Transfer switch vs DPDT relay for a standby generator? I want to wire an 8 kw standby generator to power my home furnace (120 v, 20 amp) automatically in case of a power outage.

The generator can be purchased with and without a transfer switch.

Is there important circuitry in the transfer switch (e.g., that starts the generator every week so)?  Or, can I just wire the furnace to a double pole double throw relay, for $20 or so?

(I plan to run a few extension cords to power lights, refrig, etc. but I will hook those up manually.)

The input to the house should be an "INLET" not an Outlet.. The power cord from the generator has a connector (MALE Plug) to connect to the generator, and a FEMALE to connect to the house mounted inlet. The inlet should be connected to a DEDICATED receptacle inside the house to allow use of an extension cord to power individual loads OR to a manual double pole double (SPDT) throw transfer switch if feeding the main service panel. Properly installed and listed SPDT transfer switch prevents connection of the generator to the utility. Alternates using UL listed circuit breaker interlocks are also available. Reliance makes a 6 circuit panel that includes an inlet, and six interlocked pairs of circuit breakers that facilitate power transfer. Do it correctly, use a licensed electrician.


How do I fix a broken microwave door hook latch? I accidentally snapped off one of the hook latches on my microwave door - the door will shut, since the other latch is still there, but the safety mechanism of the oven prevents it from operating (since the second latch is not engaged).

Does anyone have suggestions on how to fix this without taking apart the microwave door (which I find intimidating)?

If you don't want to disassemble the door or replace it, then don't fix it. The dual-hook latch system is designed to ensure that the door is completely closed. Both hooks have matching sensors and both must be actuated for the oven to run. If you don't fix the door, then the only other option is defeating the sensors, which defeats a critical safety feature.


How to repair an electronic igniter on a gas stove? How can I repair an electing ignition on a gas stove that is intermittent?

You didn't specify what is the failure mode of the unit..!! Did you changed its battery? Assuming its using battery, check for corrosion at battery holder/contacts.

High voltage spark points may have carbon or any other residue which might shorting out the arc. If its using piezoelectric generator (battery not used) very likely it may have shorted path in its high voltage side causing intermittent operations.

Electronic type using battery and boost converter. Any failure in this sections requires knowledge in electronics in order to repair it.


Restrictions on 90 Degree Elbow for a Bathroom Exhaust Fan? The manual for a certain (100CFM/4") bathroom exhaust fan has a restriction on using 90-degree elbows close to the unit.

Why is this? Is it okay to use 90-degree elbows further down the exhaust path? (The image would suggest so, but I guess it couldn't hurt to check) Is there any good reason for this restriction?

Fan Link: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Delta-Breez-GreenBuilder-Series-100-CFM-Wall-or-Ceiling-Bathroom-Exhaust-Fan-ENERGY-STAR-GBR100/204347760

Image from Manual:

The squirrel cage fan relies on velocity, not pressure, to move air. A near elbow stops the momentum and reduces airflow rate. If you need 90 degrees close to the fan, put 2 90s together and swivel the joints to make it into 2 45s.
Down the path a 90 elbow is fine. If the run is long or has many bends, use a double 45 or try to keep the path as straight as you can. At the outside, find a vent cap that seems less restrictive. The flapper valve in the fan should open and close freely. You can often hear it drop closed when you turn off the fan. Wait a couple of seconds til you hear it.


flange/u-channel for black-out blinds? This is a question about a specific solution for a problem that's been asked before.
The best solution is u-channels that the blinds' hem bar can travel up and down within.  This solution can be seen online, but not in any DIY way.  A few window treatment companies offer this kind of solution with purchase of their blinds, installed by a local contractor/professional.  Examples:
https://www.rollashade.com/side-and-bottom-channels.html
https://www.draperinc.com/windowshades/productdetail/40/side--u--channel,--h--channel,-or--l--angle
https://vertilux.com/en/products/side-channel-profile
https://www.hunterdouglas.com/lightlock
A few DIY solutions exist that are essentially L-channels (rather than U-channels) like this which I may eventually go with, but I'd much rather find a good u-channel solution.
The only DIY solution with a U-channel that I've found is this one from Sweden.
I just find it hard to believe that this fairly simple solution is only available from a vendor in Sweden (who won't ship internationally, I asked).
Does anyone have any ideas of a simple plastic (or metal, but plastic would be easier/preferable) u-channel that could work like the Sweden solution above, and is available in the USA?  They would need to be about 1/2 inch wide, by about 1 inch deep.
The closest I've found is a u-channel from McMaster-Carr, but it's only 1/2 inch deep which probably would not be sufficient.

I might try some angle L in plastic or aluminum. I looked on line and there were lots of options  I did see 1 MFG that had a few colors. I searched with the term “plastic angle L” the aluminum did show up also.


Type of hanger on hanging beam? I am putting in a hanging beam in my ranch style house. To replace a load bearing center wall. The only load on the wall is ceiling load. It is a hip roof. The lumber in all rough cut. They are 2x6 ceiling joist that are spliced on top of the wall. So I need a hanger 4"x at least 12" tall. I can't find any hangers like this. Or could I use long hurricane ties?

I’ve never seen a hanger with those design requirements. I like the idea of using a hanger that allows the joists to “sit” in a hanger’s pocket rather than using straps to tie the joists up to the beam. However.....
However, installing such a hanger under joists without damaging the drywall, would be difficult.
I’d try a strap such as Simpson’s HTSQ twist strap.
https://www.strongtie.com/twiststraps_specialtystraps/htsq_strap/p/htsq.
If the joists span half the width of the building (16’) and only supports a ceiling load, then the load on each joists is:
Joists = 2 psf (per square foot)
Plaster = 8-10 psf (depending on type)
Total load = 12 psf x 16’ x 1.33 (to get to 16” oc)
For a total load on each joist = 255 lbs. / 2 (to get load at each end = 128 lbs.
As you can see, these straps are rated up to 720 lbs. depending on the species and grade for uplift. (Your resistance is the reverse of uplift, but is the same principle, but  upside down. )
Now, the shortest strap is 16” long, which means 8” should be on each member. However, your joists are 6” tall so they won’t have the intended “cover”. But, your load is so much smaller than the maximum the straps could support, that I’m sure they’ll be fine.
You also have one more issue: If your new beam deflects (sags) at all, then the joists will sag and the ceiling will crack. Plaster is notorious for cracking with minimal deflection.
I have not allowed weight for anything in the attic, (like insulation, light fixtures, etc.)


Question about new inverter for solar power system I am new to this community so I hope this is the right place.

I am looking into buying a new inverter for my off grid cabin running from solar. I would like to purchase THIS 3000w inverter. My question is... in the unlikely event that I run this at its full 3000w  capacity, what is the draw from my 12v battery bank in either amp hours or watt hrs. Thanks in advance.

I suspect there's a sizing issue here because I'd be surprised if a 3000W inverter could start a 3000W motor.

If you run the inverter at its nameplate capacity, your immediate 12 VDC current draw will be 300 amps or more.  Aside from inverter losses, you will have considerable voltage drop in whatever wires you are using to connect to the batteries, and indeed, through the batteries themselves.  The inverter will compensate for voltage sag by pulling more current.

So that means you'll need 300AH per hour.  5 AH per minute.

Invert as soon as possible ... For the big loads

You'll want the inverter as close to the batteries as safety permits, with battery-battery and battery-inverter interconnects of heavy 2/0 or even 4/0 wire.  I've seen a solar project fail because they used (seemingly generous) #10 wire to carry 20A@12V eighty feet.

The goal is to cover distance at the highest voltage possible, because raising voltage both lowers current and lowers the importance of voltage drop. The benefit is (voltage/voltage) squared - e.g (120/12)^2 is 100x better to transmit as 120V than 12V, and (240/12)^2 400x better for 240V.

With 120V you must also watch voltage drop, but it becomes a factor over much longer distances in the 100-200' range (and don't forget the distance down the well, unless the motor is at the top; most are at the bottom).

Use a voltage drop calculator with your distance, voltage and continuous current draw (not startup surge).  Override the absurd 3% and allow 40% or so, merely to see how bad it will be at the minimum allowed wire size.  Anything more than about 6-8% needs remediation.

You can recompute with a 6% value and see what it says for wire size.
If it's recommending hundreds of dollars of wire, recompute for 240V.  If that number is much more favorable, then it's time to go 240V on the well pump (but do not increase horsepower!)

You don't need a 240V inverter. You can make 240V (at half the current) with 120V and a simple transformer.  The 120V side of the transformer looks like any other 120V load.  A motor of same horsepower will have the same current draw (from the 120V side). Transformers have a trivial power drop of 1-3%. They handle startup surge without worry (unlike inverters) so size for the motor's continuous draw.

Deep cycling is a problem, though

As discussed, you'll need 300A+ from a 12V battery.  That's 5AH per minute or 300AH per hour.

Beware lead-acid, as they take damage from discharging, so their practical, everyday capacity is nowhere near their nameplate capacity.  Seriously. If you draw only 20-30% of a lead-acid's capacity and then recharge it, the battery will work for years.  If you start dipping it to 50%, you shorten its life to a few hundred such dips, and if you discharge 80% of its nameplate capacity, you'll greatly shorten its life to dozens of such cycles.

So a 300AH lead-acid battery would very quickly fail.  Best practice is a 4x oversize, so now you are talking about a 1200AH battery.

Lithium batteries do much better, and nickel batteries are almost impervious.  Apple and Tesla get phenomenal performance out of lithium batteries (this 7yo iPad is run down daily and still has nearly full range) by including 20-30% more battery and not letting you use it.  Once Tesla pushed a software patch to hurricane customers that let them use the full range of their battery. This gave them 100+ more miles!

Make hay while the sun shines

If you have a location at a higher altitude than your house, you can put a storage tank there.  Water in the storage tank pressurizes your system and delivers water to the house.  The pump tops up this tank when the sun is shining and the panel is at peak delivery.

Faucet pressure is based on altitude difference, 1 PSI per 2 feet of altitude.

So for instance if the solar panels are producing 2000W of power, your 3000W load is only drawing 1000W from the battery, which has a big impact on sizing.

