Can a mix of receptacles and light fixtures be installed on a single circuit? A while ago we had some renovations done in our house. After the electrician was done, we realized we now had one light switch in our kitchen that was no longer connected to anything. It is in a 2-gang box. The other switch in that box still is connected to a light in the kitchen. Suffice it to say that this isn't exactly what we wanted, but the electrician is done and won't be coming back.

So, now we have this useless switch and are trying to decide what to do with it. It happens to be above the counter (and it's more than 6 feet from the sink -- if that matters). So, we thought it might make sense to replace the switch with a receptacle, giving us an extra place along the counter where we can plug in small kitchen appliances (toaster, food processor, what have you). My question is, are there any problems with mixing receptacles and light fixtures on the same circuit? Does it make any difference if it is in a kitchen?

I realize that this means that if an appliance plugged into the receptacle trips the breaker, the lights will also go out. I'm personally not concerned about that.

To directly answer your question about the unused switch in your kitchen, you have to check a couple of things before you install a receptacle in it's place:

Is there a source voltage feed in the box?
If there is only one cable entering the box and both the black and white conductors are connected to the  switch(es), then the voltage feed is coming through the light fixture. In this configuration, there is no neutral and you cannot install a receptacle.
Technically, if the source wiring is not 12/2wg, AWG and controlled by a 20 amp breaker, it does not meet current code for use with a receptacle.
If you do find that you can install a receptacle, be sure to use a GFCI type.
Determine if the wires on the unused switch are energized and where they go.
If you use the line side (source) wires for your receptacle, be sure to safely terminate the unused switched load side wires in wirenuts.

You will not be able to install an outlet on this cable. A switch only breaks the circuit to a resistor (light, dispose-all, etc.) If a switch is currently installed, and you don't trip the breaker every time you flip it, you do not have a complete circuit. You need to find what the switch was supposed to control and verify it was terminated correctly. If you find the terminated ends, and don't mind a cob job, you could connect the ends together (after switching the breaker off), then install a GFI outlet as you describe.


How do I determine which outlets are on the same circuit without power? I just bought an old house that I'm currently fixing up.  Right now, the house doesn't have any power or water because I don't want to pay for power and water before I move in.  I have a few chipped receptacles, but instead of replacing those few by themselves, I'm instead going to buy and install gfci outlets at the start of each circuit and move those old receptacles to where the chipped ones are.  Of course though, I don't know which outlets are on which circuits, or even how many different circuits my house has for outlets.

How can I figure out which outlets are in the same circuit, preferably on the cheap?  Is it even possible to do?  I was thinking that if I had some sort of cheap ac power generator, I could attach it to the load wires and take note of which outlets start receiving power, but that sounds too expensive.

Actually, if the wires aren't connected to anything, could I technically just attach a 9-volt dc battery to the load wires?  Would it basically just be like a square wave with really slow hz?  How stupid is this idea?

I'd use one of these - a tone tracer. They're mainly used by telecoms engineers to trace pairs in large multipair cables and junction boxes but they'll do just as well for this application.

Though why you don't want to pay for electricity before you move in beats me. Surely you can get a plan where you just pay for what you actually use?

I'd have to advise against doing electrical work on the cheap though, it rarely ends well.

Use the 9v battery BUT make sure the supply fuses are removed.

The battery won't provide a square wave , but you will be able to measure the 9v on any socket that is on that circuit.


How do I remove these Ikea screws? (studs inside holes) I bought and assembled an Ikea sofa bed (asssembly instructions here). I'm moving soon and want to take apart the couch to make it easier to lift.

Some of the screws needed for the assembly come in 2 parts: the head and the threads. You screw the head onto the threads and then use that on the couch. Here's what that looks like:

How do I remove these screws? When I try to unscrew them only the head comes out, leaving the thread part in the couch. I have a lot of extras, so would using a screw extractor work? I don't mind if the screws currently in the couch get ruined/tossed.

The way these are assembled means that the parts they hold together remain together even if the head is removed. It effectively becomes a pin on two sides of a box and prevents the box from being slid off the pin.  .

EDIT: My plan now is to unscrew the screws in step 14 of the assembly guide and then use a thread locker/screw extractor on the back screws in step 7. This should hopefully allow me to split the 2 sections of the couch albeit with the armrest/back still attached.

I would apply a high-strength thread-locking adhesive (e.g. loctite 270) to the inside of the head, reattach the head to the threaded rod (AKA stud), wait many hours, remove bolt.

  LOCTITE 270 is a high-strength threadlocker for maximum efficacy in the securing and sealing of bolts, nuts and studs to prevent loosening due to vibration. The product serves to permanently lock assemblies which must not come loose. It works on all metals, including passive substrates such as stainless steel, aluminium and plated surfaces. It is proven to be tolerant of minor contamination due to industrial oils, e.g. engine oils, corrosion prevention oils and cutting fluids. Can be disassembled by heating to 300°C.

Other brands and products are available

From studying the assembly instructions, it seems to me it is also possible (perhaps even likely) that your furniture can be disassembled without fully extracting the threaded studs - so long as all the heads are removed.

With the head removed, the clearance hole allows the parts to separate

After disassembly you can use the two-nut trick or locking pliers (vise-grip, mole-grip etc) on the centre of the stud to unscrew the studs.

First, get some liquid nitrogen, then create a powerful electromagnetic field generator. No need to get fancy, 50 Teslas ought to do it. Then get back to me.

Seriously, though it does seem like you could leave them in, maybe tape them in place and reuse, as long as they're that solidly in place.

The ones that you do need to remove seem like good candidates for the old needle-nosed vise grip pliers. You might roach them getting them out of there, but as you said, you have replacements.


