Black&white live wires, unidentifed breaker We have 2 wires that were attached to a non functional baseboard heater when we bought our house.We've since removed the heater, but cannot locate the breaker to stop power to the wires. We've gone thru each breaker 1 by 1, and the tester still lights up/beeps. We would like to place an outlet there. Any suggestions on how to proceed on locating which breaker/fuse?

Connect a noisy appliance to the wires, then start flipping breakers until it goes silent. you're going to need an appliance that's happy with a 240V input.


Light fitting plastered into ceiling Hoping someone can help...

I recently had some plaster work done throughout my house. Skimming on the walls and new board on the ceiling.

Annoyingly, the chap has plastered around the light fittings to the point where they won't come undone. They are officially now part of my ceiling!

Any ideas of how I can fix this without destroying the ceiling?

Cheers

Use a knife to cut into the plaster at the base of the fixture. Then when you remove the fixture, it will come off at the cut line and not pull any ceiling plaster off with it.


Adding a ground to a GFCI ungrounded outlet box I have bought a 1974 built Condo that had GFCI issues.
 A bathroom has a GFCI outlet and no ground wire attached. It has a red/white wire hook-up that functions properly.
 There is a metal box, however it not attached to anything at all. It just flops loose in the wall opening having a hole in the vertical 2x with just the wires running through the hole. A previous owner tiled the entire bathroom and the electric box 'ears' are behind the ceramic and tension the cover into place. It fails the ground test needless to say and the inspector wants it fixed for occupancy.
 The red/white wires seem to come from the light bar.
 Should I remove the light bar and try to fish a ground-wire up to a proper metal box there if there is one?
 If so, is there a test I can do to check for ground-ability?
 Getting to the main light switch from the outlet would be a real trick.

GFCI with no ground is OK, though it should be labelled as such. The GFCI provides better safety than the ground would have.

In fact, installing a GFCI is a common fix when better safety is needed but no ground is available; I have three installed for exactly that purpose.


Can I install tandem breakers in this panel, and would one 20 ampere circuit be enough for a garage? I'm a home owner searching for information before hiring an electrician to come and do work on my home.

What I want:
Have a separate breaker\s to service a single car garage. 3 receptacles each facing each of the walls, two weatherproof receptacles facing outside (control by a switch), 1 outlets for garage door opener (control by a switch; to cutoff when we aren't home), two fluorescents light fixtures and 3 flood motion detection lights.

Job in scope, I'm remodeling my single car garage which its now mainly used for sports/bicycle storage. Reason for remodel is to insulate the walls and I thought since I'm going to have the electrical expose might as well get it updated.

My dilemma:
Lights and solo-receptacle in the garage were tagged from another line in the house and I do not have any spare space in the panel to add another breaker. I have heard of tandem circuits and do have one installed on a panel (work done by previous home owner). But after doing some search I'm unclear on something.

A) My panel Seimens G1224B1100CU described as 12 space 24 circuits. However, in the legend it doesn't described were the tandem breakers are to be installed. I'm fearing the box is not compatible with this breakers and the one currently installed is not up to code.

B) If the box is compatible to tandem breakers and multiple can be installed. is one 20amp breaker enough for what I want.

Your panel is a 12/24, so every space can have a tandem or even quad breaker. That's what 12 space, 24 circuit means. In the panel schedule you may even see a line or dotted line through the middle of each breaker space.

A single 20A breaker can certainly have all that on it, but the question is should it? It all depends on what you will be running simultaneously.

I assume this garage is attached to the house?


How long should I wait to turn on the water, after gluing my pipes together? The hot water line from my water heater to the house just came apart recently shooting water everywhere, so I re-glue the parts and wait a few hours and turn on the water. A few minutes later it blows off again. I replaced some parts today, primed and glued the pipes together and same thing happened again. I've waited about 3 hours both times this has happened, do you think I need to wait longer? It has been about 30 degrees as well.

Am I turning on the water supply too fast?

30 degrees Fahrenheit is a bit cold for happy PVC gluing, IMHO. You might want to apply some (non-open flame, given the solvents) heat to the joint before gluing and while it's curing. Also be absolutely sure that the pipe is dry, or else use the "damp-tolerant" PVC glue (usually blue.)

A temperature range of 40-100 degrees F is recommended by the glue manufacturer They note that it is possible to get a strong joint below freezing, but that extended time is required. If you can safely heat it, do. 6 hour cure time is specified for your pipe size and temperature; that can be shortened to an hour above 60F (assuming water pressure is below 180 PSI....)

I do seriously question using PVC at all in hot water service - that's what CPVC is made for, and I have personally used hot water to bend PVC pipe. If you can borrow the tools from someone, I'd actually look into replacing as much of it as is easily accessible with PEX, these days.


How can I eliminate play in a water tap? My hot water tap in the bathroom has had half a turn of play for as long as I can remember. That is, after increasing flow it takes half a turn before the flow will start going down again, and vice versa. It's a relatively minor problem, but it's a pet peeve of mine. The cold water tap responds instantly.

At one point I had the whole tap replaced for other reasons, and, to my dismay the replacement was exactly the same: perfect on the cold side, half a turn of play on the hot side.

I'd had enough recently and bought a spare tap gland at the local hardware store. It is now installed. The amount of play is almost exactly the same as before. I could actually feel it in the gland before installing it; it is wobbly. I'm pretty certain there is nowhere else that the play can be coming from.

Is this normal or am I really unlucky with this tap? How can I buy a gland without such wobble in it, like the one I have on the cold side? Please excuse my UK terminology.

From your comment, it sounds like the root issue is the lower water pressure from your hot supply.  With lower water pressure, when you only slightly open the valve, there might not be enough pressure and/or flow for the water to overcome the other forces acting against it (gravity, restriction from valve, etc.).  Similar to say a garden hose - with low pressure, it might not leak at all, but open the valve up all the way and it starts leaking at certain places (except in this case, the leak is the flow you want).

The first thing to check is that the shutoff for your hot water supply is fully open - at the sink, at the tank and anywhere else along the way where there might be a shutoff. If all of the shutoffs are fully open then it could be due to incorrectly sized pipes, mineral build up (depends on type of pipe).  Check to see if the pressure is low at any other facuets - this will give you a good idea if its a problem with the plumbing or just that particular fixture.


What can I do about a house with internal concrete floor with no DPM? My partner and I have just bought our first home.A 1950's bungalow which is need of refurbishment. So far it has thrown us a ton of surprises! The worst so far being the floor in one of the bedrooms. After pulling up the old floor boards we found a concrete poured floor underneath with broken bitumen on it. The concrete has gaps of about 4 inches between it. These concrete "slabs" are separated by very rotten wood.  On closer inspection the concrete is only about 3-4 inches thick with soil directly under that. No damp-proof membrane (DPM)!The depth of the gaps is roughly 10 inches. The damp-proof course (DPC) in the walls seems to be intact.

I think the floor used to be a suspended timber floor but the previous owner decided to pour concrete under the floor boards and between the joists maybe using them to level the concrete and just left them there to eventually sponge up any moisture and rot away.

However, as it stands the concrete feels and seems dry. Possibly because the house is in an elevated position.

I know the best solution would be to dig up existing concrete, dig further down maybe 30 inches then put down insulation board , followed by a DPM and then pour concrete. Unfortunately we don't have the budget to do this.

As a cheaper alternative I have thought about filling the gaps with concrete, then applying an epoxy solution all over the floor, then floating a wooden floor on top of this. However i'm not to sure how to do the concrete mix for this, how much aggregate is required etc.

Here are some images of the floor. I have dug out the rotten timbers.

Any thoughts or recommendations besides the expensive approach would be appreciated

(I'm assuming that you are in the UK).

Concrete floors without DPM are not unusual in houses of that age, so there is a possibility that it's not a cowboy job. The broken bitumen you mention was probably the remnants of an asphalt DPM over the slab. The wood has (as you suggest) likely been used to level the concrete. If they were previously joists for a suspended floor, some have certainly been removed, as the spacing is way to wide for floor joists.

Without ripping the floor up, I can see two basic options:

1: Fill the gaps with concrete and get an asphalt company to lay an asphalt screed over it to restore the DPM.

2: Fill the gaps with concrete, lay a DPM over it, insulation, then a concrete / fibre screed. Note though that this will raise the floor level by 75-100mm (depending on the insulation).

In terms of concrete, as it looks like it's not a structural element, you could just use a "basic" 4:2:1 concrete mix (4 parts stone, 2 parts concreting sand, 1 part OPC). Add enough water to make it workable, but not so that it gets sloppy.


How can I find out where a door is sticking? Possible Duplicate:
  Doors are sticky and noisy when opened?

We have several old doors in our house, with possibly a great deal of paint build up on them.  As a result they are very difficult to close solidly (and then open) - they stick a great deal.  Is it better to "work" on the door or on the frame, and how do I find out where exactly they're sticking, and then what is the best way to resolve it?

I would try rubbing some chalk on the doorframe, and then closing the door. Once you open the door again, the chalk will have rubbed off onto the door where it is sticking, and then you can use a block plane and shave some wood off of those areas.


What should I do if my house is leaning up off the foundation? Bought my first home, and after removing some of the siding I found that a corner of the house is "lifted" above the foundation.  What causes this, how bad is it, and how would I go about fixing it?

This is a 3D representation viewing the crawlspace entry, the left side being the corner in question.

Edit: here is a picture of the foundation

Being bolted down, or not, is an era-dependendent thing - modern houses generally are, many older ones are not.

Usually, the house has not lifted, despite appearing that way - what has happened is that the foundation has sunk - in this case, in a manner that moves the actual support of the house back to the points where the sill is still touching the foundation.

Mitigation ranges from the low-cost approach of shimming the gap to the high-cost one of a new foundation. If considering the latter, it may make sense (if you have space) to build a new foundation and move the house onto it, or to move the house off the foundation, build a new one, and move the house back onto it, rather than rebuilding it "in place." It's certainly posible to support the house where it is and build a new foundation under it, but it adds enough complexity to the job that paying to have the house moved once or twice is often the less expensive route.