If the solar array is 3000W then the battery sizing issue pretty much goes away (least as far as the pump is concerned), you're only borrowing from the battery for startup surge.

As a bonus to this, you can spin down the inverter when you're not using the pump, so you don't have the parasitic "standby losses" of the inverter, which really beat you up because they're 24x7.

Also, this lets you do irrigation at sensible times rather than at the height of the day when the sun is shining.  The tank size is the limit; essentially you're storing "pumping energy" hydraulically rather than electrically. Tanks are cheaper than batteries.


Implications of/Fix damp on shared wall I'm looking at a terraced house on which I've found damp and discolouration up the wall, along and up to the ceiling above (to the loft). This is happening on the shared wall between the houses.
There's no upstairs plumbing so I'm hoping it's clogged gutters or something. If it was not this, what else could it be? If it was something more sinister how would I go about fixing it?

The discolouration at the moment is not bad. It's a yellow/off-white colour. But what are the implications? I assume it will only get worse.

Thanks in advance for any advice given.

I would add [damp] to the tags but this is my first time on the diy stack exchange site and I'm unable to make that tag with no reputation.

Tracking water infiltration can be difficult with the root cause not obvious. Sometimes you luck out and find a spot on the roof, in a valley or around a vent pipe or chimney that is the culprit. Since this is a town house with a shared wall, i wonder if the tenant on the other side has had the same moisture problems? Is there a possibility of damage or trapped moisture inside the wall?
  If you are looking to purchase, I would advise you to have it looked at and corrected by a professional before closing. If this defect is found during a home inspection, the current owner should be responsible for the repair of the leak and the discolored wall. At minimum, an allowance in the selling price should be made if you accept responsibility for the fix. In your specific case, don't plan on an easy self fix before you purchase the property, what you hope may be a minor repair may turn out to be very expensive.  Also, is the shell of the building covered by a condo Common area clause in the declaration of Condo? If so, the condo assoc will be responsible for the fix.  There are lots of questions here. Be careful and don't underestimate the problem.


Can I replace the main breaker in an electrical panel with a smaller one? I have an older 60amp fuse box in a rental property that is wired as a sub panel off my main 100amp service. I would like to upgrade to a new circuit breaker panel so tenants can not pull out the 15amp fuse and up size it. The only box I can find at my local hardware store is rated 100amp (main lug and main breaker). If I replace the 100amp breaker in the box I found with a 60amp breaker would that be fine? I assume that the box is rated up to 100amp but anything lower would work too.

You will also likely need to replace the cable with larger gauge wires, though without knowing what's there right now it's impossible to say for sure.  Also, whenever you replace old electrical equipment, you are generally required to adhere to the latest code, so it's possible there are other changes you will need to make too.  This might include AFCI breakers.

If you are unsure, always best to check with a licensed electrician.


What is this thing that holds in a storm window called? I would like to replace these things that hold in storm windows on a 80 year old house but I do not know what they are called, so I am having difficulty looking them up to buy more.  What is the piece that toggles called?

It turns rotates and when it is horizontal it holds a storm window in place.  When it is vertical the storm window can be removed.

Double wing window screen clip ???

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Window-screen-clips-Window-screen-hardware-Window-hardware-Hardware/4294711068


HVAC Contractor Didn't Install Drip Pan I recently got the A/C unit and furnace in my basement replaced. When the company came out to do the quote, they stated that they thought I should have a drip pan, and the proposal that they gave me with the quote included installing one.

When the guys actually came out to do the install, they didn't install a drip pan. When I asked about this, their logic made some sense - I have air returns coming in from multiple locations, which means that they needed to keep a "coffin" in place underneath the furnace to join all of the air returns together. They said that they couldn't install a drip pan without replacing the coffin. They did give me a new overflow sensor on my drain line, though.

Two questions:

1) Can you install a drip pan under a "coffin"? Is the reasoning for not doing this sound, or did they just not want to get into the work of rebuilding that part of my system to save time/money?

2) Should I ask about the impact of the drip pan on the quoted price? It seems a little unreasonable to pay the same price when part of the quoted install wasn't completed. However, I imagine this was a pretty small part of the quote compared to everything else they did... and the quote wasn't itemized.

(This company is very reputable and has gone out of their way to make me a happy customer, so while I want to get a good deal, I don't want to make the relationship too adversarial. Just looking for some additional perspective here. If everybody feels like this was a reasonable outcome, I'll happily write my check and move on with life in a nice, comfortable home.)

If the return air comes in through the bottom of the AC, then a drip pan is not possible. Typically, external drip pans are only used when leaking condensate would cause an issue to the structure, such as air handlers in an attic. In a basement or a garage (especially with a vertical air path), a drip pan is unnecessary.


Ventilating a room with no forced air without opening windows? I would like to ventilate my bedroom because air quality monitors show CO2 levels rising above 2000ppm every night.

I have two windows in the room, both with blackout blinds, but I prefer not to open them at night because they are street-facing and sun-facing and bring in noise and light. I also can't open the bedroom door for roughly the same reasons: light and sound from the rest of the house.

My question is, how can I ventilate the room given these constraints?

Two solutions I have thought of so far:

Use window fans. This would work, except it would also probably bring in both light and noise.
Use a fan + some sort of duct to force air under the door. According to the article here, from what I understand, door undercuts can work. I am just not sure what to look for to begin to build or install something like a door undercut fan duct.
??

Any other suggestions are welcome as well.

Have you considered just increasing the gap under the door to 1cm or 2cm and putting a fan to extract air from the room into the roof space?

You would only need to have a small fan - even a 4" fan from a computer power supply (although there are quieter ones, or reduce the voltage a bit) will create probably sufficient air movement.


Is it OK to leave a dimmer switch on low constantly (LED light) I have a new LED ceiling light in our hall, and installed a compatible dimmer switch (both Leviton). The dimmer has a slider plus a switch, and when the switch is on, but the slider is all the way down, there is still a very small amount of light (less than most night lights, I'd say).  I adjusted it as low as I could already.

I was thinking that it could be useful as a night light for the hall, but wondered if there were any dangers or problems doing this. The light is 16 watts at maximum, so I assume the power used wouldn't be very much at a very low setting.

There shouldn't be any dangers if you use a dimmer that's designed for LED lights. There are different types of dimmers for different types of lights. See this page from Lutron for a rough idea. Basically, most modern dimmers rapidly modulate between on/off and is safe for long term use in a low state. A side effect however, is that it may generate RF interference or even an audible humming sound.

In terms of danger, you might be thinking about very basic dimmers for hobby projects, which may use resistance dimming with a potentiometer. In that case, it's bad to keep it on in a dimmed state for a long period of time since it generates a lot of waste heat.

You should check this PDF (found on this page) by Leviton to see whether your specific LED light is compatible with your dimmer.


What should I do with a large gap in a concrete floor The grout in the tile has cracked or separated all the way across the house from one side to the other. I figured it was normal due to settling. In the kitchen it has become really bad, to the point the tiles are cracking and there is approximately a 1/4in difference in height. I decided to replace the cracked tiles and discovered a large gap in the floor real close to 1/2in wide.

Should I worry about this or should I just replace the tiles and let it go. The house is 7 years old.

That is a major issues, especially on a new home. Call the developer. They have a right to repair it before you pursue legal options.


Heatilator fireplace fail We have an old heatilator fireplace in our 1960's house.  I called a well recommended Fireplace guy to replace the rotted out damper, and he inspected the fireplace and told me (and showed me) that there is no liner in my chimney.  He said that the heatilator box is shot and the fix is an insert and stainless steel liner.  We bought our house about a year ago and used the fireplace all winter, so I do want a working fireplace. He quoted me about $4300.

My questions are this:  What is your feedback for this scenario?  Is this the proper fix for the problem?  Is there an alternate workable fix that you can think of?

Thank you for your help.

I would call a chimney person to inspect the chimney and make recommendations to fix the chimney. He will be able to give you pricing on your repair options for the chimney. The cost of the chimney repairs will vary depending on the type of fuel you will be using and what the codes are for your area. Where I live the cost for a chimney repair for natural gas is much less than the cost to burn a solid fuel (wood) etc. Depending upon the condition of the present insert, you could see if it can be repaired.


water pump stops drawing water in few hours everyday I have a water pump which draws water from a creek to irrigate the lawn. It had run for four months without problems. Starting last week, I notice that the pump would draw water for few hours only. Then, it would stop drawing, though still running, water. I turn off the pump, wait till the next morning, turn on the pump, and it would work for few hours before stopping drawing water again.

What could be the problem?

You may have leaves or water creatures plugging the intake and the pump is overheating and shutting down. My farm used to have a 30 hp pump as I have water rights and every week or two I would have go pull the foot (a check valve in the water with a screen around it) and scrape off leaves and salamanders that got stuck. I now run a smaller pump with the same foot valve and screen and it doesn’t draw hard enough to plug up like it did with the big pump. So I would check for restrictions as that may be overheating the pump and a thermal safety may be protecting the motor.


Replacing dual light switch I’ve the following set of wires:

And this dual light switch:

The switch controls light and fan, how to connect it to those wires?

Update

The old witch was connected in the following manner:

The OLD UK color codes are red for hot - and black for neutral.
The NEW EU color codes are brown for hot - and blue for neutral.

You have some of each era of wire in your house.  I have no idea what happens after Brexit. For now we'll vote to Remain in EU color codes.

Get some brown and grey electrical tape

The reason to mark wire will become apparent at the very end, when the hookup instructions are simple.

The red wire with the piff of white paint on it is a hot-at-all-times wire. It needs to be marked with brown tape, e.g. wrap it around the wire a few times maybe 25mm back from the end of the wire.

The red wire with a U-shaped bend gets marked gray*.  That is switched-hot to your older lamp.

The blue wire currently "marked" with crumpled brown tape... mark that gray.  It is switched-hot to your newer lamp, though I am at a loss as to why they are using blue here - why not brown?  What is the brown doing that's so important it can't be used as a hot?  How does current to the lamp return?  I sense trouble here. I would go over this work with a fine-tooth comb.

