What to do when measuring voltage on nails in the wall? A while ago, I hammered some nails into a wall trough which wires are running (taking care not to hit any wire).
But when I use a multimeter to measure the voltage between the nail and some other point of the wall I get a reading of 0.89 Volts. When turning the fuse off I only get a reading of 0.38.
This behavior can be observed for various nails in different locations in the wall and does not occur on other walls in the apartment.
I am not sure what to make of it. Is it an error in my measurement or normal behavior when measuring close to a wire? Or do I need to call an electrician asap?
For completeness, here's a picture of my setup and first reading.

Your photo shows the Red lead plugged into the 10A socket of the meter.  Therefore you are measuring the voltage between the COM socket and the HIGH socket on the right which is probably just due to stray 60 Hz fields. Try plugging the RED lead into the HIGH socket and the BLACK lead into the COM socket and repeat your measurements.  In all likelihood, they will still be small and just indicate the present of 60 Hz fields from the power lines.


What is the best removable insulation material? There is a crack in a wall that I would like to fill with some removable insulation.

It must be removable, as such it should just be a temporary solution.

I know of rockwool and glasswool, but don't know which is best, or if there exist other types.

Which should I get and stump the crack with?

You can use Backer Rod to fill in the crack if it is not too wide.  Backer rod is an easy to compress rope-like celled foam and should be easy to remove at a later date.  It is mainly used to fill deep cracks before caulking to give support to the caulk.

Backer rod comes in a variety of diameters and should be able to be found at your local building supply store.


How can I remove a retaining wall made of vertical landscape timber? I have VERTICAL landscape timbers in the hard soil in the back yard and I want to remove them.

What is the best way to remove this retaining wall?

If they are vertically embedded in the soil, and if you can get heavy chains wrapped around them individually, you might be able to lift with something like the bucket of a backhoe or a loader.

Alternatively, you can remove the soil around them with a backhoe or even with hand tools. In either case, you're likely to have to pry them apart. Landscape timbers in a retaining wall are often held together with embedded pieces of rebar. When I removed my wood retaining wall, I used a 2x4 as a pry bar.


What can I do about these exposed grounding rods? There are two grounding rods outside my house that stick out above the ground. Besides being a pain to mow around, the longer (bent) one is quite easy to trip over. Is there anything I can do to get these completely buried?
Longer exposed grounding rod (~7"):

Shorter exposed grounding rod (~3"):

Zoomed out to include utility box near smaller exposed rod:

Never assume a rod that is not being is not needed!
If the #6 copper has been ripped out it probably needs to be replaced.
The short one is easy dig around it and drive it below the sod.
Next dig a trench to the other one and I would use a piece of metal pipe to straighten it out and drive it below the sod.
Using the acorn nut on the rod connect #6 or larger copper wire rod to rod to your service panel. I have worked on a few homes that for some reason the ground was removed (this can be hazardous to your health)
So unless you can verify you do have a solid ground drive them a bit further. If new rods were driven they can be pulled up or cut off.


Unfinished basement - options for exposed concrete wall in finished room We're purchasing a home with a large, unfinished basement having a poured concrete foundation and walls. This home is in Minnesota, so there's a seasonal consideration with temperature and moisture. Is it possible to finish a room while still leaving the raw concrete exposed on one wall? I will be building out a basement office and other rooms, and I love the look of the raw concrete (think: industrial office space) and I think it would make an awesome backdrop for my work area. Open to any ideas here.
Related, it seems like the foundation wall should be around 10" thick? Is there any issue mounting into it with hardware, say to mount a television or monitor?

Finish it anyway you want.  Attaching fasteners to the wall for hanging TV's pullup bars, vaults for your gold bullion collection won't be a problem.  You may want to paint the wall.  Black maybe


Decreasing heat in glass porch We have a glass porch (10ft x 20ft) with glass walls and glass roof, connects to the main building through a door. What is the way to decrease the heat inside the room?
Similar to that:

We can cover the roof with any material, decreasing light is not a problem. Will installing IR-reflective film be enough, or we should put a sail-type light tarp on the ceiling inside / roof outside?
Location: Southern California, US

You can call one of the tinting places in your area and ask them to put up some ceramic film that will reflect up to 95% of heat. That's what they use on cars now days and it works but kind of pricey. What it does, is blocking UV and IR from heating up your floor and furniture  and unlike the regular tint/film, it will keep those window (glass) cool as well, preventing from radiant heat from seeping through.


Melted white wire terminals? When taking apart faulty outlets I found melted white wire terminals. I'm told these are the first two outlets on the circuit. The first outlet seemed to melt from both white leads equally without breaking the connection. The second outlet seemed to melt only from one white lead, and got hot enough to melt the wire off the terminal and break the connection, killing the rest of the outlets down the line.

I would blame it on a loose connection or bad plug, but two mistakes right next to each other seems to me less probable. And why only the white leads, not the live wire? Happy to offer more details if they're helpful.

First outlet in the series, white leads (melted) and black leads (fine)

Second outlet in the series, white leads (one melted) and black leads (fine)

The outlets are about five feet apart, if that matters.

Looks like they got loose. If the connection is loose it will arc and create a lot of heat if something that draws a lot of current is plugged in.

It also looks like they got wet. There is rust and the copper wire has a patina. That would not help. If the outlets are below a water source that leaked, that could have contributed. Or maybe someone sprayed water into the outlets.

I guess they're making receptacles even more crappy these days, I'm used to brass screws which would never rust (and are more electrically conductive than mild steel). The old bakelite (thermoset) plastic receptacles also would not melt.

Incidentally, this is why connections are made in a fire-resistant box. There are also initiatives to incorporate mandatory arc detection into fuse panels. The arcing has a characteristic signature that can be used to shut down the circuit. Arcing still (rarely, fortunately) causes house fires, but it was worse when they were installing aluminum wire.


Different circuit breakers keep tripping, some not re-setting Background: South Carolina house built in 2009, assume all electrical systems, main panel and circuit breakers new at that time. I moved into the house in May having transferred from the UK. I brought some electrical equipment with me from the UK, and have been using step-up transformers (SUT) to power the UK items as well as purchasing some new US ones.

About 2-3 weeks after moving in one circuit started tripping, and eventually would not re-set. It fed a secondary bedroom (being used as an office including using a 500W SUT) and adjacent bathroom. It tripped even after unplugging everything, re-setting, and trying one lamp (running 3 x 8W 120V LED bulbs). I was working away and my wife called an electrician. We hoped that the fault might be covered by Homebuyers insurance!

He diagnosed that the SU transformer had caused instability (so not covered by insurance as it's a condition we introduced), that the circuit breakers were sensitive, and that once a breaker starts tripping it's likely to keep tripping. He changed it for one that was 'less-sensitive'.

Since then several other circuits (around 5 different ones) have tripped, some where SUTs are in use, and some not. They often just trip, and don't seem linked to introducing a new load, and normally have fairly low load items plugged in (eg wifi router, LED TV, LED lamp). Some have only tripped once, others more often. Some trip a couple of times (within 5-10 minutes while trying to reset) before staying re-set, others stay reset after one trip.

So far all have re-set and not constantly tripped until last night around midnight - the circuit had a 1000W SUT plugged in and switched on, but all attached appliances were switched off and no new load was introduced.

The breaker will not re-set, even after unplugging the SUT - it trips instantly.

Questions:
- is the link to instability when using SUTs valid?
- if yes could the instability 'transfer' to other circuits where there is no SUT?
- once a breaker has started tripping, will it keep doing it and need replacing?
- is any of this 'normal' in the US? My experience in the UK is that a breaker will rightly trip if my wife boils the kettle and plugs an iron in while the tumble drier is running (!) but otherwise 'new' systems are pretty stable. This seems to be happening almost randomly and when there is no new load being introduced.

Thanks

Edit - some additional thoughts on factors which I have introduced which might be useful (assuming this wasn't happening with previous owners):
- I have added surge protectors, either directly or after SUT to some of the circuits which have tripped.
- I am using a pair of powerline adaptors for wired ethernet which crosses two of the circuits which have tripped (the original secondary bedroom/office problem circuit and a downstairs closet which is on the same circuit as the living room on which is an LED TV, Apple TV and a sounds system all through a surge protector).

This is now a year old thread but after reading through the comments on the question, this almost certainly sounds like the building has developed bad wiring that is causing arcing, and constantly tripping the Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters.

The personal appliances may not be directly involved in this, other than completing the circuit, and allowing defective but idle building wiring to expose itself.

AFCIs are supposed to trip over and over until the real problem is fixed, because arc faults due to defective wiring will not go away on their own, and replacing the AFCIs themselves will not fix anything, unless it is in fact the AFCI that is arcing internally.

The building wiring can go bad all by itself even if it was originally installed and inspected properly, if there are external conditions that cause corrosion of the metal inside junction boxes, such as flooding, high building humidity, or exposure to salty ocean spray.

External forces such as earthquakes can also cause loose wiring arc faults due to pulling on wires and loosening of screw lugs and wire nuts, when buildings flex but don't collapse.

Really the solution is for the electrician (or homeowner if the jurisdiction allows it) to check the entire length of each faulting circuit, open the junction boxes from the breaker panel to all the endpoints, and check everything for loose wire nuts or loose screw terminals.

Since wire nut connections cannot be examined installed, they will all need to be removed to examine the wire ends and then retightened. All metal to metal wire contact and the inside of the wire nut should be shiny. Though if you're going through all this, it may make more sense to just replace all wire nuts with new and not bother reusing the old ones.

For push-in spring terminals, the wire end should be released, examined for corrosion or burn marks, reinserted into the spring terminal, and checked for firm anchoring with light tugging.

Outlet sockets and lamp fixtures can also arc inside where the plug or lamp base is inserted.

Check any device plugs for dark burn marks on the blades, or darkened scorch marks on socket faces where the blades go in. Replace both the burned wall sockets and the device plugs, not just one of them or the problem will restart.

