what is this semicircular crank connector part called? The plastic hand crank handle on my compost grinder just broke, and the company that made it is long out of business.  I'm trying to see if I can find some other replacement, but I'm having trouble searching for something that would connect correctly.  The male metal part in the picture below is a semicircle 3/8" in diameter, and protruding about 7/8" out the side of the device.
I could just use a vice grips as a crank handle, but I'd like something a little more elegant.
Can you suggest some search terms that would help me find a suitable female part to match this?  I've found some oven knob replacements that talk about "D-posts", but an oven knob isn't going to give me anywhere enough leverage (and won't be strong enough).

I used the phrase "replacement crank handles" in google and saw lots of places to visit.
One promising site lists handles like shown here:

Picture Source
A model EN 570.2-80-B3.0 sports a 3/8" bore hole and a lever length of 3.15". You may have to work out adapting the bore with a set screw or craft a D slot using epoxy.


What is the recommended method of insulating PEX piping? During the winter chill here in DC, one of my pex pipes that is not insulated and basically exposed to the elements cracked. I blame the contractors who didn't insulate and finish the job, literally leaving a hole in the drywall where you could see and touch the pipes... outside.

I'm back in town and want to repair the cold water pipe and insulate it, but I am a newbie and I don't know how to do this. Do I just put normal wall insulation (fiberglass) in there? I heard something about a heat coil that automatically turns on when it gets colder?

I have googled a bit and found "Heat Cable for Pipe Freeze Protection" on Amazon which looks both super affordable and simple, but I'm not a plumber and I don't know if this is the recommended option. Any advice would be great!

The "heat tape" you are referring to is what we use in Western Maryland as the "go to" way to keep our PEX piping from freezing.  It works great and is a low cost way of making sure your pipes don't freeze.  Warning though, make sure you have a way of always knowing the tape is working.  If you bury it behind a wall totally and can't check it a few times during the cold season, you run the chance of it malfunctioning.  You also have to make sure it does not overheat by overlapping the wire on itself.  And if the power goes out and it's below freezing, it also won't help at all.  Our company has rentals that are very old homes and apartments and the piping in some of them are very close to the exterior surfaces of the units so we use this all of the time with great success.  When we are using heat tape for plumbing behind walls and under floors, we use a product called Hotline internal pipe heaters.  This goes inside the pipe rather than outside.  It also prevents overheating that can cause a fire.  As I said before, if you bury regular heat tape behind something you have a huge risk for malfunctioning which can be anything from a non working tape to a fire.  Also, if you can get another type of insulation around the pipe, such as spray foam, that should do the trick.


Cheap way of attaching canning jars to a concrete wall? Is there a cheap way of securely attaching a small glass Mason jar (like the one below) filled with water to a concrete wall? The jar doesn't have a top and it doesn't have a handle.

I'll be using it to decorate the wall: I'll fill the jar with water, put some plant or some flower in it, and just "stick" it to the wall.

Perhaps a hose clamp:

Find one large enough to fit around the jar (bigger is better). Being mindful of how the clamp closes so you don't interfere with that operation, you could use a small screw through the slats of the clamp into the wall or a board.

Depending on what you're trying to do, you could attach the jar and ring assembly to a nice piece of barnwood or something if you're going arty, and then attach the board to concrete through any number of methods- tapcon screws, 3M adhesive, etc.

This would also allow you to remove the jar for cleaning or refill by simply expanding the ring's closure to remove the jar


How can I make seamless upholstered chair pads? I want to make a chair pad that is smooth wood on the bottom and seamless padded upholstery on top. How do I handle the cloth/wood interface?

The simplest option is to wrap the cloth around the bottom of the wood and staple it, but that's ugly on the bottom.

My next idea is to do the same but add another layer of wood afterwards. I can't figure out how to get that layer to sit flat with the upholstery edge being pleated in some places. Or how to secure it to the first piece of wood without having screw holes in the clean wood surface on the bottom.

The simplest solution I've seen is to use short finish nails to pin a flat finishing panel to the bottom after standard upholstering to the seat bottom. The finish pins can go just around the perimeter where they may be hidden by whatever frame is supporting the seat.

For instance, if you were using cheap but sturdy MDF as the seat bottom, on top would go your padding, and the whole unit would be wrapped in the fabric and stapled or otherwise adhered to the bottom.

Then a nice piece of 1/4" hardwood plywood could be neatly fastened to the bottom, effectively hiding and paneling over all the bunching and fastening of the fabric.


How do I wire a 3-way motion sensor? I am trying to install a motion sensor switch on a 3-way switch in my laundry room. both 3-way switches function normally if I use them now. One 3 way switch, we will call it #1, is by itself. It has 4 wires, the live black wire, red traveler, white traveler and ground. No other cable coming in or out. The switch has the black on the common (darker) screw, with red above it and the white by itself on the other side. There is always power despite switch position at the red and black wire.

The other 3-way switch, we will call it #2, also has a fan switch located with it in that box. Multiple cables coming in and out. The 3-way switch has same configuration with a black wire in the common (darker) screw and white and red in same locations. With a working 3-way switch on there, power switches between the red and white depending on both switch positions. It seems like the power TO THE LIGHT is the black screw on the common (darker) screw because light will not turn on unless power is running through that wire on switch #2.

I put the motion sensor in the switch #1 position, with black as the load wire, red and white as travelers and ground. When the motion sensor is installed, it is a 3 pole motion sensor switch, it will not work consistently. The motion sensor switch will click on and off, but it will only work depending on the position of switch #2.
It seems all messed up...

Depending on the device you're installing, the installation can be a bit different.  Consult the installation guide that came with the device, to determine the proper wiring.
I've randomly selected installation guides from a couple available devices, and I'll show the differences.  Keep in mind that your device may vary, and you should consult the documentation with your device.
Lutron
The Lutron installation guide, shows this wiring diagram.

Which seems very straight forward.

Connect the Black (common) wire to the Black (common) wire from the device.
Connect the Red (traveler) wire to the Blue (traveler) wire from the device.
Connect the White (traveler) wire to the Black (traveler) wire from the device.

Leviton
The Leviton Installation Guide, shows a bit more complicated diagram.

They even provide a troubleshooting section, to help you get the thing working correctly.

NOTE:
This is just a small sample of the available devices, consult the documentation that came with the specific device you are trying to install for proper installation instructions.


Question about adding an HVAC circuit So am I reading this right? I can use a 30 amp breaker and fused disconnect and thus us a 10ga wire to build this circuit?

You may run the risk of nuisance trips on compressor start, I suspect, but yes, that is the minimum they call for.

If wire cost is your issue, #6 (or #8 THWN in conduit if your breakers have 75C terminals as mine do) aluminum would save money but allow for a 40A breaker.


How can I fix a tilted concrete shed footing? We just bought our first home, and it came with a shed (hooray! Workspace!).

The shed has a footing that's about 8" wide and runs the perimeter of shed, and at some point erosion has caused the part that is butted up to the neighbors fence to crack and more or less  collapse against the fence.

This has caused the floor to be a bit spongy as the footer is barely supporting the bottom joist on that wall, and it has started making that wall of the shed bow outward, as well as push up against the neighbors fence.

Is there anything that I can do, short of say - moving the shed and really fixing the footing - to level things out?

The wall with the busted footing is probably 16' long, and because of the pressures it's fractured that footing into a couple of 4' to 6' pieces. The thought I had was to get a concrete drill and stick some eyelets through and anchor it under the shed (there's about 12" of clearance under the floor), but I'm not sure if that would just cause more problems with the concrete.

I'm not opposed to the idea of doing it the right way (which probably means moving the shed and fixing what the footing stands on) - but right now my primary goal is to get things more or less stable so we can finish getting moved in.

Lifting it (slightly) in place may allow you access to do repairs.

If there is enough solid footing, use (2) 2x10s bolted across the studs (parallel to roof peak).  Lift both 2x10s parallel to floor (disconnect all tie downs first) using 4 bottle jacks.  Cut 4 2x4 cripples to attach to studs under 2x10 at desired final height (for safety and to backup jacks.  Leave some weight on jacks.  You shouldn't need more than an inch elevation.
If the busted side won't allow jacking, you can run carry beams (2 2x10 bolted together) through the structure and out to each side.  Developing a footing at the jacking points may require 12" sona tube and concrete.
Mud jacking (concrete pumped under pressure) may be an option, but you'll need a pro for that.


Is a plywood backer required for all breaker panels? I read online that a plywood backer may or may not be required behind a breaker panel, and that it must be painted black. What are the rules for this? And why must it be painted black? I'm in MI, USA for reference.

Plywood is usually used when mounting a panel to masonry walls for a few reasons.
Isolation
Masonry is not a great insulator, which can lead to problems especially where the wall is below grade.  The cabinet has to be bonded to the grounding electrode system. Because of this, if you mounted the cabinet directly to a below grade masonry wall, you could end up with a ground loop.
Moisture protection
Masonry walls are also not great at stopping moisture. If the cabinet was mounted directly to the wall, there's a possibility of moisture in or on the cabinet, which can lead to problems.
Insulation
Because masonry is not a great insulator, a ground-fault could cause the wall to be energized.
Ease of Installation
It's much easier to attach electrical devices, cables, and raceways to plywood than masonry.

As for the color of the plywood, I've never heard of a requirement to paint it black.


Is it safe to have 3-switch light-vent-heater on 20 amp circuit with another light switch and a GFCI outlet? Downstairs bathroom has a dedicated 20 amp crcuit. First in line is a GFCI outlet which trips the downstream light switch (for over mirror light) and a three-switch (for ceiling vent/light/heater combo unit).
I want to replace the vent/light/heater unit with a 1300 watt unit with the same functions and a better vent fan.
I discovered that the prior owner unplugged the heater cord in the housing. Why would they have unplugged the heater?
Will my upgrade have any foreseeable problems or can I sleep well at night?

