Connecting earth wire with motor water pump I am going to rewire my house and at present we have no earth wire anywhere in our house. Even the wires/cables available here in the market only have one phase wire and one neutral wire in them. So I am going to take an earth wire from the distribution box (which I am going to have installed) to all the outlets in our home. I have two questions:

Q1: Can we connect the earth wire with the motor water pump in our house? The motor pipe go more than 150 ft underground right down to the water. Will it be safe? Our motor pump is like this except that this is a hand-use water pump and we have an electric one at home:

http://images.wisegeek.com/hand-water-pump.jpg

Q2: Suppose the earth wire from the main panel is connected to one outlet (with its earth pin). Now to connect the second outlet with the earth wire, can we connect its earth pin with the previous outlet's earth pin?

I am from Pakistan and here we have 220-240 single phase wire and one neutral wire to the meter.

Q1: I would look at American bonding rules, in terms of what is legal as a ground rod.

Q2: I recommend pigtailing your grounds.  That is, one wire comes from the panel, a second wire travels to the next outlet, and a third short wire goes to this outlet.   All three wires are spliced together using whatever method is legal.   The reason to "pigtail" is that you need to be able to remove an outlet for repair, without breaking the grounds to downstream outlets.

Here are the best practices in the US, which are about as good as anywhere in the world. We create a well-established ground/earth connection with ground rods or bonding to a water pipe.  This ground wire goes to the main electrical panel (which contains the circuit breakers or fuses).

As it happens, in the US we bond neutral to ground. That is debatable, best to follow local codes.  If this is done, do it in the main panel only! Do not bond at sub-panels or other locations, and never misuse ground as a neutral.

From the panel, we use metal conduit, or run a ground wire to every outlet, junction box, switch etc. in our system.  If the ground is being added later, it may be run separate from the other wires via any workable route, as long as the wire is not in danger of physical damage.

For 30A or smaller circuits, US practice uses ground wire the same size as the main wire (bigger is allowed).  For larger cables, or in Europe, the practice is to allow a somewhat smaller ground wire.


How do I make this paint match? I'm painting drywall. The paint I purchased was said (by the developer) to be the paint used on this wall. The paint however doesn't match as you can see in the picture. I'm just shaking the can, and then putting the paint on the wall with a brush. Is there a step I'm missing?

Paint fades.

It is extremely hard to get an exact match on any paint after a few months.  The best solution is to paint a whole section (try ending at the edge of a window or door) or even a whole wall.

An even better approach is to cut out a small patch of the now faded wall to be matched (you can patch and paint it later when you repaint) and take it in to the paint store for a computer scan match.

You still should paint a whole section as described above, but the joint will be even less noticable.


Why does my freezer get a little warmer every 14 hours? I equipped my fridge-freezer (Bosch KGN 33X48/13, bought around 2013) with a self-made temperature monitoring system to warn me whenever the internal temperature of the freezer rises above a certain level.

Looking at the resulting curve I'd expect the temperature to more or less steadily swing around a target value.

What I rather see is this:

So the built-in thermostat switches on the cooling unit whenever the internal temperature rises above around 18 °F. However, quite consistently about every 14 hours the cooling unit appears to hold off a bit, allowing the temperature to rise up to 23 °F for a short time. After that the cycle continues normally again.

These short temperature spikes look so equably and intentional that I assume a purpose. Why would the freezer designers arrange for this small temperature increase every 14 hours?

It is defrosting.

Frost free refrigeration equipment goes through a defrost cycle every few hours. This normally involves turning off the cooling compressor and activating a heat tape that is attached to the evaporator coil for about 20 minutes. This melts any frost and ice that has accumulated on the evaporator coil and keeps it from accumulating.

It is completely normal to the operation of modern frost free equipment.


Starter kits for AC compressor An AC tech replaced a capacitor on my AC compressor.  It cost 5X what I had paid for a generic capacitor, so when he mentioned that I would soon need some kind of starter kit I declined to have it done on the spot.  Now that I am researching, a hard start kit seems to mean that it gives the motor an extra jolt to go ahead and get it started.  A soft start would seem to be mean easing into it, but some info I find indicates that a "soft start" is actually an "extra-hard start."

If the AC compressor and fan are taking longer and longer to start, the change has been gradual.  Now that I am troubleshooting why my lights dim when the AC comes on, it does seem that maybe there is a "drag" to get it started.  Are either of these kits likely to affect the dimming, or are they strictly for the performance of the AC?

The answers I have gotten so far on HISE have educated me a lot.  I DIY whenever I can.  My experience when I do have to call a tech of any kind is that they always insist that I buy their parts at their prices.  Does this practice vary by region, or does it just depend on the guy?

My Gibson unit needed a starter kit almost from day one. My AC guy, who I've used for 30 years, put in one from SUPCO. Almost yearly, he would have to replace it, as the compressor wouldn't start. Had a new guy out for some other work and he suggested putting in a unit from Five Two One. It has been running strong for almost 5 years. The Five Two One unit has a relay whereas the SUPCPO does not. I ordered it in from Amazon for about $50.00 and he installed it in about 5 minutes. Just plugged in along side run cap. Depending on the age of your unit, you also may need to replace the run cap.


New junction box, or pigtail within receptacle? I need to add a wall receptacle in a bedroom. (There aren't enough outlets as is.) The bedroom is on the main floor of a 1-story house, with an unfinished attic and an unfinished basement. Walls are old, plaster and lathe. The receptacle would essentially get added on to the end of the circuit that powers the other receptacles in the room.

The NM cable for that circuit already runs under the floor, easily accessible via the basement, and then up through the floor to each receptacle. (This was done when replacing old knob & tube wiring, which is why the cable doesn't just run through the walls from receptacle to receptacle, which would have required a whole lot of damage to the walls.) The cable to the new receptacle will also need to run under the floor, and then up through the wall to the new receptacle.

Is it better to:

Tie into the cable in the basement, under what is currently the last receptacle, using a junction box (and then over and up to the new receptacle)? or
Tie into the cable in what is currently the last receptacle (daisy-chain), and then run the new cable back down into the basement (and then over and up to the new receptacle)?

On a general level, the question is: when adding a new receptacle, is it better to daisy-chain when possible, or just use a junction box?

My assumption would be that it doesn't matter. As long as the receptacle is large enough to accommodate the additional wiring, then go with daisy-chain; otherwise, use a junction box. But maybe there's something else I need to consider? The daisy-chain method in this case would require an extra 2ft or so of cable, but I can't imagine that's an important factor.

If you have enough wire to have 6" from the back of the junction box where you tie in a junction box would be the easiest way. Most of the time the wires are tight. then there are 2 options. #1 to pull the wire down from the outlet to your box using the wire to pull a string or the new NM cable down to the box some times the easiest is to pull a string when pulling the NM down then use the string to pull the new NM up. #2 Option would be to pull into the existing box from downstairs this can be a challenge getting the NM into the outlet box (if there is enough  room in the box to make the junction). I usually use #1 It cost a few dollars more but saves in time trying to fish wires in a closed wall.


How do I get a cam lock out of a really deep hole? I bought a 54" desk from a local Walmart, more specifically a BH&G cube organizer desk. While I was putting it together and following the instructions, I realized that the cam locks weren't joining with the screws no matter how far anti-clockwise I turned the screwdriver. This was strange since in a previous step, I managed to screw the cam locks and screws in place without any trouble. However, on further inspection, I realized that I had accidentally placed the problem cam locks further into their holes than I should have, where they normally only go in as far as the thread.

I tried to remove them with a screwdriver, but they don't seem to make any noticeable progress out of the hole. I tried lightly tapping the other end of the desk piece with a hammer, but that doesn't seem to work either. They seem to be really stuck in there. I'm just wondering how I would be able to fix this, any help is appreciated. Pictured below is a cam lock I managed to pop out with a screwdriver, a spare nail and luck, and a cam lock that's still burrowed in one of the holes.

Put some hot glue on the end of a dowel or other stick and put it in the hole.  Give it a minute to dry then gently rotate the stick (and cam) while pulling it out.  Hot glue would be a quick fix, but next step is a stronger glue that might take longer.

Final options - try to drill a hole into the center of the cam lock and threat a small screw into it and pull it out.  Or, if it's not in a very visible spot, drill a small hole in the opposite side and poke out the cam lock with a wire or pin.  Last method is fast, but will leave a visible hole on the "finished" side.


Why is my Central Heating taking so long to heat up? I'm in the UK with a small modern, well insulated, double glazed home heated by a traditional gas boiler.

My heating had been achieving room stat temperature within 30 minutes but is now taking at least 3hours.  After the boiler has run continually for about 2hours I think it probably cuts out on the boiler stat (ie it is not up to temperature on the room stat - also confirmed with seperate thermometer).  It switches off for a few minutes and then comes back on again and continually cycles the boiler on and off for at least another hour before the room stat temperature is reached.  I have monitored the rise in temperature closely this morning and find that the inside temperature does not even keep up with the rise in the external temperature!

If I only run the "hot water" part of the system (ie no central heating) the hot water gets to temp within about 45minutes.  The problem appears to only be with the central heating side of the system.

New room & boiler stat have been fitted.  The pump "sounds" to be running fine and all radiators are uniformly hot across their entire surface.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what the problem might be please?

A very blind shot: Air in the heating system? You have to de-air the central heating radiators, there should be a special vent on it, which might look like this:

You better put some bowl on the floor before you open the vent. If water starts to run out of it immediately, eveything is ok. If not and you hear the sound of leaking air, there's air in the radiator which has to be let out. Be careful, the air is usually quite smelly and water which starts to run out of the vent is usually very dirty and dark at first.


Is 1/2 inch plywood over 3/4 inch subfloor adequate for 12x24 ceramic tile? We took up old ceramic tile and found no cement board or other underlayment material underneath. However, I did find that the previous installer had put another sheet of 1/2 plywood over the 3/4 inch plywood subfloor. No nails or screws in that top sheet of plywood. Guessing they just glued it to the 3/4 inch subfloor.