Now on the switch, this is a tricky switch since it's designed to be used as a 2-way (USA 3-way).  Any 2(3)way can be used as a 1-way, simply by using common and 1 other terminal (not the third).  Your switch has very terse labeling saying "in that case, don't use L2".  So cover both L2 terminals with tape (just as a reminder, it doesn't serve any electrical purpose).

Now it wires just like your old switch.  I would sanity-check whether use of a jumper is OK (to be more precise, landing two wires on one lug), that would either need to be generally allowed by UK/EU Code or specifically allowed by that switch's instructions (meaning it was tested/listed for that use).  If it's not allowed, get a 4-terminal jumper block, create another brown jumper (buy more wire, don't cut this short thing in half), and put all four browns (including the red-taped-brown) into the 4-terminal block (including the 2 jumpers not yet connected). Regardless...

the COM and L1 at one end of the switch get brown
the COM and L1 at the other end of the switch get those remarked grays
If the wrong switch controls the wrong light, exchange grays.

If you are very fastidious, you can put the browns to the COM and the grays to L1s, but on a simple switch it really doesn't matter.

* Using the new EU color codes for hot wires: brown, black and gray, avoiding black because it conflicts with your old-wiring neutral wires.


Do the front end attachments from one lawn tractor brand work on another brand? I'm torn between two different brands' garden tractors; one has a 3-stage snowblower and other has a 2-stage, but that latter brand also has a manual front-end scoop and the former does not.

Are these sorts of accessories generally interchangeable?

The answer is maybe.

Some companies build tractors for many different brands. E.g. Husqvarna sells their own brand of riding mowers but also makes the current Craftsman line with only minor differences in the plastic body. So a lot of attachments between those two are interchangeable (and again, made by Husqvarna). I think they also make Poulan tractors.

MTD is another manufacturer that makes their own line in addition to others like Cub Cadet, Troy-Bilt, and the older Craftsman mowers.

John Deere I believe is not associated with other brands but I'm not sure.


My electric oven surface gets too hot when oven is on. Is this normal? The top of my electric coil stove gets so hot that to even leave a wooden spoon on it and pick it up will burn my hands . Is this normal?

The oven vents from a hole under one of the rear
burners. If the hole is obstructed or the bowl is
turned the wrong way, the heat will escape through
the stove top instead of the vent.
Are the drip pans covered with foil?
This will cause the top to get too hot because the oven heat cannot escape.
Are you using the correct size burner pans?
If they are too large, they trap heat.
Are the drip pans dark?
Always use bright finish pans for less heat
conduction.


Running furnace fan as cooling I have a regular furnace without a HVAC setup. When it's summer we usually have the fan running constantly. The furnace fan then runs at about half the speed as it would when the heat is one.

Recently I was at a friends house with a similar furnace and thermostat. When he sets his thermostat to cooling mode it would once in a while kick on the furnace fan at full speed without igniting the burners, thus pulling in cooler air from the basement.

Would this be a feature from the furnace or thermostat? Do I have to wire the thermostat in a certain way?

The common relatively (30 years old or newer)newer furnace have blowers with multi speed taps on the motor. If it is a variable speed furnace it has dip switches. Typically the higher speed is for cooling and the lower speed is for heating. Most furnaces go to the high speed for fan only operation, yours apparently goes to a lower speed. Without knowing the model number it is difficult to tell you exactly how to wire it. It may be as simple as changing the speed taps on your blower or as complicated as hooking an extra wire to the Y terminals of the circuit board and thermostat and tricking the furnace into thinking it is cooling.


Access 2nd-story burst hydronic pipe through ceiling or floor? We had a freeze which caused one or more bursts in our hydronic heating system pipes. We know that there is one burst in a radiator, but there may be others, according to the contractors. If there is a burst where the pipe goes under the hardwood floor, would the HVAC contractors likely access the pipe by cutting through the floor, or through the ceiling of the story below?

We ask so we can best prepare the house for the HVAC contractor visit. We'd like to be able put things on the floor above the pipes, but will keep the area below them clear.

(I did try to ask the HVAC service company, but was unable to speak to an actual contractor.)

Normally they would access from below - plaster/drywall is easier to both open and repair than flooring.


Washing machine: where to put laundry detergent? I noticed, that washing machines usually start with flushing the detergent from the dispenser drawer into the drum. So I wonder, what is the difference if I put the detergent

into the dispenser, or
into the drum?

Putting the detergent into the dispenser drawer allows the washing machine to make sure that the detergent is mixed with water before starting the cycle.

If you just throw the detergent into the drum it can get caught up in the clothing and some of it can end up never getting fully distributed throughout the wash water.

This is more of a problem with dry powdered detergent but can also be an issue using the concentrated HE type liquid detergent with the newest washers that purport to be high efficiency through the use of minimal water.

In the olden days I can remember my mother mixing the powered detergent in water before introducing it into the old style wringer washing machine she used in our basement. She did that for the same reasons as the washers at the time only had agitate on/off and no automatically controlled water fill and spin cycles.


UK Vented Heating Problem - F25 Error on Glow Worm Boiler We have had an intermittent problem over the last 4 months with our boiler cutting out with F22 and F25 errors (circulation fault/air in system etc...). Its a Glow worm Flexicom 18hx and has been installed for about 2 years. It would cut out every 10 minutes or so, and the way we would get it working again would be to turn off every radiator but one, and then reset the boiler multiple times (sometimes all day) until it stayed on with the one rad on. Then we would turn another radiator on, let it get hot, then another until they were all on.

It would then work flawlessly from then on for a few weeks. Then it would start over again with the errors, and we would go through the process again. Some plumbers we have had in for other things (while there were no problems) have said it sounds like the pump was on it's way out, and it did sound funky.

This weekend it started again and no matter what we did the boiler would not  stay on past 5 or 10 minutes. So I went and bought a new Grundfos pump, a drop in replacement for my old one and replaced it myself. However even with this new pump, the boiler is still crapping out.

It's a vented system with a hot water tank in the airing cupboard. The system has been drained down, all radiators bled, all bleed points by the tank and pump have been bled. The temp on the boiler is set to 39C. I have also manually opened both Honeywell valves by the pump.

Nothing is working and it is killing. What else can I possibly try?

Looks like quite a few people still come across this question so I thought I would post what the problem was in the hope it may help others.

After trying everything it could possibly be, including replacing the thermistor in the boiler, in the end it was a good old British Gas engineer that fixed the issue with a couple of air release valves (automatic bleed valves) on the two bleed points in our airing cupboard. The air was getting trapped in and around the pump and valves no matter how much manual bleeding we did.

The end result is a working central heating system, and the odd short sharp hiss coming from the cupboard once and a while.


What circuit does the samsung NE58H9970WS induction range need? I tried looking through samsungs install manuals. The manually helpfully says the oven should only plug into the circuit with the correct amps - however it doesn't say what those amps should be.

I did find on home depots website it says 40amps - but thats the ONLY site i've found that mentions the specific amps. A discussion on houzz seems to think when you add up all the elements and features on the oven that draw power, that you'd need at least 50 amps.

Would 40 amps be enough?

The documentation (PDF) says

  Use only a 3-conductor or a 4-conductor UL-listed range cord...

Range cords typically have NEMA 14-50 Plugs on the end, so you'll need a NEMA 14-50 receptacle to plug the range into.

The documentation also says.

  A range cord rated at 40 amps with 125/250 minimum volt range is required. A 50 amp range cord is not recommended but if used, it should be marked for use with nominal 1 3⁄8” diameter connection openings.

And that the range is rated at 8,750  -  16,500 watts, when connected to a 120/240 volt 3 wire circuit. National Electrical Code says that you'll need at least a 40 ampere breaker, and 8 AWG copper conductors and 10 AWG copper ground.

Here's some further reading explaining the actual code.


Two wire at light switch I have a 14-2 cable at the light switch in my room. White is my hot, black is my switch leg. At my light I have some older cloth braided sheathed wire. This also is a two wire nothing is labeled.
Assuming my cable from my switch splices in a box somewhere and then transitions to this cloth braided wire to my light, how was this light not running with a neutral? Could the neutral be picked up somewhere else maybe on a receptacle? The same two wires (cloth braided) at my light are the same two at my switch cable. I ran continuity and they for sure are the same two. To my understanding there was no neutral, correct? Trying to figure this out and it’s killing me cause i can’t find the box where the wires transition.

Other loads are getting you
Switched-hot@switch and switched-hot@lamp will read continuity because they actually are the same wire.
However, always-hot@switch and neutral@lamp will also read continuity because of other loads.
Presumably this is NOT a dedicated circuit just for that lamp.  So that means the circuit visits other lamps, other hardwired loads, other receptacles etc. If any of them are switched on, they create a relatively low resistance between always-hot and neutral.
So even though you have the circuit turned off, any loads attempting to draw current will create a continuity between always-hot and neutral.
However, if you use a proper voltmeter, the resistance will be detectable.  (mind you with incandescent lights and some digital power supplies, it can be lower than during operation; that's what inrush current is all about.)  For instance a heater drawing 12A will have -- let's see E=IR
 120V = 12A x R

R is 10, so 10 ohms.  That's quite a low resistance value, so a continuity detector would read continuity, but a real ohmmeter should show a true number.


What to do with old connections when moving outlet to dedicated circuit? I would like to remove one of the outlets from a circuit, and run a dedicated wire to it from a separate breaker, placing it on it's own circuit.

When I disconnect the existing circuit from the receptical, that will leave pigtails for the old circuit.

What do I do with the pigtails from the old circuit that the outlet will no longer be wired to?

-Do they need to stay in the box(which would mean they would be pigtailed in the box, but not connected to the outlet, and new wiring would also run into the box for the new circuit connected to the outlet)?

-Get pushed into the wall?

-What seems the safest thing: Remove the outlet, leave the pigtails in the box, and put a blank over it. Then cut a new hole for a new box for the receptacle and new wiring to go into.

Of the three options you mention, the first is fine; leave the wires in the box, spliced.

The second, no good at all. Splices must be in an accessible box.

Third, also fine. You can certainly blank up the existing box and run new.