I am sure someone else can cite code, but generally speaking if the hardwired loads on a circuit are > 50% of the capacity of the circuit then you can't have ordinary receptacles on the same circuit. With a 20A circuit, that means if you have 10A of fixed load (1300 W on a 20A 120V circuit qualifies, plus you have some other lights as well).
The reason for this rule is that if you used a hair dryer (bathroom example) or toaster (kitchen example) or similar item that draws 1500 W and the heater was on at the same time, you would trip the circuit breaker very quickly. Nobody likes nuisance trips - this rule helps avoid them.
Bottom line: A heating fixture pulling 1300 W should be on a circuit by itself (which includes the light and fan that go with it) and possibly with other lighting, but should not be on the same circuit as any general use receptacles.
As far as why the heater was disconnected previously, that could be:

Nuisance trips!
Malfunction - easier to disconnect than to replace.


How can I open an older type Gustavsberg cistern toilet? Can anybody advise how to open this type cistern...?  I tried to loosen nut on top but did not want to force it.
Thanks

This page details two different sorts of top-flush toilet repairs:

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/fix-flusher-top-toilet-66536.html

  Unscrew and remove the knob from the end of the rod that goes through
  the top of the tank cover. Spray lubricant on the rubber grommet that
  seals the rod where it goes into the hole in the cover. 2

  Push down on the end of the rod as you lift up the cover. Take the
  cover off the tank. If necessary, lift up the cover enough to grip the
  rod at the underside of the cover, using vice grips. Lift up on the
  cover and pull the rod out of the grommet. Set the tank cover aside. 3

  Fit the vice grips onto the rod and rotate the rod a bit each way
  several times as you pull upward. In some cases, mineral deposits can
  build up and prevent the rod from pulling upward. If the toilet
  flushes, reattach the tank cover in the reverse order and screw on the
  knob. Alternatively, if the toilet doesn't flush, enlist a plumber to
  install a new flush valve and rod mechanism.

The quote above is for the "rod-activated" version.

You mentioned that the knob feels tough-- try using a penetrating oil on it, it may help. It appears as if the rod sits inside of that knob... It also seems to imply that you'd have to pull it for it to work (yours doesn't look like it would be the button type).


Why is my new toilet running so much? Toilet is only several months old and now it's running like crazy. The water leaks into the bowel all day. Been weeks now, and for some reason it leaves dirt streaks on the bowel from tank. The trickle is so loud, something has to be done.

update: week later, my other bathroom toilet stopped working (no water goes into tank), im thinking all this is because of the sediment that came with the water.

Judging by the amount of scum/sediment on the bottom of that tank, I'd bet just cleaning the mating surfaces between the flapper and the outflow drain will solve the problem. And if it only took a few months to get that scummy, you'll want to plan on cleaning these parts regularly—this is especially prudent if you're on septic.

Side note: You might want to look into why your water has so much sediment in suspension. Are you on well water, by any chance?


Removing Pool Stairs From In Ground Pool I just purchased a home (well back in Feb) and this is the first year of having a pool, and I am attempting to remove the side stairs so I can cover the pool for winter.

My stairs look exactly like the ones in this video, and I removed the bolts just like in the video.  Problem I have is that the stairs are NOT budging when I push, pull, twist or anything.

Is there any other tricks/tips to removing the stairs?  I was thinking today, I could tap with a hammer to see if it would "loosen" the rail from the ground, but that is about the only thought I have on how to do such.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycBuPl992Sw

There's a metal tube set in the deck that the stairs drop into, the bolts push a metal wedge against the stairs to keep them in place. Your problem is most likely bits of sand/dirt/stone dust have gotten in there and are acting as a bunch of tiny wedges. Hours of sunlight can cause the stairs to expand slightly aggravating the situation.

A good first step is running a hose or dumping a couple of buckets of water from the pool over the connectors. The water will solve any heat problems while hopefully flushing enough junk out of the hole to free the stairs.

If that doesn't work then tapping on the stairs to dislodge or crush the trapped grits should. You don't want to use a hammer though, because it risks marring the finish. Use a rubber mallet if you have one, or a block of wood between the hammer and stairs.

A short length of 2x4 works well if you have one. You're a lot less likely to mar the finish tapping on the stairs with that than a hammer. As an added bonus if the tapping doesn't work you can slip it beneath the curves at the top and jerk straight up.

FYI the bolts are threaded into pawls which compress against the stairs when you tighten the bolts. After removing the stairs you'll want to thread the bolts back into the metal piece which is loose in the hole so you can put the stairs back in the spring.


How can I remove hair dye stains from a porcelain sink? Anyone have any suggestions about how to do this?  I've tried Comet, bleach and windex, all applied with plenty of elbow grease, but the stains aren't budging.

Any other ideas?

I ended up using a Magic Eraser. That did the job.


Remove tile adhesive to get to screws on cement board Looking to remove thinset / tile adhesive from the backer cement board in the tub area.  I want to replace the cement board as it got damaged while removing the tiles.  The problem is, the tile adhesive is left on the backerboard, making screw removal a bit of a pain.  How can I remove this to get to the screws?

Pictures:

I've heard grinding it off works, but if that's the case, what's an ideal tool to grind?

I did some more searching, and found a similar (ish) post to mine.  It recomends one of the following:

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Hardware-Power-Tool-Accessories-Abrasives-Grinding-Wire-Wheels-Brushes/N-5yc1vZc8y0
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-4-in-Double-Row-Diamond-Cup-Wheel-HD-AWD40/202884364
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-5-5-Amp-4-1-2-in-Angle-Grinder-AG452K/100529101

Which is good and could be used again in the future?

Thanks,
Justin W.

Finding and then using those screw heads is going to be a nightmare, so I would abandon the idea of removing the wall board semi-intact. Find the studs (with one of those cryptically-named stud finders), cut the boards between the studs, and then pry it all off. Or, use an abrasive disk to cut right down the line of screws.


How much weight will 1/8" plywood sustain for compression? Plywood would be laying horizontally and be cut 8' x 8". Assuming fairly uniform load, with plates the full top and bottom length of it, is there a compression at which the plywood will fail? I'm assuming it would split or the glue would give at some point?  But is this above 50,000 lb?

You appear to mean compression perpendicular to the plane of the plies.

Depends a good deal on what the plywood grade and material is, and the conditions it's operating under.

http://www.g-lumber.com/pdf/APA_Plywood_Design_Specification.pdf Suggests that between 340 and 160 lb/in**2 for dry service and 105-210 for wet service (for grades appropriate to wet service) so you'll need a fair number of square inches (which you have inconveniently left out of your question) to support 50,000 lbs.

Looks like 476 square inches on the low end to 147 on the high end (of loading) though any sensible person would derate a bit more for additional safety factor, or use 1/8" steel as a shim rather than 1/8" plywood. That's 3.3 square feet to a bit over 1 square foot.

8 feet (96inches) by 8 inches = 768 square inches, resulting in a loading for 50,000 lbs evenly distributed of 65 pounds per square inch, so per the above document you should be safe at that loading.


How to join steel pipe for decorative purposes I want to make a hanging bar made of steel pipe and connections for hanging some lamps. But I have no way to make the threads on steel and the only place I've found that does that wants to charge me a lot for making 4 end threads.

Can I weld or glue it somehow? I won't be subject to any strees or force and will hold at most a few grams from 5 lamps and sockets.

I think that I need to file the ends of the pipe so that it can fit inside the threaded connections, what is fastest way of doing that?

Use pipe shorts (nipples), they're threaded on both ends and can be acquired in various foot lengths, and everything in between a 'close nipple' (~0") up to 18". But you should price check the cost of a threading verses a short, and which one would be less of a headache for you.

Or use EMT. For esthetics, use compression fittings and paint everything black.

Do not file away some of the OD and jamb a steel pipe into a fitting. You do not want it to fall on someone. For that same reason, do not use adhesive.

Although it would work, if you knew how to weld and owned a welder, I don't think you'd be asking this question.

I'm hip to decorative steel pipe, but only if it's threaded together. Using couplings that don't belong on steel pipe would scream "DiY project". And joining pipe together poorly would be poor form. If you're going to hang 3/4" steel pipe above my head, I expect to be able to do pull-ups off it. If you go with 3/4" EMT, then whatever. But if you do you'll lose the decorative aspect; EMT is simply cheap, easy, and functional. Where as with pipe, you can always still see some thread and tell it's robust - that's part of its charm.


What type of bulb fits in this slot type? We have this light fixture outside and the the bulb has always been missing.

It has two side slots and twists into place once fully inserted.

My Google searching and hardware store searches have come up empty.

What is this bulb and how can I replace it?

That's called a Bayonet Mount (in your case, single contact, as there's a double contact as well)

A bayonet mount (mainly as a method of mechanical attachment, as for fitting a lens to a camera) or bayonet connector (for electrical use) is a fastening mechanism consisting of a cylindrical male side with one or more radial pins, and a female receptor with matching L-shaped slot(s) and with spring(s) to keep the two parts locked together. The slots are shaped like a capital letter L with serif (a short upward segment at the end of the horizontal arm); the pin slides into the vertical arm of the L, rotates across the horizontal arm, then is pushed slightly upwards into the short vertical "serif" by the spring; the connector is no longer free to rotate unless pushed down against the spring until the pin is out of the "serif".
The bayonet mount is the standard light bulb fitting in the United Kingdom and in many countries that were members of the British Empire including Pakistan, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Ireland, and New Zealand, parts of the Middle East and Africa and, historically, France and Greece.

You can see the knobs on the bulb base in this product page


Crimping a plate border with metal For a DIY development I need to crimp a metal border (anykind, the important is that it's conductive) to a plastic plate of ~1 mm wide and few cm length as shown in the picture. I guess it exists for DIY jewelry, but I didn't find a satisfying solution yet.
Thanks for your advices

You did not elaborate much on the application side of your assembly but it seems to me that what you want to consider is the use of a brass metal foil. You can learn about and find sources for brass foil by using those words as a search query.

One type of foil is called a "tooling foil" and is available in a 36 gauge (.005 inch thickness). Such foil is easy to cut even with scissors or a utility knife. If you cut out a piece to the desired size it will be easy to bend into shape over the edge of your plastic panel.