Beyond shimming this is not a great project to DIY, for the most part.


A 110V air purifier comes with a 100-240V adapter I have a 110V air purifier that comes with a 100-240V adapter. Can I still use the air purifier with power input 220-240V? Do I need a transformer or converter? Thank you.

Edit: I can’t find the attachment option :(. This is what it’s written on the adapter 100-240V. 50/60Hz. 0.8A Output is 24V and 1A

This is printed on the air purifier 110V/60Hz.

Does that mean I can use the air purifier anywhere in the world since the power adapter is 100-240V? Auto-switching?

If the device has a 100-240V adapter, it's a 100-240V device, not a 110V device. Or more likely it's a (some lower DC voltage you have not looked at - should be printed on the adapter, usually in tiny faint type) device with an adapter that is 100-240V

So, you should not need anything more than a way to plug its adapter in to use with 240VAC


How can I prevent clothes and food stuff from going bad in a moist cabinet My neighbors are constructing their house from ground up. We have concrete structures for almost all buildings here. When the walls are ready they need to water it so the concrete settles and get strengthened. This process absorbs a lot of water and thats where Osmosis kicks in with the neighbor's walls (also made of concrete) at the receiving end. So to cut it short all the walls in my house that run parallel to the neighboring newly constructed walls are sucking in water with salt deposits that have ruined the paint as well as making algae thrive over the walls' surface in moist weather.

Now there are cabinets built on these walls which contain everything that needs to be stored, and due to the hassle described above, algae climbs onto everything in its reach (clothes, food, utensils etc.).

Is there any way out of this? I have tried keeping fresh air passage open, but that only slows down the green goo. How to get rid of it and keep it from coming back?

I don't know what part of the world you're in, but I'm going to figure this might be mold, not algae.  Either way, a spray bottle filled with bleach solution will probably get rid of it.  Mix a gallon of water and a cup of bleach, and use that mix to fill the spray bottle.  Spray it on, wipe it, but don't rinse it off.

Keep in mind bleach is harsh stuff, keep the place well ventilated, use care not to get it on yourself, or anything else besides the wall.

edit:  the original poster commented that they were concerned about bleach ruining the paint.  This is a valid concern and a good reason to try this in a small and inconspicuous spot before doing the whole wall.

I was curious and found this page

http://www.howtoremoveblackmold.com/how-to-kill-black-mold.html

which had some other similar suggestions, along with bleach - ammonia, vinegar, borax, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and others.  If bleach turns out to harm the paint, maybe one of these would help.


What could be causing a leaky p trap under my bathroom sink? Recently, the bottom of our bathroom sink has started to leak just slightly. Little drips come out of the nuts. The leaking part seems to be more toward the end where the pipe meets the wall and the end of the curve where the p trap ends.

What are some common issues with a leaking p trap under the sink?

If it is a PVC compression fitting, put a bucket under the p-trap and take the trap off.

Odds are good that you will find one of two things.  Either the threads were cross threaded, which will affect the pressure seal around the pipe, or the plastic o-ring was caught in the threads at one point in time and was mangled.  A mangled o-ring won't provide a satisfactory seal.

Either way you will know which part to replace, and these connections (provided it is compression fitting PVC) can be replaced easily at your local hardware store.

If it seems that everything is fine, look for the following items:

Is the pipe being unnaturally flexed or bent due to particular pipes being too long or short?  If so the solution is shorter / longer pipes, but make sure you don't dramatically change the geometry of your setup.
Are the locking nuts really tightened appropriately?  Sometimes a good "extra twist" solves a leak in the best possible way.  Remember, if you "break" an obviously replaceable section of pipe, you're out a few dollars in plastic, so don't be shy.

The joint between the end of the p-trap and the pipe from the wall is supposed to be constantly under water, so it is fairly common for those to leak.  Normally they are fitted and tested for leaks.  The workman will not leave with one leaking.  Since it is under the sink, and people often store items under their sink, eventually the pipe gets bumped.  That's probably the source of your new dripping; however, it is highly unlikely that anyone will remember bumping the pipe, even if they did it.


Can I connect a 70 amp sub panel to a 40 amp 240 breakers? Can I connect it to a sub panel that is rated for 70 amp? I just want to put 3 or 4 20 amp 120 breakers in. Is it safe to do it?

Yes, that's fine.  The breaker in the main panel needs to protect the wiring to the subpanel.

Obviously, a 70A panel will not be damaged by 40A of power.

Just one word; don't penny-pinch when buying panels.  Buy the biggest panel  you possibly can, so  you can add circuits later.  A 40A/240V panel can support as many as 10 or more 120V/15A circuits, presuming they won't all be heavily loaded at the same time. You might even be able to upgrade the power feed later.  Many panels are sold as 4 spaces/8 circuits. Don't count on the second one, given today's requirements for GFCI and AFCI which don't fit in half spaces.


Can I store unused hardwood floor and base trim in a shed (or garage)? I have installed engineered hardwood all throughout my house, in addition wood base trim (which comes pre-primed). Now that my projects are done, I dont want to throw away the wood, incase I can use it for repairs or for a small future project, but its taking up space in my basement. Can I store the hardwood in my (non-climate controlled) shed, or will the varying weather/humidity render my wood useless for future projects?

I live in Maryland (winter hovers around 20 degrees f, and summers averaging around 90 degrees f) if that helps. The engineered wood is still boxed, the trim is not.

I store flooring in my shed/garage all the time. However, the humidity isn't very high where I live.

You should find out the  max humidty recommended by manufacturer and verify that it won't exceed that.

Also make sure not to store directly in contact with concrete floors as they could absorb moisture through the concrete.

For engineered flooring I would not be very concerned about warping/distortion if you store it flat and even.

You should be more concerned with adhesive breaking down, wood finish failing, and fungus/rot. All of which would most likely be cause by too high moisture content.


Why is a new coat of polyurethane tacky? I have an interior door that had stain and polyurethane on it from 10 years ago. I didn't sand it down i just applied a new coat of polyurethane and now I have tacky places that won't dry.  How to I fix this?

I had this issue with old trim that had a water based stain and a think coating of either poly or lacquer. You should take the door off and place it on two saw horses. I would start with a clean rag and lacquer thinner and try to wipe the door down. You should be able to get most of the finish off without doing a lot of harm to the stain. Once the poly comes off you will have a dull matte finish. If you apply "wipe on poly" after that dries you should get the sheen back. make sure you aren't scrubbing in one spot because you can over do some areas and kind of sand out spot from the wood. I also tried stripped but you need a lot of ventilation and a lot of rags. It was easier just taking the time and cleaning with the Lacquer thinner. They sell it at Home Depot for like $7.00. Acetone might work as well.


RF controlled switch turns on first load on power restore I have installed a 3 channel RF remote controlled switch in my house that I recently bought (Image attached below)

I have made the connections as follows

Live Wire : Live wire
2 x Ground : Ground
Output 1 : Load 1
Output 2 : Load 2
Output 3 : Load 3

Everything works properly in normal conditions, but after power-cut when the power is restored, 1st load gets turned on by itself.

I have 2 of these RF switches installed at 2 different rooms and both behave in the same manner.

How can I avoid this unexpected behavior?

Thanks

I think what you are saying is that the devices have a default setting of "normally on" after a power loss. There might be a way to change this. A quick call to the manufacturer could answer your question.


How to fix shorted microwave? I have a GE Profile PVM9005SJSS microwave oven. It worked fine for 2 years but now it is tripping the circuit breaker whenever I turn it on. I have tried plugging it into different outlets with same result so I think the microwave has a short circuit in it somewhere. Wondering if anyone can help/guide how to fix it?

Your microwave likely has a shorted transformer, magnetron, or rectifier diode, and should be repaired by an appliance technician if it is expensive enough to justify the cost.  If it is inexpensive, then not only can it be replaced cheaply, but repair parts for inexpensive microwaves are likely not available in the first place.


Upgated pump for 10 zones, 3 floor house? I currently have a tanco (I don't have the current model # now) in a 5 zone 2 story house. I was recommended to upgrade to a tanco 0010-F3-1IFC bc I am adding 5 more zones, and  2 zones will go up to a new third floor at the other end of the house. What should I be looking for to buy a correct pump? horse power? I am assuming I need more house power for a efficient flow? especially bc how far and now high the other zone is? Anything else I should look at?

Any recommendations for something within the same family of the tanco 0010-F3-1IFC but more powerful?

GPM is more of a concern than Hp. Horse power is just an energy consumption rating. If you are controlling your zones with zone valves you may want to consider a "smart" pump like a Grundfos Alpha 2, Taco 007e or a injection mixing block. If you are using one pump per zone just a regular circulator is fine, the height is almost irrelevant. Circulators don't pump water up, system pressure does that part. Circ pumps just need to overcome the wall resistance and the pipe size/length becomes a concern.


Using two screws on a four screw ceiling mount I want to hang an aerial yoga hammock from my ceiling. But the hardwares that came with the package are ceiling mounts with four screw openings.  My supporting beams are not that wide, and I’d prefer to use only two of the four screw opening across from each other. I will be using two ceiling mounts.  Is it safe to use two screws on a four screw ceiling mount?

Welcome to stack exchange.

The short answer is no.

Additional info:
Your product should be installed per the guidelines the manufacturer intended. If they do not present a two screw mounting option you should not invent one. The engineering behind the scenes is typically done to ensure safety and not to mention, the brakets are intended to use 4 screws, using only two could deform the bracket and compromise the weight distribution from 4 points to 2 points, essentially doubling the force on two points.

Now... if the brakets are over engineered (which is pretty rare these days), and you've calculated the weight bearing tensile strength of your beam material and it is greater than the (max combined weight of the # of people on the hammock + the hammock weight) x 1.7 (to be safe),then no. You might be able to take your bracket to a big box store and find alternative brackets, but I would still easily double the max weight (or nearly double it), when shopping for the brackets they have to ensure it will still hold up and serve its purpose.