I prefer a fourth option; Leave the existing receptacle alone and run a new circuit to a new box. WHY do you need the existing one removed?


How do I fix a wobbly mailbox post? This evening, I had the unfortunate luck of someone completely taking out my wooden mailbox with their side-view mirror, leaving only the post.  It was a total accident, and he was quite apologetic, and I had my mailbox back up in about an hour with the help of some 1 1/4" brads.

The mailbox is now firmly reassembled - the only trouble is that he knocked it hard enough that the post is now wobbly!  I'm not sure how deeply it's sunk in the ground, and from the way it wobbles, I'm pretty sure it's just a ~4"x4" wooden post sunk into the dirt.  What is the best way (where best in this case means quickest and cheapest, without being slipshod) to firmly fix that post in place?

You have a couple of options that I can think of, assuming that the ground around the post is fairly firm:

Wedge something in next to the post.  (thin rocks, cut down cedar shingles, etc.)
Fill in the gap next to the post by pouring in sand

If the ground's soft, you'll need to re-compact the soil around the post.  (and if it's not soft, you can always loosen it up, then re-compact it, as in some cases that may be the easier fix)


What sort of lock do I need? Would anybody know what sort of lock do I need based on this pictures? I'll dissemble it if that's impossible, but I wanted to avoid having to do the work twice and just buy the replacement.

I'm trying to change the keys, but also have a working bolt. This is in the UK.

That looks like a Euro cylinder lock. You can remove it by undoing one bolt in the edge of the door then insert the key, turn an eighth of a turn and pull the cylinder out. Then measure the lengths in the diagram below. Or just measure externally.

You should get an anti-snap lock which means you need to specify which of the measurements applies to the outside facing end.

P.S. The outside end of the lock cylinder should not project from the surface of the surrounding faceplate, get a shorter one if you can (though they are only available in 5mm increments). This affects security.

P.P.S. Locks vary a lot in price but this lock is protecting all your belongings so it is probably worth spending extra on a good lock. Look for the TS007 3 Star standard and kitemark.

Top: 35/35 British Oval cylinder with thumb-turn (see also Scandinavian oval cylinders)
Middle: 50/40 Euro-profile cylinder (AKA Euro-cylinder)
Bottom: 0/35 Euro-profile half-cylinder

Features:

The threaded hole is for the retaining screw.
The middle lock has the cam (actuator) in-line with the hull, in this position the whole cylinder can be pulled out (if the screw has been removed).
There are blanking plugs in the holes which contain the key-pins, driver-pins and springs. These particular cylinders are not designed to be re-keyable.
The reason I have these loose and not in use is because they have no anti-snap features and are mostly trivial to pick also.


How to connect Washing machine output water to WC seat? There is a small WC room where you cannot forward the washing machine output water elsewhere than WC seat (brand IDO). However, the current solution does not look nice, see the picture.
I am thinking if there any seats or solutions which can avoid such a connection.

WC is on the left-hand-side corner: the sink is in the opposite corner than the washing machine: the room is very small:

Get an extension pipe and an extension 'connector' for the current pipe
Get a 'U' guide for the dump pipe and run it to the toilet  or the sink

I'd run the 'extended' pipe behind the toilet and I'd hook it to the sink.


Hot water tank runs out of hot water What could be causing my daughter’s hot water tank to run out of hot water all of a sudden?  She’s lived in this house for 2 years and never had a problem. She’s on City water system. Pressure seems the same throughout house. What could this be?

First do as @Tyson has suggested and check the heating elements. If the elements are okay, the cold water inlet has a "dip tube" to insure that the new water introduced into the water heater when hot water is being used may have broken or worn out allowing the cold water to enter the top of the tank instead of going to the bottom of the tank. This would cause the tank to presumably run out of water quickly. To check this the inlet piping needs to be removed and the dip tube taken out and inspected. If you are paying a plumber to do this work, it may be better to just install a new hot water tank. I would compare the cost of repair to the cost of replacement to see which is the better value.


Is my gas supply likely to travel through the floor or ceiling? [UK] Our gas supply enters the property at the front and can be seen entering the wall cavity. The boiler is currently in the kitchen at the back of the property. To reach the kitchen is the gas pipe likely to be running within the solid ground floor of the house or travelling up the cavity and through the ceiling void between the ground and first floors? The house was built in the 1990s. Anyone know what was expected practice at the time? For clarity this is in the UK.

Can go below the ground floor, between the floors or through the roof.
All you have to do is find it.
I put one in and the gas copper pipe is in a 3" plastic tube actually buried in the new concrete floor.
My parents bungalow has the gas in the roof as the boiler is up there and the cooking stove in the kitch so the gas comes down behind the kitchen cabinets.


How can I open an overfilled drawer? Does anyone have any bright ideas for how to open a drawer that has become jammed shut because it has been filled up too much? I've had a look at the underside and can get at the bottom of the drawers but unscrewing the rails etc. is not an option because I can't get at them. Currently my best plan is to try and remove or cut out the hard board base of the drawer which would then need to be replaced. Any better ideas much appreciated.

Try to slide something flat in that is the width of the drawer. I've used a plastic flexible cutting board for this purpose before. Slide it open that 1/4 inch, and try to get the flat sheet to ride over whatever is jamming the drawer--you may have to nearly close the drawer with the sheet in place to get it up and over.

Then try to pull open the drawer and sheet at the same time, or leaving the sheet in place--whichever works.


How can I repair cracked stairs treads? I have a ~100 year old stairway that has a couple treads cracked down the middle.  One of them has a little give to it when stepping on it.  They would be difficult to replace entirely, and I am worried brining in a professional (who would be forced to bring our stairs up to code) would cost a fortune.

Watching this video from This Old House gave me the idea to drill into the treads and insert dowels to add support, then seal the crack with epoxy.  Would this work/be advisable?  Any other suggestions?

My first thought is a dowel, glued in place. This will stiffen it some, but leave the crack. And epoxy can be on the brittle side.

So next, I thought, why not use a metal dowel? It adds more stiffness, more strength, but you still have the crack.

Another idea was a piece of all thread rod. Screw it right into the hole. This will give a great deal of holding power, preventing the crack from widening. But still you have that crack to fill.

Finally, I realized the perfect solution. McFeeleys sells it, in the form of a LONG screw, that is threaded only on the bottom half. Pre-drill a hole to get it started, and countersink it, so you can put a plug in afterwards to hide it completely. Then use the threads to draw the crack together as the screw tightens down. Add some glue (or epoxy if you prefer) into the crack before this operation, and the board will stay solid forever.

You can buy these screws in various lengths as needed.

https://www.mcfeelys.com/1-4-in-x-6-1-2-fastenmaster-headlok-screws-w-spider-drive-bit-qty-250.html


Reproduce/build 4"x4" steel bases using brackets? I was searching for bases that will be used to anchor 4-ft x 4"x4" posts to concrete, and I saw this 12-gauge base for $18. I was also looking at these bases, but they seem a little flimsy.

I'm thinking that, in our case, it would be better to use heavy-duty brackets and anchor screws. Are there 4"x4" U-brackets?

How can I use brackets to reproduce these bases? The one I'd like to reproduce is this one because it's less visible. I was thinking of 4 2" "L" brackets, but I can't find them online. Something like this:

If you’re looking to build your own base, you could copy one of these.

If it’s a retrofit installation, you could use Simpson RPBZ. And if it needs to stand off concrete, add CPS.

If you don’t like the looks of the metal side plates, you can use Simpson CPTZ.

For maximum resistance against rotation, you can use Simpson MPBZ.


Can you re-wire an EU house with UK sockets? We've recently bought a house in Bulgaria needing renovating, can we rewire the house with UK sockets or even as spurs off the ring main as we intend on taking all our possessions with us, and furthermore feel that this may be a selling point in the future . Thanks Iain

There's no reason why not so long as you install everything to the local regulations and ensure proper fusing, etc. Ring Mains are a uniquely British circuit so you'd be looking at radial circuits so you would need to check the fusing (circuit breakers) are an appropriate rating for your sockets. Also bear in mind that if you have no local sockets, buying a new appliance with a Bulgarian plug on it is going to be frustrating.

You can fit whatever sockets you like to an installation so long as you do so safely in accordance with the local electrical regulations. That doesn't mean you can just replace all the sockets without checking how they are connected and protected. If you're not competent to follow the appropriate regulations, hire an electrician to do it.

Done properly with decent quality sockets (e.g. MK) this is going to be a lot safer than using those shonky travel adaptors etc.


How do I fill cracks between stone steps and mortar? I have a set of stone steps out front, built into a rubble-stone retaining wall on both sides. The steps are mortared into place with concrete. Over time a crack (~1/4" wide) has developed between the stones and the mortar. Obviously I don't want ice getting in there and making it worse.

What should I use to fill this? More concrete? Masonry cement? Silicone caulk?

First of all, I hope the mortar wasn't concrete. Concrete and mortar, while related, are two different things. Mortar is meant to be softer and give (rather than the brick or stone giving and thereby cracking).

The proper solution is to re-tuck-point the joint. That means chip/grind out the old mortar and put new mortar back in.

Alas, mortared steps are a maintenance nightmare and you'll likely be doing this forever at least bi-annually. I eventually caved and tore out our aging brick stairs (meaning half the brick was spalling and flaking, and weeds were in every joint) and replaced them with colored concrete. Not quite as rustic, but a whole lot safer (the old bricks were slick) and maintenance free.


How do I prepare this exterior concrete wall for paint? I have a an exterior concrete wall that had some loose paint and started scraping away. The paint in some sections was so loose that I went all the way to the bare concrete, peeling away over 6 layers of paint. I'm worried that If I paint the wall, it will still show the deep areas.

What should I do to cover this properly and what paint should I use?
Should I use some heavy primer coats on the bare concrete areas first then paint as normal or just use paint with included primer and paint it?

This is a portion of the exterior wall scraped to the bare cement.

More Pics

If there is six or seven layers of paint over the concrete then it will be sufficiently thick to be noticeable if you attempt to just scrape a single area and paint.  It sounds as if a number of different people over the years have been putting off the dreaded inevitable conclusion that you should completely scrape and remove paint from the entire surface and repaint it with a proper exterior enamel approved for concrete.

