Confusion about main disconnect ampacity I am currently reviewing and redesigning the electrical installation of my property which came with a 100A SquareD QOD6S MLO load center very badly abused and about 130' away from the service drop which is a single phase 120V.
There are plenty of problems in this circuit and one is this center being the only (malfunctioning) station between appliances and the incoming feed. I need to rewire this as a sub panel and install a main disconnect at my properties entrance.
I am a layman in electrical installations, I've had my share, but rewiring the whole circuit is a step up in my history.
I am aware that this is dangerous and will therefore call the provider to have them cut the service before pulling/installing anything.

My confusion is about the fact that most articles written today call for 100A or 200A main panels/disconnects to provide the necessary load, which I understand, but applies mostly to directly connected main panels. I hardly read anything about spread out configurations where the service drop is way separated (like my 130') from the living space. There are some but not enough.

My power company (Mexican national power) has its specifications for the basic installation (totally ignored on my property, probably due to dating) which is the following (translated and redrawn original illustration with comments in italic font):

So here's my doubt:

I redesigned the existing panel to become a sub panel of 100A (we don't have a lot of continuous draw). Its breakers will add up this much (4x15A & 2x20A).
The underground wire run from the panel to the property entrance is #8 or #6, cannot figure anything out because it has no marking at all, so that would be rated somewhere between 40A and 75A depending on the insulation.
Now the power company recommends a main disconnect of 30A connected to the meter with THW#8 which is rated 50A.

How do these numbers add up in reality?
Or in other words if my continuous load was greater than 30A how would a main disconnect of that size not trip that?

I read this answer to another question where it's said that

  Don't bother trying to coordinate the trip rating of this "shutoff switch" breaker with the actual supply breaker in the main panel. That must be sized to protect the wire to the subpanel.

Can I be fine with a 30A breaker as a main disconnect for a 100A sub panel 130' feet away?
If yes then why so?

It's not clear to me why they're limiting you to 120V @ 30A. Everything about this suggests that the transformer capacity available up at the pole is very limited, and they would be unable to supply 100A-200A @240V to each residence.

  Interestingly, they are instructing you to wire your meter with the neutral through the meter. Normally, the meter does not measure neutral, only the hots.  As such, this meter will be effectively recording double the current.  It is literally measuring current coming and going, akin to a theater charging your entry and your exit as two admissions.  As such its current readings should be divided in half.   If it's a smart-meter which measures voltage across the supply, then it should be able to accurately compute KWH, but watch out.

120V is very sensitive to voltage drop, hitting 3% drop at only 60 feet or so.  So you should upsize the wires as much as you can bear.  The two-#8 setup they are requiring is perfectly capable of supporting 240V with the voltage drop in mind, assuming you are forever stuck at 120V @ 30A.  However we certainly hope they will provide better service someday.  The max the 3/4" plastic conduit can hold is three 6 AWG THwN wires, which will support 60A @ 240V in the future.  For today, install two of them and add the third on that future happy day.

If you want to be cheap, still use #6, but use aluminum wire.  That is the equivalent of #8 copper, and is perfectly fine in service/feeder applications like this.  Make sure the 30A breaker is AL-rated, if not, stick 6" pigtails of #10Cu on it.

30A @ 120V is very, very small service.  I have it myself, in my US apartment (didn't even know this til just recently, and the master never tripped, but it is FPE so that is to be expected). 30A@120V provides 3600W, and will allow you to run no more than two heat-making appliances at once: hair dryer, microwave, portable heater, toaster oven, hot plate, laser printer, gaming PC, etc.

Don't let the very small service deter you from putting in a full and proper service panel with many circuits.  It doesn't matter how many circuits are in your panel; it matters how much actual load you draw on them.  For instance if I owned this place I'd slap in a 30-space (3PE, a 42-space won't fit lol) and probably put in 25 circuits, all 20A.  This wouldn't have any effect on the actual load, because we'll still use the same appliances the same ways. For us it would eliminate the "kitchen dance" where we can only run 1 heat-making appliance at once because the kitchen only has 1 20A circuit.

And then of course in the happy day they upgrade your service, you are ready to make the most of it.

Again, the draw on your service isn't decided by how many breakers are in your panel.  It's decided by what's plugged in and turned on.

Oh, speaking of that, your "main" panel inside your house does need to have a main breaker of its own, or some other obvious master shutoff switch nearby. That is because it's an outbuilding.  Since your "main panel" only has 6 spaces, you might slide by with the old "Rule of Six" (you must be able to de-energize the whole house with no more than 6 breaker throws), but I thought that rule was outlawed.

It does not matter if the 30A supply feeds a 60A, 100A, 200A or even 400A "main panel" in the house.  The important job is protecting the wire to the house, and the 30A breaker does that just fine.

As far as grounding, you definitely need grounding rods, water pipe ground or Ufer ground at the house.  Because of that, I am advising to treat the long conduit run like it's a service lateral, and ignore the fact that the meter and main breaker are back at the pole.  That will remove the need to run ground in the conduit (rather silly, IMO, a ground rod at the pole contributes nothing to safety, and you need the house ground rods in any case).


Will a Gledhill Boilermate 2000 work with a Honeywell Evohome thermostat? Our flat uses a communal CHP system, with a Gledhill Boilermate 2000 in our flat (i.e. we don't have direct access to a gas boiler).

We're looking to set up a Honeywell Evohome system consisting of a smart thermostat and radiator TRVs. We were wondering if our Boilermate can work with this, or if it's a non-starter.

There's an optional ATF500DHW Hot Water Kit available from Honeywell too. Would that work with the Boilermate too?

The thermostat and the radiator units worked fine. The hot water kit was not used.


What are my options to change the finish on a faucet? I have a copper finish bathtub faucet (Roman style), and I want to change it to match the other faucets. Can I paint it? If so what kind of paint will hold up? Can I refinish it by any other means?

Lots of chatter in the comments, so here's my take that tries to take a few of those into account.

Paint/finish at home is probably a dead end. You can try, but I can't imagine how you'd get anything attractive at the outset, and I have even stronger doubts that it'd be durable.

Powder coating (really just a plastic paint that's baked on) tends to be cheaper, but not incredibly durable.

Electroplating is the way to go for a quality finish, but you have to weigh the cost/benefit of plating versus replacing. This faucet looks quite new from the picture, so it's not like it's at the end of its life cycle. Regulatory frameworks (and thus prices) vary a lot by jurisdiction, so shop around and be prepared to mail your faucet somewhere. Google 'electroplating' to find places. You might save a buck or two if you're prepared to take your faucet apart for them. They'll advise on what other preparation (ie, sandblasting to remove old varnish) is required for a quality finish.

If you want to dispose of the faucet because plating costs more than a new one, I'd encourage you to look for a place that re-uses building materials. Habitat for Humanity runs one called the ReStore.

My personal opinion is that I'd buy a new one in the finish I want.


tapping power from a 3 way switch to an adjacent 2 way switch I have a ceiling fixture that is controlled through 2 3-way switches (power comes from the fixture not to one of the switches).  in the same room, there is a set of wall light fixtures that are tied to one switch installed next to one of the 3-way switches (the power was coming to the single pole switch until we finished the basement and the contractor damaged the wiring without noticing).  can I power the single pole tapping power from the 3-way switch?  will the wall fixtures be tied to the ceiling fixture?  I did a trial but the operation was reversed (i.e. I can only turn the wall lights on if the ceiling lights were off).

Most likely, the hot wire is coming first to the other 3-way switch. From there, power comes on one of the two travelers to the 3-way you're working with. You've probably connected your new switch to one of the travelers. I'd bet if you switch the other 3-way, the light will come on and off together.

Without the hot coming to this 3-way, you cannot have independent operation of the new switch.


How do I install a generator pass through? I bought a generator for when the commercial power goes out. Rather than run an extension cord from the generator, and through my window into the house; I want to connect an extension cord from the generator, and plug it into an outside junction box (Female plug). Have the outside junction box tie into an internal junction box, with receptacles so I can plug in another inside extension cord to run to my refrigerator and a few lights. What is needed to make this happen? This would be completely separate from the fuse box.

This is what you would use for a regular house receptacle in the us.

For the outside use a "inlet receptacle"

Then you need a cover for it while not in use.

Ideally a bubble cover or an in-use cover would be best.  If I find one I'll edit this.

After you get all this and you will need for the inside a cut-in box, receptacle and cover.  A piece of 12/2 romex or NM to go between, wiring the black wire to the brass screws, the white wire to the silver screws and green wire to green screw.


How old is my house? Have purchased an older home in Corinth, MS (No. Mississippi) and found that ALL the walls are T&G on the inside with shiplap on the exterior (the exterior has been resided with vinyl which will be replaced). Even the interior partitions are either T&G or wood boards (about 5" wide) including closets inside and out. The ceiling & floors are also all T&G and the roof is solid board as well.
The studs etc are full dimensional lumber and rough.

I can't seem to get info from the Tax man or County recorder etc.

Any idea on the age of this based on construction methods?

The plumbing has been redone some time ago, so no toilets etc to help ID age.
Zero insulation and wiring minimal and dangerous!

I plan on removing exterior Shiplap to wire and insulate in the spring and hopefully be able to save enough to at least utilize some for an accent section or something.

Any help/advice appreciated.

Sounds like the exact kind of construction on a house we restored a few years ago. It was on a covered wagon route and was built about 1900, but I’m located “out west”.

I’d check with the local chapter of the Historic Preservation Office. (They’re a division of the Federal Department of the Interior.) They will have accurate info on type of construction in your area.

If you decide to restore it to their standards, there are some “big” tax savings, like your property taxes are frozen at the current value for 15 years or so, etc. However, you have to use their recommendations for windows, siding, etc. (Things like roofing can be anything, because it’s considered something that needs to be replaced from time to time, but check with them.)


Should the foundation wall be insulated when encapsulating a crawl space, or not? I've seen conflicting info on this. Some sources say that you shouldn't insulate your foundation wall because moisture can get trapped between the insulation and the wall. Others say that the insulation is a key part of the encapsulation.
I'm assuming that the answer to which is right is: "it depends." So my question is, what does it depend on?
I'm assuming that some of the factors that matter are:

Is the sill plate sealed?
Will there be a dehumidifier?
Will the HVAC system be serving the crawl space at all?