How do I ground a TV antenna on my shed with the cable running underground to my house? I want to mount a TV antenna on my shed in my back yard and run the wire underground to my house. The shed is about 60 to 70 feet from the house. There is electrical service in the shed, but there is no ground rod at the shed that I know of (I figured I would have to put one there).

Google has led me to a lot of explanation of grounding with the antenna on the house and it states that you should have a grounding block close to where the cable enters the house. I am wondering if in my situation if it would be okay to have the grounding block at the bottom of the shed where the wire enters the ground.

Also, are there any other differences I want to consider when running an antenna from my shed to my house. I am planning on putting the underground wire in PVC.

At the shed
Grounding Electrode
The first thing you'll need to do, is to install an approved grounding electrode at the shed. For this answer, I'll assume a 5/8" x 8' grounding rod will be installed.
Bond the Mast
You'll have to bond the mast of the antenna to the newly installed grounding rod, which you'll do using a 10 AWG copper conductor. You'll attach the #10 conductor to the ground rod, using a fitting approved for the purpose. This fitting is only allowed to attach this single wire to the rod, so you can't use it to attach multiple wires.
Bonding the Electrodes
A bonding jumper of not less than 6 AWG copper (or equivalent) should be connected between this new ground rod, and the grounding electrode of the house.
Grounding the Cable
You'll want to run a coaxial cable with a built-in ground wire, from the antenna to the house. Otherwise you'll have to pull a 10 AWG grounding conductor along with the cable.
At the House
Connect the Cable
The coaxial cable should be attached to an approved Antenna Discharge Unit, before it enters the house.
NOTE: When shopping for an Antenna Discharge Unit, you'll want to look for a device that is listed to comply with ANSI/UL 452 "Antenna - Discharge Units".
Grounding
How the cable and ADU are grounded, completely depends on your grounding system. I'll cover two common methods, which should give you a good idea of how to handle it.
Intersystem Bonding Termination
The easiest method, is if your house has an Intersystem Bonding Termination. This is typically a terminal affixed to the outside of the service equipment enclosure, or a terminal on the outside of the house that is connected to the service equipment.  In this case, you'll simply attach the ADU and cable grounding conductor to the IBT.

Grounding Electrode
If there is no IBT, you can connect the grounding conductors to the grounding electrode at the house.

No Intersystem Bonding Termination or Grounding Electrode
If your house is really old, you might have neither an Intersystem Bonding Termination, nor a Grounding Electrode. In this case, you can use any of the approved grounding electrodes described in the National Electrical Code article 250.52.


USE MY 12V DC AMPLIFIER AT HOME How can I use my 12-DC amplifier at my house ? Can I plugged it directly to my socket that has a current of 220 Volts ? Should it be safe ?

My 12V DC Amplifier

There are a huge number of completely different devices that can be described as an "amplifier". Only a subset of them operate using a 12V DC supply. Here is an example:

However, it doesn't really matter, the advice below applies for any device which requires an input voltage of 12V DC

  How can I use my 12-DC amplifier at my house?

Find out the power rating of your amplifier. There will be a label that says how many Watts it uses. Buy a 12V DC power supply of greater wattage that is designed to plug in to a 220 V AC electricity socket.

If you can't see any mention of Watts on the device, multiple the input voltage by the input current. For example - the device in the picture above has a label with 12V and 12A on it.  12V x 12A = 144 Watts. Don't multiply input voltage by output current (or vice versa)

You will need to make sure that the plugs at each end are compatible with your 220V AC socket and with the connector on your amplifier.

  Can I plugged it directly to my socket that has a current of 220 Volts?

No, the plug for a 12V DC device should not even fit that socket.

  Should it be safe?

No, plugging a 12V DC device directly into a 220V AC socket will very likely destroy the device and cause it to catch fire.

If in doubt, I suggest you just take your amplifier to a local electrical store and ask them if they have a "power supply" or "mains adapter" that will suit your amplifier.


Making a bookcase look perfectly flush with the wall when the wall is not a true 90 degrees How would one go about fixing this highlighted gap in the photo:

The bookcases are attached together and level (though the potato quality photo may not make it appear that way)

But as you can tell from the zoomed in version, since the wall is not a true 90 degrees, there's an annoying little gap.

What is the best way of remedying this?

One method is to take a board of the right height, plumb it with the bookcase next to the wall.  Then take a compass or something to hold your pencil at the right distance and scribe a line along the board following the wall contour.  Start at the bottom where it's closest to the bookcase.  You don't want to leave such a thin edge that it's hard to cut.  I'd probably want half an inch minimum.  Cut the scribed line with a jigsaw.

Then attach to the side, flush with the front edge and it should sit against the wall with no gaps.  I might cut another board and put it along the side of the bookcase at the bottom so I can shove the bookcase into the corner and not stress the facade piece.


chimney leak black liquid 2 years ago I had my roof re shingled and chimney re grouted.  This year I noticed a black liquid leaking into my basement where my water heater is located. The water heater I know is vented out the chimney.
There was alot of rain and snow this year.
Is it normal for water to get into chimney?
I want to know because my chimney is still under warranty, do I need to contact the contractor to fix it?

It is absolutely normal for some water getting into a chimney with driven wind. Even with a wood stove that has a wind driven deflector on the stack those get some water but not as much as a conventional brick chimney. My dad had a chimney sweep company and we installed wood stoves in the 70’s like crazy. We also had to have training for inspections and it is not unusual for a driving rain or snow to enter the chimney and be noticed as a leak especially if the chimney is not hot from use.


Wall of smaller drywall sheet pieces - tape or replace? I pulled off some original paneling on two walls, hoping to find decent drywall underneath. There is unfinished drywall, but it's not 4x8 sheets. It's pieced together with as many as three sheets from floor to ceiling.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of taping the gaps between the existing sheets versus pulling them off and putting up mostly full-size sheets?

Every seam is a potential crack.
Old drywall is more likely to have been hung with nails rather than screws, more opportunity to shift and pop nails.
Taping is the hardest part of drywall work and bigger sheets means less taping (and less sanding and mess).
Adding and removing paneling may have loosened the drywall underneath, exacerbating all of the above.
Drywall is cheap, labor is expensive, and pulling down and rehanging may take less time that all that taping and patching.
Big pieces result in fewer butt joints (edges that are not tapered), which are harder to tape well. In a full sheet you have 16 feet of tapered joint and only 8 feet of butt. Smaller cut pieces often have butt joints on three or four sides.
New drywall gives you an opportunity to use mildew/mold resistant material, if you are inclined.

I would start again.


Leaky outdoor faucet when using spray nozzle I have an outdoor faucet connected to a garden hose and pistol type spray nozzle.  The connection is leak free until I turn the water off and pull the trigger on the spray nozzle to get some of the rest of the water out and relieve the pressure on the hose.  When I do this, water comes gushing out of the connection from the faucet to the hose.

Does anybody have any idea what this is and what I can do about it?

Some other information:
-I thought it could be the the washer, but I just bought a new hose and made sure the rubber washer was in good share and in place
-I've tried both wrench tightening the hose as well as the other end of the spectrum with light hand tightening
-The faucet itself is only about 3 years old, and as I mentioned, doesn't leak while the water is on

Thank you!

UPDATE:
Adding photos of the faucet: one with the hose attached and one without

Actually, it sounds more like a siphon or vacuum breaker working fine. It's not leaking with pressure on. When you turn off the sillcock and release pressure on the hose, it moves the water in the hose away from the sillcock, creating a vacuum at the faucet, which causes the siphon breaker valve to open. Then the water rebounds a bit and some comes out. They have only failed when they leak under pressure, or do not open at all. The brass cap thing on top of this sillcock is the built-in vacuum-breaker. The type described in Steven's answer seems more likely given where you say water is coming out. In either case, I don't see any sign of failure from your description of the behavior.


What's the best way to create a wood elbow? I want to make a curved rod out of wood.

I basically want to create the wooden version of this metal rod:

Here's another similar rod:

I conducted some searches online, and it doesn't seem that wood elbows can be purchased anywhere. This means that I have to make them myself.

Note: I have no experience with woodworking and DIY projects like this in general.

At first, I was thinking that I would have to take my dowel rod and physically bend the rod to achieve the curve. Soaking the whole rod in water for a while might loosen the wood to the point where it would be somewhat pliable. Alternatively, I could bring the dowel to a local woodworker who owns a steam box. Another option I found was to even use one's microwave as a wood steamer. No matter which method I chose to soften the wood, I would then clamp the rod around a curved jig, so that the wood would dry into an elbow and hold its shape. Here is an example of this jig:

Upon some more thought, however, I think that bending a dowel is not the easiest path. The bend would be a pretty sharp bend. I'm worried that I might split the wood; a dowel rod is much thicker than plywood.

I then realized that I could fasten a rectangular block of wood to the end of the dowel, and then remove material in order to achieve the curve.

I am not skilled in graphic design, but here is a rough diagram I made in Photoshop to depict this method:

In the above image:

The solid black bars represent the two dowel rods (one on each side).
The yellow box represents the block of wood.
The yellow curve with black outline represents the desired curve.

What is the best way to go about creating this yellow curve? Specifically: How should I fasten the wood block to the ends of the two dowels? How should I remove the yellow material to create a smooth curve?

Assume that I have zero tools. But, I am willing to purchase whatever is necessary to create the curve. (Within reason, of course; please keep everything under $1000.)

I think that there is probably more than one way to approach this. Most likely, I have no experience with the tools that I'll need to use, so I think that the best method is one that is the least difficult for a beginner, while still achieving a nice result.

Oh, and it's entirely possible that I am thinking about this in the wrong way, and that my above diagram is not the most practical path to create an elbow out of wood. I am not wedded to my idea, so if you have a better one, I am on board.

I hate to have to rain on your parade but there is a reason you do not find ready made wooden curtain rods as you describe. At a span of 76 inches even the straight part of a dowel rod that is less than an inch in diameter will sag over time. Add to that the extra weight of black out curtains and the straight part of the rod will be even less effective. This is the reason that the usual straight wood curtain rods that you find will be at least 1.5 inches in diameter if not even 2 inches. And at your span such rods still need to be supported in the middle which leads to ring hung curtains having to be center opening toward two sides.

