag and wipe all the areas where the window contacts the frame with a good quality silicone lubricant.  A little goes a long way with silicone lubricant, you don't need to saturate things with a direct blast.  I would avoid wd-40, or other cheap oil sprays, it could make things worse.


How to wire 3 hots / 3 neutrals into this new TR outlet with 2 screws? I'm redoing some of the outlets in our house, as they are pretty loose. Some of these have been really easy, but I came across one today where there were 3 hots and 3 neutrals. All 3 were going into the quick-connects in a outlet which looks like this:

Don't mind the destruction on the quick-connect in the picture, as I broke that taking the wires off and am not re-using this outlet. My new outlets look like:

For my other installations I've been using the screws on the side rather than the quick-connects, but since I had 3 hots/3 neutrals I figured I'd try to put 4 on the screws and the other 2 in the little quick connect holes. However, this plan doesn't work because it seems that the wire is too large for the quick connect holes on my new outlets (maybe a 14 gauge vs 12 gauge difference? )

What do I do in this situation? Do I nut two of the hots and 2 of the neutrals together? If so, can I determine the exact type of nut I need with my wire stripper (AWG of the bare wire correspond to the gauge of the wire or do I need to include insulation?).

Edit: A picture of the sides of the outlet I'm replacing, in which it looks like the tabs are present:

Your two options here are to pigtail the hots and neutrals, or get a new "backwire" outlet.  A backwire outlet has small wire clamps on the sides of the outlet so the wire can be inserted straight in rather than looping around the screw.  This type of outlet might be sold as "heavy duty", but they are great for handling up to 4 conductors on each side.  The ground will still need to be pigtailed, but that's usually not a big deal.

Example outlet

If you look closely at that picture, you can see 4 holes in the back on each side.  Wire inserts straight into the holes and the screws on the side tighten the wire in clamps.  They are very similar to your old push-connect outlet, but they clamp tight on the wire.

Backwire outlets are great for smaller boxes because you don't need to worry about a couple 4-wire bundles of 12GA wire getting pushed into the box along with the outlet.

A pigtail is used where there are too many converging wires to be accommodated by a fixture, such as you describe here.  The converging wires, and another short length of similar wire (the pigtail), are twisted and secured by a wire nut.  This leaves you with a single lead to attach to the fixture.  (Added for completeness)


Facade coming off wooden doors Facade is peeling off wooden wardrobe doors. Seems to happen more at certain times. Weather related?
In any case how to fix? Wood glue?

Don’t use wood glue it will not normally adhere to the laminate.
Rubber cement / contact adhesive is a good method. I have a spray that is great for this it is made for putting sandpaper on sanding disks. But it’s just rubber cement in a spray can.
For Rubber cement contact adhesives to work they need to be applied and let dry until tacky then pressed together.
I suggest the spray in this case so there are no bubbles of adhesive but a thin coat allowed to get tacky then pressed together is how laminate countertops are done.
Once the contact glue , rubber cement is applied it should not come loose again so make sure to align the piece as once stuck it is almost impossible to remove without breaking.
I have laminate rollers to push things together but this size could be done with the palm of your hand just don’t use excessive glue.


Light never turns off Just moved to a 30 year old house. Light in laundry never goes off. Turning the wall switch on or off will brighten the light but it never turns off. I removed the switch completely and taped off the bare wires but light stays on.
Spoooky

Just a hunch, but worth investigating.
I suspect you have this light fixture somehow linked into two circuits. That should never happen, but if it does, you can end up with a lot of strange things.
Find the Breakers
You need to figure out which breaker controls the switch and which breaker controls the light separate from the switch. Doing that may get a bit tricky, as I would not connect the switch back to the light again until this is straightened out.
I would get a non-contact tester and/or a multimeter to test the switch wires. You should see one of the wires hot (lit up with the non-contact tester) and 120V (assuming US for the moment) between the wires. When you turn off the relevant breaker you should no longer see a hot wire and the voltage between the wires will either be zero or some relatively low phantom voltage.
When you have the switch breaker off, does the light go out? If it does, then the next step is to check each other device (light, switch, receptacle, built-in appliance) on the same circuit (i.e., everything that goes off when you turn off that breaker), looking for loose wires, things wired incorrectly, etc.
If the light stays on when the switch breaker is off then you have to keep flipping breakers until you find the one that turns off the light. Then you know that you have a cross-connection between the two circuits which is NOT a good thing. That could take take several forms, and will likely require checking out the wiring on both circuits. But I would actually start in that case with the wires going into the problem light fixture. One possibility is that wires for the 2nd circuit pass through the ceiling junction box and that when the light fixture was replaced, the wires got messed up. But there are other possibilities as well.


I need a concrete footing to be 5 feet tall. What circumference and reinforcement do I need? I am building a deck which will be 24 feet off the ground.  In order to use shorter posts can I build footings that will be approx. 5 feet tall from the soil line?  If so, how wide around (circumference) should the footing be and what is the best way to reinforce it?  And, how deep should the footing be underground?

when you are building things 24 feet up and asking these kind of questions, it should be self evident you need to hire someone to do it for you or at the very least handle the technical design and ensure that what gets built is inspected and checked to make sure it matches the design specifications.

do yourself and any of your future guests and neighbours a favour, and get an architect and a general contractor involved.


Can a lower cabinet be used over a floor vent? I didn't see this question asked after my search but I have a wall in the kitchen that has nothing against it and we are wanting to add some cabinets but towards the right of this wall, about 5' from it, is a vent in the floor. I was wondering if a lower base cabinet can be sectioned/front-cap removed or if there was a special fitting (such as a 90 vent cover just for the base of cabinets) to allow ventilation from a vent in the floor? We do get vary broad climate changes so I was curious to know if I do add a vent in the bottom base would that possibly warp the cabinet even if I insulate it?

