How do I remove old Moen kitchen faucet? I'm attempting to install a new kitchen faucet, but I'm having trouble removing my old faucet. Based on the attached pictures, is it obvious what I'm supposed to unscrew?

Also, is it a concern that it looks really ugly up there?

While the picture sure makes it look bad, chances are the sink is ok. You won't know for sure until you get the faucet off, but once you do, just make sure the metal is still solid. It should be. If the rust doesn't clean up, and the basin has seen better days it might give you some joy to put a new sink basin in. Anywhoo....

Loosen the single inner small nut, that should relieve tension on the outer "bell" housing.

That's about it.

To get into the bell housing:

Big Box stores, and I'm sure little ones too, sell wrenches made for this. They are like deep well sockets....
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Shower-Valve-Socket-Set-16PL0132/304217601

By the way, the name brand is "Moen" - but its a totally funny way to spell it, especially because it describes the feeling you have right now having to change it out.

Once you get it off, clean it up good, make sure you have plumbers putty, or a good gasket that comes with the new one. Keeping moisture out is what will keep the metal from looking like that in the future. Look for high quality faucets with decent warranties (some even carry "lifetime" on most parts), they cost a bit more, but it pays for itself.

Also keep any tools it comes with for future use.


What is the optimal method of dealing with leaking brick veneer? My home is brick veneer (one layer). Interior is all drywall, mostly put up by the people who sold me the house 4 years ago (it was a flip).

We're in Tampa, so we get a lot of rain, but the only time we had a problem was during hurricane Irma. With hours of driving rain, water began to get through the brick and under our floorboards and carpet on one side of the house.

This leads me to believe the renovators did not install proper flashing behind the brick before handing the new drywall (there also don't appear to be many weep holes, so there may never have been).

From doing research, it seems my options are a) remove all the drywall and install proper flashing and weep holes, or b) apply a sealant to the exterior brick.

So I really have two questions:
1) Which method of preventing future leaks is optimal (optimal in this case not meaning purely 'most effective,' but more like 'most effective for the effort' - removing all the drywall is a tall order, but if sealant is ultimately pointless, it would still be optimal)?
2) Who should I hire (if anyone) to do it? I'm not not handy, but this is kind of a big deal. If I'm going with sealing, for example, is there someone more qualified/specialized than a generic 'handyman?' My understanding is that it has to be done very thoroughly and correctly. When I looked at masons in my area, none of them seemed to offer that service.

I have brick veneer too, but I have a 1” air space between the veneer and stud wall with plywood covered with a sheet of plastic moisture barrier. This allows any moisture that enters the wall to drain down the 1” void and out the weep holes at the bottom of the wall.

It would be nearly impossible to remove the interior drywall and install a correct system like mine.

Rather, I’d invest in verifying that you do not have any cracks in the mortar joints or between the mortar and brick and then install a clear sealer on the brick veneer.

I’d first hire a masonry contractor to “point” all the mortar joints. Then get the best clear brick sealer with the highest amount of silicone available. (I think mine was 5%.) and hire a painter to install it. They will spray it on and you should make sure they “flood” the brick to the point of refusal. They’ll use a lot, but it’s worth it.

The clear sealer will last 5-6 years, depending on the weather. Be prepared to re-do regularly.


caulk type for bathrooms/washrooms What type of caulk is used in bathrooms? I need to caulk between a bathtub and a tiled wall. Can I use the same for caulking around lavatory pan?

What you want is a siliconized latex caulk. The silicone will resist the water better and the latex will make cleanup easy.

Pure silicone is another option, but it's much harder to clean up and nearly impossible to scrape off later in some cases. It's also got a LOT more VOCs, so expect it to smell bad for a while.


Powering 12V LED strip thru European hinges This is something im planning to do and in fact already half way into building it.

The idea is I'm installing sections of LED strip behind the cabinet door and its on the door itself. This door is framed using plywood and having large rectangular cut-out in the middle which holds transparent glass. When the door is closed display items in the cabinet will be lit brightly by the LEDs but non of the LED will be visible.

Now to provide power to the LED mounted on the hinged door, im going to use the two hinges so that no extra wires needed.

Current draw by LED thru the hinges will be less than 500 mA thus i don't for see  much power loss on the hinges.

Is this method have ever been tried by someone? Is there anything im risking on this attempt?

Yes, it's been done. For instance some GM cars supplied power to their rear hatch defogger through the hatchback lift springs (you know, that look like shock absorbers and help you lift the hatch).

However hinges are not made or listed to carry current, so you may run into trouble with poor contact and arcing at the hinge.

The right way to do that thing is to put a jumper strap across the hinge, made of a highly flexible braided wire made for thousands of flex cycles.


Should a concrete curb at a patio door be built on top of or inset into the slab? This is going to be hard to explain, so please bear with me.  I am shrinking down an old 8' sliding glass door Rough opening from what appears to have been an old garage door originally.  The header seems sound, so I plan on framing in under it, about 24"x 80" between the foundation edge which was also the old rough opening edge, and the edge of a the rough opening I want. As this is  for an exterior door I need a minimum clearance of 6" vertical before the bottom of new siding, to prevent water and other issues.  I plan on building a mold to pre-cast a piece of concrete I have designed that will have embedded threads for the sill plate and holes for rebar to be epoxy fixed once in place and connected to existing structures.

My question is this, should I design this to sit on existing slab and set in place with hydraulic cement (my current plan) or should I cut out a chunk of slab and design this to fit down next to the slab?

Remember, this will not be load bearing as it is under the header for the old door.  As such do I need to worry about 'punch through' with the new block as it will not be over a footer as far as I know.

Thanks for reading and thinking about this.

Keil, if I understand your situation correctly it sounds like you're on the right path. I would set the precast on the existing concrete, but you'll want to seal all around with a silicone-based calk. I don't think you need to worry about any punch through, because it isn't load bearing. Good luck!


Should I caulk the top and bottom of my windows on the outside? Lots of ladybugs in the house today, and I read that they're getting in through the windows, so I went to inspect. One window in particular has a large gap at the bottom. All of the windows on my house are not caulked in that spot, although some have almost no gap.

Bottom of window (that's a metal sill on the bottom):

Closeup:

I also noticed that all windows have a gap at the top as well (also, what about the vertical gap the orange arrow is pointing to?):

It's really weird to me but since ALL the windows are missing caulk in those spots, I'm thinking maybe there was a reason they weren't caulked? Should I leave them alone? I am not very well-versed in windows, so forgive my terminology (if anyone can point out to good resources, would be appreciated)

In these photos, it looks as through there is a foam backing strip -- this was probably put in to form a seal a long time ago, when the gap was smaller. If this is the case, you might want to get another foam strip and put it in the gap to seal it.

Also in the second picture, it looks like there is an old caulk joint at the bottom of the image, which has cracked over time.

It's possible that these gaps get larger and smaller over the course of seasons, but I don't think that caulking them on the edges would build up enough force to mess anything up. My guess for why they're there at all is that the components were aligned flush when the house was constructed, and there was no need to caulk them.

The major downside I'd expect is that removing those window frames might be slightly more of a pain if you ever decide to have them replaced.

The answers on a previous question regarding this subject mentioned a couple things about trapping water in, so this might be a good point to start off for more research:

Should Caulk be used around vinyl windows


Do I need to install another Bonding bus bar in the disconnect? In Texas (CenterPoint Energy) from the meter can to the disconnect, I have three wires, HOT, HOT and Neutral.   In the disconnect I need to connect the Neutral to the ground however the Neutral bus bar only has an opening for one 4 ought wire. Do I need to purchase another ground bar and install it in the disconnect and Bond them together?  I know they need to be bonded there, how do I physically do it?

In answer to your question. Yes you do need to add another ground bar to bond the neutral and the ground wire at the first means of disconnect and you will need to attach your ground you brought in under ground. Also as @Tyson has pointed out you will need a driven ground rod at the disconnect. What everyone else is saying is that you will need to isolate the neutral from the ground at any panel down stream. As far as what method you use to bond this disconnect you probably want to run that through the AHJ. I like @Paul Logan's advice but you need to use a four barrel lug. Neutral in, neutral out, grounding electrode conductor, and grounding wire out.

As far as I can see the disconnect is service rated. It's just a fused disconnect instead of a main or enclosed breaker.


hardwood floor hole susceptible to wood filler? I have a hole in the hardwood floor (I think it's birch) and I'm thinking to fill it with wood filler.

Is that a good idea?

Here's the hole:

It's probably 2/3 mm in diameter.

Thanks!!

It looks like a knothole that gave way.

Filling is complicated by the color difference between the body of the wood and the dark ring of the hole. You could put in a dark filler, as if it were the knot. Or you could scrape away the darker edges and put in a lighter filler similar to the color of the plank.

Either way, you would need enough filler to make sure the bottom of the plug is sitting on the subfloor. The adhesion of the filler to the sides of the hole would not be enough to keep the plug in place. Even with this, the plug may shift or break away.

An alternative is to cut out a slightly larger hole and insert a dutchman, a new piece of wood use to fill a broken or missing section. In fixes like this, the inserted piece would usually be a pointed oval (sometimes called a marquis shape). It also should have a slightly tapered edge with the top being wider than the bottom. The corresponding hole in the wood has a top surface wider than the deeper section. This gives more glue area and add structural support to prevent punch through. All of this assumes you have access to some of the original wood from the floor or a comparable piece.

Obviously the patch system is a bit more complex than the filler and requires a careful sanding and refinishing of the immediate area.


How do I repair cracks in thincoat plaster? I have a crack in the thincoat plaster that is over the drywall. There is an orange peel texture over the thincoat. What is this caused by, and what is the best way to repair it?

That crack is most likely directly inline with a seam between two sections of the underlying drywall. Environmental effects or settling of the building structure over years can lead to cracks like this opening up.

Probably the best fix for this is to sand to roughen up the area for six to eight inches or so on either side of the crack. Then apply some good quality mesh style drywall joint tape:

(I would actually install in two overlapping layers).

Then use a drywall mud knife to embed the tape into a layer of drywall mud that is feathered out over a wide area on either side of the mesh tape. If the drywall mud is installed carefully over multiple applications you can minimize the amount of sanding required.