Likewise check all lamp sockets for blackened or pitted / welded contacts and replace both the socket and lamp if found, because arcing causes unwanted heating and building fires.

If the problem persists after checking all easily examined junctions and terminals, the arcing can hidden be inside enclosed circuit devices that are not designed to be opened and examined, such as switches and receptacle sockets that are riveted/glued shut, or their hidden internal push-in spring terminals. It may be necessary to replace all of these circuit devices to see if the ACFI tripping finally stops.

Ideally if the circuit tripping occurs when some specific thing happens, this will likely lead you to the quickest resolution, such as "when I turn this room light on/off, the AFCI trips"... so in order of complexity, check the lamp socket, the lamp base, try replacing the sealed light switch with a new one, and then move on to examining all the building wiring end-to-end from the AFCI to the lamp, including in the lamp fixture itself.

Finally, if possible try to locate the cause of the external stress / damage factors, and attempt to prevent or alleviate them.

In some cases the building wiring may need to be changed, such as switching to using watertight and gasketed conduit to protect wiring that corroded due to high humidity exposure.

Wiring strain damage caused by earthquakes and building movement can be reduced by leaving coiled slack in the walls or junction boxes, so that the wiring has room to flex and move without pulling junction or terminal connectors apart.

Wiring and devices that are exposed to frequent vibration, position adjustment, or heating and cooling cycles can also develop loose and arcing connections, and may require design changes or more frequent inspection for damage.


Can I split a single nonmetallic cable to multiple lights? I have a ceiling fan which gets a single nonmetallic cable feed from a wall switch. I want to replace the ceiling fan with 8 light sockets mounted on the ceiling.

120 volts, 12 gauge wire, 16 amp limit.

8 15-watt LEDs = 1 amp

In the ceiling box, I want to split 1 nonmetallic cable in into 8 nonmetallic cable out. Each out nonmetallic cable will be secured to the outside of the ceiling going to light sockets with switches, screwed to the drywall. So each socket can be individually turned off.

I could do the lights in parallel which would be easier, if there is a type of light socket that still passes the power along while the bulb is switched off.

Is this an allowable thing to install?

Is running power cable exposed inside of a home room allowed? Or is there a type of cable used for exposed areas?
How do I split the romex in an organized, easily handled way? Or is there a type of light socket like I described above?

NOPE across the board. 1) Any exposed wire must be protected by conduit, enclosure or it's own heavy duty armor, as in only proper Armored Cable can be used. 2) You may pigtail or split the Romex only within the confines of the ceiling box itself using a wire nut or similar approved connector & the box must then be securely & entirely closed.

Basically, you need to make & wire your own actual complete fixture. You wire it how you want & have just single leads attached to each member of the Romex, just like any normal fixture. If the fixture's enclosure is metallic or conductive, it needs to be grounded along with or in conjunction with the sockets. I suggest finding a cheap off the shelf fixture & adapting it to your needs.


1 Hot Receptacle 2 Light Fixtures 1 Switch - Is it possible? I just barely finished re-wiring my bathroom on a circuit that connects to the hall light. So currently is is composed of the hall 1)light/switch 2)bathroom light/switch 3) bathroom receptacle. I would like to add another light fixture above the vanity in the bathroom because the overhead light casts a shadow.

Here is a diagram of the current setup:

Is it possible for me to add another light fixture off of the switch in the bathroom? And if so what would I need to do?

According to your diagram, yes it is possible.

You would connect it similar to your existing bathroom switch.  Run a #14/2 ROMEX (or other appropriate cable) to the light fixture.  The white wire would tie into the white wire on your diagram. The black would connect to one terminal of your switch, and you would connect the other terminal of the switch to the black wire in your diagram (the one on the bottom).  Bond the ground wire to the other grounds in the box or the ground screw.

Alternatively, you could power the new light from the existing switch.  With a 2 wire cable, connect the white to white.  Connect the black of the new wire to the red existing wire along with a pigtail (a 6" or so short wire).  Connect the pigtail to the top terminal of the switch.  This will allow one switch to turn both lights on at the same time.


How to attach deck ledger with furred out sheathing I'm a DIYer planning to put in a deck, and am working on a permit application. I've got what I think is an unusual configuration of siding and sheathing on my house, and I'm wondering what the best method would be for attaching a deck ledger board. The sheathing is spaced away from the wall studs by 1.5 inches (sheathing is attached to 2x4s on their sides). The siding and house wrap will be replaced at the same time as the decks, so I'll be able to cut back the sheathing to access the rim joists and sill.
Two possibilities I've considered are are:

Attach a board to the rim joist that's the same size as my ledger board, sheath over that to make for a flat exterior surface, and then attach the deck ledger to the sheathing, fastening through to the rim joists with long bolts. I'm not sure if this configuration would provide adequate support. It would be possible to attach a board to the sill to provide additional support for the spacer board above if that helps (the sill is a beefy 6x8).

Attach the ledger directly to the rim joist so that the ledger is inset behind the spaced-out sheathing. The challenge with this approach is how to properly flash this configuration.

Thank you!

Cut holes through the cladding with a hole saw then drill through the furring into the sill beam for the the size of bolt you want to use.
Using the same hole-saw to cut "pucks" from pressure treated  lumber, and drill their pilot holes out to the bolt size too.
using the pucks as spacers bolt your ledger through the furring to the sill beam.


Why is my new Altura 68" fan so slow moving on high speed? This is the 2nd fan that I purchased and it moves slow for such a large fan. Do smaller fans run faster? My 1st fan was a Harbor Breeze Saratoga 60" that had an air flow of 7344 CFMs on high speed. I returned it thinking something was wrong with the interior of the fan. Next, I connected Hampton Bay Altura 68" that has an air flow of 8,435 CFM, and to see it run the same speed as my previous fan is dumbfounding. What is wrong with the speed? It's connected to direct current. I have a dimmer switch in the kitchen but didn't connect the wires to it. Please help!

Your new fan is larger, which means it should be able to move more air at the same speed. As you say, it moves more air (8435 CFM, up from 7344). Who cares how fast the blades turn? If anything it's probably quieter to have a slow, large fan vs a small fan that has to spin a lot faster to move the same amount of air.


Coping stone mismatch on corner of roof causing water damage to my wall I moved into my house 18 months ago and the back of my flat roof extension has drainage issues.

You can see from the picture that the coping stones don't fit correctly on the corner (red circle) which makes that point become the focal point for all the water run off which is damaging the wall (blue box), and the paint is starting to flake inside the house.
I think this is compounded by the greenhouse (orange) which is stopping most water from falling off of the stones onto the roof.

I was thinking about using a dab of cement (at the red circle) to change the shape of the incorrect tile but I am unsure where the water will then run off and I am worried I might make the situation worse if the water then sits against the older, more porous brick wall (black circle).

Here is a close up of the problem:

Do you think that would be an issue?
What do you think of my idea?
What would you do to fix the issue?

All suggestions most welcome.
Thanks for your help in advance!

I'm guessing that the root of the issue isn't so much the joint as the drainage profile being wrong. It looks like the greenhouse was a later addition on what used to be an open deck (that would have been sealed and drained either with a floor drain or scuppers.  The cement capping on the top of the wall is crowned, but the greenhouse walls are attached below the crown.  This basically makes a water trap for anything that runs down the glass, and is exacerbated by the lack of gutters on the greenhouse.  The crack between the caps is just the most convenient place for it to have failed, but it has probably been begging to leak since it was installed.

I'd do one of 2 things (in addition to repairing the mortar joints) - either put a gutter at the bottom of the glass with a drip edge running into it (probably cheaper and easier)...

...or have a metal cap made to correct for the improper placement of the greenhouse walls (likely more expensive but would look a lot better):

Neither of these solutions are ideal, but without removing the greenhouse and re-capping the wall your options are a bit limited.


Plumbing question adding a filter pipe diameter concerns I am going to be adding a whole house filter to my water plumbing.   I am on well water.  I have 1 1/4" pipe coming from the pump going to the filter however the inlet for the filter in only 3/4".  After the filter i would go back to the 1 1/4" to the pressure tanks then to the house main supply lines.

Will the pipe size change for the filter cause issues? Or should i put tge filter after the pressure tanks?

The systems I've worked on have the filter between the tanks and the house supply line. You don't want to restrict the flow from the pump. what size is your house supply line?


Help my toilet doesn't Flush completely the first time or second time Please tell me what steps to take to get my toilet to flush completely the first time.

educate kids/occupants not to put anything into the toilet bowl other than

normal bodily excreta.
minimal amounts of toilet paper. (n.b. wet-wipes etc can cause partial blockages)

check the fill level in the cistern/tank, adjust as needed.
replace the flush valves in the cistern/tank.
clean out the inlet holes around the rim.
use a limescale remover in the bowl and in the tank.
snake the sewer pipe.
replace the whole thing.


Will emergency heat hurt my heat pump during defrosting? I am using my emergency heat during the defrosting stage of my heat pump. Is this all right? If not, what can I do while it's defrosting?

Emergency heat comes from heat coils in the air mover on your system. It should be fine but your electric bill will be higher because of the high amperage they draw compared to the heat pump.


Can I replace an old exhaust fan and connect it to an existing light switch? I just purchased a new home and in one of the bathrooms there is an old exhaust fan and two light switches. There is a recessed light located in the ceiling above the shower and another light above the sink, each on their own switch. I would like to wire it so that when I turn on the light in the shower, the fan also kicks on. If possible, I would like to put it on a timer so that I can set it for a certain period of time in order to run the fan while I am away from the house? Is it possible to connect both the light and the new fan to the same switch?