Yes, it can be done.

Relocating the vent, however, is a better general solution because:

The HVAC system can operate closer to its design. Reduced size registers and additional bends change the back-pressure and can readily throw the system out of balance.
Specialized registers and other parts are not required.
The less common installation is more prone to errors than typical industry practices.

None of which is to say that this is or is not the right solution for any particular installation, but rather than it is really only the preferred solution for a set of edge cases.


Why would an iMac computer cause lights on a circuit to flicker when it goes into sleep mode? Background

My wife has an iMac computer that is approximately 3 years old.   When the computer goes into sleep mode the lights on the circuit the iMac is plugged into flicker.
My house was built in 1963 in Missouri.  The house has 100 amp service all wiring is copper and grounded properly.

What I have done

Originally I didn't realize the iMac was causing the lights to flicker.   So I looked at all the wiring on the circuit looking for a loose neutral.   Nothing was loose anywhere.
I looked at the breaker in the panel to see if it was loose.  It was not loose but I replaced the breaker anyway.
I tested the voltage on the panel and it appeared to be between 119 and 120 so I assumed the box was ok.
The flickering still persisted so I called an electrician.   Unfortunately the flickering was not happening we he arrived (at this point I still didn't know it was the iMac).   He looked for loose neutrals and checked the panel.  He said the panel and circuit looked fine.
One morning my wife walked into the office and started using her computer.  I was in the bathroom watching the lights flicker (and losing my mind) when the lights stopped flickering.  Alas,  I figured it out and could reproduce the issue.    Whenever the iMac when into sleep mode the lights flickered.    Typically my wife would be using the computer and let it sleep overnight.  This is why I notice the circuits flickering only at certain times!
I plugged the iMac into other circuits, set it to sleep and the lights on the other circuits flickered as well!  So it was definitely the iMac...
I take the iMac to the local Mac shop.   They think i'm crazy as they have never heard of such a thing.   The run it through all their tests and it passes w/ flying colors. They  contact apple.  apple declares it impossible and it must be something w/ my wiring.   They said they could replace the power supply in the iMac (around 150 or so, not steep) but it is probably not the issue.

I posted this question on apples forums and didn't hear anything. I found someone on google complain of the same issue but didn't see a resolution.

Any thoughts from the electrical experts?    I'm going to run the iMac over to the neighbors house and if his lights don't flicker i'm going to assume it is my panel, as it causes flickering on all my circuits in the house.

I do know that some of the circuits in my house have new copper wiring where another light fixture or two was added.    Newer copper wiring shouldn't have any problems with older copper wiring should it?

A few things that can cause this:

Faulty iMac supply.
"Hot fault" in the wiring... A bad junction somewhere, or a physically damaged wire, or wires that are too small for the current draw (and the fuse or circuit breaker!).
Exotic interference.  Is there an electronic switch or timer, or a low-quality UPS, or one of those infernal "SpySmart Meters" somewhere?

Note that for items 1 and 2, you should see a voltage drop -- measured at the outlet that the iMac is plugged in to. A drop from 120V to 110V yields roughly a 16% drop in incandescent brightness.  A drop from 120V to 100V, causes about a 31% drop in brightness.

What iMac model is it? What specs does it list for power?  iMacs usually run at about 80W to 200W, but I read once that they can have short, peak draws of 1000W.

A surge protector will do nothing in this case, but a battery backup with brown-out protection will protect the computer and may lesson the flickering.

If it is a "hot fault" type problem, there is a very real danger of fire.  A fuse or circuit breaker cannot guard against such faults either, but you should immediately verify that the circuit breakers are properly sized for the wire gauge(s) of each circuit (the smallest wire gauge, if more than one was used).


Why don’t I have power to new light fixtures I installed? I have installed two new light fixtures that are on the same breaker; a hallway and bathroom vanity. I simply replaced the outdated ones.
The first one in the hallway worked fine.

Started working in the bathroom. Now, neither of them work
Everything is connected like it should be. I made sure no connections came undone.

I disconnected the bathroom. The
hallway doesn’t work.

I turn on the breaker there’s still no electricity being sent to the bathroom or hallway. Is there something I haven’t checked? Did I break my house?

The thing about GFCI

GFCI isn't a special kind of socket.  It's a zone of protection.   Inside that zone, the current going in and out is monitored.  (electricity flows in loops, that's why every plug has at least 2 prongs).  If the 2 sides of the loop are equal, all is well. If not, current is leaking and could be shocking someone.

Here's an example of a zone.  Some GFCIs are circuit breakers.  The GFCI breaker places the entire circuit in its zone of protection.

You're well familiar with the GFCI receptacle.  Obviously, the GFCI socket places the sockets into its zone of protection, I mean duh :)  But actually, on the back of the GFCI receptacle, covered up with a warning tape that says (very roughly) "For Wizards Only", are two special terminals marked LOAD.  They have one purpose: extending the zone of protection to more of the circuit. (And they should never be used, ever, except for that one purpose - that's why the LINE screws take two wires).

So even a GFCI socket somewhere else can protect other stuff - lights, fans, and other sockets.

Think about it:  That socket in the bathroom must get its power from somewhere, right?  Very likely that place is itself some sort of GFCI device.   That would explain why the bathroom doesn't have a GFCI receptacle if it's already under the protection of a GFCI device somewhere else, it wouldn't need one!

Anyway... I have a sneaking feeling that you changed these lights with the power turned on.  And I have a feeling you touched a neutral wire to ground, or did something to cause imbalanced current to flow, and this tripped a GFCI somewhere.