When scraping paint always make sure to wear a dust mask as one of those layers may be lead based paint and it would be extraordinarily bad to breathe this in.  When scraping keep children, animals and pregnant women away as they are particularly susceptible to ill effects from lead exposure.

Most hardware stores sell lead testing kits that will let you know if any of this scraped paint dust contains lead.  A word of caution though that if you happen to verify and know that lead is in the paint then if you ever go to sell the place that you would be legally obliged to add this information to the sellers disclosure.  Sometimes it is better to just treat the paint dust as if it contains lead and not know for your own sake.


Kitchen Water valve not shut off I search in google about how to shut off the water valve under the sink. And it say "turn counter-clockwise until it tight" and I did, but the water still running.

Remember "Lefty loosey righty tighty".  Turn the valve Clockwise (right) to close and counter clockwise (left) to open.


How to install a single pole humidity sensor on a 2 way switch setup Greetings everyone,

My bathroom fan is controlled by two switches, so wanted to install a humidity sensor on one of them.. but I cannot find a two way switch humidity sensor anywhere...  Could someone please advice me how I can then install this single pole humidity switch to this two way installation?

Your help is greatly appreciated,

Steven

That's a common problem - integrating the functionality of a smart device with a multi-way switch.   This is often confusion over what the desired behavior is; often confusing electronics with a butler.  Consider.

the other switch is in the downward position.  What do you want the smart device to do?
the other switch is in the upward position.  What do you want the smart device to do?
the smart device has turned the fan on, and you throw the other switch.  What do you want to happen?
the smart device has turned the fan OFF, and you throw the other switch.  What do you want to happen?
if you manually turn it on, should it continue running forever?
if you manually turn it off, obviously the smart device shouldn't immediately turn it back on.  Ok, so when should it go back to automatic operation?

See, it gets very messy very quickly.   Of course there are obvious answers that make sense to a butler, but how do you make electronics do that?   It's not that easy.  You are better off to choose one control method and stick with it.


Multi-Conductor Control Cable If I'm in need of running a 12 conductor, 16-20awg ventilation system control cable and 2 conductors need to be shielded, is it OK to run a single shielded cable?

Yes and possibly no. Considering it is an AC control - what lines need to be shielded ? The possibility exists that it will make no difference that they just need to be shielded from the externals (if the instructions call for a 12 conductor cable and tell you two of them need to be shielded - this would be odd - as cable is usually shielded as a bundle or all wires in the cable are shielded individually).

I am of the persuasion that this shielded cable would be acceptable as typically your wire runs internal to the bundling sheath are twisted to cancel out stray induction forces.


Need advice on removing fireplace gas starter pipe I have purchased a gas log kit to convert our wood-burning fireplace to a ceramic-log/gas fireplace. The fireplace currently has the following gas starter pipe in place:

Using a pipe wrench, I have tried to loosen both sides of the starter pipe, to the left and right of the splitter. It isn't budging. And I'm worried about knocking something loose underneath the brickwork (crawlspace).

My original plan was to remove the starter pipe and splitter, and then connect the new gas log set to the threaded gas line. But I can't seem to get anything to budge--and am also now questioning my overall plan in general.

Open to any advice, please! Thanks!!

I had the same problem when converting mine. The pipes have been subjected to repeated extreme heat and cooling cycles and will be difficult to unthread.

Your best bet is to soak with penetrating oil (slide some cardboard under prior to spraying so you don't soak the bricks). Soak repeatedly and tap the pipes frequently to help the oil penetrate into the threads. Always use two pipe wrenches, one to "back up" the fitting to reduce stresses on the rest of the assembly. You may also find that heating the fitting with a small propane torch will expand it a bit, facilitating removal (keep a water spray bottle handy in case the residual penetrating oil flames up, and never spray oil while the lit torch is near).


Receptacle upstream from GFCI with an issue causing GFCI to trip? I'm not sure what to do next, and I'm fairly inexperienced with troubleshooting home electrical issues. My investigation started with the GFCI receptacle on the kitchen counter receptacles tripping and not resetting. I replaced all the load receptacles to make sure wiring was good. I replaced and double checked the GFCI receptacle. Still tripping, even when the load was not even connected to the GFCI receptacle.
I eventually looked upstream from the GFCI and discovered that the receptacle just upstream from the GFCI was dead. I disconnected the receptacle to test the incoming voltage from the breaker. When I test the incoming line hot-to-ground I get a nice 123v, but when I test hot-to-neutral I get 109v. When I connect a receptacle to the line (not connecting the downstream load), the receptacle tester shows properly wired, but when I plug in a lamp to it, it flips to show "hot ground reversed". I've seen online that this really probably means "open neutral".
In posted two videos showing what I'm dealing with: https://photos.app.goo.gl/VGvCLDJdxsoww2sS9
So what next? Am I on to something? Does this mean that my neutral line is compromised somewhere in the walls and losing voltage? There are several wall receptacles upstream that are all still working fine. I appreciate any thoughts.
Seth

Solved! I kept moving further upstream from the GFCI once I detected the open neutral or lower voltage neutral, and I found the culprit receptacle. A working receptacle had clearly burned a bit on one of the neutral wires. I replaced it with a new receptacle and all the downstream voltages were now steady and equal on hot and neutral. The original GFCI receptacle worked and I'm all good now and the GFCI tests and resets properly!
It felt like I walked to the breaker panel in the garage 100 times while I was troubleshooting, so I got my steps in and learned a bit more about electrical work. Thanks for all the help from those who commented.


Elegant method of punching a hole through a wall to run cables? What is a clean method of running cables from one side of a wall to the other side, in a typical residential house? On one side of the wall will be a computer tower, and on the other side will the the user interface devices (monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc). Cables will be rarely added or removed, so it doesn't need to be convenient but must be possible.

There is a quick and easy way to do this, no special tools, $10 of parts, 20 minutes work if all goes well.

Cut in an old work low voltage mounting bracket on either side of the wall, back to back

and use a "duckbill" cover for a finished appearance, (the one in the photo is an Arlington CE1)

All you need to do this is

a level to make sure you position the bracket straight / square,
a pencil to mark the outline of the bracket,
a drywall saw to cut a hole for the bracket,
a screwdriver to screw the bracket in, and screw the duckbill on,
and optionally a studfinder to make sure you pick a clear hollow spot.

When you pick your spot, try to match the height of any nearby electrical receptacles.  Try to stay well away from studs.  You can use a studfinder, or look for the nails holding the base molding to the wall - those will be nailed into the studs.  You can also turn off the breaker for a receptacle and take the cover plate off, you'll probably see the box is nailed to a stud, and you can go on the other side of that stud.

When you cut the hole for the bracket, make a horizontal cut first so you can adjust if you miscalculate and hit a stud.  Don't plunge the saw in - take your time, use just a couple inches of the blade, just in case there's something behind there you don't want to hit.

edit After you cut in the first bracket, move any insulation and poke the drywall saw through to the other side, just enough to pierce the drywall so you can place the bracket on the other side of the wall.

If you stop using the pass-through some time in the future, you can just remove the duckbills and put blank covers on.


2 pole 15 amp breaker off of a 2 pole 20 amp breaker I have a 4 wire 220v circuit coming from my main box with the power running through a 2 pole 20 amp circuit breaker. I now need 2 110v circuits near that 220 line. I want to put in a load center where I break off the 2 110v circuits from the 220 and run that power through a 2 pole 15 amp circuit breaker. In code? Sound safe?

Yes, you can change this branch circuit into a feeder.  Feeders supply subpanels.

Note that feeders do not supply branch circuit loads, which means your existing 20A load will need to be added to this subpanel, weird though that may be.

So your new subpanel will need:  2 spaces for a 2-pole breaker for existing 20A/240V load, and 1 space x 2 for the 120V/15A circuits.  They don't need to be on a 2-pole breaker, unless they share a neutral.

Now, they do make 2-space/4-circuit panels, but those rely on "double-stuff" breakers which are obsolete because they do not support AFCI, which has been required on most circuits since NEC 2014.  Also, some panels do not make the special breaker you'd need (double tied quadplex).  Because of all this, you need to plan a full space for each circuit. Beyond that, you may also want expansion room. Here's what you need in a panel.

Bus rating >= 20A. (This won't be a problem)
Main breaker is required if this is in an outbuilding. Must be >= 20A
Main breaker optional otherwise.  Must be >= 20A
Spaces >= 4 (often marketed as >= 8 circuits)
Accessory ground bar (not included in every panel) *

A 6-space/60A is fine.  A 40-space/200A is fine.  Whatever you have lying around.

You must separate neutral and ground in the subpanel.

You attach the existing 12/3 cable to the ground bar, neutral bar, and 2 main lugs or main breaker.

Fit a 20A 2-pole breaker in this panel, and run cable to your existing load.

Fit either a 15A 2-pole breaker, or two 15A single breakers.  Attach your 120V loads there.

Neutral and ground go on separate bars.  Make the neutral wire long enough to reach the breaker, as this will be required for any future AFCI/GFCI installation.

*. Actually in your case, because of the very small size of the panel, you can simply wire-nut all neutrals together and have no neutral bar at all.   That lets you re-task the bar in the panel to be the ground bar.  No accessory ground bar needed! This would not work with plug-on-neutral panels.


Winter Oil for 4-stroke Engine I live in Chicago where the night-temperature averages in low 20-degrees-fahrenheit and last year’s (2019) record low went to 23-degrees below zero. To prepare for another (possible) year of low temperature, I replaced the engine oil in my generator and snow-blower with synthetic 5w-30 (API SN).

Questions:

Is synthetic 5w-30 good enough or should I use synthetic 0w-30 instead?
What is the lowest (reasonable low) temperature that synthetic 5w-30 can handle?
Can I leave synthetic 5w-30 over summer since (theoretical) specifications say that it can be used for temperatures as high as 90-degrees-Fahrenheit
What is the downside of synthetic 5w-30 compared to synthetic 10w-30

(BTW, my carburetor is perfectly clean and I have no problem starting at around 30-degrees-Fahrenheit)

Thanks.