What else matters?

I think the accepted best practice is now to make crawl spaces part of your conditioned living area.  Insulate and allow air to circulate like you do in the rest of the house.  The best practice for new builds may not work depending on your construction details.  You should check out how Risinger Homes out of Austin Texas handles it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n4K170f56I


What could cause my hot water to run out quickly... but only in the bath/shower? My (London, UK) apartment building's hot water comes from a district heating system and is delivered to my apartment via a "Heat Interface Unit" within the property, owned and maintained by the energy company. Water from the main and the HIU is piped to the separate rooms in the property from a central closet.

While running a bath a couple of months ago, I noticed the hot water run out before the bath was even half full (previously the hot water supply seemed endless). A few weeks ago, I replaced a split shower hose in the same bathroom with one which happened to allow a higher flow rate. The next morning with the shower turned up to full flow I noticed it start to get cold after only a couple of minutes. Prior to this the shower would run seemingly endlessly with no loss of temperature.

I rang the energy company and they asked me to try my heating, which uses hot water from the same system. They said the HIU would only be at fault if the heating was also not working correctly – I tried it and it was fine, with all four of my radiators heating up quickly (worth noting that I normally never use the heating as the building's ambient temperature is high). I ran hot water in the bathroom sink and in the kitchen, and these seemed fine as well. Their policy is to only send an engineer if the fault can be demonstrated to be with the HIU, so I've sat on the issue for a bit.

On subsequent showers I found that if I kept the flow turned low – around 60%, the water would stay warm for the duration of my shower.

This evening I tried to run a bath and the same thing happened – the hot water ran cold (24ºC) after only a short time. The kitchen tap ran hot (46ºC) without issue. In the bathroom, I found that if I switched the bath tap off for a minute, then back on, it would run very hot very briefly, then back to cold. The tap over the sink seems unaffected – running hot for as long as I care to test. If I run the bath tap at the same time, both go cold. However if I switch off the bath tap, the sink will return to hot, but not the other way around. I note that the flow through the bath tap is much higher than the sink, in case this is relevant.

I am struggling to come up with a mental model of the plumbing that explains why the hot water supply (seemingly to these two appliances only) is being affected in this way, given all the hot water pipes seem to branch from the same point in the system. Can you think of anything that could cause this; is there any sensible further investigation I should do; could the HIU be at fault, or am I best off calling a plumber?

I attach summary photos of the submarine-control-panel-like HIU and the point of distribution of the water pipes. Also a floorplan of the apartment with the HIU closet marked with a red dot.

Thanks for your time and please let me know if I can clarify any of the above points!

Edited to clarify detail around the bathroom sink tap after further experimentation today.

To me it sounds like an anti scauld valve is not working correctly. If you have a thermometer could you try just turning on the hot and see if the flow almost stops and what the water temp is. This could verify if the valve is the problem.


How can I measure the gauge of stranded wire? What is the best way to measure the gauge of stranded wire? I cannot tell between a 14 or 12 even though I have a standard awg gauge tool for solid wiring.

Stranded wire is a tick bigger but it's certainly not a whole size bigger.  If stranded is sloppy-doppy in your #12 gage, it's #14.


Shop Electrical - MWBC Serving 240V and 120V Outlets I've seen this setup in use in other shops and am interested in using the technique myself. However, the mere mention of it seems to incite rabid pandemonium rather than civil discourse.

I'd very much like to learn more about any potential safety concerns, especially if its use violates the national electrical code. I've been researching this for some time and have thus far found no issues with its use despite stern warnings and admonition from folks that were unable to articulate the reasons they felt it was a bad idea or cite the NEC code that prohibits the configuration.

If there are indeed issues with its use as many suggest, I would like to understand the reasoning behind those issues.

This is for a 1-man garage workshop where GFCI is required for 120V receptacles. I'd like to put several of these in. Each electrical box will have a dedicated home run back to a 100A subpanel. The 240V outlets will be used for tools with 240V single phase motors like a 3HP table saw, 3HP jointer, 2HP band saw, and 2HP dust collector. 120V outlets will be used for smaller tools like handheld drills, sanders, routers, etc.

Each electrical box:

One (1) 240V 20A double pole breaker
12/3 Romex; red (hot), black (hot), white (neutral), bare copper (ground)
One (1) two-gang PVC electrical box
One (1) commercial spec 6-20R receptacle
One (1) commercial spec 5-20R GFCI receptacle

There are commercial dual-voltage outlets available (without GFCI protection), so it would seem this notion is not as outlandish, unacceptable, or dangerous as some would suggest. Here are a couple examples:

Leviton 5842-I (20A)
Eaton/Cooper 829V (15A)

This article seems to indicate this configuration is acceptable and safe as long as all rules and exceptions are accounted for. As far as I can tell, my drawing above complies with those rules and exceptions.

Is this truly acceptable? Complies with NEC? Will pass inspection? It seems pretty clear to me there is no issue. Perhaps I'm still missing something, hence the question.

Additional reference: NEC 210.4 Multiwire Branch Circuits (MWBC)

Thanks!

This is fine, provided you obey a few rules

While a MWBC serving a mix of 120V and 240V receptacles certainly may look strange to the uninitiated, or those who interact with electrical systems in a professional capacity yet are not trained to the full panoply of NEC requirements, this setup is Code-legal in the 2017 NEC, provided the breaker protecting it provides common trip functionality, which all full-width two-pole breakers do these days.  This is laid out in NEC 210.4(C) Exception 2:

  (C) Line-to-Neutral Loads. Multiwire branch circuits shall
  supply only line-to-neutral loads.

  Exception No. 1: A multiwire branch circuit that supplies only one
  utilization equipment.

  Exception No. 2: Where all ungrounded conductors of the multiwire
  branch circuit are opened simultaneously by the branch-circuit overcurrent device.

With the upgraded GFCI requirements in the 2020 NEC, this setup requires a two-pole GFCI breaker instead; however, that lets you split the 120V receptacle here to balance the load better, and means that all receptacles on the circuit are GFCI protected, which is also a plus.

However, despite the above, there are a few caveats set not by the NEC itself, but by the limitations of available hardware.  First and foremost is that two-pole dual function breakers (that provide both arc-fault and ground-fault protection) just aren't made, so if you were doing this in a location where AFCI was required, you'd need to have a two-pole GFCI breaker in the distribution panel for this circuit feeding an auxiliary distribution panel with a two-pole AFCI breaker in it.  (Of course, if you're feeding more than one circuit of these, you can use a bigger GFCI breaker to feed a subpanel with multiple AFCI breakers in it.)  Also, some more modern AFCIs (GE MOD 3 CAFCI breakers, most notably) are incapable of providing common trip overcurrent protection to a multiwire branch circuit due to design tradeoffs they made in order to ease installation in shared-neutral situations generally.  This isn't an issue if a single MWBC is used as the two-pole GFCI breaker provides common trip overcurrent protection for the circuit at the correct breaker rating, but is a showstopper in a multi-MWBC setup, as the GFCI breaker gets enlarged (up to 50 or even 60A) in order to feed the loads from the additional circuits.

Other than that, you'll need to treat the downstream wiring with the same cautions that are required for any other MWBC: namely, the hots and neutral for this circuit need to be grouped in the panel as per NEC 210.4(D) and 200.4(B) (a ziptie will do) and the neutral must be pigtailed to the 120V receptacles so that removing a receptacle doesn't leave the neutral floating downstream, as per NEC 300.13(B).  Last but not least, in your situation, while most of the primary tools can be on a single MWBC, you'll want dedicated circuits for stuff that is running at the same time that a tool is (most notably, the dust collector).


Changing blower motors with different wiring schemes My blower motor crapped out and I got a basically new, used one for cheap but only realized after the fact that they were wired differently.  Basically I'm attempting the opposite of this previous post:

Where does the extra wire connect on my new furnace blower motor?

My old motor had black, yellow, and blue wires for high, medium, and low speed, an orange common wire, and two purple wires to connect to the capacitor.  The new motor has black, blue, and red wires for high, medium, and low speed, and a brown and purple wire to connect to the capacitor.  On the wiring diagram the purple wire from the capacitor is shown completing a circuit with the black wire.  So do I need to connect a jumper from the leg of the capacitor the purple wire connects to with the orange common wire connection on my air handler?

Old motor P/N: Lennox 34K7601, Emerson K55HXEKD-7375

New motor P/N: Goodman 0131M00005P, Zhongshan Broad-Ocean YDK-250S63223-02

On the wiring diagram the purple wire from the capacitor is shown completing a circuit with the black wire.

No, that's not what the diagram says.  If they required you to jumper that, they would give instructions to that effect and the diagram would be clearer.

The graphic is indicating which two wires are the LINE (supply) wires.  They are saying "This one is... and that one is". That's why the lines are dotted.


Disconnecting wiring for chandelier I've previously searched for some advice using Google but I'd like to confirm for my specific situation.

It's simple enough to disconnect the chain supporting the chandelier but the wiring is proving a little tricky (I've put it back for now). It's not at all obvious where the connection is being held in place from, and even if I remove the wiring I'm wondering how I would put it back after.

I've attached some images to show the current situation (sorry for the quality).
The only logical guess I have is that the duct tape is covering some form of connector, I will remove this if I have no other option but I don't want to remove the duct tape without some kind of confirmation.

If the connector is not at the duct tape and it's connected above the hole in the wall, I've had no way of reattaching the wiring afterwards if I wanted to put it in place.

As you may have guessed I'm not too experienced in DIY :)
Any advice would be appreciated.

There may be an in-ceiling connector as well as the connections which are certainly in the tape, but if you cannot pull a connector down by gently pulling on the wires, and if you cannot access the ceiling space, then the following will work.

(1) BEST: Get somebody competent to assist or to do the job - you have less chance of dying that way.

Otherwise:
(2) The red and white wires provide power. Presumably this is AC mains - you did not say what the supply is but if the bulbs are 110V or 230V rated then mains AC is what is involved.

Mains voltage is, of course, capable of delivering a lethal shock - I know you know that but a reminder does not hurt.