So you need to go hunting for that GFCI recep, breaker or deadfront that has tripped.


How can I finish the concrete block wall along my basement steps with drywall? I'm finishing my 50 year old basement and need advice on finishing the wall by the stairs.   There's only 2 inches to the inside edge of the stringer so no room for 2x4s. Would strapping backed with a gasket and the stair stringer as the baseplate work? I could replace the moulding along the top for something thicker and use that as a top plate.
I'm open to alternatives!

Does the wall sweat or leak ?

If not then I would affix  finish grade 1/2" plywood with adhesive.

It would be less messy to get off then dry wall if you had to and it would allow you hang photo or art with small screws.

You could mount it directly to the blocks or you could put very thin 1/4" slats as furring strip on with construction adhesive ( better i think ) and then attach it ( or drywall ) to the furring strips.

You could even do 2'x2' squares and stain/paint each one with its own shade/color.

Just saying,  outside the box thinking.

P.S. this could also apply to your other question about the concrete ceiling.


Sizing of 1600' water pipe run I'm looking at running water to a water trough that is 1600' away from my water source.  I'll need about 5-10 gpm flow at the trough.  My water source produces 40-60 psi from a bladder tank and has a 3/4" port.  I am hoping to run a 3/4" PVC all the way but am concerned about flow loss from psi loss?

Tl;dr

To get 5 gpm, you need a pressure head of about 85 ft. (i.e your inlet would have to be 85 ft above your outlet).  Of course, this is what they make pumps for!  To get 85 ft of pressure head, you need about a ~0.15-hp pump.

Detailed Answer
Someone should definitely check my math on this :P

Assumptions and constraints:

No rise or drop in pipe (i.e. you're pumping across flat ground)
Minor losses (e.g. through unions, etc.) are negligible given the large length-to-diameter ratio of the tubing run.
ID of 3/4" PVC: 0.824 in or 68.7E-3 ft (based on OD nominal of 1.050 in and wall thickness nominal of 0.113 in)
Equivalent roughness (ε) of PVC pipe: 0.000005 ft (ref. Moody & Colebrook)
Density of water (ρ) at 60 °F: 1.94 slugs/ft3
Dynamic viscosity (μ) of water at 60 °F: 2.34E-5 lb-s/ft2

Solution:

Because the diameter is constant over the length of the pipe, inlet and outlet velocities are the same.  We can assume pressures at the inlet and outlet are the same, too (large, open tanks).  So if we modify the Bernoulli equation with p1=p2=V1=V2=0, we get:

hp = (f * l * V2) / (D * 2g )

where hp is the head pressure required to make the flow, f is the friction factor of the pipe, l is the length, V is the linear flow velocity, D is the diameter (ID), and g is acceleration due to gravity.

We find V by:

V = Q/A

where Q is the flow rate and A is the area of the pipe.  Q is 5 gpm, or 11.14E-3 ft3/s (60 seconds in a minute, and 7.48 gallons per ft3).  The area of a circle is π * (D/2)2, so our area is 3.71E-3 ft2.  Thus, our velocity is 3.01 ft/s.

To find f, we need to know the ratio of equivalent roughness to diameter (ε/D) and the Reynolds number. ε/D is 72.8E-6.  We find the Reynolds number, Re, using the equation

Re = (ρ * V * D) / μ

Thus, Re for our flow is 17.14E3.  With Re and ε/D known, we determine f from the Moody Chart. f is approximately 0.0258.

Solving our original equation above for hp gives us hp = 84.5 ft

To find hp in terms of power, Php, we use the equation

Php = ρ * g * Q * hp

which yields Php of 58.8 ft-lbf/s. Converted to horsepower, this is 0.106 hp.


2 thermostats week on week off I work week on and week of so my house requires completely different heating on these weeks.
What I want to do is have 2 thermostats set to the different setting and turn one on and one off depending on if I’m work or at home.
This way it allows me to actually program a 14 day cycle. For the week that I’m working this should save a lot.
That is the plan just wondering if it would work.

A thermostat is basically a few contact closures that are controlled by a temperature switch and a schedule (on programmable models).  You can split the wires going to your single thermostat and run them in parallel to more than one thermostat.  Your plan will work and with the cost of 7-day programmable thermostats, it's probably the cheapest option.

However, as others have noted, WiFi thermostats are the future, and if you have a C-wire available (search this site for tons of info on C-wires), they can be great.  Nest is not the only "smart" thermostat available, and I for one do not like the way it claims to "learn" my schedule.  I use a cheaper WiFi thermostat that can be programmed just like traditional models to very specific times and temperatures without any guesswork.


light switch is apparently broke, but the light stays on my light switch apparently broke with the light on.  Now the light will not turn off. Is it safe to leave the light on overnight with the switch broken?

As Ariser mentioned, what type of broke is broke?

If you mean the light switch simply doesn't turn off and on any longer then you should be fine. Any Major electrical problems would either be kicking breakers, making the lights dim or you would smell foul burning plastic. I would however fix it ASAP to avoid even the chance of an electrical fire.


Install one dimmer switch which is one of two regular switches We're purchasing (5) dimmable LED's for the kitchen and I'm now researching the dimmable switches.  The lights are controlled by two switches on opposite sides of the room.  Either one can turn off or turn on the lights  (So one may be up while the other down, or vice versa)
One is on a 3 gang switch. The other switch is single.

This may be somewhat of a duplicate of this question.
Can I install a dimmer switch on a 2 way circuit?

If it is, it sounds like it's doable, but I had questions on the actual implementation.  What do I need to do with the regular switch?  Do I need to leave it on, and cover it with one of these switch covers so it doesn't get switched, or do I need to replace both with dimmable (that doesn't sound like the right answer), or something else??  I'm in the USA.