Anybody know how to change my bathroom light bulb case/cover? I just moved to a month ago and the bulb in my bathroom is dead. So I would like to change the bulb, but I cannot open the bulb case/cover. I try to find screw on the bowl-thingy that caging the bulb, no such screw. Anybody that electrician/handyman know how to open this?

Brand is cetek, but i cannot find any information on the brand.

Spin the glass bowl inside of the white halo.


Can I SAFELY install a Grounded Dishwasher in a mid 1950's home which was wired with a 2 wire UNGROUNDED circuit? We have just moved into a mid 1950's home which was wired with a 2 wire circuit--NO GROUND. I have purchased an stand alone GFCI 5b Outlet Adapter for protection(Tower - 5 Outlets, 125 Volt, 15 Amp, White, GFCI 5b Outlet Adapter 5-15P, 5-15R NEMA Configuration, cUL, UL File E174279 Mfr Part #: 30440003 MSC Part #: 36029262). My question is can I install a Model # DDT595SMJES 24 in. Top Control Dishwasher by GE with this GFCI outlet adapter substituting for the Ground protection, or will the GFCI not protect from electrocution if it has no ground? OR, is this GFCI Outlet Adapter going to serve the same function os a 3 wire grounded circuit with a GFCI?

Looks like cheese junk from a brand no one's heard of.   You certainly shouldn't use random stuff that fell off a truck in Shenzhen for life safety.

It's also too expensive for what it is.  Cheaper would be a GFCI breaker from top makers like Eaton, GE, Siemens, etc.  Cheaper still would be a GFCI receptacle from a decent maker.

In any case, the device has a 5-15 plug, which means it's not listed to use on an ungrounded receptacle, if it's listed at all, which I doubt.    Which means either a) it won't plug into your receptacle; b) you have a 5-15 receptacle that is illegally installed with no ground, c) you have a GFCI receptacle legally installed without ground, or d) you have a 5-15 receptacle that does have a ground after all.

I would do option C and install your own GFCI receptacle or breaker, and call it done.

A GFCI is adequate for life safety, as it will stop electrocutions.  Some equipment needs proper earthing for reasons not related to life safety, e.g. radios or recording studio equipment, a GFCI will not suffice for them.


How to remove old house number I have an old metal framed house number that looks like it is embedded in the stucco (see image).

Looking for a way to remove it without damaging the wall too much.
I'm planning to put a new ceramic number tile which is about the same size. So I hope not to damage the paint around it too much.

First, use a hammer and chisel to cut the stucco tight to the old sign. Try to undercut at 45 degrees so that when the sign pops off it will not pull any more of the stucco with it. Once you have a clean-edged rectangular depression, fill it flush with a wood block and some stucco product. You want a waterproof patch.
If your new sign is a bit too small you can build a "picture frame" around the sign. Add the frame after mounting the new sign, or attach the sign to a larger thin substrate with the frame as one piece..


New doorbell stopped working, now not working properly I have a doorbell question. Here is my setup. Years ago I added a wireless electronic doorchime "extender" to our existing wired doorbell so that we could hear the doorbell in our basement. All worked well. Recently, I replaced our doorbell with a brand new Honeywell wired doorbell, including the button. We have no back door doorbell. The only thing I didn't change was the transformer because it is wired directly to our electrical panel, and I'd prefer not to mess with that. The old transformer is a 10V 6VA transformer, while the transformer for the new bell (uninstalled) is a 16V 10VA transformer. The doorbell has been working fine for over a month, even with the old transformer. However, we woke up one morning to the chime in the basement ringing non-stop and the new doorbell quietly buzzing non-stop. The light on the doorbell button is not working, so I replaced the button. The new button is lit, but now the doorbell "dings" once, but no "dong". What can the problem be? The transformer? If so, why did it work well for all this time? I'd appreciate some help.  Thank-you.

Apparently, the new doorbell is made to operate at 16 volts not 10. It seems to not work well under-voltaged.

I would install the new transformer and disconnect the wireless extender for a while until you determine if the new door bell is working properly. Just make sure you shut off the circuit breaker feeding the old transformer before replacing it. Double check to make sure power is shut off before replacing it.

Good luck!


electric in bathroom light went off in bathroom.I thought bulb had blown but I changed all bulbs and still no light, also checked box switch not thrown, it is an over the mirror light fixture, what do you think problem can be. Earlier in day it had been blinking off and on a few times

I would investigate a bad contact in the fixture first.

Tighten/loosen the bulb slightly. Try gently wiggling the bulb.  If the light comes on, it's probably a bad contact.

If the light does not come on. Remove the bulb, and with a flashlight carefully look into the empty socket.  You're looking for corrosion, discoloration, a bent, misaligned, or damaged contact. If you see any damage, replace the fixture.

If everything with the socket looks good, you'll want to look for loose connections.  Turn off the power, and inspect the fixture wiring.  If you don't see any problems, check the switch wiring.

If everything still looks good. Use a multimeter to test continuity through the switch.

If you still haven't found the problem, it might be time to contact an Electrician.


How can I quiet a noisy downspout? Possible Duplicate:
  How do I stop the dripping noise from my gutters?

I have metal downspouts that come down from by gutters.  One of them happens to be right by my bedroom window.  When the rain is just right this downspout will often make an extremely loud pinging sound when water is coming down slowly (think someone hitting a coffee can with a spoon ever 2 seconds).  For some reason this rhythmic sound seems to wake me up and then drive me mad.

Has anyone else had this problem and found a good solution?  I tried stuffing rocks up the down spout in the hopes that they would quiet things down.  This works for a short time, but every big storm they seem to wash away.  Suggestions?

FYI - the downspout comes down perpendicular to the ground and then angles out 135 degrees from perpendicular.

Replace the downspout with a decorative downspout chain. Then water only drips inches to the next link, rather than all at once, the height of your downspout.


Should HVAC registers be closed or open when HVAC is broken, & window AC units are in use? The property in question in located in a hot climate, with high-90's being regular during the summer. The compressor has died on the property's HVAC, and for the time being, the space will be cooled by multiple window AC units and many fans, while funds are gathered for the refurbishment.

The home is a single story ranch-style, with registers in the ceiling, which lead through the un-conditioned attic space.

For the sake of maximum comfort, should the HVAC registers in each room be in the OPEN or CLOSED position?

They should be open, and the furnace fan should be running regularly, if not full-time. This will keep the home fresh and distribute moisture more uniformly.

If you don't run the furnace fan, it probably doesn't matter. If you find a reason to close them, do so.


Efficient wiring method or bad idea? I need to wire 2 bedrooms and a living area. Rather than the addition of a separate lighting circuit with wires going everywhere above, I plan to run each room on a separate 20amp circuit (12/2) with shared receptacles and lights.
Starting my home run from outlet to outlet then simply T-ing off an outlet where a switch would be located above, I could run power to the switch, then to the light. Now back at the T junction, power would continue down the line of outlets finishing till the end of the circuit. My wiring would be in parallel, so pig tails on everything, also would be using a deep enough box to house the 3 sets of wires coming into the T junction outlet box(power in, power out, power to switch and pigtails to power outlet). Is there anything wrong or against code with this method of wiring??
I am aware that most people run separate lighting circuit, mostly for the sake of not losing light if a breaker flips, but for me that does not out weigh a simple branch off an outlet for ease of install and less wire to run, less connections, less potential hazards. In my mind it makes sense and is efficient. Am I missing anything? What do you guys think? any info would be much appreciated.

Electricians have debated this for a long time with no decisive winner, so it's a safe bet there's no right or wrong answer, both ways have merit.  But the layout you propose is fine.
Some decide based on cost considerations.  Some like the additional power available per room.
Some think it's bad for the lights to go out when someone trips a breaker with a plug in device, since they may have to navigate in the dark to go reset the breaker.
Some like the idea that you can put the smoke detectors on the lighting circuit and if that circuit trips the breaker for any reason, you'll know because the lights won't work.
I prefer the arrangement you propose, a 20A circuit per room for lights and receptacles, with 15A receptacles.  My favorite reason is space heaters, in my opinion that's what settles it.
Very few homes have heating that separates every room on its own thermostat.  There are not many families where everyone is comfortable at the same temperature.  Therefore, sometimes people use space heaters.
Electricians hate space heaters, and tell homeowners they should not use them, because they mess up their plans to put a lot of space on a single circuit.  In my opinion, this is the tail wagging the dog, the homeowner isn't supposed to worry about what the electrician would want in their home.  The electrician's design should anticipate the homeowner's demand.
One other suggestion along these lines.  Even if you're not going to install a ceiling fan right now, provide for it with your wiring.  It's a difficult retrofit but it's only a little extra effort and expense now to set up for a ceiling fan later.  Electricians also hate ceiling fans, but some homeowners love them.


What's the best way to plug circular drywall holes left by electrician? I'm having recessed lights installed and want to know the best method to plug the holes left by the electrician. I was thinking of something like paint stirring sticks and construction adhesive to secure to back of drywall. Then plugs could be glued or screwed to the wood. Or I could use screws to secure the wood plank. Is this ok? Better ideas?

In hindsight I should have asked the electrician if he uses a flex bit (he didn't) and if he uses a hole saw to cut the holes for the lights (he didn't).

Wow, I'm surprised to see that an electrician did this to run wires! That number of holes certainly looks excessive.

While the method you suggested will work just fine, it seems like it would be quite repetitive.  It might just be easier to cut out a rectangular strip and replace it with a new piece of drywall - then tape, mud, sand (and repeat) and paint. You might have to paint your entire ceiling in order for it to blend well.

If I were doing this (and I installed 30 of them in my house without cutting any extra holes in the ceiling), I would have cut the holes for the can locations and then fished the wire using a 6' flexible drill bit and an extension bit if necessary. An inspection camera comes in handy here too to help you see what's going on.  If I was really stuck, I'd start by cutting a small hole only for the inspection camera (maybe 1" max - easy to patch), and if it really required a large hole, only then would cut a large hole so I could determine where the problem is.