Is this adequate to install new 12 x 24 inch porcelain tile if I screw that top plywood onto the subfloor, ensuring the screws are every 6 to 8 inches apart and not screwed into the joist?

Or, do I need to get rid of that 1/2 plywood sheet and install cement board, or something like Ditra?

Thank you.
Kicknback1

I suppose if the floor won't get wet, it would be perfectly fine to just lay the porcelain tiles directly over the plywood with thinset.

If the 1/2 top layer plywood was glued to the 3/4 plywood, then it's effectively a 1-1/4" plywood.


What do I need to fire proof a room added onto a mobile home? I have a mobile home. I poured a concrete pad to put an addition on it. I have wood studded walls, metal roof and siding. I'm putting a wood furnace in this addition. My insurance company says it has to be fire proof with more than just drywall. What else will I have to use?

Follow the stove manufacturer's instructions for clearances. It will tell you the fire rating requirements expressed in "hours" (or material type) for surfaces around the stove depending on clearance.

2 layers of 5/8" Type-X fire-rated gypsum board (drywall) gives a 2-hour fire rating to a 16" on-center wood stud wall. Surface treatments like stone, brick, tile, durock, sheet metal, etc., will give you aesthetic options. Check with your local code enforcement authority, they will give you information on local requirements. If you follow manufacturer instructions and local code then your insurance company will accept that if you show them.


Is it possible to install a pump to fix a slow drain? We have a combination shower/tub enclosure in our bathroom here in Norway. The floor drain in our bathroom was placed in a very unfortunate location, such that the water draining from the tub/shower must travel nearly horizontally about 1 meter before it gets to the drain. This incline is too shallow for proper drainage to occur. Due to tight spacing, moving the shower enclosure is not an option. Moving the floor drain would involve a tremendous expense and hassle (breaking up the floor, redoing the entire electric tile heating system etc). What I'm hoping to find is some kind of pump I can place inbetween the shower drain and the floor drain in the space underneath the tub. This pump would sense when water came in and turn on automatically to assist the drainage, then turn off when it had pulled all or most of the water through. Does such a thing exist?

This almost sounds like a common problem with draining RV holding tanks.

You should try to support the drain hose from the tub so you have a gradual slope reaching from the tub/shower drain to the floor.

I have a contraption called a "Slunky" which basically allows my RV holding tank drain hose to be very gradually sloped all along its run to a septic or sewer cleanout.


How to restore hollow metal door? I have a dumb waiter in my apartment with a metal door approximately 2ft x 1.5ft, 1" thick but hollow, it appears to be made of 1/16" steel. The door is sligtly beat up, minor dents but nothing major. I want to replace the lock and hinges, but also want to restore the door and remove/cover the dents. The door is painted, so I plan to strip it first; it has no rust on it.

Once the door is stripped, cleaned, and sanded, what should I use to fill in dents and level the surface? bondo, fiberglass, etc?

On bare metal, as long as the dents are very minor, I would skim coat the surface with bondo and use a large sanding block to sand the surface flat.  Be sure to do a fine grit sanding after primer and it should come out looking good.  If there are dents that will require the bondo to me more than 3/16" at deep any point, you will need to correct those (pull them out) first.


Do they make a non-liquid concrete/mortar color additive? I've been trying to find a cement additive to change the color of some mortar, but only seem to be able to find it in liquid form at my local big-box hardware store.

I'm looking for a similar product that can be added to dry mortar mix. Does this even exist? Where can I find it?

Back-story:
I put down a patio of pavers a few years ago and apparently didn't put down thick enough plastic sheeting underneath. I skimped because the area seemed too shady to promote much weed growth. Boy was I wrong. I have major weeds growing through the cracks between the pavers.

My plan is to power wash the patio to get most of the sand out between the pavers, and then replace it by sweeping dry mortar over the patio and then misting it so it will harden and form a barrier for the weeds between the pavers. To get the color right I'd need to mix the color into the dry mortar before spreading it. I'm not sure how well this will work, but I am going to try on a small area first to see how it goes. If anyone sees any major pitfalls with this plan, please speak up in the comments.

What you're looking for is called an integral color and is typically done with pigments.

Here is a source that I've used for other projects:
http://www.directcolors.com/concretepigment/


How to repair the leg of a computer chair I have an office computer chair whose leg broke, there is a huge crack along the plastic, and it bends, but its still attached. I tried using hot glue and duct tape, but it breaks apart again because of the down force twisting the plastic and sheering it.

Any idea how to fix this?

Replacing is probably most practical.

But if you really want to fix it, you need something to support the weight.  Tape and glue aren't going to do it. I would find a length of strong pipe (check the plumbing section at a home improvement store) that will fit nicely either inside the leg (if it is hollow) or over top of it.  Make the pipe fill/cover as much of the leg as possible.  Then attach with tape, glue, bolts, whatever - just to stop it from sliding out.

If the pipe fits snugly it should hold up fairly well.


Is it wrong to install both a whole house humidifier and a whole house de-humidifier? I live nearish Pittsburgh.  Our summers can get pretty hot and humid and our winters can get pretty cold.  We have been planning to get a whole house humidifier because the house gets really dry in the winter.  Recently, I watched a video about a whole house dehumidifier and it sounded like something we could use.  We find ourselves running the AC too much in the summer just to handled the humidity.

I started reading about how to make this work with our thermostat (ecobee 4).  It supports either a humidifier OR a dehumidifier, not both.  This lead me to the question of what I was doing overkill or unnecessary?

Am I off base for wanting both?  Or do I need to find a special thermostat?

The problem is that your air conditioner is probably over sized or the fan speed is set too high. An air conditioners primary function is to remove moisture from the air. To big of an air conditioner and it drops the temperature too fast and can't pull down the relative humidity. If the fan speed is too high then the interior coil doesn't get cool enough to cause water to condense and drip into the drain. There are a few ways to make the air conditioner do its primary job of humidity removal work better. The simplest is lowering the fan speed. This  link explains some tactics with a little detail. Air conditioning is tricky and it requires many measurements with specialized tools. It's not really a DIYer job but, with enough acquired knowledge anyone can understand it. Lots of installers and service techs don't actually know what they are doing. They often set the fan to the highest available speed, install the largest equipment possible, charge the system with the beer can cold method and generally accept that if it's blowing cold air it's perfect. That is not the case. Get a good, reputable service tech over and explain the issue. You don't need a dehumidifier, you need to set up the one you have. A good tech will have your house cool and dry in no time.

I'm from Toronto, we get a dry -40°F to a very sticky 110°F. If we can get by without dehumidifiers here, you can in Pennsylvania.


HVAC leaking from saturation So I've been having a leak in my AC handler.  A lot of water was dripping into the drain pan which eventually hit my float switch.  I recently moved into the house and the AC unit is 10 years old (sears brand).  I shop vac the water out and called a plumber.

The plumber came and said that he sees no crack in the coils or primary pan in the handler.  But couldn't really figure out why water would drip out of the handler.  He thought the drain as clogged and so he blew it out.  Days later, still dripping.  It was starting to now drip from my ceiling in the attic.  Not good.  I called another plumber who came out and said that I have a negative pressure system and that my drain line is not vented properly.  I think he said I didn't even have a vent installed.  So he installs the vent and re-pitches the drain pipe.  He said that it would still drip because the interior of the handler was all wet with water and would take time to dry out.  That was yesterday morning.

However, by yesterday evening, I was actually getting more water in the pan and coming from my ceiling.  I went into the attic and saw that the first plumber removed the "P" trap from the drain.  The plumber added a vent pipe but got rid of the p trap.  I called another plumber out for an emergency last night and he added the p trap back and that seems to have worked.  He suggested running the fan continuously for a while to help dry out the ac insulation inside the handler so that the water stops dripping from the insulation.

However, when I looked at the re-piping he did, he moved the vent pipe before the P trap.  Everything I have read states that the vent has to come after the P trap.  Is this going to be a problem? I've spent quite a few dollars on these plumber visits and can't spend any more money on this especially where the AC handler is apparently in good shape but just a matter of not having been piped correctly.  I called the plumbing company and, of course, they tell me that there is nothing wrong with the piping.

Two long for a comment:
Never call a plumber for an hvac issue. Without a trap the air handler may pull a vacuum on the drain line. The line worked at one time so it is probably blocked this is a daily issue for the residential guys, if the coil, pan and drain line were not properly cleaned it’s time to get it clean or the problem will return. Now look at that coil on the air handler if you are cooling your home and there is any humidity guess what, that coil will start producing water we call it condensate. It is how the unit works, now that the trap has been removed make sure not to turn the fan on while in cooling mode or you may have a real flood. Water dripping from the coil is a normal part of how an ac system works, pit a glass of ice water on the counter notice the moisture developing and maybe beads of water running down the glass, now multiply that by a thousand and you have a normal evaporator coil (the one in the air handler).  It is normal to see gallons a day on a central air system.
The big thing is to clean the “growth and dust” out of the coil, pan and drain. Non acid cleaners are the best,
You may want a hvac tech to set up the trap again, depending on the location these can be 2-3 times as tall as a standard trap to keep the water in the trap.


How to block baseboard (water heated)? I live in an apartment complex where my water baseboard heating is 100% controlled by the complex staff. This year has been particularly tough, as it's been very warm since winter started and even with 18+ inches of snow outside there's little relief. Landlord says the boilers' thermostats are working, but I'm super uncomfortable.

I've been reading up on how to block air flow but am a bit confused. Previously, I've shoved towels into the top of the baseboard lining where the hot air comes out (horizontally), and whatever spilled over gets stuffed underneath where the cold air goes in (if I'm reading correctly).

Would it be more efficient to stuff towels under the baseboards to block air from flowing upwards? I've also read about tin-foil, but where would I stuff it into, or would I create some kind of shielding?

I hope I explained everything correctly -- it's 2AM and I have a sick fiancee from all the dry air coming from the windows, and I myself can't get to sleep because it's so damn warm. Thanks for any help.