I learned that I have a 3-way switch.  Wired it according to instructions and left the 'regular' switch alone. It works great.


Help installing a dimmer switch in a 3-way I'm trying to install a dimmer switch on a 3-way switch (there's another switch that also controls this light). The old switch has a black and white wire each connected to a brass screw, another black wire going into a hole labeled common, and a third black wire attached to the black screw next to the common hole. The bare ground wire is coiled up in the back of the box. The directions only mention connecting 4 wires, including the ground. We initially got the light to work and dim when connecting the third black wire to the ground on the new switch. However, another light and ceiling fan didn't work. I suspect one of the black wires goes on to power the other light switch and fan downstream. Where do I attach this wire to the dimmer?

You'll have to take the black wire that was hooked to the black common screw and hook it to the black wire that went into the hole marked "common". Then both of those wires get connected to the "line or hot" wire for the dimmer. The other two wires get hooked to the dimmer per the instructions as does your ground wire.


Using pressure-treated wood to make a sandbox I'd like to build an sandbox for my toddler children. I'd like it to be inexpensive and low-maintenance (no repeated annual sealing of wood, etc.), and it seems that pressure-treated (as opposed to naturally rot-resistant) wood will have these qualities. But my research online is turning up conflicting opinions about safety issues - some say pressure treated wood contains harmful chemicals and others say it no longer does. Can someone help me decide, perhaps with references to authoritative sources?

Pressure treated wood is treated with chemicals. You have to ask yourself if there is any risk. Best strategy if you have any concern at all is to avoid the treated wood and go with something natural. You could use cedar and leave it unfinished use something like fir and paint it.

When I made a sandbox for kids years ago I used fir and painted it with safe paint. I also made the box with legs in the corners so that it was held up off the ground about 6 inches. Spaced fir planks for the bottom with landscape weed control fabric in the bottom allows for drainage whilst at the same time keeps the sand from escaping through the quarter inch spaces between the bottom planks.


Two flanges underneath toilet? Little outside my wheel house here. I took up a toilet in a new (to me) property to re-seat it with a new wax ring, and found two flanges underneath, with a lot of corrosion looks like

The white flange actually came off with the toilet. There were the typical 2 bolts holding the toilet to the floor, but I didn't see anything else - looks like the bolts were bolting the toilet to the white flange. This is a lower level of a split level home, so on concrete slab.

What do I do here? It doesn't seem like using a new wax ring and attaching it to the white flange would be sufficient - do I need to find some other bolts?

What it looks like is that you have a Ceramic Floor.

You need to use two flanges - the reason for this setup is that the pipe flange does not sit high enough for the toilet to properly seat against - the tile height is a problem its a bit too high. So the common procedure is to install a spacer or extender flange. Typically you will have a Caulking to Form a Gasket between the two lower flanges. Clink my link below to get the details.

Here is the options and a more detailed layout of what and why and how to resolve the issue.

How to remove a metal flange toilet gasket and replace it - some ideas for repair are included.


Accidentally Used Topping Compound for Taping Drywall Joint. What To Do? I made a rookie mistake and accidentally used Topping Compound when I taped my newly-hung drywall.

To be clear: I used topping on the joint and then embedded the tape into it.

What should my next step(s) be?

Can I use all-purpose to go over the tape to help with adhesion? Or, should I just continue on and use Topping for 2nd and 3rd coats?

Topping compound is softer and easier to sand than regular mud. If everything is dry and and secure you may be ok. If you want to remove it just get it wet and topping mud should release and can be scraped off. If you haven't done very many joints I would remove it because it is not as strong. If everything looks go ahead and top and sand with topping mud.


Bulb for my curio cabinet Can I replace my Furnlite FC-910 50PAR20 120V with a GE Halogen FL25 Beam 38W 120V bulb?

The 50PAR20 is a 50-watt bulb.  The halogen is 38W, so the total heat dumped into your cabinet will be less.  However, the halogen bulb itself will get a lot hotter than the PAR20, so if the bulb is enclosed (e.g. behind a translucent lens), you probably shouldn't use the halogen.  Further, if the bulb sits close to wood or other flammable materials (and theres' no metal liner to the socket area), you probably don't want to use it.  Even if it never leads to smoke, it might age the wood around the bulb.


Electric water heater T&P popping off I am having a problem with the T&P valve opening continuously, on & off. I found the T. stats where bad due to temp settings 140 degrees replaced, the expansion tank full of water replaced also replaced the T&P valve. last thing I will be checking is the water pressure regulating valve. If I open the cold water inlet to the tank open all the way, it opens quicker. what going on ?

You may have a shorted element that will cause water to over heat which in turn will cause the T&P to open regularly/occasionally.


Toilet tank slow leak such that it runs for a few seconds periodically to refill I've read through many of the q&a's here on the board and had already presumed my issue was a worn flapper. I ordered the replacement flapper from American Standard, adjusted as per their instructions (float placement), adjusted the chain so that there is some slack when the flapper is closed and figured I was all set. Well, not so.
The toilet is almost exactly 11 years old and this issue is a recent occurrence.
I put some beet juice in the tank (I didn't have food dye) and let it sit for half an hour. There was some tinging in the bowl. There is no sign of leakage on the outside of the tank whatsoever. I removed the new flapper, cleaned off the seat where the flapper sits and reinstalled. The issue remains.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hoofbeats = horses
Which is to say a common problem like this is still probably the flapper rather than some exotic unicorn of a problem.
Here is an experiment:

Get bricks or something comparably heavy and inert.  Put bricks on top of the flapper in the tank pressing it down.  That thing will be sealed. Beet juice or food coloring or not as you see fit.  If you don't get any more leaking then it is the flapper somehow.