You will have to research suitable adhesive to attach the metal piece to the plastic. If it was me I would try the 3M spray mount glue that you would apply to the brass piece when it is flat. Then pick it up and form it over the edge of the plastic panel. You will want to clamp it into place till the glue fully dries. You could possibly use the spring type clothes pins as small clamps.

Note that metal foil may have a coating on one or both sides. You would want to remove this with steel wool before cutting out your pieces. The coating may prevent the metal from making an electrical contact if it is not removed. The coating may also interfere with the adhesive that you use to attach the piece to the plastic panel.

Once the metal foil is adhered to the plastic it should be fairly rugged. Without additional details on your application it is hard to give further advice.


Why does my microwave trip my AFCI only when it's mostly empty? I live in a recently redone home and I'm having a very odd electrical issue.  My microwave is intermittently tripping a combination arc fault breaker only when it is mostly empty, e.g. one slice of pizza.  When the microwave is fuller, it works fine.  The breaker does not seem to be the problem: I've moved the microwave to a different circuit and had the same results.  I have a new Panasonic Inverter microwave; my old microwave exhibited this same problem.  No other appliance in this home has caused any trips.

Breakers involved are Siemens QAF2 CAFCI.

Any ideas?

Most microwave ovens will generate arcs and sparks inside their cavity if they are run with an insufficient load, or no load whatsoever.  The high-frequency content from these arcs is being coupled (likely capacitively) through the HV transformer section of your microwave onto the AC line, where the AFCI can then see it and proceed to freak out, thinking the arcing is actually an AC mains arc, not a microwave cavity arc.

Suggestion: throw a coffee mug of water in with the slice of pizza.  This does the same thing as Keshlam's sacrificial bread slice -- i.e. provides more load to absorb the microwaves instead of letting them bounce around the cavity until they arc, just without having to waste a slice of bread.


gcfi tiled over during bath remodel I think my contractor may have covered up the GFCI behind the tile in a bathroom remodel several years ago. It has been fine all this time, but recently my wife was dying her hair and popped the circuit from an outlet in another bathroom in the same circuit. What can I do other than tear out the tile to reach the tripped outlet?
I would like to replace the GFCI to keep the circuit protected. Can I put a GFCI outlet in another outlet and bypass the tripped one?

No, you cannot!  At least you cannot without opening up the wall.
If you can get at it from the other side that may be an option but having a "buried" box, outlet, or junction is not allowed.
Unfortunately, you have discovered why that is.  You have a problem and you cannot get to the GFCI outlet to fix it.


Faucet dripping only when water main shut off The city responded to a water main break down the block last night. When they shut off the water to repair it, a bathroom faucet started to drip at the spout.  It was more like a thin stream/dripping.  I opened and closed the faucet; no difference in the stream open or closed.  This is a second story faucet.  When opening other faucets on that level there was no pressure at all.  The water supply is back on now and the faucet is not dripping.
I figure this is an early sign of something.  The fixture is about 25 years old.  Could you please comment on what could be wrong and what I should do about it.
Thanks for your help.

Single handle faucets or washer less actually use the pressure as part of the mechanism to stop the flow, when the pressure is reduced two far some start dripping. I usually have standard rubber washers and several sizes of O-rings for washerless faucets to replace when they start dripping, if after the pressure is restored the drip has stopped I would not worry until it starts dripping with normal pressure. Usually once a washerless starts dripping you have months to repair.


Bedroom over garage with shallow roof with no insulation with temperature problems There is a similar question on here "What can I do about a room over the garage with temperature problems?"  I certainly found some help in that thread as to correcting the cold floor.

However; I believe there are more to my problem.  The roof over our bedroom is a shallow pitch that is tongue and grove on the inside with no insulation.  There are six beams that carry the load of the roof exposed inside the room.  With no insulation currently in the ceiling, any heating is not being trapped in the room.

I'd like to use a spray foam on the tongue and grove joints to help seal any leaks.  Once that is done, I'll need to building structure between the beams.  They are 3' wide cavities and 10" in depth.  I was thinking about using 2X8"s as the structure for the insulation.  Allowing the bottom of the beams to remain exposed to the room.

I could get you the actual void dimensions if that helps. Vertical or horizontal insulation is still a question I have.

Beyond that, per the other question, I need to pull the ceiling the garage in order to remove the existing insulation.  Hire someone to come in and spray foam the joists with a high density cellulose.

Thank you

I would recommend installing rigid foam insulation panels. It would be much simpler and easier than creating an entire framed structure to contain and cover traditional insulation batts. Combined with foam at the joints as mentioned, you could get a pretty decent insulation value.


Any issues with insulating exterior 2x4 walls with rock wool, then cover with XPS and drywall? I am finishing the above-ground basement in my 1950's house, which has 2x4 framing, 16" o.c. I want to insulate as much as possible without breaking the bank (i.e. sprayfoam is out of the question). My current plan is to insulate with rockwool comfortbatt between the studs which should give me an r-value of ~14. I can't stuff any more insulation between the studs, so I'm wondering if there's any problem with me putting 2" rigid foam board (XPS) insulation over top of the studs on the interior side of the wall to get a higher r-value. I'd then drywall directly over top of the XPS foam board. Wondering if this is a recipe for disaster?
For what it's worth, I live in the pacific northwest where temperatures are very moderate in the winter.

I've seen that done plenty of times and I don't think you'll encounter any issues with that plan.  Be sure, however, to include a vapor barrier between the foam board and the drywall.


mounting un-vented range hood in plaster and wood lath wall How best to fasten 30 pound range hood to wall - range hood has 2 large keyhole slots, I do not want to open the wall if possible.  Would conical anchors (#12 screws) and construction adhesive be sufficient?

I'd be inclined to overengineer this; you can imagine that having a (greasy) range hood come down over a source of heat and/or flame would be bad.

What if you drill-and-cut new keyhole slots to match where your studs are? I think you should be able to fit two of them in a range hood.

Note that this is probably only an acceptable solution if the studs are reasonably centered on the range hood.


Crawlspace Insulation Upside Down Replacement I have an upcoming project and would appreciate any input. My crawlspace in Maryland had insulation installed upside down (face paper towards ground) and is now rotted/mildewed/falling from the ceiling. Here is the plan I have to replace it all:

Day 1: rent air scrubber. Remove old insulation. Wipe down surfaces with concrobium. Dry vac with HEPA filter
Day 2: Fog crawlspace with concrobium. Replace old entryway
Day 3: Install new insulation.
Day 4: Install new vapor barrier, old one is torn and very thin.

I am also debating whether to replace the vents with automatic ones or to seal them up and pay an electrician to install a dehumidifier.

Yes, cleaning and preparing for the reinstallation of insulation is important.

Working in a confined area, like a crawl space, requires special protection and ventilation...be careful or hire it done.

Installing batt insulation without a paper vapor barrier is preferred, but it sounds like you’re going to install a vapor barrier after the batt insulation is installed. Vapor barriers are to be installed on the “warm” side of the “envelope”, because of the Dew point.

Yes, the crawl space vents are used to dry out the moisture coming up into the crawl space, but it also dries out the VAPOR coming through the batts and turning into moisture at the Dew Point.

If the vents are blocked, then a dehumidifier may be required where you live, but the vapor barrier is still installed on the WARM side.


Does this wiring meet the NEC standards? An inspector took the following photograph of a residential home’s circuit breaker panel.

White wires are connected to the neutral bar. Black wires are connected to the circuit breakers in the picture, but there’s one white wire among them. Why would it be wired in such a way (rather than a black and red wires alternating)?

Note: The circuit breaker panel is not labeled.

A pic from Google images of a circuit breaker panel:

The answer is No. brhans, guess is correct. Many water heaters are wired this way because there are no neutral's in a standard 240V water heater. The white wire needs at least 6" of other than white or green identification some inspectors want everything in the box identified (taped or painted). Black is the most common color using tape but, it can be painted also I found red fingernail polish and this is totally legal also. Added for history: The oldest code book I have handy is NEC 2002. Section 200.6 & 200.7 both identify the grounding conductor as white / gray or white / gray stripe along entire length.
310.12.C states ungrounded conductors shall be finished to be clearly distinguishable from grounded and grounding conductors. So this has been code for quite some time.


Is it important to use special fasteners in treated wood for non-structural applications? I'm getting ready to install under-floor insulation in my yurt platform. These are 2" x 4' x 8' foam panels under a 1 1/8" plywood floor, between 4" x 6" 0.40 ACQ pressure treated joists. The foam panels will be held in place with lathe strips screwed in to the joists.

I have been using hot-dipped galvanized fasteners for the structure of the yurt platform until now, but is that still necessary when attaching the lathe strips that hold these insulation panels? The load on these fasteners will be minimal.

The hot-dipped galvanized requirement isn't for load, it's to prevent corrosion.  For less load, you can get smaller nails.  However, if you don't use the hot-dipped galvanized, then the chemicals in the PT lumber will cause a reaction with the metals in the nails and they will corrode much faster than if the nail was installed in non-PT lumber.  Here's some more info:

http://www.strongtie.com/productuse/PTWoodFAQs.html


how to wire a 2 way switches with 2 pendants How do I wire a 2way 2light system. On the upstairs landing I want to switch 2 lights on and off at each end of the corridor.

It sounds like you want a pretty straightforward lighting circuit with a 3-way switch at each end of the hallway controlling the lights. To do this, you must have 3 conductors running between the switches. The typical way to do this is to run a 3-conductor cable, such as 14/3 NM or MC cable. You can't legally string a lone wire through the attic, so pull new cable if you need it.

This answer might be helpful, and it references others.