You have the additional consideration that ring hung curtains on an open rod leave considerable space at the top for light to come in negating the effectiveness of the black out considerations and your stated objective to want to have the curtains seal off light at the side returns to the wall. Top sealing for light shielding can be done with a box type valance structure this hides the curtain rod assembly so there is little point to try to design the curtain support to the aesthetic of the ring hung style as you pictured in your question. And if you try to avoid the look of the box and use a double rod structure with the outer one hanging a valance it has to fit tight up to the ceiling and that would hide the other rod the curtain hangs from....so it just as well may be a ready made metal one even avoiding the the ring hung style.


How can I connect copper pipe to an unthreaded, galvanized pipe? I have a di-electric union which I want to install, but the union's galvinized side is threaded. The unthreaded, galvanized pipe is attached to the house so I can't easily thread it.

Perhaps there's some better way to connect an unthreaded 3/4" galvanizeded pipe to a 1/2" copper water line?

You have 3 or more options. #1 get a shark bite to go from galvanized to copper. #2 You need to go to a plumbing store and get a galvanized nipple and then extend your copper to the point the pipe screws into a coupling or other fitting. #3 If you don't want to extend your copper get an exact measurement and have a new piece of pipe cut and threaded. #1 is the easiest way and may be the most expensive but what you save in time is worth it. I may have used a Dresser compression fitting home depot calls them pattern fittings for galvanized repair in the wall I could not thread or remove but thought it was a shark bite.


Which way round do I mount an angle grinder wheel The disc on this angle grinder was jamming against the guard. It has a recess in the centre, like this
 Should the hollow part be facing away or towards the open side of the grinder, or is the rule that the side with writing on always faces up?
 My Bosch manual doesn't even say which side should face up, can anybody provide trustworthy references to mounting a disc

The hollow is meant to be mounted outward. This is so that the nut sits at or below flush, allowing the grinding face to be used without obstruction.


Wall outlet is making a hissing noise I've seen a lot of thread about this question but it seems that it doesn't suffice what I'm looking for.

So this what happened:

My wall outlet has three sockets and all of which was used. The bottom part was used with laptop, the center was used with lamp and the upper part was used with cellphone. As I got up, I noticed a hissing noise on the wall outlet. As a normal person I was bothered but then my curiosity struck so I tried to unplugged the charger of the cellphone then immediately, the hissing stopped. I tried to plugged it again and then the hissing started back.

I don't know if that was caused by interference of the current or what?
Maybe there's a need to fix the wall outlet?
I don't know if it was really caused by the cellphone. That was the only thing that I unplugged so I supposed it was.

I need to be enlightened. Thanks!

It's rather unlikely the cell phone charger is a transformer these days.  Nowadays, they are switching power supplies.

While it's possible to build a switcher with .99 power factor, the cheapies have really weird power factor with crazy harmonics, and at much higher currents than you'd expect.  This creates EMF (literally, electro-motive force) which can make things move, i.e. vibrate.

I could see that being a "canary in the coal mine", causing weird effects on an outlet that's already marginal.  A tight good outlet should not do that.  If that's a NEMA 1 type receptacle, it's gotta be an oldie.  It may simply be a wire that has loosened over the years, or an internal component that has broken.


Kitchen sink draining into catch basin For a house that I'm in the process of buying, there is what I think is called a "catch basin" in the backyard (under a manhole-looking cover). It seems that the kitchen sink may be draining into this, which results in some food/etc items appearing in there.

A home inspector warned me about this (the catch basin should be for storm drains, but appears to have sanitary sewage in it), but the owners said that a kitchen sink draining to a catch basin is normal in older homes.

Around the internet, I can see some vague off-hand references to kitchen sinks in older houses draining into a catch basin, but I have trouble finding detailed information. Is this indeed common and okay? What is the point of this system, and why would modern homes no longer do this?

The house in question is rather old (built around 1920). It's one of the million bungalows around the Chicago area.

The point of that system was convenience. Plumbing was expensive and time-consuming 100 years ago. Whether it's common depends on the neighborhood and the city, of course.

Whether it's acceptable now depends on your local ordinances. Most "gray water" is required to pass through an approved septic system. I'm surprised that local code doesn't require an update for home sales. Frankly, I wouldn't want food and other waste decaying in my back yard, but that's just me.


Garage ceiling fan / light - changing switch The house I bought has numerous light/fan switches with smart switches. The one in my garage started going crazy so I removed it and bought a regualr dual switch to replace it. The problem is, once I went to connect the new switch I realized it was not as simple as I thought. There are three sets of wires. Long story short... I've tried every connection possible that makes sense, but clearly I'm missing something. Attaching the photos here. The middle set of wires in the connection box (see second photo) are the ones that seem to have the power, since certain combinations with those specifically cause a trip to the breaker.  Anyone have any idea how these should be connected?

The old smart switch is not capable of controlling a fan and light separately... and you never claimed it did.  That means your 3 cables are

Supply (always-hot)
Onward (always-hot) power to something else
(Switched-hot) power to the fan/light

First, all grounds get nutted together with a pigtail that you'll need to buy, and get pushed into the back of the box (except the pigtail, bring that out!)

Second, all white wires get nutted together and pushed into the back of the box.  These are neutral.  You don't need a pigtail here; dumb switches don't use neutral.

Third, that switch goes into the trash.  Get a plain single switch.

Fourth, The ground pigtail goes to this switch's ground terminal.

Fifth, get a black pigtail and attach it to one of the screws on the switch.  This gets wire-nutted together with the black wire you are fairly sure is supply hot.  Feel free to wire-nut this very lightly, you'll be adding to it later.   These two wires are called always-hot.

Sixth, pick an unattached black wire.  Attach it to the remaining screw on the switch.  We are guessing here.

Seventh, power up the circuit and see if the fan/light is starting to work.  If both work, awesome, you have identified switched-hot for both light and fan... go to step 8.   If neither one works, repeat step 6-7 with the other unattached wire.   If only one of them works, power down and repeat step 6-7 with the other unattached black wire.

  If one wire works the fan and the other works the light, then you've made a monkey out of me.  Fish that double switch out of the trash and follow somebody else's instructions.

If both of them work with one wire attached, then my advice stands.  Leave that wire attached and step 7 is done.

Eighth, take the remaining black wire and attach it to the black wires under the wire-nut.  This time, crank it down gorilla-tight.

For bonus points, identify the light+fan wire and mark it with red tape.   Or if they are separately controlled, mark the fan with red tape and the light with blue tape.  You'll thank me later.  If you had color coded these wires at the very start of this, life would've been much easier.  Colored tape is your friend.


Are these boards above my garage structural? I started laying out some plywood for storage above my garage, and was wondering id these 2x8's can be removed to make a flatter space.  I saw someone refer to them as "catwalks", though I can't find the reference now.  There are two of them, and they're basically a 2x4 nailed flat against the joists, and a 2x10 naild perpendicular to that.

There is nothing above except the roof, and the garage is below.  Total area is about 30x30'
!

Cat walk or rat walk is what we called them. We usually laid them flat and would staple the romex.
They keep the boards from moving and cracking the Sheetrock, since you are decking the area make sure to do the same with the decking or as you move around it will damage the Sheetrock.


What killed my kitchen faucet pressure? I have a one-handle "Marielle" model Pfister kitchen faucet diagrammed here.  It leaked, so I replaced the cartridge, which solved the problem.  A few weeks later, I happened to drain my hot water heater to get rid of sediment.  Right after that, perhaps only coincidentally, my kitchen faucet output was reduced to a dribble, both hot and cold equally, even with the spout's aerator removed.  Oddly, the hand spray still has plenty of pressure (hot and cold).  All other faucets work fine.  Disassembling the faucet, including taking apart the cartridge, which is clean, reveals nothing.  The diverter valve (951-050 in the diagram) had a tiny chunk of sediment but removing that made no difference.  Running wires through the faucet's connection legs finds no clogs or gunk.  Disconnecting the incoming hot and cold lines and diverting them into a bucket reveals they have plenty of pressure.  The pressure is dying after entering the faucet.

What's the cause of my problem?  The cartridge?  Diverter valve?  Something else?

Whenever you have sediment going through your water system the end result is the sediment usually getting stuck in a filter.   Your sink has a filter on the nozzle.  You need to simply unscrew the very end of the nozzle (941-004) and clean (941-005).  This is the culprit 98% of the time.

In the future if you are cleaning any plumbing and possible sediment is running through your house turn on the washer supply hose (a lot of times these are dual headed and if it isn't unscrew the hose to your washer) for 10 mins or a good couple buckets.  You might not see much but that will keep you from cleaning a bunch of faucets.  And tub is OK to use but your valve (if newer) probably has filters in its cartridge.


How to fix old BX wires I have a house that was built in 1923 which has the original BX armored cable throughout.  At the switches, fixtures, and outlets, some of the cloth-over-rubber sheathing has become brittle, cracked, and is falling off.  I have repaired some of this with heat shrink wrap and it seems to work well.  My question is, if some of the frayed cloth strands come in contact with the copper conductor under the heat shrink, is it a fire risk?  In other words, when I wrap the wire in heat shrink, some of the cloth strands under the heat shrink will be touching the copper wire.  Should I be concerned about it catching fire?  Thanks.

As I understand it, normal cloth is not electrically conductive, so it shouldn't be a significant problem if some of it touches the conductor. My bigger worry would be a failure of insulation leading to a short-circuit in the cable. Applying the heatshrink will have inevitablly involved moving the wires around increasing the chances of cracking.

I would be very wary of touching the installation any more than you absoloutely have to before you are able to re-wire it.


Sleeve anchors not going all the way in? I bought some 3/8" x 3" sleeve anchors for a fence i'm installing. This is very hard concrete from a building ledge; the holes cannot be drilled with a regular hammer drill.

So we drilled 3" holes for these sleeve anchors, and before installing them I double-checked to make sure that the hole depth was correct.

I start hammering it so that it goes in, but after a certain point, it doesn't move anymore. From the sound of the hammering, I know the anchor sleeve won't budge.