Why might you still not get a good seal with a new flapper?  Maybe the bottom of the toilet tank around the hole is uneven - hard water deposits?  A good first step for stuff not working as it should is to clean it.  I will testify that one need not be a mechanical genius to clean stuff and have it work better.  I would start with scrubbing the bottom of the tank where the flapper sits when closed.  Maybe scrub with an old toothbrush or scouring pad.  See how it works then.
Without the bricks.  See how it works without the bricks.  Reserve those for later use.


What wire is needed for a 400 Amp service between the mast and the meter? I am upgrading to a 400 Amp service in Washington State. My power company is Mason County PUD 1. The AHJ is Washington State L&I. The panel I'm planning on using is the Siemens MC0816B1400RLTM. What size/type wires should I use between the mast head and the line side of the meter? How do I connect these wires to the power company's service wires? This is max 14' run (10' of mast, 2' on either end).
The Siemens spec sheet says the max wire on the line side of the meter is (1)600kcmil OR (2)350kcmil for the two hots and (1) 500kcmil OR (2) 250kcmil on the neutral. In their meter requirements, the power company says "Lugs must accept 350 MCM aluminum wire." They say this is the largest wire they carry. I just confirmed with them that they will have six service wires coming to me from the power pole.
I haven't been able to find a consistent answer to what wire I need. I'm thinking AL XHHW-2.
If there is some way I can join the power company's parallel lines into one, I think I would use 600 MCM for hot and 500 MCM for neutral. According to https://www.wireandcableyourway.com/xhhw-2/, 600 MCM is 385 amps at 90 C. Assuming I never use the full 400 Amps, does this work? What gizmo would I use to bond each of the two wires from the power company with my one wire that leads to the mast head?
Or should I continue their parallel runs through the mast all the way to the meter? Again sticking with AL XHHW-2, the same place says 4/0 is 205 Amps at 90 C. So, in parallel, does that make it 410 Amps? Is that sufficient? Or is it close enough that I'd be better off going with parallel 250 MCM? Again, what gizmo do I use to bond each of the six wires from the power company to one of my six going into my mast?
I had been planning on a 3" dia. mast. Is that sufficient? More than sufficient?

First off, the utility generally makes the hookups at the service masthead
The first order of business is a point of clarification.  According to what I have been able to find, your utility is conventional in that they make the final connection from the service drop to the service entrance conductors coming out of the weatherhead; the 18" tails are required so the linesperson can make those splices comfortably.
As to sizing...
This leaves us with mast and conduit sizing.  A 3" rigid (galvanized) conduit mast is generally considered adequate for a 400A service entrance, at least from the utility service requirements I have read, as physical strength is also a factor here, not just conduit fill (although a smaller conduit wouldn't work anyway, as you'll see below, due to the need to upsize the wires).
This brings us to wire sizing, which is a bit non-intuitive as parallel wires still need to have their ampacities derated for fill as per NEC 310.15(B)(3)(a), but we also have to apply the 83% demand factor for residential services provided by 310.15(B)(7) point 1.  Furthermore, meter socket lugs aren't rated for 90°C, so we have to use the 75°C column instead.  This means your 4/0 is right out as two 4/0 wires in parallel can't even get us to 400A to begin with before we apply the derating.
So, we must upsize the wire.  While 250kcmil seems like an attractive next stop, and two 250kcmil wires in parallel can manage 410A on 75°C terminations, we have to take 20% off the top to account for the fact there are 6 wires in the conduit.  This puts us down at 328A for the parallel combination, just short of the 332A required by the 83% rule for a 400A nominal service entrance.
As a result, we find ourselves looking at 4 300kcmil Al XHHW-2 wires in the service entrance mast, 2 per leg, along with 2 250kcmil wires for the neutrals since the line neutral lug on your meter base can't take anything larger.  These give us a healthy 368A after the derate is applied, which is more than sufficient to meet our 332A requirement.  (Were this not a residential service, you'd have to provide for the full 400A nominal requirement, which'd require another size bump to paralleled 350kcmil conductors.)
You are correct that 600kcmil is the right size for using a single wire per leg for the service entrance, though -- this gives you 340A at 75°C, just enough to meet our 332A requirement.  Furthermore, it is about $0.50/ft cheaper at the time of this writing than the parallel conductors, and also takes up slightly less conduit area, albeit not enough to actually matter.  However, the larger conductors can be more difficult to pull through the conduit, which may be an issue, although the reduced surface area compared to the paralleled conductors means you have less chance of skinning the wire, all the same.


Protection of sensor and electrical wire conduits/trays from water I have an application where I have to use a couple of temperature sensors and some electrical wires running around a container (l x b x h = 2.3 x 12 x 2.6 m) that is situated outdoors. The electrical wires basically are coming from and going to a PLC and cable conduits or cable trays will be used for cable passage. which is the best one (cost-effective) to use, cable conduits or cable trays when concerned with protection from water? How can I safeguard my sensors and the electrical cable conduits /trays from rainwater/snow? What can be the protection possibilities?

I have hundreds of sensors out in the rain, you just need to select ones rated for out door use. I preferr 24 volt models if your rack is 24 volt there is less chance of problems with water. The only one I could see a problem with is the thermocouple. If only high temp fiber insulation when the cable gets wet it can mess up your voltage and give inaccurate readings. This is solved with plastic insulationon the wires or the outer sheith. I like low voltage because I can have the wire going in free air to the mount where if 120v the eye or prox would need to be mounted in the junction box to protect the wires.