Dishwasher shows a drain problem - diagnosis I have a Bosch SHEM63W55N model and it intermittently ends a cycle with E22 error code. The literal reading of the code is:
An E22 error code indicates that the dishwasher filter is blocked. The filter is the area where food particles get caught and it needs to be cleaned regularly. Remove the filter to make sure it is not clogged.
But the filter is not clogged.
Symptoms and what I've tried:

The error is always at the end of the cycle
There is some standing water (about 2-3 inch), but it's in the drain compartment below the filter mesh.
I removed the pump cover and checked with fingers for debris and possible blockage. I couldn't feel any, and the pump was rotating freely.
I removed the drain hose from the drainage spigot and the water was draining well into a bucket, so it's probably not a blocked drain hose.
The dishwasher is 1.5 years old, installed by me, and was working fine until 1 month ago.

What could be the culprit?

Since it thinks the filter is blocked, but you're not finding any blockages, I would think that the sensor that's responsible for telling the computer that nothing is flowing is failing.
A quick DuckDuckGo search for "BOSCH SHEM55W55N parts list" brought me to this site that has a parts diagram for the pump assembly. Scrolling through the parts list for the pump shows a sensor. Since you've been in there, make sure that's the area you're talking about, if that's not it, they have schematics for the whole machine, so you should be able to find the filter you're looking for and an associated sensor, if I've picked the wrong one.
At the current price of $30 USD, it's not the cheapest part to replace on a hunch, but it's certainly not the most expensive part, and definitely cheaper than replacing the whole thing.
No affiliation with or recommendation of the linked site - it was just one of the first options that looked good.


What would cause the bottom half of a radiator cool down after heating up? I have a one pipe system and just had a new Vertex vertical radiator fitted. It's the last radiator in the circuit. The radiator I had replaced for the vertical radiator worked like a dream for the past 11 years. The new radiator heats up when the system is first switched on and then the bottom half goes cold. The return pipe to the boiler also goes cold. It's like the flow stops. All the other radiators get hot. The plumber came back to bleed the system and flushed it clean. As soon as the system is switched back on the radiator heats up very nicely but then cools again. All the other radiators have been switched off and switched on again and pump has been checked. The plumber has no idea why this is happening and he has 40 years experience. Does anyone have  a clue why this is happening? A wild guess on my part is that there is some sort of blockage in the return pipe.

One pipe steam pipes have to maintain a consistent pitch down from the radiator to the boiler. My guess is when you put the new radiator in you let that existing pipe drop down a little bit. Now it starts to get hot but once the little well of condensed steam(water) forms at the low point, it gets blocked and stops getting hot.

Another possibility is that the vent is closing too soon and not letting all the air out. Should be an adjustment.


Application of Spar varnish on interior window sills I redid the polyurethane finish on my interior pine windowsills, which had some mildew, discoloration, and peeled finish from repeated wetting due to frost buildup on very cold winter nights. I sanded to bare wood, then applied indoor/outdoor satin spar urethane rather than polyurethane, for its resistance to moisture.  The problem is that the spar urethane significantly darkened the bare wood, contrasting with the blonde color of the previous polyurethaned pine.  It looks very blotchy, and I want to redo it.

The easiest thing may be to use a chemical stripper to remove the spar urethane finish, then re-finish.  My Questions:  How do I prevent the wood from darkening again?  Would a wood conditioner, like one might use before staining, do the trick?  And should I not be using spar urethane in the first place?

Spar varnish is optimized for outdoor use. It isn't as tough as indoor varnishes, but it is more flexible so it survives weatherng better, and it generally contains UV blocking additives which (partly) protect it  from chemical breakdown due to sunlight.

If that trade-off is acceptable, there is no reason you can't use it indoors. It may not be the best choice, but depending on your needs it may be more than good enough.

When I redid the trim around one set of windows, I explicitly chose to use spar varnish as the top coats because part of the trim is effectively outdoors and I wanted that weather protection. Then, since I happened to have it on hand, I've used the leftovers on some other projects where I just wanted the look of an oil-based varnish and wasn't especially worried about friction wear.

Tools for tasks... But if the tool works well for the task you need to do, go for it, even if that isn't what someone else uses that tool for.

Note that spar varnish is generally oil based, and will add color that water-based poly does not.


Capping an old refrigerator water line? My old fridge broke down, and I am getting a new one but this one does not have a water/ice dispenser. I turned off the water line to my appartment to disconnect the old fridge, but before I can turn it back on I need to cap it somehow? Is there something I can use? Attached is the picture of what it looks like

Probably a 1/4" cap, but buy plenty of different sizes and return what you don't use. Use teflon tape on the threads.

You might also try grabbing the valve with slip joint pliers and turning the white lever.

It would be better if you could disconnect/cap at the source, but if it's a rental, I'd understand your reluctance.


No C terminal on furnace to connect a wifi thermostat I have an new Emerson thermostat and would like to connect a c wire so it always has power. I have an extra wire that's not being used, but I don't have a C wire terminal on my furnace. I'm wondering if I can use any of the unused terminals or if I can tap into one of the wires coming off of the 24v transformer.

The blue wire coming off of the transformer is what you want, but there might be a better place to tie into that.  Look for any wires that are simply screwed to the metal chassis of the air handler.  You can check with a continuity tester, but those chassis grounds are usually a connection for that other side of the transformer (the blue wire).

Looking at that schematic, I can see a few places where a wire terminates to "ground", but I don't necessarily see any terminals where the "C wire" would be conveniently exposed.  Also, when you find a ground screw use a volt meter to make sure you get a good 24v there between the ground point and the red wire from the thermostat and/or transformer.


How to Disconnect these Electrical Connectors? How do I disconnect the white electrical connectors? Is there a trick to it or do I simply pull firmly? I don't want to break it. Is there a tab that needs to be pressed? (The appliance is unplugged. It's safe to service.)

Two of the connectors have retaining clips.

Lift them up or push them down, whichever will disengage them. Then pull the connector out.

The other connectors might also have some type of retention device, though they're not visible in the photo.


Toilet does not flush, pressure is non-existant, it worked when first installed, what's up? We have an American Standard toilet (I'm not sure of the exact model, but it looks something like that Champion 4). When first installed, it worked great and it was indeed a one flush device. Beautiful it helped greatly.
Now the water goes through, but there is nearly zero pressure so the rest doesn't go through without a plunger...
I'm thinking that this type of toilet has additional pipes that allow the flush to function. i.e. the water doesn't just pour in the bowl, I think it is poured through another pipe and that pipe may have some residue in it prevent the normal flush functionality.
I've been looking for information about that toilet mechanism and I'm probably really bad at searching for it... Do you have any details on how to properly clean such a toilet pipes? Do you have an schematic that would show us how the pipes are actually laid out?
Here is a picture from the side:

In the picture, I added a red line which represents the top of the waterline in the bowl.
As we can see on this picture, there could be a pipe between the water taken and the flushing pipe coming from the bowl (just over the red line toward the left side of the picture).
Also there seem to be a small pipe between the larger pipe just under the bowl and the one going to the ground.
All of that makes me think that there could be debris clogging those pipes.

Just in case, I had a plumber come by and he was not able to fix it. He checked the pipes and they're clean, the water flows as expected, no clogging down there. So that's the toilet which has a problem. It was also snaked, but that's probably old technology on a modern toilet which doesn't help...

As per the answer below, I got muriatic acid and ran the process once to see if it would clean the toilet. In my case, just once was enough to get the toilet to flush like normal again! I needed a funnel, though, because the flushing mechanism is such that I just couldn't reach the hole without pouring the acid all over the place. So I bought a 3 set and I duck-taped the wide one (red) to the long one (blue) for the perfect funnel.

Given all of the steps you have already done I would go the cheapest and most effective route.   Get a couple gallons of muriatic acid (big box).
Pour about a 1/5th of the container down the tank drain - directly.   Let it sit 3-4 hours.   Flush and repeat as many times as you can.  You need ventilation in the room, you will not be able to use the room at ALL during this process, and this will effectively destroy anything blocking any "holes/drains" in your toilet.    I have effectively spent $5-10 and restored 50+ toilets to like new condition using this method, some not draining at all.
Wear gloves and goggles and wash off anything that gets on your right away.   Do not leave these containers around small children.


Tricking Oven to ignore intermittent door latch fault I have a Kitchenaid Superba oven/range that gives an intermittent door latch fault, which then shuts off the oven completely in all modes (convection, conduction, etc.).  Unfortunately a replacement door latch mechanism is no longer available.  Is there a way to fool the circuit board into thinking the latch is fine (perhaps bypassing the latch and wiring in resistors?).  I don't need latch functionality.  Thanks.

Model: KGST307HBS6

I have added stock images of the latch, per the helpful comment to investigate the lock mechanism.

If I am not mistaken there is a microswitch visible in the picture at the top, if that has gone bad (which is likely) then specifically that microswitch can be easily bought and replaced - they are a standard component which are used in many applications and are widely available.

If you must bypass it (not recommended) then you only need to short the relevant terminals.


Deck joists and ledger gap Sorry if my terminology is bad, I tried to pick up some of the terms and do some research in the ICC before posing the question here.

I've got a contractor replacing a deck for me and I noticed that he attached the joists to the ledger, then removed the screws and (looks like) pulled out a corner of the frame. This now caused a gap to gradually increase in distance from the ledger to the point where some of the boards now terminate in the hanger just before the hangers can screw into the board.

I understand that the best support for the joists, the wood should be fit as far in as possible. Is this an allowable gap? What should I expect to see in a fix of this is out of code?

Most building authorities will insist that all framing connections are joined so that there is no space between them. Most carpenters will follow this idea as a matter of principle.  When metal framing connectors are used the joists should abut the metal plate in the same way; as close to the inside of the connector as possible with no space.


Fill groove in MDF door I'm painting some MDF doors, and noticed that someone appears to have run a stanley knife over one of them, perhaps whilst removing them from their packing.

I've sanded the area back as much as I can, but the groove isn't completely gone. What should I use to fill the remaining void?

Depends on size. For significant blems, I'd try wood putty, handling it as if it were joint compound. If that didn't work, I might just give up and actually use joint compound...

However, remember that for small nichs and scratches paint itself can fill small irregularities, especially if you scuff-sand between coats or otherwise actively level the surface.


