Can I use EP 80W/90 oil instead of EP90 oil in a Belle MiniMix 150 gearbox? I have a Belle MiniMix 150 110V Electric Cement Mixer  the documentation says to use a EP90 oil, but these days it seems that most outlets only sells EP80/90 oil.

What is the difference and doe sit matter?

I just got this response from Belle.

  Yes you would be able to use EP80/90.   We recommend to change the oil
  every 6/12 months but this is dependant on use.


Can non-metallic cable go up a wall shaft for a furnace vent? Pictured is the exhaust for a gas furnace, using a 3x12 double-wall insulated stovepipe.  It is running up a non-load-bearing 2x4 wall sheathed in drywall.   Which is apparently legal as far as thermal risk to the walls.

The hole is 14.5" wide, and that leaves spaces at the ends and corners of the oval pipe.  Someone chose this route to run some Romex, pictured.  Is it legal under NEC to be that close to the exhaust?

I need to run several more circuits there, and I would be inclined to fit an EMT conduit up that same route, either alongside of or replacing the Romex.   Is that legal that close to the exhaust?

The first test would be to verify the area is not hotter than the wiring can handle. Romex is rated for 90 deg C or 194F.  The next check would be is the area being used as a plenum for the fresh air supply (some older homes used this airspace for environmental make up air ). If it is a plenum, romex is not plenum rated and may not pass an inspection if noticed (would need pipe) If just a hollow space romex would be ok as long as not two hot. EMT really would not help as far as temp is concerned and would limit the number of wires in the EMT or need to be derate based on the total current carying conductors.


Shut off tub water behind wall How can I shut off water to shower only?  Or is it bkr possible?  I don't see a shut off valve, am I missing it?  This picture is the back of my tub where wall was remixed.

I want to cut off only shower water as of right now, the hot water coming into water heater is off.  We need it on for dishwasher.

Cheers

You can temporarily cap off the shower with a 1/2" FNPT pipe cap attached where the shower head would go, or install a shower head with an on/off switch.


Why have cordless tools changed the battery style? I was looking for replacement batteries for my cordless tools (drill, light, sander) and have been unable to find any.

My current battery is the style with a neck that inserts into the tool, but all the newer tools have batteries without a neck that just slides onto the tool.

Why the change?

The neck style battery pack typically held an extra 1-2 NiCad cells in that neck portion. With  the transition to higher voltages, they want to make at least some change in design so you can't use the wrong battery like @Henry Jackson stated. But the main reason you don't see any is the way lithium-ion packs are constructed, yes they do still have a few battery packs that are round and are fully inserted but the majority of lithium-ion cells are designed rectangular, wide, and flat. These stack better in a normal box form factor and the neck would not be used to store any extra cells. Most tool companies are offering the same tools (same voltage mainly) that work with either NiCad or Li-ion. The more rectangular the form factor takes the less space to make a mold and typically less plastic/material so without the advantage of using the neck to hold more cells, the inefficient neck form factor has bit the dust.


Would a brick TV stand withstand the weight of a TV? The TV is 64 " and probably weighs 60+ lbs.  I would like to create a TV stand in order to place the TV off the floor likely just 2' high.  The width and deph would be the same as the base of the TV.
Would be bricks withstand the weight of the TV?

Bricks will easily withstand the weight of the TV. What you may need to worry about is the floor withstanding the weight of 2 feet of bricks under the TV. Since you don't mention the size of the base, it's difficult to know exactly how much weight we are talking about, but a 2 foot stack of bricks is a considerable load. Brick weighs roughly 120 lbs per cubic foot, so a stack 5 feet by 1 foot by 2 feet would weigh 1,200 lbs and exert a floor loading of 240 lbs/square foot (plus the 60 lbs for the TV divided by the area of the base - another 12 lbs/square foot if the base is 5 feet x 1 foot, so 252 lbs / sq ft.)

Residential floors are usually deigned for loadings more like 40 lbs/sq ft, so that's a pretty severe load. While it's similar to 5 large guys all standing in a line, the 5 large guys don't stand in one place all the time, nor usually quite that close to each other. If your floors are concrete slabs, this may not apply to you.

A much lighter support will easily hold up a 60 lb TV, and can be made of wood, or milk crates, or even rigid foam plastic. A 2ft high bookcase or "sofa table" would probably work fine.


Can I make a switched outlet which is connected to light hot all the time without running new wire? I have power coming into the switch box connected to light switch & fan switch via pigtail - (one white, one black & one ground each) - the neutrals (white are wire nutted together - the grounds are connected to the box) the fan switch goes directly to the fan but the light switch leads to the outlet

In the outlet box the two whites are connected & a pigtail connects them to the outlet.  Same with the black (black is power) from there they go to the light fixture.

Can I connect them so the outlet has power all the time & the switch controls the light (perhaps using the neutral (white) to feed the switch?)

The outlet was an old razor only outlet originally & it's not possible to run new wire as the house is completely finished

Or am I stuck with only having a switched outlet?  Advice would be greatly appreciated!

The only hot leads going to the outlet box are switched (both fan and light black wires). Since there is no unswitched hot lead, you cannot have constant power to the outlet without running new wires.

If you could tolerate one switch controlling both fan and light, you could create a constant hot at the outlet by bypassing either the fan or light switch and connecting the two switch wires together. Then one of the blacks at the outlet box would be constant hot. That would be your hot lead to the outlet, rather than continuing up to the fixture. You would cap the unused wire to the fixture on both ends. Finally you would connect both the fan and light hot leads to the one remaining switched hot. But, obviously you lose independent control of the two functions.


How can I remove scratches from glass table? I have large glass table and it's acquired some scratches over time.
How can I remove or soften scratches on my glass table top?

There are commercially available glass polish products that can be helpful and this is an example:

Get such a product and follow the manufacturer's instructions for use.  Keep in mind that polishing scratches can take considerable time since you must remove quite a bit of material over a reasonably large area to get the scratch out.
There are also some products that claim to be able to fill scratches in glass but I've not had any success with any of them.


What is the purpose of this pole [bollard] in my garage? Why is there a three inch pipe filled with concrete sticking out of my garage floor? We've ruled out the obvious explanations: missle launcher, coffee table, NSA listening post, and Mario shortcut.

So what is it, and more importantly, can it be removed?

Edit: Thanks, Alaska Man, for providing the name of the thing: bollard.

This is to protect vehicles from damaging gas appliances that lie beyond. This is a code requirement in many jurisdictions, probably including yours, as most builders don't do anything they don't have to.


Is it okay to run a switched and unswitched hot on the same neutral? I have a room where I need to toggle the lights by a switch and the outlets in the room to not be affected by the switch.

As they are on the same circuit, am I able to run a 3 wire cable from the switch so that I'm feeding switched and non-switched power throughout? A little ASCII art to explain:

Incoming cable                          Outgoing cable
--------------            --------      --------------
Hot (from service)        |switch|      Hot (from switch)
Neutral (from service)    --------      Hot (from service)
                                        Neutral

I suspect this isn't an issue because everything is on the same circuit, but thought I'd double check since I would normally pair a neutral with every single hot line.

EDIT: Just so there are no misundersandings, the incoming and outgoing cable also have a ground wire in them.

There is no problem with this. In fact it's very common, especially when wiring ceiling fans.  The power (2 wire /w ground) enters the switch box, then a switched hot and unswitched hot are supplied to the fan (3 wire /w ground).  This allows the light to be toggled by the wall switch, while the fan is toggled by the switch on the fixture. It's also a common practice to wire duplex receptacles this way, where one half of the device is always powered and the other half is controlled by a switch (in which case the tab separating the two halves should be removed on the ungrounded (hot) side).

The grounded (neutral) conductor will carry the combined current of the two ungrounded (hot) conductors, so any inductive coupling will still be canceled out. Since the circuit is protected by an overcurrent device (circuit breaker/fuse), there is no way to overload the grounded (neutral) conductor. The current on the ungrounded (hot) conductors will be limited by the overcurrent device, so too much current should never flow on the neutral.


Use CLR to clean stuck bleeder valve I was bleeding the air out of hydronic heating zones and I notice some mineralization on bleed valve attached to my air scoop. I took the Schrader valve cap off and tapped the valve I noticed it was crusted stuck. When I tapped it it came free and quite a bit of air came out (which would explain why I had to bleed my zones).

Can I put a couple drops of CLR on the valve to try and clean it out and prevent the mineralization? We have a softener but still the water is hard. The valve was just replaced last year (was a few years old and had been neglected). I know they are cheap and easy to replace but just trying avoid it if I don't have to.

A property piped boiler system would include a dirt separator which helps to reduce the amount of dissolved solids in the system. Inhibitors can be used to improve water quality as well. Softened water is only going to help so much as a boiler system does not consume water, it circulates it. Sometimes controlling water quality is difficult and auto air vents have a shortened life due to build up on the needle valve seat. In those cases I use a ball valve like

this one pictured

Home Depot

This allows you to either periodically allow the auto air vent to function as an auto air vent or as a more convenient manual vent. It also provides a simple method for isolation to replace it in the case of a failure. It will also facilitate cleaning the air vents with CLR, which is totally fine.


How do you add a separate ground back to panel on 2 wire ungrounded outlet? This post mentions that it is now legal to add a separate wire to ground an outlet. What is the proper way to do this? Does the wire need to follow the same path as the ungrounded 2 wire path? How would the ground enter the junction box? How is it secured?

Is it legal to install 3 prong outlet without ground in the State of Georgia?

What is the proper way to do this?

From the 2017 National Electrical Code:

  (C) Nongrounding Receptacle Replacement or Branch Circuit Extensions. The equipment grounding conductor of a grounding-type receptacle or a branch-circuit extension shall be permitted to be connected to any of the following:
  (1) Any accessible point on the grounding electrode system as described in 250.50
  (2) Any accessible point on the grounding electrode conductor
  (3) The equipment grounding terminal bar within the enclosure where the branch circuit for the receptacle or branch circuit originates
  (4) An equipment grounding conductor that is part of another branch circuit that originates from the enclosure where the branch circuit for the receptacle or branch circuit originates
  (5) For grounded systems, the grounded service conductor within the service equipment enclosure
  (6) For ungrounded systems, the grounding terminal bar within the service equipment enclosure

  Does the wire need to follow the same path as the ungrounded 2 wire path?