What's the difference between a NM clamp connector and a FMC clamp connector? Is there a functional difference between these two connectors?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Halex-3-8-in-Non-Metallic-NM-Twin-Screw-Cable-Clamp-Connectors-5-Pack-20511/100133208?MERCH=REC-_-NavPLPHorizontal1_rr--NA--100133208-_-N

https://www.homedepot.com/p/3-8-in-Flexible-Metal-Conduit-FMC-Combination-Clamp-Connector-5-Pack-20570/100186543?MERCH=REC-_-NavPLPHorizontal1_rr--NA--100186543-_-N

If you used the NM one on FMC condiut, what would happen?

It will work fine, no problem doing it
It will work fine, but inspectors would get mad
It won't work/is bad/dangerous for some reason
other? haha

A cable clamp has one job

It's supposed to clamp the cable in a way that the cable won't fall out of the hole, and will not damage the cable.

Notice the clamps are different shapes (assuming these are even pictures of the actual product, who's to say?)

So it goes without saying that the different shape will result in different clamping and damage characteristics.

However, it looks like the clamps may differ only in the cover plate, so if you have already installed the wrong thing, you may be able to correct it by swapping cover plates instead of rewiring.


how to tell if a remote lot ever floods? Any way to tell if some remote lots I have ever floods?  It's 3 hours away and i've been there a few times and even after rains seems not, but I'd like to be sure.  would  driving some white wood stakes in a bunch of places and coming back in a few months show a water mark?

Anything distinctive in the grass or soil indicate flooding?

Do any of these images indicate rain run off flooding? Right now being winter in Central Florida and everything looks dry and brown like this.

UPDATE 4/20/2020:  Something like this?

You could make indicators, e.g. stakes with a water-soluble dye (food coloring? water-color marker?) at various levels, covered by a plastic tube, and with a cone over the top, leaving some air-space between cone and tube. Direct rain should not be able to hit the stake, but standing water would rise in the tube, blurring the dye marks.

These indicators would be very inexpensive and easy to make, so set out a fair number in different locations.


Why are two breakers controlling the same circuit? I don't know too much about wiring and such, but I can get my self into trouble. At the church I go to there is a set of chandeliers (4) in the sanctuary. Each one of them has two sets of lights in them. There are two breakers, one controlling one set, the other controlling the other set. There are no switch's we use the breakers to turn them on and off. The problem I see is that one night I went to turn them off, and the one set of lights wouldn't turn off. I thought the problem was the beaker. After looking at the labeling on the door of the box, it says that breaker (5) also turns them off. When I flipped the beaker, they turned off. The breaker that we use normally is not 5; I think its 4, but the labeling saying what it does is blocking the number.

Now to try and wrap this up, I don't understand and don't know how safe it is to have two breakers go to the same place and turn on and off the same lights.

If both 4 + 5 must be on for the lights to be on, that's weird but safe.

If 4 turns on the lights, then (with 4 off) 5 turns on the lights, call an electrician.


Is it within code to run ent conduit into a junction box on the exterior of the home? I am in the construction process for a new home.  I asked the Low Voltage Contractor to run conduit to about 13 places inside the house.  In addition to that I asked for a run to the exterior of the house to connect to the telecom box outside, so that future runs for cable, satellite, fiber, etc, would be a simple task of just pulling through the conduit already connected to the house from inside the box, even once we finish the basement.

After making this request I learned that:

  ENT shall not be used in the following:

  (8) Where exposed to the direct rays of the sun, unless identified as
  sunlight resistant

I also did not know at the time that the Low Voltage Contractor is not the one who will install the telecom box.  Right now the conduit on the  outside of the home looks like this:

Because the house next door is already almost finished, I learned today that the telecom box will look exactly like this:

Will the cable company attach the conduit to the telecom box from inside the back so that it is inside the box?

Even if so, will this then be code compliant since the conduit is technically not directly in the sunlight anymore?  would there possibly be rain and water damage in the home from this?

If not, what needs to be done?

The hole should be sealed at the exit point prior to the box being installed and it would be code compliant.


Which nails should I use for shoe molding installation? I'm about to install shoe molding all over my house. The baseboards are hung for carpet, but we're replacing the carpet with vinyl. So I have a pretty good sized gap to cover. I'll probably use 11/16 quarter round.

The store display calls for 2.5 inch finish nails for installation. Will I be ok with 2 inch brad nails?

I'll be buying a nail gun for this project, and I'm trying to decide between a finish nailer or a brad nailer.

Definitely the Brad nails.  The finish nails will leave larger holes (16 gauge vs 18 gauge usually) and will be more likely to split the wood.  Based on the size of your shoe, i dont think you could use pin nails (18-23 gauge).

The Big Box home improvement store always sell kits with finish, brad, and pin nailers for pretty cheap.  Some have 2 guns, some 3, and some come with other stuff.  I've always found that the best way to go.

Just did a quick check for some kits.  Home depot 3 piece Kit for $99.  I have had good luck with the Husky Brand from HD.  Lowe's had some kits but they were name brand and a lot more expensive.  Could also check out Harbor Freight, their stuff is definitely cheaper quality, but maybe that is ok for your situation and usage.


Fixing a couple of screw holes on a dryer Note: I apologize beforehand if my question lacks any necessary information. Repairing my own stuff is a new experience for me. I am happy to provide any additional information on request. If this question's already been asked in some form, I apologize. Close as duplicate, you know the drill.

I have a pair of what I'm assuming to be stripped screw holes on a newly-purchased dryer unit. I tried screwing them in initially with a power tool which I now know that was the wrong thing to do. When I try screwing in the screws manually, the screws get incredibly tight and won't go all the way in.
The holes are where the metal piece for the dryer door latches, so these screw holes are necessary. I tried using Woodmate's Mr. Grip Stripped Screw Hole Repair Kit, but there is no "back" in the holes to catch the strips, and the holes are so tiny that the strip I cut has a single row of teeth.