Ideally the manufacturer has engineers that put a lot of thought into this, and the manual spells out all the recommendations for even the most extreme operating conditions.  But, lots of times you don't get that, it just says "use 10W40" and that's it.

If I think my operating conditions are likely to be way out of what the manufacturer's recommendations account for, I might deviate from those recommendations.  I might use a more viscous oil to deal with the heat, or less viscous oil to deal with the cold.  Your conditions in Chicago are typical for huge parts of the country, I bet the manufacturer's recommendations are fine for Chicago.  I'd probably leave well enough alone and stick to the recommendation.

If the engine has a lot of miles / hours, and seems to have significant wear, I do switch to something a little more viscous.  If a car is burning more than say a quart between oil changes I will suspect it's worn.  I figure an engine with some wear is a little looser and will blow by a little more oil (past the pistons into the combustion chamber) so a more viscous oil might make sense, like switching from 10w30 to 20W50, especially in the summer months.  I have seen this make a measureable difference many times with high mileage cars.

I haven't really seen the extra viscosity make much of a difference in starting in cold weather.  I think the drag you get from viscous oil is pretty minor, better to focus on a good quality battery with adequate cold cranking amps and good cold weather performance if you're concerned about hard starts in cold weather.


How do I seal my bedroom door for soundproofing/reduction? I have a hollow bedroom door in my apartment. I can’t make any modifications to the door that are permanent—nor can I replace it.

Anyone outside the room can hear an interior conversation with crystal clarity.

There are gaps (especially a massive one at the bottom)—I’m wondering the best way to completely and utterly seal this room for sound purposes (while also allowing it to be a usable door).

Most advice I’ve seen advocated for foam weatherproofing—but foam apparently sucks at blocking sound. I’m also wondering if there’s something I can hang or put on my door to stop sound from going out.

What would y’all recommend?

Cut a piece of wood as a filler strip to fill the gap at the bottom of the door. Screw it to the bottom of the door, and when you remove it nobody will see the screw holes since they're on the bottom of the door.

Next add adhesive backed smoke gasket to to top and sides of the door jamb.

Finally, if you still need additional sound proofing, you can put egg crate foam on the inside of the door. I'm not sure how to temporarily attach it though.


Sagging gate: tools to adjust anchor I'm trying to fix our wooden gate, which isn't closing well as it is sagging. I'd like to fix it by pushing the anchor inwards, but I don't know which tools to help me do that. I tried hammering it, but it is too hard and it doesn't move at all.

The upper anchor (first image) does not have an actual bolt to help me adjust it, whereas the lower one (second image) has it.

Two questions:

What tools would you recommend to do the job of pushing the upper anchor inwards?
Is it worth considering replacing the upper anchor with an anchor like the lower one (with a bolt) to help any future adjustments?

The simplest solution I can think of depends upon whether the upper hinge point is threaded or not. If it is threaded, then get a cheater bar, a piece of pipe big enough to fit around the end of the hinge, and give the hinge a twist until the gate no longer sags. If it is a pounded in hinge, get a big hammer.

If that doesn't work, replace the upper hinge with an adjustable one or adjust the lower hinge so that it pokes out more.


How much maintenance should I budget for a historic home? We've been considering some historic homes as a future residence, but one of our concerns is how much to budget annually for long-term maintenance and repairs.  Let's use this late 1800's Victorian with about 3,700 finished square feet as an example:

Assume there are presently no major repairs needed or pending and that it has been very well maintained.  For more details about the home, see here.

As someone with a relatively newer house (1930s), and have experience in dealing with issues of an 1800s home (my grandmother's), there are a few things to consider which can dramatically affect your annual expenses:

When (if ever) were the following replaced or upgraded:

Attic insulation
Wall insulation
Heating system
Air conditioning (if present)
Roof
Exterior painted
Septic system (if present)
Well pump (if present)
Plumbing
Electrical
Windows
Drainage
Fence
Deck

In my house, I had the seller convert all of the electrical outlets to three prong / grounded, but the cast iron pipes started giving up the ghost a few yers back and started springing pinhole leaks that required replumbing the whole basement.

I'm currently in the situation where I've been dragging my feet on getting the walls insulated; all of the places I've contacted want to cut a slot from the inside to inject the insulation, but I've got older wallpaper a room that I actually like, and plaster walls which I know are a pain the patch properly. (none wanted to pull off the top row of wooden siding and inject from the outside).  Lack of wall insulation and single-paned windows, combined with an old oil burner means that I'm easily paying 2-3x as much to heat my house in the winter as compared to similar sized houses in my area.

I wouldn't recommend anyone buy an older home unless they're prepared to work on it themselves.  You'll have odd things come up as things just start showing their age (eg, boards on the porch that lose strength from age), stuff that needs to be modernized (replace older bathroom fans or light fixtures).  I'd also recommend putting away money for a housing fund every month, so that should something significant need replacing, you've got a few thousand saved that you can tap into.  My neighbors recently had to replace their fuel oil tanks, which was a couple of thousand dollars; my mom had to have their septic tank dug up.  Most of my emergencies have been plumbing related.  You may not be able to do all of these items yourself, so will want to have enough of a cushion to call in professionals if necessary.

update: added 'fence' and 'deck' to the list ... my neighbor's fence had a section rip out in a high wind about a week or two ago (4x4 was set straight into the dirt, and had rotted at the base); had to redo my mom's deck last summer as it seems that whoever set it had dropped cinderblocks in a hole, then set the pillars on top, so it was only latterally supported by dirt).


Recommended moisture content for painting bare wood What is the recommended substrate moisture content for painting or priming bare wood (Douglas Fir - rough cut T1-11)?

I figured it out. 12% is ideal (a few percent less for dry climates, and a few more for wet climates). Never paint on anything with 20% or more.

I've worked on several homes with bad flaking paint. One time I thoroughly scraped and let dry in hot weather for a week, and used high quality primer and paint, only to be scraping flaking paint again in 4 years.

I've consulted several sources on the problem and gotten mixed advice. Some said that it was inherent in wood siding, but I've seen 15+ year old painted siding in the same weather conditions without a single flake. Someone else said that it was a bad first paint job, and the siding is water logged, and that once the siding is water logged, it's ruined and will have to be repainted every 3-5 years. The most persuasive and logical answer that I found, in my opinion, is that some previous paint job was done with too high a moisture content in the wood, and every subsequent paint job will suffer from a slowly (3-5 yr at a time) peeling problem. The only way to fix it without replacing the siding is to remove all the paint with stripper and/or pressure washing and allow to dry to a proper moisture content before priming.


How can I fix a leaking outdoor faucet with broken threads? We bought a house recently. The backyard has a faucet that is leaking (at the connection between pipe and faucet). looks like the previous owner tried to fix it too and in the process did the following:

Bent/Mangled the water pipe (Looks like I have to tear the wall to fix this. So, wont fix this ever)
Broke the threads from the water pipe to the faucet (probably)
Broke the stucco off the wall (I wont fix this now)

I want to remove the faucet and put some plumbers tape. When I try to remove the faucet, it just goes round and round. It does not come out because the threads of the pipe are gone. Any suggestions? How can I fix the leak without removing the faucet?

As the comments have pointed out, that is a compression fitting and not a threaded fitting.  Removing it should be relatively easy.  Loosen the nut by holding the valve with one wrench and turning the nut with another.  Once it is loose enough, the valve should just pull off the pipe.

You will have to examine the exposed portion of pipe once you remove the valve to determine if you can re-use the pipe and valve as-is or if you need to cut it inside and install a new stub that you can then install a new valve on.  I doubt you will be able to re-use it (its damaged already, hence the leak), so in all likelihood, you will have to replace it.  If you do replace it, get a ball valve (1/4 turn) as they are more reliable and easier to operate.

Hopefuly you have an inside shutoff valve for this.  If you don't, you will want to ensure you have everything you need before starting this project as the water to your house will be off. If you do have a shutoff then just close it and you can take as much time as you'd like.

Note that you should not use pipe tape or dope on compressing fittings.


Hairline crack in concrete driveway Should I do anything about this? The crack is about 1/16 inch and four or five feet long and first appeared mid-winter. The driveway was poured just over a year before the crack appeared.

I've heard there is a product that is water like and seeps into the crack to prevent water getting in and widening the crack once winter sets in but I haven't gone to the hardware store to look for it.

There are 2 types of concrete: Concrete that that is cracked and concrete that will crack.

There are several products that work well to seal cracks. Oover the years I have found the types that stay flexible to be the best —especially if in a region that has low winter temps below 25F.  Below that temperature, I find water will cause more damage if not sealed.


Can an electrician with 16th edition rules do work in anybody's home? I did an elim course taking city and guilds for the 16th edition electrical installation and maintenance. Can I still do work in people's houses without having to give certificates the types of work?

I want to add or move sockets, lighting and install new consumer units. Can I do this without having to get a permit as well?

You can do work in people's houses, but you must certify your work to the current (Eighteenth) Edition of the Wiring Regulations. This is a legal requirement under part P of the Building Regulations in England. (Wales and Scotland have similar provisions.) The Wiring Regulations require either a Minor Works Certificate, or a Design Installation and Test Certificate for all wiring work.
If you carry out notifiable work such as installing new circuits, working in a kitchen, or installing a new consumer unit, in a dwelling then you must either notify the work to Building Control or be a member of a self-certification scheme such as NICEIC, NAPIT etc.

If you notify the work to Building Control they may require the certificates to be completed by a person with a current qualification. If you wish to apply to be a member of a self-certification scheme they will require you to have current qualifications or to be supervised by a qualified supervisor.

Small jobs which are non-notificable must still be certificated by you to the current Regulations and the certificate supplied to the customer. Forms of certificates are prescribed by the regulations and samples are available from IET.