Do I need to remove all carpet adhesive residue before using a floor leveler? We have a slab foundation on our place. The previous owners put down carpet with pad and there's a fair amount of glue and pad residue on the concrete, as well as some paint overspray. We'll need to level the floor and roll on a liquid moisture barrier before putting down flooring. Two questions:
Do I need to grind off every bit of glue and stuff before putting on concrete leveler primer?
Thanks!

Assuming this is a floating vinyl floor (as originally posted), you need to scrape away the high spots, lay down an underlayment that has vapour barrier with foam and optionally felt to provide a smoothing cushion.
For planks, there's no need to prime or scrape bare.
As for flatness and smoothness, the manufacturer will specify it, but usually anything less than 1/16in is not a problem, and some bowing and bending over several multiples of the plank length or its width is tolerated quite well.
If you are flattening with self-leveling cement, for whatever reason, you have to scrape the concrete bare, entirely.
As for a concrete or cement primer, read the label on the self-leveling cement: some don't need primer and they are more expensive. Others require primer which you can add-in or roll-on to your surface.
Which one you choose depends a bit on how thick the layer will be: anything over 1/4 (very roughly) and it's more economical to roll it on first, otherwise you're just mixing very expensive cement.


Is there a recommended size for vents in boiler cupboard doors? I have replaced doors in my house and would like to replace a plain boiler cupboard door — standard 1981mm x 762mm (6½ft by 2½ft) door — with a 6-panel door matching the others.

The thing is that the boiler is a natural gas condensing combi boiler and therefore needs vents?

The current door has a 225mm x 150mm (9in x 6in) louvred vent at the top and bottom of the door and these won't fit aesthetically within the panelling of the door. However, I could fit two 9in x 3in louvred vents at the top and bottom to match the amount of ventilation.

Seeing as the boiler (a Potterton Promax Ultra Combi 28 ErP) is much newer than the central heating boiler previously fitted and the new boiler is fitted with a flue expelling exhaust gases outside the building, is ventilation actually needed any more? I cannot seem to find any information on it online.

If it is still required, how large is ventilation needing to be?

Page 16 of the boiler installation guide PDF (Section 7.3 - Ventilation of Compartments) points out that no air vents are required in cupboards or compartments with your boiler.

This is because although the boiler requires oxygen in order to burn the gas correctly, your boiler has a double walled (balanced) flue and takes in all the air it needs through the outer part of the flue, drawing the oxygen it needs from outside the building.

See this OFTEC page for more information on balanced flues and cupboard air venting.


What capacity of heat pump is needed for a residence near Phoenix, Arizona? What size heat pump is needed for a 1,924 sq.ft. home 35 miles northwest of Phoenix, Arizona?

The home has 6" insulated exterior walls, stucco exterior, 10' ceilings, southern exposure and "average" number of windows. Construction is in the framing stage.

The Number of Windows and sliding glass doors also play into the calculation, it sounds like you have good insulation, but that area gets much hotter than where I live. Some of the calculators on line are focused on energy savings and provide questionable advice in my opinion. The best way to find out would be to talk to neighbors with similar sized homes. Ask about Thier unit size, power consumption and if the units cool well when the temp gets into the 100's . If they want to size the unit on square footage alone (unless the company can show a very similar home) find another company because Windows and doors add a large cooling load even if double Payne. Many years ago before I got my HVAC license I had a 2900 sf home with 26 Windows and 3 sliding glass doors. The company recommended a 3.5 ton unit, I thought that would be two small after talking to a neighbor with a similar home that had a 4 ton and said it was not enough. I had a 5 ton installed and on the hottest days that was not enough to keep the home at 78F.


Electrical Disconnects for condensing unit What year did the NEC code require electrical disconnects to be installed at HVAC condensing unit?

The following is from the 1999 NEC (my 1990 NEC hard copy has the same wording in the same location) so it has been there a long long time:

  440-14. Location. Disconnecting means shall be located within sight from and readily accessible from the air-conditioning or refrigerating equipment. The disconnecting means shall be permitted to be installed on or within the air-conditioning or refrigerating equipment.

Good luck with your project!


how to fix damaged wall after peeling off hook? How would I go on repairing damage caused by peeling off some "damage free" adhesive sticky hooks? Photos attached. It looks like a layer of paint came off completely. Would I need a layer of filler or primer or should I just paint over it?

Thank you and please be patient, I am absolutely useless with this.
I am also not sure about which shade of white my walls are painted in either.

Many of us have been there. Just get yourself a small tub of spackle or joint compound and dab it on with a brush or sponge. Let it dry and then rub it down with a damp cloth if it's too lumpy or spiky. Apply a second time if it's not filled and textured to your liking.

Once that's done you can prime and paint.


air gap between insulation batts and subfloor I'm looking at the insulation in a crawl space below the first floor of my home.  Joists are I-beams (12" deep, model TJI 350), 12" on center.  Insulation is R19 fiberglass bats, tight-fitting side-to-side, but sitting on top of twine at the bottom of the I-beams.  There is several inches of air -- 6"? -- above the top of the insulation, below the subfloor.  That's not standard -- best practice seems to be insulation flush with the subfloor.  So I'm thinking about what to do about this.
I have two basic ideas.  One, there's room to install much more insulation, probably doubling the amount in this area, via another layer of R19 batts right below the current batts.  Two, I could install metal insulation clips to push the insulation flush with subfloor.  The insulation clip cost and installation time is not trivial, and more insulation wouldn't necessarily cost that much more or be that much more trouble.  Finally, it's perfectly easy to do nothing.
How to think about the upside?  How bad is it to have a large air pocket between the insulation and the subfloor?
2003 home in greater Seattle.

Leave it alone.
There's nothing wrong with this, especially in a subfloor.
More air is more insulation, and in this case the stratification means here's not going to be much in the way of convection currents to mess it up.


What kind of smart lock can I add to my door? I'm looking to add a smart lock to my door. I don't know much about locksmithing, also not a native speaker, so I'm not sure if this is a "deadbolt" or not.

I was almost decided for the August Smart Lock Pro, but I'd like to confirm if it can be installed directly on my door.

Yes it does seem that they are available.

That is a Mortise lock-set, I did a web search for "smart mortise lock" and found a couple, the question is weather they will fit your particular set up ( and can you afford one ).

You will need to do some research. Most of the ones i see are set up with the latch on the bottom and the bolt on the top but yours is opposite that.

Now go forth and conquer.

If you live in a big city find a dedicated locksmith/lock-set retailer.


Can anything interesting be done with Kidde's interconnect wires? In our newly-renovated house the Kidde's CO2- and CO-detectors are everywhere. They are also all interconnected, which means there is a wire running throughout the house already. The detectors came straight from Home Depot - you must've seen them.

I'm wondering, what standard/protocol is used for the interconnection? Is there any chance, it is the 1-wire, perhaps? Even if not, can 1-wire devices be attached to it?

I have two immediate applications in mind:

Help myself figure out, which of these bastards thinks, it detected "carbon monoxide" - when one does, it tells the others and they all begin to scream.
Help identify, which one needs its backup-battery replaced - identifying, which one is beeping periodically, is currently a sport...
Add cheap temperature and other sensors to the "bus" provided by the interconnect wire.

First, don't use the wiring for anything else. It's a life safety system. Don't mess with things that are this critical.

Second, the signaling is simple: voltage on the line means one of the detectors has detected something.

To address your ideas:

Anything but the cheapest detectors has an indicator light on the front that tells you which one has been tripped. For example, my First Alert smoke detectors have a solid red light on when it detects smoke. The el-cheapo detectors installed by the original builder did not have such and indicator light.
Again, anything but the cheapest detectors has an indicator light on the front that tells you the state of the battery. On my detectors, the green light tells you the state of the battery and the line power with various blinks.
Don't mess with your life safety systems.


How was this deck/fence panel built? If you zoom in you can see that the posts have has a groove to slide in the boards but I wonder if they guy used spaces or screws to position the horizontal boards

How do you make posts like this? A dado blade or a router? Do these posts resist in time? I am thinking about the water that might widen the grooves

Yep, Dado Blade, Multiple passes with single blade, Router, Chisel, Specialty Plane to name most of them. Board spacing can be drilled/driven into the posts or boards screws, nails, staples, blocks or pegs. Or, end extensions but usually full height end slats are screwed to the boards & then the whole panel is slid in as 1-piece, a rotated stair balustrade. Or, the boards can just have the centers cut out to leave end legs.


Why is my light switch wired this way As can be seen by the first image( switch wiring ) , 4 black wires are connected to 1 terminal, and 3 red wires are connected to the other terminal , there is also a unconnected copper wire ( I am assuming that this is the earth )

the light was working until recently and now even after changing to several working bulbs it does not work , i have checked at the bulb using a voltage probe that its not getting any voltage.

I have a couple of questions

the switch should switch the live line right ? , so there is no neutral at the switch ?
why would someone connect multiple live wires at the switch, this would mean that the switch connected more than one bulb/appliance ? , but it only used to switch one light in the room

given that there is a minor hole ( visible in the picture )in the black cable ( assuming its the live wire), is it possible that it shorted with the earth ? , i have checked the breakers but they seem fine but noticed that the breakers are really really old wire fuse type ones.
is it possible that the switch is fried ? , since there is power at the switch but not at the light ?

BTW i am located in Brisbane, Australia

This needs to be looked at by an Electrician as it looks like Vulcanized Rubber wiring (VIR).

This is a Fire Hazard !!!

Your house wiring insulation may be the cause of the light not working.

Vulcanized Rubber is what they used before the 60's to insulate house wiring and overtime  it can become brittle and break off leaving the wiring without  insulation.

dangerous old wiring- "Avoiding the perils of age"


What is the difference between a "handle tie" and "common trip" in circuit breakers? This image shows a quad-breaker with handle ties.
Image borrowed from this DIY question
One of the comments noted that despite the "handle ties", this is not a "common trip" breaker. I, in my ignorance, previously assumed that a trip on one of the tied breakers would have forced the tied mate to trip as well and that this would, therefore, also be a "common trip". It seems I was wrong.
What is the difference between a "handle tie" and a "common trip"? For bonus points, when should each be used?
As was pointed out in an answer on that original question, this quad-breaker is labeled

ALL POLES HAVENO COMMON TRIP

Does this mean that "common trip" is internal to the breaker and can only be identified by reading the labeling, while "handle tie" is the external plastic/metal piece that physically ties the handles together? If so, does that mean (theoretically) that one could have a common trip breaker without a handle tie?