Connection is made to the blue and brown wires inside the tape. If the person who did it was half competent they will have used a very compact joiner or will have soldered the wires together, but it is likely that they are just twisted together.

Ensure life insurance is up to date.
Ensure house insurance is up to date and that you are prepared to accept the worst case outcomes - eg house burned down, You or others dead.(Unlikey, but always be aware).
Then.

Turn light off then on with usual switch - now you know the switch works.
Leave the light ON.

Turn off circuit to light at switchboard so light goes out.
ie Turn off circuit breaker or remove relevant fuse.
Light is now OFF.

NOW turn off light at usual switch.
You now have two off switches. in series.

Tell everyone to not switch ANY light switches or power points. Your life just may depend on this.

Assume that there is AC mains power at light - there MAY be.
I have experienced AC mains present on a light socket under the conditions described above. Really!

Remove tape, assuming that either wire MAY be alive.
Red wire should be most likely to be live / Phase BUT no guarantee.

If wires are twisted together pull apart.
If a connector is used, discoinnect.
If soldered, unsolder or cut wires near to join in a manner which will allow you to rejoining OK. Using a connector - even a screw down "chocolate block" is preferred when reassembling. There is ample room for it in the ceiling space shown.

The unconnected green and yellow wire is for the earth wire that the lamp manufacturer thought that you should use but which the wiring person decided you did not need.

IF soldering with an earthed soldering iron be aware that  either wire COULD have mains voltage potential relative to earth.

Option (1) should be loooking more attractive.

Report back - inquiring minds want to know.


Lighting fireplace pilot I was trying to light my pilot and was having difficulty. The steps I followed.

Turn on gas
Turned pilot button from "off" to "pilot"
Pushed in pilot button
Pushed ignitor every second
Nothing happened

I tried it again - same steps as above - Again nothing happened.
I then moved the pilot button from "pilot" to "on" and the fireplace started up.

Now my questions

I believe the fireplace should have started when the pilot switch was on "pilot" and pilot button pushed in - is that correct?
Should I have a professional look at my system?

Thanks

There are two types of systems (I'll call them old and new) that I have seen when it comes to pilot lights.   In newer systems (sounds like what you have) you must press the valve knob or a separate pilot button to bypass a safety valve and allow enough gas to come out to light the pilot.  Once the pilot is lit, the flame heats up a thermocouple that allows the main gas valve to open.  Once all that happens, you can turn the valve fully on and light the main burner.  The idea is if the flame goes out (thermocouple isn't heated), the gas is completely cut off to avoid leaks.

On older style valves, you just turn the gas all the way on and light the burner.  When you are done, you can turn it all the way down to pilot and only the pilot remains lit so you can easily light it next time.  If the pilot blows out, you're leaking a small amount of gas (not good).

So, based on those two descriptions, do you still think that something is wrong?  Your description doesn't seem to really match either of those exactly, so something could be wrong with your valve.  At the very least, the safety valve that cuts off gas flow if the flame blows out could be faulty.  Today that's considered a problem, but years ago it was normal - again depends on the valve design.  I would have someone look at it just to make sure nothing else is wrong.  Gas is pretty deadly.

Try to light it again with the above description in mind, and if it still doesn't seem right, have it looked at.


Drilled too deep into a thin wall, how can I fix that? I'm very new to this & totally didn't take into consideration how thin the wall was. Now I have a hole running from one side to the other. How can I fix this from the other side?
I was mounting an IKEA Malm drawer to the wall for safety using the screws & tools in page 9 here https://www.ikea.com/de/de/assembly_instructions/malm-kommode-mit-schubladen__AA-2022892-5_pub.pdf

Cut away any burs or rough edges around the unwanted hole. clean out any dust or loose particles.
fill with filler to a level below the surface of the wall (ie. indented) allow the filler to set hard.
Fill again below the surface of the wall, allow the filler to set hard.
fill again level with the surface allow the filler to set hard.
fill again slightly proud, allow to set hard,  sand until flat.
paint to match, 3 coats.


How can I frame a bookshelf like this? Looking through the Houzz iPad app this weekend, I came across this

I want this. Got the wife's approval and I'm thinking about starting it this weekend (gutting the old fireplace / bookshelves and starting the electrical / structured cabling)

I was originally thinking about using 2x6's as they look like the size of the structural pieces, but now I'm thinking 1x2's to frame it out and drywall over.

Mine will be deeper as I want the components under the TV to be on the shelf and not on what looks like a separate insert.

Or do the masses think it was done with wood (real or engineered) and just painted white?

I'd frame it out and then clad with paint-grade MDF. That seems a lot easier than trying to tape and mud all those outside drywall corners.

Also...be sure to keep the center compartment big enough so you can continue to upgrade the size of your TV. ;)


How to (re)attach this baby gate to the wall? I have been fighting with this gate for several years (and three toddlers), and right now I'm losing...
At the top of the stairs where the gate needs to be, there is only about 1.5 inches of overlap between the walls on both sides, as shown in this top-down view (the gate must go inside the circle):

While there is a wooden baseboard at the bottom for the lower hinge, the upper hinge needs to be mounted directly on the wall right at the corner.
Originally, I simply followed the directions that came with the gate and installed the hinges using the drywall anchors that came with the gate. With the strain of swinging open and closed, it fairly quickly worked the anchors loose from the wall, and also chipped off the paint, leading to the discovery that there isn't much drywall around and behind that metal corner for the anchors to bite into. (Ignore the blue anchors at this point.)

I decided to spread the load across a larger portion of the wall and try to get some anchors in more stable wall-board by mounting a piece of wood to the wall and mounting the gate to that:

This has worked well for a year or so, and now it has worked itself loose from the wall again. All four anchor holes are so loose that I can pull the anchors out of them by hand.
I have tried looking for a stud, but there does not seem to be one anywhere near the corner. Shining a flashlight through one of the holes in the metal corner piece reveals a few splinters of wood, enough to guess that there's a thin board in there that the top of the railing is screwed to. However, there isn't very much there and some exploration with a long thin nail into some of the existing holes reveals that I cannot reach that wood.

Short of opening up the wall and adding some kind of internal bracing, is there anything I can do here?
If I do end up having to open up the wall, is there anything specific I should try to do?
I am not very experienced with drywall work. Given that the other side of this wall is inside a closet, should I try to open the wall there and put in something from the back so that my first major drywall job isn't right where every visitor to the house will see it immediately when they walk in?
If I don't need to open up the outside of the wall, what is the best way to repair this cracked edge where the metal corner piece is visible?

My guess is that as the screws had come loose as they were so close to the edge of the wall with not much wall to hold them in place. Fixing the broken corner beading might not be worth it if you can cover it up with painted timber. As this beading goes all the way up the corner and if you pull it wrong, it may make it worse.
If you have access to the wall behind in the closet, try and see if you can securely add some timber so you have something solid to screw into.
Alternative Option : Have the gate at a slight angle. It looks like you can extend the sie of the gate to do this. This way you will have more that 1.5 inches to use.


Dryer Cord will not go in all the way I just moved to a new construction house. I brought my four-prong dryer cord along from my previous house and it matches up perfectly. But when I try to plug it in, it goes in about half way and will not go in any further. I checked the breaker and it was tripped off. I reset it but that didn't help. What am I doing wrong?

It appears the east and west sockets are preventing the plug from getting all the way in. There is a small slit in each about halfway in but it does not seem wide enough to accommodate the prongs. Could that be a defect in the outlet?

I agree with Warloki & Michael K, I never plug something in other than a meter to verify the voltage. 4 prong plugs can be a bugger. I would turn the power off and pull it out then try reinstalling by pushing hard and rocking as you push it may take quite a bit of force. I am a big guy and have had trouble getting them to go in. Pull it back out noticing if you made any progress and try again. After 3 or 4 attempts it will probably go in. Once it is seated then turn the power back on. I say to turn the power off because I have ended up touching the prongs on these type of plugs more than once over the years so if I have trouble inserting the plug the breaker gets turned off.


What are these white eggs behind my wall outlet? What type of animal eggs are these white eggs? Do I have something to worry about?

Spider egg cases. Looks like they already hatched.


Cost effectiveness of fireplace with insert vs electric furnace Now that winter is here I have been using my fireplace (that has an insert) more and more instead of my furnace that has a electric heater. I was wondering which method of heating would be the most cost effective.

I pay $0.10/KWH for power and $5.00 for 0.60 cubic feet of wood.

The fireplace insert has a 80 watt motor that blows air.

There are a lot of articles about a fireplace is very inefficient since most of the air that your are heating is going up the chimney but there is little documentation on how a fireplace insert would change that. My assumption is that it would more efficient since the fire is in a chamber that is (more) sealed and the heat is being absorbed by the metal. There is also a small fan that blows the heat to the room.

Thanks for the help!

electricity, hands down.

electricity at $0.10 = $330 / cord. (using estimate from link)

your wood is $1,065 / cord. ( 128cuft/cord * (1/0.6) * $5 ). that's high btw...

the electricity is 100% efficient, inserts are roughly 50%.
checkout http://extension2.missouri.edu/g5450 for more info and comparisons.


How can I slow the cold air coming in a furnace makeup vent? I've got an air vent from the outside which discharges right next to the furnace.  I know the furnace needs this air, but a glacial breeze comes through all the time.  I've found 3 options and I'm not sure which to do:

Extend the vent until its about 6" from the floor and put it in a 5 gallon bucket.
Add two elbows to make a 180 degree turn and extend it up 2 feet or so.
Do nothing.  I'd be crazy to try and change something that's been like this for the last 20 years.

Will option 1 or 2 actually help?  I'd prefer option 2 because its the more compact solution.

The makeup air ducts I've seen have been in a U-shaped arrangement where the exit end is high, near the ceiling. This leaves a puddle of cold air sitting in it that doesn't just fall out like it would here, whereas you essentially have a reverse chimney effect happening. It acts like a trap on a sink drain, and the slight vacuum that your furnace creates draws air from the duct as needed.
You could buy a length of 6" insulated flex duct and attach it to the existing outlet. Loop it back up and hang it near the ceiling. I'd also insulate the rigid duct with foil-faced fiberglass. You'll lose less heat to conduction.
Really, the outcome would be the same if you'd shorten the duct to a higher point and install a U-bend up high. There's no value in dropping it to the floor if you're just taking it all the way back up.
You could have success with the bucket idea, but the volume of the bucket outside the duct would need to be adequate to counter the weight of the air in the duct. That would take a large bucket.
Note: I'm not familiar with current code requirements on the subject.


