interpretation of conduit vs raceway wet location vs outdoor vs NM NM-B eventual question: for a sealed PVC conduit external to house, does that qualify as a wet or damp location preventing use of non metallic (NM or NM-B) indoor type wire?  And does underground feeder (UF) type of wire need to be used within that conduit?

scenario is regarding schedule 40 PVC gray electrical conduit {outdoor rated} run on outside of house from 1st floor (load center access) to access attic above 2nd floor.  And this is along side same type gray PVC conduit of the same length that encloses single phase 2-wire 240 volt feeder from pole to  house leading down into the electric meter socket/box (typical U.S. setup).   Both conduits are the same length about 14 feet on the outside of house.  Only practical means of getting new electrical run is along outside of house and penetrate attic wall, everything above concrete foundation and above grade by at least 3 feet.

a) difference between "raceway" and "conduit".  does this definition matter?  This is regarding circular conduit, schedule 40 NEMA TC2 the type used to connect to meter sockets.  I think it's PVC, the gray electrical circular conduit definitely schedule 40 or above.
b) using the types of outdoor conduit bodies available today (21st century) they are quite durable and water tight, they come with gaskets on their covers.  With solvent welding the plastic pipe and such good conduit bodies available does this run of conduit still classify as a wet/damp location such that the typical NM-B THHN indoor romex single run cannot be run within a 2" or 3" piece of conduit, per NEC interpretation?
c) does drainage matter for what has been described?
d) does a dual rating of THWN on the romex allow it?  I don't remember at the moment if the typical romex 14/2 or 12/3 wire is also THWN.  What about other wire ratings such as XHH or XHHW?

NEC-2017 sections:

310.B and 310.C page 70-145
334.10 and 334.15 page 70-191

Yes, that conduit counts as a wet location

All raceways in wet locations are considered to be wet on the inside as per NEC 300.9:

  300.9 Raceways in Wet Locations Abovegrade. Where
  raceways are installed in wet locations abovegrade, the interior
  of these raceways shall be considered to be a wet location.
  Insulated conductors and cables installed in raceways in wet
  locations abovegrade shall comply with 310.10(C).

This means that the answers to your questions are, in turn:

a) Conduit is a kind of raceway (see the definition of "conduit" in Art. 100) (there are also surface raceways)

b) You will still get condensation in the raceways even if the joints are sealed by solvent welding.  So, you will need to use wet-location-rated wire or cable (not NM!) in the conduit.

c) Drainage does matter -- 314.15 states that boxes and conduit bodies in wet locations must be arranged so that water is not trapped.  It also provides that you can field-fit drainage openings no larger than 1/4" to boxes or conduit bodies in damp or wet locations, or use listed drainage fittings in knockouts for that matter.  Take advantage of this, as drainage is your friend, and so is pressure moderation!

d) NM has a paper separator layer in it that makes it unsuitable for wet locations, period, even if the inner conductors were dual-rated.  In general, stuffing cable down conduit is more annoying than it's worth, so you're better off getting dual-rated (THHN/THWN or XHHW-2) wires of the appropriate gauge and using those instead of a cable.


How to stop a gland nut rotating too freely The stop-cock to my house has been locked solid, but after diligently applying lubricant twice a day for a week it now rotates freely and works fine.

I now have a different problem, how do i lock the gland nut in the correct position? If I tighten the gland nut to the point where it no longer rotates freely then the stop-cock no longer turns, if I loosen the gland nut to the point where the stop-cock turns freely then the gland-nut turns with the shaft and quickly tightens itself to the point where both the gland nut and the stop cock won't turn.

Access is very limited, if I loosen to the gland nut too much it leaks, the whole stop-cock is covered with so much oil that loctite won't stick, and I don't want to risk smearing any plumbers mait on it for fear that I'll end up locking the shaft up rather than just the gland nut.

Any suggestions?

UPDATES
The gland packing isn't actually leaking (unless I release the gland nut completely). The problem is that the gland nut is either freely rotating or locked solid. (basically the friction between the shaft and the gland nut is greater than the friction between the gland-nut and the body of the stop cock. A photo isn't really practical - the stopcock is at the bottom an 18 inch hole in the ground, most of the work I've done has been by touch only!

My solution so far has to been to hold the gland nut in place with a spanner the other end of which can be jammed against the side of the hole the stopcock is in. This holds the nut in the right position, the gland doesn't leak and I can turn the tap on or off without problems. This is a great temporary fix, but I don't want to leave my spanner down the hole, and it's very easy to knock it out of place unless I've very careful.

Your packing is old and stiff and will no longer seal without over tightening the gland nut.

First, try laying in a small bit of new packing material on top of the old, then tighten the gland nut to get a seal. If this doesn't work (there are various reasons that it might not, like: no space in the gland to add packing, old packing too far gone, etc.) then you will need to re-pack the valve, i.e. dig out all the old packing and replace it with new.


How do I stretch carpet during reinstallation after replacing padding? I pulled up some carpet that is in front of a door way in order to replace the padding underneath, but when I laid it back down there was a slight gap and now if you step right on it you can feel the spike strip underneath (ouch!).

How can I get the fit snug so that I don't hit the spike strip anymore?

Rent (or buy) a carpet stretcher.

Here is a google search for carpet stretchers.


How to reach outside light high above sloped cellar door? I'm looking for suggestions on how to reach this outside light.
I have a pole to change the bulb but I need to get up there to repair the socket.

I have a 14 foot stepladder.  To use it over the Bilco door I'd have to build a platform about 3 feet high for two of the legs.  Is there a practical and safe way to do that?   By practical, I mean, not crazy expensive.  3 feet high would require a wide and strong base.
I could rent a 20 foot extension ladder (I don't own one) and place it on the stairs beneath the door, leaning on the wall to the left but then I'd be facing the wrong way while I'm on the ladder.
I could build a leveler for the rented ladder using a concrete block, perhaps with some shims underneath, placed on the staircase with the doors open.  Then I could lean the ladder on the right hand wall and would be facing the right way.  Is there a safe way to do this?  Build my own  ladder leveler for use with a rented ladder?   What length ladder should I rent?   It would be resting on a stair that is about 16 feet below the light.
I don't think the windows are a good option.  The one on the left is fixed, and over 100 years old. I'm not touching it.  The one on the right can open but 1) it's boarded up from the inside and behind some shelving and 2) It's about 2 feet above the light.  I'd have to remove the shelving, the boarding, and be hanging out the window from my waist.  I don't think so.
Any better ideas?

source
That's right.

Rope up and over the house.  Throw a ball with a string and use it to pull the rope over the top.

Pull it over until the knots you have placed to facilitate climbing up are in the right position.  Secure it well on the far side of the house.

2a.  If throwing rope over house does not work after many tries, hang rope out of window.

Put on your $29 harness and climb up there.  Having someone hold the bottom of the rope steady will help.  Promise her a grilled burger meal.  After you survive.

When you get to the right knot, clip carabiner on harness to ring you have tied onto topmost knot.

Did you remember to turn off the circuit breaker?

Send assistant to turn off circuit breaker.  Promise her expensive wine when you don't die.

Change socket.  Send assistant to turn on fuse and make sure it works.  Promise brownies.

Give decorative pipe a pat for Willk.

Try to climb down.

Unhook carabiner.  Climb down.  Love life!  Start grill.


Additional exhaust vents needed for whole house fan I need ~8-10 sq ft of additional exhaust vents to accommodate a new 7600 cfm whole house fan.  Uncertain if add'l soffit vents needed for adequate ventilation flow through attic.  Planning to install 3 dormer vents near ridge.  Two screened gable vents (2 ft x 1 ft) installed when house was built.

If the TOTAL attic venting (ridge, soffit, gable, turbines, vent cans, etc. combined) is more than the fan requires, you're fine.  If it's not enough, figure how much more you need to add to satisfy the fan, then balance that to provide 50-60% of the total attic ventilation as intake (soffits or low on the roof) and 40-50% as exhaust (gables or high on the roof).  When you run the house fan, it can pressurize the attic and exhaust out of all the vents, including the soffits.  Since you only run the fan a short time in the morning, before the attic heats up, there won't be any issue with air going out the soffits instead of in.  When you turn off the fan and the attic heats up, the airflow will return to normal - in the soffits and out the ridge and gables.

A whole house fan needs 1 ft^2 NFVA per 750 CFM.  A 36" whole house fan moving 7600 CFM from the house into the attic needs a total of 7600/750 = 10.13 ft^2 or about 1460 in^2 of net free vent area (NFVA) from the attic to the outside.

1460*40% = 584, 1460*50% = 730, 1460*60% = 876.  Thus, you should aim to have 730 to 876 in^2 NFVA in your soffits and 584 to 730 in^2 for exhaust as high as practical.

FWIW, a combination of soffit & ridge vent (or near the ridge) is better than soffit & gables.  The gables don't remove the hot air from above them or as effectively from the center of the house.


Are these walls near a skylight, load bearing? My master and guest bathroom are back-to-back (toilet-to-toilet). Both bathrooms have a tall skylight this size (~4' square). The skylights are about 5 feet apart from one-another.

Master Bathroom, looking south east:
Layout:

I want to remove the four short walls to end up with one long smooth wall. Does the presence of a skylight nearby make these walls likely to be load bearing?

I searched and found: Are there ways to determine if a wall is load bearing?

Walls
Though each wall shown runs perpendicular to the roof ridgeline, it occurs to me that taken together, they are parallel with the roof ridgeline and might constitute a supporting structure.

The closet walls have a double top plate, as shown. The East wall of the master bath is parallel with the roof ridgeline and just short of 20' long.

Attic
This roof ridgeline is about 20' long here. On the South end of that ridge, the roof stair-steps down twice to an external wall. On the North end of the ridge, is a chimney and a vertical wall where this roof ends and stands above the living room roof by 2 or 3 feet. There are a few boards vertical boards in the attic that connect joists to the ridgeline, but they don't seem structural to me.

Foundation
It's a concrete slab.
There is no basement.

