Can I build a 3 stage whole house water filter myself? I wanted to get any thoughts and suggestions on setting up a 3 stage whole house filter for a well. The idea is to take the individual whole house filter and put 3 of them in series together.

First, I would be using a filter strainer to get any large debris (250 to 150 microns), then the stages would be 50 micron, then 5 micron, then 1 micron.

Well -> Storage -> PreFilter(150) -> Stage 1 (50) -> Stage 2 (5) -> Stage 3 (1)

I know you can buy 3 stage units but they charge around 170 to 200 and buying single whole house filters cost 25. Granted I still need to buy connectors and piping for each but the total cost will still be lower.

Does this sound like a decent whole house solution? Does the 3 stage units do something different than just a series?

I've installed many filter systems this way, it's very common.

(random from web; not my install)

Installing the filters themselves is pretty straight-forward, with a couple things to note:

Some people (including this picture above) install a bypass to the filters, but I'd actually not recommend that. It's too easy to accidentally open and have mostly unfiltered water coming into the house (water follows the path of least resistance). There's really no reason to have a bypass (you can't live without water for the 10 minutes it takes to replace the filters?).
If you have taps you want to get unfiltered water (eg, outside) then just split those off before the filters.
Installing a pressure gauge before and after the filter chain is a good idea to let you know when to change filters. You can install one between every filter if you want (and are willing to spend the money).
Be sure to test screwing and unscrewing the filter before finalizing everything. In the above picture, for example, the water line below the filters will probably make it a bit of a pain to get the filter housing off.
Install isolation valves before and after the chain. This prevents you from having to drain your entire pressure tank and house to change filters.
If there is no pressure relief button on your filter (the red button on the top), install a sediment tap to relieve pressure (which you must do or you won't get the housing off). Not a bad idea to have one just for convenience anyway.
Be aware each filter will reduce the flow and pressure.

As far as safety of the water, that's a bit outside the bounds of this question, but just to highlight the point: it's a good idea to get your water professionally tested.

Sediment filters are good, but they do not filter everything. Absolute 1 micron (as opposed to just "1 micron") filters are effective at removing some bacteria, but they are not as effective as a UV lamp. There are many other types of contaminates (iron, manganese, pesticides, etc) that are not treated by this type of filtration at all.


Gas valve with on off indicator? Is there such a thing as a gas valve with an on/off indicator light?

I'm looking for something where it's blindingly obvious that somebody has left the gas on.

ironically: I googled around but couldn't see anything obvious jump out.

More detail:

I'm looking to build an outdoor BBQ, I want a gas valve by the kitchen door to shut the gas off outside.

Why not just use a ball valve?  These valves make it easy to tell if they are open or closed.

In the open position (gas is flowing) the handle (lever) will be parallel with the pipe, when it is closed (gas not flowing) the handle (lever) will be perpendicular to the pipe.

This should make it easy for you to tell if the gas is on, or off.


Toilet flush button is corroded and gets stuck My toilet flushing button gets stuck with one button extended. It doesn’t affect the toilets flushing but it is a little ugly. I’m very new to DIY so I’m not sure if I can just scrub the blue stuff (which I presume is corroded metal?) off and then put the button back in place. Or would that just mean the button would get even more corroded.

Thanks

I happen to like pure silicone grease for articulating plumbing parts. I keep a jar of food grade silicone grease in the shop. Its usually sold in scuba gear shops, but I see it gaining popularity for other applications.

I'd clean the toilet flush button parts with something like CLR, lube with silicone grease and reassemble. Besides lubricating, the grease should help keep air and water off of the brass to slow down the corrosion. But it's probably time to start looking for some replacement parts.


Can I use a 70 amp panel for a 30 amp service feed? I am running a subpanel off of a 30 amp breaker, I need to run a smaller subpanel off of that. Can I use a 70 amp rated panel for my 30 amp service feed, so that I will have room in the panel to put in a 20 amp double pole breaker?

Yes you can. It is quite typical to have a sub-panel (non-service panel) rated higher than the feeder that feeds it. The rating of the panel is just the maximum it can be fed with.


How to mount load-bearing assembly meant to be installed into joists I recently got the below ceiling-mounted pull-up bar that installs into joists with 3" lag bolts. Unfortunately, my joists run perpendicular to the direction that I want to install this bar, so I need to find a solution that will allow me to install the bar securely other than directly into joists.

I am hoping to avoid sistering in a couple 2x8 boards because that means cutting, patching, texturing, and painting drywall. Is there a poor man's solution that doesn't involve any of that?

I do have a 16" x 48" x 3/4" board that I could install along the joists and then install the pull-up bar into that. However, the instructions insist that the bar be installed into joists with the 3" lag bolts, but is that really necessary to bear the load of a 190-pound person?

Any creative solutions welcome.

Edit: I should add that, if I did use my 3/4" board solution, I would be able to drive two of the four screws into the joists because of the overlap of the edge (minus 3/4" of depth, of course), but the other two would be secured into the board itself.

Update: Not my best work, but it's installed and appears to hold my body weight so far.

This shouldn't be a big ordeal - just get a 2x6 and cut it so that it spans at least 2 joists when oriented in the direction you want the pullup bar (perpendicular).  Use lag bolts to secure the 2x6 to the joists, then use more lag bolts to secure the pullup bar to your 2x6.

If that seems to have too much flex for you (I doubt it), you can always double up the 2x6's and use longer lag bolts to attach them to the ceiling.

Oh, also, 2x4s might work fine, but the mounting holes for your bar seemed too wide for that.


Electrical outlet installed by previous owner had Black and Green wires wired together I've replaced dozens of outlets in my life without incident. This time, when I pulled the outlet away from the box, I found something odd. The white (neutral) wire was as it should be. But, you know how the back of the outlets have two holes where you can insert the wires? One for the top outlet and a separate set for the bottom if you decide to wire in series or do something with switch outlets...?

Well, the black wire was inserted into the top hole and the green wire was inserted into the bottom hole, not attached to the green ground screw. When I hooked up the new outlet, I fixed this.

But here's the weird side effect... NOW the other outlet in the kitchen has stopped working. I've tested everything else in the house. It's just this one other outlet 6feet from the first one.

I haven't pulled it out yet, but I'm guessing the green wire must not have been acting as a ground...? It must have been running power to the other outlet?

I'm asking here before I go any further just in case there's something an expert knows that I am overlooking.

I ended up putting it back the way it was wired when I opened it all up, just with new outlets. I think I'm supposed to put this info in a comment, but I can't see an easy way to add the requested images to comments.

This is the first socket I opened. In this pic I have it wired to the new outlet. My wife tells me that the wire I assumed was green is actually dark gray. (I'm mildly color blind.) When wired like this, the outlet works, but the second outlet does not.

Here is the second outlet (original) pulled out.

Inside the second box there's a black and red wire twisted together. I'm not sure where the red goes. There is an outlet above the stove that the range hood is plugged into. And another outlet for the gas stove. Neither of these two outlets were affected during this. They are not on the same circuit breaker.
At some point in the house's history the stove was switched from electric to gas. So I'm not sure if the outlet for the stove was added then or what.

In the end, I went with the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach.


Any issue with using 16 gauge speaker wire for powering LED light strips? I have a roll of this speaker wire, if I'm powering regular 12v and/or 24v LED light strips, (non-RGB, only has 2 wires), is there any issue using it? It's a thicker gauge than the normal wiring used.

I’m thinking the farthest run might be 30 feet or so from the power supply.

Any issues with this in regards to voltage drop or resistances?

Quality and safety

The cheap Cheese stuff you linked is unspeakably awful, and you really need to stop buying safety related equipment from Amazon Marketplace/eBay/banggood/the other outlets of the Alibaba junkstream.   All of those either involve direct ship from China, or dropshipping via the Amazon warehouse which is effectively the same thing.

The Amazon Basics product at least reflects some nominal effort by Amazon to deliver a product which meets its product claims, since Amazon is a bricks and mortar direct seller with boots in the USA, making it easy for consumer protection agencies to hold them accountable for their own stuff.  We can't vouch for the insulation quality, but it is unlikely to break down at 24V, because if it did, it would fail its mission as speaker wire.

If you are confused by the difference between Amazon proper and Amazon Marketplace, that's the plan.

Anyway, the real question with this AmazonBasics wire is whether it is a type fit for your use, by which I mean visible vs in-wall, outdoor, etc. The cable rating will tell the tale.

They do make correct cable for such tasks made to go in-wall; thermostat cable comes to mind.  Thermostats are 24VAC RMS(about 35V peak) so that's not a problem.

Sizes needed for LED lighting

Low voltage LED lighting is a contradiction.  On one hand, you need fairly heavy wire (e.g. 16 AWG) to go any appreciable distance without getting murdered by voltage drop.

On the other hand, LED strips are so delicate that if you solder stiff, fat 18AWG solid wire to their solder pads, the "tail will wag the dog" as it were - the wire will be so much stiffer than the strip that you are likely to tear the solder pads off the PCB. So you are better off pigtailing off the LED strip with #20 or even #22 stranded wire, then come out to a wire-nut to splice to the long-haul cable.


i may have crossed some blackwires on a switch I am replacing switch in the basement and switch has 3 black wires. That switch is now turning the kitchen light on. What happened. I believe I know what I did but not sure which way to put the wires back in to rectify it. There is a wall switch in my basement stair case that controls one of the areas in my basement. I went to put a new switch on the basement wall. This is when I found out there are 3 12/2 wires coming in to the switch box. The 3 black wires are connected to the switch and the 3 white wires are tied off with a wire nut. 2 of the black wires are connected to the switch and the other black wire is connected at one of the 2 ends of the switch where there is a screw to tighten. Is it possible that I may have switched one of the black wires?

You likely switched wires.  It sounds like the thee wire pairs consist of:

Power feed
Line to kitchen light switch
Line to basement light.

From your description switch was being used to bridge the power feed to the kitchen light using push in connection and the screw connection.  (This may not be to code.)