Without knowing more about the current wiring, it's hard to say exactly what you'll have to do.  I'm assuming the feeder from the panel enters at the switch, but I'll try to cover some other situations as well.
Power at the switches
If the power enters at the switches, you should already have a feeder cable (probably 14/2 with ground) coming into the box. There will then be two (again, probably 14/2 with ground) cables leaving the box.  The cable that enters will be spliced (or pigtailed), on the black (hot) to feed one side of each switch. The white (neutral), will be spliced and connected to the white wires of both exiting cables, The bare ground wire will be connected to both switches, both wires exiting the box, and possibly the box itself. You won't have to worry about the light over the vanity, since that will not change.  You will, however, have to add an additional cable between the light in the shower and the fan.
Without seeing the location, it's difficult to say exactly what the best method is to run this cable. Though if you have access from above, it should not be that difficult. Start by turning off the power to the circuit at the breaker. Once you've run the cable, connect the fan. Black to black, white to white, bare ground to green or terminal screw.  At the light over the shower, you'll have to again connect black to black, white to white, and ground to ground. If the light uses screw terminals, you'll have to use pigtails to make the connections. To do this, simply remove the existing connections (making sure to remember what went where). Use a wire nut to connect the wire that was connected to the fixture to the wire in the new cable, and a 6" bit of scrap wire.  Then connect the 6" pigtail to the fixture, and repeat for each wire. It might be helpful to do one set of wires at a time, so all the wires are not disconnected from the light fixture at the same time.

Finish by reinstalling the fixtures, and turning the power back on.
Power at the lights
This is less common, though may be the case if the lights were not installed at the same time.  In this case, you'll have a feeder cable (from the breaker) entering both light fixture boxes (or possibly only one, depending on the setup). In this situation, you have two separate circuits (that may or may not be controlled by the same breaker, so be careful). Again, we'll only have to worry about the switch and light over the shower.
Turn off the breaker that controls the light over the shower (and the one that controls the vanity light, if they are not the same).  As before, you'll have to run a new cable between the shower light and the fan.  Once that is complete, connect the fan following the steps above.  In the light box, you'll likely see that the black wire from the feeder cable connects directly to the existing cable that exits the box.  This is feeding power to the switch.  You should also see a black stripe, or tape on the white wire from the cable that goes to the switch. This wire is only hot when the switch is on, and you'll have to connect it to the black wire on the light and the black wire in the new cable you installed.  The white wire from the feeder cable should be connected to the white wire on the light. You'll want to tie the white wire from the fan, in with these wires. Connect all the bare/green ground wires together, to complete the wiring.

Finish by reinstalling the fixtures, and turning the power back on.
Other information
If the fan was controlled by another switch (or whatever), you'll have to trace the feeder back to its source, disconnect it, and cap the wires.  You don't want to leave live wires hanging around in the walls.
I mention wires by color, but keep in mind what I say and what you see might be completely different.  The descriptions and diagrams I use are for a typical installation, there is no telling what was done by a previous owner.  Make sure to verify what each wire is, where it goes, and where it comes from.
If you'd like the shower light and fan to be controlled by a timer, you can swap the current switch out for a timer (there are many available). Just make sure the timer is rated for motor loads, since you'll be running the fan motor off of it.
As always, if you do not have the knowledge or tools; or are simply not comfortable doing the work, please don't hesitate to call an Electrician.


How would I make a whiteboard for an odd sized space? I want to make a white board (or something that will work for dry erase markers) to go in a place that you can not really buy for.

The space is only 10.5 inches high and 180 inches long. I was looking for a way that is not too expensive but still works well,

One idea was to get a long piece of laminated paper to hang up.

Does anyone know how I could do this?

Dry erase paint is available from a few different manufacturers.

IdeaPaint
Rust-Oleum Dry Erase Paint

Are a couple examples.

When I was in college, I bought a sheet material from Home Depot that had a smooth white finish.  I don't remember what it was, but it worked well as a makeshift Whiteboard.  If I remember correctly, it was a thin sheet of MDF coated on one side with acrylic. They sold it in 4x8' sheets, which could be easily cut to fit. The only down side was that if marks were left on it for a long time, they had to be cleaned off using dry erase cleaner spray.

It may have been Thrifty White.


How to ensure that water heater is mostly on or mostly off? My friend just rented an appartment (in the UK), and during the inventory the janitor showed her the programmable water heater, and said it was configured to turn on for a few hours during the day.

However, due to (1) extremely high energy bills, and (2) apparent contradiction w.r.t. the instructions, we suspect the janitor may have inversed the program, leaving the water heater on for almost the entire day. I cannot convince myself either way, so I'd like some advice about it.

Here's what the panel currently looks like:

And here's the instructions, printed and glued to the back of the panel door (the relevant part is the lower half):

These instructions seem to contradict what the janitor said: the example says "the  jumpers are pushed in from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m." in the picture, which would indicate that the actual heater is on during most of the day (and night), the opposite of what the janitor said. However, since he seems to be working for the residence for several years, such a mistake is very unlikely. But then why do the instructions seem to indicate the opposite?

Note: there is no easy way to physically confirm if the heater is on or off at a given moment: there are no LEDs on the panel nor on the heater itself, and there is no discernible noise during the transition. The energy meter is outside and due to other appliances (e.g. refrigerator, towel rail, ventilation, etc.) you can't easily isolate the energy consumption.

I agree it's a little unclear what the right way is.

Why don't you try a test. One evening push all the pins one way, run the hot water for a bit to flush some water, then leave it overnight. In the morning if you still have hot water then the heater was on overnight. If you aren't confidant, repeat the same the next night with the pins the other way.


How should I wire a ceiling fan when there's only three wires in the box? I'm replacing a ceiling fan and it has three wires as is common: black, white, and bare ground. I have a two-toggle wall switch. One switch makes the black wire hot (for the motor), and the other switch makes the white wire hot (for the integrated light). So it looks as if the white wire in the ceiling is used as a hot for the light rather than a neutral wire as is common.

From the main power, there are three wires:

Black wire has nut that is spliced to both the Dual Switch (that controls the ceiling fan) and the other switch which operates the upsidedown wall outlet.

White Wire is spliced to just the upsidedown wall outlet. (no connection to Ceiling Fan)

All three bare ground wires are connected together.

So the Dual switch that controls the ceiling fan has The Black Wire from the main power to the top of the switch, The other top wire at the ceiling fan Dual switch is the BLack wire that runs to the Ceiling Fan (assuming to run the fan light, and the Bottom wire is the White wire which appears to operate with the bottom switch (of the dual switch) when it is turned assumed for the fan motor.

Crazy thing is this is how the home builder (Beezer Homes) wired the home when new in 95). I remember the builder was originally suppose to install 3-toggle switches in two bedrooms.  They only installed 2-toggle switches.  They corrected the problem by install the dual switch in place of one of the single toggle switches.

The fan was wired with the House bare ground wire being utilized as the Fan's neutral White Wire (and that being connected to the mount ground wire. The houses Neutral is the hot wire for the fan motor. Black wires are connected as normal and for power to the fan's light.

Someone took a dangerous and illegal shortcut to separating the fan and light switches. Rather than running a second hot, they're using the white as a hot and the ground conductor as the neutral. You should rectify the situation immediately by returning the white wire to service as a proper neutral. We can help further if you describe or post a photo of the switch wiring.

Your final comment about having no neutral in the house makes sense if you're confusing neutral and ground. Older homes commonly have ungrounded branch circuits. At the switch, you probably have blacks and whites, but no bare grounds. My guess is that the ceiling light box was added after the house was built using contemporary 14/2 with ground. Since the ground didn't have a function, it was converted to be used as a neutral for a split switch scenario.


Wondering if electrician is scamming me on panel replacement Had an electrician over to do some work. No problem with that work.

While there he said my electrical panel was aluminum based and I may want to replace with copper. Later he said when he opened it up he saw signs it should be replaced and that copper would be advisable.

I realize every case is different and certainly if there are bad signs I should very it fixed.

But here are some of my concerns.

1) They said they could use the same city permit ($450 here) for both jobs. Sounds like such great news, but also seems it may be a way to convinced me to do the work NOW?

2) They said I have an aluminum panel that should be replaced and would be better to have copper. I don't know how to check for that and also I've tried researching this and have not found much online about "replacing aluminum panels". As far as I know my house wiring is copper. Also, I have had zero issues with breakers tripping in the house. As in never. Sure, that could be a bad sign if there were actual problems but I have no reason to think there are.

Oh, I'm not sure how old the panel is but it could be 20-25 years old. So I suppose that's relevant.

3) Price for replacement with copper panel,, $4,150 plus tax. $4500 if I want to include a surge protector. Seems a lot higher than I've read about online as general guideline though I realize prices can be regional and there's s lot of construction around here (Seattle) these days.

Will be hard to get other estimates before work is to be done so maybe I should delay the work until I can? That sounds reasonable but then I'll likely need a new permit? Perhaps worth it to be sure I'm not being scammed?

He condemned a QO panel... Without even opening it??

QO is Square D's top line industrial grade panel, and it's current stuff.  The way panel pricing works, you can get the industrial grade for just a few dollars more.  (Square D also sells a residential grade line called literally Homeline, it is acceptable also, but QO is excellent).

So he's just wrong.  And chasing dollars obviously.  More disturbing... he didn't open with obvious defects in the location of the panel - or to be more precise, remodeling done around the panel.  The original electrical work was well-done, but then somebody decided to "finish" the space, and disregarded the electrical codes, probably because they were a carpenter.

One wonders if the work was permitted, since what AHJ would permit a clothes closet being placed in front of an electrical panel?

The closet needs to be demolished (or at least truncated) so there is a work zone in front of the panel.  It must be 30" wide (the panel can be to the left or right side of that 30") and 36" deep so the electrician can stand at arm's length. It must have at least a 6' ceiling so a fella can stand.  And you must keep it clear of stored junk.

This is a $500 carpenter job, not a $4500 electrician job. Unless the closet is sacred for some reason; did George Washington hang his coat there? Maybe he hung his coat in the left side of the closet.

Aluminum

I'm sure the electrician told you a lot more than that... But the aluminum thing is what stuck.  There was a problem in the 1970s with shoddy use of aluminum wire with receptacles (wire terminations/clamps) that had not been properly approved for aluminum, and this resulted in a lot of arc problems which led to house fires.  Easily fixed with arc-fault breakers, but there is still an ooga-booga fear, moral panic style, where any aluminum wire of any kind is consided "cootie".  Certainly a shoddy electrician could scare you into doing unnecessary work by mentioning the A-word.