OK, I've had remodelers tell my wife that those walls are not load bearing (they didn't go into the attic).

Meanwhile, I've had a friend from church with framing experience look closely in the attic and say I definitely need to transfer the load being carried by these boards and walls and have at least one board to keep the roof from racking away from the rest of the house.

While drawing the diagram in my heavily edited question, I came to see how there must be some load on these few vertical boards, so I'm going that route recommended by my friend.

I'll cut a few boards to go from the ridge-line beam to the nearby load bearing hallway wall and closet walls, toenail them in, then begin removing the existing partitioning walls below.


What steps are involved when replacing control board on Carrier unit? Do I simply just kill the power and replace the control board?  Is there anything else that I need to do?

It was pretty easy.

First and foremost I killed the power to the unit. I turned off the power to the unit from the breaker box and then pulled the master fuse near the outside unit.

After that it was extremely simple. I took a picture of the current control board and all the wire placements so that I could hook them all up the same way.  I then unplugged all the cables from the board, removed the screws, lifted it out, grabbed the new board, lowered it in, screwed it back in, put all the cables back on, replaced the fuse, and turned the power back on at the breaker box.

Once I turned the heat on from the thermostat it took a few minutes for the system to wake up but then it was fine. My heat pump runs like a champ again.

The HVAC guy was going to charge me $425 to do this job (that included the new board).  I instead ordered the replacement board myself from repairclinic.com for about $110.  The whole job took me less than 15 minutes.  Saved $300.


Shower starts v hot and powerful but gets colder quickly even though lots of hot water available We have an amazing power shower in our new house in New Zealand. Only problem is the hot water is very hot for approx. 30 seconds and then gets colder and colder. Start with the mixer handle in the mid hot position and it's very hot but then gets colder, moving the mixer handle toward hot gradually, keeps the water hot but still can only keep a very hot shower for about 1.5 minutes. Can turn off the mixer, leave for a minute or 2 and it seems to reset itself, but for shorter periods of time. I think the mixer might be at fault - shall I get a new one or do I need to investigate pipes? Thanks in advance for anyone's ideas or help. Liz

You probably just need to replace the cartridge inside the mixer valve.

Thermostatic mixer valves work by expanding and contracting from heat and cold, automatically adjusting the mixture to maintain the set temperature.

It sounds like yours is worn out, and as it heats up it is adding too much cold water, or not enough hot.  Turning it off for awhile lets it cool off a bit and start working normally again until it heats up.

Replacing the cartridge is a pretty simple job - turn off the water, unscrew the screw that holds the handle in place, unscrew the cartridge with a wrench.  The  take the cartridge with you to the store to find the exact right one.  It should come with instructions for aligning the valve and handle properly, so be sure to read them.


2-way switches and LED Light glowing faintly when both switches turned 'on' I have an LED light on the landing operated by 2 way switches upstairs and down.

When both 2-way switches are in the 'OFF' position the light goes out completely.

When the light is turned off by both switches being in the 'ON' position, the light continues to glow dimly until the light is turned on again.

What can I do to make the LED light go out completely which ever way it is turned off?

Possibility #1:  These are not normal switches.  These have some sort of active (powered) function, such as glowing handle, dimmer, motion sensor, smart switch of some kind, etc.  They power themselves via the old "leak a little current through the incandescent bulb, it won't care" strategy, which does not play well with any modern bulb.   The solution is visit the electrical supply and get two basic switches.

Possibility #2 (less likely IMO): There is something broken in how the circuit is wired.  There are right ways and wrong ways to wire 2-ways (or as we call them in the US, 3-ways). You may want to pop covers off lamp and switches and double check everything against the "proper" diagrams you'll find on the web. In doing this, pay attention to function moreso than wire color.  It doesn't matter which color you use for which function, as long as the functions are hooked up correctly.


C Wire placement in HVAC? I'm installing a new thermostat and the previous one did not have a C wire connected.  Tracing in back to the HVAC, I can't see a C output connection?  Based on the wiring diagram (and reading other posts), i'm guessing i need to connect it directly to the transformer and the brown wire?  Not sure if that's best, but looking for outside help.  Bottom line - where should i connect my C wire and how should i connect it?  Thank you!

[![enter image description here][2]][2]

You are correct

The brown wire from the transformer to the relays in your unit is indeed the C wire you're looking for -- you can cut it and splice it with a bog-standard wirenut, or use a piggyback tab terminal crimped on the end of what you're using for a C wire to make the connection at a device.  There may even be a spare terminal connected to it but nothing else -- the wiring diagram on your unit has provisions for a C wire from the unit to an external compressor contactor.


Connect two lamps to the same ceiling socket, controlled by two three-way switches Apologies if this is a stupid question, but my google fu is failing me.

I have a ceiling socket for a lamp. I want to use it to power two lamps, controlled by the same two three-way switches. How do I achieve that? I thought there'd be some sort of standard 'splitter' box I can connect to the endpoint and then connect the individual lamps to that, but I cannot find anything. Thanks in advance

EDIT2: completely forgot that the light is actually controlled by two switches, not one

EDIT: here's the socket, standard EU I believe, brown wire, light blue wire, and earth

You're looking at things from the lamp's perspective.  From that perspective, multi-way switching is irrelevant.

On the lugs are the switched-hot and neutral that you need to provide to the other lamp.  Just carry it from there to the other lamp, and you're done.


Is this an acceptable way to add a light to a 3-way circuit? I have three way switches at the top and bottom of my stairs. There is a light at the top of the stairs controlled by the switches and I wish to add a light at the bottom.

A 14/2 runs first to the light at the top (hot and neutral from the breaker), then a 14/2 runs to the switch at the top (hot supply and switched hot back to the light), and a 14/3 runs between the switches (travelers and switched return).

It would be very difficult to run a new 14/2 (switched hot and neutral) from the light upstairs to the light downstairs, but it is easy to run a 14/2 from the downstairs light to the switch box downstairs.

I want to know if it is acceptable to connect the hot switched from the downstairs 3 way to the light and run a separate neutral to the breaker box, or another nearby circuit's neutral.

skill level: electrical engineer / homeowner, but not an electrician. (know how to not burn the house down, but don't know the electrical code)

You're describing a shared neutral, and some local codes allow it, some don't.  However, it's usually described with closely related circuits, like a single 12/3 wire feeding alternate receptacles in a kitchen's two 20A circuits.

In general, I think they're a bad idea because if circuits A and B share a neutral, you could potentially still have current in A's neutral with A turned off at the service panel.  In addition, if A and B are on different phases and there's a problem with the neutral, you could have 240V across all your devices.  Using a ganged breaker mitigates those risks somewhat.

How difficult would it be to replace the 14/3 between the switches with two 14/2 wires?  That would get neutral to the downstairs switch and wouldn't raise any eyebrows come inspection time.  If that would also be difficult, next step is to talk to an electrician that knows what's allowed in your area.


Can I slow an air cooler's fan speed with an additional regulator? I recently got an air cooler which has a fan speed regulator. Still, the lowest setting gives high airflow.
Can I wire it to a fan regulator to limit the air flow without damaging the cooler's electricals?
I understand that the cooler water pump will also receive less electricity.
Edit: It's a swamp cooler
I believe the fan speed regulator controls voltage output. So I am planning to add additional voltage regulator in board.
Like this, instead of fan in image , it will be cooler

After looking at the photo and the units size I am guessing it is a evaporative cooler commonly called a swamp cooler as the water falling down with air flow creates cool air. If this is the case you could slow the fan but remember the cooling is based on the air flow.
If I am wrong and the cooler uses a refrigerant you should not adjust the fan as slowing the fan can cause the system to ice up. Icing affects system performance and in severe cases can damage the evaporator coils.


Oil or latex for Grade 5 metal parts, in use case not requiring hard wear I have a possible need to coat hardware parts in a rigging application to reduce visibility. This installation is indoors, in a semi-climate-controlled enclosed space (a church; no worries about rain, but the temperature will fluctuate between 60 and 85*F as the HVAC is told to maintain more or less strict temperature ranges for Sunday services and other functions versus "downtime" during the week). It's overhead rigging; once it's in place and painted/coated, it won't be touched for years, so I'm not worried about physical durability of the coating against abrasion. There are a couple different alloys involved, but it's pretty much all steel; the cable is galvanized 7x7 aircraft cable (yes I can buy it pre-coated but I would prefer not to), the clips and thimbles are zinc alloy stainless, and most other pieces (eyebolts, turnbuckles) are Grade 5 medium carbon steel.

So, do I go eco-friendly with a zero-VOC satin latex just to camouflage the parts, or do I still need an oil paint to ensure that the coating won't fail due to the temperature swings?

Thanks.

I would use an oil based primer (perhaps one advertising rust inhibition), after cleaning the parts.  The medium steel will suffer more from humidity swings than temperature swings.

Once primed, the zero VOC latex will be fine.


Toliet won't stop making a noise from the tank For the past two days, the toliet has been making a noise. I thought it was a leak, but the water isn't moving. Once toliet is flushed, the water in the tank rises all the way to the top of the overfill tube, and nearly over floater. I have watched a couple videos on youTube, but nothing they have suggested is the cause of the noise. The flapper is fairly new, and sealed. I have slide floater down to lower water line, and it doesn't work. The noise is almost like a suction sound, or water draining into a hollow spot?

Your tank water level is too high, you need to adjust it to be lower than the level of your overflow tube (the white tube in the middle of your pic.

You appear to have a fluidmaster toilet valve (the black thing on the left) there should be an adjustment knob sticking out on an arm that can be turned by hand or screwdriver. You need to turn it counter-clockwise a few turns. After turning, test by flushing. Adjust till the water stops at least a half inch below the top of the overflow tube.

Picture pointing out the adjustment screw.


Can I apply polyurethane to my hardwood floors in sections? I have a hardwood floor I've recently finished staining. I'd like to apply polyurethane but I don't think I can cordon off the entire area for the duration. Is it alright to apply the sealer in sections?