Why is this happening and what can I do so that it doesn't happen again?

The problem is that there's no way to remove it.

This is what it looks like. There's about an inch there, and I know for a fact that the hole is 3" deep:

How did you check the depth of the hole? You should be able to get out the ones you pounded by putting a nut on them and levering them out. You can also get fancy and make a pipe sleeve, some washers and the nut and screw it out. From the photo it looks like an SDS rotary hammer could be used to drill deeper BUT depending on the concrete, maybe you are trying to get it trough a piece of rebar. I guess a telescopic magnetic pick-up tool could tell.


Filling 1.5 inches wide gaps between newly fitted metal door frame surround and brick wall I had a wooden back door removed and replaced with a metal door following burglary twice. The workmen have left an inch gap between the wall  and the door frame both internally and externally. What is the best material that can be used to fill this gap all around the frame? Can someone help please?

If it's a hollow metal doorframe, it's generally intended to be filled with a cement mortar mixture, and I'm surprised if the job was considered complete without doing that. I've lived in a cheap apartment where they didn't bother to do that, and was burgled since the unfilled doorframe easily flexed far enough away from the door to clear the lock bolts when the thieves pried it.

I suppose it's also possible that it's simply the wrong size door/frame, in which case filling in with material similar to the wall (right - the title says bricks, so split bricks and mortar) might be appropriate - or getting the right sized door, but that's a step backwards.

That building was so poorly constructed that a few years after I moved out, the roof tore off in a thunderstorm (it was not a tornado.)


I have 2 windows in my kitchen, would it be crazy to remove one? Redesigning our kitchen and want to remove the stove from the island (G shape) Fridge is built-in on interior wall. Sink/dishwasher is on the far wall facing the front of the house and on the other exterior wall is an ill positioned window that would otherwise make that side of the kitchen perfect for the stove.

The dining area is behind the kitchen island (open concept) and we have a large bay window bringing in abundant light.

So, is it crazy to remove a window and replace with wall so that we can put our stove in that spot?

This is really an opinion question so should be closed.

I like windows but have both added them and removed them in the past. My suggestion would be to evaluate your lighting as you may need to add lights after removing a window. Dark rooms actually hurt sales especially kitchens and dining areas. So if you do remove the window (not crazy) make sure the area is still well illuminated and your new design may increase the value and functionality of your home. But I do think it is a good question + but off topic by our rules.


Furnace Short Cycling - Carrier Code 33 We have a Carrier 58STA/STX Furnace that is only short cycling in Heat and not A/C. When it cuts off it is throwing Code 33 which is pointing to the following issues:

Dirty Filter or Restricted Duct System - Replaced Filters & Using a MERV 2, still trips
Loose Blower Wheel - Removed today and was not loose/excessive play
Defective Switch or Connections
Defective Blower Motor or Capacitor - Capacitor was at 50% of nominal, replaced and still occurs, have not done anything with blower motor.
Inadequate Combustion Air Supply (Flame Rollout Switch Open) - Flame Rollout Switch stays closed
Restricted Vent Sizing - Spec'd to House
Excessive Wind - Happens on Windy or Calm Days

If I either remove the filter or remove the blower access cover it does not throw the code.

I was able to figure out it was the Draft Safeguard that was tripping. After digging around online some more there were a couple recommendations:
Right when we purchased the home we redid the flooring immediately from linoleum that had a threshold at the closet to engineered hardwood and we did not put a threshold at the closet (effectively increasing the gap at the bottom). I both verified the intake was clear and also placed towels at the door gap and let the furnace run in which it finally did not short cycle.


Why don't some LED lights work in my ceiling fan? I replaced the two incandescent light bulbs in my Hunter model 28679 ceiling fan with 3000k 7w LEDs.  All works fine but I want them to be brighter and to be a different color/hue of light.  So I replaced the 7w with 6000k 15w LED bulbs.  The 15W bulbs do not work.
However, if I use the 15W bulbs in a different fan (Hunter fan 23902) they work fine.
Neither light has a dimmer and I've even tried different combinations of just one new LED and one old LED bulb and one LED with one incandescent.

Because of the way LED lamps function they are often incompatible with incandescent lamps in the same fixture.  LEDs are small electronic components that work off of 3-5VDC, but are usually in series strings that take 12-24VDC. So in the base of each LED lamp, you have a printed circuit board called a "driver" that is basically an AC to DC power supply for the LEDs. Depending on the design of the LED string inside of the bulb, some types of drivers can be affected by being on the same circuit as incandescent lamps because the LED driver has a higher impedance than the incandescent filament.
So although I have seen several websites saying it's fine to mix them, that is incorrect, you should go all one way or all the other. In fact even if you have all LEDs, the drivers in each different brand are different and can be affected by each other, so it's best to use all of the same brand on a fixture.


How do I prevent wood from warping? I have an electricity inspection box inside the house.  What I'd like to do is build a small wooden cabinet to enclose it (it is flush to the wall).  I've measured up and bought five pieces of wood:
. 2 x 45mm x 15mm x 700mm
. 2 x 45mm x 15mm x 800mm
. 1 x 15mm x 700mm x 800mm

My intention is to surround it with the thin pieces and use the fifth piece as a door.  However, the thin piece have already started to warp (I've had the wood for around a month).  Is there any way to prevent this, or does anyone have any tips for doing a similar thing?

Pine that thin is going to warp; if you're going to paint it, I'd use MDF. If you want a natural wood look, a plywood with a finish-grade top layer would be much more stable.


Is this asbestos pipe insulation I have been doing work around a house I purchased. Never even thought pipe insulation would have or could have asbestos. My home was built in 1976 and is on Long Island NY (not sure if this helps.) I fixed a pipe leak and carelessly ripped off this insulation not even thinking. Just started gutting another room and found this. Could it contain asbestos being that it’s from a home built in 1976? I know to be sure it would need testing, but is there a high chance this is?Thank you in advance!

It does not look like typical fiberglass. The era is right. Testing and reasonable care is certainly advisable, as is a reminder that most "effects of asbestos exposure" are from chronic exposure (folks that worked with the stuff) not whatever tiny bit you may have been exposed to in ripping one or two pipes open before going: Hmm, this doesn't look like what I was expecting.
The only way to know for sure is to have it tested at a lab (if you get exorbitant prices and scare tactics, keep shopping for a reasonable lab.)


What is an effective duck repellent for a swimming pool? The novelty of seeing a pair of ducks descend on my swimming pool is wearing out. I'm not sure how they will leave the place, but after every two-hour visit, the surface of the water ceases to be pristine, and I know from past experience that hosting pigeons is a very bad recipe (worse, I fed them). They multiply and take over the place, make it filthy, and are very hard to shoo away once settled.

At this time the pool is still covered. The two ducks swim in the layer of water above the cover. Possibly once opened the problem will be solved on its own because, however minimal the chlorine I use, they may dislike it. So far I simply clap and that scares them to leave for a while.

What is an effective repellent for ducks? I thought about:

A bucket of concentrated chlorine,
Add some chlorine in the very shallow, still-closed, pool (with a risk of discoloring the cover),
A motion sensor that triggers some crackling sound (rather tedious to put together for what I hope would be a temporary device + neighbors will not be amused if it's triggered in the middle of the night).

Can you share your experience about a (perfectly humane) way to nudge the ducks to move over to the plentiful ponds and creeks nearby?

I had bird problems in my pool until I put this motion activated sprinkler. I am not sure if it will work with ducks but the geese hate it and stay out of the pool.


Can my current electrical service support adding an electric water heater? Here's the scenario: Main panel is a 100A service (GE PowerMark Gold LoadCenter) with all slots filled. A 60A breaker runs to a sub-panel that currently contains breakers for the electric stove (50A), electric dryer (30A), washer (20A), and a room with a light and a few outlets (15A). There are open slots in the sub-panel.

My propane water heater needs replacing and I am looking at around a grand just for the replacement. I need to know if I can add a two-pole 30A breaker and run 10-2 wire to an electric water heater (4500 watt). The electric water heater is less than half the price even for a larger tank. As best I can tell I might be spending more on propane ($3.50+/unit) compared to what electric would cost to run (9c/kwh).

There have been no issues with tripped breakers under the current configuration. I just need to know if my setup can accommodate an electric water heater. IF I have to upgrade the electrical service on the main panel to do it I might as well stick with propane. I appreciate any knowledgeable wisdom sent my way.

I think some of the labels are inaccurate as the washer is clearly running off the sub-panel at this point.

This can be done -- the subpanel still has load to spare, albeit only by an amp

Since you have a 100A service, I can use the simplified calculations from 220.84, which give you 3VA/ft^2 for the house, 1500VA per Small Appliance Branch Circuit (kitchen/laundry), and the fixed appliances at nameplate rating (it sounds like you have none though), as well as 100% of the nameplate rating of the A/Cs.

From here, we get:

1200ft^2 * 3VA/ft^2 = 3600VA for lighting and general receptacles
1500VA per appliance branch circuit (kitchen, laundry) * 4 (3 kitchen, 1 laundry) = 6000VA for appliance branch circuit loads
8kVA for the range, 1.2kVA for the DW, 1.5kVA for the microwave, and 5kVA for the dryer = 15.7kVA

Before the HVAC loads are taken into account, we apply a 40% demand factor to everything over the first 10kVA, giving us a total of 16.1kVA so far.

The HVAC is simple -- we are dealing with 3 11.5A (conservatively) A/Cs on 110V circuits, so that's another 3.8kVA at 100% demand factor, giving us 19.9kVA total load, or 82A on a 240V service.

Now, when we add the 4.5kVA water heater in, this is covered by the 40% demand factor as it's over the first 10kVA of non-HVAC load, so the resulting net load is 4.5kVA*40% = 1.8kVA, or another 7A on the service -- pushing your service to 89A, which is still manageable.