Edit: Here's a picture of what I'm trying to do to block airflow from under the baseboard. Is this correct?

Since this seems to be an ongoing problem for you, I might suggest a somewhat more formal approach to it. For instance, use magnets to attach toweling to the top of the radiator shell and let the duble-thickness of that towelling (magnet inside the fold) drape all the way to the floor - that should basically shut-down air flow through the radiator from top and bottom and be a bit neater besides. If you need to step it up a notch from there, remove all those, unroll a sheet of aluminum foil from one end to the other, and replace the towel over the top of that.

In both cases, do not try to "stuff things into" the radiator shell, but rather, cover them over completely from the floor to the top-exterior of the radiator shell, all the way to the end-caps (don't limit yourself to the "active area" with fins.)

If you have to buy supplies for this, the roll of aluminum foil would be cheaper to start with than a bunch of towels. Flannel sheets or whatever is cheap in the fabric store may be cheaper than towels as a source of long strip fabric.


Does the Lutron Maestro C.L Dimmer Exist? Lutron offers a family of "C•L" model dimmers (for use with dimmable CFL/LEDs) which includes the Maestro product line:  http://www.lutron.com/EDUCATION-TRAINING/LCE/Pages/DimmingCFLsandLEDs.aspx#credenza

According to the Maestro product line page the applicable model numbers are MACL-153M, MACL-153MH.

Does this product actually exist?  I have been unable to find any trace of it anywhere except the Lutron site.  You can't even buy it direct from the Lutron store.

Give it about a month and it will be out.  Our company just had a meeting with our Lutron representative and it should be out real soon.  He did not give a date but I think they were waiting for Lightfair to make it official.

EDIT
I talked with the factory rep today and he said orders (on distributors level) are being accepted now and the C•L should be available for consumers in July.


Does thread compound (dope) over tape prevent this kind of leak? When applying pipe joint compound, a.k.a dope, does the application of tape (Teflon tape etc...) not hinder a chemical bond between the compound and the threads, or is does the compound merely serve as a filler, albeit one that withstands high pressure?
Here is a new threaded water fitting where I noticed a slow leak:

I have a suspicion that the problem here is too much tape (someone did this before me), and I will take it apart and redo.
But what's interesting is that it seems there is water escaping at both ends of the threaded connection. This suggests the water is traveling under the tape to the far end as well.
Could pipe compound over tape have avoided this? Does this not make the case for compound-only?
This question, What goes on threads first: tape or dope? has answers either way, and comments arguing for or against each. It all seems based on valuable experience, but there is no mentioning of the science. And youtube videos on this topic go either way, or are indifferent about it.
To clarify the specific question in light of that and other similar questions: if the water is leaking under the tape, is compound -which goes over the tape per manufacturer's recommendation- the right remedy?
But I think the answer is in the comments: the taping is poorly done, and either it should be re-done, or it should be doped. No need to do both, this is an application failure, not the wrong choice of method.
Is this question a duplicate? No.
Other questions (see here and as linked in the comments), address when either of the two are required, yielding many contradicting answers.
My specific question asks about what happened here in my fitting (drops despite tape, no dope), could it be avoided with dope, and wouldn't dope alone be better than tape since tape is the point of failure here. And whether the tape would hinder a chemical or better compound bond (no it doesn't, a compound seal is not based on a chemical bond).
There are many valuable insights in the comments and in the answers, some reflect the sentiments and facts in previous questions and some are new.

You're supposed to use one or the other. If you're going to use both then apply the tape first. If you dope then wrap then I could foresee the tape being pushed out of the way before it gets gripped in the female threads.
Neither one is designed to produce a chemical bond, not sure where you got that idea from. These products aren't Loc-tite blue/red.
Both are designed to act as physical obstructions so that water cannot get through the threads. I don't think that using both hinders nor helps to stop leaks over using just one; proper material coverage and tightening are your best friends.
Some plumbers like to use both for whatever reason; old habits die hard I guess.
Maybe they've succumbed to some persistent inspector that likes to see both products applied so now it's a habit and propagated de facto. Here's an HVAC instructor that tells his class to "apply mastic to the outside of flex duct to appease the inspector". Obviously this example is HVAC but the common denominator is the same; the inspector.
I have success regardless of which method I use.
I have a particularly rusted galvanized line to which I ran PEX. The threaded brass transition leaks a tear-drop every so often but it's actually caked with enough rust/hard water that it no longer leaks. I may try switching out the pipe dope for tape whenever I have some time to spare.


Is it bad to leave batteries in my cordless tools? I have a set of Dewalt cordless tools with both 18V NiCad and 20V LiIon batteries (I also have an adapter that lets me use the 20V batteries in the 18V tools). The tools are only a few years old, and the drill and impact driver both have LED lights to illuminate your work area. The LED lights when depressing the trigger slightly.

I used both the drill and impact driver one day and then left them overnight. Both tools are 18V; I used an 18V NiCad in one and the 20V LiIon (with adapter) in the other. I went to use them again the next day, but both batteries were dead. The direction / safety switch on both was set to "off" and the tools were not used, so I was surprised to find the batteries depleted. Aside from the inconvenience, is this bad for the battery or the tool? Does this indicate a problem with either?

The tools and batteries are normally stored / charged in my garage, so they've been exposed to some colder temperatures (nighttime lows of 40F typically, though some nights as low as 25F) recently, which can affect battery charging. Days have typically been relatively warm (at least 60F).

Most drills (all the ones I know about) have a physical switch that connects to a relay that actually completes the circuit that will get the drill to spin (like in this circuit). So unless there is a display or something that requires constant power (like if those LEDS had their own switch) the batteries should hold their charge as long they are chemically able to do so. The NiCad battery may have issues maintaining its charge compared to the LiIon battery but you should not be able to tell the difference after one day. Even though neither of them should be dead after one day.

The LiIon battery may have been close to dead without you noticing since they tend to put out a constant voltage even while at low power levels; however, the NiCad should have showed some signs of being low.

Regarding the weather, NiCad should be able to tolerate the cold fairly well. LiIon on the other hadn can have damage to the cells from really cold temperatures but i've left tools out overnight in freezing weather (0F-10F) many times and once they warmed up a bit they worked fine (ignoring the fact I probably lowered amount of recharge cycles they had left).

All that being said I also think its really unlikely that both batteries/ drills (or any combination of the 4) have issues... So other than the fact you angered the pixies living in your tools by leaving them out in the cold, I would guess the long term storage in a place with large temperature changes shortened the capacity of your batteries.

PS The reason LiIon batteries are stored at roughly 40% capacity is that part of the trade off of being able to have a bunch of small charge cycles going up and down a lot (like cell phones) is the fact they don't do too well at the extremes (0% & 100%) because one way chemical changes are more likely to happen (lowering their capacity and cycle life).


VOC and drying speed My landlord will soon replace inside doors with new ones that he'll have covered with some varnish. I told him I'm concerned about VOC (I remembered using a high VOC paint on inside door in some previous home and it spoiled our lives for 3 days). He reassured me that the varnish is quick drying, but is the problem about drying speed? Can a paint/varnish be dry yet still produce VOCs?

In general, clear coatings today have been reformulated to product much lower levels of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) then even three years ago. Not knowing what product he plans on using, varnish, urethane, lacquer and the age of the product makes it difficult to guess how long the finish is going to take to gas off.  Most modern products gas off in about 24 to 48 hours. Although you may still smell a slight "new paint" smell, most of the irritating fumes are pretty much gone after a day or two.  Just ask your landlord to give the doors a few days to cure, not dry, before installing them.


USA Mains black to device black & Mains red to device white First of all let me get this out of the way: Some things are not designed to work with the higher voltage and if that's the case then obviously you wouldn't attempt it with that specific device.

However, many modern devices are rated for a very wide input voltage range of 100-250 volts. The catch is these devices are still only single-hot-pole (like the 230 volt system in the EU uses only a single hot wire.)

Here in the USA, we have two-hot-pole 240 volt. Meaning there are two hot wires at 120 volts each.

Why can't I use both these hot wires on regular devices (as long as it states it supports 100-250 volts?) I would wire it as black hot to appliance black & red hot to appliance white/neutral.

Mains guy here.

Nope. To be precise, Ms. Nope.

We often see people take a bog-standard NEMA 5-15 socket and intentionally miswire it so the (tall) neutral pin is actually connected to the opposing hot pole.  That seems to work, when you plug in a computer via the common cord  (NEMA 5-15P to IEC C13).  But like many things that seem to work, it will kill you.

Anyway, it's rather silly to do, since there's a right way to do that very thing.

You use the 3rd or 4th gal, officially called Ms. Nope or Ms. Winky-Nope.  (they are female, after all).  The NEMA 6 connector is precisely for that, and as you can see, it's the same form-factor (except for the pins, of course; those are keyed.) And that's it; done.  Get a NEMA 6-15P to ICE C13 power cord, and you're good to go.

Hardwiring, yeah, that's OK

If you make the electrical connection hardwired, inside a junction box, then yes, you can attach appliance white/black to the two 240V hot wires (black/black, black/red, etc.)

You do not need to use 3-wire supply cable (black-white-red) if you only want 240V.  You can use 2-wire cable (black-white) but you need to re-mark the white wires near each splice point to designate them as hot wires, typically with black tape.  If your wiring is in conduit with individual wires, you can't use white for a hot; use the correct wire color.

Your wire color codes are green, yellow-green or bare = safety earthing (which is called "ground" in mains; not to be confused with electronics GND/Vss).   In North America, gray and white = neutral, and all else = hot.

Don't eliminate your minimum required 120V outlets

Most houses are built with only the bare minimum number of 120V circuits and outlets - 1 circuit to a bedroom with outlets every 12', 2 20A circuits to the kitchen countertop receps.  This means, if you re-wire one of those circuits to 240V, you will now fall short of the minimum number of 120V outlets.  Can't do that.  So unless your house was over-wired by a genius electrician, it probably means you'll need to run new circuits in the walls for the 240V.