Connecting mirror heating pads to switch in bathroom I'm trying to wire mirror heating pads that are placed behind the mirror. The heating pads have two wires coming out of them. The wires are blue and brown although i think they should be black.

Im replacing one of the outlets in the mirror with a switch. I want to connect the heating pads to the switch.

The old outlet is wired as a series to three other outlets. As you can see in the picture, i have 2 ground, 2 neutral and 2 live cables sticking out of it.

How can i connect the pads to the switch and maintain the other three outlets as serie?

Any suggestions? Thanks a lot!

Run the two browns (L) to your switch: supply on one side of switch, heater on other side of switch.  Join the two blues (N). Join the two greens (PE).  Make sure your method of joining the wires conforms to your country's wiring standard.

By the way, Brown is Line per IEC; Blue is Neutral.  Line is black in US and other countries not aligning with IEC.


Does this boiler flame look ok? This is my natural gas hot water heating boiler flame.   It lights up initially with a fair bit of orange flame, and after 10 seconds or so settles into what's pictured.  I believe it mostly looks as it should, but there are several parts of the flame burning orange.  How bad is this?  I know I should clean it, which I'll do in the spring.  This doesn't need immediate attention does it?   I have a CO detector nearby, reading 0 all the time.

Cleaning the burners every few years or so is always a good idea, because loose debris accumulates on and around the burners.  This debris gets sucked into the flames, causing those intermittent yellow bursts, as seen in the picture.
But, the flames in the picture look normal otherwise.


Is it better to vent a bathroom fan out the soffit, the side of the house, or the roof? Working on a friend's house, we're installing a bathroom fan. He had planned to vent the fan out the closest soffit, which is only a few feet away. I'm trying to persuade him to vent it out the roof at best, or the side of the 2nd floor at worst, because I've always been told that you should go "up and out" with bathroom exhaust. What is the best method, and more importantly, why?

Related: Can I vent a bathroom fan through the eaves?

As far as I know, it doesn't really matter as long as it's vented outside. Venting into the attic is Very Bad -- in the winter, the humid air will condense and (if cold enough) freeze, and you'll effectively have water in the attic.

For any vents, the straighter the run is, the more efficient and quieter it is. Avoid corrugated pipes, and avoid bends and elbows as much as possible. For that reason, going into the soffit almost guarantees you'll have more bends than going through the roof.

As an aside, I have two bathrooms, and they both have the identical fan (which is rated as very quiet). One bathroom has a 3" duct that is about 3' long, and goes almost straight out the side of the house (it's done with a small section of flex line that bends up and over be a couple inches, because I lined up the vent on the outside with the siding). The other bathroom vent has a 4" x ~6' line that has two sweeping turns and goes out the side of the house. The second one is noticeably noisier than the first.

As a DIY job, you'll also have to be sure you have the knowledge to cut a hole in the roof. I'd say it'd be far better to go out the side of the house (which is a bit easier to seal) than to go through the roof and cause a leak.


Can I sweep blown insulation to one side and replace with fiberglass batts? I noticed my attic blown in insulation is rather thin on one side. Rather than buying enough to cover the whole area, I was thinking of just pushing or brooming the blown in insulation toward the soffit to fill it to the top of the joists, and then laying some batts into the cleared space.

Is there any reason I shouldn't do that?

EDIT: Please note: Adding more blown in insulation is NOT an option and I wish people would quit mentioning it. I KNOW the differences. I want to know if there are any TECHNICAL REASONS why I don't want to do this ONLY!

Cellulose (the typical, but not the only, blown in) is much less air-permeable than fiberglass. Some tests even show it works without a vapor barrier, though I certainly put one in anyway on my project using it. It also has an R-value that increases in the cold, and no seams.

Fibreglass batts are considerably more air-permeable, have seams, and have an R-value that reduces with cold temperatures - which is not great if insulating to reduce heating costs.

So: doing what you describe is both possible and better than doing nothing, but inferior to (and probably more expensive than) blowing in more cellulose. If you have a near-religious objection to more blown in, by all means level out the blown-in and add fibreglass batts, rather than not adding anything. If, (as seems unlikely from your comments) you'd like the best insulation job for your money, consider adding more blown in.


What to do with risers when they aren't great quality I'm trying to give my stairs a facelift. I've removed carpet and this is what's left.

My original intention was to stain. But it doesn't look like that's gonna be possible.

My question is what should I do with the risers. Below each nosing there's a 1 inch gap I can possibly do something/put.

I think I would put a veneer on as suggested by JACK, but would then paint the stairs. Mine are white pine, which are also a soft wood, but they seem fine. Also if painting, the veneer could be a less expensive type instead of oak. Also paint is a lot more forgiving than stain. For example, you can fill and calk the gaps. I painted mine. They had carpet on them and when we pulled it off there were cracks, gaps, and even surface nails, in the top of the treads. I calked, filled, etc. and then painted them with two different colors. The treads are oil based porch and floor paint from Lowes. Here's how they turned out.


How to determine the screw size (No.)? I have multiple "Damaged Screw Remover" bits. I have another instance of the screw in my hand. The bits are designed for specific screw sizes (No. 4 to 7/No. 8 to 10). How do I determine the "No." size for the screw?

If you have an identical screw, you can probably take it to Home Depot or Lowes and use the thread gauge mounted in the hardware section. (The HD in my area has one, but I'm not sure if all of them do.)

This website also has several printable size gauges for screws, bolts, washers, and nuts.

Otherwise, you can buy one. They're usually labelled as "Screw ID Gauge" or "Thread Gauge." Home Depot has them in the hardware aisle for $2 or $3.


How to connect LED tape strips in separate locations to one power source? We're looking into running LED Tape Lights under the wall cabinets in our kitchen.  We have three sections that would get the lights and we need them all powered by a single switch.  There is a switch that goes up into the attic in the middle of the kitchen where we used to have a light so that's not a problem.

In the linked picture, the RED lines are where the LED Tapes would go.  The cooktop is in the gap at the top and a window is over the sink.  There's no way to run something across the openings so I think I need to run three separate lines down from the attic.
Pic: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2rsyzpnbw2qf3jr/led%20tape.jpg?dl=0

The length of the actual LED sections are approximately 14", 100", & 12".  Each run would also have to come down from the attic to the bottom of the cabinets...

The two ways I could think of are:

1) Using one Tape power supply in the attic and then splitting it off to go to the three areas for tapes.  Not sure how long I can run things from a single power supply
2) Using one power supply for each section of tape (or maybe one for the long section and a second one for the short ones?)

I've never used the LED Tape lights before so just wanted to get some basic feedback before I heard to the store and stare at the options hanging on the racks.

Thanks!

You can use either one power supply or many. The important thing is that you use a power supply that is listed for enclosing in a wall or attic. Something like in this picture:

Any light strip you buy that is designed for permanent installation should come with such a supply and will be listed by UL or similar.

I don't recall seeing LED tape strips that come with a proper wall box, rather I have seen them come with plug in power supplies or transformers that most municipalities will not allow to be buried in a wall. It doesn't mean they don't exist, of course. Regardless, check with your code office to see what supply is permitted in your area. Perhaps they will allow a simple transformer to be concealed. That would surprise me, though.


How bad is it to attach a gas water heater to a gas furnace electrical circuit? I'm looking to replace my existing water heater with a more efficient model. One of the things that makes better models more efficient is the replacement of the thermocouple / pilot control system with electronic control and ignition plus electrically controlled dampers. Thus the heater requires some form of electrical hookup for this function.

My understanding is that in this scenario code requires the gas furnace and gas water heater to be on dedicated circuits. (Is my understanding wrong?)

I'd rather not (pay someone to run) a whole new circuit when I'd expect the water heater to need less than 4W. As a result I'd like to reuse the furnace's circuit and install a SPST switch and plug combination in the junction box where the furnace's existing disconnect switch is located, and connect the water heater to it.

How worried should I be about this? Am I going to cause serious safety hazards or equipment damage?

According to the National Electrical Code, a gas furnace (or any other central heating equipment) must be on its own circuit. So connecting a water heater (or anything else), would be a code violation.

  National Electrical Code 2014

  Chapter 4 Equipment for General Use

  Article 422 Appliances

  422.12 Central Heating Equipment. Central heating
  equipment other than fixed electric space-heating equipment
  shall be supplied by an individual branch circuit.

  Exception No. 1: Auxiliary equipment, such as a pump,
  valve, humidifier, or electrostatic air cleaner directly associated
  with the heating equipment, shall be permitted to be
  connected to the same branch circuit.

  Exception No. 2: Permanently connected air-conditioning
  equipment shall be permitted to be connected to the same
  branch circuit.

  Chapter 1 General

  Article 100 Definitions

  Branch Circuit, Individual. A branch circuit that supplies
  only one utilization equipment.


Frozen bathtub pipes We had six inches of snow over the weekend and it was zero degrees this morning. Last night I realized that although I had been running water in the kitchen, the washer and the bathroom sink, the bathtub will not dispense water. It initially spit out a trickle then nothing. I took a bath by heating water on the stove and it drains fine.
The tub backs up to a shed outside the front door where it is covered by a board.  I am in the middle stack of three in a 1973 condo building.
It is going to be about 18 degrees tonight and I am debating calling a plumber if it does not thaw on its own tomorrow. I am trying to watch money.
I can run an extension cord and put a heating dish in the shed which will buzz if it is touched or moved while on or blow a hair dryer provided I can get the board off. I am a single woman.
Can this wait a day or so? We will be in the 60s in two days. Any advice appreciated. Thank you.

As suggested: If water is not running it can wait. The problem may be that when it thaws the pipe may have ruptured. If the pipe is ruptured and the ice melts it could make a mess in a wall but it may also be a pipe under the house that you may not realize it is leaking unless it is large and your water pressure drops. But with cold temps some times it can take a few days above freezing and closer to 40 to thaw if the floors are insulated. You may get lucky and not have any leaks when it thawes out.


Why do floor tiles exist? Floor tiles: We all know them, we all love them, but who are they really?

Floor tiles can be beautiful and stylish, adding color and interesting patterns to a room. But 90% of the time, they're anonymous squares that you never even think of unless you're stuck home in quarantine.