We then repeat this for the feeder to the subpanel, with the stove at 8kVA, the dryer at 5kVA, and the washer circuit at 1500VA, as well as a conservative assumption of 1440VA for the two rooms (180VA/outlet * 4 outlets per room * 2 rooms), to yield 12.4 kVA for the feeder load after applying the 40% demand factor.  With a 240VAC feeder, this gives us a 52A feeder load, which has just enough room to handle the additional factored load from the water heater (again, 1.8kVA or 7A) -- that is pushing the feeder to 59A though.


Can you use Isolation Transformer on Refrigerators? Any side effects? My GFCI always trips whenever refrigerator is connected to it maybe because of the defrosting thing and my old built in the 1930s without third grounding wires. I have to take down the house just to replace all the conduits. Can I used 1:1 isolation transformer on refrigerator (without the secondary connected to any ground)? If the refrigerator amperage is 1.2A. Can I use a 1.28A isolation transformer on it?

Is there any side effects like statics building on the refrigerators since the secondary is floating and not grounded? (If I'd ground it, it defeats the purpose of isolation transformers)

Ground the fridge!

Grounding the fridge will not defeat the purpose of the isolation transformer, but rather complement it.

You may be operating on a misconception that GFCI devices care about ground.  They do not.  They are not connected to ground in any way and have no idea what is going on with ground.   Actually, what grounds do to GFCIs is make ground-fault current more likely to flow, which trips them obviously.  The isolation transformer will prevent that.

The reason to ground the fridge is to assure the fridge chassis and the sink, light switch cover screws and other grounded things remain at the same voltage.  It will also assure a GFCI trip if the isolation transformer itself leaks, something you want for safety.

An isolation transformer is a good solution, though

In this configuration, the GFCI will only "see" the isolation transformer primary.  Currents will be equal in the transformer, where else can it go?

I never believed any of that "Harmonics in the AC motors ingest some of the electrons, causing false trips" nonsense, but if that were so, the electron losses would be on the isolation transformer's secondary, and the GFCI would not see them.

Fridges shouldn't be on GFCI in the first place

We have never found anything in Code that requires refrigerators be on GFCI, except for ones in garages or basements only befause garages and basements need GFCI, not the fridge.  Even there, authorities tend to be warm to the idea of dedicated non-GFCI circuits for fridges.

Look at the reasons for GFCI, they simply do not apply to a grounded refrigerator.  However, fridges are life-safety devices; if their GFCI trips and someone resets it, they may not realize the fridge was off and the food has spoilt.  Then the aide comes in to feed grandmother, and aides have an ethic about not eating your food, so they never check.

Old refrigerators should go anyway

Because new fridges are much more efficient.  It may seem like a cost savings to run an old fridge, but that is only a lack of information on your part.  You are not seeing the cost of the electricity for the fridge.  If you put a Kill-a-Watt or similar meter, you would get a baseline.  If you then bought a brand new fridge and did the same test, you would find the new fridge is saving you $10/month or more.  Since this test is not practical for you, well, you never find out!

The upshot is a new, efficient fridge will pay for itself in a few years with the power savings, and then the savings are pure profit.

Some electricity companies are either subsidizing or simply giving away new fridges to customers with obsolete fridges. Replacing 300MW of fridges with 100MW of fridges is cheaper than building a 200MW power plant. The cost is covered by ratepayers on a per-kilowatt-hour basis, especially the ones who are still running their inefficient fridge.


How to soundproof rehearsal room in shared building with other rehearsal rooms? I rent a small room for rehearsals of my rock band. It's 16m2 (172 sq ft). It's in a building with many other rehearsal rooms. There is no soundproofing in the entire building, so if you're unlucky enough that your neighbor is rehearsing at the same time you are, it's a disaster. You hear everything, and vice-versa.

It seems that the noise is only a problem on the walls; the ceiling and floor don't seem to let in noise from the other floors.

What would be an economical way to reduce sound bleeding from outside our room? And it will need to be very thin, as the room is pretty small as it is.

Since your limited to the type of construction you can perform on the walls; it would be best to consider a portable (or easily knocked-down) sound-lessening partition wall. My only thought is an 4' x 8' x 2 inch foam insulation board hinged to a second piece(for easy set-up). Setting up several of these against the existing walls should lower sound transmission in either direction.


Can I use a jumper from existing light switch to get power to 5 new lights? I want to add 5 ceiling can lights. Can i use a jumper wire to jump from existing light switch to get power to new switch for can lights?

Most likely you can pull power from an existing work box that has a switch, as long as you don't overload the circuit.  This is a pretty common wiring task, but if you provide details or a photo of the wiring in the source box we can provide a wiring diagram.

If you are adding a switch where you have an existing single-pole switch that has both a hot and neutral conductor, then yes, you can "jump" from the hot wire that serves that switch to a second single-pole switch.  But you still need to make sure your additional lights won't overload the circuit: don't depend on the circuit breaker to determine what the peak load on the circuit serving that switch is!


How to caulking a bathtub with various size edge between wall and tub Background:

Bathtub was re-caulked by maintenance few months ago. 2-3 months after the caulk that the guy put in fell out. Given few other things that maintenance did that were poor jobs I am not sure I trust them anymore for anything I can do myself.

My bathtub has very varying space between the edge of the tub and where the tile starts. It varies anywhere from 0.5" to 1.25". It looks like there are multiple layers since in one part it fell out, and I am not sure what is in there (grout?). How should I go about repairing it?

My initial guess is:

Let the bathroom dry overnight first
borrowing multimax tool to clean out the whole area between tiles and bathtub (1*)
utility knife to for basically same purpose. Also will use this to clean out the group between the tiles that are molded (pretty much entire thing)
silicone caulk (not 'water clean up' type) around bathtub (2*)
grout for between tiles

1* - How deep should i go with the multimax oscillating tool?
2* - Is it too wide to just caulk it? Should I use grout? Combination maybe? Anything else to add?

Any steps I missing that I should do?

Just my thoughts on this:

I see mold everywhere, even by the faucet
the first thing you need to do is figure out what is behind the tile.  If it is drywall you are absolutely wasting your money doing anything.
if it is not drywall the first thing I would do is give it a heavy heavy spray of anti-mold cleaner.  Maybe 2-3 doses.  Scrub away mold using as little water as you can (this is a whole different question and will take a lot of man power).  I would then either not use the tub for a couple weeks or put up plastic sheets around tub.  You can get some painters plastic and tape it 5 feet high and your walls will stay dry.
if after a couple of weeks (at minimum) you still don't see the mold come back then we can talk about grout and caulk.  If the mold grows back either take down tile or keep plastic sheets up.  Either your mold is out of control or you have a leak behind wall.
if no mold you can grout and caulk.  Let's start with the gap by the tub.  This is too big to caulk for sure.  There is nothing wrong with grout here.  Do not install trim or other tiles at the bottom, that introduces more problems.  What happens if water gets in this first grout line?  It sits on tub, no big deal.  Your mold is coming from above.  After the mold is gone simply add more grout over this.
for the rest you are are going to have to scrape out caulk and grout, regrout, then caulk and quite possibly put some sort of waterproofing on the whole area.  The water could also be entering through the tiles themselves.  If they are old ceramic these will let water through.
my final thought is just I would never worry about doing anything more than hitting it with some mold spray.  All the other time/money is a waste.  You can buy cheap tile for $100 and another $50 for grout/thinset.  Add another $50 for backer and you are at $200.  Thinking about the time and money you are going to spend I would just wait and do it right.


Does 2" of spray foam mean 2", or are measurements like with finished lumber? I just had (and paid for) 2" of spray foam on my crawl space walls. I checked the thickness today and it is rarely 2" thick, usually just under 1.5", and sometimes just 1" thick.

Is this normal? Or should I be requesting a 25-ish% refund?

No this is not normal.  Spray foam (or XPS/EPS foam) provides a specific R value per inch in absolute terms.  It is not at all related to how framing lumber is measured.

Rather then ask for a refund, I would ask the contractor to add more foam to meet the agreed upon thickness.  Otherwise, you are trading efficiency and long-term savings for a short-term refund.  Additionally, it would be difficult to calculate how much of a refund is appropriate. Easier to just fix the problem.


What wire size for 100 Amp sub panel 100ft in length form 200 Amp main panel? What wire size for 100 Amp sub panel 100ft in length form 200 Amp main panel?

Do I have to buy all 3 wires (2 hot and 1 neutral) the same size? Or can neutral wire be smaller size?

Alright here we go. A circuit size is defined by the overcurrent protection not the of the equipment attached to it. For example your question. Are you planning to protect the circuit with a 100A breaker? If the answer is yes then you need to run at least #3 Copper or a #1 Aluminum conductors. If you install a 70A breaker then you can reduce your conductors to #4 cu or #3 al. Of course none of this takes voltage drop into consideration.

Voltage drop is calculated using your power demand or all of the electrical equipment, lights, devices, and appliances you are planning to use at one time. If you don't have that information then would it be safe to assume that you are using the 80% rule on your feeder size? Meaning you are only going to load your circuit to 80% under normal circumstances. If the answer is no I want to use the full 100A then you feeder would have to be raised 2 sizes to make up for the voltage drop to a #1 cu or 1/0 al. If the answer is yes then you will be able to stay at the original size. The main reason for you to consider this is the cost of material. Conductors a few size larger can become rather expensive. Which is why I mentioned a 70A feeder which would also reduce your cost. I would suggest you take a good look on how much power you are going to use and think about what size feeder you are going to need.

As far as whether you can reduce a neutral once again we have no knowledge as to what type of equipment you are using. If all of the load is 120V then no. If there are some 240V loads then yes but we have to know how much will be permanent.

Your grounding conductor must be run also and it is sized to the breaker also. A 100A breaker would require a #8 cu or a #6 al. If you are calculating full load then the grounding conductor must take voltage drop into account and rise a full two sizes more just like the current carrying conductors or a #4 cu or #2 al.

So once again take some time and think about what you need. I hope this helps or at least sheds some light on what you are trying to do. Good luck.


Are 2RS bearings waterproof? I'm looking at bearings for my washing machine. Originally there were 2Z. Just wondering if it would help if choose 2RS instead of 2Z in case when axle seal fails.