Multi-wire branch circuits are a 120V alternative

If you are running /3 (black white red) cable anyway, this can be wired as a multi-wire branch circuit.  It is capable of supporting 2 circuit's worth of power on one cable, as well as  both 120V and 240V loads. However, this makes GFCI and AFCI protection more complicated, which are now required on most circuits that support 120V.


What's the best way to seal a drafty door on an uneven transition without interfering with opening/closing? I have a door that opens up over carpet. The rubber sweep that is already there makes it pretty difficult to open the door. What's the best way to seal this door?

Twin Draft Guards do a fantastic job, and simply remove the rubber sweep in place now.

Photo credit: Amazon

Otherwise, many of these sweeps are adjustable, and you can move them up slightly by loosening the screws and sliding them up slightly... Not sure if it will still seal at that brass trim though (can't tell from the picture).


Normal temperature of a jigsaw I have a Makita 4329 jigsaw and I am wondering if the temperatures are normal or are a little high ?
I marked on the photo the temperatures that I feel with my hand when touching the mentioned part of the jigsaw. The temperatures from the photo were measured right after cutting continuously for about 5-10 minutes, with a few seconds pause from time to time.

Also, if I start the tool with no load (so without cutting), then it heats up a little less than the temperatures from the image.

The temperatures you're experiencing are normal for that type of saw. there will be little heat from the motor housing due to a fan fastened to the motor shaft for cooling, like a radiator fan in your car. The vent area does have warm air because that where the fan expels the heat from the motor and the gearbox. The vertical shaft holding the blade will be the warmest part of the saw with the exception of the blade when cutting. That's due to the constant friction of the shaft's up and down motion whether cutting of not. The gearbox for this motion is packed with grease but will still feel a little warm.


What chemicals are available to remove and prevent mold appearing through brickwork? This thread recommended Conchrobium followed by a Zinnser sealant.

I can't locate Conchrobium in Australia. Are there alternate or even more generic solutions that will treat the mold and prevent it from reappearing?

Unfortunately the moisture can't be easily stopped as the brickwork is under ground level.

Can you find Sporicidin there?  I've used it successfully at home.


How to wire light switch separate line/load Wires to single wire My existing Light switch died and I’m looking to replace with a different brand.   My wall has separate line and separate load wires. And the switch I purchased has a single wire labeled load/line How do I connect?
Here's a link to the new switch
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZSQ8R85/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
See picture of old switch attached

The switch you purchased is a three way switch. Three way circuits have a line at one switch and a load at the other switch which is why you have a line/load wire. You need a switch with a separate line and load terminal/wire. Check your instructions or post them to your question. You use one of the travelers for the load connection.


Water filter not filtering ice I have a GE GFE27GGDBB refrigerator and I just replaced the water filter in it.  The water from the front dispenser is nice and clean, but the ice has an insane amount of particles in it.  I noticed the little particles floating in my water when my cup was empty.  I then took an empty water bottle and cut off the top and filed it with ice.  After all of the ice melted, it looked almost like a snow globe when I swirled the water around.  This has been going on for months now and I'm tired of dumping ice into the sink, and not having ice for drinks.

As another test, I tried bypassing the filter and ran water through the dispense again and it was still nice and clear.  My tap water is also a lot clearer than what's in the ice.  This question seems to pertain to my issue, but I've already replaced my filter and it's still nasty.

Could anyone please give me some advice on how to clean the ice system in this fridge out?  Is there a way to turn on the water to the ice maker without taking the door completely apart?  What's a good place to start with cleaning these?

Thank you.

The white stuff is probably calcium (99% of the time)... so your water is "hard". When the water is cooled, the calcium aggregates and precipitates (white stuff). A filter will not remove dissolved ions (like calcium).

A water softener will replace calcium with sodium. That should solve the the white precipitate issue. However, before spending money, have the water tested.

You can (often) get your water tested for free from a kinetico dealer. However you should know what they say is a biased toward selling a water treatment system, so don't offer them any details of your problem; just ask them to check it. But if they say that you have hard water, then it's probably true.

The other possibility (1% of the time) is dissolved silicates. Again, the kinetico dealer would let you know for free. They would say you need a Reverse Osmosis (RO) system, which is expensive.

Edit Here's a simple home-test that you could do: Add a tablespoon of (regular, distilled) vinegar to a cup of water. Freeze one ice cube tray with regular water (for comparison) and another tray with the water containing a water + vinegar.

If precipitate does not form in the water+vinegar (or if the precipitate is comparably reduced) then calcium/hardness is very likely of the issue. If the amount of precipitate is about the same, then the issue is more likely silica.


Can using a heavy duty extension cord for a space heater cause a receptacle to melt? I have an outlet that burned up pretty badly - it is on a recently run 20 amp circuit. I had a space heater plugged into a heavy duty extension cord running from this outlet. From what I have read it seems,like this is often caused by loose wiring but I don't believe that is the case here. I have cut back the hard wiring to a point where the wire is clean and free of any burning and want to replace the outlet but am really concerned with what may have caused the problem in the first place. I feel like the outlet may have just been overloaded is that likely?

From the comments you seemed to just have a weirdo defective receptacle.  Don't buy the contractor pack 2 for .99 cents.  Buy a good 20A receptacle for a few bucks and put it all back together.  12 ga wire will handle 15 amps which is all a space heater should ever pull.  Fire it up and monitor it for a bit.  If anything is questionable, I would start to look at the space heater itself but then again your breaker should trip before anything gets out of hand.


Listed electric baseboard heaters that permit installation below outlets Are there UL-listed electric baseboard heaters that do permit being installed below outlets? The FPN in 210.52:

  Informational Note: Listed baseboard heaters include instructions that may not
  permit their installation below receptacle outlets.

uses the word 'may', which makes me wonder if some baseboard heaters can legitimately be installed under a receptacle and others cannot without violating the listing, or if the FPN's wording is not strong enough and could do with revising for the next Code cycle?

The short answer is yes, some might be OK... the FPNs are separate from the actual code; they aren't enforceable. However, if the installation instructions prohibit installation below a receptacle, you're going to be considered in violation. I'd be surprised if any of these types of heaters allowed it...

You can always get one of these.


Layering sheens: What kind of paint sheen should I use under a polyurethane semi gloss? Back story:
I'm painting my kitchen cabinets. I am committed to putting a protective coating on them.
I recently painted my bathroom cabinets and I had an issue. I sanded to the wood!, primed, painted and still saw some cracking in the paint. When I say cracking, the paint didn't chip off, it just formed weird cracks.
My order was Behr Latex Primer > Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethan Trim Enamel SEmi Gloss(suggested for cabinets) (water based) >  Minwax Polycrilic water based.
I later found out the polycrilic from Minwax is only recommended on wood...

Anyway, I think I'll use a polyurethane moving forward, in place of the polycrilic. That way it's urethane on urethane. I'm hoping this way the paint won't have these crack features. But I'm not sure how to layer sheens? This is my big question. Should I do a Satin paint, under a semi-gloss polyurethane? I feel like doing a semi-gloss urethane on a semi-gloss paint would look too glossy. Am I thinking about this the wrong way? Anyone have some experience / suggestions on this?

Flat, flat, flat, followed by  whatever you put on the surface. Flat gives you "tooth" for the next layer without you having to sand it (tooth) into a gloss finish.

Though given the described problem, I'd take a careful look at the "latex primer followed by urethane paint" W.R.T.  "weird cracking."


Measuring angle before cutting? According to the instructions, I have to make a 21.5 degree cut in a 2x4 piece of lumber.

Here’s a screenshot of the instructions:

My question: can this measurement be done without having to buy a protractor or any other specialized tool?

Or even better, can I print out a protractor from the web?

As pointed out in the comment, you can of course do it with a basic triangle calculator.

Do yourself a huge favor and buy a speed square. They are $10 and are useful for so many things beyond just marking an angle on a board.


Knowing where to drill holes in steel plate? I have a concrete floor and I made two holes to bolt a 1/4"-thick steel plate. The problem is that the steel plates haven't been drilled yet.

How can I determine where the holes will be drilled in the steel plates so they match the holes in the concrete?

Lay the steel plate on the concrete where you want it.  Draw a line around it.  Cut a piece of paper to the same size as the steel plate.  Place it on the concrete in the same position as the marked outline.  Locate the concrete holes by gently pressing down where you think they are (tracing paper makes this even easier).  Poke a hole through the paper at the center of each hole.  Place the paper on top of the steel plate, and mark the centers of the holes.


How to repair a slow leak in sink food disposal, at discharge It is a slow leak, perhaps less than a cup a day, so I have time to plan. That is good, because plumbing is not really my thing.

I would like to repair rather than replace, to save money.

Should I try to tighten down on the bolt that I see at the site of the leak, or undo the bold and replace the black washer/gasket that seems to be failing.

What is the name of the washer/gasket piece that I likely will need to replace?

Is this type of part standard and easy to find or should I go to the mfg website: https://insinkerator.emerson.com/  I did not find the part on that site.

Mfg: Emerson insinkerator
Model 17-85
SIN 05111658797

If there is good reason to replace the whole disposal rather than repair it, let me know.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

This is a fairly easy repair to make. You didn't say if it's working but I'm assuming it is and it's not jammed. First unplug the disposal. You could have a blockage in there so make sure that there isn't standing water in the disposal.  It's possible that the screw is just loose but I would put a bucket under the disposal and remove the top screw over the tailpipe coming out of the disposal and remove the tailpipe. You'll see a rubber gasket that seals that connection to the tailpiece. I think you'll at least have to replace that gasket.
Once it's open you'll have a better idea of what's going on. It's obviously corroded. Clean it out as best you can. If everything else looks okay take the gasket along with the pictures that you posted here along to your local home center. They should have that rubber gasket.


How can I fix cracks between the bathtub and the wall surround? I noticed after years of usage, there are some cracks in my bathtub (pictures attached). I am not sure how bad they look and whether or not if I need to fix those cracks? and if I do, how can I fix them by myself if it is easy?