No, it isn't required but if it did that would be preferable.

  How would the ground enter the junction box?

It could be fished into another opening with a cable clamp.

  How is it secured?

To the grounding-type-receptacle's ground lug and to the box, if it is metal, by means of a 10-32 ground screw.

There are many ways to accomplish this. These are the preferred methods of the trade but there are other acceptable ways.

Good luck!


Is the subpanel installation in a detached garage correctly done? I have a small subpanel next to my main house panel with only 4 slots. I am out of breaker spaces, so I've routed 8 gauge wiring (2-120V split phase, 1-nuetral and 1 ground) to the new sub-panel. Very short run of less than 6 feet of wiring between the panels.

I have filled only two slots with a ganged 30 amp breaker in the sub-panel that I need for some testing equipment in my garage (both panels and in a detached garage). I will likely put 2 additional 15 amp breakers in the future in the sub-panel. I have tied all 8 awg wires into the main busses.

Neutral and ground are bonded, but I've run separate wires to the bonded bus. I believe this is a very conservative, safe installation, but is it code, or even good practice? The 8 gauge wiring is ultimately protected by the main disconnect breaker (200 amps) since I've tied to the buss directly, but the voltage drop in only 1-2 volts, so even a direct short should not overheat the wiring.

I don't have any spare slots in the main panel to install a ganged 50 amp breaker - would like to do that, but just don't have the space. I guess I could pull two existing 15 amp breakers, install the ganged 50 amp and reroute the existing services to the new 15 amp breakers in the sub-panel - and I can do that if the only safe installation.

Should I re-wire or not?

So, you have 8 gauge wire potentially subject to a fault current of up to 200 amps without anything tripping. You also have the neutral and ground bonded in a sub-panel (despite running separate neutral and ground wires to it, so bonding in the sub-panel is a puzzling choice in itself, as well as being a violation.) [or else possibly you have written unclearly about what you have done with the ground and neutral?]

Wrong. Just....wrong.

Pull two breakers, insert a 50 A breaker, and move the 15A circuits to the sub. And unbond/isolate the neutral and ground in the sub. Get a different/larger sub-panel if you need additional circuits (or give a long hard look at a complete panel replacement with adequate spaces in the main panel - not all that expensive if the incoming service is adequate, but attached to a panel with few spaces.)

If your panel is listed for them breakers with two separate 15A circuits in a single space breaker are another option to make space.


pressure loss going from 1" supply to 3/4" supply to home, 120 feet length Just replaced last 120 feet of home water supply line.  Old line was 1" galvanized, new line is 3/4" PEX.  Lines are six feet underground here in our mountain location and must feed upstairs bathroom along with the usual downstairs fixtures.  Most lines under house are 1/2" copper.  Have experienced unacceptable pressure loss with new 3/4" line.  Now is time to fix as haven't covered trench yet.  Do I need to go back to 1" line and if so will 1" PEX give us our previous pressure?  Prior to new line, pressure was always very good.  Water supply is from spring 1/2 mile above house, gravity supplies pressure with 2" poly pipe main line from spring.

As you now realize, going from 1" steel pipe to 3/4" PEX is a big step down.  1" steel pipe has an actual ID of 1.05" and 3/4" PEX has an actual ID of 0.68".  At a flow of 8 gallons per minute, the pressure loss for 1" steel is 1.9 PSI/100' and the pressure loss for 3/4" PEX at that flow is 12.3 PSI/100'.  What you did was the equivalent of stepping down approximately two sizes.

1" PEX will still give less than your previous pipe but it might be acceptable.  The pressure loss of 1" PEX at 8 GPM is 4.2 PSI/100' and the pressure loss of 1-1/4" PEX at 8 GPM is 1.6 PSI/100'.  You will have to decide what you want as far as price vs. performance.

EDIT:  You might consider if another material would be suitable, such as 1" SCH 40 PVC.  1" SCH 40 PVC has losses similar to 1" galvanized.


Best way to run electrical wire behind built-in shelves, with the least patching afterwards? My main living room wall has a fireplace, surrounded by built-in shelves on either side. The left built-in has a 2-gang outlet in its bottom cavity, which I outlined in red. I'm going to mount my TV above the fireplace (so the little one can't reach it anymore), so I need to add an outlet above the fireplace that extends from the existing outlet. I want to minimize patching in the built-in shelves, which seem to be hardboard over drywall, because I'm not sure how well I can patch hardboard. What would be the least intrusive way to run a wire from this outlet to above my fireplace?

You might consider using a surface-mount raceway.

You could use something like this to run the wires along the inside corners of your shelving up to the bumped out wall above the fireplace, then punch through into that cavity.

If you want to run HDMI (and maybe something like Ethernet), keep in mind that you cannot run line power and low-voltage cables together in the same conduit.

If you aren't going to run between three and five individual HDMI cables, also consider picking up an HDMI switch (with remote) so that you can plug all your devices into the switch, presumably sitting in the shelving, and run just one HDMI cable to feed the TV.

Having said all that, I tend to agree with the comment cautioning against putting the TV on the wall over a fireplace. The heat won't be friendly to the TV, and you might find that you don't like straining your neck to watch it.

In fact, you might consider mounting the TV up there temporarily and using extension cords for a week or two just to be sure you don't hate it. It would be a bummer to do all the work to permanently mount it there just to discover that you don't like it there.

Good luck!


Does anyone know where I can find this sort of l-screw hollow wall anchor combo? I have tried putting a heavy painting up that has two slots where l-shaped screws hold it up. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a drywall anchor long enough so that the l-screws go in deep enough. The only l-shaped screws I can find that are large have too much space between where the screw ridges end and the l-bend starts. I have found an image of the type of hardware I think would work, but can't seem to find it in the U.S. Does anyone know where to find this (see image), or something like it?

Limo is correct, you can replace the machine bolt with an L bolt/hook that has the proper threads.
I prefer Toggler anchors for superior weight holding ability. (Limos advice would work for those as well.)
BUT,  positioning both hooks level and spaced precisely for the keyhole hangers is a challenge.
If the back of the painting will allow it then i would use  the French cleat method. If i do not construct one myself from wood then i  use the Hangman Picture Hanging system.
It may bridge two studs or at least one, and the picture can slide side to side somewhat if you need.


How to treat outdoor wood for use as a bar for drinks etc I want to build a bar at home for serving drinks etc and want to use reclaimed wood.

So far I've managed to get hold of a softwood fence panel.

How would I treat it and get it to a usable condition?

You can run it through a planer to flatten it out, sand it down remove splinters, and then apply a polyurethane sealer to make it inviting for use.

Apparently polyurethane is food safe once cured.

When using a planer on reclaimed wood just make sure to remove all metal from it beforehand or else you'll be buying new blades often or can hurt yourself:

https://woodworking.stackexchange.com/questions/5224/can-barn-wood-planks-be-planed-and-how-thin#comment11718_5224
https://woodworking.stackexchange.com/questions/150/can-some-woods-just-never-have-a-clean-finish-after-sanding/155#155
https://woodworking.stackexchange.com/questions/9881/can-i-remove-existing-wood-finishes-using-a-jointer-or-planer-without-damaging-t/9883#comment20376_9883
https://woodworking.stackexchange.com/questions/1604/in-what-cases-is-it-useful-to-have-more-than-one-of-the-same-tool/1605#1605


Electricity for light let 1V go I have a strange problem : when it's raining heavily, the RCD breaks on one line. It is quite large a differential : 0.3 A.
This is in a country where effective voltage is 230 V.
There are quite a few lights on the offending cable. But they are all internal except 2 that are outside, but well sheltered (they are not getting wet):

As you can see, it is exposed wires, outside, so it seemed a reasonable guess that these were the offenders.
I took my multimeter, and measured the voltage. I was surprised to see that even when I turn the switch off, I still have a voltage of 1.2 V in these cables. This surprised me.
Is it normal for these to have a low voltage even when switch is off? Could that be what causes my RCD to break? If this is abnormal, how do I go about fixing it?
Thanks!
PS: (I have read other questions about phantom voltage, but my question pertains to the RCD breaking in that context)

Is it normal for these to have a low voltage even when switch is off?

Yes. The internal resistance of your multimeter is very high (mega ohms), so even a tiny leakage current (fractions of microamps) through the capacitance that exists between wires running in the same conduit will be enough to read something on the multimeter.

Could that be what causes my RCD to break?

Nope, by 5-6 orders of magnitude.
I don't think the culprit is that wire nut. 300mA is a lot of current. Even if the wire nut was submerged in a bucket, I'm not sure it would pass that amount. I mean, it's pretty hard to trip a 300mA RCD unless a wire gets loose and you get an actual short.
The other wire nut only has two holes, so unless they're Live and Earth, if water gets on it it won't trip the RCD.
I'd suspect a junction box somewhere, or maybe a wall socket, or a switch, or something that gets really wet. Or it's not the rain, it's the wind instead that rattles some loose wires. Or the rain causes the mice to go back home, and as they get bored they chew on your wires. Or the insulation on some wires has been damaged, and they touch something that gets earthed much better when it rains than when it doesn't, like a metal gutter.
PS: you should really install a 30mA RCD, they're lifesavers.


AC red wire placement on control board? So a fuse(3) on my control board blew at the same time my ac capacitor did. I replaced the capacitor with the exact one that was on the old unit and when replacing the fuse noticed a stray red wire... This wire and the white one next to it goes all the way to my ac. When I stripped the wire back a bit and connected it to R (you can see in this picture)

the ac finally turned on and everything seemed to run fine until I noticed the fan on the outside unit was never turning off. At first I thought stuck contoller but now I'm wondering if I messed up a wire choice?

Problem solved! If you notice there is a little copper wire on the other side of the yellow terminal that I thought was the yellow wire wrapping around but nope, that's the broken off part of red so to solve my issue I had to connect red to Y next to that yellow wire.