How can I transmogrify a fixed monitor post in to a variable height monitor post? Background

I am looking to increase the versatility of a desk by allowing the monitor to raise and lower, using a manual mechanical solution (i.e., no electric motors). I am trying to make adjusting the monitor height be as quick and effortless as possible, while eliminating the risk of "dropping" the monitor.

The situation is depicted here:

The items involved in this problem include:

a monitor of ~12kg, with dimensions of 449.6mm x 690.2mm x 83mm;
a single post of 10cm in diameter, made from 5mm thick steel; and
an arm of ~3.1kg, with a maximum extent of 37cm.

The extensible arm provides a great deal of motion. The post is notched at the bottom, resting on a type of halved joint, and secured at the back of the desk by thick wood slats.

The monitor needs to have about two feet of motion so that I can stand while working. (Lifting the entire desk would be much [$10k] too costly!)

Problem

As described in this physics answer, the compressive force and the moment conveyed to the post are fairly significant. I'm looking for a solution that would allow the monitor to raise and lower and lock, even if it meant having to retract the monitor close to the post while adjusting the height.

To raise the monitor with the current situation requires unscrewing the post, hoisting it, and reattaching the screws. This is both dangerous (for the monitor) and time-consuming.

Post and Track

The faceplate welded to the post has 10 threaded holes drilled into it (barely visible in the above photograph). I think I need a two-piece sliding track mechanism. One piece attaches to the post and the other attaches to the extensible arm. The logistics resemble:

Question

What type of sliding track mechanism would allow the monitor to raise and lower without much effort, time, or potential for accidentally dropping the monitor onto the desk?

This is a bit out there and seemingly off track, but please bear with me.

We have a premium shower system which includes a shower head holder on a vertical bar:
  Except our showerhead is much more substantial than in this photo and exerts fair bit of torque on the slider assembly.  So much so that we barely have to tighten the slider.

As a result, we tend to leave it fairly loose so we can adjust it with one hand and only a little force by providing relief of the showerhead torque.  It then slides easily up and down.

Perhaps that adding a single ring to glide closely around your post could use the same principle.  It would be about 10.2 cm interior diameter, probably 5 mm thickness, and about 2 cm high.  Weld to one side of the ring a vertical bracket to attach bolts to fasten the monitor arm.

I don't expect any artistry awards, but maybe this is clearer?


What is the maximum span for a beam made of two 2x10s screwed together? This is for a deck. If I make a beam out of two 2x10s, what would the maximum span be? The beams will be 8 feet apart (joist span). They will be resting on posts. The number of posts depends on how far the beams can span. This will be standard pressure treated lumber. I was going to use screws to hold the beams together.  Maybe construction adhesive, too.
I have a book that says 8 feet, but want to double check that I'm reading the tables right. this is under a deck, no crazy loads like a hot tub.
Thanks!

The Code requires a Live Load of 40 lbs. per square foot (psf) plus a Dead Load of 10 psf for a total load of 50 psf.
You indicate the beams are 8’ on center, so the total load on each beam is:
50 psf x 8’ (4’ on ea.side of beam) = 400 plf
In addition, the code requires an adjustment for wood being pressure treated. If wood is pressure treated without incising then it’s a 5% reduction. If it is incised, then it’s a 20% reduction.
Summary:
Depending on the species and grade, 2-2x10’s can span 12’ with pressure treated lumber without incising and 10’-6” with incising.  (I’m using a species of SPF and a Grade of No.1)
Note:
If the beam is along the edge of a deck and is loaded with a single span, then 2-2x10’s can span about 15’ without incising and 11’ with incising.


What options do I have to replace a failed service panel? What are my options to replace an old service panel?   We had a terminal get burned up in our old 1960s GE (TRX2012S if it matters, it's a split-bus/rule-of-six panel).

The tech who looked at it said the part is no longer available, but that if I could find another old service panel just like it, he could swap in the part. Otherwise, it's going to be $2,000+ to replace it with a modern service panel, which also requires getting up to modern code, which involves a lot of other stuff.

EBay and Google isn't showing any direct replacements (or the flush-mount TRX2012F).

What other options would there be to replace the panel internals?  Are the screw mounting holes compatible with modern GE panel internals? Is the main breaker separable and could that be changed alone?

Enclosure dimensions are about 20.5" x 12". Front panel dimensions are about 22.25" x 14".

UPDATE:

I'm looking at information on replacing the breaker box myself. As the homeowner I wouldn't be required to update anything else to get up to code. Does this sound like a good idea? I've done minor electrical DYI work but nothing this involved.

PICTURES:

More pictures:
https://imgur.com/6nSQQBu
https://imgur.com/zgjKBqA
https://imgur.com/Bpi4sRE
https://imgur.com/8vhZfW9
https://imgur.com/AZeDAKM

OK, are you ready?  We are going to shortcut installing a new main panel without having to fuss with all the existing circuits, which will stay in the old panel.  In brief:

Have the power company pull the meter.
Disconnect two circuits entering the bottom of the panel that won't have slack for
Pull the old panel off the wall and temporarily hang it.
Extend the conduit coming from the meter
Fit a piece of plywood spanning the 3 joist bays.
Mount the old panel to the plywood so it is about 6-8" to the right, and a little bit higher so all the cables will reach.
Mount a new panel to the left of the old panel, so that it lines up with the conduit from the meter
Run new service cable from the meter to the new panel, including neutral
Add a 50A breaker in the new panel that feeds the old panel's "Lighting" area
Have the power company seal up the meter box and light you up
Bring over the "main breaker area" circuts at your leisure
Move those 2 circuits from step 2 to the new panel

Making room for 2 panels

That joist area is weird.  I was hoping to lay a new panel in the next joist bay over, but they're all odd sizes and too small.  I doubt a standard 14.5" wide panel will fit where the old one is, and swapping a panel is a multi-day job for a novice.  I want to get you back up.  The normal way you handle that is to mount a sheet of 7/8" plywood across the entire joist area, so you have a tabula rasa to mount whichever electrical gear you please.

So I want to pull the old panel completely off the wall, unhook it from the conduit linking it to the meter, and pull it out and swing it aside.  All the wires have enough slack except for two cables in the lower left, which we'll unhook from the terminals and remove.

Then the old panel can be shoved to the right 6-10" and mounted on the plywood, of course.   The upper wires don't have slack for this, so that will necessitate the panel be moved upward several inches also. That's fine.

This will allow a new main panel to mount to the left of it.  The top priority for its positioning is to line it up with the conduit from the meter, which we extend to meet it.  It also needs to be be spaced so it's easy to run a bunch of conduit nipples between old and new panels, though you could do that with cable and clamps I suppose. If the spacing allows use of premade conduit nipples (including offset nipples) that's a timesaver.

The new panel needs to be taller than the old panel (so those two cables can reach it).   It needs at least 24 spaces (not circuits; spaces) to be able to accommodate existing circuits.  Normally we shout real loud for the biggest panel possible, because more spaces are just a few dollars more now but expensive and regret-heavy later.  However in your case you'll have an easy upgrade path down the road, so I'm not so worried about it.

Fixing defects in the meter pan

You will need to have the meter turned off or pulled in order to proceed.

The old wires are obsolete and worn. So you will need to get into the bottom half of the meter pan to replace the wires (use #2 copper for 125A per 310.15b7, and you can just tape the wires with colored tape, you don't need white/black wires).  The power company may be able to turn power off remotely, but they'll have to physically come out to replace the seal on the meter pan.  They may inspect your work at that point, so have it be tip top.

Note how the neutral is a bare wire. Use an insulated wire.

Pulling the old panel off the wall

The two taut cables coming up from the bottom need to be unhooked at the breaker, neutral and ground bar, the clamp loosened up or removed, and the wires carefuly fished out of the knockout and moved aside.

Then remove the cloth wrapped service wires and remove the "nut" holding the conduit to the back of the box, along with any nails or screws holding the panel in the joist bay.  Be ready with a rope to hang it through the old conduit hole, so it's not dangling by cables.

Then fit a plywood piece so it will fully back both the old and new panel. It can be L-shaped.  Figure out where the meter conduit will come through and make a nice big hole there.

The conduit from the meter will need to be extended; I can't tell if it's EMT or threaded pipe, but with the plywood test-fit you can see how much length to add.   Now mount up the plywood.

Pick the right knockout in the new panel to meet the conduit from the meter, and mount the new panel.   By the way, the reason I dislike fitting a new panel into the joist bay is your new panel's knockouts may not align. Here, you can make it align!

Then position the old panel as discussed, lining up knockouts between old and new panel as much as you can.   Fit the nipples/short sections of conduit if you're doing it that way (it really is the easiest if the knockouts line up, and don't be bashful about using offset nipples to make it work). Once the nipples are fit, remove the rope, fit a knockout cover in the old conduit hole, and mount it to the plywood.

Wiring up the service entrance

Assuming your power company wants a 125A main breaker, you will need #2 copper wire (you can use #1/0 aluminum if you don't mind fighting the stiff wire).  It can be black, but mark the neutral with white tape.

Run a neutral wire from the meter pan neutral lug to the new panel's neutral lug.

Then run a hot wire from each of the lower lugs on the meter pan, to the main breaker in the new panel.

Figure out where your grounding rod and electrode enter the system.  That needs to come into the new panel one way or the other.  If it comes into the meter, extend a green-marked or bare wire from the new panel to that location.  If the grounding is not proper, you'll need to make it proper at this point.

If you used metal nipples/conduit to connect the two panels, the grounds are handled.  Otherwise you'll need to run a #10 ground wire (or larger) from the new panel's ground bar to the old panel's ground bar.

Now you can call up the power company and tell them to "light it up".  At this point, the top area of the new main panel will be hot.  Avoid it.

Wiring up the old "Lighting Section"

Get a GE brand accessory ground bar. Fit it in the old panel.  Remove all ground wires from the old panel's neutral bar and move them to this ground bar.