I'm not sure where some of those cracks came from, but it doesn't look like anything a good quality bathroom caulk won't fix.  Here is the big secret to caulking anything in the bathroom:

Clean those surfaces as good as you possibly can.  Like cleaner than you've ever cleaned anything in a bathroom.  After its super clean, clean it again with alcohol to make sure there is no residue at all.

Once it's clean, use a high quality silicone bathroom caulk (don't try to save a few bucks - you're buying one tube).  Let it dry properly before use and enjoy a leak free tub.


"European" to US screw nomenclature mapping (and reverse) My wife's company allowed moving her raising desk for working from home. Not sure how it happened, but we've lost the crews which fixate the table top to the metal frame it's standing on.
I consulted with the PDF assembly instructions and it says we need the ST4.8x19 (wood screws). As far as I understand, it's a self-tapping screw with 4.8mm ø and 19mm length, with thread pitch unspecified.
Is there (ideally, an easy) way to figure out whether the US mass-produced screw variety has an equivalent replacement? Or should I just convert the metric diameter and length to the closest value(s) and use such screws instead?

These are metric sizes.
4.8mm is a mighty peculiar size - usually they go in for round numbers.  4.8mm is 0.19 inches.
ASME #10 screws are 0.19 inches diameter.
These are #10 wood screws.
19mm is 3/4".  So they are 3/4" long.
Any #10 x 3/4" wood screw should do the trick.

By the way, 3.5mm is 0.138" which is the diameter of ASME #6.


When is the reverse function on dedicated drywall screwdrivers useful? Is there any reason why the reverse function on a drywall screwdriver would be useful in certain situations?

On my Milwaukee drywall screwdriver, you have to apply downward pressure to disengage the clutch even when using the "reverse" function--which is pushing the opposite direction the screw wants to travel in order to unscrew itself. Basically, when I've tried using the reverse functionality, it's such a fine balance between high enough pressure to disengage the clutch and low enough pressure for the screw to actually come out and the end result is usually just burnt wood and a stripped hole from the screw spinning in place.

I've removed hundreds of screws with drywall guns over the years for various reasons (changes of plans, later access by subcontractors). Never has a screw stripped in the wood. You might ask yourself if you're using appropriate screws for the job. IMO, fine-thread screws are for metal framing.

My point is that the reverse function works just as expected despite the clutch action with what I consider to be proper screws.


Newly installed hardwood flooring bowing when I step A few days ago I had a guy come out to install engineered oak hardwood flooring in my living room.  It is installed in a floating style with nails holding it down on the edges of the outer walls and a threshold joining it to the vinyl in the kitchen.  I don't recall seeing him measure if the subfloor was level, and the only thing I saw him put down was some kind of thick brown paper.  It acclimated to the house for about 4 days before being installed.

There are several spots that visually look ok but depress down quite a bit when you step on it.  It feels flimsy and cheap and is surprising to me because the same guy did several laminate floors for me and I never once experienced this.  He swore to me that this hardwood floor was a better quality product than the laminate and that I would love it but I have serious doubts now.  It was much more expensive.

On separate occasions I expressed my concern to him that perhaps this is happening because the subfloor needed to be leveled first, and he insisted that the floor would "settle" after about a month and that this bowing/depress thing when I step on the floor will go away.  I haven't read anything about this with engineered hardwood floors so I am skeptical.

I was thinking of giving him the month and if it isn't any better I was going to ask him to pull the boards up and level the floor before replacing them, salvaging as much material as he can.  Is this normal and will the floor settle?

If it is a floating floor design it should not be nailed down.  This impedes the movement that occurs due to temperature and humidity changes.  As the floor expands it will create "ridges" in the floor.  The brand/type of flooring would help.


I need to fill in the handle holes on a dresser and redrill them. The original holes are too close together, so I will need to fill the holes with either wood filler or glue and dowel.
Which filler I should use would depend on which would hold up being drilled to reposition the handle holes.
Can anyone give me some advice, or what they would do?

either wood filler or glue and dowel

That's what I would do. I would choose a wood filler that says on the tin that it can be redrilled. You might be able to use a repair-washer on the back to spread the load if you are worried.

Otherwise I'd drill the hole out to the next largest dowel size, glue in a dowel and use a flush-cut saw.

If necessary, you can improvise a dowel by drilling a hole in any convenient bit of steel and using that as a "dowel plate" through which to hammer some slightly oversized wood rod. Chucking the wood in a hand-held drill can work to speed up the production of the dowel.


All-around header dimensions for external wall Putting in two small windows as part of our kitchen remodel (21" x 31").

They are going in an exterior gable wall, framed with 2x6's.
I can't get a straight answer from anyone about what "size" header I should put in! Do I have to use 2x10? Or would 2x6 be fine?

Also, any input on how to construct the headers themselves? Should I build hollow and insulate, or actually build solid ones with three 2x's and some sheets of 1/2" plywood to equal 5 1/2"?

Last related question: should I install a double sill plate in this scenario or is a single sill plate sufficient?

I have include two diagrams below. The first shows how I plan to frame out the main openings (implementing a double sill plate). The second diagram shows how I plan to rough in the actual window openings which are represented by the grey areas.

This is how it ended up. Hope it speaks for itself and thanks to everyone for their input.

It's hard to provide a "straight answer" with the information given. Bearing wall vs. gable wall, rambler vs. two-story. Window position and wall height. There are many factors. I can tell you that triple-member headers are not common except where limited height is available.

We built nearly all our exterior headers with doubled 2x10s in a U configuration, with insulation between. This leaves no voids when drywalling, hanging window treatments, mounting exterior trim, etc., and we know they're adequate from a structural standpoint. It's only when dealing with spans over 5 feet or so that you start looking to LVL headers.

When in doubt, and when there are no drawbacks other than a little initial cost increase, go with the bigger option.


How can I find a stud from the exterior to mount service mast? I'm changing the location of the electrical service mast on my house.  Is there an easy way(s) or a trick of the trade to find a stud from the exterior of the house so my lag bolts that will hold the mast brackets will hit framing and not just rough siding?

Right now, my house is sided with vinyl over 1" of styrofoam, cedar clapboard and 1x6 board siding.

I have access to the interior side of the wall, too, but I'm having difficulty translating the stud location to the exterior.

Plan A

Find an interior:exterior reference point... a window, electrical penetration, etc. on the wall in question.
Using a studfinder, or by examining baseboard nails and outlet locations, find a stud from the interior. You can often knock with your knuckles and determine to which side of an outlet the stud lies.
Measure from the stud to your reference point. If it's a window, measure to clear glass.
Outside, measure back from the same point.

Plan B

Gently release the bottom edge of one row of siding from its retention rib near the intended mount location.
Begin drilling small holes behind the loose siding at 1" intervals, just deep enough to reach framing.
Once you hit a stud, drill 1/2" left and right to find the rough center.
Take a measurement from a fixed point, such as the siding corner or a window.
Flex the siding back onto the retention rib.

No "exploratory holes" through your siding or wounds in your drywall are needed whatsoever here.


Pros and cons of pouring detergent directly onto clothes vs. into detergent dispenser? I'm assuming that the 4-sided blue component dispenses washer detergent.

Ought laundry detergent be poured into that detergent dispenser, or directly onto clothes in the washer?

What are the pros and cons of each method?

You almost certainly will stain the clothes if you do that. Concentrated detergent is very caustic, and you shouldn't put it on clothes directly. However, what you can do in place of the dispenser if you don't have a door safety switch, is pour the detergent into the cap and hold it under the water during the fill cycle.  By doing this, you dilute the detergent as intended.


Kitchen faucet twisted to the left for hot water For some reason, now I have to turn the hot water of my kitchen faucet all the way to the left (10 o'clock) like below photo to get hot water:

The cold water is right in middle (6 o'clock).

How to fix this? Please let me know any advise.

Chances are your facuet just moved. Under the sink, locate the nut that holds the faucet to the sink and loosen it. The nut should either be a large one with all the other hoses going through it or a small one on the same pipe that the sprayer connects to (if it's this design, be sure to losen the top nut and not the sprayer connection). Once loosened, adjust the faucet on the top so that the valve moves equal distance to the left and right and then retighten the nut.


How can I dry out a soggy floor in my kitchen? some wooden floorboard in my kitchen got some water that had not been cleaned up for an hour and the timber seems to have absorbed some of the water and make a soggy sound when walked over.

how can I dry it out pls?

thanks guys for the answers, the thing is I am in London and not sure I can rent a shop vac anywhere close.

so a normal table fan is of no use ?

it is a purpose built first floor flat...with underfloor heating...I am tried turning on heating for a while but has not helped. think the wood had absorbed a lot of water..the thing is the spilled water is just a small bucket left for just 30 mins or so, so I am surprised it has become this severe.

in London it is very hot these days so door and windows are open meaning good ventilation, but things hv not helped and actually I think water is seeping along the floor board and coming into the living room. so I need to act fast.

this is the picture..if u zoom in u can see the water seeping out..and the sogginess seems to be spreading to other areas as well..so appreciate quick help.
thanks

and this is video..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfZVd6k_m6s

about 2-3 liters of water spilled in the affected area near the kitchen which was mopped out after 30 mins. But even after trying to dry out for two days it has not helped and in fact it is spreading to other areas..any advice, please ?

You could pick up a dehumidifier and set it up in your kitchen. That will allow you to control the moisture level and speed up drying time.


Will these DIY steel plates for post to beam connections work as well as the commercially available ones? My soon to be constructed deck will have beams made from three 2x12s sandwiching ½" plywood, sitting on 6x6 posts. This gives both the beams and the posts a width of 5½ inches.
To ensure the beams stay put, I'd like to purchase 3/16" x 5" x 8" steel plates (SS 304 7ga). I would use 2 steel plates per post/beam connection (one on each side), plus (qty 4) SS 304 ½" hex bolts / washers / nuts.
Using these plates is vastly cheaper than the ready made solutions from Simpson and other companies, of which at least some number are also made with 7ga steel. Even increasing the steel plates to ¼" thick is still vastly less expensive than the ready made connectors.
Here's a diagram of the DIY connectors plus hex bolts:
.-------------,
|             |
|   O     O   |
|             |
|             |
|             |
|             |
|             |
|   O     O   |
|             |
'-------------'
Note: Perhaps but not necessarily to scale

What is the folly of this method? Is it dangerous? What makes the commercial product better than just purchasing steel plates and bolts?