When it comes to radial bearings, the z (usually zz or zzs) denotation identifies a non-contact metal shield, the rs identifies a rubber lip seal.  None of them are waterproof, they are just all different levels of water resistant.  It depends more on operating environment, particularly temperature and bypass pressure.

I would use the zz bearings as replacement as that's what was spec'd originally.


Attaching a drain cock for my air compressor to a workbench? I'm looking to extend the pressure release valve on my air compressor so that I don't have to crawl around behind it to let the pressure out. So far my plan is to replace the existing drain cock with a swivel fitting, run a few feet of hose around to the front of my workbench, and mount some sort of valve there. I haven't had any luck finding any sort of valve that could be anchored down properly though. Can anyone point me towards some appropriate parts for this?

(The drain cock does have threads for connecting something, but there's not much clearance between it and the floor which is why I'm leaning towards replacing the current fitting rather than extending it.)

I think you want an automatic compressor drain. It essentially spurts out a little air (and some moisture/condensate with it) each time the compressor motor cycles on. When working properly, they eliminate the need to manually drain down the tank.

http://www.paragoncode.com/shop/compressor/ has a good explanation of how to install the kit.


Wiring up a ceiling light with earth cable I'm changing a light fixture in my kitchen. It's something I've done plenty of times but this one keeps on tripping my circuit breaker fuse, cutting power to all my downstairs lights.

The only difference I can see with this setup to all the others I've done myself is the light itself has an earth wire whereas all the other lights only have live and neutral.

My ceiling rose is a loop circuit which has 3 of each coloured cable. Brown for live, Blue for neutral and Green & Yellow striped for earth.

The light itself is a 5 arm ceiling light. It has one brown wire, one blue wire and one green/yellow wire. It then has a second green/yellow wire connected to dome that hides the wires in the ceiling (because its metal).

So I'm connecting blue to blue, brown to brown and both green/yellow all to to the right place but it just trips the fuse as soon as I turn the electric back on (even if the light switch is off).

I've tested the light by wiring it up to a plug and running it from a wall socket and it works fine! And when the light isn't in the ceiling, the fuse doesn't trip.

What am I doing wrong? Should I be doing something else with this earth wire? I've never seen a light with an earth wire before (except for the ground wire connected to metal fixtures)

Edit: I think I may have found a problem! I was taking some photos for you and it looks like one of the live wires is melted. I'll attach the photos for you. Please note I did not install the ceiling roses. They were there when I moved in. I just put my light fittings on them. They look quite old and it may be hard for you to see because it seems quite "cramped" in there.

If the live wire is indeed melted does this mean the light is too powerful and has overloaded it? I'm guessing this is going to need to be replaced now?

From your wire-colours and terms I guess you are in the UK

  The light itself is a 5 arm ceiling light ...  I've never seen a light with an earth wire before

If it has any exposed conductive parts, they need to be earthed. Maybe the arms are metal?

  What am I doing wrong?

You have probably mis-wired the ceiling rose. One of the wires from the switch loop will not be what its colour suggests.

A typical UK ceiling rose is wired like this

A is power in
B is power out (to next light fitting)
C is to/from switch

Note the red tape on the blue wire (position 2) to indicate that this is not a neutral, as the blue would suggest, but a switched live.

Since your breaker is tripped regardless of the switch position, you probably have something other than the obvious error that occurs when the tape is missing.

You should not have trouble connecting three or four earth wires to the earth terminal. You can use a connector block if that makes it easier but I believe they must be enclosed in a junction box or in the ceiling rose. There isn't much spare room in a ceiling rose.

The ones on the right are the traditional ones used in the UK, a lighting circuit uses the ones rated 5A. The connectors to the left are Wago 222 and 221 connectors - they make it easier to connect multiple wires together - the leftmost one connects three wires together. There are 2,3 or 5-position versions of each. Wago also make push-in connectors (273 and 773 series) for various numbers of solid-core wires (not stranded). Other manufacturers like Ideal also make them. You can buy these from screwfix and other suppliers.


Spindle speed of classic Cable Porter 100-M router? I'm trying to calculate proper feed rates for my Cable Porter 100-M router which I have mounted on a 3-axis CNC machine. The spindle speed is not listed in the original user manual.

Does anyone know what would be a reasonable spindle RPM to use in my feed rate calculator? (I'm machining timber.)
As a sanity check, what would you expect to be a reasonable feed rate for a 6.35 mm / 1/4" straight cutter on pine (softwood) and teak (hardwood) with, say, a 3 mm cutting depth.

Many thanks.

Typical portable router speed is 22-24,000 RPM, which is what the bits are designed around. Variable speed versions will be adjustable down to around 8,000RPM, but you have to be careful about the bits you use.
Feed rate is WAY more complicated, because it involves the hardness of the wood and its likelihood to burn. It's been way too long for me to remember even where to find info on calculating that.


What if my Trane 3 ton 13 seer heat pump is unable to generate enough heat to reach the set point on the thermostat? The unit turns on when thermostat temperature is set higher than room temp.  It blows cool air for several minutes and then the emergency heat kicks on and warmer air comes from vent.  This lasts for several minutes then shuts off, air continues to blow but is now cool again.  At this point room temperature never reaches the set point the unit continues to run continually until it is shut off at the thermostat.

In the heat mode the larger copper pipe going to  the AC unit outdoors should get very hot, if not then the refrigerant might be low or the reversing valve which switches modes from Cool to Heat may be bypassing. the fact it shuts down tells me its getting overheated likely due to low refrigerant level.


How can I remove the old wood smell from furniture? My wife just bought an old cabinet from a consignment store. The inside has a strong old wood smell that we are afraid will infuse whatever we put inside.

How do get rid of the smell so we can use it without worrying about the odor attaching to out towels?

It's a little difficult to say that it will be a definite fix but a great start would be refinishing the inside of the cabinet. While I'm sure its possible to re-stain and seal the inside of a cabinet that just seems like way too much work so I'd stick with painting.

I found this nice article about painting cabinets if you want some design ideas. The process shouldn't be all that involved. You'll probably want to sand first and clean the shavings out well then give it a nice coat of whatever color you decide to go with and let it dry. Pretty much like painting any other piece of furniture, just a little bit more of a pain to get inside there.

I once stripped and painted all the drawers and cabinets on a work truck and that was a real pain. Luckily I was able to use a paint sprayer so that made it a heck of a lot easier. If you know someone with a paint spraying system beg them to use it and the finish and coverage in the tight areas will be wonderful.

Just my $0.02 and I can't say that this will be a definite solution but I can't imagine a wood smell getting through a through coating of paint. If your really worried you could use some thick outdoor paint that's designed to work as a sealer too. Best of luck with your project, post pictures if your need help along the way!


How bad is a leak-through? I replaced a Fluidmaster in a toilet, and I suspect the fill valve was slightly loose because, after about 12 hours there was a small puddle in the bathroom and the ceiling below was damp. I turned off the water and dried everything, but I'm not sure where to go from here. Can I just spackle and repaint the affected portion of ceiling, or does the drywall need to be removed? Will a one-time incident like this likely cause significant water damage?

If the damage is fairly small and the paper on the sheetrock has not bubbled or separated, just let it dry out well and prime the water stained area with Bins pigmented shellac, then paint the area. Hopefully you will get a good color match as a touch up.


Correct setup for pressure pump Currently, our house gets its water from a well via a pressure pump. The pump is located at the top of the well, and the well is ~20m from the house.

Pump is ~5m above water and ~3m below 1st floor of the house, the pipe is ~1m under the ground.

While it does work, we have had to change the pump 3 times over 6 years due to various reasons (rotor blades broke/got bent, motor burnt out, parts wore off). From what we can tell, most of the times the pressure control gets rusted/stuck and it either starts working non-stop, or is turning on/off at random intervals even if water is not being used in the house. Since the pump is not in the house, I can't say for sure how often that has happened, as we have observed it only few times.

My question is, would it be better to have the pump inside the house?

The air would be less damp, meaning less rust. Less work would be left for bladder as it would only need to push water through pipes inside the house, not the ones going to the house.

I've never seen a pump setup quite like that, and I've seen a lot of them. Either way, my recommendation is actually to install a submersible pump, here's why:

Jet pump

Assuming it's a jet pump sitting there (I'm not sure what else it would be) like the one above, it would be better to move it inside mainly for environmental conditions. The electrical connections are also not rated for outdoor/wet conditions, and frankly it looks unsafe because there's potential someone could touch water around it and be electrocuted.

There's actually two types of jet pumps: shallow well and deep well, and each has a different challenge in this case.

Shallow well jet pump

Shallow well pumps only have a single suction line, but can usually only lift about 5.5m (total vertical distance). Depending on how much higher the house is from the well, this may not be an option.

Deep well jet pumps

Deep well jet pumps can lift much more as the name implies, but have two lines going to the well. Unless you already have two water lines going to the house, or are willing to trench another one, this probably isn't a good option.

Submersible pump

It looks to me like the best option would be to install a submersible pump.

You already have power at the well (which is typically the biggest challenge with converting from jet pump to submersible), it only requires a single water line, and submersible pumps are better in several ways: more powerful, more reliable, no noise in the house, and never have to be primed.

If you only have two wires (plus ground) going to the well, you'll have to use a 2-wire pump, which is slightly less reliable because it has the control circuitry in the pump. 3-wire pumps have a control box in the house (where it's simple to replace if needed) but as the name implies, require 3 wires (plus ground).

You'll also need to move the pressure switch, but that's fairly simple.

Cheap interim solution

If you want to perhaps put this off and get a bit more time, you could consider just moving the pressure switch inside, or just installing a new one inside and bypassing the pressure switch on the pump. It's not going to reduce wear on the pump or the conditions the motor is in, but hopefully it'll avoid a pressure switch failure.

Pressure switches cost tens of dollars and installing one requires only fairly basic plumbing and electrical skill (you can ask a separate question if you'd like more info on just how to do that).