Just wanted to post an answer in case anyone else makes this mistake, apparently red wires can connect to non-red things... I was naive and ignorant.


Do pex fittings need to be replaced when installing a new water heater? I have purchased a new water heater to replace the original 11 year unit. I am concerned in attaching the existing fittings to the new unit. I believe the builder used pex directly to the original heater. What is unclear to me is how these will behave when I begin to unscrew them. Should the fitting (B) slide free of the cold side brass fitting (C) or must these pieces be replaced? I believe the black fitting (E) will rotate free, but I have the same concern with the connection to the pressure valve (F) as I do the cold water supply.

PEX pipe won't slide off the fittings if spun because they are on there through compression and not screwed on. I've spun the crimp style fittings without issues but never spun the style you have before but from what I've read, you can spin them with out issue. If you decide to cut the pipe, remember you'll need a spreading tool to reconnect the pipes or use something like SharkBite fittings. You can reuse the brass fittings by cutting the ring with a knife and then heating up the plastic pipe and then bend it back and forth until it comes off. From what I've read, you can do the same with the plastic fittings but be very careful not to cut or overheat them. I'd just replace the plastic ones instead.


Are LED's always necessary/desirable? I don't need or find it aesthetically pleasing to have little green micro-energy leeches illuminating every outlet and switch in my home. are there any GFCI's/outlets/switches that are LED FREE for sale anymore?

First note -- a GaN green LED can provide acceptable brightness at sub-milliamp currents, so the amount of energy a status LED on a GFCI draws can easily be reduced to something truly insignificant.

Second -- GFCIs themselves draw a small amount of current for the operating electronics.  Older models draw a dozen mA or so, while newer ones need less than one milliamp -- so even without the LED, you're still going to have a very small quiescent current draw.

Third -- modern GFCIs are required by recent UL943 revisions to have some sort of self-test/end-of-life indication in them.

However, if you really want to banish the little green lights -- getting regular switches and outlets without them is not an issue, and your GFCI protection can migrate into the breaker panel in most cases.


When a 15-amp breaker switch seems to be sending too much power I am doing some wiring from a subpanel.  The main panel is sending power via 3-way wiring (3 plus a ground) to the subpanel.  This subpanel is intended for both 220 and 110 volt add-ons.  I have a 110 line from the subpanel via a 15-amp breaker switch.  It is a very short wire from the subpanel--maybe 3 feet away to an electrical outlet.

I have thus far installed (1) a small radio to test the circuit; it ran fine for 10 minutes, then burned out and started smoking.  Then, (2) I tried a lamp to test the circuit; the bulb lit up and immediately blew.

Is there too much voltage/amperage going through this circuit?  How?  Shouldnt the 15-amp breaker switch keep this from happening?

Is there too much voltage/amperage going through this circuit?

There is most likely too much voltage, as ArchonOSX commented.

  How?

You miswired it and got 240V. You can check this using a voltage tester.

  Shouldnt the 15-amp breaker switch keep this from happening?

No, the job of the breaker is not to block too much voltage but to disconnect the circuit when too much current is flowing. This is mostly to protect the wiring in the wall from overheating and setting fire to your home. It won't protect a 100W incandescent bulb or anything similar. Those normally draw less than 1 Amp - far below the 15A breaker rating.

In the case of overvoltage, a higher current may briefly flow through your appliance/lamp but the appliance dies before the current reaches the breaker's limit.

  I am doing some wiring from a subpanel

Sorry to be a killjoy but I suggest you don't. At least until you have gained a higher level of understanding of household electricity. Since the higher voltage can fairly easily kill you, a family member or a visitor, you might want to pay an electrician to fix this for you properly and then consider taking some evening classes in the subject (if available in your part of the world).

Useful links

https://diy.stackexchange.com/tags/circuit-breaker/info
Why are my circuit breakers not tripping?
Where can I find information on slow blow breakers?
What is a GFI outlet used for, and where should I install them?


How can I convert a closed stringer staircase to an open stringer staircase? Currently I have a closed stringer staircase against a wall in my home, and my plan is to convert it into an open stringer staircase. I have looked underneath the staircase and there is no central stringer, just three triangle bits against the join between the treads and risers.

How feasible is this conversion and would it be a case of simply cutting the tops of the stringer in line with the treads, or a case of adding a central stringer maybe?

Just to aid my question I have attached a pic from underneath and how it looks above

It depends on how the particular stair was constructed. Although the absence of a central stringer is evidence that the treads are capable of spanning without the support of a riser, it is not proof that they are adequate for the span. Likewise, the absence of a central stringer does not mean that the stair is laterally stable without risers.

Even assuming the stair is constructed to withstand the removal of the risers, the feasibility of 'simply cutting the tops of the stringer' has a lot to do with what constitutes feasibility. Risers stiffen. Bouncing treads or squeaky steps are not consistent with the intent. What performed well before, may not perform well after modification.

In addition, aesthetics probably plays a role and might even be the driving motivation. Just having open risers is unlikely to be enough, they need to look good, and the ease with which the desired results can be obtained is probably also a consideration. Sawing and cutting and patching a closed riser stair to the point of an aesthetically satisfactory open riser stair is likely to be extremely labor intensive. Particularly given that errors are part and parcel of the learn as you go method one must use when tackling a problem without a straight-forward solution.

So sure, it might be feasible. That doesn't necessarily make it cheaper or easier or more cost effective than simply replacing the existing stair with something close to what you actually envision. Cutting out the risers doesn't change the basic fact that it's a construction project where quality of fit and finish matter.


Is it possible to install electrical meter between main panel and subpanel? Following up to this question.
The fire sprinkler rooms get their electricity from building's end-units.  There're subpanels in each room.  We are told that main panels in the end-units have a "master" breaker controlling the feed into subpanels.
As stated before, variations are wild:  from 4 breakers (double-Main, Alarm, Light, Heater) to just 2 (Alarm, Heater).
Some breakers are "fixed" with contraptions, effectively preventing them from tripping! ??

First question:  Does this configuration make sense?  I.e. if the main panel's "master" breaker is 20A and subpanel's Double-Main is 100A, what's the point of the 2nd one?  Also, this allows the owner of the end-unit to shut off power to the fire sprinkler room.  Switching to battery backups should be reported to monitoring company, and will result in somebody showing up to investigate, but still..

Bigger question:  There are no electrical meters installed in the rooms.  Components that I was able to identify:
• Fire Lite MS-4 Control Panel - 280W,
• Keltron RF774F Wireless Transceiver - 40W,
• Haut 42504 303 03 Heater - 1500W.
Just based on that (leaving out other unknown boxes), maximum total consumption is:
(280 + 40 + 1500 == 1820 W) * 24 hrs/day * 30 days/month == 1310 kWh / month

That is quite a lot.  Heaters should not operate 24x7.  But even 10% of that is comparable to unit's usage.
Is it possible to install meters between main panels and subpanels, to know precisely how much electricity each room used?  How hard is that?  Who besides electrical utility and fire monitoring company has to be involved?
Are there any alternatives?

It is certainly possible to insert a meter, just by adding a meter pan and buying a meter (the utility does not need to be involved - it's not a utility meter, it's local to allow you to correctly distribute the cost unfairly applied to the end-unit owners in the present scheme.) Used "dumb" mechanical meters should be widely available since utilities replaced a lot of them with "smart" meters in recent years. Since it's multi-unit housing, a licensed electrician is required, and the fire alarm company needs to know when it's happening, but that should be about it - don't know if it needs a permit, but that's a LAHJ call in any case, so ask yours (or your electrician - NOT handyman.)
The 1500W heaters probably relate to the other question's room temperature sensors - there's your heating element to keep things from freezing. And probably most of your operating expense. Or the sensors may just be for alarm purposes, with the heaters on a normal thermostat.
The breakers will trip if they need to. The device on the handle prevents them from being manually turned off. They will trip regardless of the handle position, if they need to trip.
As noted many times in subpanel questions here, the sub-panel main is a local shutoff, and does not need to match the feed breaker supplying the sub-panel. So a 20A feed to a 100A sub-panel main is perfectly legit.


3 wire receptacles in a 2 wire system Just purchased home has 3 wire receptacles in 2 wire system which the lower of the two plug ins are controlled by a wall switch. There are 6 of these on one room.  How does a GFCI replacement receptacle in each box work with that?

You wouldn't install a GFCI receptacle in each receptacle location, you'd install a single GFCI device at the "beginning" of the circuit. This GFCI device could even be a GFCI breaker, or a GFCI device that doesn't have receptacles on it.

If you have split receptacles now (top always hot, bottom switched), you won't be able to simply replace them with a GFCI receptacle.  GFCI receptacles do not allow you to split the receptacles, so they will not work in your situation.


Water leaking out the back of a Honeywell Evaporative cooler I have a portable Honeywell Evaporative Cooler that I tried to take apart and clean today. I unscrewed the backing piece that covers the cardboard media where the water soaks, and took the whole thing out to clean inside the cooler.

However, after putting it all back together and running the cooler, water drips out the back of the cooling media, onto the backing, and drips down the back of the cooler.

I feel like I installed the media backwards or the wrong way somehow but have been unable to figure it out. Does anyone have any recommendations on identifying what I did wrong or how to reinstall these things? Thanks in advance.

I ended up getting a replacement unit from Lowes. I think I must've bent the media when I removed it and tried to reinstall initially.


What is the best way to condition and protect a hardwood floor under heavy use? We rent an old house with hardwood floors and the area under one of our office chairs is now brittle and dull. What are our options for conditioning and/or protecting the wood (especially to prevent splinters)?

We would prefer to do this cheap and without having to apply the solution to the entire floor, if possible. However, we would prefer to use the hardwood (as opposed to purchasing a special mat or something).

If the rolling of office chairs is your major concern, consider putting urethane wheels or casters on your chairs.  This type of wheel will not scratch or mar the floors further. These can be found at office furniture retailers. There is no way other than using chair mats, carpet etc. that I know of to protect a wood floor if you do not want to apply additional finish coats to entire floor.