Update
Just wanted to add that this question may have been a bit misleading. The actual code approved connectors for this structure will be something more like these. The beam will be completely supported on top of the posts. This is a 12' x 20' ft deck. The premise was that the DIY plates seem significantly stronger than the code approved connectors. I made this unclear by originally linking to the 7 gauge Simpson connectors.

What makes the commercial product better than just purchasing steel plates and bolts?

The commercial product doesn't rely on the screws in wood to connect the two sides. A sideways force would be spread over the area of the bracket, compressing a wide area of wood.
With the plates, the same force would lever the screws out of the wood.


Low AWG in long outdoor run, but with GFCI protection I'm running a circuit out to our shed/chicken coop. We live in New Hampshire.  The electrical demand won't be high, so one 15 amp circuit will be sufficient.  We currently have 3/4" schedule 40 buried 12" deep.  Long story short, we tried to get it all 18" deep but the work wasn't done properly and about half ended up 12".  I'd prefer not to have to redig it, but that is an option if we absolutely had to.

I know that at 12" deep I have this limitation:

  "It has GFCI protection before it enters the ground, is limited to 120
  volts, and is protected by no more than a
  20-amp fuse or breaker."

Which our circuit totally fits, but . . . I did some calculations for the voltage drop, and the recommendation is that I use 8 gauge wire.  I am planning on having electronics at the coop (camera, smart light bulb), so i do want "good" electricity.

Trouble is, not only does that add a lot of cost, I'm not entirely sure how voltage drop "works".  Do I only have to have 8 gauge for the longest part of the run?  Only at the beginning? Fine to run 14 gauge after the connection to the shed?

Plus, the complication of a 12" deep trench makes it hard for me to understand how to combine the requirement for GFCI and 8 gauge wire.

I've made a diagram of what I've got to work with.  I could move the GFCI at the exit of the house onto this circuit and use that to my advantage.

My specific questions are on the diagram and I'd love to be directed/corrected on how voltage drop works and what the larger gauge is doing to prevent it.

Thanks!

Update: The most I'll possibly need at the shed/coop is 650 watts.  However, I use my shop vac or circular saw at the existing GFCI location.

Voltage drop is additive or you might say cumulative.  If you use a heavy wire for the long portion, and small wire for the short sections, you'd prevent most of the voltage drop.

Your concern about your electronics may be unfounded;  most of your electronics will run off a power supply that handles a wide range of voltages, and voltage drop will be no problem.

As mentioned in @EdBeal 's answer and the comments, the load is the key.

It seems to me that up to 5 amps / 600 watts you don't have any issues at all.  With a total run of 180' and load of 5 amps, you can limit your voltage drop to less than the NEC recommended 3% with 12 AWG wire, which is the minimum for a 20A circuit, which is the maximum for your 12" buried conduit.

The electronics and some LED lights might not add up to much load, so if you don't have much else out there, you might very well stay under the 5 amps and never have any voltage drop issues.

Beyond that it's hard to say just what might happen.  The NEC 3% voltage drop is conservative, most things tolerate significantly more voltage drop than that before you have any serious issues.  (It depends on the utility voltage too - your actual voltage may be a bit over or under the nominal 120 volts.)

If you occasionally run a circular saw or shop vac at the end of the line, the load will be significantly higher, maybe 10 amps.  At 10 amps, you'd want #10 wire to limit voltage drop to 3%.  Now if you run both the shop vac AND the circular saw, you could be up over 15 amps and you'd need that #8 to limit voltage drop to 3%.

But again, 3% is very conservative, you might have no major issues with #12.

If I wanted to be safe, I'd run #8 underground to the disconnects, and #12 within the buildings.  It's not a big bump in cost to run #8 THWN in the underground, it's a pain to terminate / splice compared to #12, but you'd only have to deal with it in the disconnects.


Why isn't my telephone socket working fully after installation? The main telephone socket is giving me less internet speeds than the extension outlets. 30% less. Upload speed not affected.

This is after replacing with new socket/new outlet, I never used the old one at this location.

The difference in wiring between extension and main, is main has more wires crammed into one telephone socket. All I did when installing socket is join up similar colored wires into one hole. There were 4 cables, each had 2 wires in them, blue and white. The new socket design has 4 pairs of holes, designated as 1, 2,3,4. Pic of design:

Each designated pair of holes, I put two wires of similar color from two cables coming from different directions.

The extensions have only one cable with 2 wires, blue and white.

What did I do wrong?

So this ADSL/VDSL ?

The outlet you're using is an RJ11 ?

By the sounds of it you have too many wires coming for most mechs, Krone can take up to 4 due to double punching and 2 terminals but most can't.

Test your speed at the ISP demarcation point. Just because the 'main' socket has the most cables going to it doesn't actually mean it is the closest socket to your lead in cable. It is quite possible one of these other 'extension' sockets is actually the first outlet and you potentially have cable issues from to the 'main'.


How can I reduce the noise from a bathroom fan? I would like to stop an extractor fan shaking my ceiling as it makes a lot of noise. What is the best way to dampen it? (foam, springs etc). Its an exhaust vent for bathroom and is inline with exhaust pipe (not directly fitted) and runs into and out from attic.

The first thing to check is if the fan unit is properly and firmly mounted in the ceiling and that the actual motor/fan portion is tightly secured in the housing. If the vibration is being caused because the fan is unbalanced or the bearings are worn, there is probably not much you can do for it. New fan units are not that expensive and are much quieter than older models. Noise ratings are posted on the units and measured in Sones. The lower the number, the quieter the operation of the fan.  Maybe it is time for an upgrade.


long span shelf wtih no center support I need to build a shelf spanning 11'6" x 30".  It is in front of a window so I can only attach it to the walls at either end.  It will need to hold about 100lbs of speakers and audio/video gear, with a 65lb tv hanging from the center of it.  How could I build a shelf strong enough to not bow and how to attach it to the walls?

I think your two choices are

make the shelf stiffer by making it thicker
support the shelf more inventively.

An example of the former would be to make the shelf into a T-beam (or use keshlam's suggestion of a torsion box)

An example of the latter might be support wires up to the top of the wall or to the ceiling, or a glass-brick pillar, or a wooden arch support.

I would think about the myriad of ways bridge builders have tackled the same structural problem over hundreds of years.


Can I use metal brackets to install a wood fence across an existing concrete driveway? We want to install a wood fence on top of a 4", 3000 psi wire meshed concrete driveway.  I want to hold the 4" posts up using base plates that are made of approximately 1/4" or thicker steel. The square base plate I thought would be about 10" X 10". And a welded on socket for the post to go into would be about 10 inches tall. A horizontal bolt would hold the post in place in the socket. I will anchor the plates to the concrete with 1/2" or larger bolts.

Does this set up sound ok? Will it eventually cause the fence to wobble side to side in the sockets? Would it possibly break the concrete out even though no posts will be near any edge. Do the base brackets sound ok?

The only potential problem I can see is wind. I would alternate the pickets on each side of the rail. This allows the wind to pass thru the fence. This design does allow for viewing thru the fence if you are close though. Cars or pedestrians passing by would have a difficult time seeing thru it. I would drill a hole on three sides of your socket. Weld a nut over the hole. This will give you a setup similar to a Christmas tree stand. By inserting  bolts in the nuts it will allow you to adjust the post to plumb it.


What is causing/caused these brown circular stains in my cabinetry? Recently moved into a 1950s-built home and have unearthed a number of brown, circular stains on the wood inside various closets. These rings don't appear on the plaster walls, but rather on the wood shelves or siding in the closet. Here is a picture of one such brown stain that appears on the wood along the top of the hallway closet.

I've seen these stains in a number of non-adjoining closets throughout the house. The brown ring is not wet or damp to the touch, nor does it smell funny. If I take a scraping tool and scrape off the paint the same pattern appears on the wood.

What's interesting is that the stain appears to permeate through the piece of wood. For instance, here's a picture of the top of a shelf in one closet - note the two brown rings:

And here's a picture taken from the underside of the same board - note the matching rings.

My first guess was that this was a water stain of some kind, but I am more doubtful seeing as it's always a ring (and not a full circle) and that it permeates cleanly from top to bottom of the wood. Is this a knot in the wood and has sap leaked out, perhaps? Is this mold? Something else? Any ideas?

Also, what do I do about these? Should I just paint over them? My concern is that it would be just dealing with the symptom of a problem; also, who's to say that the stain won't go through another layer of paint? Or do I need to rip out the shelves and side paneling and put new ones in? (The wood/interiors of the closets appear very cheap so it's not like I'm ripping out high quality, custom-built cabinetry.)

I'm pretty sure this is bleed-through of knots from underneath the paint. They have the shape of knots, and it looks like what you get when that happens.

If you want to be dead positive (or don't believe me) the only real solution is a scraper. Yes, its a bit on the nuclear side, but it will prove the existence of a knot underneath. Scrape off the paint in that area of wood. Pick an obscure spot to do so. Bring it down to bare wood, and you should see a knot underneath. Since the answer is to use a product like Kilz anyway to intercept the stain from bleeding through again, having to repaint that small area is no real issue.

Why can't you just paint over it? Well, you can, and for a time it will look like it worked, but the stain will come through regular paint. So you need something that a stain can't bleed through. In the old days, one might have used shellac as a stain killer, in fact, I think some stain killer products were based on shellac.


Do nice water pump pressure switches exist? If you have a water pump / well pump in the United States, you have a Square D pumptrol switch that looks like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Square-9013-FSG2-30-50/dp/B00CONESDG/

I own several of these and I understand very well how to set and operate them.