The aluminum excuse is balderdash.   Actually service and feeders are aluminum for good reason, and aluminum performs just fine in these large wire sizes.  So you want lugs to be aluminum, since aluminum lugs are the universal donor - they work with Aluminum and Copper both.  Copper lugs don't play nice with aluminum wire (and actually, that was the problem all along).

Even today, aluminum is not used for small branch circuits (lights, sockets, dryer etc.) because of the cootie. The alloy has been improved, the now-noncopper terminations have been vastly improved, and it's legal... Just nobody does it.

Now on panels, here are brands I would consider solid and not even think about replacing:

Eaton / Cutler Hammer CH (Cutler Hammer) or BR (BRyant).
Square D QO or Homeline.
Siemens/Murray
General Electric
Challenger, but only the panel.  Challenger breakers are bad and should all be changed for BR breakers, which properly fit owing to a past relationship with Bryant.

Zinsco, Stab-Lok and Federal Pacific (in US) are dangerous and must be ripped out.   Pushmatic is a fine panel, just obsolete.

If it were me...

The undiscussed problem here is that your panel is full/overfull.  It looks like you have plenty of service, but are using "double stuff" breakers to get enough circuits.

Here on SE, we love large panels.  Because many circuits today need AFCI or GFCI protection, and those breakers are not available in double-stuff.  What's more, it's very frustrating to not be able to install something new, like an EV charger or hot tub, because of a full panel.

So. That's a 30-space panel, looks like the standard size that fits between 16" joists.  I would get another one as a subpanel - also 30 space, also QO, but main-lug (no main breaker).  Fit it in the next joist bay over so it fits in the same 30" wide electrician's work space.  Move 2-4 circuits over to the new subpanel to make space, then fit a 100A breaker in the main to feed the subpanel.

You'll have 58 total spaces, which is a very happy number for a medium/large well-equipped house.

Now you can add anything you please without concern.  And if a couple bus bars actually are arced up, just stop using them - leave the arced breakers in place connected to nothing and move the wires to new breakers.


Help identify wall & how to hang things on it What are my walls made of?
I can’t screw or nail anything into it without it just immediately crumbling.
Anything hammered or screwed in just becomes loose and doesn’t stay in.
Almost my entire home has this type of wall.  I want to be able to hang things, even heavy stuff, but I’m forced to solely use some flimsy wood paneling that borders the upper walls of only some rooms. (Even they can’t take much weight).
PLEASE HELP!!!

Your wall looks like plaster.  It is most likely laid over wood lath, metal mesh or backing board.
Sometimes you can bang very thin sharp nails into plaster successfully.  But yours seems to be more brittle by your description.
Try drilling through the plaster with a small sharp drill bit in a few places.    Feel when the plaster transitions to something else.  Then clean the drill bit and keep drilling, looking at the shavings to determine what your backing is.  If it's wood lath you may happen to drill between laths, that's why I say "in a few places".  You could also drill a half-inch hole and buy a cheap endoscope to see definitively what's behind the wall.    (Edit: Some say you should use a masonry bit.  I get better results with a sharp wood bit but you should experiment to find what's best on your walls.   And for the initial experimentation I describe above, the ideal thing is a hand drill.   And there is an additional possibility I should describe: the plaster may be over brick in some places, eg over a chimney.  In that case you should use appropriate methods for brick.)
If it's metal or backing board you can use plastic anchors for plaster (don't use drywall anchors) or toggles depending on what you're hanging.  If it's wood lath my preferred technique is to drill just up to the wood, then drill a small pilot hole through the lath, put a shortened plastic anchor into the hole (it will only go up to the lath) and then use a 2-1/2" screw.  The anchor will do some of the work and the lath will help a great deal.  The combination is quite strong.
I also second the advice in the other answer about using the picture rail as intended.   If your picture rail is an ACTUAL picture rail (it's hard to tell from the photo) it will have a rounded top designed for special picture rail hooks.  Buy them.  Then don't need ANY tools or fasteners at all!


stainless steel water heater water quality I am doing some research to decide if a stainless steel water heater is right for my next water heater replacement. The trending opinion I find as I google around is that stainless steel is superior in terms of preventing galvanic corrosion (some models don't even use anode rods), but is also susceptible to premature death if the water's chloride levels are too high.

I pulled up my city's water quality report, and I am wondering exactly what values I should look at and what is the threshold for "too high"? Is it just the chlorine and chlorite ppm values to be concerned with, or other metrics as well?

In addition, I know that the stainless steel is resistant to galvanic corrosion, but what about the copper pipes connected to the water heater? Are those going to suffer from corrosion without an anode rod?

Austenitic stainless steel ( non-magnetic) is unlikely to crack with chloride less than 100 ppm. Ferritic stainless ( magnetic - most auto exhaust pipes) will not crack in chlorides. Typical potable water is not corrosive to stainless or copper so galvanic corrosion would only be a problem in you also have plain steel. Although I believe "regular" water heaters are the most practical.


Is it against NEC to reverse NM cable clamps? Is the following installation method for NM cable clamps prohibited by the NEC for receptacle outlets?
Note: I know it would be more functional and less awkward to screw in the NM clamps had I used one of the knockouts on top of the box (indicated by the green arrow), right side, or bottom of the box. However, this was the only box I had laying around that already had a knockout punched out for an example and I was able to use a right angle driver to secure the NM clamps for this example setup. Also, since I know I will receive comments if I don't clarify: I know the metal box needs to be grounded (e.g. green ground screw and pigtail) even though it is not shown in the pictures below.

This is what I have typically seen for instructions on installing NM cable clamps:

**
Reason for Question:
While I know the "reversed" method of installing cable clamps will take up additional space inside the box, if I use a 4"x4"x2+" box for a single gang outlet (using a single gang mud ring) then crowding the box is definitely not an issue. Also, if I leave a few inches of slack in the cable outside of the box, I can loosen the clamp to give me some "wiggle room" if I (or a future owner) is doing some work and needs extend the cable a little for any reason without having to tear open the drywall around the box or splice in pigtails.

Approved Installations
The NEC often states "Approved method" of installation, which in other words is what the manufacture instructs. In the case of the non metallic NM wire connector, Halex© offers an online manual.
Other Items That Should Be Fixed
The metal stud looks to be 3.5" inch and Code requires no less than 1.25" from the edge of the stud.  In other words, the wire needs to be moved to the center of the stud or use FHA straps to protect it from sheetmetal screws. See NEC 2014 300.4 Protection Against Physical Damage Cables and Raceways Parallel to Framing Members and Furring Strips.
Also NEC 2014 300.4 B Requires protection for NM cable passing through metal stud bored holes.
Excerpt....."where nonmetallic-sheathed cables pass through either factory- or field-punched, cut, or drilled slots or holes in metal members, the cable shall be protected by listed bushings or listed grommets covering all metal edges that are securely fastened in the opening prior to installation of the cable."


What are the NEC requirements for a temporary power pole? The county requires the temporary power pole to be installed "in accordance with the NEC" but doesn't elaborate further.

Are there any specific requirements for temp power poles in the NEC 2014 or 2017 editions, such as number of receptacles, in use weather proof covers, amperages, number of plugs, etc?

There are some pre-built temporary power panels like these, but they don't appear to have in-use water proof  covers, and I thought that was a requirement.

Does anyone know the relevant code section(s) that lists specifically what features are required or not required for temp poles?

In this state the power pole is regulated by the requirements on the utility company, but must be inspected and approved by the AHJ. The most important thing to remember about any temporary power set up is that all power must be GFCI protected. There are some questions about breakers that serve feeders other than standard power outlets being GFCI protected. I have found, in this area, it varies between each jurisdiction.

Here is a standard Temporary Power Pole assembly issued by the utility company that always seems to work if you follow it to the letter.

A standard temp pole only has two 20A 120V circuits GFCI protected, and one standard 20A 2P 240V circuit connected to a suitable receptacle, but non GFCI protected. Like I said some jurisdiction say its ok and some make you remove and blank out the breaker. Sometimes Jurisdictions will allow you to install what is called a spider box with extra receptacle outlets on it, but they also must meet NEC and jurisdictional codes. If you take a good look at note 4 on the image you will see that most temp power poles are 40 or 60 amp feeders. I generally will go with a 60A feeder.

In conclusion what I am saying is that there are pre qualified types of power pole directions that cover all of the NEC requirements without having to go through the entire code to get it right, and is perfect for a DIY party to construct. If you take a good look at the image I posted. How many code sections would you have to address just to build a temporary power and hope you got it right? As for myself I would just go with what they say will work and move on.

Hope this helps and good luck.


Ceiling Lighting Box HELP There was a ceiling fan hanging and now there isn't and I need to install a plain flush mounted light.

Here's what I have: octogon box that has 4 wires coming into it, 3 of 4 wires have a black and white wire, the 4th wire has 2 sets of black and white wires.

It looks like all the grounds have been tied together. However, I tested the ground and the system is not grounded.

This is an older home. Any how. I have no idea how to wire this thing. Here's what I've figured out: one set is input power, one set of wires goes to a switch on the wall (presumably for the fixture that will be hanging), another set goes to the overhead range above the stove, I believe another set goes to the chandelier in the room because I disconnected all the wires and the chandelier no longer came on and there was some continuity there, the fifth set I have no idea what it goes to.

Here's what I did: wire nutted all the blacks together and then all the whites and kept that unknown pair wire butted together. Also connected the light fixture black and whites to the other black and whites. Turned back on the breaker. Light comes on when the switch is off, flip the switch to the on position and breaker trips.

I uninstalled the light, breaker still trips when the switch is flipped. And that's where I'm currently at. What's the 5th set of wires for?! Is that why the breaker is tripping when that one switch is flipped? The chandelier light switch works just fine and so does the stove range light. Just the one switch for that actual fixture is causing problems. I have no idea how this should be wired. Help! Please.