Now, remove any grounding straps or screws from the old panel's neutral bar.  Run a white #6 wire from this neutral bar to the neutral bar in the new main panel.

Pull the "Lighting section" breaker (upper left) out of the old panel.  Note it trails two #6 cloth wires.  Follow them to where they go.  Got it?   OK, from each of those destinations, run a #6 black wire from there to one of the terminals on a new 50A breaker in the new panel.   All 3 wires should go through the same nipple.

Now you can turn that 50A breaker on, and light up the "main lighting" section of your panel.  Welcome back.

At your leisure or need, move those two dangling circuits to the new main panel.

Wiring up the old "Main Breaker" section

At your leisure...

There are five remaining breakers in the "Main Breaker area" section.  Follow their wires back to the cable where they enter the old box.  One at a time, for each cable...   (And you can do this in any order)

The water heater cable (black-white) looks like it enters the bottom. Unhook its wires carefully, remove the clamp whole, and swing the cable over to enter the new main panel. Punch it down to a 30A 2-pole breaker.

The dryer cable will need to be extended.  Pull its hots off the breaker and its neutral off the neutral bar, and extend it with #10 black, white, red or black.  Bring that into the new panel (all 3 wires through the same nipple) and punch it down to a 2-pole 30A breaker and the neutral bar.   (It is currently on two singles, which is wrong.)

The other two cables (range/oven) may have enough slack to reach through a nipple and land on a breaker in the new panel. However, their neutral wire also needs to come over - don't skip this step!

Also, any knockouts which now are an empty hole, fill them with a knockout cover.

And I think we're done.  Whew.

With everything depopulated out of the old "Main Breaker" section, you could try pulling the bus assembly out of there and see if it's fixable.  If so, you have a free 12-space subpanel.

Future

At this point, the upper "Main Breakers" area of this panel is abandoned - you can't feed it, the lugs are fried, and you can't backfeed it.

The rest of the panel is now a subpanel of the new main panel.

In the future at your leisure, move circuits one at a time from the old panel to the new one.  Remove any routings through the old panel.  Eventually nothing will come into the old panel except the 50A feed to the lighting section.  Remove that.  Now nothing is hooked to it, and it can be removed.

The empty space can accommodate a new subpanel if you ever have the need.


Why does one range burner only turn on when another is turned on? I have a GE smooth surface stove, model JBS55DM2WW.

It has a strange switch problem. When I turn on the front right large burner it does not come on, but if I turn on any of the other burners and then turn the front right one on, it comes on.

Seems odd to me (being an electrician).

Is this a bad switch, and if so is there no switch to switch protection against feed through such as this or is it built into the switch?

You clearly have a wiring problem.  It sounds like you have lost one phase to the burner that has the problem.  When you turn on the second/support burner, that switch is back-feeding power to the problem burner switch.

Also inherent in these kind of problems, you may be getting the 240-volt to all the switches but somehow the wiring connections or wire leads have lost the ability to carry a load. Look for burned and or worn leads and connections.


Color matching: repaired white oak flooring turned out pink I had someone replace a row and half of my white oak flooring. The original flooring was Owens white oak with bona natural finish. My repairer ordered the same wood, installed it, then did a natural finish and repaired wood colors came out very different. One them is now pink!

How can we go about color matching them? The original wood is a yellowish finish.

a) We tried a variety of stains on the pink but none come close.  all the stains have a reddish undertone where the original one is more yellowish.
b) These two turned didn't turn out pink, but the color still doesn't match

Any idea why the replaced wood would be pink if it's white oak?

Natural wood, even within a given species, can have a range of color tones. You can see this even in the old boards, none of which are exactly the same color. Some are more blonde, some are more grey, etc.
White oak can turn pink shortly after milling. However, this color should have gone away long before the board was delivered as flooring. Red oak on the other hand will retain some degree of pink. So one thing to double-check is to make sure that a red oak board didn't get mixed in accidentally with the flooring package. Seems unlikely, but worth ruling out, and if so, I can believe that there could be the occasional "outlier" white oak board that shows up a bit on the pink side.
See e.g. https://wunderwoods.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/the-white-oak/ and https://www.v3-usa.com/learn/red-oak-white-oak-species-part-1/.
You might also contact the manufacturer and see if they can help provide alternative boards from the same product line that are better matches.
That said, from your photos it seems like with a stain, the pink tones are significantly diminished. So I wouldn't worry about that part too much.
The bigger issue is that like many woods, the color of oak changes over time. In the case of white oak, you'll find it develops more amber tones as it ages. This may be the primary cause for the difference you're seeing. I.e. the pink tones will diminish over time while amber tones become more prominent.
See e.g. https://vermontwoodsstudios.com/content/oak-wood and https://www.kahrsflooring.com/en-us/wood-flooring/wood-facts/.
You can try to fix that with the stain now, but that might result in the board going too far in the amber/yellow direction as it ages. I would aim for a "happy medium" where you choose a stain that helps reduce how noticeable the pink is a bit, but not entirely, and allow the aging process to eventually help the board blend in better over time. If you can stand it, just use the exact same original stain, and in a few years the difference is likely to be almost unnoticeable.
It's not much help after the fact, but some people purchase extra flooring when the product is first installed, specifically to account for color variation and the effects of the aging process, just in case some of the flooring needs replacing later.


Does a software-controlled central heating programmer and thermostat exist? I have a central heating programmer in the airing cupboard (where the hot water tank is).  It allows a couple of separate schedules for water and heating separately, and also for manual override when needed.

The thermostat is in the hallway by the front door.

I'd like to replace this kit with a basic bare-bones system that would allow an application on my Windows PC to control it.  I'm a software developer, so it's a hobby project and I don't necessarily need a totally complete solution from a single vendor.

I'm thinking of something which is little more than relays on a TCP/IP-enabled PCB.

Anyone have any recommendations?

They make Internet Controlled Thermostats already.  I would start with one of those, and then just build an interface for your phone that will interact with the device through the web.


Flood Vents and Raised Gardens I have flood vents in-front and behind my raised house, which sits on a crawl space. I would like to put a raised garden in the front of my house. Is it acceptable to do this if I create an opening for the water to flow through the vent? I could just make an opening using the paver bricks around the hole opening. Is this legal/to code? I really can't find anything, or any examples of people doing this.

Thank you

As long as you don't block off the vent at all, you should be fine. I'd get a picture if I could, but I had one customer who had a very similar problem to yours, and because the raised bed was higher than the top of the vents, he built a slanted box, about 55 degrees, from the bottom of the vent up over the soil line. It was basically a 2x4 box covered in plywood, but it looked great.

As long as you don't block off the vent, I don't think you'll need a permit or anything for a project this size, but I am not the expert on that area. If you build something, make it sturdy enough that if it does flood, your structure will remain intact and usable.


Water leak under kitchen after shutting off / turning on water I'm working on an older 1950's home and was looking to replace a shower diverter (related post of mine: Replacing shower diverter head).
We turned the water off at the shutoff valve, did some work in the downstairs level of the house and then turned the water back on. All seemed good, but an hour later we noticed that in the kitchen on the upper / ground level of the house (which is also level with the shutoff valve), there was water coming from under the sink onto the floor. Note, we did not touch anything with the sink / kitchen area.
It seems to be leaking from the nylon fitting attached to the angles top on the cold side. We shut the angle stop and monitored it for 10 minutes... no leaks, so we believe it was the nylon host that goes to the cold handle in the sink.
What about what we did would cause this? I would like to be able to explain to the homeowner (not my house) why this happened.

Sometimes just the pressure cycling on/off is the straw that breaks the old plastic plumbing item's back. They age and get brittle.


Hot to ground voltages on an ungrounded 3 prong outlet In my old, mostly ungrounded house I have found a 3-prong outlet housed in a metal electrical box that behaves strangely.  It operates fine, but when inspected with a digital multi-meter I observe:

Hot to Neutral: 120V
Hot to Ground: 80V (same for Hot to electrical box)
Neutral to Ground: 30V (same for Neutral to electrical box)
When I use a GFCI tester it reports "Open Ground"
Looking at the wiring, there is a ground wire coming into the box in the romex cable but it is not connected to the outlet
There are no outlets connected downstream from this one

My questions:

Why am I observing these voltages to what looks like a disconnected ground?
Is there any safety risk (e.g. electrical fire) in using this outlet as is beyond the standard ungrounded shock risks?

Your GFCI Tester tells it all. The ground conductor needs to be connected at the device and all the way back to the panel ground. Otherwise it is just a loose wire and the readings you are getting off of it is a "ghost" reading or a voltage reading of a very low amperage output. So it just means it is not connected properly.

The NEC Is specific about changing out a 2 prong outlet to a three prong. You must install a GFCI outlet instead, or install a GFCI device and feed the entire circuit through it, and all receptacles then must be labeled as ungrounded. If you purchase a GFCI receptacle these labels will come with it.

I did an edit on this answer to install two examples of what I am talking about which might help you understand.

Just remember your installation does not have a ground.

Stay safe and good luck.


Disposal not working I have an Insinkerator 777ss disposal. It is hardwired.  When I flipped the switch it popped the breaker.  I removed the hot lead from the disposal, reset the breaker and flipped the switch.  Nothing happened and the breaker remained set.  I assume this means there is a short in the disposal?  I connected the hot lead and now when I flip the switch nothing happens and the breaker stays on. Is my next step replacing the disposal?  Any assistance is appreciated.

Like tyson said, Reset the disposal on the bottom of the unit.  Then use an hex wrench in the hole in bottom center of the disposal to make sure the motor spins freely.  Let us know if that works.


tankless water heater with four lugs I'm replacing a old tankless with a new one. The old one is wired with 240 on two 60 amp breakers. It had two lug connects along with a ground. The new heater is 4 lugs and requires two 60 amp breakers, so i'm good there. How do i make it for 4 lugs? Do i just put 2 pigtails in junction box and then to heater?

Thanks for any help,
quinn

It appears  Circuit B powers nothing but heaters 3 and 4, so consult with the factory. It may be possible for the unit to happily run with circuit A only, at the 60A power setting.