It appears the power feed and basement light are on the same side of the switch.  Try moving the wire on the screw to the other screw.  If this fixes things, the power feed is on the screw.


Question about electrical service for subpanel in pool house I have a small existing pool house (built 1988) that has electrical service ran to it from the house distribution panel. Two breaker and two separate sets of wires go to the pool house, 240 single phase power for the pool pump (on one 20 amp breaker) and 120 single phase to provide electric to various outlets, fan, etc. (on 15 amp breaker). The services is buried. I would like to put a subpanel in the pool house to have more local control over the loads. So, if I put a subpanel in the pool house, can I combine (20 amp + 15 amp) the feed on the main bus bar and install breakers? I have never seen this before, but if you combined the hots, neutrals, ground, bare ground, in the subpanel, wouldn't this maintain the same current flow through each lead?

National Electrical Code says that you cannot connect conductors 1 AWG or smaller in parallel (310.10(H)).  Since it's not likely that the conductors between your buildings are larger than 1AWG, you cannot do what you want.

What you can do, is install a new larger double pole breaker in the main panel. Then install a new set (4 conductors) of larger conductors between the buildings, to feed a secondary panel in the pool house. Then you can feed your branch circuits from the panel in the pool house.

The size of the breaker in the main panel, and the size of the conductors between the buildings will depend on what size service you want to supply to the pool house.


How can I get paint to come off more evenly with a heat gun? I'm stripping some paint from a very old door in my house - it's probably about 120 years old. Given the age, it's picked up several layers of paint over the years. I've already stripped the skirting boards that are of a similar age with no problems: the paint just peeled right off.

On the door, however, the paint is coming off in a rather inconsistent way. The top two layers seem relatively thin, and are coming off without too much hassle, though the paint is turning into what seems more like glue than paint as it's coming off. The lower layers (pictured) are much harder to get off (in other words, it's not coming off in one go).

For the lower layers, even leaving the heat gun on an area for a little while, the paint doesn't 'bubble' and just softens (or comes off unevenly, as in the picture). As a result, I'm having to be quite rough with it to remove it, essentially using the heat to soften it up and then scrape it off manually with force.

I was wondering, is there anything I can do to make this easier? Or is it just the case that the many layers and years on this door will mean I just need to keep going? I'd just like to get rid of the paint enough to make it sufficiently smooth to fix some of the knocks and dents in it, and then re-paint.

Perhaps you should consider using a chemical help to supplement your heat gun approach. Obviously the very old paint has lost most of the oils and resins that can help it bubble for heat removal. You are probably dealing with mostly pigments (many metal based, including lead) and very dry resins.

There are newer less caustic strippers, such as citrus based products, that take several hours to cut through the old paint and may need a subsequent application. But they may allow more complete removal without gouging the old wood.

Once you stop making satisfactory progress with the heat gun, let the wood cool than then test the stripper in a small area. NOTE - Do not, under any circumstances, use the heat gun when there is a chemical stripper on the wood. Serious chemical reaction or fire could result!

You also could try cabinet scrapers. these are much less likely to gouge than the heavy duty paint scrapers. Some have sharp corners or curves that allow you to scrape out moldings and insets. Again, these could be used once you have removed a good bit of the old paint with the heat gun.

NOTE 2 - Given the age of the paint, there is almost certainly lead (and maybe other unpleasant metals) present in the finish. Use a mask to avoid breathing the dust and chips with all these techniques.


How to account for wood expansion when installing moulding? I plan on installing some board and batten frame moulding in my foyer.  Basically, 1x4 and 1x6 pine boards in the shape of squares nailed/glued to the wall.  My question though is how do I account for wood expansion.  I know that wood will swell in the summer humidity and shrink in the winter humidity.  All of the websites talk about accounting for this shrinkage as it could be up to 1/8" for the 1/6's.   But they don't say how to account for this.  How do I account for the shrinkage so that come winter time all of my moulding isn't full of gaps.

I've done some frame moulding in the past and it looks like the day I installed it, but I think I did it in the winter.  Apparently it only tightened up and there's been no problems.

The boards shouldn't be attached to anything but themselves (glued & jointed together) & must literally float between the battens & rails. The battens, bottom & top rail should all be rabbeted to allow for full invisible movement of the boards, behind the battens & rails rabbets.


In order to repair these do I need to use primer and paint? I am in the middle of repairing these cracks. As you can see I have worked on the two on the sides, but I am not really happy with the result I am getting so far. I used 3M fiber enhanced compound as it seemed to be the most rookie-friendly product I could find. But it is kind of hard to sand down. And I am not sure it is the best thing for crack repairs, so I haven't applied it on the middle crack, which also happens to be the largest one. I just stuck a length of mesh tape on there.

I'd like to avoid repainting the wall if possible. So my questions are: should I change to a better compound for the middle crack? Anything I should pay attention to? Do I need to use primer and paint after compound or is there a way I can avoid repainting while still get a fairly uniform and consistent result?

should I change to a better compound for the middle crack?

It isn't about a "better compound", it's about the right product that works well for you. Your product is closer to spackle (a hole patching product) than drywall joint/topping compound. Although stronger, it is not surprising that it is more difficult to sand. Your product will work, but you may spend more energy and time getting it smooth and flat. If you hate it, try using regular joint compound. Joint compound is not as strong, takes longer to dry, and shrinks when it dries (requiring repeat applications).; however it is very easy to sand, and goes on creamy and smooth from your knife.

  Do I need to use primer and paint after compound

Yes, unless you will accept obvious patch marks on your wall and understand that the repair will be easily damaged if touched.

You need to apply several layers, each successively wider than the previous, and sand flat between each layer, if you want the patch to look good. Even then, it takes experience to create a totally unnoticable repair.


Do I need to add grounding and replace breakers at my sub-panel? I doubt this is legal for the most part, but I have a 240v subpanel on my insulated tiny house, shed whatever you wanna call it. Right now it's my office, but a while back I set it up with a 240v 30 AMP Generator Hookup. I made a 75ft 240f 10/3 extension cord that runs to a 30 240 AMP breaker that used to be the dryer as I don't use that anyways. The wires from the hookup is 10/3 indirect and everything inside is mostly 12/2 with a few short 14/2 on the 15amp side.
Inside the tiny house is a 20amp and 15amp breaker. I have a spare 15amp, as I think the return wire must equal 30amps. I did separate natural bar with a nylon screw from the case of the subpanel and screwed down the ground wire to the body of the subpanel under the 4 screws holding the subpanel to the wall, and so everything is 10/3 to the 30 amp hookups and subpanel with the 20amp and 15amp breakers being 12/2
Do I need to add a grounding rod to the tiny house since I already have a ground wire coming from the main house
Would this pass inspection?
Do I need to replace the 20 amp breaker with a 15 amp making both breakers 15 amp or can I keep the 20amp since if I used both at its max amps it would be 35amps total exceeding the 30amps or it would trip the main 30amp breaker?

If your 15A & 20A circuits are 120V, you are not fully loaded on a 30A 240V feed IF they are on "opposite legs" - USA/Canada power is 120/240V and a 30A 240V feed can run 60A of 120V circuits fully loaded without tripping. Half the 120V circuits are on one hot "leg" and the other half are on the other hot "leg" and there is 240V between the "hots" of opposite legs, and 120V between the hots and Neutral. When oposite legs are loaded at the same time, neutral carries only the difference between them, not the sum - so it all stays below 30A in the wires.
But the broader concept there is that it's perfectly fine (and normal) to have breakers that add up to more than the feed amperage - of course, you'll trip the feed breaker if you use too many things at the same time, but that's also why it's OK - the main feed breaker will protect the wire. You may well have a 15A breaker on a lighting circuit that never draws more than 5A, (or 1A in a 10x12 shed with LED or florescent), for instance.
You should indeed have not one, but two grounding rods at the shed, 8 feet or more apart. The reason for two is that one grounding rod is acceptable if you do a test that costs more than a second grounding rod and 8 more feet of wire, but with the second rod you don't need the test.
There are some probable code issues with the power feed itself.
10/3 cable with 4 wires is not cordage (which for the same 4 wires would be marked 10/4) - it's wire that's intended to be installed and left in a protected situation, not moving.
If that cable is lying on the ground, it would need to move either underground into a conduit (where, in fact, you would not want cable, you'd want wires - cable is VERY hard to pull into conduit) or lashed onto a suspension cable overhead, out of reach. The cable or wires used must also be "suitable for wet locations."
For a "tiny house" on wheels that might move, you might want a flexible, tough cord that can be left on the ground - "cordage" - but that's really not appropriate for a shed that stays in one spot in the yard, and in most cases even with a "tiny house on wheels" or RV it's preferable from a damage point of view to run conduit out to a pedestal where a short cord can connect to the thing that may move.


How should I protect a gas line in a closet? What is the best way to protect and hide a gas line that runs along the side wall of an open (no door) closet? It sits about 2” off the ground and is 1” away from the wall. Since it’s an open closet I would like to build something that looks nice around it, however, I don’t know if there are any codes that I would be violating by doing this. The gas line runs the length of the closet which is 10’.

You basically would build a bulkhead to contain this.  Any enclosed gas pipe/water/electric should be built with a wall that meets code

This means the bulkhead should be framed out like a mini wall.  Floor plate, top plate, wall plate, joists and studs 16" O/C.  Frame it out affixed firmly to the wall (anchoring the wall plate in the studs) and glue down or preferably anchor down the floor plate.  Angle it to go all the way up the wall to enclose the vertical portion of the pipe.

Once you frame it all in, cover in sheet rock, mud and tape.  And paint.

Then you can finish it out and use the bulkhead (excluding the vertical part) to make a cool shoe shelf.


Why do the two bottom wires on my GFCI have power? I am connecting a GFCI outlet in my kitchen. The old outlet had two hot wires, two neutral wires, and two wires feeding the dishwasher jumped in with the top pair of hot and neutral wires. I'm concerned about the two bottom wires having power, I don't know why they do?