Do 8d nails come in different lengths? From what I can tell, 8 Penny nails are 2 1/2" long. Charts on the internet back this up.

But I was looking at the nailing guide for this hurricane tie on homedepot.com and it specifies two different 8d nail lengths.

A search on Home Depot does not come up with any 1.5" 8d nails. What's going on here?

Standard 8d nails are 2.5" long.  Anything else is going to be some sort of special purpose nail such as these:

8d 1.5" nails


Is it OK to drill through a jack stud/full stud pair to cut a hole for water heater drain pipe? I just had a new water heater installed in my garage. My city building / plumbing codes require that the water heater overflow drain be drained to the outside of the house.
Situation:
The heater stands next to a wall separating garage and house that is about 10 feet from the garage outside wall.  There is a door in the garage wall to outside right at the corner of the wall the heater is next to.
To run a drain pipe from the water heater to outside, the plumber simply ran the pipe along the wall and supported it with braces.  BUT - to get to outside, a hole needs to be drilled along the long side of the jack stud and king stud framing the door.  BUT the plumber stopped short of going through the outside wall because of reluctance to cut a hole through the long side of the studs.  The city inspector has failed the installation.
Question:
Is it really OK to drill through the jack stud/king stud and it won't weaken the wall?

There are general guidelines for dealing with cuts in wood framing.  For load bearing the basics are that you can notch 25% of the stud or 40% diameter for a hole.

Note: Notches should not be square - this provides a weak point in the stud.  Half circle your notches if you can.

Now there are ways around this if you need a bigger notch or hole.  In my area local inspectors will let you double up the studs and go 35%S and 60% respectively on load bearing walls.  This doubling up is a one time allowance - I couldn't do a whole wall like that.

For electricity these guidelines are more than enough to run several lines through a wall.  For plumbing though you might need to use different width boards (frame wall with 2x6) or use structural bracing.

Note that in the picture you see both wall plates (which offer little structural support) and bracing around the plumbing cut-outs.  When you buy bracing for plumbing there will be guidelines on the use of the product.  Follow those to figure out hole and notch sizing.

For this instance:  If I read right you need a pipe to run perpendicular to the studs.  The same rule applies.  I we are talking 2x4 construction that means that you have 1.5 inches going across.  Mean you can notch 3/8" which isn't much.  There are several ways to handle this is you have a larger pipe (a heater shouldn't need much though) needing out.

You could notch a little out of each jack and king.  Would be enough for a 1/2 inch pipe and I would feel perfectly fine about a half inch hole with a jack and king supporting each other.
You could rip the king out.  Flip the king stud around sideways and install 2 kings and bore a hole through the center of it.  If you needed a bigger hole you can use 2x6.
Buy a structural brace/shoe.  With a properly installed shoe you can cut out the whole stud and have a ton of space to run things.  Downside is they are expensive (relatively) and getting what you want isn't always easy.

I am sure there are other options but I would need to see a picture.  I would also add if you want to get it passed by local municipality then I would just ask your inspector what he/she wants.


How should I deal with an animal in the attic? My tenants tell me that they hear an animal (possibly a raccoon) in the attic.  This is an old (1880s) three story row house with a flat roof and a pretty low (2 ft average, maybe) attic.  The house was totally renovated 10 years ago and I'm not very familiar with the attic situation or where the animal might have entered the attic.

I was told it sounds like at least a couple relatively large animals are scampering around the attic and occasionally they
make whimpering growling noises.  They seem to be most active in the morning
between 5 and 7 and I don't usually hear them during the day (maybe they are
nocturnal or maybe I'm just not at home during the day).

How do I deal with the situation?

Edit: Alright, I betrayed the DIY principle and hired a professional.  He found squirrel droppings and no proof of raccoons or any other animal.  He found two wholes and filled them with metal screens attached with screws and Liquid Nails.  He also put a trap and is going to check it in a few days.  Cost was rather steep: $395 total.  Next time I may do this myself.  Although, honestly it was not an easy job for him especially in one of the corners where space was tight.  Also, the dust, droppings and fiberglass insulation makes this job unpleasant.

Not knowing where the house is limits the advice.  However since it has a flat roof, I'm going to assume it's not anywhere where it snows a lot.

You need to get a professional for several reasons.

In most states, as a landlord, you're required to do something and the only way you can demonstrate due diligence with something like this is court is to hire a pro.
Animals carry lots and lots of nasty things, not just rabies (as if that isn't bad enough).  If you trap it you risk injury, if you poison it then at some point you have to remove the carcass and ... gross.
The professional should be up on whatever obscure state and local laws affect removing the animal.

Most importantly, if the pro gets rabies, it's not your problem.

Edit:  Yeah, I know it a Do-It-Yourself site, but sometimes the right advice is "Don't Do-It-Yourself"


Join 2" aluminum pipe between two 4"x4" treated lumber? How can I attach an aluminum pipe to (2) 4"x4" pieces of pressure-treated lumber? The pipe would act as a rail.

It would be like this:

This is another example, but with a top rail:

Drill a hole. Put in a PVC end cap. Insert the aluminum pipe into the PVC end cap. Only trick is making sure you get exactly the right size PVC - inner diameter of PVC should be same size as (or ever so slightly bigger than) outer diameter of pipe.


How long should I let my window dry out before caulking? I just noticed a major leak in one of my windows last weekend during a heavy rainstorm. Upon inspection, I found several gaps in the caulking that I think the water is getting through. I managed to get a tarp over the window for a quick fix, but I'd like to caulk as soon as possible.

How long do I need to let the window dry out before scraping the old caulk off and reapplying? I don't want to trap any excess moisture and end up with mold problems, but the longest stretch this week without rain forecasted is only two days. Is that long enough for everything to dry out? My home exterior surrounding the window is brick.

Cut out the old caulk now to let it all dry out, that will open everything up to the maximum to allow for drying. If it is an older home it will still dry after it is caulked. One day to dry and one day to caulk and let it set will suffice for proper adhesion.

I suspect if the house is over 10 years old, it will not be an issue. It will still dry out. Newer homes may have a little more difficult time to dry out from the new vapor barriers out on the market.If you see drywall or plaster damage that has been around for a while, (wet is OK, water bubbles under the paint MAY be OK, black is bad) you may want to do a little removal to inspect inside the wall, just to be sure. Caulk takes a while to degrade and it does so with out notice, so check interior areas thoroughly.


Is slightly high voltage bad for a refrigerator? I had a mini freezer fail. I bought a new one which worked for a day or two, but I came home today and it was not running and the compressor was hot and everything in it melted.

I measured the voltage and it read 124V AC. The listed voltage for the freezer is 110V. Could the slighter higher voltage be damaging the compressor?

The freezer has plenty of ventilation.

I agree with the others that you probably need a replacement under warranty.

Answering your question:

Most motors are rated for the UL label nominal +/- 10%.  The tolerance delivered by many utilities is their nominal line voltage +/- 5%.  The UL label on your compressor hopefully states it is rated at 115v, giving it an actual operating range of 104-126v, notwithstanding the 110v documentation that came with the unit.

Higher voltage than nominal+10% can saturate the magnetic cores of a motor, causing rapid overcurrent and overheating, which exponentially gets worse as the supply voltage is increased.  Generally though, fractional horsepower motors like the one in your freezer are somewhat more forgiving.  Also, these motors are thermally protected with an automatic reset.  Even if the voltage is a bit high and the motor gets a bit hot, the unit should cycle occasionally on the thermal overload, temporarily shutting off and then returning to service.  A thermal trip and reset like this should not cause the freezer to thaw out.


Breaker Immediately Trips, Need Help Troubleshooting Why I installed 4 Lithonia LED recessed lights on my living room 15 amp circuit. Everything was working great yesterday when doing final testing. I left the breaker off overnight as I was planning to do final closing of junction boxes and drywall patching today.

Last night at 2am the fire alarm connected to my inactive ADT home security panel starts chirping. I go to the ADT motherboard in our coat closet and start disconnecting the low voltage wires attached to the motherboard trying to get the thing to shut up. It ended up being a stupid battery problem on the fire alarm unit itself...but I realized the wires going to the ADT motherboard are hot as a red and black touched and gave a spark, so I leave them disconnected and wire nut them all off. It was 2am and I didn't think much of it.

Today for final install of the LEDs I stupidly forego one last test (because I did it yesterday and everything worked great) and push them all up into the drywall using the spring clamps. When I go to turn on the breaker it immediately trips upon multiple attempts.

I have tried the following which have not fixed the problem of the breaker immediately tripping:

turned off and back on all breakers for the house...Nope!
unplugged all appliances and turned off all light switches on that circuit and retried breaker...Nope!
reset GFCI on a different circuit that may be in between breaker and the tripped circuit...Nope!
unplugged and wire nutted off all low voltage wires going into the ADT motherboard...Nope!

These are some potential variables that may or may not be relevant:

The 4 LEDs are connected to a Lutron Maestro low voltage dimmer switch. It is not a traditional on/off knob but a flat low profile click if that makes sense. To be considered 'off' do I need to disconnect the wires going into it? Anything else about the switch that might affect my attempt to reset a short circuit? The wires are all intact and no burning or discoloration.
There is a motion detector and a door contact in the room with the LEDs that are wired back to the ADT motherboard in a different part of the house. I assumed since I disconnected all those wires from the motherboard this would eliminate this from being a factor?

Any tips or things I can do to narrow this down is much appreciated!!!

Shared Circuit
Assuming this isn't just some crazy coincidence, I'd bet on:

The alarm and the lights are on the same breaker
When you left the breaker off for an extended period of time, the battery on the alarm started to get low, which caused the chirping as a (correct) warning
Red and black on the alarm are battery connections and not incoming AC power. A typical alarm system has a converter (either a wall wart or built in to the main alarm panel) to convert from 120V AC to 6V or 12V DC. That AC wiring will, in the US, almost always be black & white (hot & neutral). Black & red is, however, typical for battery power. A battery, even when relatively low, can make quite a spark when shorted.
Sensors, bells, etc. connected to the alarm have nothing to do with the current (pun intended) problem.