My question is: Do floor tiles have any practical advantages over any cheap alternatives like plain concrete?

"Floor tiles can be beautiful and stylish, adding color and interesting patterns to a room."
I think you answered your own question.
Edit
Responding to your rephrased question.
Most floor tiles are very functional and can take a lot of abuse which is one reason they are used in commercial settings. Same in homes. In playrooms, kitchens, etc. that get a lot of hard use they will wear better than linoleum or carpeting.
I think in many applications it's functionality/durability over beauty. Again, they can also be very attractive but beauty is and always will be subjective and personal. Flooring is always a balance of durability, beauty and cost.


What kind of wooden fence is this and how do I go about staining it? This fence was put up about a year ago. Ideally I would like to stain it but I wanted to get everyone's opinion first.

First of all I have no idea what kind of wood this is and what I should do about preparing to stain. I did some research and people are saying it should be sanded down? Is this absolutely necessary, the fence is huge and it would be extremely time consuming.

I also live in an area where it rains a lot throughout the year and the winters aren't as harsh.

Any advice or recommendation is greatly appreciated.

Blast it clean with a garden hose to remove surface dirt, then use a high quality exterior semi-transparent stain of the color of your choice. Use a good quality brush, a nice wide one, and know that you should use a back-brush technique; that is, you will apply the stain in both and up and down brushing motion, due to the rough-sawn nature of the wood. No sanding necessary.

The pressure-treated posts and the fence boards will not look exactly the same because they are different types of wood, but it will not detract from the beauty of your fence.


Why won't my furnace turn off? My furnace is running OK and heating the house.  The problem is that I have the thermostat set to 66°F and it does not turn off when it reaches that temperature.  I can turn it off manually at the thermostat but the blower continues to run for a very long time before it shuts down.

I have a very old dial thermostat.  Could it have gone bad?

In my experience the old mercury trip thermostats with the bi-metallic strip are wildly inaccurate. My experience was similar to yours, I had to crank the thermostat down as low as it could go to get the furnace to turn off and crank it high to get it to turn on.

I'd recommend going to the local hardware store and picking out an inexpensive digital thermostat. Here is a link to a good example. It doesn't have a ton of features but it will get you the accuracy you're looking for. They're pretty easy to install, only a few wires to hookup (2 for your furnace and 3 for central AC if I remember correctly).

I've installed a similar thermostat in every place I've lived in if a mercury trip thermometer was in place ... even rented apartments.

There may be a problem with your furnace but this is a good first step to take and even if it doesn't solve the problem it's a good investment for your place. Easy to read, easy to change and very convenient.


Any way to monitor load on a power outlet and receive notifications of usage? My sump pump float sometimes sticks.  This is an issue because the pump can easily run dry and burn out, especially if we are away for an extended period of time.

Ideally I'm looking for something that the sump plugs in 'through' which will alert me via iphone/sms/email either:

a) if its running for too long (based on power draw) or
b) if it exceeds a certain electricity usage threshold within a period of time

I'm thinking B is more realistic than A, based on the available power monitor products on the market.

Once I receive the alert I would know the pump is likely stuck 'on' and then be able to toggle the outlet on and off via iPhone.

Belkin's WeMo does provides the on/off functionality but doesn't allow me to monitor or set alerts against usage.

It looks like the Watts Up? .net would work. I don't see the notification listed explicitly but the data is there so creating some threshold to notify you shouldn't be impossible. It may have monthly fees to use depending on what you want to do.


garbage disposal relocation Complete newbie to DIY-ing as well as Plumbing.
My wife and I decided to upgrade our kitchen sink and we chose a single basin, 9" deep model. I've been reading a lot on plumbing best practices and racking my brain at how best to move my garbage disposal to the right ( given that the new sink has it's drain on the R.H.S )
the following are a few of the obstacles that I can't figure out how to deal with ( see images )
namely:

There is little clearance from either one of the drain pipes coming from the wall as well as being glued to a wye and a tee? ( respectively ) So I don't know if cutting the fittings is advisable.

The vent is very high at this point and will definitely be an obstacle for the newer deeper sink So I don't even know how to deal with it, should I cut and recap? can I cut and recap? If I cut won't the lower diameter portion of the existing fitting be stuck in there?

What could I do with the p-trap coming from the lower drain's wye which I intend to connect to the disposal ( which again, I want to move to the RHS ) given that I think the trap would have to sit low-ish and the RHS drain is high.

Where can I install the new vent IFF I can somehow figure out what to do about the other one, my Idea is to use the capped branch on the lower wye.

I apologize If I used terms incorrectly, again, I'm a newbie ( for what it's worth I'm incredibly excited about this project and have nothing but the utmost respect for the professionals who do this challenging job every day )
I have attached a couple of pictures in hopes of making this a bit clearer.
I'd appreciate any input.

Ps: while I appreciate any kind of input, please do not suggest "leave it to a professional" as my goal is learning, personal growth, and a nicer sink than what I have right now... let's be constructive if we can.

Good pictures.  You have an unusual configuration for that drain.  Typically, there is only one drain line coming from the wall into the kitchen cabinet.  That would have one trap and upstream of the trap are the sink, disposal, and perhaps a dishwasher drain (you don't appear to have one in this cabinet.)
What you have is not necessarily wrong, but if you search for garbage disposal drain on Google Images you will see many examples of more typical configurations.  Yours could be like that if you re-orient the disposal and re-configure the drains to combine into one trap.
If it's easiest for you, you could use only the lower drain, and stop using the upper connection.  It seems like you need room for a deeper sink and that may help.
Why is your sink drain unusual?
The gotcha question is -- why is your drain setup unusual?  And why is that Air Admittance Valve (AAV) (not exactly a vent but it has a specific purpose) connected to the upper drain?  Does this drain lack a proper vent at all?  Check outside your house and see if there is a roof penetration for the vent above your sink or elsewhere in your kitchen area.  If not, that AAV -- which is not a total substitute for a vent -- will need to stay in there somewhere downstream of the trap -- but you could cut some drywall away and see if there's room to relocate it into the wall cavity (just don't cover it with new drywall after; you cannot cover up an AAV because they have a limited lifespan and need to be serviceable.)
FYI the Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Plumbing book is great, well illustrated, and you can find it at many libraries.  I recommend you read it or another plumbing book so you can have a better understanding of traps & venting.  That may help you understand your options for making changes to this drain better.


Do I need a header when non bearing wall I've opened up a lath and plaster of a non bearing wall in my home built in 1924 (had a structural engineer look at it to confirm) but only partially - 5" under the molding (10" height). This molding I would like to keep. Also, due to electrical wires/outlets that are still needed, I would like to keep the wall as a U shape opening with lateral widths of less than 12" (as slim as possible without becoming an eye sore). Studs are 2"x4" at 12" on center.

The structural engineer said that I don't need a header to support the teeth studs that will result from the opening. Is that true ? The opening is rather large, over 10'. To be safe, should I still put a header? If so, what would be the minimum height I would need.

Edit: I remembered I had a photo taken while taking the plaster and lath down.

If it were me, I would use 2- 1 3/4'x5 1/2' LVLs. They shrink very little, hold up more than you will ever need for the dead load of the wall. The crown is attached to the wall, but it should be attached to the ceiling as well, at least a 5" crown should be.

Before setting the beam, cut the studs level, and if possible, preload the beam/header by shimming the cripple studs, to insure all are snug/tight to the header.


Attaching new drain trap to a galvanized stub out I am replacing a vanity in my bathroom. The brass p-trap from the old sink was connected to the galvanized stub out as seen below. While there haven't been any leaks that I'm aware of, the slip nut that attached the p-trap is broken so I want to replace the whole p-trap and connection. I realize galvanized drains are bad news but I don't have the resources to replace them right now so I'm focusing on what I can control.

My question is, what is the best means to connect a new PVC p-trap to the existing galvanized stub out?

My plan is to use a 1-1/2" to 1-1/4" zinc slip nut with a reducing washer to replace the broken one (assuming I can get the old one off cleanly) and attach the new p-trap. Will this work?

Alternatively, I read about using a brass waste connector which screws on to the stub out further than a slip nut and reduces the chance for issues related to corroded threads. Would this be better?

Should I use pipe dope or teflon tap when installing the new slip nut/connector? How clean from the old pipe dope does the stub out need to be?

Update 3/4/2020: After attempting a new zinc slip nut and washer, I simply couldn't get a good enough seal to prevent a very slow drip. The bottom of the pipe had a small notch that I think was to blame.

Ultimately, I ended up installing a brass waste connector from Home Depot with teflon tape, then connected the trap arm with the nut that came with the brass waste connector and a new rubber washer. The nut did extend the trap a little further making it difficult to re-install. Time will tell if this is a lasting solution.

It looks like you have 1.5" pipe reducing to 1.25" (1 1/4"). The easiest way to handle this is with a reducing coupler (example).

This should be less hassle than the reducing ring (no messing with gunky threads) and you should get a better seal overall


What size gas line do I need to run to my garage I am looking to run about 50 feet of black steel gas line through a basement room, underground and out to my garage for a radiant heater. I'd like to put an underground junction in it so that I can hook up an outdoor LP grill.

is a 3/8" line large enough?
I have read that I can not have any joints covered up by a finished ceiling. Does that seem correct? (I'd have to get one long solid pipe to run the length of the room)
How deep would it have to be buried?
Where can I get an underground junction that I could turn off without digging up the line? Or does that seem unnecessary? I live in Minneapolis/Richfield MN.

I'm also open to better/simpler solutions.

Step one would be to check with your local inspection authority. Gas work by non-licensed professionals is prohibited in many jurisdictions.

If it's not prohibited, they may offer advice on material and installation requirements. You can also talk to the employees at a local gas supply store.

A good option for your project would be a direct burial flexible gas line, a.k.a. poly gas pipe. Such a line could be installed so that you have no buried fittings.

Whatever you bury, make sure you place a layer of AT LEAST 6 inches of sand over the line. You should also put a marker tape over the line. The marker tape and the sand serve as indicator to future diggers that something is buried below. Pea gravel below the line is a good idea so that any water that seeps in leaches away quickly and does not stay in contact with the line.