To Recap:
4 cables coming into box:
2 wires from switch (black and white)
2 wires from range above stove (black and white)
2 wires to ???? (black and white)
2 wires tied to other lighting circuitry in same space(black and white) SAME CABLE
2 wires power in (black and white) SAME CABLE)
Ungrounded System

Leave the ? wires unconnected.  Take the white wire from the switch off and tag it with black electrical tape -- it goes to the black wire from the light fixture.  Connect the white wire from the light fixture where the white wire from the switch once went.  Enjoy your new light!


Options for external "boxes" (like tivo) with wall mounted tv I see there are plenty of questions regarding how to mount a tv in the wall, and what to do with the cables as far as running them behind the wall - but my question is a little different I think.

Given that I have a wall mounted TV above a fireplace, and I also have several HDMI cables, coax, and RGBs cables behind the wall going to a panel at the outlet in the corner of the room. I'm wondering what options there are for getting "remote access" to my external items like my TiVO, PS4 camera, etc.  I'm assuming that I'm SOL, but wanted to check in to see if anyone else has had and solved this issue.

Not sure how to tag this...

There are systems that mount various devices on the back of the TV either directly attached or by using the VESA plate. Some are device specific (eg. to support Apple Mac Mini) and some generic. Depending on what you need to support, you can also DIY the plate, they're not that hard to make.

Alternatively you could run a long HDMI cable to wherever (in/through the wall and use a combination of remote control, HDMI switches etc) but that will be a lot more expensive and cumbersome to use. If you already have the wires, IR/RF remotes will usually work anywhere in the same room as long as the receivers are 'visible'. You can also use IR extenders.


Dehumidifier Does not work and reports incorrect humidity I've looked through a bunch of other DIY sites and the questions on here but couldn't find the exact issue I'm facing. I have a dehumidifier in my basement that is set to run continuously and drain through the hose attachment into our sump pit. The humidity meter on it reports 40 or so once it's been going, but it is humid as an August afternoon down there. Has to be at least 80% or more. It used to work great when it was first plugged in but now not so much.  Something is really odd because occasionally it will shut off because the tank is full (even though the aforementioned hose is connected). This takes a while though - under normal use without the hose it would full up every day - now it takes weeks for that to happen. None of the symptoms I was told to look for, condenser coils aren't frosted or anything, air filter is clean.  I'm wondering if it's something that could be fixed. Thanks for your help.

-Jayce

If the dehumidifier is working and producing water, I would look for other sources of water or moisture entering the space. To gauge how well the dehumidifier is working, calculate how much humidity (water) the unit removes in a given period of time and compare this figure to the specifications or capacity of the unit. Your comparisons won't be exact but you can be close. If the dehumidifier seems to be performing as it should, look elsewhere for a source of excess humidity. As far as the reading on the dehumidifier itself, I would not rely too much on it being accurate. I would buy another gauge and compare the 2 numbers. If you really need an accurate figure there are devices called sling psychrometers you can buy that will give you an exact reading reading. To consider sizing of a dehumidifier, I have 4000 sq. ft. of finished and conditioned space, and have a 70 pint rated dehumidifier that runs about 18 hours a day to keep the humidity below 45%.


Do lights in a circuit have to be grounded for the whole circuit to be grounded? I have a circuit in my old house (built 1918), it’s gone through many remodels during its lifespan and multiple owners.

This one circuit has no grounded outlets, so I had a look behind the outlet to see what the story was. It appears that all these outlets have copper wires back there, so I picked up some grounded outlets and hooked up the copper wires to the ground not - all to no avail. Now my outlets show “open ground”.

I can’t see any other outlets on this circuit, and it appears everything is fine. The only thing relatively near these outlets are two lights (not a traditional light). They are on the wall, and use a twist/click mechanism to turn on and off. Would these also need to be grounded in order for the whole circuit to be correct?

Thank you

If I'm interpreting your drawing correctly, 3 possibilities (all incorrect under current code) may have existed in the past:

They may have had a 220v line at one time split between 2 cables.
They had 2 cables but a wire got cut or broken so they used a wire from each of the cables to build a circuit.
They paralleled wires from 2 cables for higher current capacity.

I have found all 3 of these in my own 1929 house.

Regardless of which case it is, there's a break in the ground between the breaker panel and the outlet. You'll have to trace the circuit to find the break and correct it.  As Isherwood said, your best solution is to rewire that circuit with a single new grounded cable from the panel out.


Restore bathtub enamel? Have a bathtub that is abotu 12 yrs old, with a shower and the bottom of the tub seems to have a spot where the enamel is wearing off.  Never seen this happen before.  Probably because I was so poor growing up we didnt have a shower, only a tub LOL
Below is a shot of my tub.  The finish is coming off the drain fixtures also, but my main question is regarding the enamel.
Has anyone done a restoration like whats shown in this video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3U6YseqHoE

I did not watch the entire video but have had my tub repainted. What they probably don't tell you is that you are supposed to completely dry the paint after each use. A pain! So most people don't do it , leave the tub very and afterwards have a peeling paint job in just a few years. I managed to make my last for 10 years, but I got tired of the drying. I've heard there are new paints. I personally would investigate tub liners, unless they offer a really long warranty on the paint.
Btw, diy paint kits are a disaster waiting to happen, IMHO.


Unknown LED fixture replacement identification After several months of trying (without really trying), I finally managed to remove my faulty ceiling LED fixture. I was expecting a standard LED bulb once the beast dismantled, alas not.
I am unable to identify the piece. The LED is encased in some sort of a radiator, and the connection looks like a circular plug used in some laptop charger (with little stoppers to fix it in place). I don't think the ceiling fixation should be included in the product, I just forgot to remove it before taking the photos.
Any advice?
Additional info: I live in France. The cable is chinese (I read "52(RVV)" on it), and I can barely read on the white plastic around the semiconductor; something like DEC2508-135135 or DEO2508-135135. Outer size (diameter) of the plug is 5mm. I can take more photos if needed.

Edit: I don't think I can replace a smaller part than the whole piece. See third photo.

Edit 2: following Harper answer, which I agree with, I forgot to say that I don't think the LED per se is at fault, because the light sometimes lights up when moving the whole when plugged-in. But, my question still stands; if I cannot repair it, how can I identify the whole device and where can I buy a replacement?
Follow up: I pulled the cable from the ceiling, I found a LED power supply (Model KEDH008S0200NR05, converting from 230 V to about 24 V) that emit a very faint alarm when the switch is on. It might be the source of the problem. I am no professional, and my landlord has no idea where to buy this.

Barking up the wrong tree.
The LED emitter is not defective
Since the beginning of artificial light, the emitting device has been a high-wear item that needs frequent replacement. We've been replacing logs, candles, wicks and bulbs for 10,000 years, so it seems perfectly reasonable that "surely the light emitting thing must be frequently replaced".
You have charged headlong into this project with this assumption on your mind, and have never doubted it or re-examined it.
In similar vein, vacuum tubes in radios once needed frequent replacement.  Now, they are replaced by semiconductor transistors that essentially never fail.
That is what has happened with LED.  The "light emitting thing" is a semiconductor, and is vanishingly unlikely to fail.   Not impossible, but on any light assembly, it's the least likely to fail.
As such, LED light fixtures have no reason to make the 'bulb' replaceable.
The electronic driver, which conditions supply power to the exact current flow needed for the LED, is a different matter.  It is full of less reliable parts such as capacitors and Chinese 'anything'.
What you certainly have there is a perfectly functional LED and a broken driver.
But don't take my word on it. Place that lamp onto a bench power supply.  Tell the power supply to supply 10 milliamps max (better power supplies let you do this - very important).  Then increase voltage until it lights.
Don't be tempted to run it at higher milliamps unless its heat sink is properly installed. That will burn it up.
Look at the driver
I'm pretty sure France uses something like the Europlug, and not that tiny little barrel connector I see. Therefore, there is something between the little barrel socket and AC mains power.  My guess is the driver is an electrical "match" for that particular Cree emitter.  That, I think, is the item which has failed.
That driver module you photographed, the picture is too poorly lit and blurry to make out the figures, but it clearly says "Constant Current Type".  That's very important, and also not a surprise, since it is the nature of LEDs that they must be driven in a current-regulated fashion to get peak performance out of them.  (they are unable to self-limit their current the way an incandescent can).
Anyway, any driver should suffice so long as it has

the exact current output that this driver states
An input AC mains voltage range that is acceptable
An output voltage range that is compatible with the LED emitter
The necessary government certifications (CE is worthless, but note the "TUV" stamp just to the left of it).


galvanized hot dipped vs electroplate I'm considering using nails as an alternative to "backer" screws. The manufacturer recommends "1 1/4" hot dipped galvanized roofing nails" for this application - hardibacker underlayment for bathroom tile job. I don't care about pros/cons of hardibacker, it's a moot point.

I cannot find 'hot dipped' nails anywhere it seems. All are "electroplate galvanized". It seems to me the electroplate types, due to their 'smoothness' won't hold as well as 'dipped'. But I am more concerned about the efficacy of electroplate galvanized to withstand the potential adverse effects of this environment. Is there much of a difference between hot dipped and electroplate galvanized or am I just being paranoid?

I doubt the person that wrote the instructions knew the differences between hot dipped and electrogalvanized and so was not expecting a significant difference. Zinc coatings provide limited protection for mild corrosion. For a small job any stainless would be a big improvement for little cost. However; hot dipped tends to be thicker but not as ductile because of brittle iron/zinc intermetallics. I worked in corrosion protection and do not recall either process being required for an application other than bolting where electro-galvanized was was preferred to keep threads profiles free of buildup .


Pella Door won't lock (3 point lock) I'm going to share this question and answer it myself because someone else may have had this problem.