So what is going on? Anything is possible. But since the breaker is tripping immediately, the likely scenarios are:

Something came loose & shorted when you put the new wires, dimmer, etc. back in the box. To test this, open up the box and disconnect the hot & neutral from the dimmer and see if the breaker can be reset. If so, you know the problem is somewhere in: dimmer, lights, connections between dimmer & lights.
Something came loose & shorted when you messed with the alarm. Not on the low voltage side. You need to find the incoming power - either to a wall wart or into the main alarm panel - and disconnect it and then try resetting the breaker.

If you can't find the problem in one of those two places then you have to disconnect each light or receptacle on the circuit until you find the problem. There is a small but non-zero possibility that somewhere in the circuit something else (e.g., a bad backstab connection) went bad coincidentally with the new work.


How to find a plastered hole? I have a small issue. Few months ago my apartment got renovated, and I listed all holes in walls i want to keep for future use. The rest was, depending on depth, filled with concrete or plastered. And it was done really good, I can't see these spots with my bare eyes.

Now, I forgot to list one hole, so it was plastered clean. But I need to have a hook there, and I'm reluctant to create brand new holes. I would really prefer to use existing one - I need bigger diameter now, so I can afford to be a tiny bit off, but boring new hole would needlessly affect concrete, and if it happened to be just next to original one, it would also be weak. So one way or another, I need to find old one, be it to reuse it or avoid it. But how?

The slightest imperfections can be found on a wall with a bright light, usually brighter than a flashlight, although flashlights have been used before. It may work for you since you may have an idea where the spot is to begin with.

The trick is to shine the light across the wall, hold the flashlight or light against the wall so the light passes over the wall with as low of an angle as possible. The flashlight or light is almost parallel as possible. This way the texture of the wall is more prominent, because every high spot, even the tiniest, casts a shadow. Since the repair has been made recently and has less coats of paint over it, the texture over the repair will be slightly different than the wall surrounding the repair that has more paint on it.


Problem installing 3-way TP-Link HS210 I tried installing a 3-way TP-Link HS210 switch in my staircase, and I have a few questions:
Both switches have:
Black wire connected to a black screw (common wire?)
White wire connected to a gold screw (neutral?)
Red white connected on the opposite side (traveler?)
The switch is inside a metal box with the ground copper wire tied around a screw

Both switches have the exact same configuration, the only difference is the one at the bottom is in a 2 gang box, but with independent sources feeding into it so I don't think it makes a difference (?)

The ground copper wire is too short to pull out to connect to the switch - should I get an extension and crimp them together, or can I just cap the ground green wire from the TP-Link switch and call it a day?

I made the connections to the new switches:

Black wire to the black screw on the HS-210
Tied the 2 white wires together and capped them
Red wire to the traveler screw on the HS-210

I did this for both switches, flipped the power back on and instead of flashing green/orange, the switch flashes orange with a blue circle (power)

So this leads me to believe that it's a wiring issue and not an internet/connection issue.
Next I tried connecting the old switch at the bottom of the stairs and the HS-210 at the top of the stairs. I was then able to connect to the switch, but when I flipped the old switch on, the lights just turned on/off repeatedly.
I just put the old switches back for now until I can figure this out, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

There are two travelers on each of the existing switches, no neutrals. If there's nothing else in the single box, that common wire goes to the fixture. The second box is where your feed comes in. Don't mix up your white traveler and connect it to a white neutral. You will probably end up with two white wires going to the switch in the second box, one traveler and probably one neutral... don't mix them up or connect them together... tape the travelers at both locations with some yellow tape to prevent confusion in the future.
Don't all it a day with an unconnected ground, You need to extend it to the switch.


Multiple boilers, one expansion tank and fill mechanism? For a building with two boilers serving separate apartments, I'd like to simplify my design by having only one auto-fill and backflow preventer, and only one expansion tank.

These are combi boilers using a primary/secondary loop for each.

A single supply could fill both loops--it's all coming from the same cold water line anyway, right?  The only risk would be mixing of loops under weird pressure conditions--should I use check valves?  Is this common practice?

What you asked is not common practice. If the boilers are not tied together in any way, common practice and that which is acceptable is to have one common back flow preventer and a separate PRV for each boiler. There is nothing to gain by attempting to use 1 PRV to supply water to both units.


Hole in countertop too big for faucet I took out an old insta-hot faucet in our kitchen countertop and the hole that had been drilled was too big in diameter for any newer water filter faucet.

The diameter of the hole is around 1.5" while the diameter of the faucet fixture cover is barely that large. Unfortunately the new faucet moves around a lot and we want to find something we can plug the hole with to create a more secure seal.

The surface material of the countertop is Corian.

I was thinking something like epoxy might work, but I also don't want to make this too permanent so I can't remove the water fixture if it breaks.

Any suggestions on epoxies or other materials I should look at to make the seal a bit tighter around our water faucet? Any tips?

We're talking about half an inch in diameter or so to fill.

As the chrome cover seems to cover the hole then I would make a wood or plastic or metal collar that fits in the existing hole and has a suitable diameter hole for your new tap.

Make it sufficient thickness to suit.

If you still have an offcut of the worktop you could make it from that. Even consider gluing it into place but the next tap may need the larger hole...


Drilling holes to install shelves and came across this material. Is it Asbestos? I live in the UK and I am installing some shelves in the cupboard under the stairs and I'm wondering if the material I'm drilling into is dangerous. It is the Party Wall between two houses.

It's possible there is some asbestos in that skim coat over the wall.
 It's impossible to say but it would be totally unnecessary to have this material tested before hanging shelves.

Asbestos is dangerous when you inhale airborne particles.  It's a real hazard in the workplace, where people may inhale asbestos particles for months or years or decades without the proper precautions.

The exposure you have when drilling a few holes to install shelves is very small by comparison.  Wear a dust mask when drilling and cleaning up.  By all means, refrain from arranging it into lines on a mirror and snorting it.

Keep in mind that the silica dust that you make when drilling masonry - any masonry - can also be harmful.  Again the risk with such a limited exposure is small, so it's nothing to get nervous about, but you'll want to take the same precautions against breathing the dust even if there's no asbestos present.


What to do with ground wire in light fixture? I’m installing a light fixture that has a white wire, a black wire, and a ground wire.
The ceiling where the new light fixture goes only has a white wire and a black wire (hot). It doesn’t have a ground wire.
What can I do with the ground wire from the light fixture so that everything’s grounded?
These are the cables connected to the switch: there are only two black wires and both are hot:

These are the cables coming from the ceiling. There’s only a black wire and a white wire (already connected to the light fixture):

If it's a metal box with EMT, then the box is probably grounded and you could attach the ground from the light to a 10-32 ground screw into the box. If it old style NM cable with no ground, then just tuck the ground wire into the box away from the other wires. You can fold it and tape with electrical tape if it helps you sleep at night. There is no way then to ground your fixture.


How do I make one of four lights on a switched circuit permanently on? I have floods on the corners of my detached garage that are switched by one switch in a three gang box inside the door.  The other two switches control coach lamps and inside lights.  This are single pole arrangements.  I put a Ring camera and light set in place of one of the floods.  This requires constant power.  How do I make the power to one of them constant and the other three remain on the switch?
There is a circuit breaker just for the four floods and it appears the power comes into the three gang box.  Thank you!!

You could convert the floods to dusk-to-dawn or motion detection lights. Then wire the circuit always-on and bypass the switch or jumper it.

Good luck!


How does a Smart Switch that does not require a neutral work? I read on the internet that a Smart Switch that does not require a neutral works via a hub because that's where it stores the credentials to the wireless network. This sounds like BS because you can just store the information on EPROM. A hub sounds similar to the Cloud servers that are used for all the smart switches that don't require a hub, but do require connection to the internet.
Also, for the smart switch to respond to the hub's commands, it would still need to be powered.
So do the switches have some sort of stored power supply, such as a rechargeable battery or a supercapacitor? If not, how do they work?

Whoever you're listening to on this is spouting technobabble
I'm sorry to say, but you probably should find a better source to read, as whoever's been feeding you information is spouting total nonsense.  Whether a device needs a neutral wire or not has nothing to do with any sort of IoT contrivance such as a "smart home hub" and everything to do with how the device powers itself.  As you have noticed, "smart switches" have electronics inside that need power to run, and they have to provide that power somehow; the same is also true for occupancy sensors, timers, and some, more sophisticated, types of dimmers as well.
However, old-school knob dimmers and plain toggle switches don't need such, and were often wired in a way that doesn't make neutral available at the switch box (the old way of wiring a "switch loop"), meaning that you can't put fancy things there unless they cheat.  Some smart-switches are naughty (but UL approved to be a bit naughty due to the low currents involved) and return their supply current through the equipment grounding wire; this means they don't work in old houses without grounding, and also can cause problems downstream of GFCIs.
Others avoid this by returning their supply current via the controlled load (light, fan, or what-have-you) instead; while fan motors and incandescent lightbulbs don't mind having a wee bit of power trickled through them while supposedly "off", this causes LED lightbulbs to play up (either flickering periodically, or simply glowing dimly) as they are much more efficient (read: sensitive) than their incandescent counterparts.  It also is problematic if you want to use the smart-switch to provide a control input to another control device, such as a relay, lighting contactor, or dimming power module, that has more "grunt" than the smart-switch, or provides a capability (such as multi-way switching) that the smart-switch doesn't have on its own.
Finally, there are a few wallbox devices that are battery-powered (some Intermatic wallbox timers are this way); this avoids the difficulties listed above, but obviously requires the occasional battery change in order to keep the device up and running.  All of this is true no matter what sort of "smarts" (such as wireless capabilities, programming support, or what-have-you) the device has inside it, or whether it has any use for a hub or not.