Surface finishes are notoriously difficult to get smooth when the process is interrupted.  The glossier the finish, the harder to have sections blend.

If you are talking about preliminary coats, especially if they will get a light sanding between coats, this is probably ok. For the finish coat, I would strive hard to do it all in one shot.

If you simply cannot, try to find a transition area that will be less noticable, such as an area covered by rugs or furniture.  You also might try cutting the transition from one section/session to another along a long board line, but this is hard with poly.


Can you wire a T12 fluorescent Strip light and a T8 fluorescent strip light together? I have a 2FT Strip light and a 4FT strip light wired together in the kitchen.  They are both T12 . I need to replace the 4FT one and I bought a cheap T12.  However, I have to go back to the store anyway, so I was thinking of getting the more efficient T8 fixture. Any problems wiring mismatch T8 and T12 fixtures together?

Those aren't strip lights; that's something else.

If you like your old fixtures, or don't want to deal with the ugliness of a swap, keep them.  Every part of a fluorescent fixture is serviceable.  If the ballasts are fried, you can just do a ballast swap.  You can also convert to LED.  All within the old fixture.

The fixture is the expensive part, so swapping ballast or going LED will be the cheapest repair, and lets you keep the quality fixture instead of dealing with the absolute junk fixtures I see in big-box these days at the $20-30 price point.

If you want to switch to T8, the T12 and T8 tubes are physically compatible, so T8 tubes will fit in a T12 fixture. They are not electrically compatible, so you must change the ballast to T8.

You can also get LED "tubes" that snap into T12 or T8 sockets.  Get ballast-bypass (direct wire) types which are fed from opposite ends of the tube.  Then rewire your fixture to bypass the ballast.

The 4' and 2' fixtures will be compatible, they share only 120v mains power and have separate ballasts.


Is it common for residential foundations from the 1960s to contain asbestos? Is it common for residential foundations to contain asbestos (circa 1968)?  We recently had a drain line extended and I don't recall seeing any protections in place other than light dust masks.

For concrete foundations no, asbestos is not an issue. However, the earth in your location may contain asbestos. In Northern California my brother is having a pool installed and they had to monitor for asbestos while digging.

The dust masks are used for cutting concrete or just the dust. The concrete and rock dust is not good to breathe so we usually wear masks.


Determining generator loads See related question here:
Using portable generator with transfer switch
I live on a property with 600 AMP service (2x200AMP service to home, 1x200AMP service to workshop / barn). The home and barn are new construction, and due to the rural location, standby generator transfer switch for the property was provisioned (Without the generator being purchased).
The home has 2 200amp panels, and the barn has a single 200amp panel.
Due to the property being serviced with 600amps, but my transfer switch equipment is only rated for 200amps, I assume that transfer switch is only setup to service partial loads within my home.
How can I determine which loads will be serviced by the generator (Once I have one setup).  With my existing setup, is there any possibility to service the full property (Home and barn)?

Easy. The bog-standard way of provisioning 400A service to a residence is to fit dual 200A panels.  Because 200A gear is readily available at sane cost (e.g. $120/panel) in the consumer space, whereas true 400A gear requires you go into industrial-tier arcana, with industrial-tier pricing (i.e. nobody blinks at $3000/panel).
In your case, from the equipment and wiring used, and the breakers, it's obvious that they ran two feeders to your house.  One of the feeders comes straight off utility and feeds one 200A panel.  The other feeder comes via the transfer switch and feeds the other 200A panel.
If the installers knew what they are doing, they were careful to put loads you'd likely to want on generator on the generator-enabled panel.
400A service to houses is usually for things like 140A of heat pump emergency heat or 180A of on-demand water heater. Those few huge loads would be in the non-generator panel, since powering them is hopeless with a generator that isn't Cat yellow.
So you should be "all set"; just tie the generator in at the ATS and all the right circuits will have power available.


What can be done about unusual toilet noise? Our toilet makes a sound after it has filled.  This is at a beach house and the water is turned off when no one is there.  Last weekend it sounded like someone was outside with a weed-eater (high pitched hum).  Ran water in tub, sink, and flushed.  Seemed to help but then sound came back.  Any one else ever have this problem or have any ideas?
Thanks
GL

It may be possible to clean the fill valve. Some models have a removable cap with the water to the toilet turned off remove the cap. then put a cup or jar over the valve and turn the water on water rocks & rust scale will usually flush out with a cycle of the float fully opening. Then turn off the water and replace the cap. If your cap is not removable replacement is the next option.


How should I wire this 2-way light switch? I am replacing both of the hallway light switches in my house in the UK, and upon taking off the old switches, I am met with the following cable configuration:

Downstairs is a 2-gang switch that controls both the downstairs hall light, and the upstairs hall light. I know which wires control the downstairs light and can successfully wire it in.

Upstairs, there are 2 sets of 3 wires coming in, one with a red sleeve on the black wire, and one with the black wire disconnected and covered with electrical tape.

Inside the back box of the switch downstairs, there was also an extra piece of brown cable, but I don't know what it was connected to.

How should I connect these wires to a 2-way switch for the upstairs light?

Managed to solve this myself with a live wire detector:

I believe the red/black on the far right of the diagram are wired incorrectly, as the black is live and the red neutral.

I believe this set up is described here, which states that it's not recommended for new installations for many reasons, but can be found in old homes.


How can I thaw a frozen washing machine pipe limited access semi-exterior wall? The pipes for our washer have frozen. I believe they froze in the section that runs through the wall facing an enclosed, uninsulated porch. I currently have the heat cranked in the laundry room and have a space heater running facing the wall on the porch where the pipes run. Is there anything else we can do?

I literally just got done dealing with some pipe that burst after it froze not 10 minutes ago. My first suggestion would be, after it thaws, make absolutely sure it didn't rupture anywhere. Even a tiny trickle can turn into black mold problems down the road.

If you're using the type we used to use up in Canada when we lived there that's made to allow the expansion/contraction of freezing and you're less worried about rupture, what we used to do to avoid having to open up the wall was cut a small area you can easily place one of those cheap small vents into in your wall so it still looks nice. Then we'd either throw a space heater at it. Or we would go get those hand warmer heat packs that cost about a dollar a piece that when you rub them together they activate and produce good heat for multiple hours and lay them over the pipe to speed it up (ALSO to prevent them from freezing on the really cold nights.) Something like these:


How can I vent a range hood that's not on an exterior wall? I want to vent a range hood out and it is not on an outside wall.  I have already installed 12X3.5 duct into the attic through the cabinet and ceiling (visable).  the 90 turn and wall cap are 10X3.5.  What should I do?

It's unclear from your description, but is there an existing vent you're trying to connect to, which is 10x3.5"?

You ran 12x3.5" and are trying to connect to that?  The simplest way is to find a reducer to go from 10 to 12". I'm not sure if it's a standard part or not (probably not), but a sheet metal shop (or HVAC) supplier may have it in stock or can make it for you. It's not overly expensive to have them custom make a part like this (in the range of $40 to $100).

If you can replace the existing duct that would probably be better: the bigger the duct, the higher the airflow and lower the noise. It's also easier to find round reducers, so if the wall cap is round (which many are), then you may be able to just use off-the-shelf parts to do everything.


What are these items? I've found a collection of things in the house I just bought and I'm not sure if I need to hold onto them or throw them all away. Can anyone help me identify what these things are and if I need them? Are they expensive?

The object in the bottom is a grate for a fan, probably a bathroom fan.

All the other objects look like trims for light fixtures, perhaps recessed/pot lights.

As far as if you "need" them, I can't answer that.  The might be garbage, they might be spares, or you might have missing trims throughout your house.


Making a 15kg table to move around without drilling I have a table weight about 15 kg (length: 250 cm, width: 60 cm, height: 80 cm). Currently, the table does not have ball bearings or wheels on the four legs. The table is currently empty with nothing on top of the table and nothing inside the drawers

My current concern and intention is that I wish to make it portable (so that I can move it about without having two person to carry it). I was also concern if the wheels can take the weight of the table if I start to put things on the table or into the drawers.

Also, I prefer a solution that require little efforts as possible. I have no intention to drill holes on the table and I also do not wish to saw the table too.

May I know how do I go about doing it such that I can make a unmovable table to a portable one.

Well if drilling is not an option than that eliminates castors, which would be the logical choice. If you have hard surface flooring you could apply furniture pads (high density felt) to the feet and just slide it around.


Why does my computer have a ground fault only when a peripheral is attached? I have a weird problem regarding grounding:

I have a computer, printer and a LCD screen connected to the electric outlet through a power strip. My computer is zapping me when I touch the body so I tried to touch with a tester the screws on the computer body and saw that the light was on. Then I touched the ground hole in the electric divider and saw that it was on as well.

I thought that it was problem with one of the peripherals so I removed each one of them but as long as one of them was connected the light was on in the ground hole. If I remove all of the appliances then the light in the tester is turned off. (Also, when I touch the ground hole directly in the outlet, it's off.).

Then i thought the outlet was the problem so I connected them to another outlet but still, same thing.

So i thought the power strip was the problem so I changed to three different ones but still the same thing.

The tester light is full on, not weak, and the computer is zapping me good (not very intense but every time I touch it and it's not very pleasant). What do you think is the problem ?

You most likely have poor grounding to or from the breaker box in your home.

The first thing I would do is get myself one of these nifty devices.  I generally dislike the cheap tester lights as they don't tell you very much.  It is called a Voltimeter and it will be able to tell you if a current is passing and how much voltage exists to your ground.

It has many settings, for testing your typical 120v AC home outlet you can set it to test AC voltage at the ACV 200 setting.  Test hot to neutral first and make sure that you have 115-130 volts on the meter display.  Next test hot to ground and make sure that you get the same reading.

If you get a lower number than this or if it remains close to zero then your outlet has not been properly grounded.

Test the other outlets in the home and they register the same then it could be a problem with your breaker box not being properly grounded.  It could also be if your house is older that the original outlet boxes were never grounded to the breaker, and someone had just installed three pronged outlets throughout the house without bothering to ground the outlet boxes.