It ain't about the handle-tie
Common trip does NOT work by one handle tripping, and that action dragging the other handle over via the handle-tie.  That is not how that works.
That wouldn't work because the handles "trip free" - that is, if the breaker needs to trip and a padlock or naughty human is impeding the handle from moving, the breaker just trips anyway.  So if the other half of the breaker impeded the handle from moving, the side that tripped would just trip anyway, and common trip would not occur.
This means you cannot 'bolt on' common trip by adding a handle-tie.
Common trip works by an internal mechanism within the breaker. Either the breaker has it, or does not.  In the case of this Siemens breaker, it does not.   Eaton also makes a line of non-common-trip quadplex breakers just like these, but they also make nearly identical breakers with common trip inner and outer.  Other makers build them with inner common-trip and outer independent trip.
So from a common-trip perspective, a handle-tie is nothing but "trip theater".
The real purpose of a handle-tie, as manassehkatz discusses, is to assure common shutoff when the handle is used as an "off" switch.  And provide a visual cue that the circuits are related.


240v 3kw sauna heater connections Im trying to wire a sauna heater. Im using #12 wire as directed in the instruction manual (directions say 3x12awg 12.5 amp). The wire I purchased has 4 wires in it, two hots, a neutral, and a ground.

Here's the diagram, which confuses me:

Is the neutral not required for this application? One hot in L1, one hot in L2, and the bare ground into slot 1 with the ground symbol? If this is the case, do i just leave the neutral wire not connected to anything?

You indeed don't need the neutral wire, just cap it off with a wirenut

Your sauna heater requires 240V only, not both 120 and 240V, so it has no use for the neutral wire.  You are correct that one hot goes into L1, the other hot goes into L2, and the bare ground goes to the ground symbol.  As to the neutral wire? Just cap it off with a wirenut.  (It's cheap insurance in case the next sauna heater that goes there does need a neutral, say to run its timer.  Yours doesn't since yours has a timer that runs off 240V.)


How can I adjust the depth to which a pneumatic toilet flush button must be pressed? We have a toilet with the cistern built into a cabinet, with a button on the front to flush it.  However, it only seems to flush if you press the button right in (quite deep) and you have to do it quite swiftly at that.

I took the panel off and unscrewed the button to have a look at it, but there doesn't appear to be any movable part that would adjust this.  The button (it has two button for a dual flush type thing) is connected to the cistern by two long bits of flexible plastic tube.  I can't tell if they contain water or air from looking at them?

Someone suggested that shortening these pipes would fix it - but I obviously don't want to cut them and then have a problem.

Any ideas what actually causes this?  Should I just cut them shorter and reattach them?  If so do I need anything special to attach them (glue?) or should they just slide on/off.

Once the flush starts the flush works perfectly fine - this isn't a problem like other questions about having to hold the button down etc.  It literally just seems to be that the "trigger point" for the button is very deep.  I'd like to raise that to make it more sensitive so that you don't have to press it so far.

The reasoning for cutting them shorter is that it is a pneumatic link between the button and the cistern.  So when the button is pressed, this compresses the air in the tube, and applies pressure at the other end causing the flush.  If so, reducing the length of the pipe would reduce the volume and hence mean less compression needed to produce a response at the other end (and hence shallow press of the button).  I have no idea if this reasoning is gibberish or not.

If your button is working on pneumatic air, shortening the line or the diameter of the tubing to reduce the total volume of space the gas has to compress into should work. However, air or liquid, I can think of 2 other options:

1) Find a way to increase the air pressure in the lines to just below what is needed to trigger the flush

2) Add height of your button so you don't have to push it so deep (the travel distance will be the same with this method). Do this by gluing a button right on top of your current one.  If you can't find an appropriate one, metallic one you could measure and design and have one printed using shapeways. Obviously, if you wanted a wood button you could just use a hole saw and some sandpaper and varnish to make your own.


Connecting 2 switches to single power source I know this question gets asked a lot, but I can't seem to make sense of this:

Wires on the left: 2 sets of black/white/ground, one set coming from the light, and one set coming from the panel (I presume). The voltage meter does not register any current on any of these wires, so I assume these are load/neutral/ground wires.
Wires on the right: 1 set of black/red/white/ground coming from the light - what's confusing me is that both the red and black wires are live. The wires coming from the panel black/white/ground are have no current.
I am trying to hook up 2 new Lutron smart switches. Here is what I tried:
I am trying to install 2 Lutron smart switches, which require a neutral (I figure I just need to attach all the neutrals together).
Where I am mostly confused is line/load. It seems I have 2 line wires coming from the same light - and I imagine I will need to piggyback the left switch to the right, but which line should I piggyback on?

original pic
** Edit
This is not how I found it, I unfortunately did not take a picture prior to disconnecting - something I'll have to remember to do for future reference.
Those 2 black wires coming from the top were twister together, and if my memory serves me right, there was an additional pigtail wire connected.
All of the white wires were tied together.
The reason for investigating, is that when I connected my new Lutron switches, everything worked great for about 2 hours, but eventually the switch on the left stopped responding. I just assumed it was improper wiring (although now I wonder if it's not the switch itself because wouldn't improper wiring prevent it from working at all?)
I just tried re-adding the black wire pigtail to the top 2 black wires to create a line to connect to the switch (again I believe this is how it was previously), but what's strange is that now the white wire coming from the top left has become "hot".
This is in a kitchen, the switches control pot lights above the sink and below the cabinets.
The wire nuts in the back are ground wire extensions - the ground wire was too short to connect, so I added a length of copper wire to connect the extension together.

Partial answer so we can knock out the easy part.
Grounds are super simple.
You do not need to run ground wires to switches if the mounting screws go through metal. Those ground via the mounting screws to the metal box.  Any ground pigtails on the switches can be capped off, as long as the switch has a metal yoke. (where the screws go).
That doesn't work for receps, unless they're "self-grounding". It looks like that GFCI is self-grounding.
Therefore, all that's left to do is make sure every wire coming into the box is connected to the metal box. I see a generous 6 ground screws, so 1 per screw and you're done with grounds.


Powerline Adapters and non-grounded outlets I have a powerline adapter connected to an outlet on the main floor of my house. There I have my PS4’s ethernet connected. The other adapter is upstairs where the router is.

Over the last several weeks, I’ve begun to lose connectivity via the ethernet; wi-fi is fine. Ethernet worked great for a long time, but now the disconnection issues are becoming more common.

Now, my powerline is connected to a non-grounded outlet. I know this because I have a power bar connected to the outlet as well, and the grounded light is off.

So my question is, because my powerline isn’t connected to a grounded outlet, is it not getting enough power for the connection to work? Or is it more than likely to be the ethernet cable?

I’m more concerned with the former, as I really don’t want to call an electrician.

The grounding is a safety measure, it should not affect your connection. Definitely try another ethernet cable.

Now, about that ungrounded outlet..... grounded outlets are a good thing.


What does the low limit do, and where should it be set on an oil fired hot water furnace? What does the low limit do, and where should it be set? My furnace has
a honeywell  triple aquastat relay and has a difference dial.  Water temp is about 190 deg F.     Also, water psi gauge is only showing about 10 lbs. does not appear to move.

The low limit typically shuts down the circulators when the boiler (if it has a water temperature, it's not a furnace) temperature drops too low. If the boiler is operational but tasked beyond its capacity, it will catch up and the circulators restart - if not, the house gets cold and you hopefully call for service.

Typically the boiler will specify that it should never be below 120F (if it is, corrosion is a problem) and the low limit will be set somewhat above that.

It is well worth (and often legally required and/or good for your insurance) having a professional inspection/service/adjustment done at least once a year. Understanding what your boiler does is good - adjusting it yourself is dubious, at best. If it's not working correctly, there may be parts which are not working correctly and in need of replacement, rather than self-adjustment.

As for the pressure, the pressure on a hot water boiler should not move significantly. There is an expansion tank which should be adequate for thermal expansion control, and otherwise the water in the system does not change pressure, unless you happen to have VERY sensitive gauges (you won't) on both side of your circulator pump.


How can I keep a deadbolt functional in a door that moves with the seasons? I have a garage man door that shifts so much in winter that I cannot unlock the deadbolt to open the door.
I think it shifts up due to the frost/thaw cycles during the cold winter. Everything goes back to normal by spring.
You can see by the pictures that the floor has cracked in that area as well. The floor is pushing the whole door up causing the deadbolt to be pushed right up to the top of the deadbolt strike plate.
I'm going to put in a larger hole strike plate this spring.
Does anyone have any ideas on what I could do to help reduce the amount of shift in the concrete?
Chip some of it out, throw some rebar in there and repour under the door?
Open to any ideas!

My folks have the same issue. They have a lot of moisture in clay soil, and even with modern frost footings this happens. There's really no hope of preventing seasonal movement.
I think enlarging your strike plate bore is the right fix. Be sure to maintain security by installing a thicker plate if needed.


can I use a thick coating to fill the gaps between planks on wood deck? I want to use the space under my deck for entertaining when its raining. What would happen if I used one of the thick bed liner type wood coatings and simply applied it to the decking and also into the gaps, After a rainstorm I was thinking the water would evaporate or I could squeegee it off, I also thought about installing a composite type material underneath the floor boards between the joists to eliminate the coating from dripping through the cracks while it is drying. After it all dried I would possibly remove the composite material and coat the underside of the deck.

So could you give me any reasons not to do this?

I have installed membranes underneath decks and ran them to gutters to provide an under deck patio space.  To answer your question, no you can't do that - for the easiest reason - because it won't work and your guests will get wet.  And for a hard reason, it will tear up your deck with wood expanding and warping due to pressure or wood rotting due to standing water.