I have several Pella doors in my home with the 3 point locks (top and bottom "shootbolts" and a dead bolt near the handle).  They have been problematic.  The locking mechanism on a couple of rarely used doors would hardly work anymore (very stiff and wouldn't lock anymore).  So I disassembled them, cleaned up the runners and other parts, applied a good lube, reassembled and they worked again. They are a pain to take apart, re-adjust and reassemble.

Recently they started doing the same thing. I though oh no, not again. I didn't initially consider there might have been a new cause.  What could that cause be?

OK, that's the teaser, I'll answer my own question straight away (as our British friends would say).   I hope that's the right approach for SE, I think I saw somewhere you could answer your own questions.

So I starting looking into the failure of my 3 point door locks and heard a clanking when trying to put them into the locked position. I realized that the "shootbolts" were slamming against the side of the door. Why?  Was there an internal jam?   A broken parts.

Turns out there is a small bottom plate with a hole that receives the shootbolt (pic attached)  It was full of debris!  I cleaned it out and the locks worked fine again.  Easy as that.  But I almost overlooked it because I had a previous mind-set about what was wrong and what the fix was. Sometimes I just make it too hard. Lesson learned:  Look for the easy/simple stuff first.

I hope someone else benefits from the post and that I did it properly.


Is there something like a screw-on screw clamp on a hinge? I need to fix a wooden board (colored blue in my sketches) to a doorframe (which does not contain a door; colored grey in my sketches). I must not damage the doorframe, and the connection must not be permanent, the board is attached and removed daily.

Usually, I would just use a few screw clamps, but since the board covers the whole doorframe, there is no way to apply pressure from both sides of the doorframe.

Now I imagine something (colored green in my sketches) like a screw clamp where one side is bolted or screwed to the wooden board, so it pulls the board against the doorframe.

However, it would be neat if that screwed-on screw clamp had a hinge, so it can rotate to lie flat against the wooden board when not in use.

Is there something I can use for that, or does anyone have another solution for my problem?

I think you'll have to make something, but it shouldn't be hard.
 A spreader clamp will do  much of the job.  Many of these have aluminium jaws, which are easy to drill and if necessary tap.  A hinge could then be screwed to the board and to the jaw.


Where do I place the shims after replacing hinges? Replaced door hinges on front door and now the door has a gap on the lower portion along the front edge and fits fairly close as it goes up the door like it did before. So do I put the shims on that bottom hinge to move the door forward and close the gap?

Shims are normally installed between the jamb and the framing, not behind hinges. If you can't do that, you can shim hinges, but it'll make your hinges protrude and it'll increase the gap there, making your weather seal less effective.

It's also possible that you've simply run long screws int too far, pulling the jamb outward. If so, simply back them off a bit.

Your guess sounds right. The answer is "wherever they're needed to solve the problem".


To rewire, or not to rewire I had some minor work done and the electrician pointed out some upgrades that might be a good idea.  Essentially, the entire house could stand to be rewired--it was built in 1947.  I'm thinking of only doing the basement.  However, it is not really necessary.  It's just old wiring and some of the circuits supply more than one room.  For example, if I want to turn the electricity off in the basement for some reason, half of my kitchen will be without electricity as well.  It's inconvenient, but not necessarily dangerous.  My concern is, that if I have the basement rewired, that will lead to having to rewire the rest of the house.  I've lived with it this way for 11 years.  So, I'm wondering if I should just leave it, to avoid the possibility of then being obligated to do the rest of the house.  Any thoughts?

My house was built in 1940 and we are gradually rewiring the whole house.  Here are the reasons why:

aluminum wires: most of the original wiring was aluminum which is not as safe as copper.  A particular problem is that there are many devices (outlets, lights, etc) that are rated for copper but connected to aluminum wires.  This is dangerous.
equipment ground: most outlets are not grounded while many electronics require a ground (i.e. three pronged plugs).  New circuits are all grounded.
buried junction boxes: in doing other renovations we discovered junction boxes (boxes in which wires are connected) buried under plaster or otherwise inaccessible.  Maybe 80 years ago that was OK but it is not up to code today.
other safety concerns: We've noticed unprotected wires, NM cables running outside (no conduit), etc.
high draw devices: we are installing air conditioners in each of the rooms and these require dedicated circuits.  I wouldn't have used hair dryer in the bathroom with the old wiring (safety concern).

When determining the order of rewiring, we have two criteria:

address the most urgent safety issues first: having a usable, GFCI outlet in the bathroom, for example.
address the wiring that can be done together: we have our kitchen ceiling down at the moment so we've used the opportunity to run some wiring for second floor outlets.

You might want to have an inspection / evaluation completed and then assess what parts of the system should be rewired and in what order.


electrical lightng earth wire and neutral wire the same colour i'm in the uk, and I've taken the wall lights off and the earth wire and the neutral are both black, how do I tell which is which. thank you john

Most domestic fixed wiring in the UK is done with what is known as "twin and earth" cable. Normal twin and earth cable has two insulated conductors colored brown and blue* on cable produced today and colored red and black on earlier cables. In addition it has an uninsulated earth conductor.
Unlike the americans, we brits place sleeving over bare earth conductors inside boxes. This sleeving would normally be green/yellow striped, but on very old installations it may be plain green**.
Some properties are also wired with single wires in conduit, in the case of single wires in conduit there may not be a dedicated earth wire as the conduit can be used as the earth path.
If the light is fed with a cable, then what has most likely happened is that someone ran out of the proper earth sleeving, so they used a bit of black insulation stripped off another wire to sleeve the earth conductor. If this has happened it should be visible on a careful visual inspection, it's almost impossible to push tightly fitting insulation back onto a wire, so if this has been done then the insulation will likely have been taken from a large size of wire and will be a loose fit on the conductor.
If the wiring is in conduit then things get much more complicated. It's possible that someone used the wrong color wire, but it's equally possible that neither of the wires is in-fact a ground. For example one could be an incoming neutral and the other could be a neutral going out to the next light.
To test earths, I would suggest the following. First turn off power at the main switch, do not use the MCB for this as MCBs normally only provide single pole isolation***.
Then attach a long lead to the earthing system. I would suggest wiring it to the earth terminal of a plug and plugging it in is the easiest way.
You can then use your multimeter on continuity mode to find stuff that is connected to the earthing system.
P.S. It is always good practice to look carefully and label stuff before disconnection to avoid confution later.
* Normally live and neutral, but twin and earth cable is also used for switch drops with live and switched live. In this case the blue/black conductor should be marked with red/brown sleeving, but that does not always actually happen.
** In UK fixed wiring green/yellow replaced plain green for Earth long before brown/blue replaced red/black for live and neutral.
*** This advice on how to isolate both live and neutral applies specifically to the UK, n some countries even the main switch does not disconnect neutral and the only way to disconnect it would be to remove wires.


Toilet leaks into the wall after the flushing stops? water leaks behind the wall after I flush the toilet and after the tank fills up and stops then I hear drips down in my kitchen. If I turn the water off at the shut off valve and flush afterwards I do not hear the drops in my kitchen. Could it be the shut off valve under the toilet?

This sounds like the float valve inside the toilet might be allowing the water to drain down the overflow tube.  Normally, the float will stop the water before it gets to the top of the overflow, but if the float is leaking or out of adjustment, the water can spill over the top.

When water leaks into the overflow, it goes into the tank, and when it goes into the tank, it fills to the point that water will start to trickle down the drain.  When the water trickles down the drain, you may be able to hear it "running" down the sewer pipe in the wall.

Take the lid off the toilet tank and watch what happens after you flush.  Any draining issues should be apparent.  The same thing can happen if the flapper valve is leaking, but then you normally hear the toilet fill back up a little bit every few minutes.


Can I use a variable AC transformer to adjust the output of a radiant heater? During the winter I use a radiant heater under my desk to supplement the house's furnace, something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Tangkula-Adjustable-Thermostat-Overheating-Protection/dp/B07J5V76H6/ref=sr_1_40?dchild=1&keywords=radiant+heater&qid=1595091662&sr=8-40
It has a high and low setting (800/400 watts).  But often I want something less than low (200w? 300w?), and occasionally something in between high and low (600w?).  Is it safe to use a variable AC transformer for such control?  Note: The heater has an optional motor that swings the heating elements from left to right; I will NOT use that.
Assuming that it is safe to do so, would 10 amp be enough, and where's a good place to find a reliable and not-too-expensive ones?  Here is one example from amazon
https://www.amazon.com/YaeCCC-Transformer-Variable-Voltage-Regulator/dp/B078Z7GL9H/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=variable+voltage+transformer+10a&qid=1595092024&sr=8-3
There are many similar ones and I can't tell them apart.  And then there are ones like this
https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Controller-Variable-Adjuster-Hydroponics/dp/B07T9BLJ7L/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=adjustable+AC+regulator&qid=1595092192&sr=8-10
and even
https://www.amazon.com/Yeeco-Regulator-Thermostat-Temperature-Controller/dp/B00MKU4W3Y/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=adjustable+AC+regulator&qid=1595092241&sr=8-3
What's the difference?
I will use these devices indoor and I'm not an electrician, so safety is my top concern.  With that in mind, I would like to not spend more than necessary for a $40 heater :-)
Many thanks for your help.  Please let me know if you need additional information.

I wouldn't mess with stuff like you are proposing. Electrical resistance heating always requires a lot of power. There's too much junk out there to be sure it's safe to use with a constant load like an electric heater. Like Harp has "harped on" (pun intended) often is stuff sold on Amazon often doesn't meet UL listing and other USA safety testing. There are a number of good alternatives to the setup you are proposing, like under desk warming panels that are safe.   Do some research, but don't try to power down a heater like you asked, it's asking for trouble and potential fire.


What's causing the popping noise from my speakers? Several weeks ago, I moved into a new home. In office, I have my computer set up with a set of media speakers (older model of Logitech Z-550's). Every now and then the speakers will make a popping sound that is quite painful to my ears. I can recreate the sound when I flip on light switches that are not connected to any actual light or electrical devices, i.e. the outlets they're associated with aren't used (they're blocked by furniture). Other times it happens randomly -- I'm actually not sure if it's truly random or if it's caused by activity of other people in the house (in the event that it actually is a electrical wiring issue).