Your top wires are probably your LINE wires. Basically the wires that come from your panel. Your bottom wires sound like your LOAD wires. The way a GFCI works is you give the plug LINE power to protect that plug. But if you want to protect more plugs than just that one plug, you put the other wires on the LOAD of the plug. Basically anything down stream is protected if it is fed from the load side of the plug. So a regular looking non GFCI receptacle could stop working one day, because it tripped the GFCI that feeds it. So you would reset the GFCI and the plugs would work again, Your dishwasher, since it does not want to be GFCI protected (would probably trip the GFCI) is attached to the line wires. So it is not GFCI protected. It gets power from before it even goes onto the plug.
When installing your plug, look at the back of it. The top two terminals are usually labelled LINE and the bottom is labelled LOAD. Don't forget the silver screw is your white wire and the copper screw is your black wire. Green is ground.


How would I add tile to a raised deck? Does anyone have experience with the products designed for laying tile on top of a wood framed deck? (e.g. Slica Systems) It seems to me that over time even slight warping or shrinkage of the wood timbers would cause tile to crack.  These products have perhaps not been around long enough to see this happen.  What do I need to do to install tile on a deck and what do I need to think about?

To install in an unconditioned space over outdoor wood, you will need two things and these aren't really negotiable - although you can certainly choose your "manufacturer".

You will need cement board installed to specifications on the deck floor.   Depending on your deck screwing these down will probably be OK but there could be a requirement of using mortar then screw - that will be messy to get that level... in both senses.  It may also need gapping to account for wood movement.

You will certainly need a membrane like Ditra that spans the area.   There are a few manufacturers that make membranes for these applications, I have only used Ditra (kerdi).   You will need to mortar between concrete board and membrane for sure.

The other option is to install pure vinyl (rubber) click lock planks or squares.   Some of these high end ones come really really close to looking like tile.   And for a deck they might not be as slippery when wet and will probably be much more comfortable without the grout maintenance (that's if you don't have cracking issues).  You are probably laying down some plywood here but that's a simple job.  Only hard part here is trimming the outside so it looks good.
Either way - tile or fake tile - the biggest issue with doing a flooring like this on a deck is "where does the water go.   If you get the slope wrong or don't provide drainage tiles it is a really hard process to go back and fix it without ripping a lot of finished things out.


Chimney damper does not open My chimney damper does not open. I bought the house last year so have never used it before. Any suggestions on how to get it unstuck? Note that the damper cable DOES move from one side to the other but it just does nothing to open the damper. Looking at it, I can't even tell how this is supposed to work.

You need to slide that handle over to the larger slot and then pull it down or push it up.
Ok, good you got it. It was hard to tell from the picture which way it operated. You could try some WD-40 but these dampers are pretty cheaply made and don't have a precision fit. You should try working it back and forth to loosen it up a bit.


What could cause my toilets to bubble and clear water to come out of the clean out pipe? Manufactured home installed 1996 but septic tank is from 1973.  I live on a hill and have had no septic back ups.  Two weeks ago my toilets started bubbling and it appeared they were sucking air.  I put drain cleaners down shower and sink drains.  All appeared to be okay until I ran a load of washing.  There was water backed up in the tubs and it contained lots of laundry soap and lint.  The water eventually drained out with various gurgling and bubbling sounds.  I put 1,000 gallon septic treatment down the toilet yesterday.  Last night I heard gurgling noises and there was clear water in both tubs again.  Over a 12 hour period all the water slowly sucked back out of the tubs.  My husband told me to go open the clean out pipe and run a hose down the pipe.  When I opened up the clean out pipe clear water came out (about ten gallons).  I shoved the hose down about 25 feet and it was running full force but it seemed like all the water coming out of the hose was draining back out of the clean out pipe.  Do I need my septic tank pumped?

This sounds like your leach field is possibly blocked. That's the disaster scenario where you not only need the tank pumped, but the yard dug up and a new field placed.

Water from your laundry coming up in your tub is a sign that it's not draining to the septic system. This is either because there is a block in the system before the tank or because the tank is unable to accept any more water as it is plugged on the discharge / leach field side.

  When I opened up the clean out pipe clear water came out (about ten gallons). I shoved the hose down about 25 feet and it was running full force but it seemed like all the water coming out of the hose was draining back out of the clean out pipe.

... and that's the sign that it's doing option #2: the tank is full and failing to drain.


Repairing a GE stackable washer and dryer damaged by an unbalanced load My GE stackable washer and dryer combo stopped working after I pressed the button because of a loud noise. The load was not balanced. Now the washing, spinning rinse and lid lights are flashing. The start button is stuck and fabric softener button is on too. The technician is not sure what the problem is but has asked us to order door latch lid lock. The dryer is still working.

The model number is: gtup27oem1ww.

I do not want to purchase this part if it not necessary. Can someone assist with diagnosing the problem?

There might be a suitable answer here which says:

Check the wires going to the lid open switch to see if they are disconnected or severed, which apparently happened from an excessively unbalanced load.
If so, reconnect the wires and reset the washer logic by turning the cycle control knob to the 4 o'clock position, press and hold the start/pause button until the light blinks (3-5 seconds wait).  Then, while holding in the start/pause button, turn knob to the 6 o'clock position (blinking light should stop).


Can you vent a portable AC's exhaust through the chimney? The place I live doesn't have sliding windows so I thought maybe I could vent the hot air from the portable AC through the chimney? The chimney belongs to the fireplace that I don't use. (I've not bought the AC yet.)

Yes, it works, I've done it.

It's much more efficient and effective to vent the hot air out a chimney - this is what the chimney was designed for - than to open a window for the outlet. Opening a window as per the usual instructions creates an uninsulated opening to the hot outdoors, leading to heat entering your house even as you try to cool it.

So long as the chimney is sound, and penetrates through the roof (some old chimneys may be sealed off if no longer in use), it's a good option. Try to jam the vent pipe up as far as you can to make sure the hot air goes up.


Weatherproof junction/extension box with 8AWG wiring - selection and mounting problem I am trying to install a simple surface mounted junction box, in terms of the Code it seems pretty straightforward, but have run into several practical problems. Thought I might as well ask more experienced people here how they would solve the issue.
I have 3 8AWG solid wires and a bare ground in a recessed 1-gang metal box at a covered patio stucco wall (see Pic 1). Those are connected to a double 60 Amp breaker at the main. Now, I would like to splice those to extend them just a few feet to a subpanel (which cannot be mounted in the current low position, behind an AC unit).
I got some huge wire nuts (see pic 2) and because of the number of large wires and connectors I will need a deep box (e.g pic 3). Ideally I would have a deep extension box, but cannot find those. Also a minimum 3/4in (likely Liquidtight) conduit going to the subpanel.
Here are the problems:

the existing box is a bit proud of the wall, which makes the standard surface box difficult to mount and insulate. Sigma boxes I referred to above come with two tiny flat mounts. I could add some spacers, and cut foam for makeshift insulation?
The wires are quite short, adding a box with a single hole in the back leaves me with only about 1.5" of wire to work with. ideally I could use the existing wall box and the new addition as a single unit

So, any other types of box that would mount better over the existing setup? Should I create a small wooden frame for mounting and insulation? Are there any code challenges?

The problem I see is your wire fill with 4 ea #8 wires counted at 3 cubic inches each you are at 12 without a clamp. I would probably be looking at a double gang bell box.
One thing that regularly has to be done in industrial facilities is modifications to boxes or gutters. I would verify your local AHJ will allow this on residential.
I would cut the back of a bell box out to slide over the existing device box and mount it directly to the wall this will look better and provide the additional space to splice the wires. Since the existing box is proud of the wall a bead of calking across the top or even around that box prior to sliding it over the existing box would make it waterproof.
I have done this with both boxes and gutters coming out of concrete walls and steel plate. Your stucco would be the same as a concrete wall.
Trying to splice heavy wires in two tight a space is how wires get the insulation damaged and end up shorting out on the box or they vibrate through at a later date.


Is it safe to replace ethernet wall plate with a camera? I want to mount a camera horizontally with no wires showing. I thought it might be easiest if I just covered the ethernet wall plate with the power over ethernet camera. This would completely cover the hole in the wall, but there would be a small gap (2-3mm maybe) between the camera and the wall. Since it is a low voltage wire, I'm tempted to think it doesn't violate electrical codes. Would it violate building or fire codes?

It would not violate NEC code. There is no box required for communications cable like cat 5-6. Putting a device that covers the hole even 100% covered is fine.


Leaking toilet, stop water supply; Supply Valve Stuck Need to replace seal between bowl and cistern.

But is there a way to stop water supply to just that one toilet, it has a tap thing next to it, see pic.  Tried turning it, but no luck should I turn it harder?

Before trying to move a stuck shut off valve, determine how to shut off the water to your home or apartment. This is the main shut off valve. It also may be stuck, so you might want to try shutting off the water before proceeding.

To free a stuck shut off valve, first try opening the valve a little more, then try closing it. The back-and-forth motion may loosen the mineral build up sticking the valve.

Next, try a few short squirts of WD-40. WD-40 is a penetrating solvent. It will wick into the spongy mineral build up. You may have to remove the valve's handle to see the valve stem. Spray the WD-40 where the valve stem (shaft, like a pencil) enters the valve body. A little goes a long way here. A short spritz, followed by a 2-3 minute wait, then another spritz and wait should free up the valve.

Before resorting to pliers and other strong measures, shut off the main water valve and drain the pressure in your water system. The more force you use, the more likely you are to break the valve.


Stack Effect and an open top floor window I have recently had an energy audit for my home and discovered a large amount of air leakage.  As a result I have learned about Stack Effect, and how it impacts a home's ability to retain warm or cool air, and as a result it's energy requirements.

I wonder what the impact of an open top floor window would have on Stack Effect.  Would a single window change the flow of air in the home enough to cause or exacerbate stack effect, given a home that is appropriately insulated and air sealed?