--

Questions
First: Are the holes stripped? If so, what options do I have for fixing small stripped holes on a dryer unit? (I have no way of isolating the screw holes from the rest of the unit, at least without taking the whole dryer apart)
Second: If they are not stripped, what am I doing wrong? Other than using a power tool on the first attempt of screwing them in, that part was my fault. Is this something a beginner can fix?
Follow-up: Would it be okay to fill the holes with clay or putty or even melted solder and then try screwing the screw back in before the material dries? Or is that a recipe for disaster?

--

Details
Dryer model: MED5630HW (stackable, square door)
Screw type: WPW10288126, T25, they are ~1/2 inches in length

--

Background info:

I recently bought a new dryer and forgot to mention to the salesperson that the door would need to be flipped before delivery. I decided to do it myself.

I have the door flipped and attached to the dryer unit, but in the process I mistakenly stripped a couple of screw holes using a power tool. If I try manually screwing the screws in with a hand tool, they get stuck halfway.

I'm a beginner with DIY stuff (I shocked myself that I was able to flip the dryer door on my own), so I don't feel comfortable with re-threading the screw hole with a new screw because it's a new dryer. If it weren't new or it was something else, I wouldn't care and I'd consider it a learning experience if I mucked something up. I really don't want to make things worse.

Edit - pictures:
#1 - Problematic screw holes

#2 - Close up of one screw hole

#3 - The door attachment that I'm trying to attach to my dryer, picture was taken before I started

Based on the comment thread, your screws are not damaged excessively. This means you can take the good screws to a local hardware store and ask for a matching tap to clean or re-tap the threads in the door. The hardware store person should find a nut to fit the screw, identifying the thread as metric or SAE and then match the tap tool accordingly.

For a one-off task such as this, you can get away without a tap handle. Use an adjustable wrench set to match the flats on the tap, place the tap in the hole and attempt to start the cutting threads to match the probably-damaged threads in the dryer wall. Because the threads were there previously, you won't have to use the forward half-turn, backwards quarter-turn practice used for tapping a drilled hole. A bit of lubricant would be useful, a light oil or even motor oil.  The image below is an arbitrary selection from Amazon.

Once the tap spins with minimal effort, back it out and your screws will fit again.


Replacing exterior hose valve, interior connection I want to make sure I'm going about replacing the my exterior hose connection properly:

The exterior hose connection on our ~1930s era brick house started leaking badly out of the handle.  Naturally, I thought to remove the handle to take a look inside.  All of the hardware looks old, though not 1930s old.  However, as I removed the handle, the screw holding the handle on to the interior valve promptly broke in half.  Thus I'm now faced with replacing the entire exterior/interior hose connection.

The exterior hose connection goes straight back into the basement.  It goes exterior hose connection -> cutoff valve -> cold water supply.  I can rotate the exterior hose connection, which rotates the interior connection, including the valve!.

I want to back out the hose connection from the valve while keeping the valve in place; and hopefully replace the whole thing with a new frost proof hose connection (assuming this is a standard length).  Is the right way to go about this having someone hold the interior valve to cold water connection with a wrench, while I turn the exterior hose connection?  Then just put the new hose connection through the hold hole in the brick and screw it into the valve?

Thanks!

Better to use an actual pipe wrench to unscrew the pipe inside from the valve inside while you hold both. A single person doing both parts is better able to balance the forces, and if you unscrew the valve outside you may just screw it off the pipe stub, not the pipe stub from the valve inside as you want. Correct term for "pipe stub" is pipe nipple, my brain belatedly dredges up.

As for "standard length" for frost-free hose bibbs, just get one that is long enough - if that's a little too long, just make a trim block to take up the difference on the outside of the house. A good application for PVC "trim lumber" as it does not rot.

Note that you may be able to skip the whole business by using a drill and screw extractor to remove the broken screw from the valve stem on the present valve. You could remove the packing nut and pull the valve stem to take to someone else for that service (likelihood of just being able to find a replacement valve stem is unfortunately subject to a very wide range of valve makers with incompatible parts, but it's not impossible, just a needle in the haystack.) Your call.


Seal out draft from sliding, frameless shower door There is a draft coming from the vertical gap between the two sliding doors on my shower.

Is there some sort of sweep or stripping designed for this purpose?  Lacking that, are there any alternatives I can use to keep the cold air out?

I'd say go for winter weather stripping, but I don't see that lasting too long. So, I'd really say go with car door Edge Moldings. There are a variety of widths & colors, they just slip over the edge & can be glued if the friction fit doesn't hold-up, literally. You'll probably want to do both doors.


How to close gaps between laminate floorboards I have a laminate "click together" flooring and some of the board have separated.

If I kick my foot on some of the boards, I can scooch some of them together.
However, its not very effective. Is there a tool for closing floorboards. Perhaps something that has a rubber foot to stick to the board that I can tap along with a hammer?

A suction cup (~$12) and a rubber mallet:

From:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mmhet1bp9U

... its possible to stick the suction cup to the floor board and tap it with a rubber mallet. Glue can be applied in the gaps. The gaps should be cleared of debris first.


6 Terminals Coming Off Switch? I have a switch in a ceiling fan's wiring. It controls the direction of the fan.

So it's a two position switch, but it has 6 terminals coming off of it!

Is this switching the phase and the neutral simultaneously?

I can envision some potential problems if the switch didn't switch the wires simultaneously. Am I misunderstanding what this switch does?