For an example of how to use the sand and marker tape, see the segment of this video from Ask This Old House where they install a blue stone patio. And here's a crude diagram:


Polesaw: electric v. gas? battery v. corded? The Home Depot site indicates there are two classes of pole saws:

1) Electric powered
2) Gas powered

Within electric, there is battery-powered vs corded.  This is light duty (palm trees) and small (3/4 inch) branches.  This will be for home use and NOT professional use.

Electric powered devices seem more cost effective and corded devices are simpler.  The maintenance fellow will operate the device.  What other considerations should drive the decision making between electric vs gas  and corded vs batter?

If you have purchased and used a polesaw please indicate this in your response and any lessons learned.

Most essential is keep the chain lubricated and sharpened.  I only fill mine with half a tank of gas because my experience it'll run out of chain lube before gas.  So do it everytime you add gas - a lot more often if it's electric!

A gas saw will be fussy and high maintenance.  A battery electric won't have a whole lot of guts.  A corded electric will be fairly strong if you can get power out to it. Those cheapie orange extension cords don't really cut it.

A stupid person can seriously damage a pole saw, notably by damaging the pole and shaft running up the pole.  An electric that puts the motor out on the pole is unwieldy but relieves that issue.

I'm taking note that you're buying this tool for someone else to use; clearly not a professional since those guys bring their own tools.  A homeowner must pay to fix his tool; a professional also loses revenue and reputation when he can't do a job because of bad tools.  Those non-professionals can be hard on tools because they don't have any personal stake in them.

Needless to say, professionals don't buy tools at Home Depot.  If you want the Bridgeport/Monarch/Sony/Apple/3M of chainsaws, that's arguably Stihl.


5 ampere to 15 ampere I want to ask two questions done go on title. I'm from India.

Can I connect 15 ampere switch in 5 ampere socket.
If I want to replace a 5 ampere socket to 15 ampere will the 15 ampere socket work properly for with the same input wire used for 5 ampere socket.

Yes but No.

You can plug into a 5A socket an appliance or lead that contains a switch rated at 15A.

You can use a 15A switch to turn on/off an appliance rated at 5A.

However the appliance connected must not draw more than 5A - it's rating must not exceed 5A.
No

You cannot normally increase the rating of a socket without running a thicker wire back to the main fusebox/consumer-unit.


What is the right way to clear the drilled plug out of a hole saw? I am building a project where I am using a hole saw. After drilling through 2, 1" thick boards I have to clear the scrap out of the saw. This is a really slow process and I suspect I am doing it wrong.

Clamp the two boards I am drilling together and then clamp them in my jig.
Cut my holes.
Unlock the arbor
Unscrew the hole saw from the arbor
Use a screwdriver to poke, pry, and pound the scrap out of the saw
Remount the saw to the arbor
Repeat

What is the right way to do this? Is there a faster (but still safe) solution?

I am using a Milwaukee Hole Saw Arbor with a Milwaukee 2 3/8" hole saw. I am using the pilot bit.

Ideally, hole saws have holes or slots in their sides, so you can pry out the scrap, or in the top so you can push it out.

(source: mkmorse.com)
Poke in there with a screw driver or other sharp object.  You shouldn't need to disassemble everything; just unplug the drill.
I assume yours don't have this already.  If you are going to be doing this a lot, you might want to buy a new hole saw with better holes.
Alternatively, you can try drilling holes in the top of yours.  Secure the hole saw in a vice or otherwise clamp it down firmly, and drill two holes on opposite sides in the top.
With two holes in the top, you can just push out the scrap with two large pins or nails.
Edit: some have larger side holes which may be easier to clear out.  You could possibly enlarge the holes on yours with a file.


What is the difference between GU10 and GU10+C? Is there a difference in the socket itself? I found that Amazon does not differentiate between the two. I searched online, but only got a lot of different answers, none of which seemed sufficiently solidly founded.

Traditionally, the -c just means "cover". Google "GU-10 vs GU-10-c"


How can I support a joist length of 9 meters without steel? I want to convert my loft and need to span 9 meters unsupported. Can it be achieved without steel beams?

I just checked some Ontario tables.   For an Attic, not accessible by stairs (i.e. not used as living space,   a 2x12 every 12" can span 32 ft.  But you can't put anything above it.

I've found nothing in the tables that allows a 30 ft span supporting a floor.

While this doesn't mean it can't be done, it means you need to consult with an engineer, and pay for a proper design.


Fuel oil burner running intermittently Fuel oil (Beckett oil burner) here. It's -20°F outside right now and the house is at 61°F even though I have the thermostat cranked up to 75°F (we have a thermometer in the house as well, that's how I know the temp).

The burner kicks on about every 3 - 4 minutes, runs for a few minutes and shuts off. I'm trying to determine if this sounds problematic or if its expected behavior. And, of course, if its problematic, what the troubleshooting process should look like.

My understanding is that: if the house temp is below the thermostat temp, the burner should be running nonstop/continuously until the house temp comes up to the thermostat temp. Yes/no?!

If this is normal expected behavior, I'm wondering: why? That is, why isn't the burner running continuously until the house comes up to the right temp?!

And if this is not normal/proper behavior, what are some of the reasons for what could be going on here?

Is this in a boiler (steam or hot water heat)? Are you getting any heat in the house?

Assuming yes and yes, this can be normal operation. In a boiler, the burner heats water to a set temperature (e.g. 160F). When that temperature is reached, the burner shuts off. To actually deliver heat into your home, there is usually a circulator pump. This takes the hot water in the boiler and moves it through your radiators, which release some of the heat from the water into your home and send cooler water back to the boiler.

If your heating system can't keep up with demand, it can be because the boiler can't make enough heat, or because the radiation can't distribute it quickly enough. It sounds like your limiting factor is the radiation, which is not unusual. So even though your heat is constantly on, it is being distributed as quickly as your system can currently manage, and that is slower than the burner can produce heat. So the burner gets to take breaks.

A few options to address this:

Confirm that all radiators are hot; if some aren't, they may have their valves closed or be air-locked and need to be bled. Steam radiators may have defective air vents.
Increase your boiler's water temperature (probably not higher than 180F, though the design max temperature depends on your particular system and may be higher or lower than that)
Check that your circulator pump is working properly. Some have multiple speed settings, so you can try increasing that to increase water flow through your radiators.
Add radiators.


Oddball wiring for ceiling light My garage has a light connected to a switch and a garage door opener. The garage door opener was hard wired to a line coming out from the space between the porcelain light fixture and the ceiling. The opener was not connected to the switch.

The garage door opener died. I am having a new one installed.  The salesman told me I must have a ceiling plug installed before they will put in the opener.

I shut off the power, went up and opened up the fixture.  The guy that wired this up some 35 years ago had two lines going into the light box.  inside they were wired together and one set came out around the base of the porcelain fixture and into the garage door opener. It looked like a kluge but worked for 35 years.

I could not imagine why the lines were twisted together, since the light is connected to a switch but the opener is not.  but I needed to separate them so I could pull out the garage door opener set and connect them to a receptacle I installed in the ceiling as required by the installer.  I did so and the receptacle works fine. But the light does not light.

Now there are  four wires in the light box: black, red, white and ground.

None have power now.  I tested each pair with a multimeter with the switch in both positions.  Nothing.

Any ideas as to what might be up here?

Thanks in advance.

Open up the switch box, and have a look how it's wired.  Without more information (photos, diagrams, etc.), the following information is an educated guess.

One of the colored lines (red, black) is likely always hot, while the other is controlled by the switch. The white is most probably neutral, and the bare/green is almost certainly ground.

If this is the case, then connecting the devices is simple.

Connect all the grounding conductors together.
Connect the incoming white wire to the white wire going to the receptacle, and to the white wire for the light.
Connect the always hot colored wire to the hot wire leading to the receptacle.
Connect the switched hot colored wire to the hot wire for the light.

Again, this is a guess based on the limited information you've provided.


Breakers tripping when power returns. Nearly all of the GFCI and ARC Fault breakers trip when power returns after an outage .  This is a home setting, 200 amp main with a 100 amp generator main.  This has been wired with no problems since 2006.  It has happened twice in a row in two weeks.  Since we are gone alot, it posses a refrigeration concern.  Any ideas?

It is possible that the electric utility has a problem in their wiring. Specifically if the neutral or ground are not well connected, reconnecting the power from upstream could cause lopsided voltages due to a wandering ground.

The easiest diagnostic would be to request the utility to verify their wiring which they ought to do for free.  If they won't or can't, you can rent a power quality analyzer and see for yourself.

Be sure to test nominal power and during switching "off" and then "on" your main breaker.  If the analyzer shows electrical problems, provide the details to your utility and they should fix it pronto.

If the test shows a ground problem, it might be on your end.  Then it will be up to you to fix your grounding system


How to install multiple individual led strips? I have started my final year in interior design and I really want to buy some LED strip lighting to light up my scale models to give them a much more lifelike appearance for photos.

I wouldn't really need longer than 1m for this, but I will probably want to cut them up into individual strips. My issue is what do I do with the strips after they have been snipped? Will they all need their own individual power supply, or could they connect to an individual one?

If anyone would be able to shed any light on this id greatly appreciate it, and if you could possibly list items I'd need?

I have used these inexpensive LED tape lights from Amazon.com with very good success.
You can cut them down to as small as 4" pieces, and use connectors to get wire leads to connect to a driver. You'll need some low-voltage wiring to go between the tape ends and the driver. You have to calculate how much wattage you are putting on each driver, but they do come in several sizes so you can potentially put a lot on a one driver.

Links:
http://www.amazon.com/LEDwholesalers-Flexible-300xSMD3528-Adhesive-2026WH/dp/B002Q8V8DM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1413122307&sr=8-3&keywords=led+tape

http://www.amazon.com/Ledwholesalers-Suppply-Driver-Transformer-Output/dp/B0034GUEY4/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1413122307&sr=8-16&keywords=led+tape

http://www.amazon.com/Estone-Connector-Adapter-Single-Welding/dp/B00GTGLCXI/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_z


Can a pilot on a furnace be on but the thermocouple still be bad? Heat just stopped working after working 3 days ago. All circuit breakers are looking good, gas is flowing, and furnace seems to be operating fine. Pilot is on and thermocouple is holding the flame, but it looks like a little rusty/busted.