I think you're asking where air would come from in a modern, well-sealed home, in order to replace that which escapes through an open window. The answer is simply that there's no such thing as a "sealed" home. Even brand new, ultra-efficient homes have countless tiny leaks. Door seals. HVAC penetrations. Recessed light fixtures. Gaps in vapor barriers. They happen.

Older homes were so leaky that it was almost as though a window was open at all times. Modern homes reduce that leakage dramatically, but you're still probably talking the equivalent of a 3-4" pipe through the wall. By opening a window, the convection and escape create low pressure that dramatically increases the airflow through those leaks, probably on the order of ten times as much.

There's also the natural mixing that occurs, which has probably as much effect or more as the overall leakage volume.


Purchasing agent to air entrain concrete I would like to mix up a few cubic feet of air entrained structural concrete so I can repair some water damage to an exterior wall on my New England home. (Recommended by a local professional mason to prevent further damage.)
Unfortunately none of the big hardware stores seem to carry Quikrete Q-Max Pro any more, and none of the other mixes mention air entraining.
Is there a commercial product or effective home-made substance I can add to a concrete mix to entrain air during the mixing?

Well don't I feel silly? I looked at the package of Quikrete Commercial Grade Crack Resistant Concrete Mix (Product No. 1006) that was in the back of the shed and it says right on it that it contains "air-entraining" admixtures.


Is transitioning to all electric heating smart? I am in the process of overhauling my home heating and plumbing. I bought a 2600sq/ft 1980s Cape Cod in southern Maine on the coast. I've reinsulated the walls and roof and am continuing to make improvements in sealing the house. Overall, the insulation is pretty good. The house is built on a slab with a 5 ft high frost wall.

Currently I have a old noisy oil burning boiler/on-demand water heater and forced hot water baseboard heating. I also installed a Jotul Oslo wood stove and a Fujitsu 15RLS2 heat pump. The boiler is a mess, the previous owner never serviced it. It has broken down twice and I have dumped about $1500 into it within the past 18 months.

This past winter we relied almost exclusively on the wood stove and heat pump which got me thinking. Do I even need this oil boiler? Even in the summer, when it is just heating hot water, it can easily go through 60 gallons of oil per month. We do not have natural gas lines in my town.

My thought is to scrap the oil boiler, get another heat pump, and install electric baseboard as a backup. I would also install a heat pump hot water heater. In the long run I plan to install a solar electric system...

Is this plan crazy? Should I keep some sort of fossil fuel based heat source? Is the electric baseboard a bad idea?

Here are temperature statistics for the town I live in: http://temperature.weatherdb.com/l/3943/Cape-Elizabeth-Maine

First step is to convert those prices into something you can compare on equal footing.  $0.063042/kWh = $17.50/GJ, for oil, $2/gal = $13.7/GJ

So, superficially, oil is cheaper than electricity for the same amount of energy.  However, there are a couple of other things to consider.

Oil combustion is only about 75 - 90% efficient at heating because you have to exhaust the products of combustion, losing some heat in the process.
Electricity on the other hand, when converted directly to heat (like in a baseboard heater, or electric furnace) is 100% efficient.
Electricity can be used to run a heat pump which, instead of turning the energy source directly to heat, uses a refrigerant to move heat from outside, allowing you to get 2 - 3 GJ of heat into your house for every GJ you put into the heat pump.  This GREATLY improves the cost effectiveness of electricity... but....
Heat pumps typically have a minimum temperature at which they will operate effectively.  This temperature will depend on the model and they are getting much better, but you may still have to depend on resistive heating on the coldest days of the year.

Given your assumptions, the prices you have thrown out, it seems like it will be a wash, or slightly cheaper to use electricity.  Long term reliability, equipment costs, and other concerns may be a different story, however.


Switch has two red wires I am trying to replace a wall switch with a dimmable TP-Link Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch but when I got into the double gang box there were two reds, white and ground connected to the switch and all the black wires were connected by wire nut in the back. I had the TP-Link switch installed on a single gang switch and it worked beautifully but it that light isn't dimmable, so it wasn't needed there and I'd like to move it. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

That's a three way switch.

In these pictures, it appears the red wire coming off the black terminal screw goes to the light, but you should confirm that.


How can I route the cables for my TV in a basement with a "half wall"? I would like to hang my new television on the wall in the basement, and run the cables through the wall to the entertainment center. My issue, is that the wall is a "half wall" because I have a split level home. So the top half of the wall is fully framed but the bottom half is part cinder block. Now, the bottom half is covered and framed. My issue is, how do I run my wires from the top to the bottom?

Cinder blocks, like concrete blocks, have voids in the center, hollow areas that make the block lighter while maintaining structural strength. cables can often be routed through these voids.

The hardest part might be finding a void. The blocks are staggered in a wall, but the voids still usually line up. You probably need to cut a hole in the drywall just above the top of the block wall. You may be able to see the voids, or you may need to drill test holes through the lower framing plate until you find one.

What happens next depends on where you are routing the wires and what is below the cinder block wall. You can drill through the cinder block at the base of the wall directly below the void and route the wires to either side of the wall. However, if you are routing AC power cables, they must be encased in an electrical box, conduit or metal raceway if they are in a living area.

You may be able to drill a hole directly into the basement area or an unfinished area (crawl space, etc) depending on what is near the wall and where you need to go for power and connection. If drilling in cinder block or concrete, use a masonry drill.

After you finish bringing the wires up into the drywall area, you can patch the access hole you made above the cinder block.

You need to properly mount any cables leading to the back of your TV. Consider a combination box that handles both line voltage and low voltage.

Supplement based on comment

You could put a combination box behind the TV, route the cables in the wall to just above the cinder blocks. Then put another box in the wall at the top of the cinder block. Cover this box with a raceway adapter.

This box will be a junction box with a blank plate on it, painted to match the wall. Then run a raceway channel down the face of the wall and install another raceway box deep enough for an outlet. If you are running both AC and low voltage, they need to be in approved dual or separate channels and boxes.

You still need to connect to the power at some point, so the raceway channel needs to continue to another conventional junction box.


Do I need to do any sort of mold mitigation after a bathtub leak damaged a ceiling? I recently purchased my first house and after the first time we went to use the jetted tub we noticed water damage on the ceiling in the kitchen below. So we got a plumber out there immediately and he determined that the drain needed to be replaced. He had to cut a hole in the ceiling to access the pipe because part of the drain pipe also needed replacement.

An approximately 2ft by 2ft section of ceiling was damaged by the initial leak. So we let it air out for a day and then my wife tried using the tub again. After she completed her bath I went downstairs to check for any more signs of water damage. That is when I found about a gallon or so of water on the floor.

I tested it, found that one of the jets was now leaking when water was in the tub and spraying when the jet was turned on. I got this new leak fixed and I have reason to believe the leaking problems have been resolved.

So at this point, before I have the ceiling repaired, do I need to do any sort of mold mitigation aside from letting it dry out for a few days?

Thanks!

Probably not. One-time floods dry out quickly enough that there isn't really a chance for much to grow. Persistent/repeated moisture, over an extended period, is far more likely to cause trouble.


Can I convert a 240v plug serving a stacked washer/dryer to 120v plug to serve the washer only? I have a stackable washer dryer combo with one 240V plug. The dryer works on 240V and the washer works 120V, but they have 1 control panel. The dryer died and the room only has one 120v and one 240v plug socket. Can I switch out the 240v plug for a 120v plug and get the washer to work? or are my only options either get a new 120v washer and a 240v dryer or add another 240v plug to the wall with a 30amp breaker?

Is this as simple as:

getting a 3 wire 120 cord-set of at least 14 gauge.
connect neutral to neutral terminal
black to black terminal
ground to ground terminal

I have experience with 120v power and I'd like to do this myself if its easy.

If your outlet looks like this:

You can simply buy an adapter.

See: Can I take a 220 line and convert it to a regular house outlet what would be the damage?


Can I plug a generator into a dryer outlet I have an electric dryer with a 30 amp circuit running to it. If I had a male-male plug to run from a portable generator to this outlet, would it be safe to run essential appliances (water pump, refridgerator, sump pump, etc) during a power outage as long as I tuned off the main breaker and the total draw was less than 30 amps?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!
This is NEVER an option.

You MUST use some form of transfer switch or interlock, along with the proper male inlet. Also, a male-to-male cord is called a "suicide cord" for a reason.


Electrical cable getting warm I have an oil filled radiant heater that is several years old. I've tried it in multiple electrical outlets and the electrical cable on it gets hot close to the end that gets plugged in. It also feels like the cable is more pliable close to where it's getting hot. Is there anything I can do about this or is it a problem? I do use the heater everyday and I don't have much money to buy a new one at the moment so I'd prefer not to throw it out.

If it is only getting hot at the plug end and not along the rest of the cord then the plug itself may not be getting a good connection at the outlet.

This causes a high resistance connection which generates heat when current is drawn by the heater.

Make sure the prongs on the plug are clean and make a good connection with the outlet. Try the plug in a brand new receptacle if you have one or a new power strip. If the plug is worn and feels loose in the outlet then you could replace the cord cap with a new one.

Also, this could be a problem with older receptacles that are worn out. In older homes the receptacles get sloppy and cords can be inserted and removed too easily. This also creates a high resistance connection. With a small load like a lamp, it is not as much of a problem, but with a heater that draws high current it can become more of an issue. The solution here is to replace the receptacles.


Confused about wiring So I'll come clean, I'm a first year electrical student at a tech school and I have a question regarding a diagram I'm supposed to draw.

The line diagram is presente:

《-- light -- switch -- light -- dimmer

So essentially home run through the first light, continuing to first 3 way, then to the light and then to the dimmer.  The first 3 way is noted as controlling both lights, while only the second light is controlled by both switches.  Sorry if that's confusing.

So my thoughts are that I have to run my hot all the way through to the common on the dimmer and then backtrack.  The part that confuses me is I don't understand how to feed the second light.