So I was wondering if this was a electrical wiring issue, which wouldn't be a DIY project by any means, or could it be possible that the popping noise is caused by the speaker wires coming into contact with other cables from my computer, printer, and other electronic devices. Or is it something I haven't thought of?

Any help would be appreciated!

Update:

The speakers all connect to the subwoofer, and the subwoofer is plugged into a Tripp Lite surge suppressor that was designed for audio/video equipment (I forget the model). The surge suppressor "grounded" and "protected" lights both check out (both show a green light).
The sub does not have a ground pin (assuming that means a 3-prong plug). It only has 2-prongs.

This could be a bunch of problems, from a missing ground to a voltage spike, to dying speakers, etc...

First of all, it would be helpful to rule in/out the computer as the source of the popping. It's possible your computer's sound card is not great and is sending those noises to the speaker, which is faithfully playing them. Try plugging the speakers into a different device (e.g. an iPod), AT THE SAME OUTLET. Then see if you get the popping noises.

If you still do, try moving the speakers to a different outlet somewhere else in the house. Event though the light switch doesn't control the computer's outlet, they could still be on the same circuit and causing some other kind of interference.

If moving the speakers to a different outlet solves the problem, there may be issue with the wiring. (Could be the switch is bad and is causing a ground fault or something. Or maybe the unused switched outlets are bad. Or something else.)

As @Tester101 says in his comment, problems with the ground can cause audio issues. Do the speakers have a ground pin (3rd prong), and if so, is the outlet properly grounded? You can also get so-called "ground loops" when different components have different grounds, which can cause a voltage difference—are the computer and speakers plugged into different outlets?

An outlet tester is an easy and safe way to do quick sanity checks on outlet wiring. You just plug it into an outlet and the lights will tell you if there are some common wiring problems. If I were you I would pick one up and test all of the outlets, including the unused switched ones.


tankless electric hot water heater I had a rheem retex-13 (13kw) electric hot water heater installed and it requires 60-A breaker and it was put on a 2 pole double 30-A can I switch that with a 2 pole double 60-A?

That would be paralleling. You can't do that.
Certainly, 120/240V split-phase can be confusing to the novice.  But when an amperage is stated, such as 60A, that always means exactly what it says -- you never halve or double it because of the split-phase.
Being a 240V breaker/circuit merely means it has 2 poles instead of 1.
"120V per pole" is actually how you think of it, but again, never multiply/divide.
So for instance it would have been acceptable to use two 120V 60A breakers and handle-tie them... (of course 60A 120V breakers are not made, but if they were; yes).
The only possible way to make two 2-pole 30A breakers work would be a cobbled-together version of paralleling... the paralleling rules are quite narrow and don't allow anything like that, for a variety of reasons.  Paralleling equipment is really special.


What is the proper method to install a "close" metal pipe nipple? A close pipe nipple is designed so that when it is installed there is very little or no gap between the two fittings which attach to either end.

What is the proper method to install one of these? Could be black iron, brass, etc.

Here are the issues I wonder about:

When attaching the nipple to the first fitting, it seems you would have to grip the nipple by the threads with a pipe wrench. This may cause damage. Perhaps a protective padding is used?
When attaching the second fitting, how to ensure the nipple is inserted more or less evenly? The insertion torque may continue to tighten it into the first fitting which would be hard to prevent or even observe.
Should you just tighten both fittings simultaneously?

Example of a close nipple:

Installing the close nipple is done by starting the nipple into the first fitting by hand. Then start the second fitting. Make sure that the suitable teflon pipe thread tape is installed on both ends of the close nipple. Then use an appropriate wrench on the second fitting to tighten the joints.

Note that the threads on a nipple like this should have a diameter taper on each end. This causes the fitting to get progressively tighter as each end is screwed into its mating part. When tightening the two joints simultaneously the two tapered joints will turn till one gets tighter than the other. At that point the looser one will then tighten up till it catches up and becomes similar tight to the other joint. Eventually you will achieve the necessary thread engagement with  each end of the nipple.


Do I need to install flashing for this replacement window? I am replacing an old vinyl window. The previous window had a separate storm window on the outside (which I removed). Now there is wood exposed to the elements. I live in Minnesota where it's hot and wet in the summer and very cold in the winter. I am concerned about having this wood exposed.
I plan on

Scraping, sanding and repainting the wood with oil-based, exterior paint
Installing the sill edge (below the window)
Insulating and caulking

But I am wondering if I need to do anything else? Do I need to install some type of flashing?
Any help is appreciated.

The purpose of the flashing it to direct any water that manages to get behind the trim back to the outside surface of the house instead of letting it continue to worm its way inside where it can start to rot the framing.
The pieces of wood you've identified don't have direct paths to behind the siding, so they don't need to be flashed.
Keep in mind that the trim, framing, and windows themselves have been made of wood for many, many years. There is no need to apply flashing to these bits of exposed wood.
It sounds like you've got a good plan of attack for preparing and protecting the wood, just keep an eye on it (a yearly check would be good) and redo the scraping and paint job as necessary.
From the looks of it, you let it go too long since the last repaint, so don't let it get this far the next time. Don't worry, I'm not taking you to task for that - you window looks far better than mine did before we finally got them all replaced.


Can a dishwasher be installed 8 feet from sink I bought a new dishwasher, and the installer said they would not recommend installing it away from the sink (next to a lazy Susan 8 feet from sink pipes) because the pump is not strong enough to pump water away.

Do you agree that 8 feet is too far away from the drains to install a dishwasher?

High Loop/Air Gap is the Issue
Dishwashers get water in & pump water out. Water coming in is under pressure so there is no issue. Water going out from MOST fixtures is not an issue - a simple modest slope for gravity feed will do. However, a dishwasher is required to have an air gap of some sort. This prevents sewer water from flowing back into the dishwasher, which could happen easily if you did not have an air gap and your sink backed up even a little bit.
There are two solutions:

Air Gap - A traditional air gap is a metal/plastic gadget on the corner of your sink. A hose runs up from the dishwasher to the air gap. The water pushes out of the top, literally through the air, and down into another hose. The second hose connects to your disposal or to your drain pipe above the trap.

High Hose Loop - Many areas allow a high hose loop instead. This is one hose that goes from the bottom of the dishwasher up as high as possible under the counter (must be higher than the bottom of the sink) and then down to the disposal or drain pipe above the trap.

If you install a dishwasher next to a sink then this all works great. If you install it with other cabinets or appliances in between then there are two ways to route the discharge hose:

Up & Out Use either a High Hose Loop or Air Gap very close to the dishwasher, and then route the hose, making sure that it slopes down the whole way, to the disposal/drain. This requires space inside the cabinets, which may be really easy or may be a problem. For example, if you have a cooktop/oven in between the dishwasher and the sink then there may be very little, if any, room to route a hose up for a high loop or air gap. In addition, you definitely do NOT want to use an air gap as any excess water spray (which should never happen, but it can) will end up on your counter instead of in your sink. However, this should be just fine as far as the dishwasher pumping capability as the exact same pumping would be needed as with an ordinary installation.

Out & Up Route the discharge hose horizontally until you get to the sink and then up to a High Loop or Air Gap. This is likely to be easier as you can use the toe kick area and/or the very back of the cabinets to route the hose. However, the pump has to do more work to push out and then up than to simply push up and there will be more water potentially pooling from the end of the cycle because the hose (up to the high loop or air gap) will hold more water. I believe this is the manufacturer's concern.

I don't know if any other brands work better than Bosch in this regard. I don't normally see dishwashers except either right next to the sink or one bay over (typically that is with 2 dishwashers side-by-side).
8 feet sounds like a lot. That is ~ 4 bays away based on typical cabinets. If you can't mount a high hose loop close to the dishwasher then I would be very concerned as to whether it will work properly or not.


Can I connect two separate ducts systems together? My apartment, which I own, is split upstairs by two hallways. Each hallway has its own A/C unit, to cool 6 single person rooms each. Recently the south side A/C broke. I have called the repairmen out a few times and a couple days after they leave there's another problem, in the mean time the residents are complaining of the heat.

My question is, can I buy an air duct and connect the North and South hallway air conditioning ducts together? At least until I buy a new unit, or get it fixed.

(Yes, we called a different A/C repair company.)

It won't hurt anything as a temporary fix. The existing one side of the AC system will have about the same cooling capacity, but each side of the apartment will now have one-half the cooling capacity, assuming the same amount of air is delivered to each side which is unlikely given the extension and turns needed to jumper to the other side (extra pressure drop). The AC will run longer, and will probably not even meet the thermostat set point so will run continuously. If it does ever turn off, say at night, at least the system hit the Tstat set point. This could also result in the tenants on the good AC side complaining since there will be less cooling there. I agree with @Michael Karas, get the broken one fixed as soon as possible to avoid the extra work. If you choose to do this, and this duct is out of sight, put a damper in the extension so you can open/close as needed in the future. Replace the filter at the bottom of the broken unit with cardboard to restrict air from flowing backwards through the broken unit.


Hook up a light designed for car into a wall socket or battery source I'm attempting to hook up the Infrared LED LED Light Bar - 54W to either a wall socket or a battery source. I'd like to know what hardware and what wiring I need to accomplish this. Any embelishment on the parameters that are important would be appreciated so I can solve this type of problem in the future. Thanks. -Rik

You simply need a plug-in AC/DC converter (transformer) of 12-28 volts that provides enough current for the 54 watt consumption.

Divide 54 watts by the voltage of your selected transformer to calculate the amperage draw, and allow a 30% buffer or so. For example, 54 watts / 12 volts = 4.5 amps, so you'd want a transformer that provides at least 6 amps or so. The higher the transformer's voltage, the lower the current draw.

The power bar has a simple wire pigtail for connection, so you'll need to use appropriate crimp connectors or some other safe, insulated method.