Advice on wiring a pool panel from a subpanel First things first, thank you to all who are willing to share their experience and knowledge here. I need some advice and or reassurance that I am planning this system correctly. I am going to be running a 60 amp pool panel (Intermatic PE25300F) from a subpanel in a detached garage. The subpanel in the garage is now good to go (70 amp, three wire with ground, two ground rods) thanks to the advice from this forum. Here is the link to my previous post getting that panel up to code. (subpanel wiring after upgrading feeder wire).

The only items that will be ran from the pool panel is a 1.5hp pump, pool light, and maybe some landscape lights down the road. Well below the 60amp rating. The garage subpanel only has one heavy load which is a 240v wall heater on a 30 amp breaker, other than that its just lights and plugs (the other 240v 30amp breaker in the picture was a water heater that no longer is there).

It is my understanding that any # of sub panels can be pulled off another subpanel as long as they step down and cant "overdraw" the previous (at least during the same season/use schedule). Also to run a pool panel from a subpanel it can not have NM cable anywhere on the line, so the insulated ground has to be carried all the way through. The garage panel is inside the garage and I would like to run the wire through the garage and directly out the wall into the pool panel. If this is the case and I understand correctly, to feed that panel, I would need to use THHN wire and that must be in continuous conduit from panel to panel even if ran indoors. Is this correct? Am I going about this all wrong or missing anything?

So quick version - How do I wire a detached garage subpanel, through the inside, and directly through the exterior wall into a pool panel flush mounted on the outside of the garage.

FYI - I will have an electrician come out to look over everything in the end. I cant afford to not do as much as I can myself, I can however afford to have a pro make sure everything is safe before use. I will do my best to keep up and respond to any follow up questions. Thanks again!

All of your questions you have the correct answers, thhn is dual rated thwn so it can be used in conduit both inside and outside as required.

You do need an insulated ground. You can put in a 100 amp panel at the pool  and feed it with a 30 amp breaker or the size you want .

the 1.5 hp 240 v motor is rated at 6 amps + 25% (motors require 125% of the FLA book values).

I think you are on your way if you wanted another sub past the pool sub that is a sub in the garage fed from the house it is ok. As a detached area another rod would be needed for this sub.


Electrical panel grounding The city inspector said the new 100 amp service panel  needs to be grounded to the street side of the water meter. It is currently grounded to the nearest cold water pipe. What is correct?  Also, for a washing machine in an unfinished basement near the laundry sink need a gfci?  It is plugged into a single plug outlet.

All pipe in the house is copper and is grounded to the panel about 2-3 feet away. The distance to the meter from the panel is 20 feet or more

Currently, the only grounding is to the water pipes. Inspector wants ground rods installed also

From the International Association of Electrical Inspectors web site here:

If the metal water piping is not a grounding electrode, the connection of the bonding jumper in accordance with 250.104(A) does not have be located within the first 1.52 (5 ft) of the water piping system entry to the building or structure.

From my research, this was an old requirement (2005?) when the water pipe was used as the primary grounding electrode. It has since been deleted and does not appear in the 2017 NEC. Article 250.52(A)(1)
A ground rod (or two) is now required as the primary grounding electrode in most jurisdictions since someone could replace the copper piping with PVC in the future.[Edit: I just wanted to add that the Ufer ground (reinforcing rod in the poured concrete footing) is quickly replacing ground rods in new construction.]
However, if you do have a metal water piping system in contact with the soil for more than 10 feet it is still required to be bonded, although the National Electrical Code does not specify where.

250.104 Bonding of Piping Systems and Exposed Structural Metal.
(A) Metal Water Piping.  The metal water piping system shall be bonded as required in (A)(1), (A)(2), or (A)(3) of this section.
(1) General.  Metal water piping system(s) installed in or attached to a building or structure shall be bonded to any of the following: (1) Service equipment enclosure (2) Grounded conductor at the service (3) Grounding electrode conductor if of sufficient size (4) One or more grounding electrodes used, if the grounding electrode conductor or bonding jumper to the grounding electrode is of sufficient size
The bonding jumper(s) shall be installed in accordance with 250.64(A), 250.64(B), and 250.64(E). The points of attach‐ ment of the bonding jumper(s) shall be accessible. The bonding jumper(s) shall be sized in accordance with Table 250.102(C)(1) except as permitted in 250.104(A)(2) and 250.104(A)(3).

Summary, if it is NOT the primary grounding electrode, the metal water pipe is not required to be bonded within 5 feet, it is just required to be bonded.
I agree with Tester101 though you are pretty much at the mercy of the inspector unless you want to file a formal objection.

Also, for a washing machine in an unfinished basement near the laundry sink need a gfci? It is plugged into a single plug outlet.

ALL receptacles in the unfinished part of a basement and laundry areas are required to be protected by GFCI.
From the 2017 NEC

210.8 Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection for Personnel. Ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel shall be provided as required in 210.8(A) through (E). The ground-fault circuit interrupter shall be installed in a readily accessible location.
(A) Dwelling Units.  All 125-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-ampere receptacles installed in the locations specified in 210.8(A)(1) through (10) shall have ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel.
(5) Unfinished portions or areas of the basement not inten‐ ded as habitable rooms
(10) Laundry areas

Good luck!


Should I keep the expansion tank when replacing copper with pex? I plan on replacing all the copper in my house with a pex system. the hot and cold pex manifolds seem much more user friendly. the copper in my house seems crazy, spliced and diced running all around.
I am wondering if I can delete the expansion tank, I am thinking that pex tubing expands as it is. if not, should the tank be before the manifold?
Thanks

An expansion tank is only required when the water supply system has a backflow prevention device or check valve. The extra pressure caused by thermal expansion was apparently an issue in the home. I would strongly suggest that you include it in your new set up. Don't rely on the pex to expand and relieve the pressure. That could cause a pipe to rupture or a fitting to leak. Expansion tanks are typically installed in a "tee" at the cold water inlet for the water heater.


what is proper way to use spring washer and washer I have one socket screw,one socket bolt,two nuts and spring washers,washers.and I need to know what is proper way to use.what order should i put them.
does spring washer generally go on the nut side or bolt side.i tried four different ways and i attached image of it.

The purpose of the flat washer is spread out the clamping force over a sufficient area of the material being clamped and to prevent the lock washer from tearing into the material as the nut is being turned. Given the small sizes of the bolt heads in your pictures I would say that you should have two flat washers on each bolt in addition to the spring washer.

The order should be bolt head, flat washer, materials being clamped, flat washer, spring washer, nut. If you only have one flat washer per bolt, and if the material next to the bolt head is sufficiently hard to resist deformation, then the one flat washer should be on the nut side.


Why does one stove top burner spark the other and vise versa? I have a two front stove top burners, burner A and burner B.

When I "ignite" A it will spark the spark plug for A & B.

When I "ignite" B it will also spark the spark plug for A & B.

its a stainless steal simple GE stove top and oven. Not sure what the model is.

There is a single spark igniter with two ignition gaps.

You have a single igniter that when triggered sparks every burner.

It ensures that if you left on the gas on the other burner, it would light and you would turn it off. Either that or the manufacturer did this to save on parts.


How do I prevent my washing machine stand pipe from overflowing? I live in a multi story apartment building on the first floor. My washer/dryer are stacked atop each other in a small closet. I've noticed puddles of water on the ground before but did not know the source of where it was coming from.

Recently, I was at home when I heard a noise coming from the closet. I slid out the washer/dryer and saw a large amount of water on the ground with lots of soap suds. I looked inside the stand pipe and saw soap suds inside the pipe. Based upon the soap on the floor and the soap inside the standpipe, I believe the pipe was overflowing.

I haven't ran my washer in at least two weeks prior to the incident. I'm not sure why the pipe is overflowing. There are two apartments above mine with the same floor plan and I assume we all share some type of piping for our washing machines.

Any suggestions on what to do? Could this be a clogged pipe somewhere that needs to be snaked? I contacted management who sent out a plumbing company. They didn't do much except peek around a little and say they didn't observe any leaks. I've only noticed the puddles of water about 3 times in the last year or so.

Thank you!

There could be a blockage downstream somewhere. However, there would    probably be a lot more water on the floor and on a regular basis.    Check the height of the stand pipe. If it is not tall enough, the    water will run out of it when you have more water in the tub than you    normally use. I/E: If you normally wash a small load but sometimes    you run a super sized load.

Also, it looks like that piping is fairly old. Washing machines have much stronger pumps than they did years ago and the stand pipe height requirements for your particular washer might be different than what you have. Lengthening the height of the stand pipe might help.

You could also install a flood-guard, which is a type of back water valve. This one can be added inline by inserting it into the pipe, tightening three screws and you're done. Any water attempting to back up in the line will be prevented from entering your home.


A drywall patch without studs at the edges -- should I just open it up? Our powder room recently had a chunk of wall removed for some plumbing work. The resulting hole doesn't end at a stud on either side (for scale, that's about 32" side-to-side):

If it was just a rectangle the height of the left side, I would probably consider putting a furring strip behind each edge and anchoring the patch to that, but I'm uncomfortable with the length of the right edge.
Is the correct solution here just to open the hole all the way to the side walls so that I can properly anchor the edges into a stud?

The 2 studs provide excellent main support, and you can use 1/2-in plywoord or other dimensional lumber pieces like left-over "1x4" for support at the drywall transitions.
Backing does not have to run the full length of the seams. In your case, if about 3/4 of the seams are backed that's fine. First screw the backing to the existing sheets, half-on, holding the backing firmly against the back of the drywall. You'll need a screw perhaps every 6in. Then when you apply the patch piece you know where there is backing based on the position of those screws.
Some places sell half-sheets, which with your 32in width and probably less than 48in height should be perfect and easy to transport. You may also be able to get some free plywood strips or 1x4 cuts for the support.
Straighten your cuts and stay at least an inch away form the corner. How straight? A gap up to perhaps 1/4in is totally fine. In fact I find that gaps allow mud to join the edges better, than when drywall tightly butts.
You can cut an "L" as your cutout, or replace a whole 32x48 rectangle. Depends on whether you want to redo your baseboard.
Clean-up the existing edges by bevelling them like a V on both sides (where old butts new) and thus shaving off any loose paper at the tattered edges. After installing you can use mesh tape.
As mentioned in the comments, consider Rockwool noise reduction, and any horizontal support brace (e.g. 2x6 / 2x8 on edge) for a hanging/suspended cabinet before you apply the sheets.