I would ask a follow up question that asks possible ways to divert water, so that people can answer that.


Can 12/2 cable be exposed in a crawl space? I have installed 9 "QuiteWarm Radiant Heat Film for under subfloor" to heat the floor above a crawl space off the the basement.  The crawl space has a concrete slab and is tempered.  This subfloor system is a 120v. system, with a total load  of 900 watts, 7.5 amps for the 9 panels. Each radiant heat film panel comes with a separate  black and white 12 ga. wire.  The instructions say to run all the wires (black and white)to a junction box, wire them in parallel and run a 12/2 Romex to the Thermostat.  The Thermostat gets power from a separate 15 amp breaker circuit.  The thermostat has a built in GFI.  My question concerns the single 12 ga. wires from the film panels to the junction box.  Can the single 12 gauge wires be run exposed in the crawl space(fastened per code along joist or 2x6) or do they need to be put in conduit or something else?.
Thanks

Yes a crawl space can have your 12/2 attached directly to the floor joists if going along the joist if going perpendicular a rat run is needed for smaller than 2 ea #6 or 3 ea #8 wires see exhibit 334.1 in the code , nmb in this location has been code for decades. Rat run or 1/2” plywood minimum.
Note bored holes need no protection.


Alternator health check I am restoring a fairly old alternator, single phase, 4 poles, 230V, 8kVA, cos phi=0.8, 50Hz @ 1500 RPM.

I measured a couple of resistance values and I am wondering whether the alternator is healthy (Please see the pictures):

Slip ring No. 1 to 4 resistance (Ohms):

1-2: 3.2
1-3: 3.2
1-4: 1.8
2-3: 3.2
2-4: 1.8
3-4: 1.8

None of the slip rings is shortened to ground. Electricity is delivered from the armature via slip ring coals to terminals.

There are four stator windings A - D. Every stator winding pack is connected to an adjacent stator winding pack. Stator winding pack A and stator winding pack D both have their terminals leading outside to a small connector block at the side. Based on the corrosion of these terminals is seems as there has never been anything connected to these terminals.

Resistance between the cables leading to these terminals from stator A and D is 8 Ohm. No shorting to ground. Couldn't measure individual stator packs resistance as all wires are isolated and I didn't want to remove the isolation).

Based on these characteristics:

Is the alternator healthy?
How do I have to connect the leads from  the slip rings to get L1 and N?
What is the auxiliary stator connector block used for? (Assumption: excitation via 12V battery when alternator has no remanence?)

It looks like your 3 field windings are good, I am guessing that 4 is an exciter but on the units I have worked on this is normally a separate coil with a permanent magnet. To make sure you really should use a megger (high voltage ohm meter) from each leg to ground, the windings look like they have been quite hot or are just very dirty. You would want a minimum of 10 Meg ohms at 500v, a 1000v would be better. If the motor is in good shape +300M ohms at 1000v is common. If the unit has been in a damp area and reads between 1 and 10 mega ohms. At 1000v it may needed to be dried out a small electric heater blowing warm air through the motor can dry things out but keep the temp below 150F to be safe some books say up to 225F but I have overheated windings at this heat. Note it may take a couple of days but if you recheck and see the resistance to ground increasing let it keep going. I have recovered up to 200 hp motors doing this that started out at approx 5 meg breaking down at 700v after 3 days I had 2.1 Gig at 1000v.


How can I repair and repaint a deck whose planks were caulked? So, parent's deck was looking ok, until for some reason some painters convinced my mother to "seal" the deck so water wouldn't fall down to the patio furniture below.

They applied some sort of caulk between the planks, and I supposed the idea was to paint over that with some sort of "glossy" water-resistant paint.

Well, the painters never finished the job! And so from November to July the caulking between the planks caused more harm than good. Moisture seems to have done some damage to the wood surface. See pic below.

Anyways, I'm trying to repair this mess and the first thing I did was with a spatula/knife remove all the caulk, so that water does not accumulate, but I'm afraid even if I clean, sand and re-paint, that the wood has already been compromised/damaged too much. I see lots of rusted nails, and some planks are a bit raised.
BTW this deck was built in 2006, and has been re-painted about 2 times already. Last time being 2010.

What can I do repair this deck and re-paint it well?
PS: Has anyone ever heard of such a crazy idea as caulk-sealing a deck?! I wanna kill those darn painters, removing that caulk took forever!!

Here's some pics:

Eight months probably wouldn't be enough time for standing water to have caused much significant damage to the decking, and from the pictures it looks like it is fairly sound. Also, in that the timespan we're talking about was over the winter, it wouldn't have been a whole lot different than normal ice and snow accumulation.

The one thing that you should check is the ledger attachment to the house. If it wasn't properly flashed, this could have been directing more water (than it would have before) down the side of the wall the deck is attached to. If it isn't flashed, you'll need to determine if the ledger was compromised since the deck was built and address that issue.

From a more practical standpoint, if there are planks that need to be replaced, you'll find them when you're doing your surface prep. I would personally remove all of the nails and replace them with quality decking screws - having popped up nail heads on an eight year old deck isn't out of the ordinary. Nails aren't ideally suited for attaching deck planks.


Why does my electric furnace sometimes blow cold air? I have an electric furnace that blow cold air sometimes. I replaced the thermostat and that did not fix it. The fan blows fine.

If I shut if off for a few minutes and then try again, about half the time it will blow hot air.

It has a clean air filter in it also.

When the thermostat stops calling for heat, the furnace will turn the electric heating coils off, but allow the fan to continue blowing air until the coils cool down. Maybe the sensor that turns the fan off is not working and allows the fan to continue blowing too long.


How should I connect my new Fagor wall oven to the existing wiring? I just picked up a Fagor wall oven off Craigslist to replace our existing and deteriorating (very old) 240/120V Tappan wall oven. The old home wiring from the wall is a metal encased 3 wire Black, Red, White combo.The new oven is rated 240v (60hz, 3600w.) The problem is the Fagor oven’s 3 wires do not match up - they are Black, White and Green. How do I connect these up?

The newer oven is from Europe - maybe explaining the white L2?

So I can connect the white (neutral) from the house to the green (ground) from the oven?

This is a great example of color codes not meaning that much in North American wiring.

Ground color codes are very clear -- ground is always green, green/yellow or bare. Other colors not so much though.

The nameplate on the oven is extremely clear: It is made for North America (60Hz rating, highly relevant to the clock).  It is made for 208-240V, which means aside from ground, it needs two hots. That white wire is a hot, and should be marked with black tape to indicate it as such.   It is not a 120/240V appliance, which means it does not need neutral.

The white wire in your wall is neutral, and is useless for this oven (but useful for most other ovens). Cap it off. I certainly can't tell you to mark it with green tape on both ends and open up your panel and move it from the neutral bar to the ground bar, because remarking wires to be grounds is not allowed unless the wire is #4 or larger.

While it is "technically leeegal" to use a neutral wire as a ground wire on a 120V/240V appliance, it is not for a 240V-only appliance.  Therefore I would aim for the best of all worlds, and retrofit a ground wire from the oven location to the panel the oven is powered from.  #12 will suffice. Bare wire will suffice, otherwise it must be green or green/yellow.  The stuff in the wall isn't MC, it looks to me like flexible metal conduit - and it's possible (easy?) to push/pull additional wires into conduit.

On ovens, "which hot is which" doesn't matter.  It's perfectly fine to hook up two hots (black and black-taped-white) to two hots (black and red).


Is this a dangerous multifeed? If either of these breakers are on, both of these wires have power. I believe that makes this a multi-wire branch circuit and that, configured thusly, this is a multifeed and that that is dangerous. Is that right?
Background:
I bought this house three years ago and am trying to untangle some electrical problems that came with it. Learning as I go. I did not wire this panel -- I bought it this way.
Explanation:
Using my voltage detector pen, I can determine that if either of these breakers is on, both of these wires have power. Also, I traced the wires up to where they exit the box in a cable, and although it's hard to see so I can't be 100% sure, I'm 99% sure that they are part of the same 3-wire cable. Using the pen again, if either of these breakers is on, the cable registers voltage.
My research suggests that this is a multi-wire branch circuit and would be OK except that the two breakers should be on different buses, which these are not. I'm just hoping to confirm that understanding so I can see about fixing it.
Thank you for any insights!

The evidence would suggest that it is an improperly wired multi-wire branch circuit. The two legs of the circuit are erroneously and dangerously shorted together somewhere. When a MWBC is properly wired, the only path from one leg to the other is through the loads.
The reason the two breakers are on the same pole is some delirious spark monkey discovered that if installed properly they trip instantly when main power is restored. He was unable to discover the real problem but by moving stuff around at random he effected a miracle cure.
The quickest test for a real short circuit, as opposed to a phantom voltage transmitted through the loads, is to properly position the breakers on opposite poles and see if they trip immediately.


Cable choice for kitchen. Maximum demand and diversity I'm trying to calculate and chose the correct cable to rewire my kitchen. The general vibe for creating final ring circuits is to use 2.5mm Twin & Earth apart from the cooker.

I've been reading up the regs and I have a different answer:

List of appliances in the kitchen:

Total nominal current (forgetting the cooker) = 44.08A

Diversity = 100% x Hungriest appliance + 40% x remaining appliances

= 13.04 + 12.416 = 25.456A

Now consult the table on how the cables are installed:

Mine will be installed in a drywall with insulation = 18.5 amps

..Which is not enough, so am I missing something?

Edit: I'm based in the United Kingdom

A ring circuit makes a full loop from the distribution panel through all receptacles.  What you have is two leads from the panel through all outlets.  The total combined load the circuit could support is your 18.5A * 2 = 37A.  The idea is that if you are using a device that draws 3A on the left-hand side, the next device you use would balance the load by pulling 3A from the right-hand side of the circuit.

So I do think you have sized the right cable.

Let me try to argue for the radial circuit, if you have room to do it.