What is this part on the receptacle of the stove called and what is it for? We have an older Whirlpool electric stove.  (Model # RS6750XVN)  One of the burners isn't working and when I lifted the top off I found a different type of receptacle.  Three of the receptacles look like this:

The 4th broken receptacle looks like this:

What is the name and/or function of the part that the arrow is pointing to?  It looks like the yellow wires used to attach to it...will there be a problem is I buy a normal receptacle replacement kit, run the two wires to it, and skip that end part?  Thanks for the help!

Here are some more photos with the part detached:

The broken part is a thermal fuse. Here is a link to the part

You should be able to pull the broken parts out of the end of the wires. They are just simple spade terminals.


Electrical Outlet arc burned the wire. Do I need to replace the entire line? Wife notice an odd smell (sort of like chlorine)  coming near an outlet last night. I immediately shut off the breaker and took off the covers to investigate. The last homeowners put in one of these outlets with the USB – A ports in them. It seems that one of the neutral wires slipped away from the screw and started arcing with the hot line above it, melting the plastic.
We got lucky that we caught it. My plan was to clip out any wire with the damage to the insulation, and properly secure the wires in a GFI outlet (its in the kitchen and wasn’t done properly to begin with.  My question is whether I need to worry about damage in the rest of the romex line? Not sure if an issue like this means I should replace the entire line or not.
Also it seemed a little odd to me that this outlet has the Hot and the neutral are so close together. On most AC applications it seems that there is some distance between the lines, which could prevent a little slip like this from causing a major problem. Is this common in other places that I just might not be familiar with?

The rest of the NM cable should be fine. When I install outlets like this, I pigtail the wires and connect the single wires to the outlet and still use a shepherd's hook behind the clamp.
The closeness isn't a problem if done right. You can have a split outlet with different legs so you've got 240 volts just that close.


Advice on installing an attached garage 50A sub panel I'd like to add a 50A sub panel to my attached garage workshop.

The sub panel feeder line will run from my 200A main panel, through my basement ceiling space and enter through the garage wall. The sub panel will be 50 feet from the main panel.

Some questions for you all:

does a 50A sub panel seem like an OK size for a one-man wood shop?
is 6/3 NM-B romex the right wire for the 50A, 50-foot run?
is it OK to run the new feeder wire through my ceiling space?
should I use a second 2-pole 50A breaker for the sub panel disconnect switch?
could I up it to a 60A sub panel with the same 6/3 wire or would I need 4/3?

Thank you in advance for your help, I will be doing the work myself but will get a permit and inspection so want to avoid any code violations!

"Future capacity" is job one when installing a panel. Think big. Make sure you never run out of spaces.  Small "main breaker" panels tend to have very few spaces, so I recommend aiming for spaces and disregarding main breaker or panel capacity. It doesn't matter anyway; read on.

6/3 NM-B is the legal minimum cable for that run.  You are a long way from worrying about voltage drop for distance reasons (I don't even bother checking til 110').  You don't need to worry about "wet locations" so NM-B will suffice.

Cables in a ceiling space are usually not a problem, but there is some technical stuff about plenums (air handling spaces) that I'm not up to speed on because I just avoid them.

The subpanel does not need any disconnect switch since it's inside the same building.  You might as well use a main-lug panel.  Just FYI, if you did need a disconnect, and you used a main breaker, size doesn't matter.  What matters is the feed breaker. There's no practical way to coordinate trips so the nearer breaker trips first, if that's what you're thinking.  A 30A feed supplying a 225A sub is fine.

Copper #6 or aluminum #4 is officially rated for 55 amps.  50A is fine.  However *you are allowed to "round up" to the next breaker size, so 60A is a free upgrade!

Going up, #4 copper is good for 70A only. #2 aluminum is good for 80A (75, round up) and #1 aluminum is good for 100A. (at 100A, you get a free "bump" because you're now allowed to use the 75C thermal column in the big temperature/ampacity chart.  Aluminum is much cheaper and perfectly safe for large feeders like this; just use the goop and torque to spec.

Look at your excellent diagram. Note how you have the two subpanel breakers abreast. In normal panels, both of these are clipping onto the same panel bus bars, which for some reason are called "stabs". Now you have to start worrying about stab limits which are stated in your panel instructions.  I recommend dodging this issue, by staggering these so your subpanel feeds are sharing their stabs with ordinary 15/20A branch circuit breakers.


10/3 down to 12/2 for Air Conditioner? Recently started digging around further in my new basement. Found the air conditioner is wired as follows:::
10/3 wire coming from panel that is connected to a double 15A breaker (red to 1, black to the other, white is simply not connected, ground to ground block). - in a j-box 15’ down the ceiling the 10/3 connects to a 12/2 (black-black red-white ground-ground). From the j-box the 12/2 runs outside to the air conditioner another 20’ down the wall.
Don’t know when this was installed. Based on the wire dating it can’t be pre-2005. I didn’t wire this but want to fix it if this is not correct. House hasn’t burned down yet, obviously, but this just seems odd.
My thought is pull the 10/3 out of the equation and change it all to 12/2. What does the breaker need to be? Thank you!

You're always allowed to upsize wire

I don't know how your house came to have legacy air conditioning wiring that large, yes I do. Air conditioners have gotten more efficient and past owners may have retrofitted insulation.

But regardless, if the requirement is for 14 AWG wire, you are always allowed to use the larger #12 or still larger #10.

There is also nothing wrong with an unused white wire "coming along for the ride".

However, when a white wire is used as a hot in a 240V cable, you are required to mark the white wire with tape.  I strongly prefer wrapping the tape around the wire; flags can easily be torn off, especially as they age.

As far as breakers, if your panel is Eaton, Cutler-Hammer, BRyant, Challenger, or Westinghouse, Eaton breakers are almost certainly correct. If it's anything else, it's probably a hazardous mismatch, but anything is possible with Eaton; we'd need the panel brand and model, and the lettering on the breaker to be sure.


Is it safe to plant shrubs or flowers in the soil above my septic tank? I have a septic system that has a tank underneath my front lawn. This is an eye-sore as the access points are clearly visible to anyone coming down our driveway. I would like to plant some shrubs/flowers around the access points to hide them. Is it safe to do this? I don't want to plant trees or anything crazy.

NOTE: I am not going to actually cover the access points. I just want to hide them.

It's not a problem. Your septic tank should be full enclosed and the vent/access pipes should be sealed. It's unlikely that roots from small shrubs will make their way in and cause clogs.


Tricks to repair window sill? We had a roof leak that ran down the window frame and got the window sill wet. Everything is dried out and the roof is fixed. Any ideas on how to fix this window sill? I'd prefer not to have to remove the sill and just peel off the paint and what seems to be joint compound or something? Could I skim a layer of wood filler after I peel off the damaged sections of the top layers? There is wood under the top layers.

That's probably just several layers of paint or paint plus a specialty undercoating for trim.

Chip it off, ensure there's no mold, remove any rot using a wood chisel, patch with a good quality wood filler, sand to 100grit or better, seal with a good primer/sealer, and repaint. If you find mold it's probably easier to just replace the sill, bleach and most mold killing products will not work on wood (including mold killing primer)


Efficiency of diesel generator running a geothermal heat pump I'm looking at a 40KW (continuous) Kubota Diesel generator for whole house backup in a sustained power outage of a week or two.

Everything in my house is electric, including the heat, and the house is large. The heat is an efficient geothermal pump though, so I'm wondering if feeding this off the generator is more efficient than a secondary boiler. There's no natural gas available or propane on site.

By my calculations, running at half load:
20KW consumes 1.7GPH (per Kubota), $3/gallon = 25c/KWh (vs 12c/KWh electric)

1 gallon diesel = 137,452 Btu ~= 40KWH.
So I burn 3.4 gallons of diesel / gallon of diesel energy ~= 30% efficient

However, the heating COP of the Waterfurnace 5 ton heat pump is 4.5.

The way I understand this is approximately I'll get back 0.3 * 4.5 of energy for a total efficiency of 135%. I appreciate there are other small losses in the system, both manufacturers are probably exaggerating a little etc but still it seems better than running a diesel boiler (~90% efficient?) to heat the house.

Is my reasoning correct, or am I missing something?

I agree with your math. Ground sources are quite useful for achieving reasonable heat pump efficiency year-round.

Also, it's possible to scavenge some of the 70% loss at the generator by collecting radiator or exhaust heat.  This is called cogeneration and Honda has offered this system for awhile.


Is there a good way to keep cats/animals from scratching on a door? My girlfriend doesn't like sleeping with my two cats in the room at night, so I've started keeping the door to my bedroom closed.  Unfortunately, however, they meow and scratch all night long.

Is there some way to keep them from scratching, or to damper down the noise so we can sleep soundly?

I have hardwood floors, and I'm sure this doesn't help with the acoustic amplification of the sound.

you can use an automated air jet/spray that activates when the cat comes close to the door

(just a link I found wile googling "cat repellent door" no affiliation)


Replace or repair skylights? I have two skylights on my roof that I think are original to the house which was built in the 1970s.
There were some signs of water leakage on the wood around the inside on the skylight that the home inspector pointed out to us. We brought these up issues to the sellers who said there had been a leak in the past and that they had been repaired.
We have owned the house for two years and have been through two winters of snow on the roof and many pouring rainstorms and have never seen a leak.
The other day we got over 24 inches of snow in a single storm (which is more than we have ever had). When it began to thaw I saw a minor but consistent leak coming from the ceiling a few feet below the skylight. By the next day it had stopped and we have not seen any leaks since. The snow all melted off and we have already been through another “normal” snow and a heavy rain downpour that lasted for two days. No leaks.
My takeaway from this is that the weight of the extreme amounts of snow opened something up enough for water to get it but that once the weight was relieved the issue abated.
We had a roofer take a look at the issue and he said he could repair the seals as long as we didn't hold him responsible for future issues or we could replace the skylights. I would rather not spend the money to replace them if a repair is all that is needed and I am certainly ok with not holding him responsible.
So, all this background is to ask the question, given that I have experienced no leaks before or since this big snowfall, is it a reasonable decision to just have him repair the issue or is this a clear sign that something more significant will inevitably develop and it would be irresponsible to not take care of it now by fully replacing them.