There's also a challenge for extra points for not using any 4 wire cable.  I've been thinking about this for days, scouring the web, drawing failed diagram after failed diagram.  Please help

I'm a little confused by the dimmer switch based on your post, so hopefully you'll correct that and I'll finish this answer.

However, to start you off on a new front that you might not have considered: go ahead and draw in 3-wire cabling between every item. You already know the layout that they have to be in and the maximum wires. Although it's for bonus credit, it can be used to your advantage.

There should be 2-wire going into the first light as your homerun, that's easy. Then leaving that first light to the switch will be 3 wires, hot wire nutted with the line, one tied to the light common, and then the neutral. Then you know that one wire from each of the other 3-wire cables has to be used to carry the neutral as well.

Without knowing the switching that is desired, I can't come up with a working solution based on my guess just yet. But this might help you find the answer yourself for now.


Flint water crisis - Water filter for Hot water heater? I checked with a couple of residents and right now the accepted solution for removing contaminants from the water is boiling, as filters are only being offered for cold water.

It seems to me that they could benefit from a filter placed on the line that feeds the hot water tank as opposed to just a filter on each faucet/similar.

My question is: Do such filters exist? If not, or even if they do, how would one go about making such a filter economically? From a preliminary search it seems 'whole house filters' are quite prohibitively expensive, for example OP mentions here that his cost a thousand dollars. We're doing a drive to help, it'd be nice if we could make the filters ourselves, or give instructions how to, or raise money for reasonably priced filters and then partner with plumbers for installation, etc.

Update: From the wikipedia page on contaminants found in the water

Lead
Coliform bacteria
Trihalomethane (THMs, a chlorine byproduct of disinfecting water)

There may be others.

There are many systems on the market that could make the tap water safe to drink, but there is no one size fits all solution. These systems also range into the tens of thousands of dollars. You would need to get your water tested by an independent lab to determine what the quality is, and then you would need to have a system designed that will fit your needs. In your situation, you would need a system that has multiple stages in it.

Here is a list of components that would most likely be needed. If you are working with a professional, you may find that some of these are optional. There are also other types of filters on the market which are not listed that could work instead.

This list is respective to the flow of water that is coming from the city.

Whole house sediment pre-filter - This will remove the largest particles out of the water such as sand, rust deposits, etc.

Whole house sediment filter - This filter captures smaller particles than the pre-filter. They go down to at least 5 micron.

Whole house carbon filter - These filters can remove some harmful chemicals that are in the water, but do little, if anything for lead.

Whole house UV filter - This filter will kill off most bacteria and viruses. It has to be installed after the other filters because small particles can block the UV rays, and bacteria and viruses could survive it.

Water softener - This will remove some of the minerals that cause hard water stains.

Reverse osmosis system - This would be the final stage of filtration. These systems can be located under a sink, and filters out virtually everything except pure water. These systems do not produce very much water, and use a pressure storage tank because it takes a while to produce enough water.

The other systems before the reverse osmosis system condition the water in the building well enough to be used for most purposes except for drinking. Under normal circumstances, the water will be safe to bathe in, and do laundry with.

Please note that the addition of these filtration systems could reduce your water pressure significantly. You may need to install a pressure boosting pump and storage tank as well, if there are pressure issues.

However, these steps should all be done by the municipality. It should not be the burden of the homeowner to render the tap water safe to use.


Plaster repair mistake fixing hairline cracks I have some walls (brick and plaster) with some plaster in poor condition. Mainly hairline cracks.

I dug out the hairline cracks to a V shape groove and filled them with a repair compound. However, I made the mistake of skimming them flat with a float while still wet. Subsequently, the repair compound seems to have shrunk back a tiny amount into the groove. When painted, the paint finish is not dead flat - you can see channels the width of the V through two coats of paint. Very shallow, but visible.

What's the best way to proceed? Dig the cracks out and start again? Skim over the top and sand flat? Apply more paint and rub down? Give up on the repair and have all the plaster hacked off the walls and replaster?

You had it right with "skim over the top and sand flat". The only thing you want to do is scuff the paint gently with sandpaper to help the joint compound bite.


What is this in my water softener? My water softener was filling up with water and when I called the tech specialist, they said it was my O-Rings were damaged and needed replacement. On taking the top parts off the drum, the inside of the OUTLET piping going into the house is a brown waxy/slimy substance. I called the Kenmore technical guys again and they said that the resin in the drum had turned to mush and I needed a new softener - this is 14 years old now.
Please see below pic and advise if this is the case or what else it could be. Please also advise if this is toxic and what anything can be done to clean it out?

EDIT - I see that resins can be replaced. If this is a resin issue, can the resin be replaced easily enough?

EDIT2 - I find now that resin costs $250. A new softener is $400. So do I bite the bullet and pay $400 to replace a 14 year-old unit? Or replace the resin (if it is the resin that is a problem).

Resin in softeners is typically only good for 10 years, and after that has to be rebedded (replaced).

1. Empty the old media from the tank

Turn off the water supply and relieve pressure on the softener (easy way is to manually cycle the valve to drain a couple times until you don't hear water moving anymore).

Disconnect the softener, and bring it outside. It is filled with water and quite heavy -- you might need two people. A hand cart is especially helpful. Be sure to grab the softener itself, and not the brine tank which sits off to the side (the part you put salt in).

My dad used to own a water treatment company, so I've done this many, many times. The way we used to do it was take a large plastic garbage bin, with a large bag in it, and basically just pick up the filter and dump it upside down quickly. The water in the tank would help get most of the media to come out, along with shaking it a bit (think along the lines of getting ketchup out of a glass bottle). Once all hte water is drained out, keep it upside down and use a garden hose to flush out the rest of the media and clean it out.

We used to then just take a screwdriver or knife and poke holes through the garbage bin and bag to let it drain, but of course this wrecks the bin (we had several of these, and they'd be good for hundreds of rebeds before falling apart). Be creative so you can drain the water and then dispose of the used media.

2. Prepare the tank

Install the stem back into the center of the tank. If the stem or distributor basket (intake on bottom of the stem) is damaged in any way, you'll want to replace it.

It's a very good idea to cover up the top of the stem with tape so nothing gets down inside (could jam in the filter head later, causing lots of problems).

3. Fill the tank with new media

Put some small pea gravel in the bottom, usually enough just to go an inch or so over the basket, but the manufacturer should have specific recommendations.

Next, install the resin. Again, the manufacturer should be able to list the specific type and quantity needed. If I recall correctly, it should fill up to a foot or so below the top of the tank.

4. Reinstall the tank

Bring tank back in the house, and hook it back up. It's a good idea at this point to check all o-rings too, and put silicone o-ring lubricant on them to prevent them from drying out and make it easier to reinstall.

Don't just turn the water on full-bore, or you risk stirring everything up inside. Instead, open a tap somewhere downstream (or set the filter to drain), and then slowly open the supply to let water trickle in. Once you see water coming out of the tap or going to drain, it's full and you can open it all the way and put the filter back into full service.


How do I close and seal an old external vent? I was removing some ancient hanging cabinets in my small laundry room when I found an old vent of some kind. It had been completely hidden behind the old cabinetry. My dryer vents out through the roof so I want to close and seal this opening, especially before it gets really cold.

I believe the gist of it is that I fill the hole with insulation and put some drywall on the inside. I then cover the outside with some sort of aluminum plate or plywood. Any experts out there have input as to choice of insulation or external covering? I think the box is too big for the kind of spray foam one would use around pipe holes. I have stucco on the outside of my wood house. Also, should I remove the inner walls of the box or just leave well enough alone?

I would probably use some rigid foam insulation (2 or 3" is probably good, it's generally rated at R7 per inch - and you can stack it, it doesn't have to be a solid piece), and then use spray foam to seal it up around the edges and hold it in place.

It looks like a metal sill all the way around, so that's going to cause a lot of heat transfer anyways - ideally, to make it as warm as possible, get rid of the metal. You can also then pull off the trim and just put some backing in, and a piece of drywall (or plaster) to finish up the inside.

The most important part is making sure it's sealed to the elements from the outside, like rain/snow. You don't want water coming in and getting into your walls. Depending on the outside condition, get rid of the louvres. Ideally you would put a piece of plywood in place and then if you have siding on the rest of your house, put siding over that as well. You might also be able to just leave the lovres there, but seal them up (with caulking outside, spray foam inside) so they don't open and don't let anything in.


We live in a condo with a shared wall. When the neighbor turn on their water it's loud. What can be done about this We live in a condo and when the neighbors turn on their water is like the flood gates of hell. Is there anything I can do to block the sound.

Small diameter pipes can be noisy, but fitting larger pipes while the « solution » now can be difficult and expensive.
Usually happens when a small pipe feed an area which then has a change of use and the water demand increases which increases the speed in the small pipe.
Usually on domestic pipes the speed should be kept below 2 m/s while hydraulic systems can be up to 7m/s.


Can I (should I) do anything about these open PVC exhaust pipes in regards to rain or pests I moved into my current home recently and noticed these exhaust pipes are open.
Do I have to worry about rodents or insects getting in?
Can I improvise a makeshift screen with some additional PVC pipe or would that be out of code?
Additionally, should I be concerned about rain water on the center exhaust? It may be very little, but I imagine some getting in isn't great?
I was thinking of (again) improving a rain cover to prevent any water from dripping in.

Your setup looks completely standard to me. In my region we have converted most HVAC systems and water heaters to high efficiency units. They vent nearly room-temperature gas via PVC in most cases. The inlets and outlets are arranged to prevent recirculation of exhaust gases into your home, and the outlets have mechanisms inside to deal with drainage from condensation and a bit of rain.
Regarding rodents... it's possible. About once a year I get mice in my suburban home, and I suspect the HVAC plumbing as an ingress point. However, it can be dangerous to apply mesh. Accumulation of dust, lint, insect nests, natural material, or whatever can obstruct intake and exhaust flow, potentially causing health and safety issues. I'd avoid doing so.
My $.03? Don't change anything unless there's an actual problem. If you must, consult an HVAC specialist for the right way to deal with the specific issue. Mesh covers may be available that provide a large surface area unlikely to clog, for example.