Other than that, you will have to find 2 spaces for another 60A breaker.  This appears to be a GE Qline which supports their advanced design for "double-stuff" breakers, including 2-pole double-stuffs that straddle 2 spaces (as in right above the 60A). Convert 4 spaces worth of breakers to double-stuffs and you'll have the room.

Now the bad news.  The wires seem to be run in 1/2" EMT conduit, with individual THHN wires, presumably 6 AWG.  They didn't need a ground wire, but they ran one, so the wire count would be 3 instead of 2 - it's a conduit fill rules thing.  Regardless, this 1/2" conduit cannot hold four #6 wires.  For that, you'll need 3/4" conduit, and will just fit with that one #10 ground.   So you will have to re-run all this conduit.

When you buy wire, use two black and two red.  The blacks are circuit 1, and the reds are circuit 2.  For each circuit, the two hots are interchangable - no value in phasing them - but you certainly do need to tell the circuits apart!

Now if you run 1" or 1-1/4" conduit, you can run #4 aluminum wire.  No idea if that's any kind of savings for you.  Whether the tankless can accept #4 or aluminum is a factor; otherwise you'd have to pigtail with expensive Polaris connectors.

Given that, you might as well rethink the location of the heater. Very often, these on-demand heaters are slapped down exactly where the tanked heater had been. That location wasn't optimal at all. It was put there because tanked heaters are huge and ugly, and often because a gas vent is possible there.  It's usually not the ideal location for a small tankless.  You want that as close as possible to the most important point(s) of use, e.g. the place you least want to wait, wait, wait for hot water.  For me, that's the shower.


What kind of wire this is in my ceilling There are 3 black and 4 white wires. We found it in our 2nd floor condominium ceilling when cutting holes for lights.
Is black wire power line from meter to breaker panel ? These homes were built around 1988. I tried checking with no-contact voltage tester but it did not beep.
Can someone tell me what kind of wires are these?

Prior to RG6 being adopted RG 58/59 were common for data (cable tv) most places were updated with RG6 because it is better with modern cable bandwidths. 3 white round cables that were replaced by 3 black round cables, not power most probably RG6 the cable has it’s type and MFG stamped on the side at regular intervals as others have mentioned.


How to remove silicone from a porous wall? I recently removed a door bell and I got a sillicone stain in the wall.
The wall is basically red brick.

The brick individually are kind of irregular and present some superficial porosity.

This means that the remaining sillicone is hard to remove.

What can I do to clean it? is there any way to dissolve it?

Are there any home made solutions?

this works fine

http://www.rona.ca/en/paint---silicone-remover

you may have to find a supplier of it or something like it near you.  it takes a lot of time and patience on brick, and you will have to reapply it many times to get it all off, but if you are patient, it removes all traces of silicones.


Can multiple 2-way occupancy motion sensor switches be used together? Can multiple 2-way occupancy (AKA motion) sensor switches be used together?

For the top and bottom of a staircase, I want the lights to be on if either switch senses motion and the lights stay on until both switches time out after not sensing motion.

I know how to wire such a circuit but I want to know if doing so is by-the-code OK (Canada) and how to mark the wires so someone in the future will understand what has been done.

Thanks.

Edit 1: The building is my private home, so I can be confident of (mostly) who will use the stairs and their knowledge of the set-up. However, I could certainly make some tidy P-Touch labels for the faceplates. Writing on the backside of the faceplates and adding a note inside the junction box is possible too. (Are we certain paper in the box isn't a fire hazzard?)

The bulb-changing scenario is something I didn't think of. Perhaps a 3'rd, manual toggle, master circuit kill switch would be possible? Or would that be getting too far away from K.I.S.S. ?

The sensors will face perpendicular to the stairs, detecting people as they enter but only partially while they are on the staircase. I see the concern for the sensors timing out while a person is in mid-climb. However, the staircase is only 12 feet long and receives some natural light during day. A person would need to stop mid-way, out of sight of both sensors and eat a sandwich for enough time to pass to expire the lights. I could mitigate this by adjusting the time-outs, leaving the staircase lit for up to 30 minutes after a sensor last detected motion.

I trust that I am answering questions correctly by "editing" my post. That seems to be what the options suggests I should do.

For American readers: I cannot find any language in the NEC expressly prohibiting the use of switches (motion-sensing or manual) in parallel for ORed lighting configurations such as the OPs.  However, there's another problem, and that's user expectancy; even with manual switches installed, most people will see this setup and think "three-way switch", not realizing it's really been wired differently.  I, personally, would insist on having labels on the faceplates of both motion sensors mentioning that this is not a three way setup, and pointing up or downstairs at the other switch, as appropriate -- there's an off-chance it could get a clumsy bulb-changer bit because they only overrode one of the sensors, not both.

Considering that you have stairway coverage accounted for, and a way to label this, I'd go ahead with it.


Who Should Fill a Sinkhole? I've got a sinkhole in my back yard of a tear down home (torn down from an old duplex from 1950 and rebuilt). The hole is about 5 feet wide and 4 feet deep. The corner of the deck has sunk in the hole and is temporarily hanging in the hole.

I've had a contractor offer to fill it with concrete for $700. They mentioned the possibility of a drainage issue but my drains are newly and correctly installed. A similar post (without an answer) stated that if this issue persisted into something larger we would have a huge boulder that would need to be removed on top of whatever else may be causing the problem.

I also spoke with a few architectural landscapers and they gave me large price points to JUST examine and determine the cause of the issue. One of them said it may be an old septic tank from the original property. I am located in the Atlanta area and have not heard of this possibility. I've heard of debris pits but not sure that's the issue.

My question is what should I do? Has anyone done this type of work before? Is there a good idea of what causes sinkholes in this part of the country (Atlanta area)? I'd appreciate any help. (I currently have it lifted off the ground with some cinder blocks.

UPDATE: I had a landscape architect come out this afternoon and he is adamant that it is an old well. One from before 1950 most likely. He cited his 20 yrs of experience but in the last 2-3 years he has done about 3-4 of them a year as houses in my area (Atlanta, GA) are getting torn down and rebuilt. His plan would be to dig down deeper, about twelve feet or until water is found, and then cap the well with concrete. After that he would fill with dirt to the top of the sinkhole.

I have filled several of these when I lived in California, abandoned Old redwood septic tanks that finally rotted out, I would check into that. Natural or something like this, I would only use fill dirt / rock . cement would cost way more and wont stop it if it continues to grow. use caution if you do fill it as there may be several feet of the top that has not given way but a person walking on top could be enough for it to let go, a couple of 2"X8"X8' boards laid down to the hole is what we used after I went through 1. the home ones we filled were ~6' round and maybe 6'deep ,the Motel one was close to 20' and at least 8' deep


What is the chance of success when clearing a downspout from the bottom rather than the top? As you can see in the image, I have a blockage somewhere in the downspout.

After climbing a ladder leaning against the wall, I was still unable to see, nor even extend enough to reach, from the top. I am abandoning the idea of reaching from the top since I do not wish to lean the ladder on the eaves (please contradict if leaning a ladder against eaves is ever a sensible thing to do).

My next attempt is to reach with a drain auger from the bottom, after disassembling the bottom segment from the downspout. Do I have a chance of clearing the debris that way or should I just call someone to do it? How would they access it anyway? By walking on the roof?

Your chances of success are high. I use the "bottom up" method but I use a garden hose on full blast rather than a drain auger. Do I get wet? YES Does it clear the blockage (packed in tiny leaves and sticks from a Jacaranda tree) every time? YES


What actions should be taken after water heater supply pipe damage? Water pipe to water heater burst after 3,5 quake. Do we turn off the water heater and the water or just turn water heater to pilot?

Turn off water supply to water heater, turn off (not pilot) gas to water heater. If the cold water shutoff to the heater is beyond the break, turn off the main water supply valve.


Is a multi-wire branch circuit with shared neutral acceptable? I have been checking my house circuits and came across a run that is made up of 14/3 on 2 separate fuses, which branch off in the attic to two runs through the house. I don't like the idea of the neutral being shared throughout. I drew a picture of what I found and am wondering if the solution I have come up with looks ok to some of you professionals. And Hello from Nova Scotia. I thank you for any input in advance.

As long as the circuits are on different phases there's a decent chance this is safe as is, but it's a bad idea to wire this way in a home and a good idea to fix it.      You can't be sure of what's behind the walls but your solution might completely repair the situation and will be no worse.  Better to attach your new run to an outlet than a light.  If you use a light be aware that some lighting circuits are powered from the ceiling box, others are powered from the switch box.  Make sure to connect to an unswitched point in the circuit.

The style of wiring you found is common in large commercial installations.   It is simpler and cheaper to reduce the number of neutrals running around the place by 1/2 or 2/3.  If using conduit and individual conductors it saves pulling extra neutrals for nothing.   But the key is that it has to be designed and maintained properly.  All the circuits sharing a neutral have to be on different phases.   If an installation is designed so that ALL its circuits are run this way, and if professional electricians do all the maintenance over the years and decades, this will work fine because everyone knows what's going on.  But in a home, those are terrible assumptions.   If one of the breakers on a circuit like this fails, and is replaced, and the new one is on the wrong phase (because the homeowner doesn't know it was done this way or even a pro doesn't realize) then the neutral will be overloaded and the breakers won't protect it.  Also, if a homeowner turns off one circuit to do maintenance he won't realize that there are live wires in the junction box he's servicing or that there could be a dangerous voltage across a broken neutral during servicing.


No Room to twist and change Florescent Bulbs I have a kitchen Florescent light fixture with two of four bulbs not working.  Unfortunately, the fixture frame and other bulbs are so close I am unable to get a good grip on the bulbs necessary to twist, remove and change bulbs.  Does anyone know a trick to enable me to change these two bulbs?

Are you quite sure these tubes twist off?  Some of them go straight in.  Look closely; if you see two slots, don't twist them (much).


When waterproofing my basement, should I apply 11 mil plastic in addition to the dimple board? I'm currently interviewing contractors for exterior basement waterproofing. The difference in price is not significant, but there is one major difference.

The contractors will:

Trench down below the footings,
Parge the foundation
Apply AquaBlock Rubberized adhesive sealant.
Contractor A will apply an 11 mil plastic membrane here.
Apply Dimple board.
Weeping tile replacement etc.