Air conditioner not blowing cold air My HVAC system had a problem during the winter where the blower motor stopped working.
I got a HVAC tech to come out and replace it.

However, now that it's hot again, the cooling system is still being problematic.

Basically, the air being blown into the house is not cool enough to reduce the temperature in the house. This causes the system to run continuously for days without ever shutting down.

What may be the cause?

Lots of possible causes, but you may need an HVAC repair man to diagnose it.  The first thing they'll check is the refrigerant levels (Freon, Puron, or whatever your system is using).  If it's low, there may be a leak, possibly caused during the blower motor replacement.

Simple things you can verify yourself are that the outside unit is unobstructed to allow air to pass in the sides and out the top.  If it isn't even turning on, either your refrigerant levels are so low the compressor is staying off for safety, or perhaps it's as simple as a wire not being plugged back in from the thermostat to the inside unit.  The owners manual should include a wiring diagram.

Another simple thing to check are any filters either on the return vents or at the blower itself.  And finally, open up any access panel you can on the condenser coils and make sure they are clean and free of ice.


Why are top-mount joist and purlin hangers shorter than actual lumber dimensions? Looking at the load tables for various products, purlin hangers are often shorter than the actual size lumber they're supposed to hang:

USP JPF
USP HL

The size difference seems more consistent at lower dimensions. For instance, 2x4 purlins are 3 7/16" high and 2x6 purlins are 5 3/8" high.

Why is this? Won't the joists end up higher than the header? Is something supposed to go on top of the header to offset this so the subfloor is level?

Edit

I'm using purlin hangers to hang floor joists inside my walls, which seems to be a suggested usage of these products.

Perhaps others can put this problem better than me. Check out the reviews and question on the USP JPF at Lowes.

Edit 2

Just to be sure we're all on the same page, this is a purlin hanger being used to hang floor joists. Only difference is I'm using solid sawn joists rather than i-joists.

Perhaps the foam tape supposed to make up the difference?

Besides safety and practicality mentioned by isherwood... part of the answer is money... the size of the hanger is related to the cost of the hanger. If you make or sell hangers in bulk, then every cent matters (customers like walmart and lowes will buy the hangers that are one cent cheaper per 100 boxes). If you only need to hold a certain weight, then there's little benefit to oversizing the hanger.

Another other part of the answer is that purlins are part of a (steel) roofing system. You cannot have the hanger sticking through the roof.

But If we are just talking about joist hangers in general, tops of the joists will be level with the header if you install them level. The hangers that wrap around the joist will need room below the joist (just the thickness of the hanger - not very much).

Where joists are the same size as the header, hangers that wrap under will be protruding at the bottom (if the top is level). Sometimes that doesn't matter, or if it does, then using hangers that don't wrap around the joist are necessary.

EDIT- After seeing the second edit to the question, I now understand the issue. I think you could notch the joist (1/8") to fit in the hanger (or use a different hanger).


Which humidistat terminals should I use for my humidifier? My Carrier furnace does not have a humidifier connection on the control panel. I have two wires from the humidistat. Do I use W-C or R-C connections for a normal operation?

W-C at the thermostat terminals on your furnace's control panel is the answer to your question. This way has a few drawbacks and pitfalls, so manufacturers don't recommend it. If you know what you're doing, then you'll probably be able to get it to work that way.

If you don't have a humidifier terminal on your furnace's control panel, manufacturers recommend switching the humidifier with a current sensing relay attached to the Hot 120 volt blower fan wire that is connected to the Heat terminal. The other wires coming from the blower fan will be connected to Cool, Park, and Neutral terminals, but we don't want to use them.

The most common switching voltage for humidifiers is 24VAC, but verify what you have. If you need to switch 24VAC, then use a Model A50 Current Sensing Relay. If you need to switch 120VAC, then use a Model A51 Current Sensing Relay.

Here is a link to the Installation Instructions for Models 50 and 51 Current Sensing Relays.


How can I repair this rotted section of wood siding? I have a section of wood siding that is soft and rotting. Complicating matters (and possibly causing the issue) is the placement of the seating area of the deck. The previous owners built a privacy wall and bench and it abuts the house.

The wood that I've tapped around the area feels firm, the damage is primarily on the top section of one plank.

Any advice on the steps, tools, and materials I'd need to properly repair this are appreciated. I'm concerned some moisture is in the wall cavity; after a recent heavy rain I noticed some minor paint bubbling on the interior side of this wall.

Frankly, replacing one horizontal run like that probably isn't worth the effort, unless there will be lots of rain in the future.  It may well be sufficient to strip, putty the gaps, caulk the edges, and paint.

Otherwise, you'll have to replace the siding panel.  Remove the bench and wall.  Remove the siding, and renew.

The tools and materials are straightforward:  hammer, pry bar, screwdriver (if anything is held with screws—probably nothing is), elbow grease, and patience.  Nails or screws, a new siding panel, primer, caulk, and paint is all that should be needed.


Door sticks and drywall cracks, ledger board not level? I noticed some drywall cracking in the corner above the door frame  on both sides of the door and that door is unable to fully close, a few weeks ago all was fine, crack was there but door could close (with weather warming up I understand it could be due to expansion).

This is in the addition of the house that was built about 5 years ago. This addition sits on top of crawl space and today I went down there to take a look.
I noticed where the ledger board beams meet, about 1/8” difference in their heights.

I used a 2ft level between the floor joists and some places was dead level some were a pretty off

The floor itself seems level. Don’t have a very long level to test on the floor. Just wondering if the floor joists all have to be dead level to each other or as long as the subfloor is level it’s fine? And also if one part of the ledger doesn’t line up with other, could it be by design? Or it shifted? It looks to be bolted into the foundational concrete blocks pretty well so not sure if it could shift?
Everything is dry and no rot anywhere.
I have no problem adjusting the door to close and patching the drywall around just want to make sure no foundation issue here or ledger I need to jack up and rebolt
Thank you very much and sorry for lengthy post

The floor being level is really the test.   Not the levelness of part of a piece of lumber holing up the floor.   There can be a variety of reasons for this including the boards themselves aren't straight or not true to their supposed dimensions.
The ledger board off 1/8"... has nothing to do with your issue.   It really isn't probably part of any issue but for sure nothing to do with your issue.
The fact that the top of your wall is pulling in a couple of places is pretty normal.   I am guessing there is unconditioned space above and that that beams (joists/framing) cause the drywall to be pulled and you get a crack.   You can do a million things to try to fix this but it is cosmetic.
As for your doors being tight you need to make your doors smaller.
This involves shaving off the parts of the doors that are sticking.   If you have a really really good table saw you can take off 1/8".   If you have a really really crappy table saw the 1/8" will be 1/16" on one side 1/4" on the other...   So I usually would suggest people use an electric planer.
I am guessing that the door sticks on the latch side and/or possibly the top.

Take door off hinges.   The best way to do this is popping the pins off.  You can unscrew the door but then you may have to deal with possible stripped screw holes.   So unless the door didn't seem straight in reference to the framing, I try to leave hinges in tact.

Take off knob and latch plate.

Always try to plane facing down so you can steadily move planer through surface and make sure planer is in middle of the door.   If you have uneven pressure the surface will become uneven, curved, or your will take more off one side than the other.

Take a little bit too much off.   Remember that you have to prime and paint this thing.   Really almost 1/8" after you do 2 coats of primer two coats of latex... these things need 4 coats too.

Before you paint you have to pop the door back in (2 pins at least halfway in) so you can close the door and test.   It shouldn't even be remotely close to hitting/rubbing and you should be able to see at least 1/8" gap in the top/latch-side from inside the room.

Based on planing the latch side you may need to chisel out the latch plate a bit so that it sits inside the door (chisel and utility knife).

Paint.

Reinstall door.

(I can go over 10s of things to help door from sticking and the cracks from appearing.   If you would like to work on these things for days/weeks and find something that works for a couple years that is fine.   If it were my house I would fill the crack with something that moves a little easier and shave the door)


83% of rated load on 30 AMP 240V dedicated circuit - safe? I am looking at adding a Garage Heater to my garage on a 30A circuit. The heater is on a dedicated 240V circuit run on 10 AWG wiring with a 30A Siemens household breaker.

My heater is a Dr Infrared 6000W heater that is controlled by a wall mounted thermostat. In even the coldest temperatures, I anticipate it will not run for more than 20-35 minutes at a time before cycling off(garage is very well insulated, brand new energy efficient build).

The heater instructions recommend a 35A breaker and 8AWG wiring (to be 100% code compliant, I get it).

In my case, looking at it from watts (which I know is not the real way, but close), 30 AMPS is 7200 watts. My 6000 watt load represents 83% of the rated capacity. Just a bit over the 80%. Since in my application I am certain that my load is non-continuous (i.e. that heater will NEVER run for 3+ hours straight), am I safe to use on this circuit?

Would appreciate some opinions!

Thanks

Nope

The heater designer was super dumb for designing a heater that is a skitsch over the 5760W limit for a continuous load on a 30A circuit.  Most other heater manufacturers build to just shy of the continuous circuit limits, like the apocryphal 23A that almost every water heater and dryer is built to.  But they may have built to 6000W because it sounds cooler than those (circuit limit compliant) 5500W heaters.  That jibes with their strategy of selling direct to consumers via big-box stores.

Now you have to pay the price for that.

On the upside, your working circuit limit for your inevitable 40A circuit will be 7680W, so you can squeeze another 1500W heater in there.

You could go back to the heater manufacturer and say "are you super sure your device is 6000W and not, ahem, 5600W" like every other heater intended to work on a 30A breaker?