Is NM-B appropriate for an outdoor Jacuzzi hot tub? We're wiring a J-355 Jacuzzi Hot Tub and the instructions said to use 6-3 wire for a 60 amp installation. We purchased Romex 6-3 wire, type NM-B, from a local box store to run through the basement from the electrical panel to the GFCI panel mounted on the outside of the house. Is this an acceptable wire or should we have used a THHN or THWN wire?

to run through the basement from the electrical panel to the GFCI
  panel mounted on the outside of the house.

You actually are not saying you intend to run the NM outside. If you run it through your basement studs and joists and up a wall and penetrate the wall into the back of the GFCI Panel. Then you should be able to run the NM as outlined in NEC 334.15 and 334.17. However if the NM is to run on the exterior of the building then it must be enclosed in PVC, sealtite or carflex, or you need to use some other approved type of conduit or cable installation (UF) as stated in other comments and answers.


Need help choosing correct Allen or Hex tool I need to loosen a 3mm hex bolt in side an appliance. The simple"Allen Hex "L" shaped key does not let me reach and turn the bolt located in a tough position inside the appliance

Have been told to get
" a 1/4" drive socket with extension and an allen drive socket"

I need a 3mm "hex bit" as I have always called them.It has to be a "male" shaped bit as the bolt is female.
I need a holder for that bit
And I need an extension arm

But nothing is called that when I look on line
What is a "socket"? Is that another term for the bit?
What is  socket wrench? Is that another name for the holder
Why do I see so many female hex "sockets" and such few male ones?

All help will be appreciated. What do I ask for?

I believe you're looking for an allen head ratchet set, like the one below. A trip to your local hardware or home improvement store might be in order so you can see some products to get a sense of whether or not they can fit in the small space you have before you make a purchase.

(http://chapmanmfg.com/ , also available on Amazon)

I've never used this particular manufacturer's tools (and this kit might be a little expensive for a one-time job) so I'm not necessarily recommending this particular kit,  but the kit includes a low profile ratchet that may work well in a tight space. There are other kits out there that use a similar small ratchet.

Many ratchet sets use a standard 1/4" ratchet with an adapter socket that takes the allen wrench insert, so it ends up being a little bulkier than this ratchet above appears to be. Here's an extreme example, this looks like a 3/8" ratchet with a 1/4" adapter on it, then the 1/4" adapter has a hex bit adapter, then the hex bit is on the end:

Another option - flexible drive for a socket wrench:

If you do get a standard ratchet with a 3mm hex bit, then you might be able to use a flexible drive for your ratchet to get into a tight space -- it can bend around obstacles while still being able to turn a fastener:

(Image from Amazon)

One more option - a ball-head allen wrench:

Another tool that might be useful would be a ball-end allen wrench:

(image from Amazon)

The ball-end lets you insert it into the bolt at angle instead of having to go straight in. However, the ball-end doesn't fit in the fastener head as securely as a standard squared off wrench, so you may not be able to give it enough torque to break loose a tight fastener. Here's a closeup of the ball-end:


What is third tube on Insinkerator Instant Hot water dispenser for? This is the inside of an Insinkerator SST-FLTR instant hot water dispenser.

The dispenser feeds depressurized water into the left nozzle, and the tank pushes hot water up the center nozzle.  A third 1/8" tube runs from the dispenser to the nozzle circled on the right, but I can't figure out what that tube does.  The dispenser works without it, and I can't detect any pressure or suction on either the tube or the nozzle when running water through the tank.

So what does the right nozzle and tube do?

Its a vent for the expansion tank. This tank allows the water in the stainless tank to expand, but also allows the hot water in the line between the dispenser and the tank to drain back down when you turn off the dispenser so you don't get a plug of cold water when you first open the valve.

When you open the valve on the counter, pressurized cold water flows through the left inlet and into the bottom of the tank through a tube inside the tank. This forces hot water out the center outlet. When you release the valve, the hot water in the line between the dispenser and tank gravity feeds back down and fills the expansion tank through the gray tube. Where the 1/8" tube tees into the left inlet, there is a venturi, which, when pressurized water flows through the inlet, it creates a vacuum on the 1/8" line, sucking water out of the expansion tank and back into the stainless tank. Once the water in the expansion tank is sucked out, a floating ball comes down and blocks the hole in the bottom of the expansion tank, which prevents air from being sucked into the tank, which would blow bubbles and cause the dispenser to sputter.


What is this disconnected cable with three wires in my outlet box? I found this mystery wire while changing out a plug In my home. It doesn't look like anything I've ever seen. I can't identify it by memory or google. I'm curious what it is commonly used for. Was it ever acceptable as house wiring in the United states?

The wire turned out to be a cable with three conductors. The insulation was melted almost 3/8ths of inch up under the white sheath.  the receptacle was indeed spliced 6 inches inside the wall. I removed the spliced section and remounted the box at 40 inches for ADA compliance.  Thanks to everyone who participated.


Replacing conventional: electric hot water heater with tankless I have a 30 gallon electric conventional hot water heater that started leaking.  It is in a cabinet above the washing machine; a tight fit:

Since it is such a cramped space, I'm considering a tankless unit, to make it a little easier (for the plumber) to replace, and much easier next time when the new tankless goes out.
Questions:

Will it be more economical in terms of electricity usage?  Wild estimate guess is fine. 20%?  50%? (Current WH uses 4,721 kwh/ year per Energy Guide sticker.)  Looking at maybe a 27 kw tankless.
Electrical supply:  Current breakers appear to be a 2-gang 30 amp; new 27 kw tankless requires "3 x 40 AMP double pole breakers" -- would I be able to have an electrician replace the current breaker with a 3 x 40 amp breaker?  Here is a picture of my 200 amp service panel:
[edit] I've read that electric conventional WH have a useful life of 15-25 years; this has been our experience.  Do tankless WH have a longer lifespan?

Current situation:
1200 square foot house, North Texas, USA; 2 adults.  From looking at the specs of a potential replacement tankless, looks like a 27 kw tankless unit will fit our capacity needs.
Electrical Service Panel images, labeling is mine through trial and error; The "Main" is wrong as pointed out below.:

TLDR: Replace house's electric 100A resistance strip-heat "furnace" AND 40A its air conditioning with a 30A wide-range heat pump that does not require emergency heat. Enjoy lower electric bills all year.  Install subpanel to allow three 40A breakers to be in the same panel.
An on-demand is a great idea.
And 27 kw is serious enough that your project isn't likely to end in frustration with tepid water, as will happen when they are carelessly undersized.   Now keep in mind a few design aspects.
Flow is everything -- when you max out flow capacity, temperature will drop, and the cure is to reduce flow.   You can do a lot of good right up front by carefully sizing your loads, e.g. a "low flow" shower head.
That long slug of cold water sitting in the hot water piping is still going to be a problem.  All that water must be pushed out of the pipe by hot water: that is the delay you get in the far rooms.  Locating a tankless centrally will do nothing to cure that - it will be just as bad, or worse if you use low-flow strategies e.g. low-flow faucets and shower heads.
One answer to this is distributed, smaller heaters.  At extremes, the British have "electric showers" where the shower has a built-in on-demand heater right at the showerhead - of 8500-9500 watt capacity (40A), good for a little over 1 GPM, but instant hot water - no waiting. I don't know that I'd go that far, but certainly if your house has 2 or 3 "islands" of hot water use far apart, 2 or 3  smaller units may be worth considering (or even 1 per shower-equipped bathroom + 1 for kitchen/laundry).
You won't be able to go much over 27 kw, unless you "go nuclear" with a 400A service upgrade, in which case limit total water heaters to 48 kw.
That panel has some issues.
It is a "Split-bus" aka "Rule of Six" panel.  That means it does not have a main breaker, those 6 large breakers are together the main breaker.  That was a trick done in the 1960s-70s to avoid the then-very-high cost of 100A and 200A breakers.  However it's a safety problem because those breakers together can draw well over panel rating, and nothing protects the panel.  The safety came from the house's original load calculation done at build time, but that totally counts on the load calculation being re-done everytime anything is added to the panel.  And real world, that does not happen.
This is not a Code violation because it was legal at the time it was installed... but it's something to take care of if it aligns with other plans.  Separate from this, you need additional breaker spaces anyway.  So....

You could fit a new 200A panel, make it the main panel, make the split-bus panel a subpanel of it (even supplied via "thru-lugs" removing need for another 200A breaker).

You could replace the meter pan with a 200A "Meter-main" which also includes some spaces for large breakers, which will provide the extra breaker spaces you'll need.

If you are forced to upgrade service to 400A, this will happen as a side-effect. (400A meter-mains provision two 200A breakers, once again because of the high cost of too-large breakers).

That "furnace" is in the way.
You have an all-electric neighborhood.  There are "good" ways and "cheap" ways to provide heating in all-electric neighborhoods.

Worst: electric strip/toaster heating. Cheap to install, murderous on the electric bill.  Only makes sense where a region has a glut of unusable nuclear/hydro baseload and has low power pricing/tariffs to match.
Compromise: Early or cheap electric heat pumps which work great, but the coldest temperatures are out of their working range.  Therefore they need massive amounts of cheap electric strip heating, as "emergency heat".  This emergency heat must be fully provisioned, i.e. calculated as part of the house's load calculation, even though it's rarely used.
Best: Modern high-range heat pumps which work at any plausible temperature (in Texas, at least, yes including your -5F of late).  These only need to be provisioned for their heat-pump draw.

What you have now is toaster heaters, and they take a huge chomp out of your available electrical service, to the point where there's no room for 27 KW of on-demand water heater.  The only way you can have both toasters and on-demand is to upgrade your electrical service to "Class 320"/400A.
Every possible scenario will cost you a moose-load of money. The question is only how:

Stand pat.  Buy a tanked water heater, keep the toasters and old inefficient A/C, and pay outlandish electrical bills (ouch, every month, forever).
Install 400A service (big ouch, once), install the on-demand (yay) and keep the outlandish electrical bills (ouch, every month, forever)
Install an advanced full-range heat pump (ouch), and use its generous 100A provision for the on-demand heater (yay).  Lower electrical bills even in A/C season due to the high SEER number of modern heat pumps... massively lower electric bills in the winter, and no more being afraid of the thermostat.

Choose your poison.