How can I cover the unfinished edge of particle board? I am new to this forum so please excuse if this is off topic. I am having trouble figuring out how to fix my entertainment center / TV stand. I recently bought it from Amazon and assembled it at home. I made a mistake while assembling and as a result, one of the unpolished edge which should be towards behind, is now in front and looks bad (please refer to the picture).

I realized this while adding the last few bits but since this is not great quality furniture, I was worried disassembling and reassembling it will make it wobbly / loose. Also, the back portion has nails put into the polished part that would come in front. So, it was already not an option.

Is there a way I can cover these unpolished edges so that it does not look bad? I was thinking of paining them but want to get suggestions. Also, where can I get options, I mean which stores (home depot?). Or if I can get that kind of surface coating / polish somewhere.

Any suggestions are welcome. Please help me fix this.

I'd still take it apart, but I understand your reluctance.

What you need is "edge banding tape". You should be able to find it online in black. (The big box stores don't usually have a good color selection, but you might get lucky.) Anyway, once you have it, you'll want to iron it onto the edge. (A couple of layers of aluminum foil will keep your iron clean.) After ironing and while it's still warm, rub it with something like a block of wood or a wine cork to force the tape down. Let cool, cut the edges that hang over with a utility knife and you're done.


Why does an LED in a Can Light go out after Several Minutes? I looked at this question which seemed to be the closest to resemble my situation, but it's just not a close enough case.

I have a bunch of ceiling lights that are MR16 20W Halogens. I've replaced two of them with 6W (power) 50W (equivalent lumens) bulbs. They're fine for thirty minutes or so. Then they go dark. I haven't watched to see if they go out simultaneously. But by the time I return to the kitchen to check, they're both out. Turning off the switch, waiting a second or two and turning them back on and they're lit again.

What is causing this and how do I fix it?

Something with a time delay like that is usually thermal.

The heat of the halogens is killing the LEDs

Halogens want to burn very hot. They are deliriously happy inside ovens. They wouldn't even mind lighting up a steel mill ladle.   I'm told junction temp on a halogen is 2000C.

LEDs do not like heat. You own a screw-in light bulb product based on LED technology.  It has an electronic driver and heat sinks.  Deep inside it is LED emitters proper, they are much smaller than a fingernail.  They need to stay under 85C, even though they're making about 5.5W of heat.  That means there needs to be heatsinking/heatpiping to carry heat away.  Thermal movement down a heat sink is proportional to the difference in temperature.  So that heat sink must be significantly cooler than 85C or else the heat won't move away from the LED emitters fast enough, and they will be destroyed.

You have one LED screw-in product in an enclosure or ceiling space containing a bunch of halogens.  The ceiling space might not get up to 85C, but it doesn't have to; the heat sink will be defeated well before that.  I imagine these products have a temp sensor on the LED or heatsink, and are shutting down to prevent the LED from incinerating itself.

The way to test this for sure is unscrew all the halogens and run the LEDs alone.  If it stays stable, that was it.


When to stop putting out mouse traps? So last week my wife and I discovered some evidence of mice fooling around in our kitchen at night (e.g. shuffled cleaning supplies under the sink, hoarded dog food, and of course their droppings). After a little research, I decided to get the classic spring-style mouse traps. I set them with some peanut butter and after a night or two, I woke up to a dead mouse. After that, I cleaned up and set traps again. Things were quiet for a few days but then we got another hit.  A second dead mouse captured.  We were happy up until this point because we figured it was just one mouse but since we got the second one, I had to ask myself "when do I stop setting traps?" and "did the mouse come in because it smelled the peanut butter set trap?". It's sort of a catch 22 now. I am afraid that the mouse got in "because" I had peanut butter out (as part of the set trap).  I'm afraid that if I keep setting traps that I may just be inviting these little guys in. Suggestions?

Setting traps will kill what you have, but you still have the problem of the mice getting in. you need to figure out how they are getting into the house. Mice can get through incredibly tiny holes, so it might be a chore to find them all. But as you find holes, seal them up. Steel wool is useful for this as they don't like chewing through it.


Should I apply caulk before or after washing with TSP? Should I apply painters caulk before or after I wash the walls and trim with TSP? I don't know if the TSP would damage the new caulk.

I'm going to be painting the interior of a 100-year-old house. Some of the existing paint is oil-based, some is latex, and most has lead. Some walls are dirty, and the rest are very dirty :)

We've replaced windows with new inserts and have re-installed the original trim. There are also quite a few nail holes, etc, to fill in. So we have a lot of caulking to do. I was planning to use acrylic latex caulk with silicone.

Thanks for any information you can give me.

Complete all required sanding, then clean everything including your planned TSP wash of the walls. Then caulk, prime (if necessary), and paint.


Do I want a common trip or independent trip quad breaker? I had a quad breaker that went bad.  It had 30A outer pair for the dryer and 20A inner pair for my well pump.  Both pairs were tied together so you could turn them on or off together - the mechanism tying them together was identical to the ones used on these Eaton's  BQ220230 and BQC220230

After doing a ton of reading online I still have 3 specific questions:

1) I've read that these handles are for convenience (so you can turn them both on or off at the same time), and that they do NOT make the breaker in to a common trip breaker (i.e. even with the handles you can still have one side of a pair trip without causing the other to trip).  I did see a thread here though, indicating that someone should add these handles to create a common trip.  Is this correct?  The handles tying each pair together do, or do not create a common trip?

2)  The breaker I'm replacing was labeled independent trip, and I see common trip models are available (the BQC varient mentioned above).  Why wouldn't I want common trip?  The failure I had was only one of the dryer breakers tripping (this was sort of ok because the dryer would work, it just wouldn't get hot).  If this happened to my pump circuit though, wouldn't running it at 120v damage it?  Is there any reason I don't understand that would make me want to use independent trip instead of common trip?

3) Last, I just wanted to confirm that for the BQC common trip mentioned above. The 'common' only applies to the other side of the same pair, and not to the other pair.  I.e. if the top trips (dryer) it will also trip the bottom (dryer), but not trip the two centers (pump).

Addressing your points in turn:

1) Handle ties do not make a BR breaker pair common trip (2-pole BR breakers have an internal common trip mechanism) -- see footnote 2 on page 84 of Eaton's catalog.

2) Common trips are generally used in 240VAC circuits -- while what the previous installer did with the pump circuit is not wrong as per the 2014 NEC 240.15(B)(2):

  Grounded Single-Phase Alternating-Current Circuits. In grounded systems,
  individual single-pole circuit breakers rated 120/240 volts ac, with
  identified handle ties, shall be permitted as the protection for each
  ungrounded conductor for line-to-line connected loads for single-phase
  circuits.

common trips are generally used on all 240VAC circuits (it's hard to get a non-common-trip 240VAC breaker in a typical form factor), and are needed in mixed 120/240VAC circuits for the reason you observed, as per NEC 240.15(B):

  Circuit Breaker as Overcurrent Device. Circuit breakers shall open all
  ungrounded conductors of the circuit both manually and automatically unless
  otherwise permitted in 240.15(B)(1), (8)(2), (B)(3), and (B)(4).

(The exemption in (B)(1) is for multiwire branch circuits serving only 120VAC loads, while (B)(3) and (B)(4) are irrelevant to residential practice.)

3) You are correct -- this is documented pictorially in the table headings on page 82 of the Eaton catalog, so it's easy to miss.


Stranded aluminum on outdoor light switch I currently have a light switch with stranded aluminum wire wrapped around the screws with electrical tape over over the screws and wire ends. It controls all 3 of my outdoor lights.

I want to install this timer. Is it possible? And does stranded aluminum work like copper as in there is one hot and one neutral in this case?

There are two separate questions here:
Timer Installation
This particular timer has connections for:

Line - This should be the hot wire coming into the existing switch.
Load - This is the currently switched hot wire going from the switch to the lights.
Neutral - This is NOT normally connected on a plain (not timer, not dimmer, not "smart") switch. In newer installations it is required to be in the switch box. But it might not be in an older installation, in which case you have to find it, if it is available, which it might not be!
Traveler - This can be ignored, unless you have a 3-way switch (a second switch somewhere else controls the same lights as the switch you are replacing).

So the basic timer installation is easy, provided you have an accessible neutral.
Aluminum Wiring
Aluminum wiring is generally not used for low current (e.g., 15A and 20A circuits for residential lighting and receptacles). Depending on the type of wire, it may be "OK, but need to make sure it is compatible with anything you connect it to" or it may be "really nasty stuff that should be ripped and replaced." I can't guess what you have. A few things that might help us figure this out are:

How old is your house? Where are you located (city/state/country)?
Is there any writing on the outside of the wires (i.e., codes that might tell us exactly what kind of wire you have)?
Are all the wires in your house aluminum, or just a few?

In addition, pictures of the current switch with its wires attached, as well as the model # of the new timer, may be helpful in figuring out what to do.


Can I lay peel and stick tiles over existing, old vinyl? I am renting a place which has a very old and dirty vinyl flooring. Since I don't own that place, I don't want to spend a lot of money. The vinyl is in bith the kitchen and the entrance.

I have found these peel and stick tiles. Would that work, on top of this old, existing vinyl? They told me, at home depot, to apply another self stick tile primer.

NO- Peel and stick vinyl is a trap! Glue-goop seeps up from the seams after about a year, making black blobs on the floor (to clean, scrub with a putty knife, weekly at least), while at the same time dirt begins to find its way under the edges of the tiles and then the corners begin to fail, peel up, and crack. If you get any dirt on the goop underneath the broken tile the floor, it's awful to try to get it off. You can peel the whole tile off, but you will never clean off the goop/glue, so you really can't take them off; and you can't add new/more vinyl on top of the peel and stick tiles either! Once you put peel and stick tiles down, there's no return. You'll have to pull up the first layer of vinyl and remove everything before you can add something else (because the peel and stick tiles will eventually peel up).

NIGHTMARE!