Probably not, though.  You must use it in accordance with labeling and instructions, because that is how it was tested and approved (listed). So if it says use 8 AWG, there you go.


Get electricity to outlet behind wall mounted TV I want to install a recessed outlet behind my TV but I am not sure how to get electricity to the outlet. There is an outlet at the bottom of the wall, below the TV.

Can I run a Romex 14/2 wire from that outlet up the wall to the newly installed outlet behind the TV?

I ordered a Arlington Industries Inc. TVBR255KGC-1 but after taking it out of the box I realized how big it is and does not fit in the middle opening of my wall mount hardware. I could put it below, or above the hardware, if I have to. But it's big and ugly.

EDIT: My breaker box is in a tight spot but I was able to get my camera in there and take some pictures. It's a 15 amp break that controls the outlet at the bottom of the wall.

Picture of the breaker where you can see (barely) that's a 15 amp breaker (third one down from the top):

Picture of left side of receptacle:

Picture of right side of receptacle:

The wires attached to the receptacle are not color coated, but the screws are. Which is white, and which is black?

Can I attach my 14/2 wire to those screws and run it up the wall to the outlet I install behind the TV?

If it's a 15 ampere circuit (the breaker protecting the circuit is 15 amp), then you can use 14/2 with ground between the boxes.  If it's a 20 ampere circuit, you'll have to use 12/2 with ground.
Aside from that, it's a fairly simply install.

Run appropriately sized cable between the upper and lower box.
Connect the wires at the existing box (black to black, white to white, green/bare to green/bare).
Connect the wires in the new box to the receptacle (black to brass, white to silver, and green/bare to ground).

If you didn't already buy a receptacle for the new box, surge receptacles are available. Installing a surge receptacle behind the TV, would mean you don't have to try and fit a surge strip back there.
The side of the new box that's not enclosed, can be used to route data/AV cables down to cable boxes and such.

Update
The insulation on the wires appears to be old and worn, but it is clear that one is white and one is not. Not to mention, the white is attached to the silver colored screw, while the not white is attached to the brass colored screw.
Since there's no grounding conductor. You should replace the old receptacle with a GFCI receptacle.  To do this:

Connect the white wire from the old receptacle (the one attached to the silver screw), to the silver LINE terminal on the new GFCI receptacle.
Connect the not white wire from the old receptacle (the one attached to the brass screw), to the brass LINE terminal on the new GFCI receptacle.
Connect the white wire leading to the new upper receptacle, to the silver LOAD terminal on the GFCI.
Connect the black wire leading to the new upper receptacle, to the brass LOAD terminal on the GFCI.
Place the "No Equipment Ground" sticker on the GFCI receptacle cover plate.
Place the "GFCI Protected", and "No Equipment Ground" stickers on the cover plate of the upper receptacle.


What's wrong with an electrical outlet that will power a lamp but not a space heater? Thought my space heater had died when I plugged it in and it wouldn't turn on, not even the "on" indicator light, so I went out and bought a new one. When the new one wouldn't work either, I tested the outlet and a lamp worked just fine. Carried the heater around the house and had no problem with the heater working in other outlets -- just not in the room where I want it!

The outlet contacts may be too dirty to carry a heavy load.  Or they may be loose.  Or the wires to the outlet may be loose either at the outlet or the in the breaker/fuse panel.  I would recommend not using this outlet for anything until the point of cause is determined and corrected.


Is there any material capable of cancelling low frequencies sounds like a thunder (60Hz)? I was thinking in materials for a Dog Kennel, to prect it during storms and also fireworks.
I know there are a lot of materials to reduce noise, but I've also read is very difficult to reduce low frequencies, so I'm not sure if this is even possible.

Acoustic foam could be used to dampen all noise and create some insulation, thunder & fireworks contain broad band noise everything from low frequencies to high frequencies, 60hz is the noise you hear around transformers.

If you insulate and have a dead airspace that will also provide some shelter from the noise. I have trained hunting dogs and use a starter pistol and after the noise treat them with a cookie (dog treat like the tiny milk bones) within a few days they are not bothered by the noise and we change from food treats to toys to chase this has been great for young dogs,

For dogs that are noise shy I have only found getting mild tranquilizers was the only thing that worked well. I had an Australian Shepard that went through several windows trying to get out of the house so we would put her in her kennel inside and give her a pill in some cheese to keep her from getting heft and breaking more windows.


What are my options for temperature equalization between two rooms? Ideally a bi-directional through-wall vent + fan would be great with built in thermostats measuring both sides.

I haven't found that nor am I entirely sure what to search for. Are there components that I could buy that provide this functionality?

Edit:
So all fans AFAIK are bi-directional components. The issue is the controller and I don't care about controlling speed as much as the direction + on/off.

One solution I have in mind is something like this:

[through-wall fan/vent system] -> [some sort of inline polarity switcher] -> [wall plugin thermostat controlled relay]

The issue is the polarity switcher. A manual polarity switch would be fine since I'd only maybe need to change it seasonally for the most part. What can I look for that does that?

PS: I am not looking to cut anymore than a single whole in the wall (and no more than 4-9" diameter) and simple set up is a plus. Long term I may loop back and do a custom job with an arduino but for now I'm looking for cheap, easy & off-the-shelf.

Here's a dead-simple idea: use a PTAC unit to air condition the room with excess heat, and dump it into the adjacent room.

That's the general idea behind how companies with huge server rooms recycle heat during wintertime. Their systems are much more sophisticated, of course, inevitably involving heat exchangers, water cooling, thermostats, multiple zones for the heat so conditioned areas don't get too hot, etc.

There are many other ways to do this, depending on the details of your house. If you have ducted heat, you could rig up an air or water-based heat exchanger attached to a new coil in your HVAC air handler. If you have hydronic heat, you could use a similar heat exchanger to put the heat into that system. Etc. It's probably beyond the scope of this website to design such a system for you, but hopefully I've given you some ideas. There are many ways to move heat from one place to another. Get creative!


Vanity p-trap installation question I am installing a new p-trap under my new vanity. The depth from the wall of the new vanity is about 6 inches shorter than the old and the tailpiece for the sink is now closer to the wall than before. Given the shorter distance from the tailpiece to the wall, I have been unable to match the j-bend with the trap arm even if I shorten the trap arm. The only way I have been able to hook it up is by rotating the pieces as shown in the picture.

All the pieces don't make an even plane with the wall. Is this acceptable and/or is there a better way to do this?

Looks perfectly okay to me. I've seen p-traps and s-traps in worse configurations.


How to size a VFD for this Antique 5 HP Motor I bought a fairly antique 20" Monarch bandsaw. It came with a gigantic (~16" diameter) 5HP electric motor. I'm not sure a bandsaw of this size needs this much motor, but since I have it, I'll try to use it.
The motor appears to be 5HP 3Phase, and probably 1730RPM. It is old enough that I can't find information  about it on the 'net. In the US, power is supplied to residences in single phase, so I would like to size and buy an appropriate VFD/Inverter/starter to run it from 240VAC 1-phase at 220VAC 3-phase. It would be great
to choose the run speed, have soft start so there's not a huge inrush current, and possibly use
dynamic braking.
I've seen less expensive Chinese manufactured VFD's on ebay, but there's typically no consultation
with the vendors, and caveat emptor. I have seen recommendations for sizing at multiples of up to 6
or 8 times Full Load Amps. Also I've seen it said with 1 to 2 HP motors that 2 x FLA is sufficient.
The label is faded enough that I can't be sure about the listed FLA (12? 12.68? 12/6.8 at 220/440?)
nor the motor efficiency.
One formula I found online shows to use ((HP x 746watts/HP) ÷ Efficiency) x √3(for 3phase) to get the
KW required to size the VFD properly. It sounds right, but I can't read the necessary info from the motor
badge so I wondered if anyone is familiar with this gear enough to make a recommendation?
Thanks.

It can be done with a vfd? Possibly.  I would want to Meg the motor prior spending the $ for a vfd. There are also ways to do it with capacitors. And capacitors plus another 3 phase motor.
If the voltage is the same 220/240v it would be 1.732 (square root of 3) plus the vfd losses (we don’t make 3 phase without losses)
by code you would need to use the book value 3 phase 15.2 amps that x 1.732 = 26.32  and the book value for a 5 Hp 230v single phase is 28 amps so those work out close by the time you add some for the vfd.
So yes it can be done. Yes I have done it.
Yaskawa drives can be purchased from automation direct by the general public
although inexpensive have been good drives.
You might get some sticker shock when you find out you should use a heavy duty 5 or a general purpose 7.5 rated drive.
As for a soft start, don’t plan on doing two much with this old motor, the windings are not insulated for doing two much and you may find the bearings start disintegrating after a short time, this was a big problem in the 70’s & 80’s with VFD’s running anything other than 60 hz.
I mentioned having the motor megged at the start. Before spending anything I would want to check all 3 phases to ground and verify a minimum of 10k at 1000v
Higher is better, then a simple ohm test a-b a-c b-c all 3 resistances should be similar. If the motor megs low I might heat it to 140f or so for 24 hours and see if the values increase but don’t try below 10 meg @1000 or the overloads if set properly will probably kick out in 10 to 30 seconds depending on the class of overload used in the vfd (10 is normal for most equipment like this).
So yes it can be done, however you may find a 5 Hp 240 single phase motor is less expensive.


GCFI "test" button will not cause a trip Preface to OP: I am a dope.   The reason the GFCI does not trip when I push the "test" button is because the GFCI has failed.   That's the whole point of the "test" button.   End of story.   Read on only if you want more details about how the things work.

I've noticed a GFCI outlet in which the "test" button depresses but does not cause a trip.  Pressing the "reset" button temporarily disables the outlet, until it is released (which may be normal behavior).

I don't have a GFCI tester, so I tested it by shorting a 10K resistor between hot & ground.  That's 12ma or so, which appears to be well over a typical trip threshold; and I've tried it on newer ones (elsewhere in the house) and it trips them just fine.