Old furnace with no "C" terminal for wifi thermostat I'm new to this forum and was wondering if I could get some help regarding installing a Honeywell WiFi thermostat that requires a "C" terminal.

I currently have an older thermostat that has only 4 wires (Furnace + AC) and my cable also only has 4 wires...so I was looking at adding a 5th wire for the C terminal, but can't seem to find that terminal...

If I follow the thermostat wires, I see them going to the G & R terminals close to the transformer, but there is no C terminal anywhere ( only R, G, W, Y and I think there may be an O)

I initially thought the "O" would actually be a "C" terminal, but doesn't look that way (also hard to see).

I do have another pic below that shows some blue & yellow wires going into the the transformer, but I can't say for sure if it's the primary or secondary...I was  thinking I might be able to use one of those as the C wire to close the 24V circuit, if I can identify which is which?

Another thought I had, was whether I could tap into the 24V (GND) terminal from the ignition control module instead (see below) - would that work, or does it have to be directly from the transformer?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The Black Wire goes directly to the AC (there is only one wire used from the other bundle)

I went and got myself a multi-meter and checked the voltage ...this is what I found:

R (RED) = Hot 24V terminal/wire

W (WHITE) = Heating

B (BLACK) = AC

G (GREEN) = Fan

Any combination between R + W/B/G = 27.4 V, which means the circuit closes ...so if I just take the G wire (Fan) and move it to the "C" terminal on the WiFi Thermostat, it should power the Thermostat, correct? I understand that I'll be loosing the stand-alone Fan functionality, but will the Fan turn on when Heat/AC is working?

The O terminal is C in your system

Because we know the black wire going off to the air conditioner is our Y wire (as it's connected to the black wire from the thermostat's Y terminal, according to what you have said and the photo's so far), the remaining wire in that cable must be a C wire, since you mentioned that there are only two wires going off to the outdoor unit.  So, we follow that wire to where it nuts in with the white wire going off to the O terminal and the brown wire off to the rest of the furnace, and that is the point where we tap C at.  Or in other words, in your system, O is what they call what the rest of us call C.


Install Common Wire (unable to find terminal or 24 VAC) I bought a Nest 3rd Generation Thermostat. Live in a 2 family home, where my floor/basement has the boiler room/furnace. I have a Laars Mini Therm Furnace Model JVT. There's a thermostat upstairs as well, where both control / call for heat when needed. For some reason, my Nest is never receiving Rh power (I checked with voltage meter and shows 24 VAC). I've read countless articles on this site and elsewhere and it seems a Common Wire would help alleviate this however I can't find where to run the Common Wire myself. Not a pro, but I've messed with this furnace for hours this whole week and practically know it but no cigar yet. Can anybody help?

I've attached pictures. I think it goes on the A? terminal however there's no voltage detected there (I once saw 12 VAC btu not sure if it was a fluke)

Thanks everyone [![Terminal Board[][1\

Currently according to the wire diagram the wire on the R terminal comes straight from the transformer. The C wire should be the other leg from the transformer. So you need to add a wire branched off from one of the Y wires and run it to the NEST thermostat.


Will thicker o-ring stop this faucet leak? My countertop dishwasher requires attaching an adapter to the kitchen faucet. My landlord replaced the faucet yesterday (which had a leak in another place regardless of dishwasher). Now when I attach my dishwasher hose and turn on the water, water leaks between the adapter and the faucet. It doesn't leak with the aerator it came with.

Do I need a thicker o-ring for the adapter? The ring the adapter came with already reaches above the threads.

(I'm guessing this wasn't a problem with the old faucet because the pressure was lower.)

Left: dishwasher adapter. Right: aerator the faucet came with

Faucet with adapter and dishwasher hose attached

I just needed to tighten it more. I bought a better wrench,  tightened it more, and now it doesn't leak.


How to get agitator off for this Frigidaire washer? I have seen plenty of youtube videos on how to release the agitator from rest of washing machine. Seems easy.

However, for my FEX831FS4 washer the bolt is kinda surrounded by the agitator's plastic housing and the only way I may be able to unscrew that nut would be with a very deep, thin walled socket. Wrench does not bite the nut enough and regular socket can't get on top of nut because the protruding thread is very high. See this picture to understand what I mean

This has made me wondering If I am doing things the right way to fix the broken agitator? Wanted to hear from someone who has worked on washers before whether

I need to start disassembly from bottom for this washer and not top to release the agitator?
When the agitator got broken perhaps it was pushed upwards (or downwards) over bolt and I now simply need to use some force?
I simply need a special, deep socket with thin walls to unscrew that nut?

Any thoughts? Here is parts schematics. If I understand correctly then last picture of transmission shows that bolt. But then it seems that the plastic agitator should simply come after unscrewing the plastic cap without having me to unscrew this bolt. Which does not seem to be the case.

I've not worked on this specific model, but with a similar one I recall that the agitator just pulls off once you remove the cap.

They get gummed up with detergent residue so it takes some force to get it started.


How can I remove an energy gel stain from my carpet? I appear to have a small solid 'clump' on my carpet. I'm guessing that it is from an energy gel, which is basically corn syrup mixed with water. Usually I'm pretty good on carpet stains (hey, I'm clumsy), but I have no idea how to remove this one. It's fairly solidly set.

If it's worth anyway, I've had this stuff dry all over clothing before and it's come out the of the washing machine fine. Of course, that's not quite a wollen carpet. I was thinking of blotting with vinegar.

Any other suggestions?

No need for vinegar yet. The stuff is very water soluble.
If you get the carpet too wet, you'll just transfer the sugars to the floor under the carpet.
I'd put a wet, not slopping wet, towel on it, and let it sit overnight. The sugars should be drawn into the towel. It might take several applications. Once you've got most of it, go ahead and attack w a wet sponge/vinegar.


Fireplace cleaning (UK 1930s Terraced House) We are looking for guidance on how to clean/restore an original 1930s (UK) fireplace (photoed below). We are not sure what metal it is, but assume it is cast iron.

It's a cast iron fireplace, very common in Victorian times. First you'll need to find out if it's been painted or polished. Usually you can see just by looking at it, if you see brush marks or flaking areas it's been painted. A smooth finish which shows the metal finish probably means it's polished (my gut instinct, looking at the patina on yours is that it is polished).

Restoration depends on the level of unsightly areas. A painted fireplace can always be cleaned up and re-painted. Be careful if you suspect the original paint is old as it may contain lead (don't sandpaper it etc.). Use a heat resistant paint if you intend to use the fireplace (assuming the original paint is also heat resistant, which may be difficult to determine...).

A polished fireplace can be cleaned up with a stiff brush or wire wool and re-polished with a special black compound for cast iron grates/firebacks. We call it 'black lead' around here, but that is probably a throw back to earlier times as modern compounds do not contain lead. Modern names include 'grate polish' or 'graphite polish' or 'black polish' etc.


Displaying heavy antique wood doors I'm trying to display 3 antique wooden doors that I've acquired but not sure the best way to display them. I definitely do not want to drill into the doors.
Optimally I'd just rest them on the floor if I could but each door has a 1" posts that sticks out on one corner which makes them lop-sided. Each door is maybe 20lb and I don't have enough studs in the area to mount all to studs.
I could maybe build a wood base to even out the bottom but then I'm worried the bottom would slide out on my hardwood floors.
Thoughts?
EDIT: Not functional as doors. I want them mounted/laying flat on drywall.

https://imgur.com/a/mboasdL

To use as “real” doors, I’d use a pivot hinge. Pivot hinges are set in the top and bottom of doors, so they would not mare the face of the doors.
I’d use the hinge rated for the heaviest doors. Something similar to this:
https://www.betterbuildinghardware.com/products/pivot-hinge-fritsjurgens-systemone?gclid=CjwKCAiAqJn9BRB0EiwAJ1SztV-DFU2tcIrLUFOshOxARq3x3Cfwoy6-ChMV48ALM-9EQAwDa4XZtxoC0IoQAvD_BwE
Three doors seem like an odd combination for doors, especially as narrow as they seem to be.
Edit:
If the doors are going to be decorative, then perhaps they should be installed (mounted) “on” the wall instead of “in” the wall. That includes mounting a simulated door frame around the doors.
I’d use wood trim, stained to match the doors and framed out all the way around the 3 doors. The trim could mount flush “on” the wall so it appears like a door casing.


Does an app exist to allow mobile control of Velux windows? We live in a rental apartment and we have several windows by Velux controlled with homecontrol-io.

Is there an accessory that performs as a gateway and allows to control the windows with a smartphone?

On the bottom of your linked page it talks about using your smartphone (http://www.velux.com/solutions/products-and-solutions/home-automation#io_homecontrol)


Can I prevent power theft? I have heard stories about miswiring and other, less accidental ways that power gets stolen, especially in rentals and condos. I would like to protect myself from false charges if I end up moving into one. Are there safe and legal ways to stop other people from stealing power from the line I'm paying for?

It's difficult to completely prevent theft. The illegal tap could have been installed long before your presence. Such taps can be nearly impossible to locate. It's even difficult to prevent new taps from being installed because meters and overcurrent devices need to be accessible and you cannot reasonably monitor external wiring 24/7.

While it's difficult to stop, it's not too difficult to detect, though somewhat inconvenient. Turn off all the branch circuit breakers in your unit, then inspect your meter. If the meter indicates current is flowing, you are paying for power you are not using. Of course, if you run this test when the thief is not using your power, you cannot detect it. You need to catch them in the act so to speak.

Also, if the thief has tapped into your branch circuits, you have also shutoff their access so they are undetectable. To identify this kind of theft, you need to disconnect every single thing in your unit that uses power. This includes doorbell chimes, smoke detectors, clocks, furnaces, stoves, etc. Then once again check the meter. If the meter indicates current flowing, power is being consumed that is not under your control.