The switch is a DPDT switch and is reversing the phase relationship between two winding's. Typically the outer terminals will be cross connected.  As far as mains voltage etc, that is circuit and motor dependent.


What are some tools for diagnosing powerline networking problems? We've had problems with a number of devices that communicate over power lines -- both the TED 5000 electricity monitor and most recently a pair of Netgear powerline networking adapters.

I've tried a first pass of trying to find a particular appliance that might be generating noise, but even with all the breakers off but one we still have the same problems.

I'm looking for suggestions as to what I can do to diagnose this problem...is there any way for me to diagnose the magnitude of "noise" on the circuits?  Are there other things I should try?

120714-1952 EDT

TED power line communication is a moderately steady data stream. X-10 and similar devices are very intermittent.

TED 1000 outputs a stream (packet) of data about 0.1 second long, and this occurs every 1 second. Thus, a single TED MTU is consuming 10% of the channel capacity. One packet extends over about 6 cycles of the 60 Hz supply. There is only one way communication in the TED 1000 system for normal data collection.

TED 5000 outputs a stream of data about 0.2 seconds long, and this occurs every 2 to 5 seconds. Again for a single MTU it may be about 10% of the channel capacity. In addition every 1 minute a longer packet is sent that requires an acknowledgement from the receiving end.

In the TED system a lot of data is sent in 1 second. In the X-10 system one on or off command can be sent in about 1 second. For most applications the TED data only needs to go to one location to do an adequate job. In the X-10 application the command must go to many dispersed locations in a broadcast fashion. TED really does not need to operate in a broadcast type mode. However, TED is sold with that capability as a feature.

If I was designing a TED system I would use a dedicated wired connection. Too many customers are tolerant of computers and other electronic devices with bugs and other types of problems. PLC (power line communication) appears, from the comments on the Internet, to cause a lot of problems for TED customers.

A TED system operates at a 125 kHz carrier frequency. This is about the 7500th harmonic of 60 Hz. Unless you employed a very good square-wave shaping circuit on the basic 60 Hz sine wave there would be little energy at 125 kHz. There may be devices connected to the AC line and synchronized to 60 Hz that generate substantial power in the 125 kHz range, but I don't really want to call these harmonics. Rather I would consider them as uncorrelated noise.

What is a good reliable method to work with the TED system, and also prevent it from interfering with other systems? Select an existing 120 V branch circuit, or create a new circuit. This is to be an isolated circuit with only one RDU xor Gateway and the associated MTUs as the connections to the isolated branch circuit. Where this isolated circuit connects into the main panel place an X-10 in-line filter between the breaker and the isolated circuit. The in-line filter places a high impedance at around 125 kHz between the isolated circuit and all other circuits.

With this scheme I can get zero packet errors over very long time periods. No problem over a 250 ft length of #14 Romex cable.

You can find additional information at my web site http://beta-a2.com/ . Pick Energy for a summary of my book ( http://beta-a2.com/energy.html ), and pick TED MTU Data Format for a discussion on the 1000 and 5000 packet structures.

.


Underlayment for vinyl plank flooring I recently noticed a low spot or sag where my kitchen, hallway and dining room meet. I pulled up the carpet to find what appears to be 1/2 inch toung and groove OSB (the actual floor) that was not installed correctly and has separated at the joints causing the sag and squeaks. Unfotrunately it runns under all interior walls so replacing it seems out of the question. I am looking to install vinyl plank in place of carpet and and am looking for suggestions what to use as underlaymen. I was thinking of 1/2 to 3/4 inch plywood directly over the OSB, to stiffen up the floor and then using a felt or foam vapor barrier. This is an interlocking, floating floor and we plan to stay here a while. I unserstand that this will raise the floor and all doors will need to be cut to clear but I plan to replace all the trim and door jambs in the process. I have laid carpet and 1/2 inch hardwood but never vinyl so any help or advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Mike

That I am aware of T&G is not available in 1/2". 5/8" is thinest, and if carpet is the choice of finish, it should be 3/4". But it doesn't mean it will be.

You will need to set the screws or any nails that are above the floor, and check if the subfloor is flat enough for the manufacturers requirements for their floor. Usually it is something like no more than 1/8" deflection in a 4' span with a straightedge. If that is all in order, I would add just a layer of 1/4" underlayment, not plywood, although underlayment I typically use is plywood, difference is it is rated as an underlayment. Underlayment does not have the voids in the laminations of the plywood so if a table leg or heel presses over a void, it will not poke a hole in your finish floor.

If the floor you have now is squeaky, now is the time to resecure it with 2" screws. Typical nailing/fastening for underlayment is 4" on all edges, and 6" in both directions everywhere else. I like using a pneumatic narrow gauge stapler for this, it makes fastening go real fast.


6" Ducting straight to in-wall rectangular ducting I have a vent for the microwave-range that goes from an interior kitchen wall to the outside of the house. I need to re-locate this, but I can't move the exterior vent fixture. It currently comes in the house with a 6" galvanized ducting pipe about 18" long before it transitions to flex duct.

Is there an immediate 90 degree elbow that I can put directly on the outside vent so that as soon as it comes in the wall, it goes vertical within the studs, instead of jutting into the house so far? I would like to essentially go up with it about 8 inches and then transition it back to the flex pipe.

I'd just get a length of rectangular 3-1/4 x 10 duct, capped on both ends, and connect to it low and high with starting collars. Seal things up nicely with silicone caulk or foil tape.

                           _____
                         ||     || <-- end cap
                        __|     |
                          .     |
starting collar in -->    .     | <-- box duct
                        __.     |
                          |     |
                          |     |
                          |     |
                          |     |__
                          |     .
                          |     .   <-- starting collar out
                          |     .__
                          |     |
                         ||_____||