Is there a chance - without getting into too much repair costs - that the thermocouple isn't doing "its job" by signaling voltage so everything looks OK and I just need to replace the TC? Is there a way to tell (I dont have a multimeter)?

Is it worth trying $15 on a new TC just in case, or would it be a waste of money?

It is absolutely possible for a thermocouple to "die slowly" where it will work intermittently for a pretty long time. But, what makes you think it's the thermocouple? Granted, that is a pretty common failure point in gas fired units, you don't mention anything that actually points to a thermocouple failure (or really, any specific component) as a possible culprit.

If you are really convinced that the thermocouple is causing the pilot to turn off, you can try rubbing it with some sand paper or one of those green 3M scrubbers. You want to take off any rust/corrosion/crud and get it as smooth and shiny as possible. Use the finest grit sandpaper you can find. If you do this and it fixes the problem, it's still very likely that it will come back within a few weeks, although you might get lucky and have it come out more or less as "permanently" fixed.

You really do need a multimeter to properly test it though. I found some instructions (which I will not link to) detailing how to "test" a thermocouple with a paperclip, which just seems like a bad idea.... please don't do that.

Personally, I would try the sandpaper first and see what happens, and maybe spend the $15 on a cheap multimeter (or borrow one from a friend). If you are in an area that is already getting very cold, you might not want to risk it. In that case, the TC is usually a reasonable bet. Good luck!


GPO Has No Power but All Breakers Are On Have a weird one. I have three power points at opposite ends of the house that are on the same breaker. Randomly tonight power went out to them. All breakers are turned on and all other outlets work fine; the only issue is those three outlets. Why would they not work when all switches are on?

There may be more than just the three outlets and one has the Ground Fault Interrupt tripped.


Bathroom sink Overflow I have a Bathroom sink overflow that has been clogged for over 20 years! I realized I need it to have it working properly so I have been trying to "Open It up" I have tried using CLR and the sharp end of a coat hanger wire but no go. Is there a small snake or tool that can be attached to a drill to bore out the clog?   I don't know what other chemicals I could use. Thanks

If you can get a plunger to seal over the overflow hole, you might be able to force some air in there, or vacuum some air out, and dislodge the clog.

These things are very inexpensive and might work where the wire hanger did not.  Some are more flexible, some are pretty stiff.  You might also try a flat steel drain snake, just be careful and don't apply too much force.


How can I repair an air conditioner drain line that is broken flush with the wall? As you can see below, I broke the drain line off flush with the wall.  There appears to be either a union or an elbow embedded in the wall with a broken off piece of pipe in the fitting. The joint appears to be glued because I can't remove the little fragment of pipe that is left behind. What are my options for fixing this? Right now the water is dribbling out of the broken pipe and running down the side of the house instead of being discharged from the end of the pipe two feet from the wall.

However you end up fixing this do plan to use a more repairable solution that used by the original installer. It is an insane approach to cement or stucco in a glued plastic fitting like this. As a minimum the part that gets cemented in place should be made out of metal with brass or bronze being preferred over an iron type fitting. The outside pipe should be fitted to the cemented in part via a threaded connection.

If you must repair this with minimal disturbance to the cement or stucco, (its hard to tell which from the picture) then I would see a number of possibilities...

a) Work at drilling and carving out the glued in inner pipe piece bit by bit till you get it the point where you can fit a new piece of pipe in its place. You have to use much care for this because the process could put excess torque on the remaining pipe in the wall and lead to possible further breakage.

b) Try to find a suitably sized pipe thread tap and cut threads into the inner diameter of the pipe stub. Once this is done you can fit it up with the proper type of barbed brass pipe nipple fitting. To this you can attach a flexible piece of hose to go out the 2 to 3 feet from the foundation.

If you have access to the area inside the wall you may be able to simply pull the existing fitting out of the cement and install a newer more suitable type of exterior transition that the method used.

If the wall is stucco you could take a chisel to the area around the broken off fitting and enlarge the hole enough to get access to the pipe. Then you can fit up the proper type of pipe fittings and re-patch the stucco around a metal transition fitting. Stucco patching is a fairly straight forward task and should be able to completed successfully by a diligent DIY home owner.


bulbs keep burning out, tripping circuit breaker I am an American living in Hungary for six months. In our living room, we have a five-bulb chandelier whose bulbs burn out too frequently. We tend to keep only 3-4 out of 5 going at a time for that reason. One week ago, my wife turned on the switch, saw a bright flash, heard a loud pop, and then experienced power outage. Two breakers had tripped; the main, as well as the one for the particular circuit. Three of the bulbs in the chandelier had burnt out simultaneously, leaving just one bulb lit. We replaced no bulbs for a week, until I had time today to replace three of the burned out bulbs, bringing the number of burning bulbs up to four. A few hours later, I turned the light on, and immediately 2/4 (brand new!) bulbs blew, and the breaker for the circuit tripped again (though thankfully not the main).  What would cause this and how dangerous is it? After last week's incident, several Hungarians have told us that this is "normal" here. But the pattern of bulbs repeatedly blowing does not seem to be, and has not been addressed on these forums.

Look for light bulbs that are rated for 230-400 volts.  By which I mean LED, the only technology worth spending money on in this day and age. They use electronic switching power supplies, which chop line voltage into a much lower voltage.  By nature they can take a variety of voltages.  You just need one that's built well enough to take 400V.

If your expensive electronics are multi-voltage, but can't handle 400V, then I would get a heavy step-down transformer, and configure it for 230V in, and 120V out.  When the system faults toward 400V, the "120V" side will increase in proportion, but it won't go above 240V.

Losing neutral

What's happening is you are losing the "neutral" wire and the it's floating around, depending on the various loads on each leg. More loads pull the neutral toward that leg's extreme.

Euro power is 3 phase "Y" (3 legs with neutral in the middle) and your apartment gets 1 or 2 legs.  If you remember enough high school geometry to draw a 120 degree Y shape with 230V legs, connect the corners and you get a triangle with 400V on a side.  The corners are fixed and the neutral is being dragged around inside that triangle, making your power go higher or lower depending on which corner you are at.

That is not normal.   The Hungarians who say that it is -- do they live in your same building?   If so, it's a problem with the building neutral and the landlord oughta just fix it.  If it's in the same city or region, then the power company is terrible.


Termite damage? Coming through drywall Please see the pictures.  Single small hole in the drywall.  The debris is from one day.  Is this a termite exit hole?  We live in Sacramento - Central California.  I can't find any other signs.  The rest of the drywall is clean.

We had some bathroom work done about 5 months ago, which included opening an exterior wall.  There was some water damage to an exterior wall, but no obvious termite damage.  The bathroom door is about 4 feet away.  This is an interior hallway wall.

I've dealt with several carpenter ant nests in houses. One thing I've found very useful is to have a good shopvac handy when opening the wall, either form the inside or the outside, to vacuum up the ants and eggs.

Also, you mentioned water damage. Carpenter ants use rotted wood for their tunneling, never dry solid wood. Termites - I'm not an expert but my reading says they prefer solid wood because they digest the cellulose fibers in the wood and rotted wood those fibers are not so much there. So I'm leaning towards thinking you have carpenter ants. I live in Michigan, FWIW.

If you do have carpenter ants, vacuuming most of them up, spraying ant spray as far into the wall cavity as you can go, and replacing the rotted wood and fixing the cause of rotted wood will almost certainly fix your problem. These steps have worked for me.


Which is the outlet test port on this valve (VR8204A) I am being told that this gas valve has an outlet test port on the valve, 1/4" and can be accessed via an Allen wrench. Where is it?

Apparently the gas pressure can be measured with one of these

Looks to me like the test access port is located right where indicated in the picture below.

Note that the pressure meter is often also used to check for leaks after gas pipe and control valve installation. The meter unit would be attached. Then the gas supply turned on to pressurize the line. The meter will show a reading based on the line pressure. Then the source gas valve and all gas consumers on the line are left in their OFF state for 24 to 48 hours. If during that long period of time there is any noted movement of the needle on the meter then it is known there is a leak in the gas supply someplace that needs attention and correction.


Is this grey stuff on the wood mold? I smell a dark heavy musky smell that comes and goes. It will travel around in my apartment, but it is also always in one spot...right in front of my ac closet when it does come about.

Although, whenever I stick my head underneath the compartment or in the AC closet I don't smell it. Just right in front of it a few feet away.

I took some pictures of the AC air in take.

Is the grey stuff on the wood mold?

The gray stuff on the side of the joists should simply be dust that also lines the interior of duct work when the ducts are present.The picture does not show everything but I presume the concentration of dust is there because the foundation is close to the area and the air is drawn through the space concentrating the dust that will accumulate. Again, this is a presumption, I have the same thing in my duct work, but coating all the sides because of the liner.

Onto the "non-question" question. I do not know what part of the country you are in, or continent, but in the USA in all cases the returns are enclosed. Some jurisdictions allow the joist runs to be "panned" - a piece of sheet metal that covers the entire run of the cold air return so the return air is supplied by the interior of the home, not the crawlspace, as in your case. Other jurisdictions require that the entire run be set in duct work, not just the bottom pan, but all 4 sides. I think the last is for fire safety. Some states or counties are more stringent than others.


Can I install 2 30 amp twist lock receptacles in a 2 gang box on 1 circuit? I have 10 AWG wire run to a 2 gang box (10-2 wire). It is 1 circuit protected by a double pole 30 amp breaker. Since it is 2-gang, can I use 2 30 amp twist lock receptacles (specifically the Hubbell HBL2620 30A 250V receptacle) in the box both connected to this same circuit?

The 2 machines I would be plugging in would never go above 30 amps, more like 23 amps combined if run at the same time.

Or should I just use 1 30A receptacle and not try for two? I wasn't even sure if these receptacles were designed to be linked together on the same circuit in the same box like normal household 120v outlets were.