Gas fireplace insert won't stick to marble fireplace I have a marble fireplace and 2 years ago my gas fire insert fell out, I tried to stick it back in with heat resistant silicone but it fell back out. It is a metal gas insert any suggestions on what to use to seal it back onto the marble.

First and foremost, I would attempt to locate the instruction manual for your unit. You may still have it somewhere in a junk drawer or similar, but almost just as easy, you should be able to look it up online or by contacting the manufacturer.

Many of these inserts are mounted by a series of fasteners from the structural interior of the where the unit is to be mounted, either directly to the gas insert, or to a bracket that will support, attach and secure the insert mechanical. To date, in the US, I cannot imagine any that are specified to be installed with any kind of adhesive. This just wouldn't make sense for servicing.

IF you unit is literally falling out of the wall, there is a very good chance for damage to the gas supply line and/or electrical ignitor and thermostat system. I would personally not feel comfortable with anything short of a licensed and certified tech to come and repair/install my unit.

If gas supply, electrical and HVAC are out of your area of expertise, please see a professional.


What options exist when utility wire is too short to reach the meter? Doing a meter box upgrade, underground service in 2" EMT entering bottom of box. My new meter box has about 12" distance from bottom case to lugs, which is about 3" longer than the old.  Ack!
Surely this happens to others. What are the options here?

Request a new conductor wire be installed by the utility company?

Lower the box down on the conduit? But this raises 2 more questions:
how can you cut and thread the conduit with wires still inside (not
likely possible), or how can you secure the conductor without
threaded end if the threads are raised 3" above inside the bottom of
the box)

Have the utility company pull the wires back a couple feet so I can
make cut and thread the conduit?

Splice the main line?  (I'm guessing no, but if yes, the power
company would be very specific on their requirements)

Other options I am missing, besides finding a new box?  (no time for that, plus I've spent days searching to settle on what I've got).

If the conductors are to be replaced, the utility will likely require the new work to meet their current requirements. For my utility that would mean also replacing the 2" conduit with 3" -- they simply won't install a residential service in a 2" conduit anymore.
There exist compression-style fittings for rigid conduit -- you don't have to have threads. Trimming the conduit to be a few inches shorter doesn't seem like a big deal. Conduit fill requirements mean there will be some space between the conductors and the inner wall of the 2". If the conductors are straightened well they might just fit into a 1-1/2" pipe (for example). That smaller pipe or other material could be slid down inside the 2" to serve as a shield and protect the conductors while the 2" conduit is trimmed and de-burred.

Other option: do some digging. If the underground service is direct-buried, ie it's not in conduit the whole way, and if it approaches the building at an acute angle (like, say 30 degrees; far from perpendicular) then it might be possible to move the meter sideways along the wall to gain a little more conductor length.
You should probably request a consultation with a field engineer from the utility to learn which options they'll support.


What is this component wired into a bench grinder motor? I'm refurbishing an old Black & Decker 6" bench grinder.  It's got a power cord, an On/Off switch, and an A/C motor. The motor doesn't energize, even with a manual start, and I'd like to check the circuit.

The motor has three wires, and there's a gizmo I don't recognize.  It could be a thermal overload protector, or it could be a starter circuit, or something else I haven't thought of.

I'm familiar with A/C motors having multiple windings for speed settings (common on fans) but this grinder doesn't have a speed control.

My questions are:

What is the black Bakelite item?
What circuit tests are appropriate to diagnose and repair?

Single phase bench grinders typically use Capacitor Start motors, which would typically use a centrifugal switch inside of it to take the starting capacitor off line once it is at speed. But because of what a grinder DOES, those centrifugal switches are prone to failure when they get loaded up with conductive dust. So some grinder manufacturers use what's called a "potential relay" as the way to detect when it is OK to take the capacitor off-line, utilizing the back EMF of the motor to know when it is close to full speed. If that potential relay fails open, your grinder will not start. Usually they are larger than what that appears, but it's hard to judge the scale of your picture other than using the butt splices as a reference point. If the motor just sort of hums and/or shakes, that's the likely culprit. If the motor does absolutely nothing, as in no power getting to the windings at all, then that would most likely be an open thermal switch. But a thermal switch would usually only have 2 wires, not three. Potential Relays have three.


How much caulking do we need for a standard bathtub How much caulking do we need to buy to caulk the rim of a standard 30" x 60" bathtub?

One standard caulk tube will do a tub plus another.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-10-1-oz-Clear-Silicone-2-Kitchen-and-Bath-Sealant-GE5040-12C/100663319

plus

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-smooth-rod-caulk-gun-10-oz-HD109/203788465

The caulk link above - my go to.   The gun is just an example (that brand gun is actually crap and pushes out too much even when no pressure).

The way I caulk a tub is to run a first pass that goes as deep in as possible, hit it with a wet paper towel or sponge (push the caulk in), wait about a half hour, and then do the second coat and smooth the finish.


Help with under the sink filter installation I have an old Omnifilter SMF2 under the sink water filter that I am needing to connect. The people who redid my kitchen plumbing installed a dedicated 1/2" cold water supply line and I need it to connect to the filter cartridge housing. The problem is that all of the new fittings that I ordered are all quick connects for a 3/8" pvc tubing (I have this John Guest faucet connector). What part do I need to connect a 1/2" thread male cold water supply to a quick connect housing that takes 3/8" tubing (this is the part that is currently on the filter cartridge housing)
I've attached a photo of the dedicated water line that has the 1/2" threaded male part. Thank you.

I would not go with the PVC tubing and push to connect fittings.
You can replace the fitting in the filter housing with one that will except a standard faucet supply line with 1/2" fitting in its end. The filter is under the sink so a faucet supply line should be long enough (they come in several lengths)  the other end of the supply line is a 3/8" and will fit right on your current shut off valve.
Find the supply line in the store and tell the associate that you need to replace the fitting in your filter housing to one that will accept the 1/2 inch. IPS end of the supply line.
Only two parts needed, the new filter fitting and the faucet supply line (and some teflon tape for installing the new filter fitting into the filter housing. You do not need the teflon tape on the fitting threads that except the supply line as they are compression and have rubber gaskets pre-installed.)


How to visualize air circulation between rooms? My house  gets very hot on some days. I don't have a central AC system, and cannot install it because the house is a rental. I have to make do with various floor fans and portable AC units. There are several doors to the backyard with shady, cool spots. However because the layout is a bit complicated, I am having trouble about the optimal arrangement of my fans (and what additional fans to budget for).
I have some ideas about how I would like the air to move, but I need to have a way to see how it is actually moving so I can optimize my fan placement. What is a low cost way of measuring this?

Searching online has turned up many guides about measuring airflow through ducts of a centralized AC system. If only I had that problem! :)
Simply trying one fan setup and seeing what parts get cooler is not precise enough. There's not enough temperature differential across my house for me to feel it precisely, it would take too long and besides the temperature is not stable over time.
I tried walking around with a strip of toilet paper, but it doesn't have enough precision for a good measurement.
I could throw some kind of confetti in the air, which would solve my problem, but my wife would kill me when she sees the mess.
I have a room scenter that vaporizes an oil/water mixture. It looks like thick white smoke coming out of the machine, and goes about 1-3 ft before dissipating. In theory I could try to turn it on and carry it around, but it seems a bit of a hassle. Didn't work -- the smoke it makes is too faint and too turbulent.
I could purchase some kind of anemometer. However my fans are cheap and it's not like I have high winds blowing through my house either way, so I don't know if I will have trouble finding a sensitive enough anemometer that is not very expensive.
I could purchase a pressure meter, but I suspect that the pressure differential will be too small for a cheap one to work.
I could purchase a smoke machine, which apparently start at $30. Then try putting it in different rooms. Among other things though, would this trigger the fire alarm or stain the walls in any way?

Surely this must be a common enough problem, that there is some standard method or technique to see where the air is going?

The best way to see air flow is to use a fog there are commercial cans really expensive or if your grocery store has dry ice buy a pound, when you get home , put some warm water in a pan and put a chunk of the dry ice in the water, as the heat breaks the dry ice down a cloud of non toxic smoke that will leave no residue is released.
I used to put a couple bowls of water on the porch and in a fish pond (no fish) on Halloween, as long as there was no breeze the fog looked really cool and the kids loved it , we needed to check ventilation on some process benches and I used some pvc pipe water and dry ice to make the smoke in a clean room and check flow , putting the dry ice in a pan with warm water will do the same and makes it easy to see how the air is moving.


continuity between the two poles on power cord of my fridge I have continuity between the two pole of the power cord of my fridge when I unplug it.Is this normal situation or I have a short cut

Presumably the inside of the refrigerator has warmed enough that the thermostat is calling for cooling.  Therefore, the motor is trying to start. That means it is attempting to pull "Locked Rotor Amperage" from the power supply, which is considerable. So Barry's answer applies; just change "transformer" to "motor" (since they are quite similar anyway).


New aluminum fence posts loose in Quiikrete I installed an aluminum fence using 80 pound yellow back Quikrete and after about 12 hours some posts were loose. Now after closer to 18 hours they seem better. How long does it take before the fence posts are totally secure? I did not see specifics for this on the bag.
We mixed the concrete per the instructions and videos I saw. It was like thick lumpy oatmeal and formable and certainly not liquid. We used a tamping bar but I was not sure how much or little to tamp it down with either end of the bar. What is the best way to work the concrete once it is in the hole?

Most of the concrete I've used wants 24 hours to cure. There are quick setting bags out there where you don't mix anything, you just pour the dry concrete in the hole and add water and they can set in 4 to 5 hours. If you mix it and then tamp it in, 24 hours is pretty standard but quit testing the poles, you'll just loosen them up. You want to tamp it in every 6". I've just used a piece of 2x4. Don't worry about over tamping.... have at it.