The above applies to dwellings (including outbuildings and gardens). If you are working in non-domestic buildings then the notification requirement does not apply, but the Electricity at Work Regulations do (they would apply to you as a worker, and to your client as a business) and they would require a person to be competent. Evidence of competence is your qualification. For some work a 16th Edition qualification may remain satisfactory evidence of competence, for others it will not. For example, the Eighteenth Edition requires consideration of surge protection in designing an installation, and requirements for RCDs to all sockets and all concealed wiring even in permitted zones has changed since 16th Edition expired in 2004.


refinishing an old coffee table I have never worked with wood before, and this is going to be my first DIY wood project. I did a significant amount of research, but still have questions as I don't want to damage a piece of furniture I am working on.

I have an old solid wood  coffee table. It has scratches and black rings, so I decided to refinish it. In my understanding, the workflow is as follows:

Strip off the old finish
Remove the residue using a stripping pad soaked in mineral spirits.
Bleach the top to get rid of the black rings.
Sand the table.
Apply a pre-stain conditioner
Stain
Apply a finish. Sand after each coat.

My questions are as follows:

Is my understanding correct?
Which steps are optional?
Would you recommend to sand manually or use an orbital sander?
What type of finish should I apply if I want to preserve the matte look of the table?

I appreciate your help and apologize if some of questions sound silly.

Let me start by saying, I have refinished my share of furniture. What kind of top coat is that? To me it just looks stained and maybe shellac. How old is it may determine the top coat. Are the black rings on the top coat?
First, I would not use stripper. Makes more of a mess than worth it. I would just clean it with mineral spirits, let dry and sand. You can use a random orbital or sheet orbital is ok to use during resurfacing but ensure to progress threw the various grits. You can use pre-stain conditioner but that is usually for new wood, not refinishing, unless you have removed all of the stain (very hard to do) and you are doing a major color change. I.E. Dark to light or light to dark. Depending on what you use, you do not sand after each coat of finish only fine steel wool or very fine sand paper (hand sand only). Top coat finish is a personal preference. I use oil-based polyurethane for all of my projects because of the durability, takes a little longer but worth the effort.
I hope I helped and good luck!


Cover/block square Schluter Kerdi tile-in shower drain I'm looking to buy a square Schluter Kerdi tile-in shower drain for my current bathroom project. However, there are times when I would like to be able to plug this drain and allow some water to accumulate in the bottom of the shower.
I can't easily find any way to plug this square drain. Help?!

Why not simply use a large flat sink stopper?

 Images and links for illustration only, not an endorsement of goods or sources.


How far out off the wall framing do gypsum panels for the ceiling need to be? How many inches does fire drywall need to be from wall out on ceiling?

Drywall (or sheetrock) on the ceiling is installed tight against the wall framing with hopefully less than 1/2" gap. Any gap larger than this removes the support you'll provide later.

The drywall installed on the walls is next installed on the top half of the wall pressed against the ceiling drywall which gives it support. Then the bottom half of the drywall on the walls is install tight against the board above with joints offset. Any gap at the floor is covered with trim.


Leaking sink drain. Possible defective drain assembly? I replaced the drain on my bathroom sink, but I'm getting a slow leak when draining water.  I've checked and re-checked the P-trap, the rubber gasket at the bottom of the sink, and the wall drainpipe.  The water is definitely oozing through the seam between the brass body around the stopper joint and the drain pipe below.
I was thinking of trying to apply some silicone to that seam.  Would I be better off replacing the drain assembly completely?

Teflon thread sealant would be my first choice, with pipe dope running second.
Unscrew the pipe from the brass fitting, clean up the threads, apply the sealant and reassemble.
The Teflon sealant also acts as a lubricant making it easier to tighten the connection.


Why does my garden hose quick release keep popping apart? I recently bought a new garden hose.  The hose seems to connect snugly to the existing fitting on the tap, but it leaks a bit and as soon as the water pressure in the hose goes above a trickle, it pops off.  Any idea what's wrong or how to fix it?

Note that the loose plastic sleeve in the 2nd picture doesn't go all the way up, but as far as I can tell it's not meant to provide a seal anyway.  Also, I have no idea what either side of the hose/fitting are called, which makes searching the Internets a bit difficult.

A hasty assessment: it is probably because it's a piece of junk.  Give it back.  I could blame pilot error: you are supposed to push it on until it clicks at which point it's locked on.   You are probably not pushing hard enough.   But the entire point of click-lock fittings is to be easy and foolproof.  If the thing is amenable to having you THINK it's on, but it isn't locked, then it is definitively junk, failing to provide the one thing that distinguishes it from an ordinary screw-on hose.   Alternatively, it may be a total piece of junk where you are in fact locking it but the cheap plastic parts are incapable of holding under normal water pressure.  Either way, give it back.
Here, for comparison, are fittings that are increasingly better quality than yours.  A reasonable all-plastic one, a "metal where it counts" one, and an all-metal one.  Any of these would be fine.   In your example, the bib adapter looks so flimsy it's bound to crack and fall off the spout within a week if you ever get it to actually hold.
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6 wire doorbell chime installation with Google Nest doorbell I'm trying to install a Google Nest doorbell. I opened up the doorbell chime, and it looks nothing like the diagrams I've found online. I have no clue how to install the chime connector, which is supposed to be the first step of installation.

Currently there is a working front and back doorbell.

Please see the diagram below:

There are 6 wires total: 3 white, 3 black. There are 4 screws, labeled 0, 1, 2, and T. The 3 white wires are all going to 0.

Any help would be appreciated in knowing how to install this, or just knowing what the screw numbers mean. Thanks!

Does your doorchime do a ding-dong for one door, and a dong for the other door? If so, it looks very similar to the wiring here:

Friedland Doorbell Manual

0 (top left) is common and not connected to anything inside the chime

T or 3 is transformer (which Google Nest may call TRANS)

1 is push for door 1 (which Google Nest may call FRONT)

2 is push for door 2 (or REAR, leave this wire connected to 2)

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9247327?hl=en


Trying to Locate the Common or C Connector I am trying to hook up a new Honeywell 9580 my old thermostat used batteries and now the new one is asking for a common cable.  I started to follow the instructions upstairs setup the Green as the Common.  Then went down to my furnace only to find out that all I am seeing is RWGY and two blank spaces where the Thermostat wires were supposed to be switched around.  I have googled online looking for more info on my furnace but it looks as if all information has been erased for the company other than a lawsuit over pipes.  Any help to acheive the required Common would be greatly appriciated.  I know I will be bypassing the fan control but if I can get this two work I will order the Venstar wire adaptor.  As these adapters can only be ordered online I need to know I can located the C wire first.

The C wire should be the grounded terminal on the transformer.

You can confirm this by measuring AC voltage between the R terminal on the board, and the grounded terminal of the transformer.  You should measure somewhere around 24 volts.

Inside the unit, look for the place where a bunch of green wires meet up with a white wire, and attach to the frame of the unit.  Follow the white wire back to the transformer.   Attach you new C wire, to a convenient place along that path.


How to best measure the inside gap of stairs I’ve purchased sone pre-molded stair caps with integrated flooring to match my basement. They are expensive and i need to ensure I make the right cut. I’ve been struggling to accurately measure this gap. I have thought about getting some cheap plywood and measuring and cutting to create a template and use that to minimize any cutting errors. Looking for ideas to best do this please.

I would measure the front and the back of each stair with a tape measure.   If they are the same you are in luck and you don't really need to do much other than make your cut.
If it is the end of summer where you live I would cut these pretty tight.   You should have to knock them into place - not forcefully.   If it is the end of winter however I would leave a 1/8" gap - 1/16" on each side to allow for expansion.
If you stairs are not square I wouldn't rely on a template - I would measure and map out each tread.   In years of doing houses I have ran into this twice out of 100+... and both times I could have told you that there were issue (settling caused stairs to be completely off level on older historic house).


When I run a device with a 15 amp motor, why doesn't the 15 amp breaker trip when I flip on a light on the same circuit? If I turn on a light bulb while running a 15 amp saw, the breaker is likely to not trip despite pulling more than 15 amps (eg. 15.54 amps is being pulled with a 60 watt bulb).

One of three things is happening is my guess, either:

a) The 15 amp motors and claimed current used is overstated and I'm not really using more than 15 amps or

b) Breakers actually trip beyond their 15 amps rating. Perhaps something like 17 amps of current will actually make it trip?

c) The 15 amp motor w/ light bulb actually WILL trip the breaker, but it's just going to take "a while" for the bimetal in the breaker to heat up enough to trip.

The motor rating on the saw is the FLA (full load amperage). With the saw running without a load (cutting the material is the load) the saw will not be pulling the full load amperage. Many small motors are rated at peak draw (closed to locked rotor current) the motor never draws this amount until the motor is almost stalled. The "phony FLA" is used on air compressors, vacuum cleaners, table saws and many hand tools to get the buyer to pick that manufacturer If the actual current draw is measured you might find the saw is only drawing 1/2 the current listed on the name plate. A true 120v 1 HP motor FLA is listed as 16 amps This size motor would trip a 15 amp breaker (on start up even tripping a 20 amp breaker) because the starting current is usually 2-4 times the FLA for the time required to get to speed. I would doubt that your breaker is defective but the only way to tell with certainty is to measure the actual current on the branch circuit.


Clarification on sharing a neutral for 2 circuits This is a followup question to this answer

I plan to do something quite similar to the diagram Tester101 posted. I will pull 3-wire (10/3+g) into a junction box and then pull 2 separate 2 wires (12/2+g) from the J box to GFCI outlets. Here are the things I am looking for clarification on...

--Can I run two 20amp circuits with the above configuration?

--If so, will the dual pole breaker be labeled "40 amp" back at the panel? (like a large appliance 240v breaker, or is there some other kind of dual pole breaker that I should look for?)

Thanks!

You'll use a double pole 20 ampere breaker. It will have two handles that are tied together, and will say "20" on the handles.

It should look similar to this...

(source: homedepot.com)

I'm not sure why you're planning to run 10 AWG conductors, but typically 20 ampere circuits only require 12 AWG conductors.


How to Turn Off Water Softener Recharge Schedule I have a GE GXSF40H water softener in use at my cottage.

It automatically recharges overnight.

I want to prevent it from doing that (and just use the manual recharge feature) as we're typically only at our cottage on weekends. I prefer a manual recharge so as to not waste salt during the week when no water is in use. I know how to do a manual recharge, but I can't find any instruction on how to prevent the scheduled automatic nightly recharge.