Is he sure it is the seals? Sounds like NO.
It is reasonable IF you are sure it is the seals that are the problem.
It could be that the flashing is the problem, when the snow was deep enough to cover the top of flashing it may have leaked in at that point. Without knowing the exact problem then it is a gamble weather or not repairing the seals is a reasonable coarse of action.


Wall switch connections for a ceiling fan and light I added a light fixture to a ceiling fan.  The ceiling fan was hooked up as instructed, but the single switch only operated the fan and not the light.  I opened the light switch box and found two black wires going to a switch and a lone red cap.  The black wires were coming from different wire bundles.  There is a second switch that turns off and on a outlets in the same room.  I placed the red wire on the top switch screw, and only the light worked.  I switched the lower black wire with the other black wire (the one initially connected to the upper screw), and neither fan nor light work.  What do I do to operate the light and fan with the single switch?

White coded wires in a bundle inside switch box as shown. This config only powered the fan and not the light. The other switch has a white wire up top and a red down low.

This, thankfully, is simple.  The black wire in that outgoing cable to the fan connects to the fan and the red wire connects to the light -- so you simply have to pigtail the black and red wires together with a wirenut and a short length of wire, and connect the pigtail to the switch terminal.  That will give you simultaneous control over the light and fan from that switch, while leaving your options open to install a double switch or fan controller later.


AC unit dripping onto crawl space vapor barrier I just bought a house whose crawlspace looks like it was partially converted to being sealed off.  Basically, they put down a vapor barrier and closed off the vents, but didn't finish the job.  On top of that, there's a PVC pipe from the furnace dripping what I assume is condensation onto the plastic, and that's what I'm here to ask for advice on.

The wood down there seems like it's in good shape now, but I'm trying to avoid future damage.  I talked to a couple inspectors about the crawl space prior to buying the house, but I'm trying to figure out which of their suggestions I should go with.  The easy solution is to undo what's been done with it and tear up the plastic, or at least cut a hole underneath where it drips, and let it drip into the gravel.  The other recommendation was to run the pipe off somewhere else or to join it to the house's sewage drain.

You can see about all there is to see in these two photos.  The short pipe in the second picture is dripping down the insulated pipe coming off the air conditioning unit and onto the plastic.  It's a pretty steady trickle when the AC's running.

In addition to this, I do need to re-open the vents (I was told they were re-opened before we closed on the house but they look closed to me) and re-insulate the AC pipe, but that all sounds straightforward.

Any advice on what to do here would be appreciated.  I can try to provide more info or details if needed.  Thanks!

The short pipe looks like it's a condensate drain - which will trickle when the AC is operating. It needs to run to a drain or to the outside. It looks like the insulation over the pipes has been damaged by the condensate running over it, and will need to be replaced. Even if the drain wasn't running onto them, the pipes are cold, so will sweat unless they're well insulated - the C shaped insulation needs taping closed, or you can buy insulation with a ziploc type feature that closes it up.


Will GFCI curcuit breaker operate properly with neutral pigtail wire not connected? I recently installed a GFCI breaker due to a recessed floor outlet wiring burning out due flooding from storms.

When the  electrician connected the GFCI's white pigtail wire to the neutral block the GFCI breaker would trip.  He checked all the wiring and said something about the neutral used for another circuit, so he left the white pigtail unconnected and said the GFCI will still work properly, just the test button will not function.
Is this correct? as I find it hard to believe the circuit is really protected without the white pigtail wire connected.

The GFCI absolutely needs its neutral wires

He can't make it work and he's trying to walk out the door.  He needs your signature on a piece of paper, so he futzes with wires until it works, fumbles an excuse, gets you to sign, gone.   What are you to say to his face?

In effect, he challenged you to either accept things as-is or be discourteous.  You chose to be courteous.  Standard contractor play.

If you read the instructions for the GFCI breaker, he certainly did not install it according to the instructions, which means the work is illegal under NEC 110.3b ( listed or labeled equipment shall be installed and used in accordance with any instructions included in the listing or labeling ).

There's a real problem, likely a hard one

Most likely he found to his dismay that the circuit's neutral was being shared by another circuit... either a load grabbed this hot and another circuit's neutral, or vice versa.  Or alternately, one of the loads on that circuit actually does have a ground fault -- people always forget about that possibility, but that is the entire point of a GFCI, after all!  He didn't want to spend half a day doing a "bug hunt", so he dodged the issue and got paid.

Sometimes it is a systematic version of that thing, called a multi-wire branch circuit -- but those are easy for any competent person to spot.  And very easily fixed: fit a 2-pole GFCI and done.  So I doubt it's that.


Can I reuse the garage door rail when replacing the garage door opener? I have a chain drive garage door opener.  The sprocket on top of the garage door opener broke off so the chain isn't connected to the garage door opener anymore.

I want to re-use the garage door rail I have because it's one piece that's 6 or 7 ft long (I didn't measure but it's about that long).  Looking at the chain drive openers I can buy at Home Depot, it looks like the rail is in pieces since the box is like 2 ft long.

Assuming the length, load strength, etc. is the same for both the one piece rail and the multiple piece rail, is it a good idea for me to reuse the old rail?

I'm asking because I want to install less things if I can help it.  Also, the idea of a single solid rail sounds more structurally sound than a 5 piece rail that's screwed together.

Generally no, you cannot reuse the rail, they are not all exactly the same dimensions. There is no one standard size of profile, even within the same manufacturer, they change over the years.

The holes for the attach points may change also, this could be solved by drilling more holes, but this would defeat the purpose of saving time.

If you bought a new opener within a few years of buying the old one, then maybe. But, they normally last 10 years or so.

Edit: just to be clear, this is the rail on a typical opener.

For most designs, a shuttle rides on the rail.

Not all rails have the same cross-section (profile). There are at least two types, T and Box. And each of these are not standardized.

You could possibly re-use the shuttle and possibly the chain. But, these are high wear items, not recommended. Not all use chains anyway, there are belt drives also.


What vinegar acidity is necessary to effectively kill household mold? I have 30% and 5% and I'm guessing it's somewhere in between.

5% appears to be adequate per a brief search of the web.
30% is not really "vinegar" anymore - call it acetic acid and treat with care.
I have seen 10% sold as "cleaning vinegar" but I don't find any results in a quick search indicating it's much more effective than undiluted 5% on mold.


Problem with warped jack stud while converting from door frame to drywalled rough opening I am working on converting what used to be a swing closet door to drywalled opening and later putting on a bi-fold door. When I removed the door frame and casing I noticed that one of the jack studs is warped so if I just put the drywall on it, it will be uneven as well.

Would you guys recommend trying to replace the jack stud and what if the stud that the jack stud is attached to is uneven as well ?  Or is there a way to put the drywall i a way that it ignores the slope in the stud - the difference between the two farthest points is roughly 3/8 inch?

Thanks !

Replacing the jack stud/trimmer isn't terribly difficult. I've done it many times when lengthening headers to increase opening widths. That might be the simplest fix if the king isn't also warped.

Cut the nails penetrating each end with a reciprocating saw - don't cut deeper than 1-1/2" so trim covers the cuts in the drywall
Remove any nails in the face of the stud
Find and remove drywall screws penetrating the stud
Run a pair of longer screws into the stud near one end, leaving them 3/4" proud
Pry the stud out with a bar or large hammer on the screw heads

Otherwise, run some 3" screws in to tighten and straighten the jack as much as it'll go, then rely on your corner bead, which can easily take care of a 1/2" twist (1/4" at each end), for example:

Install your drywall as normal
Set the innermost (opposite) ends of both corner beads
Use a framing square to set the opposite ends square with the previous set opposing ends
Check the bead on the wall face with the square to be sure the bead is slightly proud of the drywall plane. It's easy to pull it in too far, essentially creating a curve in the wall.

Be aware that the second approach might reduce your finished opening width that 1/4".


Securing house numbers to stucco We recently had our townhouse complex re-painted (beige stucco, reddish-brown trim.)  We took the house numbers down ahead of time, of course, and now I need to put them back up.  Previously they were nailed to the wood trim, but the lack of contrast made them hard to see from the street, so we want to put them against the stucco.  I need to know how to do that without screwing up the wall...

The numbers are about a foot tall, 9 inches wide, and an inch thick; they're made of lightweight wood painted to look like hammered copper, and they weigh about a pound each.

I could nail them to the stucco, but I'm concerned about cracking and also about creating holes for rain to enter the wall.  I could glue them on, with Liquid Nails or similar, but I'm concerned about pulling the top layer of stucco/texture/paint off the wall.

Weather conditions: a west-facing wall in Southern California.  Direct sun for 5-7 hours per day; temperatures up to 110 degrees for five months at a time; rain for two months at at time; almost never freezes.

Based on other Googling, I found I had two choices: big holes through the stucco, plugged with silicone caulk and screw anchors (if I needed to hang something heavy, I definitely would go that route) or Loctite Stik'n'Seal Outdoor Adhesive.

So I Stuck'n'Sealed 'em.  Note to anyone who goes this route: it seems to take FOREVER for the glue to set!  If I had this to do again I would definitely invent some sort of rig to clamp them to the wall while the glue sets.  Also, one of the digits ended up in a very uneven section of stucco; the lower two-thirds are flat against the wall, while the top is about 1/8th" proud.  I'll definitely need to go back to that with sealer...

However, for the time being... so far so good.  If anyone else has a similar problem, this is what I'd recommend.


If pipe has been frozen for a week, should I call a plumber? I noticed my cold water lines to the upstairs bathroom were frozen last Monday. After leaving the heat cranked high, the toilet and the sink thawed. But the cold water line to the tub is still frozen.

I've had the heat on almost 24/7 for the last week, I've left the hot water to the tub dripping, and I've put a space heater right by the visible cold water pipe, along with the hair dryer tip and it still as not thawed.

Today is the first day since Monday that it has been above 32 degrees, currently it is 45 degrees,so I'm hoping it will finally thaw today. I have noticed that the cold water does drip, and I might be imagining it but I feel like the dripping is speeding up. So I don't think the pipe is completely blocked, which is hopefully a good thing.