Generally I am of the opinion that more stuff means a better job, but I need an opinion as to the 11 mil plastic.  Is it

 a) Harmful,
 b) irrelevant, or
 c) beneficial?

More stuff doesn't always mean better. Sometimes it means more expensive, or sometimes it means overcompensating for other weaknesses in the structure. Or sometimes it means old contractors who just don't want to give up their stubborn ways.

In your case, the waterproofing should be the parging layer. That should be some form of rubberized sealer that forms a complete barrier. The dimple board is there to protect that layer from backfill and to provide a drainage plane to the french drain.

Provided those are all done properly, I can't see the plastic adding any value to the equation. Getting a foundation wrapped watertight with plastic sheets doesn't seem viable either from an installation POV.

So, my vote is that it's unnecessary.


Is it okay to protect NM Cable in an unfinished basement with ENT? Adding a 20 amp subcircuit (120V) to furnace room to turn it into a workshop. Initially it will have one duplex and 2 fourplex receptacles, the fourplex receptacles will be on cement walls, the duplex will be on a stud.

I know that for the duplex I just need to staple the cable back far enough so that if someone ever puts drywall up there will be no danger of hitting the wire with a drywall screw.

Section 334.15.c of the NEC 2011(which the state of MI uses) says

  ...Nonmetallic-sheathed cable installed on the
  wall of an unfinished basement shall be permitted to be
  installed in a listed conduit or tubing or shall be protected
  in accordance with 300.4.

I'm assuming they mean UL Listed conduit or tubing, which the smurf tube I'm looking at is. Am I correct in this assumption? Also, is this common practice, using ENT on exposed walls to a metal box? I know that the metal box (and metal tubing if I used it) has to be grounded, just making sure I'm not being too unorthodox with solution, or going against code.

You'll have to check with the Authority Having Jurisdiction, but I'd say "smurf tube" on a wall in a shop is a no no.

National Electrical code allows ENT for exposed work, but not where subject to physical damage.  Which means if you're trying to protect your cable from physical damage, you can't use ENT (unless you protect the ENT from physical damage as well).

  National Electrical Code 2014

  Chapter 3 Wiring Methods and Materials

  Article 362 Electrical Nonmetallic Tubing: Type ENT

  II. Installation

  362.10 Uses Permitted.

  1) In any building not exceeding three floors above grade as follows:

  a. For exposed work, where not prohibited by 362.12
  b. Concealed within walls, floors, and ceilings

  362.12 Uses Not Permitted. ENT shall not be used in the following:

  (9) Where subject to physical damage.

If you don't want to use metal conduit, schedule 80 PVC conduit is identified for areas of physical damage.

  Article 352 Rigid Polyvinyl Chloride Conduit: Type PVC

  II. Installation

  352.10 Uses Permitted.

  (F) Exposed. PVC conduit shall be permitted for exposed work. PVC conduit used exposed in areas of physical damage shall be identified for the use.

  Informational Note: PVC Conduit, Type Schedule 80, is identified for areas of physical damage.


LEDs to illuminate underside of king bed I purchased a king sized bed that was designed in the 1980s, and it was lit from underneath.   I thought that the bed was arriving with this lighting still in place, but the lighting was evidently removed some time ago.  I want to add lighting, to get the effect I thought would already be in place.   My vision is pretty simple:  White lights under three sides of the bed, set to a timer for a couple of hours at night and an hour in the morning.

I know almost nil about lighting.  I would appreciate advice regarding ways to do this project.   I have seen a few posts and blogs about ways to do this, but most that I've found focus on getting the lowest cost, and safety seems overlooked.    Also, a lot of the posts are a few years old, and I wonder if newer products are available since those posts were created.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be simple, but it will be what it will be…   I am willing to hire someone, if needed.   Thanks in advance for any guidance you can lend.

Buy 12V LED strip lighting. Google: 3528 5050 5630 5730 7020 SMD Strip LED. (Pick one number and google that, not all at once.) eBay is a great place to get it.

The bigger the number the brighter the light, but since you probably want an entire strip running the length of the bed you might not want a bright one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMD_LED_Module

They are sold by the meter, or the reel - try to buy one long enough to do all 3 sides in one run.

Don't forget a power supply - make sure it's powerful enough, the strip lighting is rated in Watts (or Amps) per meter. You can pug it into a simple wall timer.

Some of them come with pre-attached sticky tape on the back. You may want to consider getting a waterproof one if the LEDs will be exposed since the waterproofing also protects it from anyone touching it.


Weight distribution on library ladder? I have a very tall galkey kitchen, with cabinets run to the ceiling. A library ladder would be an ideal way to utilize this space. I have the skills necessary to fabrcate what I need, but I don't know how heavy the rail and hook setup needs to be. I don't have that kind of engineering background.

Is there some rule of thumb? My guess is 80 percent or more of the weight would be taken to ground via the legs of the ladder.

The library ladder kits I have assembled have been cut from 1X4 white oak for all parts, although other species of wood are fine too. The treads were strengthened by a piece of all thread stretched taught with a block to provide center support between the tread and all thread. This also holds it all together.

All the weight is transferred to the floor through the legs, the hooks at the top are for keeping the ladder to the wall, not for support.


USB to 19V DC: Safe and smart? I have a Samsung HW-S60T soundbar. It has a DC 19V input. I'd like to install it in the kitchen on top of the cupboards. But there are no power outlets up there.
Rather than doing a bunch of drilling, making holes everywhere, I noticed that there is a gap between cupboards large enough to fit a USB-C cable. Elsewhere I see that a USB-C to 19V DC adapter exists:
https://www.amazon.ca/Cablecc-Adapter-Emulator-Trigger-4-01-3mm/dp/B07W5M54PV
So the question is whether it is safe to use a 3-part system of USB-C cable with adapters on either end to power this device.
The headache with the drilling is that I need to make a hole big enough for a 3-prong plug because that's what comes with the Samsung AC/DC adapter.

Running 120V is right out
First, your instincts about not running 120V mains power are correct.  For instance, extension cords and AC power cords are made out of a material called cordage.  It's made to flex and handle underfoot abuse, but it's illegal to use it as a substitute for the permanent wiring of a building.  So even if you could snake the power cord through voids in the cabinet, it's illegal to do so.
In order to bring 120V up there, you would need to search for a damage-resistant wiring method such as armored cable, EMT, Wiremold or FMC that would fit in the space available. Then you'd need to put an extension on an existing outlet (e.g. switch or sometimes, lamp) to allow you to side-exit that box with the armored cable or conduit. Then bring that into a surface mount junction box up there.  If this sounds like a bugbear of a job... yeah, you might as well install fish Romex into the walls at that point.
Low voltage rules are much gentler.  Which voltage doesn't matter.
Which voltage below about 30V, that is.
So the "perilous journey" should be made with low voltage wiring not with 120V AC wiring.  So the easier and "more legit" way to handle this would be to let the light's power block make 19V.
Essentially, extend the low-voltage side of the cord.  If you need to buy inline  barrel connector sockets and plugs, Radio Shack Mouser Electronics or Digi-key should be able to provide.


Light kit ballast replacement I am new to Home Improvement and recently hear a pop!, then my overhead lighting in my small kitchen stopped working.
Lowe's sold me a replacement ballast (good enough to remove the old ballast, and attach the new commercial one which the associate said would work fine), and once reinstalled, the one bulb was killed outright, another flickers nonstop and is very dim, and the third seems okay?

It never did any of this before, and I am concerned. Before getting gouged by an electrician, I was hopeful to ask for insight here.

Thanks

Ballast replacement is fairly straightforward.   I still prefer fluorescent tubes because I can easily find quality fluorescent tubes in 90+ CRI (in fact Menards stocks them), and I have serious doubts about the real quality and longevity of the LED "cheapie" tubes.

Start with a "ballast disconnect"

For this you need to shut off the circuit breaker supplying power.  You then put the ballast disconnect at the point where the power supply (typically 12-14 AWG wire) meets the ballast (18 AWG wire).  Some disconnects care which side is the heavier wire, i.e. the yellow Wago types.  If there are 2 power cables going in and out, then either use the Wagos (which provide for that) or pigtail it.

Once that's done, you'll be able to service the fixture without turning the breaker off. Just unplug.

Next select the bulbs

Those look like 48" bi-pin tubes (the most common one). From looking at the "old" Keystone ballast, your old ballast was for F32T8 tubes, 1" diameter (T8).  Which means it's not that old.  Don't use F40T12 tubes, 1-1/2" diameter, they will fit but they are not electrically compatible unless you change to a T12 ballast.

Look at the existing ballast

The big label on the old Keystone ballast says your bulbs are instant-start, with 1 wire per end of the lamp.  Gotta watch out for that 2-yellow 2-red 2-blue color scheme as it's also used by 2-lamp rapid-start ballasts.  This is an example where the diagram really matters.

Check the new ballast also, the wiring may be subtly different.  If the Lowes clerk picked your matching ballast by the same wiring diagram, that's handy, but double-check the type of tube it's made for.  Here are generic drawings of ballast wiring; yours may vary.  For instance yours wires like two separate 2-tube instant-start ballasts.

This is from my big answer here.

Historically 4-lamp fixtures often had 2 ballasts.  There is a mounting site in your fixture for a second ballast.  Aside from using the more common 2-lamp ballast. it also let you feed them from 2 switches for "high" and "low".

If the ballast is a goner, you'll have no trouble finding 4-lamp ballasts in either instant (1 wire) or rapid-start (2 wires).  Rapid-start gives better tube life; a sub-type is programmed-start which gives superb tube life - something to think about if the fixture is hard to access.  But if you switch to rapid-start, you'll need to change the lampholders (tombstones) on the end of the tubes to a non-shorting type.

Edited significantly  based on updated info


How can I stop mice from chewing garage door bottom weather strip? I noticed that there was a 1" gap between the edge of either side of the bottom rubber weather strip on the garage door and the door frame.   Now I see that it is 3-4", and likely being chewed by mice.  I don't have a serious mouse problem because they don't hang around in the garage or come into the house, but would still like to keep them from eating the weather strip.  Is there a solution to keep mice from eating the bottom rubber weather strip?