However, they are almost comically primitive and there are times when a normal person (like my in-laws, or my wife) need to restart a water pump and it's very frustrating to have this weirdo finger-bar mechanism that you can't describe in one sentence or less ...

Can I just start and stop my pump with buttons ?

I have searched all evening and I don't see any alternatives to the sad, lame old pumptrol - unless I want to buy oddball units off of alibaba that have metric threads, or other weirdness.

Seriously - if I work in a water treatment plant am I really restarting my pumps by "pulling the little lever just a little bit but not too much oops you pushed it too far ..." ?  This is how pumps are controlled in industry ?  Little finger bars ?

My wife needed to restart our pump for the water in our home once while I was away on a trip and it was very frustrating to try to talk her through this ridiculous little device on the phone.

What are my alternatives ?  I need something UL Listed, standard inch threads, made for the United States and ... has actual buttons that you press.

Does this exist ?

If you look around online, you'll find a huge array of products for pump control but I think you're right, there's really just the Flowtrol / Square D or very similar products available at low cost for home use.

(By the way, good for you insisting on a UL listed product from a trustworthy, reputable source.)

If I understand your question, your problem is you occasionally have to use the tiny little override switch to get the pump to start after pressure drops below the low threshold, probably after a power outage.

You could wire a manual override switch to bypass the pressure switch, but I'd hesitate to do this.  This would ideally be a double pole, single throw switch, horsepower rated for the pump's voltage and load, in a standard switch form factor so you could mount it in a regular electrical box.  That's definitely not an easy to find hardware store / big box item, but the major manufacturers make this kind of switch in their industrial product lines.  I'd want a momentary switch so that you can't accidentally leave it on, which could overpressurize the system, run the pump dry and burn it up, etc.

The reason I'd hesitate is because I don't know if this would override some other protection that is built into that simple looking Flowtrol switch.  For example, it might limit the override action so that it stops the pump when you reach the upper pressure limit, preventing the pump from over-pressurizing the system.

If you shop the industrial pump / control products, I am sure you can get what you want, or at worst build it, but for a suitable product UL listed and approved for potable water, the cost would probably be prohibitive.  That's how pumps are controlled in industry, but it's EXPENSIVE.


Is 10/2 cable appropriate for a 240V, 30A garage heater outlet? I would like to add a garage heater (Cadet "The Hot One" - 5000/3333watts - two settings)

I currently do not have any 240v access in my garage.

My main panel is in my basement and my garage is attached so if I measure from my main panel to the interior wall of my garage where the electric would feed from the main panel the run is about 22 feet -  The electric heater would be mounted about 20" from the garage ceiling so the receptacle could be above or below so that would put that full run at about 25 feet.

I have a 200 amp service and currently have 9 slots available in my panel.

My understanding is the cadet heater needs a 30amp breaker, NEMA 6-30R outlet and I think I can run it with 10/2 cable.

I would run the line up through the garage wall plate and have the cable behind the drywall and run it into a metal box for the NEMA 6-30R outlet.

I am unclear if the 10/2 is sufficient, I believe it is, and then about grounding the box receptacle box.

These heaters need what the UL-approved instructions say they need.  However this heater is rated for a 20.8A draw.

For heaters, we must provision 125% of that, or 26 amps.  That is too much for a 20A circuit, and appropriate for 30A.

10/2 will get the job done for this one task.  But it'll do more for your resale if you use 10/3, because that will allow you to fit a dryer or subpanel here in the future. (a subpanel is an easy solution to the old saw + dust collector problem and many other problems you get as you develop your wood or machine shop). You can go ahead and use a NEMA 6-30 receptacle, and just cap off the neutral.

Speaking of over-wiring, there is certainly no harm in using 8/3 or even 6/3 cable, which would allow larger heaters or full development of that subpanel.  The ultimate "future expansion" option is to fit 3/4" conduit instead of cable, and simply throw the wires into the pipe that suit your needs at the moment.


What type of unbrako screw is this? I need some spare screws like the one in the picture, but I have no idea what it’s called.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

The nearest match in Unbrako's product line is probably the "socket head shoulder screw" but its not an exact match.


Should I turn off my leaking hot water tank in winter? Just noticed that the upstairs hot water tank is firing, and there is a bunch of water on the basement floor. (This is a duplex, and no one is living upstairs right now.)

So my first thought was just to turn off the burner and shut off the water going to it... but it's winter (albeit pretty warm today) so then I was afraid the pipes would freeze or something.

So what's the safer option here?

Since I got no answer on this I'll post what the plumber said:

You only need to worry about the pipes freezing if the temperatures are going to be below 0 degrees fahrenheit. So it's ok to turn off the gas and water as long as it won't be that cold.


Loosen the base swivel of a Delta faucet This Delta faucet is supposed to swivel on the joint (I believe) at the base of the faucet. However the joint seems to be too stiff and it's caused the base of the unit to detach from the counter and now the whole unit swivels. How do I loosen this joint so that it can swivel freely? (Before I tighten the whole unit back on the counter.)

Those joints usually aren't user-adjustable, and they're often a bit snug at first until they're used a bit.

I suggest that you re-seat the faucet (to get the o-ring into correct position), snug the mounting nut(s) firmly, and see how it operates then.


How to darken flagstone edge on fireplace hearth What can I use to color/darken the edge of a flagstone hearth. House built 1967. Hearth appears to have an unknown sealer on it - slight sheen, very water resistant. Top has nice color variation but edges are a much lighter mostly solid color. Stripping and heavy sanding is not really an option.

You darken flagstone with sealer/color-additive.   Or you can try heat.  I have darkened flagstone outside using a blowtorch, it works.   I am not suggesting that you do this as the results will vary and the sealer may melt weird or possibly start a "small fire".   The method does work as I have used it for outdoor grills and fire pits but saying that I would not have practiced my first time inside.

There is no quick fix for this.   You have to get sealer off first no matter what.   Even with past experience no way I am torching something with sealant on it.


What is this tool called? It's like a crowbar with a screwdriver handle.
I have found one called KM-569-A, but I need one for a job, and I have no idea what its called!
Image:

So, What is this called?

That is a nail-puller or tack-puller (more commonly tack-puller with the screwdriver-type handle). You can get similar function from a "cats-paw"


How to soften the recessed lights without replacing them? I think I went overboard with installation of recessed lights in our living room. We have 6 recessed lights (ultra thin LED wafer like) in the living room and two switches connecting to each set of 3 lights. Even if we turn on one set, its is very bright and harsh on our eyes before bedtime.
The recessed lights are bright white and 900 lumens each while the living room is 20 ft x 13 ft with ceiling height of 10-12 ft.
I'm thinking of following two options as a solution but open to any other effective solution:

Add a dimmer - Setting the dimmer at 50% be less
Apply a softening film

Are there any possible DIY on the softening film?
Does the privacy films available in market for mirrors work well for this?

Consider that any film you put across the opening of the can will hold heat in. Heat is the enemy of the electronics in the driver for your LED bulbs. Well, heat is the enemy of all electronics. It will also hasten the death of other types of lighting, and could, potentially, trap enough heat to start a fire.
I would consider a dimmer, allowing you to adjust the brightness to the situation - sometimes you'll really appreciate 3600 lumens in your living room, other times you'll want a tiny fraction of that.
I'd also consider a different color temperature bulb (if you have replaceable bulbs). You say that the lights are "bright white" which means they're in the 4500-6500K temperature range. A 2500K bulb will be a much yellower light (more light incandescent) and won't be quite so harsh on your eyes. However, it will seem to be dimmer, even at the same 900 lumens, when doing any sort of detailed work. Somewhere in the 3-4000K would probably be sufficiently bright, while still being easier on the eyes.
The ideal would be a bulb that is both dimmable and can change color temperature. Usually, these are controlled by a phone app and/or a home automation system.


Where should I install the water softener? We are planning on installing  a water softener.  The main water source is located outside, about 20 feet from the backyard.  The water heater is located in the garage.  We are wondering if we have to install the water softener next to the water heater in the garage or if we can install it outside by the main source.  The reason we are asking is because it would take significant work to install it next to the water heater.  What would be wise to do in terms of installation and preservation of the water softener?

Jessica

Presumably you are in a non-freezing climate?

I believe that virtually all water softeners will at minimum require a shed for protection from the elements - you can't just stick one out in the weather. If that's easier than putting it in the garage, and the climate is indeed not freezing, then put up a shed and put it there. While it's remotely possible that someone makes a model designed for outside installation, it's doubtful that there would be enough volume of sales to make it economical .vs. the more ordinary inside-installation type.


steel poles with pine shelving - how to fix? I have little setup that i didnt properly think about it! rush job.

I have four Galvanised poles with four pine shelves (900x220x20) sitting on gate-eye tube clamps. The poles go through the wood on the corner after i cut the holes. Pipe is 33.7mm, i cut the holes 35mm thinking the wiggle room would help. It has not.

they just rest on top and as you can guess the whole thing is unstable and joggles around.

Without getting a bit more pipe and fixing the top to the wall (i rent, not allowed) how could I make the structure more secure.

Your problem is there's nothing holding the 4 posts in place.  The fix is to attach the shelves to the posts as tightly as possible - they can't just set on the posts.  What you've basically done is tried to create a large version of these common steel shelves:

If you've ever put one together, the strength and stability comes from the wedge anchors on each corner holding the shelves tightly in place.

Your unit's stability is proportional to how tight you can attach each shelf to each corner.  Any looseness will be notices in wobble.

I'm not familiar with the brackets you say that you are using, but you could possibly sandwich the shelves between two brackets (one on top, one on bottom, but they'd have to make a very tight sandwich).  Or if it's like a pipe flange maybe the shelf can be securely screwed to the brackets.  The point is, you have to have a tight, secure connection on each corner of each shelf.