Furthermore, I have TWO GFCI outlets that are exhibiting this exact same behavior.  However, they are the same brand and were installed when the house was built 32 years ago.  Is this a known failure mode ?   Seems like the problems most everyone reports are needless trips.

P.S. They were not wired incorrectly (e.g. "hot" to "load" terminals).

This can happen, just replace the GFCI outlets in question

The TEST button on a GFCI creates an actual ground fault (about 6-8mA, maybe up to 10mA, from load-hot to line-neutral or vice versa), so if a GFCI fails to trip when the TEST button is pressed, then it's dead and needs to be replaced.  This can happen due to improper wiring (backfeeding a GFCI's LOAD terminals will burn out the trip solenoid), or more commonly due to damage to the GFCI's (largely analog!!) electronics package caused by mains surges and spikes.  (More modern GFCI designs may have a varistor connected across line-hot and line-neutral to help protect the electronics from surges, but this is by no means guaranteed.)


Extend existing exterior outlet for grill island I am wondering if running wire through conduit from an exterior outlet on my house to a grill island I am planning would be allowed in NEC code? Or will I need to run a whole new circuit?

On its face the idea seems reasonable. I suppose that at some point an outdoor kitchen would require the same kinds of things an indoor kitchen does (two small appliance outlet circuits, for instance). But if your grill island doesn't end up looking like a kitchen, it's probably reasonable to claim that an outlet attached to it is for landscape or general use and add it to the existing outdoor outlet circuit as you described.
There are many details to be attended, such as type of conduit, the depth it is buried, the type of wire or cable used, GFCI and possibly AFCI protection, and so on. But those are more relevant to "how can it be done?" and apply more or less the same regardless of whether or not a new circuit is added.


What are these "split thread" screws for? I've found a screw like this.
It doesn't have a whole thread, it's threaded both near the tip and near the head but not in the middle.

What's the purpose of this?

Furthermore the thread is partially serrated, why?

Doing a quick image search on Google, it looks like Dan D.’s is correct. “That looks like a decking screw.” It is also referred to as a “terrace screw.”


Should I use conduit for a less than 10' run of 6/3 THHN in my garage My electrical panel is in a cabinet attached to my garage but accessible from the outside so the utility has access. I'm installing a 14-50R receptacle using 6/3 THHN in my garage and it will be directly adjacent to my service panel but on the other side of the cabinet wall so it's in the garage for EV charging. We're talking less than 10' run, probably closer to 4 or 5 feet. I believe code states that conduit isn't required since the cable is protected by the wall of the utility cabinet but considering the cabinet has a dirt floor and is accessible outside I suppose rodents could be an issue? Do I need to worry about rodents chewing wire here? I've never seen evidence of them there, nor could I imagine why they'd want to be in that cabinet, but maybe it's better to be safe than sorry? Or is the additional heat that the conduit would create more of an issue?

If you have evidence of rodent damage to other wires in that location then maybe it's worth doing something more. But otherwise if using conduit is the more difficult method, I don't think I'd bother. If your garage is open framing and you can run from point A to point B in an approved NM fashion, that's the way to go. Nail a plastic 2 gang box to a 2 by and run the #6-3 NM. BTW I think #8-3 NM would've been OK for that circuit.


Should I use a hammer or a mallet when driving a chisel? I'm planning to install a lock into a wooden door and I'll need to cut various holes for the lock body using a chisel. I'll need to use something like a hammer or a mallet to drive the chisel and I'm concerned that using a hammer with a steal head would damage the chisel handle. I've seen a lot of photos where a hammer is used and a chisel handle doesn't look very good there.

So which do I use - a hammer (steal head) or a mallet (rubber head) - for driving a chisel when doing woodwork?

A purest would say to use a mallet made of wood or rolled hardened rawhide, but not rubber. I have a couple of sets and even my expensive ones have held up well using a regular 16 oz hammer.

But remember my motto: Every tool in my box is a hammer, except for the screwdrivers which are also chisels"


Repairing / refurbishing cedar swing set I've got a swing set (pdf manual) that came with the house. Not sure exactly how old it is, but I'd guess it's 8-10 years old at this point, but could be 12 or 13. One side was severely sunken into the ground, and the lower "deck" was obviously popping up on that one side; the other sides were sunken as well, though not as much. The whole swing set was leaning a bit in one direction. Using a big pry bar, I was able to raise all sides of the swing set and put cinder blocks underneath, as shown below:

In the above image, the long side showing was approximately 8 inches lower than it is now - the 1x6 across the bottom was completely buried and the lower "deck" was essentially on the ground (or rather, on a giant fire ant mound it turns out). It is rotting away, as can be seen. A close up of the rotting:

I was thinking this would just be a rather simple job to raise the swing set and put some blocks underneath (far enough under the lower deck to keep them from being a danger while playing). But, given the rot, the swing set needs some refurbishment as well.

I got some composite decking to replace all 4 of the 1x6 along the bottom, thinking they'd be more rot-resistant than the cedar. I can get 1x cedar boards to replace some (or all) of the lower deck and the vertical pieces under the window. The stairs / ladder next to the slide will likely need to be rebuilt (combination of rot and weedwacker), as well as the ladder and diagonal supports on the other side of the swings (mostly weedwacker).

Given all of that though, I don't want to have to do this again in 5 or 10 years (or subject the next homeowner to it). The manual indicates to just install it on level soil, and that some sinking is expected, but this seems rather excessive. I worry about putting cinder blocks or concrete piers under the metal posts, due to potential injury, but think that would prevent everything from sinking so much.

Finally, given that the ground is not really level anymore, the green vertical posts aren't plumb either. It's certainly much more level than it was, but it's still not actually level.

What's the best way to go about refurbishing this swing set, while at the same time preventing these same issues from occurring again? Or if not preventing, than delaying? I'm in the Houston, TX area, which has mostly clay soil.

It's basically a matter of...

Replacing all compromised components with new wood or composite ones
Establishing a base that dries out quickly after the rain, so that the wood can also dry

I'd replace the wood with pressure treated or cedar parts. I'd also put the set on blocks, as you've done, and fill in around the blocks with sand, wood chips, or rubber playground material.

You can paint or seal something like this, but you can't really protect all the mated surfaces and fastener holes. This is where the rot occurs most aggressively. Repair it and be happy until it needs more repairs. Repeat.


Is it safe to ground a pump house using the water line? I have a 2- 3/0 alum wires (overhead) from panel box to my pump house.  Both are hot there are only 2 wires no neutral nor ground wire. At the pump house they put a ground wire from the small fuse box and hooked it to the waterline heading back to main building where power originates.  How can this be safe?

Short answer: This is a violation of the National Electrical Code.

Long answer: The Code has always required the grounding of metallic parts that may become energized. Your circuit to the pump house should contain an equipment grounding conductor. Residential systems have a voltage level that qualify under the systems that must be grounded in Article 250.20. A water pipe does not qualify as an equipment grounding conductor under Article 250.118.

If a ground fault occurs the water pipe will become energized.

Have it corrected at your earliest convenience.


What is a good source for older Crestline window locks? I've been looking for two replacement locks for a Crestline window sash.  The window was purchased from Menard's in 1993.  I contacted Crestline about where to find the replacement locks and they gave me the name of two possibilites, neither of which have been able to provide the locks.  In the meantime I discovered that Crestline customer support is also Menard's customer support.  It's possible that Menard's owns Crestline.  After I mentioned that the windows were purchased from Menard's they were more helpful.  I sent them photos of the existing locks so they could see what I have.  They sent two locks for me to try with an alternate set I could order if the first set didn't work.  Neither set works.

I know the design of the locks changed because I successfully replaced a set on a different window several years ago but the current design doesn't work at all.

Does anyone know of sources for window parts or how I might be able to resolve this?

Kent

Try Blaine window hardware Inc. 800-678-1919


What is the name of the round metal bit at the top of a bathtub drain? At the top of the drain there is this round metal drain bit what is it called?
I am looking to replace this top metal bit of my bathtub drain and need help identifying what it is called.

The following is UK terminology.
As a unit it's a 'bath waste', but that includes the part it's screwed to underneath and quite often the pipe & overflow linkage too - everything above the trap.
If you want only the part you can see in the photo, it's a 'jumper plate' - but be careful, because a jumper is also a tap [faucet] washer.
I have to admit to having to look up what just this bit is called. I've never dealt with anything smaller than the entire waste, which also tends to be how you buy them; as complete sets.
If you were to visit a merchant's in person, you could get away with just calling it a 'plug hole' & wait for them to ask you which bit of it you require & what size. Bath wastes tend to be 40mm standard, though ask for 'inch & a half' as we Brits seem to have hung onto that as a definition.
BTW, be very very careful of just unscrewing the jumper plate unless you can reach underneath to hold it up. That's not a predicament you want to be in if you have tiled the bath sides, or can't come in from the ceiling below. Your question doesn't make it clear just what access you have or quite what you intend to do.


Installing swinging gate - how to prevent gate post lean I've re-installed a new down wood fence between my yard the neighbors with the usual 8' 4x4 PT posts, PT rails, and cedar panels. The fence runs along the side of the house and it starts at the end of a driveway slab.  The start of the fence in a 8' 4x4 PT post sunk in 18" of concrete and 6" of packed dirt.  Opposite this post is the side of the garage.

Previous owner had installed a PT 4x4 on the side of the garage, lagged into a stud on the garage siding.  The gate that was installed was in disrepair, so I am installing a new one and split that gate in half, so there's one 4' wide panel and a 3' wide panel to fill a 7' space.

My concern is that installing a gate that is hinged on end post of the new fence will cause that post to lean in toward the side of the garage and causing the gate to sag and look bad.

Are there any bracing techniques that I can use to help prevent this leaning?  I thought I had previously read about nailing a 2x4 to the backside of the 4x4 and then using longer lag bolts to attach the hinges by going all the way through the 4x4 and the 2x4.  Maybe including a metal plate on the backside?