When you have to fill the gap, use stainless steel or copper wool (not kitchen pad with soap though) and optionally foam the gap closed. The metal stops the mice from eating through the foam.


Best way to wet vent a washing machine and utility sink? I inherited a small mess that I am cleaning up. The basement washing machine and utility sink wet vent into a 1-1/2" riser that goes thru the concrete slab, w/ an air admittance valve. I am stuck with that situation (these were installed by a plumber for the previous owner.) I don't know the DFU but if not large enough I'll change the AAV (or add a second.)

The W/M trap was cracked -- see pix -- (and the drain for the U/S is in a  horrendously stupid location thru the legs - and notice the copper to galvanized to pex -- so I am starting anew with it all.) I may finish that room at some point, so might install a W/M supply/drain box - not sure.

Q1: The wye for the U/S drain - isn't that a No-No -- should have been a San Tee??

Q2: I'll locate the W/M riser/trap 12-18" above the slab - should I use 2" (and also there to the slab) even though the thru-slab is 1-1/2?

Q3: I plan to use an S-Tee for the W/M drain.  OK?

Q4: Concerned w/ the high W/M flow/pumping - do I need to back vent the W/M drain (or I could add a second riser/AAV??)

Q5: Any reason to lower the U/S drain and stack the S-Tee above the W/M S-Tee (I'd think it's best to keep as much separation as I can)?

Q6: What's the reasoning for the W/M trap 12-18" and a max 30" riser (just curious)?

Q7: This pic floats around - isn't the wye for the W/M a no-no? Or is that only with a wye on the trap arm itself?
And the sink drain looks too steep - is the vent entry below the trap weir level?

Thanks for looking at this!

Q1: the code always allows a combo wye whenever a san tee is permitted. The reverse is not the case: vertical to horizontal turn must use a combo wye and may not use san t.

Q2. do not do that. code NEVER permits reducing pipe diameter in the direction of flow. So if the below grade pipe is 1.5 inch everything upstream from it must be 1.5 or smaller.

Q3: yes, san tee is permitted horizontal to vertical.

Q4: there's no need for a second vent merely because there is a high discharge volume. wet venting may be a problem, though. Also, the fact that the washer drain is 1.5 inch and not the code-required 2" is the bigger problem.


Strengthening LED strip light flex base Recently I purchased 10 meters of non water  proofed 3285 RGB LED strip. Its resistors and LEDs are soldered on flimsy flex which may tear.  What can I do to make it strong? I'm planning to stick it on duct tape but I couldn't get the tape of same with as the strip. I'm looking for alternatives.

I'm not intended to stick the strip on surfaces as how others normally do. Yes, the strip has the adhesive backings. I need to  temporarily  roll it on a vertical pole (in helical form) for decoration, which must be removed after a month. I need to reuse the strip. Sticking it to the pole is not allowed.

I didn't measure the thickness of the flex but its very thin I afraid it might tear. It could be around 0.1mm. Width is 8mm.

Consider reinforcing the strip with self-adhesive foam weatherstrip. Stick the adhesive side to the flimsy backer strip, leaving a spongy foam surface exposed.

This might be a really simple and inexpensive way to add some thickness/stability to the flimsy backer, plus give you a kind grippy non-marking/non-slip surface against the pole:


How to cap and remove fireplace gas pipe? We recently took out an outdated gas insert and looking to have a simple decorative firebox.

As a temporary measure I put a metal screw cap with some yellow Teflon tape on the gas pipe in the firebox.

The gas pipe goes down to the basement where it connects to flexible piping before connecting back to the black gas line (the tap is closed).

From what I have read I just need to unscrew where the flexible piping connects to the black gas line and place the cap there instead.

It's a 100-year old home so there isn't a gas shutoff valve inside the property, just at the meter instead. I'd prefer not to mess with that valve unless required.

Is this something an amateur can do safely?
Is it reasonable to not have the gas supply to the house turned off, or is that asking for trouble?

If the answer is to get a gas technician in then so be it, but if it's a simple job I can safely do in a few minutes then even better.

You have the right idea. Just remove the flexible pipe and transfer your cap to the fitting on the shutoff valve.

Make sure you leave the shutoff valve in the off position.
Make sure you have the correct threads and seal them and the connection is tight.
Check for leaks with a thick solution of soapy water.
If at any time you feel uncomfortable or think things are not working out right then shut off the outside valve and call a pipe fitter.

Good luck!


Ungrounded Desktop PC; Workaround to Remove Static Charge? Background

I'm in China (hot, dry area) for the summer and am a guest in an old (1980s**) single family home. Because I am working all summer, I brought my desktop HP computer with me. After switching the desktop power supply from 115 to 230, I plugged it in and it works fine. Because the power drops /browns at least a few times per week, I have a UPS providing backup, allowing me to save my work and shut down in an orderly fashion.

The Problem

After a week or so, I noticed that I got a shock from the casing of my Desktop. I did some tests and notices that after plugging my pc after being unplugged for 8+ hours, it seems like:

Before I turn it on in the morning, there is no static charge
After 5+ hours, the charge is there but weak
After a few days, the charge is stronger.

After some trouble shooting, I found that while the outlet has 3 prongs, as does all my equipment, the outlet ground is not connected to anything. Further, I went to the "fuse box" and saw that there was no grounded there either. So essentially the whole house is ungrounded.

I found this article to have a good summary of the problem, but the only work-around he suggested was to connect the chassis to the water supply. This won't work for me for two reasons, 1) The water is somewhat far away from where I work and 2) there is plenty of plastic pipes in the water system.

I have a GFI on the way, but I don't think this will resolve the problem.

Question

Right now, I am unplugging the computer when I sleep and at meal times, but this is a pain in the neck. Is there a work around besides connecting to plumbing?

For example, can I connect the chassis to a 5 gallon bucket (~ 20 L) filled with salt water? or filled with damp soil?

Note

** While most of the big cities in China with modern construction will follow some sort of electrical safety code, this house was built before the big boom, so it is a "3rd world" sorta house. And because I am a guest, it wouldn't be polite for me to re-wire the whole house (or neighborhood, for that matter).

You might be able to make your own ground wire, provided you're near a window and on the first floor.

You'll need

A metal rod of some sort. Rebar might be commonly available. Doesn't have to be crazy long for these purposes, just has to stay in the ground
A clamp that fits around the metal rod
Some wire. Doesn't have to be a high gauge wire (18 gauge or so should work). If it's thicker than 16 gauge, make sure it's stranded and not solid.

Drive the rod into the ground by the window and fish some wire from inside to the rod and clamp it to that. Once that's done, take the other end and attach it to the case via a case screw (if you're using 18 gauge, just wrap the wire around a screw and re-tighten)

That should ground your computer (all computers ground to the case). All ground really is is an alternate path for excess electricity to flow to. That should alleviate the shocking problem you have. A GFI won't solve the problem because it's designed to detect an imbalance between the hot and neutral. It won't stop static buildup.


I think I sprayed too much primer for my first coat when painting my cabinets. What should I do next? I’m using Zinnser cover stain primer and didn’t thin out before using my Wagner HVLP spray for the first time (they said no need to thin). It came out orange peel like and I think I sprayed too much for the first coat.
First coat:

I tried sanding it down but it took forever with 220 grit so I tired 120 and it took a while to get it somewhat smooth but even that didn’t make it completely smooth:
After light sanding:

Questions:

Do I need to get it completely smooth before moving to painting? Or is what I have in the photo enough?

The paint chipped a little when I sanded it. Is this bad? I can always go over it with primer again but is the rest of it at risk of more chipping cause it’s too thick?

These were some test run cabinets so I wanted to get the technique down before I did my full kitchen. Any advice to help save time and have a better finish is appreciated!

The smoother it is before each coat, the better the coat will look. I run my fingers over the surface while sanding to find and remove imperfections that aren’t visible.
If 120 grit is slow, go with 80 grit, then 120, then 240 and finish with 320 or even 400. For between coats you should only need a very light sand with 400.
(Instead of buying 400 grit, you can keep your used 320 grit since they get smoother before becoming useless).
Painting requires patience and practice. All paint behaves slightly different and the air temperature/humidity will also affect it.


What would cause air bubbles in the toilet when I'm showering? My basement bathroom has recently been remodeled, everything was working fine for a few weeks, but now all of a sudden I am hearing bubbles in the toilet when I shower, at which point the shower drain begins to back up. The shower drain runs downstream to the bathroom sink (which has a vent stack) then to the toilet.  I have not had any problems with the sink drain slowing or backing up.. just the shower and toilet.  Within an hour or so of the shower draining out I can use the toilet again without any problems, but when the shower is used again the same problem persists.. What is causing this?

Sounds like the main drain for the bathroom may be restricted.

As you shower the water doesn't drain away fast enough, and the plumbing begins to fill with water.  As the pipes fill, air may be forced out through the toilet trap causing "bubbles".  Since the tub is the lowest drain, the water backs up there first. If you continued to shower, you'd eventually see the toilet overflow as well (if the tub edge is higher than the toilet rim). If the tub was deep enough, you'd eventually see the sink overflow too.

If you look at this crude representation of your bathroom, you'll be able to see what I mean.

Now, if we add in a clog we can start to see what happens when you shower.

As you shower the water cannot pass through the clog fast enough, and the pipes begin to fill.

At this point, any air trapped in the line between the drain and the toilet trap will be forced out and bubble up trough the trap.

As you continue to shower, the tub is the first to back up.

Eventually, if you shower long enough the toilet could also overflow.

Depending on the height of the sink, quite a bit of the bathroom would have to fill before it overflowed.

The first thing I'd try is to clear the drain using a Plumber's snake. A hand auger would likely work, and can be purchased at a local hardware store fairly cheaply. Drill powered augers are also available for a bit higher price, but require a bit more of a gentle touch (and obviously a drill).

Another option is that the vent for the bathroom is clogged, or not sized appropriately. If vent stacks are not covered properly, leaves and other debris can become lodged in the pipe and prevent air flow. A clogged vent will cause the fixtures it's venting to drain slowly, and the results can be similar to a clog as described above.

As with the clog, the solution to clear the blocked vent is a Plumber's snake.