This keeps coming up: The question of whether you can put more than one receptacle on a 30A circuit.

All the receptacles must be 30A.   (NEC 210.2B3)

It's very surprising to find 30A plugs on machines that fall considerably short of 30A. Generally they use a 15A or 20A plug if they are able.

I'm not sure you can fit two of those connectors two abreast in a 2-gang box.  That's a mighty tight fit, and I'm concerned with the screws striking each other.

It'll be tight and awkward to grab, and depending on the plug, they might interfere. I'd go a double-gang bolted to a single-gang with a conduit nipple.

Big receptacles don't have 2 screws, so you'll need to pigtail them.  The extra wire count will mean you'll have a lot of box fill, in both the Code requirements and in the actual sense. You'll need a very deep box.


Flexible cabling for wiring Article 400.12 forbids the usage of flexible cords for fixed wiring, but what makes an NM-B cable made out of stranded 14ga THHN non-flexible?

EDIT:

Terms 'cord' and 'cable' are used interchangeably in that particular article.

Cordage is a very specific thing.   NM is not that thing.  It's that simple.

Again it's back to 110.3 and the requirement to use items consistent with their labeling and instructions.   And frankly, you would do well to simply follow standard best practices.

Why are you asking all these "why" questions?  They are off-topic here, we are here to answer bona-fide home improvement questions from people actually fixing their homes, not ouiji-board NFPA's  intent with this part of NEC or another.  Try on electriciantalk or mikeholt.com etc.

Like I say, we get this from EE types all the time.  Part of it is classism: many think because an EE is a college degree, and an electrician is a voc-ed apprenticeship, like EEs are better or smarter somehow.  Another misconception is that Code electrical is a subset of electrical engineering, not at a practical level, no. Code electrical is 90% packaging... Aiming for safety, serviceability, clarity and replicability.  Another misconception is that Code electrical is simple, no, even a little research will reveal a bunch of stuff you don't know.

You also have swiss cheese syndrome, because you're trying to read NEC without understanding how it all connects together, and using the Web to fill in your knowledge but it's only giving you what you know to ask for, hence your knowledge is swiss cheese  - full of holes.

Keep in mind NEC is the single book that defines how nuclear power plants, cyclotrons, auto assembly plants, hydro stations, datacenters and malls are wired, aside from homes.  That's a big part of why it's so darn confusing and it's easy to get lost in irrelevance.   It's also easy to get lost in the details and forget the basics, like 110.3, everything needs to be listed for its purpose.

Seriously, put the darn NEC down, it's too complicated for your level.  Hit Home Depot or the library and get some practical consumer-aimed books on home electrical.  Spend a lot of time reading on the above forums, Ecmweb, etc.

This stuff takes time.


How to connect c-wire to Burnham Series 2 boiler? I am trying to install my ecobee 3 light but the previous thermostat did not use any c wire. Fortunately, there was an unused wire in the wall and I would like to set it up as a c-wire. The problem is that I have no idea where to connect it to our boiler. We have a Burnham Series 2 boiler, which uses Intelligent Hydronic Control (Honeywell S9361A2072) and a Transformer (40 VA, Honeywell AT140D1297).

Is it possible to connect a c-wire to the boiler?

I did try to find information in the technical user manual, which includes the diagram below, but couldn't find anything that describes the different ports/slots. It does say that "For zone valve wiring, a separate 24V transformer is required rather than attempting to use the boiler mounted control". But I think that is unrelated.

Edit: Added image of P5-8.

Tap the white wire in the control harness

If you look closely at the wiring diagram for your boiler -- there is a 9 pin connector with a harness connected to it that connects to the thermostat wiring junction, the gas valve, and the limit circuit.  The white wire in this harness, while technically the gas valve common or MV/PV terminal, is a 24VAC common (C) wire, and can be tapped to serve other needs in the system.  In fact, in the wiring diagram, it is shown running to the limit circuit extension plug as well for use by low-water cutoff or equivalent safety devices.

So, with power to the boiler off, we can cut the white wire bundled with the two blue wires in the harness to that extension connector and splice both of the cut ends together with a wirenut, giving us a bundle we can splice our thermostat C wire into.  Install your Ecobee, turn the boiler back on, and enjoy!

As an aside, the reference in the control manual to not putting "auxiliary controls or limits" in the grounded leg means that no limit switches or control switches can be installed in a way that breaks the 24VAC return path from the control board to the transformer -- it is not a concern here.


Electrical for built-ins and fireplace insert We're remodeling our fireplace, to include installing built-in cabinets and shelves on either side of the fireplace, changing the fireplace surround, mantel, and hearth. We're like to run electrical inside the cabinet boxes, right above the cabinet top in the first shelf, inside the fireplace to power the insert, and above the fireplace to power a TV (we may not actually install a TV, but want it wired for one on case).

Running media from inside to atop the cabinets is easy, as is power on the right from inside to atop. But I have three things I'm uncertain about:

On the left, it would be nice to run the power around the corner so above the cabinet the outlet won't be as noticeable. I couldn't find anything on running electrical around a finished inside corner.
I'm not sure the best way to run electrical from the left outlet to above the fireplace. I plan to install wood planks over the brick, so I could run the wire in a gap made with furring strips, or there's a gap behind the brick that I could perhaps fish it through.
Most media outlets I've seen would require 3 or 4 inches of space behind the surface, which would be a pretty big gap. Could I safely remove 3 or 4 bricks to recess the media outlet?

To run electrical into the fireplace for an insert, there's a gap below the stone surround where I could perhaps run metal conduit, or again there's a gap behind the brick surround that I could fish through.

This is very close to what we want for the final finished product.

Thanks for any help!

UPDATE

A lot of work has been done. One remaining part of this question that hasn't been answered well (in part due to lack of information on my part) is how to wire inside the fireplace for the blower of the wood fireplace insert. Here is the current status:

I'd like to avoid the cord from the insert's blower to be visible. There are a few options I can see. One is to run cable from the receptacle that will go in the middle down the gap between the bricks and the concrete block. The chimney will be fitted with an insulated liner allowing for zero-clearance, so heat should not be a concern. Another option might be to route the cable in conduit around the veneer surround to the side against the cabinet, then under the surround before the hearth is installed.

I imagine one or both of these options might violate code, which is why I am asking here. Thank you!

1) you could use wiremold. They make 90º inside corners. I don't like it but if you have use it then it works. Better off to chop a new box in the wall exactly where you want it.

2) There are several ways to put power wiring behind the planks. EMT, ENT, wiremold...there are others less often used. You will need an extension box on the left power box to run out of.

3) The bricks around should just be a facade but why make it hard on yourself? Just bring the TV mount area out far enough to have the media box behind it.

4) Putting power in the back of the firebox will probably be a major pain. I believe that is firebrick surrounded by other brick. You may need to get a bricklayer in on this. Or at least you should study the construction of fireplaces.

I see other problems here, though. The National Electrical Code requires that no point along the floor line be more than 6' from a receptacle. If you cover the receptacles on left and right will there be other receptacles on the wall line close enough to satisfy that requirement? If not you will have to add them. Also, you can't cover junction boxes they have to be accessible inside the cabinets.


Cleaning fridge and freezer - do you need to turn it off? I'm doing a bit of a clean of my fridge and freezer (dual unit) and I have heard you should turn your fridge/freezer off when cleaning - since I am not doing a complete/deep clean of it and I don't have many items in there I was wanting to keep it running.

Is there any particular reason you should turn it off when cleaning? ...or is that just a "save power" kind of thing? ...or does it let off particles of gas or something when running that you shouldn't be breathing in that long?

There's no reason to turn it off. You'd save a few cents in power by doing so, but it's not worth the hassle for a short period. It's not going to cause damage.


Any issue connecting neutral and ground of bluetooth light switch to ground (or neutral)? I'm installing a blue-tooth light switch that has live, bulb, neutral and ground. The light switch that's being replaced has 3 wires, black, white and exposed copper (I'm guessing that's neutral or ground). Should I just leave ground floating or join it with neutral when connecting it to the existing 3 wire set up?

You have an old-style switch loop configuration, with no neutral in the box, just hot, switched, and ground.  This means that you'll have to take your "smart" light switch back and find one that does not need a neutral wire.


Warehouse Lighting Wire Size Calculation Warehouse Lighting Wiring Size Question

Total distance from panel to end of the longest line is 310 feet.  Each fixture is 42 watts, and there will be up to 30 fixtures on each circuit.  The first fixture on the longest line will be at the 150 foot from panel point.  All lighting fixtures will be run in parallel (pigtailed at each fixture, a.k.a., plug-in fixtures).

Each circuit is 20 AMP, 120V, single phase AC

What size wiring is needed for these longest runs?

Thirty 42-watt fixtures are nominally 1260 watts, which is 10.5 amps at 120V.

Your longest run has the lights evenly spaced between 150' and 310' and the halfway point between is 230'.

Hit a voltage drop calculator

Set it for 5% voltage drop, as your lamps can handle that... and ask it for at least 3 points:

10.5 amps (max) at the 150' (start) distance
8 amps (3/4) at the 190' (1/4 way) distance
5.25 amps (half) at the 230' (halfway) distance

TLDR: I get 12AWG for each of those calcs.

For each test, the calculator will recommend a wire size and give you the expected voltage drop to be found there. Its recommendation is applicable from the panel to the point you asked about.

They say to use 3% voltage drop, but that is silly, 5-6% will work fine. But don't push it to 10% (unless you really want to) because if you upgrade to multivoltage lamps, those will answer voltage drop by drawing more current in proportion, throwing calculations off.

Is voltage drop OK?

It's not unsafe to have high voltage drop.  The 20A breaker definitively protects your 12 AWG wire if your wiring methods are legal. (an example of "illegal" would be more than 9 conductors in a single conduit without derate). Of course the voltage drop is heating the building.  Electric heat is a fairly expensive heating method, especially if you're trying to air-condition the place!  So get out the sharp pencil and figure out the voltage drop, multiply by amps to get watts, figure the cost of the power and additional A/C load, and see if you can cost-justify thicker wires.