But tomorrow is going to be below freezing again, and it will stay that way for the next week.

If I can't get it to thaw today, should I call a plumber? The longer it stays frozen, the more nervous I become about it. But my mom told me that there is nothing a plumber can do until it bursts. Is that true?

Of course, maybe it's not frozen. Maybe it's an air pocket. If that's the case, can a plumber fix it without putting holes in the walls/floors? Because ideally I would like to avoid that.

Thanks for any help!

I would only call a plumber if the purpose was to have the plumber reroute the lines to an interior wall where the pipes will not freeze.  I can't see paying someone $100 an hour plus for holding a hair dryer or mini-blow torch next to a pipe to get it to thaw.  Your plumber plumbs not perform magic.

If your pipes are freezing to this extent though I think that you will eventually need to have things reworked.  Spend your plumbing money on this.


How do I rust proof a garage door track? I have a couple of questions about how to do this:

Is it safe to cut the bottom 1-1.5 inches off the track so that it's not in direct contact with the concrete of the garage?  I often get standing water during the winter up against the garage door and this would prevent the track from sitting in it.
Would regular rust proofing spray paint be adequate for this kind of use?  I don't believe the portion I'm cleaning is actually in contact with the roller so it shouldn't get too much rubbing from the rollers.

Carefully determine where the wheels of the bottom of your door stop being used.  Any point below the bottom of the wheels when the door is completely down should be safe to remove.  The track shouldn't have to go all the way to the ground.

I would not paint the track, for fear that it will interfere with smooth motion.  If anything I'd use grease to lube up the track, which will put a protective surface on the inside of the track where you need it and improve performance (less resistance).

Rust on the outside of the track won't matter except aesthetically.


Grout or caulk between acrylic bathtub and tile? Contractor who remodeled our bathroom used non-sanded grout between bathtub (acrylic) and first layer of tile. He said that he recommends that instead of caulk as caulk will be trapping moisture and grout is better against mold.
Now, year after, I see the grout along bathtub cracking and mold appearing in it.
So what should I do? I am thinking of scrubbing some loose grout and refilling. But should I use grout again or should I use caulk this time? If caulk, then what kind of caulk should I use?

In all the shower installs I overseen, the company I worked for maintained that caulk is to be used in any inside corners except where excessive/standing water is. For example, caulk corners where tub and walls meet, and vertical inside corners where the walls come together. DO NOT caulk where the floor and walls meet, I personally seen caulk creep out of the joint after a week of use in a residence I worked on while I was finishing up the punch list.

Find a reputed mold/mildewcide to clean the joint after you clear all the old grout then allow to dry as long as possible and use a color matched caulk. This is available at Home Depot or at tile supply houses. It is available in sanded or unsanded.

In theory, it may trap moisture, but when the tile is installed and the grout sealed, which should be the case, between the tile being water impervious and the grout has been sealed from moisture infiltration, the amount of water getting past both those points is very minor in my opinion, I read this is so elsewhere.

11-30-2013 addition

To clean the joint of old grout, protect the tub with blue painters tape, maybe a few layers and use a razor knife to begin to V cut the grout out, again be careful the side of the razor knife will be rubbing very hard on the tub/tape and can wear through readily. There is a grout saw available at hardware stores, but they will cut a joint about 1/8" wide, most tile is set closer. If you use this, use a metal shield of some sort to protect the surface of the tub. A large drywall knife (12") would work or a section of very thin gauge metal purchased from a hardware store where they sell small pieces of flat metal. Careful with this, it must be kept secure from moving or the metal will deposit gray marks on the acrylic. Tape it to the tub at the ends and let the metal go up to the face of the tile so any scratches is covered by the new caulk.

To caulk, first the joint MUST be clean and dry, cut the tip to the size of the joint, and apply caulk. Look as the caulk is exiting the tip to ensure the caulk is going INTO the joint, this is where the work is done by the caulk, This why it must be clean. Yes there will be caulk EVERYWHERE to a degree. This is why I keep a 5 gal. bucket handy half filled with water and a rounded edge sponge to clean the surface. Paper towels won't last in the cleaning process, and it may gouge out the caulk if a folded corner of the paper towel goes awry.

To clean the excess caulk, with the wetted sponge, squeezed the daylights out of it to get most of the water out of it. It is imperative you are not depositing too much water on the surface of the tile, it will weaken the caulk. You can clean the caulk from the surface completely leaving the caulk only in the joint and with the color matched caulk, it will look like the other joints on the wall. These caulks are specified to tubs and showers.


How do go from a single light/fan bathroom switch to a double paddle with no ground or hot wire? The old switch had just 2 side wires, one for the fan and one for the light. There was no ground of hot.

I'm installing a legrand radiant 2 in 1 paddle switch, and it's not working. I'm assuming that's because there's no ground of hot.

You need to add a three wire out to fan.  Then the black screw gets line in from the panel,the other wire is load out to ,fan light. And only works both together.  3 wire lets them be separate .  White is neutral, on the other screws, black to light red to fan. Need 3 wire to do this. Or leave in a single switch and both run like they did before.


Three sets of wires and no clear way to ground We're changing the extremely old fixtures in our hallway with some sleek modern LED lighting.

Upon removing the fixture I discovered three sets of twisted wires - double white, black-red (the fixture used it for the black) and a black-white pair that wasn't connected to anything. The electrical box itself is grounded (I think - there's a bare copper wire tied to a screw in the electrical box) but the new fixture says to attach the green fixture ground wire to the "power supply ground wire" which, as far as I can tell, doesn't exist.

The previous fixture had a bracket with a grounding screw but that bracket is incompatible with the new fixture, which came with it's own plate/bracket system (but nowhere to put a grounding screw).

How do I properly ground the fixture? Would the untouched black-white pair possibly be a part of the solution?

If the box is grounded, look around for a hole in the box that's tapped for a 10-32 screw.   It may be on a little "hill" and already have a screw in it.  Attaching a solid-core wire to this, or a wire with a spade or ring terminal, is the right way to "grab" ground off the box.  I like ring terminals, they're a little harder to work with, but you can put more than one on a screw.


How should I apply silicone sealing to shower screen glass? What's the best and easiest way to apply good quality silicone, which I'm told are never the water-based types, to freestanding glass and ceramic tiles in showers? Can I remove it with a razor blade if I've already overspread it?

Use masking tape to prevent overspreading, and dip your finger in mineral spirits to smooth it out. Remove the tape before the silicone sets.  Never use water to smooth silicone, only latex/acrylic.

It's difficult to remove silicone from rough or porous surfaces. No problem to remove with razor blade from glass.


A/C Air Handler Leaking Water Everywhere I have a relatively old air handler that has worked fine for many years.  Just recently, it started leaking water everywhere, and it seems to be seeping from inside the base of the air handler itself (as opposed to a leaking pipe, or something outside the unit).

The condensation line that leads outside the house has not had water running through it recently, so that is clearly related.  I assume it is backing up somewhere.

But when I pour water into the clean-out, it goes right into the condensation line and outside the house, so I feel like the blockage must be prior to the clean-out.  The pipes are glued together, so I'm not able to take them apart, but there is only a few inches of pipe between the air handler and the clean-out, and it doesn't seem to be blocked in there.

Could this be a problem inside the unit itself?  Is this something that I could attempt to fix myself?  I am moderately handy, but don't know a whole lot about plumbing or HVAC.  I would call an HVAC company, but they are all booked several days or weeks out, and I am putting my house on the market tomorrow.  I'd prefer to get this fixed before people start coming to look at the house.

I tried opening the panel, but the drain pipe is holding it in. I tried loosening the drain pipe screw, but it won't budge.

Update - Today, the weather was nice, so we turned off the A/C and opened the windows.  Periodically throughout the day, I would hear the pump running, pushing water out of the condensation line.  So I am assuming that there is a blockage somewhere in the air handler that lets just a small amount of water come through.  So when everything is off, the backup of water slowly comes through and gets pumped out, but when it's on, there's just too much water, and it ends up spilling out.

Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks!

The Tee was left open as a means of a clean out.

Start by using a shop-vac on that Tee and hold your finger over the other end, in the pump (you may have to get the pump out of the way).

Next, snake it out, going into the machine: (e.g., the brush that comes with an EZ-Trap; johnstonesupply.com)

Followed with another vacuuming. Ideally the first go sucks it out; you don't want to just push the clog inside. If it still leaks after all that, you may have a cracked pan.


Alternative to electric heaters in bedrooms? I would like this system serviceable, cost effective & relatively maintenance free.
I just don't know the best way to go about it. I am sick of using a oil filled heater over winter.

My original idea is to plumb water from the wet back (we have a small wood range) hot water cylinder to power a water filled radiator, I figure I'm gonna need a hot water circulating pump.

What do you suggest / use to cut back on that power bill?

I understand your dilemma. I have a few comments about using  heated water from a wood stove to circulate in a radiator. The concept seems simple, however using a circulator pump also requires a control panel of some sort, unless you intend to let it run continuously and manually switch it on and off. This task is normally controlled by a thermostat and control board. The pumps usually run on low voltage supplied through the control board. Using line voltage (240VAC in most of Europe) and an in line full voltage thermostat would be very dangerous. Another concern would be protecting the circulating water loop from an over pressure condition. Heating water above the boiling point would be a major hazard. You would need a pressure relief valve and a way to shunt water away from the heat exchanger if the wood fire overheats the water. Another limiting factor would be that this heat source would only be available when the wood stove was burning.
Perhaps you might consider an infrared quartz space heater instead of the oil filled radiator. These heaters are extremely efficient, cost a fraction to run compared to traditional electric heaters.They come in a variety of styles and shapes. The cost of these heaters start around $80.00 USD to a high of $500.00 USD depending on how large and fancy a unit you select.  They do not require special wiring and have a fairly low electrical draw plugged into any standard outlet. Infrared heaters work by heating objects via infrared energy as opposed to heating and distributing air. The heat in the space is usually very even and comfortable.  Check out what is available in your area.