The manual (http://pdfstream.manualsonline.com/d/dfe8864c-63f3-4dd7-8f62-9d91804242f8.pdf) doesn't specify how to do that.

Does anyone know how to accomplish this (or know if it's even possible?)

No, I owned GE GXSF40H, and it recharge every night and wasted 55 Gallons/day. This will cost 3 time higher to change water heater every 6 years (EXP:$600 / gas water heater /6 year x 3= $1800.  and cost for 55G/Day x 365 days = 20,075 Gallons = 26.8 HCF x $4= $108 x6 years =$644 + salt ?)
I don't see to save any money to use water softener!


How to properly install allure ultra vinyl planks? I'm considering installing Allure ultra planking in my basement over asbestos tile floor. No moisture problems and I did the saran wrap test and don't see any droplets at all.

While researching how to install it I can't wrap my head around what happens when you cut a piece.  It says the "simplefit locking edge" on the short side should stay on the left.  But what happens when you cut a piece?  Do you have to throw away what is cut that doesn't have the edge on the left side anymore? It seems like there's a lot of waste produced.  I'll ask the home depot guys about it but want to be prepared in case I get the wrong person at HD.

Also, any tips on cutting it lengthwise if I need to?

Sorry, I've never installed flooring before.  Thanks in advance.

Cutting planks to length at the end of a row, you just need to score the laminate layer well and then bend the plank backwards.  It will snap along the score.  I used a rotary cutter that looked like a pizza cutter and it worked well.  Give it a few hard passes to score it deeply.

On rows, there is very little waste.  What you trim off one row you can use to start the next row (as long as the piece is at least 12" long).  That staggers the seams.

Each row interlocks with the previous row.  When you reach the last row at the end of a room, or a bump-out, where a full width plank is too wide for the remaining space, you trim the plank to the required width on the "leading" edge that does not interlock with the previous row (you trim off what doesn't fit in the remaining space).  You leave a small gap to the wall for expansion that gets covered by molding.

Note that it is intended to leave an expansion gap around the outer edge. The trimmed edges won't be perfectly clean, like the factory edge on the plank, and row to row won't be a perfectly even edge.  The system is designed for DIYers.  The edges all get hidden by coordinated quarter-round molding.  If you end at a doorway, there are coordinated transition strips.  So it all looks clean and finished when you're done.

Trim the width the same way--score the laminate side well and then bend the plank backwards along the score.  If you have a countertop or piece of lumber, line up the score along the edge of the countertop or board, and fold the waste edge down.  Try to fold it evenly until the whole length of the score is creased, then you can give it a sharper fold.  The waste edge will snap off.

If you have to "notch out" a corner, like a section of wall adjacent to a doorway, where a portion of the plank will be full width and a portion will be partial width, use a utility knife to cut all the way through the plank for the short cut.  The long score will then be free to bend to snap it off.

It is basically waste, some fraction of one row per room.


What material can I use as a temporary window pane? I may have a renter moving into a condo in a couple of weeks. I already ordered a full window replacement for the bedroom. Since a pane of glass (3' x 4') is missing, I'm thinking to put on a plastic or glass like material just for a couple of weeks instead of wasting $150 for a real pane of glass and throw it away after two weeks. Of course this will happen with the tenant's consent.

Is there material like that? Where can I buy it?

You can buy big sheets of plexi at big-box hardware stores, or online cut to size. A simple websearch for "plexiglass sheet" turned up a large number of wholesalers.

However, the cost may surprise you; a 36" x 48" x 1/4" sheet was $100 at the random place I checked.

Still, afterward you'll have a huge piece of very durable plexiglass that you could use for something else.


If water level is rising on its own on oil heating unit instead of going down, could I have a leak? Or something worse? If water level is rising instead of lowering on oil heater unit, is there a leak? Could something worse happen. Oil man had to drain water to lower water, and said to watch it to make sure it doesn't rise again. Any answers much appreciated ☺

The two most common causes are:

Defective auto-fill valve (most common in steam systems).

The fill valve is similar to a toilet fill valve where a float ball
raises or lowers with the level of the water maintaining correct
levels.
Leaking heating coil.

Also, a leaking coil within a tank-less or indirect domestic water
heater. The coil sits in the furnace and if it leaks, municipal
water collects within the furnace, causing an overfilled condition.


Splitting one main low voltage power line into two I'm installing under cabinet lighting and haven't worked with low voltage wire before and trying to determine the best option. I'm using 18 gauge wire (stranded) to wire LED lights. In my particular situation, I have my wires coming from the power supply under one of the middle cabinets. I have about 4 more feet on the right side than on the left, so to protect against potential voltage drop, I want to run the wire from the power supply straight up, and then from that wire, connect to two separate runs (one for the left side and one for the right). My question is how to best connect the wires. I was initially thinking of using wire nuts to connect them - for example, the two positive wires on each run tied in with the positive wire from the power supply...so 3 positive wires wire nutted together. Same with the negative wires. I then read something where I'm now a little concerned in using wire nuts for stranded wire. If I do end up going that route, I'll also wrap electric tape around the nuts to help prevent any possible movement. And yes, I have nuts for the proper gauge, but I think those are always rated for solid and not stranded, but I could be wrong.

The other consideration I had was heat-shrink butt splices, but it would basically be 1 wire in one side and two wires in the other. This may be problematic because the best size I can find is 16-14 gauge. That would work I think for the side with the two 18 gauge wires going in, but maybe not for the side with just one 18 gauge wire.

Hopefully this makes sense. Any suggestions on this?

Thanks!

Chris

I use stranded wire for everything and I work in voltages up to 480.  Wire nuts are my main splicing technique.  Never had a problem nor had any reason to think I might.   For 3#18 blue wire nuts are ideal.

If you are worried about voltage drop, up your wire size.  Due to the strange economics of mass produced wire, #14 is barely any more expensive than #18.  For going to individual strips I use #20 or #22 because I want delicate wires that are flexible so I don't put too much strain on the strip proper.   But I splice up to heavier stuff within a foot or two.


Does "inverter generator" mean it is a "pure sine wave" generator? I know that an inverter alone can be a "modified sine wave" or "pure sine wave", but the price difference is huge. Does this apply to "inverter generators"?

When these companies market it as "inverter generator", does it mean that it is pure sine wave?  I am looking at this Ryobi Bluetooth 2300-Watt (RYi2300BTA) generator, but there is no information/spec on their web site or owner's manual  that I can confirm if this is pure sine wave or not. Only Honda specifically says it's pure sine wave.

Most inverter generators are a "good enough" sine wave.
I think you're missing the point of inverter generators. The root problem is that regular gas generators cannot produce a "clean" sine wave because they change speeds slightly during operation. When the speed changes, the wave changes slightly. This isn't a problem for regular electrical devices like incandescent lights, power tools, "basic" refrigerators, etc. They merely need the flow, not so much the sine wave.
Anything in the "consumer electronics" category, however, is not so lucky. Most of these devices rely on the sine wave for timing, and normal generators won't cut it here. I remember trying to watch TV on a conventional generator after a hurricane a couple of decades ago. The sound was fine, but the tube TV couldn't fill the whole screen. The TV ran fine once power was restored.
Inverters fix the issue by inverting DC to AC. As the output is consistent, consumer electronics will run relatively well on them. That's the main reason you buy these types of generators. If consumer electronics won't run on them, they're overpriced regular generators.
"Pure Sine Wave" seems to be a marketing term
Having looked at several inverter generators, "pure" and "clean" are only sparsely used. This Champion generator says

Clean Power for Sensitive Electronics. Includes two 120V 20A household outlets with clean electricity (less than 3% THD)

This pricey Briggs and Stratton generator doesn't mention sine waves, clean or THD. It merely says

The inverter generator technology supplies consistent power for essential home appliances, including sensitive electronics.

And finally, your Ryobi RYi2300BTA with it's "pure sine wave"

THD   < 5%

The real spec to pay attention to is Total Harmonic Distortion
Total Harmonic Distortion is a heavy concept, but it is a real metric

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) is the stated measurement related to the quality of electricity.The amount of THD will influence how your equipment may respond or perform.
When power quality is discussed, you will hear terms like “clean electricity” and sine wave power. What these refer to is the lower harmonic distortion of the electrical AC wave and the ability to take  square wave generated electrical power and smooth the edges to produce a phase that is smoother and less square.
“Clean electricity” is considered good with  a THD of less than 6% and often stated or promoted at 5% or less.

Sadly, most marketing ignores this metric. They all likely refer to a THD of less than 5%.


How can I remove a plank from the middle of the field? My attic has tongue and groove planking down as the floor, and I need to do some work up there. I'd like to only remove a couple planks in the middle of the field, rather than pulling up half the floor to get to the point where I need access.

The planks are nailed down (face nailed), and there is not a large enough gap between them to get any type of saw in to cut the tongues (nothing thicker than a razor will fit). The floor will have to be put back together when I'm done, so I don't want to do too much damage when removing the boards.

How can I remove a few boards in the middle of the floor, without damaging any of the planks (too bad)?

If you really want to try to save the plank, BMitch's instructions for removal are spot on but instead of a circular saw, get yourself one of these babies:

The square blade shown here will give you clean end cuts, and for your long run, this blade will be your friend:

You'll get very straight, TIGHT cut lines along the seams, be practically invisible when all is back in place.


How can I move a tub drain plunger, if the linkage chain is missing? The broken linkage chain was removed from our tub a couple of years ago. All has been good until now the plunger has fallen shut and the water drains v e r y, v e r y  s l o w l y. any suggestions how to get it unstuck? I don't even need it to be there are all, so if it can be remove that is just as well.

Typically these aren't chains at all, but a rod in two pieces. See link provided by Getterdun. If you can grab that lower piece, you can pull it up and completely remove the stopper, by removing the overflow cover.

I've done this on several tubs over the years, and simply used a rubber stopper in the tub when needed. Newer tubs typically don't use this lever and rod, but have a decorative stopper at the drain itself, harking back to the old rubber stopper on a chain idea, but, of course, costing more, and looking somewhat nicer.