I'm not sure that driving a wedge at ground level will do much because the soil is packed in there, it's only hand-packed and only been that way for 2 months or so since installing that new post.

I don't have another post behind it in order to cable off to that to provide pull tension away from the garage.

I hope I'm missing something obvious...Are there some other ideas?

Thanks in advance.

First off I don't think you're likely to have trouble with a properly set 4x4 post and a 4' wide gate.  The 4x4 should be stiff enough, and if the embedment is solid, it shouldn't lean with the weight of the gate.

One thing you can do is to make sure the gate is supported on the latch side when it's closed, so the post is only taking the weight of the gate while it's open.  This could be something as simple as a heel on the latch post that catches the bottom of the gate.

If your neighbor's fence is sturdy - not sure if that's the case, there's some rot at the bottom of the boards - and the neighbor will allow, you could bolt through the posts so they bear the weight together.


Power cycle needed for garage door to work Garage door stops working, lights work fine.  When opener is unplugged and plugged back in it starts working fine for a few days then stops working againg until power cycled.

Probably a bad controller board - whether the better option is a new controller board (lower cost, generally no guarantee) or a new garage door opener (comes with a guarantee) is a call you'll have to make. Put a surge suppressor on the outlet feeding it - they are highly computerized these days.

Given the evidence of damage/malfunction, you should also test the operation of the safety devices - does the door stop and/or reverse when the "electric eye" sensor beam is broken while it's closing, and does it stop AND reverse if it hits a 2/4 laid flat (a 1-1/2" thick obstruction) laid on the floor when closing? If not, you should definitely disconnect it and replace either the controller board or the whole opener ASAP - with the safety devices malfunctioning, garage door openers do kill people, children, pets...

The opener I have replaced the controller on operated nearly normally, but I noticed that it was trying to drive the door through the floor of the garage after it was done closing, and when trying to adjust that I noticed that it no longer passed the safety tests above. Lightning had struck a nearby tree and evidently caused enough of a surge to damage the controller.


How do I troubleshoot a Kenmore HE washer with an f-21 error? We have a kenmore elite smartwash quiet pak 2 (723 wt-wt).

It starts the normal wash cycle and about 35 mins in, it will not go to a rinse cycle and it stops.Error F21 or Sud comes up. I can not proceed from there. since yesterday we have been having problems with it unlocking, it appears like it not fully draining. We cant drain wont open door tried following the operation instructions on the front tried resetting power still gets stuck at f21 / SUD wont drain

f21 - Long drain time - Pump was plugged

ya we found the problem, it was a large chunk of cloth, an eye glasses cleaning cloth about 5" x 5" balled up and stuck in the drain pump exit hole, surprised something this large found its way down there


I'm replacing old dishwasher but the connectors are different Ok so the white is the piece comming out of dishwasher and other copper one is comming from water supply under sink. How do I connect the two together  when the white is threaded and two big to fit the copper fitting. I don't want to have to replace the copper line it's a older house and would require having to do do much.  I'm doing this on my own and I'm a girl but not stupid but am limited in tools and so need a easy fix thank you mary

It is in your interest to understand / measure the connectors on the dishwasher and your water supply to select the right hose adapter.

Perhaps one of these lines will allow you to bridge the new dishwasher into the existing water lines;

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=dishwasher+line

If you are near a Home Depot or Lowe's try their websites as well.  Let us know when you are successful!

Best to minimize the number of parts: you may need an adapter to bridge your hose into the female copper piping fitting.

Whirlpool W10685193 Dishwasher Swivel Gooseneck Fitting. 3/4 by 3/8-Inch

Or get a flexible 3/8" steel braided supply line, that is however long you need, and then you don't have to mess with copper. Just make sure the other end will fit on the valve under the sink (e.g., you might need a 3/8" to 1/2"). The fitting pictured usually comes in the bag with 10' supply lines along with other adapters you might need.


Can I Use this fitting to connect CPVC tubing to a new shower valve I am replacing a 30+ year old shower valve as part of a master bath remodel.  The existing shower valve has 1/2" NPT female ports (qty 4), with one port capped.  The new valve has 1/2" NPT male connections (qty 3).  I have these fittings in my possession:

I'm just wondering if these are acceptable for this application.

A local big box store also (supposedly) has these fittings available:

which do not have the nut and gasket.  Are they both allowed? Is one better than the other?

I'm in Gwinnett County Georgia, USA.

From what I can gather, both fittings are acceptable.  I ended up getting the second style, and after installation, there was a very small leak at the NPT thread.  I could not tighten it, since the CPVC does not rotate relative to the copper.  So, I had to cut the line tighten the fitting and then install a CPVC coupling.  Not a big deal, but had I installed the first type of fitting, I could have loosened the nut, tightened up the NPT joint and then tightened the nut.  Which I suspect is exactly the problem these fittings are meant to address.


replacing with A-19 Halogen bulbs I am thinking to replace the regular CFL bulb on a light fixture to a 'Smart Guardian 42-Watt Halogen A-19 Clear 6-Hour Cycle Timer Light Bulb', but because its called 'Halogen', I am little concerned about the heat that it could generate as the light figure has a glass cover dome. Any suggestions on this? I plan to be away from home while this light comes on and I dont want to take any chance. TIA.
--Shiva.

A 42W bulb is only going to produce 42 Watts of heat (well, a little less since some of the energy escapes as light (roughly 3 - 5% for a halogen)).

So as long as the fixture is rated for at least 42 watts, that bulb will be fine. The max wattage limit should be noted on the fixture somewhere, either on a sticker, or embossed in the metal.

I think your fear of the word "halogen" comes from the number of accidents attributable to 300W and 500W halogen floor lamps with exposed bulbs, these concerns have been mostly addressed with new safety features (primary guards over the bulbs). But a 42W replacement bulb doesn't pose the same hazard.


Can I wire a box with two 120-volt duplex outlets each wired to one leg of a 240-volt 3-wire plug? In my shop I have plenty of NEMA 6-20Rs (240-volt, 20-amp receptacles) and not enough NEMA 5-20Rs (120-volt 20-amp receptacles).  These are all right next to the panel.

My goal or my desire: I want to run a 20-foot 10/3 power cord to a two duplex box attached to a work table to run simple motors and perhaps a work light.  I want one duplex outlet to be on one 120-volt leg of the 240/20 and the other duplex outlet on the other leg.

Question: Can I use the neutral as a ground or should I use 10/4 for a separate ground?

Your question should be "can I use ground as neutral" since your 6-20 has only 2 hots and ground, no neutral. It is a against code and potentially dangerous to use a ground in place of a neutral.

You need to pull a separate neutral wire back to the panel or sub panel. If you want to keep 240V available, install an L14-20 outlet and use an adapter off of that.


Washer drain pipe flush against outside wall I am looking for a way to fix an every winter, problem with the drain pipe from our washer.

We live in Alaska and we have a 1960's built ranch with no basement but crawl space under entire house (no outlets). The drain pipe from our washer is flush against the outer concrete block wall. So every time it drops below freezing for more than a day it causes the water in the U part of the drain pipe to freeze solid.

We asked a plumber but when he looked at it he said there is no way to get anything between the pipe and outer because there is absolutely no space (which is true). Is there any alternate way to keep this section from freezing? My husband would appreciate something that didn't involve an extension cord and a hair dryer.

Help!

Using your favorite search engine, look up "Pipe Heater Cable". Most have instructions to attach to the outside of the pipe, but some may be fed down into the pipe. Be sure to read and follow the direction coming with these and I would avoid cheap ones from ebay/amazon, you don't want the pipe or your house damaged to save a buck.


Changing a 4 wire electrical cord to a 3 wire electrical cord for a range in a 1905 home I purchased a stove 3 years ago that blew because the stove was hooked up as 3 wire plug and the wall outlet was 4 wire.  The technician to that diagnosed the problem, said because of the age of the house, 1905, the stove and wall plug should be both 3 wire. I purchased a new stove, 3 wire and need to change my wall outlet from 4 wire to 3 wire.  My question is what do I do with the ground.

      old plug on top new plug on bottom

No.
You should follow the manufacturer's installation instructions, and install a 4-prong cord on the range.  You should never replace a 4-prong range receptacle, with a 3-prong.

As @JPhi1618 points out, it looks like your 4-prong receptacle is wired incorrectly.  The bare grounding wire should go to the green screw terminal, while the white "neutral" should go to the silver screw terminal.
Also as @JPhi1618 points out. If there's no grounding conductor in the cable feeding the receptacle, you'll have to address that issue separately.


Weight distribution in load bearing wall? Good morning,
I have a load bearing wall that separates my living room from my kitchen and dining room. The wall is approximately 23 feet long, with 2 openings in it. One opening is 35 inches(going into the kitchen), and one is 47 inches(going into dining room).

I originally wanted to take part of this wall out, and I contacted the structural engineer in my area. The only thing he would recommend is replacing the whole wall with a beam then add in whatever walls I wanted to keep. This cost me $250 and an additional $1000 if I get him to design the beam. I felt like he would not give me any other ideas as he wanted me to pay the $1000.

This brings me to my question about the weight distribution of this wall. I understand I can't make an opening with a header and 2 posts because the load points(2 posts) will be sitting on the beam below and will not be directly over the posts/footings in the basements(although both current openings are also not over the posts in the basements).

I'm wondering if I were to put a header above the opening, leave a half wall, put a "header" at the top of the half wall, which my posts will sit on(rather then go straight to the beam in basement), would it distribute the weight evenly across all 2x4s in the half wall instead of having 2 load points?

Here is a picture to better demonstrate what I mean. It's not a very good drawing any questions please ask.

Just for extra information, the posts in the basement are the exterior wall on one side, another interior concrete wall on the other side, and one post directly in the middle. There is no second floor over this, just a roof, although it is quite a large area, 23x30

I would also like to increase the 47" opening by a couple feet. Anyone know how I could do the calculations to see if I would be able to do that?

I would hate to pay the $1000 for engineer to tell me I can't do it lol.

Thanks for the help!

No, the second header won't convert the point loads from the first header into a uniform load.