Ring circuits can work but your supposed to balance receptacles around the circuit; that is, not all your receptacles should be in the first few metres of the circuit with the remain run just needed to complete the ring. If the distribution of appliances is not balanced that could lead to the load not balanced and one section of the ring with a heavier load than it should be carrying, heating your mains until it started a fire.

A fault in the mains could lead to one of the leads from the panel supporting the entire load of the circuit, suddenly you have the 37A supported on a radial circuit, with a 30A breaker, and a cable rated for only 18.5A.  Again, overheating and fire.  A fault in a ring circuit may not be all that noticeable.

With a radial circuit, if there is a fault.  The most likely result is a blown breaker or the circuit stop working.

There are some arguments about electrical noise induced by full ring.  Not sure what the reality of this issue is.


What size diameter PVC pipe can fit into a reducer labled 2 1/2" to 2"? This may sound like a stupid question (I'm new to plumbing terms), but for something like this. What diameter PVC pipe can fit into this?

For example, does this mean the diameter of the coupling itself is 2 1/2" and therefor can snuggly fit a 2 1/8" diameter pvc in it?

Or does this mean a 2 1/2" diameter PVC pipe can fit in it?

If it is what we call a standard reducing coupling then the fitting you are talking will accept a standard 2" PVC on one side and 2.5" on the other.

There are some other odd ball coupling type fittings out there but for that size of PVC they would be extremely rear.

When we have a 1" PVC coupling then it is designed to couple together two sections of 1" PVC pipe.  This is basically true for all the individual sizes.  P.


Should I insulate a finished basement if there is only 3 degrees difference? We are finishing our basement and I'm wondering if it is worth putting in insulation if there is only a 3 degrees temperature difference from my upper floors to my basement. This is during the winter months. The temperature in my basement stands at 66 degrees in the winter.

A couple things to consider.   If you have heat ducts in the floor of the upper level (i.e., the basement ceiling), you may be losing heat into the basement; insulating them (and especially sealing any leaks) may prevent heat from being "wasted" by warming the basement.    Depending on the floor surface above, insulation may make them a bit more comfortable (although I would not expect a dramatic difference with the basement that close to room temperature), and may provide some sound insulation if that matters.

If you don't have warm-air ducts in the ceiling, and sound isn't an issue, the payback on saved heating costs would probably be pretty long.


How to avoid spinng sharkbite on moen spout? What new spout did you get to avoid the sharkbite to moen connection?

Sharkbites always spin when connected properly.  Well the seal part doesn't but the cover does.  If you don't want it to spin I would use copper.


Protective clothing for circular saws? What protective clothing (upper body, lower body, and footwear) should I wear for circular saws?

Regarding lower body, I read that chainsaw Kevlar chaps stop safety-spec-conforming gas-powered (but not electric) chainsaws by using fibers to jam them. Will this prevent battery-powered circular saw kickback from cutting through? Or if a blade falls out during use, will it prevent that from cutting through? Or buy enough time to let go of the trigger and be unscathed? Are there better alternatives? Many of these chaps have open crotches, so will a regular sports hard cup prevent it from cutting through? Nutshellz make bullet-resistant ballistic Kevlar cups. Do these help against circular saws though? It’s marketed to baseball players and law enforcement.

I'd suggest ear protection, eye protection, and if you're doing a lot of cutting or particularly sensitive to sawdust, dust protection (p95 or better). Steel toe/steel shank boots are generally good on a worksite, but they aren't specific to circular saws.

If you are worried about cutting into your legs or worse, you need to think again about how to use a saw. Seriously. It would take a lot of bad technique to hack into your leg.

PS, circular saw blades don't fall out in use unless you've set up the saw distressingly wrong.


Ways to add proper ventilation to attic with ridge vent on roof? We got a new roof about four ago.  The attic is unfinished. It's a split level home, and hot as Hades upstairs.

Unfortunately, the roofers didn't consider attic ventilation.  They installed a ridge vent, but the only intake is a gable vent near the peak of the roof.  Now we realize that hot air stays at the bottom of the attic in that scenario.  So we need to add ventilation at the bottom of the attic.  Our soffits are not vented.  Seems to me the options are to vent the soffits, or to add a shingle-over intake vent along the lower edge of the roof (then seal up the gable vent). Is either of these options preferable for a relatively new roof?  We live in DC.

I would add soffit vents. If it's wood soffit it's fairly easy to cut the holes with a small rotary saw or an oscillating multi tool. Then screw on prefab vents from any outlet supply. If it's aluminum soffit I've replaced solid panels with vented also and you could space them out and put in as only as many as desired. If it's aluminum fascia on front then removing the fascia first makes removing and reinstalling panels is a snap. Just first remove the aluminum fascia (on front) by pulling the bottom nails with pliers. I always like to screw the alum fascia back on with small stainless Phillips screws.

But if it's wood fascia that usually hangs down past the soffit in front, it becomes more problematic. I don't want to try and explain that to you other than give you a heads up that application can be more of a problem replacing alum soffit panels.

Oh and if the gable vents are not leaking in blowing rain, just leave them, they will just give more top level air escape. I see no need to seal up the gable vent unless you see evidence of gable vents taking in water in a blowing rain (some do, some don't) If that is not a previous problem then just leave them. The will have no negative effect on ventilation in any option scenario.


Dual Purpose breaker (Eaton type BR Combination AFCI/GFCI) trips when starting blender or vacuum My brand new home has all available outlets protected by dual purpose circuit breakers EXCEPT for my bathrooms which are protected only by Eaton 15 amp Type BR Combination AFCI breakers.  My blender and vacuum (both are pretty high draw) work faultlessly when plugged into a bathroom outlet but I'm getting tired of using an extension cord. Using any other outlet trips a breaker (about 95% of the time) immediately when turning on the appliance.  Is there some kind of "dampening" device that I can plug in between the vacuum and outlet to stop the tripping? On the rare occasion when the breaker doesn't trip when turning on the appliance, it runs fine so I am guessing it has something to do with the inrush current.  Note that I have a dedicated 20 amp outlet protected by a Dual Purpose breaker but that works no better than the 15 amp breakers.  Also, I assume, I would be breaking code by changing out a Dual Purpose breaker with Combination Breaker. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

I believe your dual function breakers (GFCI and AFCI protection) are thinking you have an arc fault, not a ground fault or excessive current.  A "Combination Breaker" is one that provides series and parallel arc fault protection and not GFCI protection. Some people confuse "Combination" with GFCI and AFCI, but those are properly called "Dual Function", as you did.

Is the bathroom outlet AFCI protected?  If not, you just ruled out over-current (inrush) and ground fault causing the trip, meaning the other breakers are thinking there is an arc fault.

Motors that have brushes are common causes of what you are experiencing. Unfortunately all this great new "protection" is interfering with day to day operation.


Gas Furnace Electrical Schematic Diagram - Meaning of Plus Sign inside Circle? ....Question: On my gas furnace (DMO Industries MM series)  electrical schematic diagram  there are two  places that have a symbol of a plus sign inside a circle.....what does it mean? (see wires 39 and 40 on photo going to symbol of plus sign inside circle on 2nd photo....see wire from GROUND on ingnition module going to same symbol on  first photo ...Note: All grounds on diagram (furnace, blower, inducer motor grounds) are not denoted by this symbol but usual ground symbol)

They're ground screws

Those are screw-head symbols (stylized Philips heads) that represent where chassis ground wires are screwed to the furnace chassis/sheet metal.  I cannot tell you why they're used for inside-the-control-box grounds though (vs. the use of the regular earth symbol for outside-the-control-box-grounds).  Perhaps it has something to do with them being explicit wire connection points?


Is this an appropriate way to add a single-pole switch (without a gang box) to a circuit with an existing single-pole switch? I have a fun electrical challenge in my basement. I currently have power coming off of the breaker, to a single light fixture, and then on to a single-pole switch (Figure 1). I would like to add a new single-pole switch (on the other side of the room from the existing switch) on this existing circuit to just control the new light fixture. I still want the existing switch to only control the existing light fixture.

I know that I could install a pull-chain light fixture in parallel to the existing fixture, which would preclude the need for a new switch. This isn't a bad idea, but my wife would prefer a switch on the wall and wants the new light fixture to match the existing light fixture in the basement. I could also put the new switch in a gang box with the existing switch and just run wire all the way over to the new light, but we would like the new switch to be quite close to the new fixture on the other side of the room. There are no other circuits that I can easily tie into in this basement, and running a new circuit from the breaker is overkill (I think) for just one light fixture.

I took my best guess (Figure 2) as to what the desired circuit should look like. Does figure 2 look like an appropriate and safe way to wire this particular set up? Thanks for all your help.

Not only is it possible, but you seem to have it figured out already and even have a nifty wiring diagram to follow to accomplish it.

Good luck with your project!


How to build wall folding chair? I found the following chair I'd like to mount in my small hall:

However, it costs a lot. I wonder whether constructing such a chair myself would be hard?

Any suggestions how to start and what things should I take care of?

Building the seat is easy, anyone with a reasonably complete tool set and any aptitude for construction could bang those together. The hardware, on the other hand, is another story. The hardware shown is a specialty item because of both its particular functionality and the rather extreme torsional load it has to deal with. The next concern is attaching the unit to the wall. Your wall's substructure might not be adequate, and if your seat is configured like the picture it almost certainly won't have studs where you need them (the middle would require 3 or 4 studs stacked together to catch both brackets). You may need to cut open the wall and beef up the substructure, or design your seat so it bears some of the load down into the floor thusly:

This layout could be built with dimensional stock and off the shelf hardware (lags, carriage bolts, etc.) but I have to admit it lacks the elegance of the floating bench.


Can I pump down the refrigerant from an air conditioner myself? We are planning on having a new concrete patio poured in a couple of weeks and need to move our AC unit to make way for the slab.  Is it possible for a layman to pump down the refrigerant and move the unit or do I need to pay someone to do this for me?

Unless you are an abnormally equipped layman, no. Even then, there may be a legal requirement (depending where you are) for this to be done by a licensed A/C service person, as regulations around refrigerants have become much more stringent over the years, trying to limit uncontrolled releases to atmosphere.