Requirements for using Schluter Ditra I'm preparing to do my first tile project in my house, and have recently been told conflicting statements about what I need to do to my floor as it exists now.  I'm going to tile the floors in my kitchen, entry way, and bathroom.  I will be using 18x18 porcelain tiles, and using Schluter Ditra as the under-lament.

Each of these floors are currently linoleum. As far as I can tell, under the linoleum is some sort of particle board, and underneath that should be the bare floorboards.  It is/was my understanding that I needed to rip out the linoleum, have a decently clean surface, and then use thin-set to bond the Schluter Ditra down.  It also is/was my understanding that you could also leave the linoleum down if you desired, but that you had to nail it down every so many feet.

My problem is now I've been told that I also need to take out the particle board layer that is underneath the linoleum.  I'd prefer not to have to do this, as I'm sure I will have to cut it out around my counters, and around the areas where linoleum stops and carpet begins.  I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of having to make "precision" cuts only deep enough to cut the particle board, but not the floor board.

So I'm not sure what to believe.  I thought Schluter Ditra would do just fine on top of the particle board, and possibly even on top of the linoleum.  Boiled down to a very simple question, what can I safely put Schluter Ditra on top of?

I would most definitely take up the linoleum. Why? If it starts coming away from the floor substrate (particle board), it could then very well lead to the grout between the tiles cracking (breaking up) due to movement underneath.

Personally I have no time for particle board, therefore would be very! tempted to take it up and replace it with plywood (fixed down appropriately).

That said, according to Schluter-DITRA and Schluter-DITRA-XL: Wood Substrates you can probably get away with keeping the particle board down on the floor. Before commencing I would ensure the particle board is fixed down very! firmly (nailed or screwed @ 150 to 200mm centres). Select a nail or screw length that will not go all the way through the floor boards underneath the particle board, you don't want to go hitting any pipe or cable that might run underneath your flooring.

For total peace of mind I would contact Schluter Systems directly and seek their advice: Contact Schluter Systems


Incandescent Equivalent for Bathroom Fan/Light We are looking at lights/fans for the bathroom. We don't want to spend a lot of money. The fan/light combination units at Menards and Depot say to use incandescent or energy-efficient equivalent. The more expensive fixtures come with integrated LED lamps. The bottom line question is, can we use an LED bulb in the less expoensive fixture that says incandescent or equivalent?

Isherwood's comment is certainly valid, but here's a rundown of the possibilities (that I am aware of).

It has an Edison socket

That's one of these

It will likely be an E26, which is your standard light bulb size. Anything that fits will work fine (unless you find an incandescent that exceeds the wattage rating on the fixture).

It has an orange connector thingy

I don't actually know what they're called, but they look like this

Since these are mostly used in downlights (recessed lights) you can find LED trims for recessed lighting in the appropriate size (4", 6", etc.) for your vent fixture.

It has a built-in LED

You simply need to wire it. No replaceable bulbs are required.

Other

You could find something that uses a GU10 or another type of bulb that isn't an Edison socket, but this category is largely the same as the Edison socket category. Simply find any matching bulb with wattage equal to or less than the rating.


What size manifold for 1" pipe from meter? I am running all new water supply in an old house (c 1884). The incoming line from the meter is 1" galvanized (no idea how much mineral buildup is inside).

Will it be sufficient to replace all of the plumbing using 3/4" manifolds (one hot & one cold) with 1/2" supplies to the fixtures? There is currently a mix of PVC, copper, and galvanized being used and water pressure at the fixtures is tolerable, but affected greatly by flushing toilets or running the washing machine. I would hope for better with a new system -is that likely?
There are both a whole-house sediment filter and water softener. Any special considerations (order/pipe size) for these with a PEX system? Currently they are connected using 1/2" pipe connected to the 1" inlet (by another home owner), although the water filter will accept 1".

If you're going to re-build all the piping only for this pressure issue I suggest you to first try adding a flow reducers to toilets, washing machines and to all those supplies where a reduced flow is still acceptable. In this case pressure unbalancing will be reduced without affecting comfort or efficiency.

Anyway I suggest you to keep the cold piping as big as you can (1" is good) for the main conduit (where it splits to water heater and to each bathroom and kitchen lines where you can start with 3/4) as it will greately reduce pressure unbalances. If you use PEX, check pipe is PEX-c using lower grades (a or b) will be penny-savy pound-foolish. Pex c mean it's phisically-reticolated, pex-b is temperature-reticolated (but sometimes the last 'hot bath' is never done leading to premature failures) and pex-a is chemically-reticolated won't be guaranteed to last 50 years but it's not as bad as pex-b.

There are also 'unreticolated' pipes, those should be absolutely avoided as may break with hot water or high pressures so look for *PE-Xc/Al/PE-Xc * printed on pipe.


What could cause water to not go into the gutters? I recently installed vinyl gutters around the roof of my house, but after the first rain I discovered that the gutter doesn't seem to be catching a lot of the water. Much of the water seems to be dribbling between the gutter and the fascia board.  What is a good way to make the water go into the gutter?

Sounds like either the gutters aren't secured tight enough, or you don't have a drip-edge flashing between the roof and gutter. The drip edge deflects water out and away from the house trim and into the gutter. You install it under the shingles, pulled out slightly from the trim, and secured with roofing cement.


Has our new septic tank been properly waterproofed? We have a new septic tank made of solid stone masonry. The masonry is held together by cement mortar and has been plastered with cement plaster.

A professional working on the job has ensured us that the tank is waterproof (i.e. it should not egress water into the soil.) However, posts online are telling me that neither masonry, mortar or plaster are waterproof.

So is this guy totally wrong? Do we need to apply a waterproofing system to the septic tank?

Probably not.

I have a precast cement tank. It is not otherwise waterproofed/coated, etc. It's perfectly standard to use them like that. They don't spray water everywhere - it simply seeps, rather slowly, through the walls.

Consider, if you will, what happens to water that you keep in the septic tank. It sits for a while, and then leaves by a pipe whereupon it's diffused in the soil in the drainage field.

Any seepage through the cement/mortar will be quite slow, and will also diffuse water into the soil. Sure, it will be the soil around the tank, but there's no significant difference.

If you feel the need of an official opinion, call the local health department (whoever does your septic permits/inspections) and ask for an official opinion.


Do I really need a 1200 CFM Hood for a 48" Range? We just purchased a 48" ZLine range with 7 burners.    The information about all this CFM is very confusing.
Do I really need a 1200 CFM hood?

A 1200CFM hood has no business being in a 3ACH@50Pa house (or worse yet, a tighter one)
One common misconception among custom kitchen shoppers is that a large, commercial-style range such as the 48" brute you're looking at requires a range hood ventilation system fit for a restaurant environment.  The reason why commercial hoods are the brutes they are is because they have to maintain an environment reasonable for OSHA while the underlying appliances are being used for 10 hours per day, 6 days each week, for all 52 weeks of the year.
Your range, though, will never see such a usage pattern, and thus can and should be vented with a more domestically sized hood fan, on the order of 300 CFM.  This is because all range hoods suck air out of the house, and that air needs to come from somewhere.  In old houses, it just came from random air gaps in framing and sheathing as well as around penetrations such as windows, pipes, and electrical boxes; in newer houses, though, we seal those gaps so that we can control the air we're bringing in.
However, that control depends on there being a good balance of air in and air out, and a big range hood sucking on the house disrupts the balance, depressurizing the house and sucking in any contaminants that might be in the soil, in outside air (sucking on a house in the South is a great way to have a humidity problem!), or coming from sources such as combustion appliances.  As a result, the IRC sets an upper bound of 400CFM for range hoods unless you provide a make-up air supply that's interlocked with the hood's operation and dedicated to the range hood.  Given that you can't run kitchen range hood exhaust through an HRV or ERV due to issues with grease fouling of heat exchangers creating a fire hazard, you're best off not bothering with a hood that requires makeup air supply.
However, this doesn't mean you should get a physically tiny range hood that sits way above the range, sucking pointlessly on the air at the ceiling!  You want the actual hood to span the full width and depth of your range, with a decent overhang and a tall catchment "bowl", so that you get good capture efficiency, maximizing the utilization of the CFMs you have installed.  Likewise, downdraft ventilation has no business being used in this situation.


water pressure from icemaker water line to fridge is reduced we replaced our fridge and after connecting the line the water pressure to my
faucet which was beyond the saddle valve was cut in half.   we changed the saddle valve and after that the pressure changed.  the shower and the toilet are still at good levels. what happened?

If it is a small pipe the saddle may be partially obstructing the water flow. If you have copper, pex, or PVC plumbing it would not be hard to cut the pipe install a T and fit a 1/4" adapter or 3/8" depending on the size to your frige then you will not have a pressure reduction and in a few years (when the saddle would fail) you prevented the failure from happening.


Install ceiling fan on exposed conduit I have a length of exposed metal conduit on my plywood ceiling with several boxes for light fixtures along it's length.  I'd like to install a ceiling fan in one of these boxes.  I understand that I can use a wiremount box or another ceiling fan rated box and then install the ceiling fan on that box.  But I think the box would then be visible and  I'd rather have the electrical box be hidden beneath the canopy of the fan.  Is this possible?

If the current box is rated for a light fixture, then you can use it for a fan, if there is structure behind the box to attach the fan bracket to. You could use long wood screws to clamp the fan bracket to the box and the screws would go through holes in the box or beside the box and screw into a suitable wooden member in the ceiling or just in the OSB if it is thick enough.

You could not use small bolts into threaded holes in the box designed for a cover or for a light-weight light fixture. The new Hunter fans come with fairly long wood screws which are designed to hold the fan bracket in ceiling joists, but check that they are long enough. The instructions will state how much thread of these screws must be in solid wood.

You might have to build a split ring out of plywood or solid wood, place it around the electrical box and screw that to the OSB ceiling. Then the fan bracket would be secured to the ring with the special wood screws supplied with the fan. Modern fans have a large shroud which would obscure the ring. There would be a larger gap than usual between the top of the shroud and the ceiling, but I don't think it would look bad.