The voltage drop calc will keep you legal -- however it doesn't know about your 20A breaker.  14AWG wire is never legal downstream of a 20A breaker, 12 is your minimum.

Did you catch the part about "9 conductors per conduit"?

That's kind of an issue.  If you want to cram 12 circuits in a single conduit, that is 24 conductors. That requires a 45% conduit derate, forcing you to 8 AWG wire.  Don't do that, unless you would anyway for other reasons.

It might help to re-label your circuits as 15A circuits and fit 15A breakers. 10-20 wires per conduit would be legal with 12AWG wire on a 15A circuit.**  You can only have 12A of continuous loads on a 15A circuit, but you are under 12A.

How do big warehouses work around this?

Multi-wire branch circuits.  In an MWBC, the neutral does not count as a conductor since it only carries differential current. With 120/240 split-phase, you can get 4 split-phase MWBCs (8 hots) in a single conduit without derate.
Three-phase "wye" MWBCs such as 120/208 "wye". This adds a third "hot" conductor.  With 3-phase, you can fit three MWBCs (9 hots) before hitting the derate limit.
277V voltage.  With 277/480 3-phase, you can get more than double the power in the same conduit.

Combine all these tricks, and a single 1/2" conduit with twelve 12AWG wires can carry 39,888 watts** - enough power to light up an entire CostCo.  (that being 9 circuits x 277V x 20A x 80%, the latter the continuous derate).

** why is this? The 50% derate comes off the 90 degree C column in the table, so 12AWG is 30A@90C. 10-20 wires calls for a 50% derate, or 15A.  (and just so you know, 7-9 wires does require a 70% derate, but 70% of 30A is 21A... and 12AWG is limited to 20A for other reasons.)


Electrical Codes Pertaining to Electrical Near/Under Gas Cooktops I've got a gas drop-in cooktop that will be installed in the next couple of weeks as part of a whole house renovation. The electrician put in the 4x4" electrical box shown in the same cabinet that the gas cooktop is mounted in. As it stands, it is directly behind the cooktop, and will touch the back edge of the cooktop. The wiring coming to the box includes the 220 for the wall oven in the adjoining cabinet. I am looking for either code or best practice suggestions for what appears to be a poor judgment on the part of the electrician when he did his rough in, but I can't find any guidance (code or otherwise) on distances the box would need to be from the cooktop. What would be the best way to resolve the electrical box, which would be inaccessible if the cooktop was installed 'as is'? Note that the electrical outlet needed to power the electric ignitor for the cooktop has not yet been installed either. I have a photo, but there doesn't seem to be any way to attach it here, so if my post is unclear, please ask for clarification.

Thanks in advance!

Nope.  You must be able to remove the cover of every box, without disassembling or modifying any part of the building.  Even a lift-out false back on a bookcase is dodgy.

Since this looks like surface mount, and it's on flexible cable or conduit... unscrew it, move it down a few inches, done.  Your jurisdiction will likely consider this movement a trivial repair that doesn't need a permit. They sure won't pass the work as it is.


Is it normal for wood to sometimes squeal when screwing into it? I recently put up some kitchen wall cabinets.  When screwing in the cabinets one of the studs was more difficult to screw into.  I pre-drilled pilot holes for the studs and everything went OK besides one.

The one screw had a high pitch squeal when I tried to screw it in and became difficult to turn, I eventually drilled a little bit bigger of a pilot hole and it went in easier.  Is this just hard wood or maybe I hit a knot?  Does this sometimes happen?

Yes, sometimes you may encounter a stud that has a big knot or some really gnarly grain that make it can be really hard to insert a screw. Knots especially can be exceedingly hard. A squeal is also rather common in such instances.

You did the right thing by backing out the screw and drilling a slightly larger pilot hole. Doing so you prevented the possibility of over stressing the screw and either stripping out the head or twisting it off. There are some additional things to consider in such case:

If possible move where the screw is being inserted to try to bypass the knot.
The backed out screw may very well have been over stressed when attempting the install it the first time. It should be discarded and use a new screw on the second trial.
Often it can be useful to lubricate the threads of the screw to allow it to enter the wood with less torque. This can also reduce or eliminate the squeal that you were hearing. A common method to lubricate the threads of the screw is to rub them across a bar of hand soap before driving the screw into the hole.


RV to House electrical hook up I'm in the process of setting a RV in my back yard.
The run is 150 ft long and will be buried.
The RV is a 30 Amp, 120 V System.
Will be running TV, PC, Refrigerator, Microwave, Toaster, Lights and Washing machine, of course not all at the same time!
Planning to use PVC Schedule 80.
Ground very soft
and sandy.
What size wire should I use?
All 3 of them?
PVC size?
How deep?

For the full 30A load, the least expensive option that doesn't involve a direct bury cable would be to pull an aluminum 2/2/4 direct bury URD/USE triplex cable through 1" Schedule 80 PVC conduit, although it'll be a very tight fit (234mm^2 used out of 236mm^2 available).  If you wish to go with Ed's 24A number, I'd use a 6/2 W/G UF cable instead -- NM has no business being run in outdoor conduits!  While you could run individual 4 or 6AWG copper THHN/THWNs in the conduit, that'd be a bit costlier than the UF or URD cable, especially for 4AWG.

(If you use the URD/USE cable -- the 2 AWG wires are the hot and neutral, while the 4 AWG wire is the grounding conductor.)


Water Expansion Tank precharged at 25psi. House pressure at 70 I have a water expansion tank (5 gallons) installed on a new water heater (40 gallons) and my houses PSI is at 70-80.

The tank came precharged at 25psi.

I know that I am supposed to match my home water pressure and that of the tanks but I wonder if this does not have to happen immediately.

If I had to do it immediately, do I have to shut down the main and can I pump using an electric pump or do I have to disconnect the plumbing and remove the tank altogether before I can pump it?

If it is a "bladder tank" that is, it has a balloon inside to contain the air needed for pressure, do not add any more air to it. when the tank fills with water, the balloon will reduce in size since it is not at the same pressure as the water entering the tank. After the same amount of air is compressed in the balloon/bladder, the pressure will increase to match the incoming pressure. This aids in the cycling of the water pump. Either too much or too little air will increase the amount of times the pump runs to maintain pressure, making the system work harder.


How can I figure out cordless drill terminal polarities? I just got this Black and Decker SS18 drill and wanted to run it with my existing batteries but the drill has no polarity markings. Anyway to figure out which terminal is which?

Based on an Instructables article about rebuilding a Black and Decker battery, it would appear they have chosen to use the outside terminal for positive and the inner terminal for negative.

In another part of the article, he shows another brand of battery that has a very similar terminal but the connectors are in a different position.  It's easy enough to just move the terminals as needed.

Of course, this might not be true for 100% of the B&D line, but it's pretty good evidence.


Blown fuse replaced, still no power Yesterday a contractor was doing work in our bedroom. At one point he plugged in a hammering drill and when he used it it blew the fuse. We confirmed the 15amp fuse was dead but I didn't have a replacement. After he left I replaced it but found out power was not restored. It is definitely the one fuse - all others are fine.
What could it be?

Sounds like either your replacement fuse is bad or perhaps it is not fully screwed in.  First thing, try another new fuse.

While you are replacing it, visually inspect the connection.  You are looking for burns or other debris.

The other possibility is that he overloaded the circuit to the point where a connection or wire failed somewhere.  If you have a non-contact voltage tester handy, I would verify that there is voltage being detected on the wire directly outside of the panel for that circuit. If there is power here but not at the outlet further downstream then you will need to find out where the failure point is by tracing the circuit and testing it at several locations.  If there is no power being detected immediately after the panel then the bad/failed connection might be in the panel itself.

Your best bet might be to call an electrician to help you out. This type of scenario can be dangerous and indicate poorly terminated wires or incorrectly sized wires.


Replace reusable air filter with disposable, when no size matches? My friend's house has HVAC whose air filter is a rectangular metal frame filled with washable fiber mesh. It doesn't look like it could catch fine particles.

We wanted to try an off-the-shelf allergen filter (e.g. Filtrete) but couldn't find a matching size at Home Depot or Lowes. The closest fit would leave a 1" gap (about the size of the frame) on each side. Is there an adapter to wrap around it? Is this a specialty size not sold in stores? Or do we need something else entirely?

You can cut the electrostatic filters (like Filtrete) down to size without altering their effectiveness. Just buy a size that is larger and cut it down with tin snips and/or scissors. When I do it (and I have done it many times) I use painter's masking tape to "seal" the cut edge.

If you install it in the plenum of the forced-air unit, make sure you "seal" the cut edge well so the blower does not blast fibers or pieces of the filter media out into your ducting. If it installs in the return-air grill it may not be as important because the force is usually less.

Home Depot and Lowe's only carry sizes that sell well, check 3M's web site and see if they make them your size. Then go to your local mom-and-pop hardware store and ask them to order a few. Try to shop at the local shops instead of the "big box" when you can.


Is it "OK" to have my pool heater and pump share a circuit? I replaced a rusted out millivolt natural gas pool heater with a new model, but forgot to note that it needs an electrical connection as well (for vent,etc).

I have a 240V line run out there for the pump. (2x20Amp breakers).

The manufacturer doesn't recommend hooking them both up but it's a long run to a corner of my property and it would mean removing some concrete to run the conduit out to the heater location. Seems the manufacturer's main reason to have separate circuits is to prevent a problem with one interfering with the other.

The pump pulls <9A at max load. The Heater pulls VERY little, much less than 1A.

Currently, there is nothing except an outdoor switch to the pump.  Other than a very costly second run to the heater, what's my next best option? A junction box after the existing switch? replace switch with junction box and two switches? Some way to separate the line in to two (tighter to spec) breakers?

I do plan on having an electrician do this work, but I want to educate myself before I sign any work orders.

Edit:

There is direct-buried 12/3 wire run out the the pump. So running another line is not at all economical.

I have a pool with a 220 Volt pump and a gas heater that requires 220 volts to run the electronics. They both run from the same 220 Volt switched line from the house. They have been running this way for 4 years now with no problems at all.