What is a ground loop in an electrical service? I can't figure out what a ground loop is in an electrical service (residential, commercial, industrial). All I can figure out is that it has something to do with different potentials in the system, but what is the exact issue and flow of electricity? Thank you.

"Ground loop" is a phrase from audio design. Ask an audio engineer.
It is practically not a thing in mains electrical, and let's think about why.  Safety ground has two jobs:

Return natural current (ESD, lightning) to source (being earth)
Return human-generated fault current to source (being neutral).

The subject of a "ground loop" is all about managing and coordinating currents flowing on safety ground -- that is the logic, yes?  Which currents are those?  No currents. System design calls for no current whatsoever on safety ground, except during fault conditions (which should only be long enough to trip a breaker or GFCI).
From a mains system design perspective, safety ground is the one case where we want a "web" of connections.  It's perfectly OK for grounds to criss-cross among different circuits and even services.  We run a ground wire to an outbuilding which has a ground rod too (partly: we don't want lightning traversing the wire to the main building).  The more's the merrier, the more's the safer.
And that's why we give audio engineers isolated grounds :)
Now, "ground loops" are concern in audio and computer networking; but understand in the electronics world, "GND" is a completely different animal: GND is the "common" or "zero-voltage reference" or what we in mains call "neutral". And this is often used as "signal ground", or the "zero point" in a referential signal (like RS-232, which has 1 common and many signal wires).   As distinct from a "differential" signal like RS-422 (which has 2 signal wires per signal, and only the difference between them matters).
Particularly in networking/distance signaling, if this "common" is bridged to AC mains safety ground at two places, it becomes vulnerable to differences in voltage on that safety ground network - which shouldn't exist.
But it's possible to have an ongoing ground fault that is too little to trip a breaker and GFCIs are not installed... and that can introduce millivolts of gradient on the safety ground network, pulsing at 50/60Hz of course. Or a signal processing device can leak noise back through its power supply onto the AC mains, which can then feed it onto safety ground via capacitive coupling.
The lesson is that audio and network designers need to be careful about treating AC mains safety ground as some sort of signal zero reference.  Also, they need to be careful about binding wires or shields in their cable to AC mains safety ground - lest that wire suddenly be asked to carry dozens or hundreds of amps during a bolted ground fault.


Dip in Driveway causing car to bottom out - How to bridge the gap? New townhome has a steep driveway that leads into a ramp up into the garage. Cars are bottoming out as the wheels go into the dip. Looking for advice on the best way to fill or bridge this gap in order to get cars into the garage.

It looks like the dip is there for drainage, so you can't fill it in - otherwise water from the street would flood your garage every time it rained!

My suggestion would be to get hold of a set of "bridging ladders", as used by off-roaders to bridge gullies - they look very similar to the grids covering the drain in your photo, but thicker, wider and stronger to hold the weight of a car. You could probably bolt them down if necessary to stop them moving, or just store them loose in the garage, depending on how often you need to get the car through.


Replacing 3-way switches with C by GE smart switches I’m replacing 2 switches in a 4-gang switchbox with C by GE paddle switches. I’m able to confidently identity all of the wires in the box. The first and last switches are 3-way switches; the second and third single pole. I’m only replacing the latter. The first 3 switches share a line wire, the wire being looped around the first 2 and plugged in the third. There are 4 neutral wires capped together and 4 ground wires capped together. One of each came with the line wire, and the other three of each went with the load wires. In starting to replace the third switch, I initially wired the new switch with the neutral and ground wire that went with the load wire. Nothing happened, the switch didn’t power on. Before giving up, I realized I probably used the wrong neutral and ground wires. So I used the ones that came with the line wire. The switch powered on, but the lights didn’t come on, and also I noticed the lights for the first switch didn’t come on (I don’t remember checking the second switch, but I’m guessing it wasn’t working either). So......I guess my question is do I need to add wires (my research is telling me this called a pigtail??) so that each switch, old and new, has their own wires? I feel like I need to do that for the line wire and for the ground and neutral wires going into the new switches.

All the neutrals go together

Your problem is that you're splitting up the existing bundle of neutrals, leaving no way for power to return back to the utility from the light.  Instead, you need to add the switch's neutral wire to the existing bundle of neutrals; this is also true of the grounds, as well.


Can these wall braces be removed? My detached garage was rebuilt in 2015, and 2 of the walls have metal braces with kerfs cut into the studs. The walls are sheathed with tongue and groove. The wall in the picture is 2x4’s 24” on center, with one of the studs sistered. Are these braces structural or were they temporary during the rebuild? I’m in the process of insulating my garage and these braces are keep me from touching thoseb2 wallls. I don’t want to place insulation because the braces will compress it, reducing the r-value. Thanks in advance.

They must stay. They are structural and the small amount of compression in that small space will not affect the performance of the insulation as much as a receptacle or light switch.


New wire to the old receptacle, using the receptacle like junction box and outlet box? I want to add some old outlet to a new circuit to release some stress (breaker keep going off). I want to fish a new wire thru the attic to the existing receptacle box (so i dont need to find the old wire thru the wall) and just splice the old wire and keep it in receptacle box with the new wire, I was wondering if that cause a problem?
It a old house (1920)

No! Bad Idea.  If you want to relieve stress in a particular area than bring a new wire from panel on new breaker to that area and install totally new receptacles just on that wire. Do not mix circuitry.


Bathroom over sink lighting bar I have a newer stainless three bulb light bar over my sink, and one of the lights single glass shades keeps loosening up and wants to fall off,only the bulb keeps it from doing so. The retaining ring will not screw on to the ceramic socket tight enough, it's very loose, I tried another ring from the other two lights and they are the same way but they seem to fit ok on the other lights, as I can tighten them up correctly and I'v had no problem. I have the clear bulbs in them and they do get really hot, could this be a problem, if so I'll opt for a newer type bulb. Do they make a smaller ring for these sockets to tighten them more securely?
Leonce

This may sound a bit weird but I have used colored modeling clay to tighten up the ceramic rings that were loose. The heat from the fixture sets the clay and it wont come out. So If it doesn't look right take it apart and wipe it down before the clay has time to dry. Also make sure your lamps are not a higher wattage than the fixture is rated for. Last can you hear a buzzing in that 1 lamp? I have had a few over the years that the element in the lamp must not have been supported correctly and they made an audible buzz. This could be a source of vibration but it is rare (changing the lamp would solve the problem if it was buzzing).


Does it matter where is live and where is neutral when wiring an electronic ballast? I just bought a new electronic ballast to replace the old one for my florescent lamp. However, the connection diagram on the ballast does not indicate where I should connect the live and neutral wires. There are also no L and N markings on either side.

Does it matter at all or am I putting myself at risk of a shock if connected wrongly?

Are you in the USA? If so, then you won't have a neutral because it requires 230 volts.


Extend Knob and Tube Wiring I have knob and tube wiring for large portions of my 1950's house, including to my bathroom. Currently, I have hot and neutral coming in from the knob and tube wiring and a separate ground wire coming in from somewhere(we haven't had any electrical work done since 2014, so I don't know how that was permissible. I can't seem to trace the wire in the wall). This powers one 20A labeled GFCI (without a separate prong for a 20A plug?) and a light. The circuit is on a 20A breaker. I would like to add a second outlet by adding some NM cable to the load terminals from the GFCI (and the existing ground connection).
My jurisdiction follows the Residential Code of Ohio. Would adding this outlet be safe, and would it be permissible under code? I'm afraid of violating restrictions on extending circuits involving grandfathered wiring.
Here is a photo of the GFCI box. The nm cable goes out of the box to a switch and light. The power comes in via the old knob and tube wire on the side.

Here is a photo of the knob and tube wiring that feeds this. No idea about the NM that supplies the ground.

First off, get yourself a new GFCI with screw terminals and do not use the back-stabs... those are trouble waiting to happen.
When you are adding the new receptacle down stream of the GFCI, it is not an extension of the old WIRING, it is an extension of the CIRCUIT. No restrictions there, so even if it is K&T (I also question that), you are fine.
The potentially problematic issue if it IS K&T is if it is also an MWBC (Multi Wire Branch Circuit), i.e. one where the neutral is shared by one or more other hot circuits. When you do that with a GFCI, it will cause nuisance tripping. But the fact that you HAVE a GFCI in there now, and we assume it has been working, would indicate it is not an MWBC.


What does the panel release button do on this hinge? I've just spent some time fighting with the hinge in the image below and finally worked out how it works. There is one part of it that's still a mystery and in the documentation it's called the Panel Release Button. It's the button marked with an R just above and to the right of the Horizontal Adjustment Screw. Anybody know what this does?

To directly answer the question: The panel release allows the hinge to be separated into two parts, so the door can be dismounted without removing the screws and later snapped back into position. (Essentially, it gives you the same capability that removing the hinge pin would in a more traditional design.)


Replacing garage door lock barrel Since I moved into my house, I've not had the key for my garage, so I'm looking into how I can get a new one. I've found what I think I need to replace on eBay, but there are a lot of variations on the same thing, and I don't know what the numbers mean or what I need for mine:

40/10
45mm
40/40

Not entirely sure what these are (assuming measurement of one of the dims) but I don't know what I need, ideally I'd like to order the new one I need before I have to take the old one out, but I get the feeling I'm going to have to in order to measure it, can anyone give advice?

The lock barrel is known as a Euro cylinder (there's a photo on this page showing Euro cylinder locks booth side and end on).

The numbers XX/YY relate to dimensions (in millimetres) of the lock when viewed from the side. The dimensions are measured from one face of the lock to the fixing hole in the centre, then from the hole to the other face.

You can remove the lock, measure it, and replace it while you wait for the new one to arrive - it only takes a matter of seconds with the key to remove the cylinder. However, the bad news for you, since you say that you've not got a key, is that you generally need a key to be able to easily take the cylinder out. As you can see in the top of the photo on the link, the cam is slightly offset when the key is withdrawn, so it doesn't just slide out once you've removed the fixing bolt.