Cleaning black stains from redwood I am using redwood 4x4s for the posts on an exterior deck. EVERY 4x4 at the Home Depot is stained with black from the binding straps, etc. See pic. Obviously this is not going to work if we're going to use a transparent stain and want it to look good.
Is there an effective way to remove this type of staining from redwood without damaging the natural color of the wood?

Two suggestions:

Try finding a different supplier. Check out another big-box store, or even better try to find a local lumberyard/sawmill. The local place may well have sawn their own on site and they'll never have been banded, so there won't be an issue. The time saved in cleaning may be worth an extra buck or two that they may charge. It should go without saying that you'd return the marked up wood to its vendor.

Use a plane, jointer or sanding block to sand through the marks. They're not likely more than skin deep, so taking off 1/32" or so is probably all that would be necessary and wouldn't appreciably weaken the wood in any way.

And a third idea based on Graham's answer...

Pressure wash them. We did that with our deck prior to sealing it and all the lumber yard stamps washed right off. Warning: We found it difficult to get a nice, even surface coloration when pressure washing. No matter what I did, some of the surface grey seemed to remain, though most of the wood returned to the nicer, more golden color it started out at.

It looks like you need to plane it anyway!
From that picture, it looks like that post has a lot of surface damage.  Has it rattled around in the back of a pickup on the way home, to pick up all those dents and scratches?  If you're worried about how it'll look, I think those should be your first thing to worry about, not a bit of superficial dirt!  And considering how comprehensively battered it seems to be, you'll need to run a plane over each side to sort those out - which as other comments have said, will naturally take off any dirt along with that thin layer of wood.
If you'd taken good care of your materials though, you could...
Use oil to treat the wood, and don't worry too much about marks
If you're planning on applying polyurethane varnish or waterproofing woodstain then clearly you need a clean face on the wood before you apply it.  Softwood is most likely to need this, because you need to keep water out of softwood to stop it rotting.  (Based on the damage I can see, I suspect this may be what you've got?)
If your "redwood" is cedar or other rot-resistant hardwood though, generally you would use an oil-based treatment on the deck.  The first step before treatment is to scrub off dirt with a tough brush, and that will naturally shift most of those marks.  Any residual dirt on the wood simply fades over time, either by the dirt washing off, or the top fraction of a millimetre of wood slowly eroding with wear, or when you scrub it again next year to re-oil it.


Is it possible to remove fluoride from drinking water? I've been looking for a residential water filtering system (preferably under sink), that can filter fluoride from drinking water. It seems that none of the systems I've looked at boast the ability to remove it. And the information I've found on the internet, is conflicting at best.

Some sources suggest that reverse osmosis systems (which was they type of filter I was looking at), can remove 80-90% of the fluoride. While others say that RO systems can't remove fluoride.

Activated alumina filters seem to be another alternative. Though I've not seen these types of filters available at the local big boxes.

Is it possible to remove fluoride from drinking water in a residential setting?  Is a reverse osmosis system capable of removing fluoride?

Yes, RO can remove most of the fuoride (according to the mfg specs on my system).  Distillation will also remove just about everything -- in either case, you should weigh the benefits of these systems (costly!) vs using a water cooler for drinking water.

Deionizers and activated alumina are more obscure filtration systems that you can look into as well.

There are simple but effective methods to remove flouride from water - Reverse Osmosis, Distillation and Activated Alumina Deflouridation. The first two methods are great for water purification in general.


Should I set wood fence posts in quikrete with no supplemental water? Setting wood fence post---I've heard to set wood fence posts using quikrete dry, allowing it get moisture from the ground. Is this a good idea?

No. Unless you live in a swamp, there won't be enough moisture, and even if you do it won't be mixed with the cement properly. The concrete will be dry, crumbly, and have no strength. Just mix it like the directions say.

You heard 2 pieces of very bad advice. 1st, concrete is not needed nor beneficial. It's extra work, it delays the installation, it doesn't compact itself into the hole & therefore isn't as solid, it absorbs water, it retains water & it's a chore to remove in future replacements.

2nd, no, your posts will not remain plumb in both directions. You need to pour in at least 1/3rd of the amount of water for the amount of concrete you put in & wait at least 2-hours, to lock the posts quite anemically into position.


Is there a motion sensor light switch that does not need ground? My house was built in early 1950's and all electrical switches do not have a ground.
This was found out with an electrician when I asked them to install Lutron Maestro, but it would not power on since there was no ground to connect it to.

His suggestion was to find a motion sensing light switch that did not need ground, but he could not make a recommendation off-hand.

Do motion sensing light switches that do not require ground exist? Or do I have to build/rig them somehow. Unfortunately, due to cost, I cannot afford to add ground wires to the areas of the house that I need these at.

EDIT
The electrician connected the Meastro unit then attempted to turn it on. Pressing the button or moving in front of the sensor did not turn it on. He also attempted to connect the unit's ground to either neutral or hot, but did not work either (I can't recall which). Guess I have to spend the loot and run ground wire :(

Occupancy sensors, timers, dimmers, and other "smart" switches often are required to be independently powered. If you look at this diagram from the devices documentation (PDF), you'll see that there are three ways this requirement is achieved.

Neutral Wire Required
The first method, is to simply require a neural wire.  In this configuration, the device draws power using the ungrounded (hot) conductor and grounded (neutral) conductor. It also has a separate switched conductor, that it uses to control the load.
This setup would be wired like this...

Minimum Load Required
This method draws power using the ungrounded (hot) conductor, and the switched conductor.  So the device is actually in line with the load.
This setup is wired like this...

Ground Wire Required
This method draws power using the ungrounded (hot) conductor, and the grounding conductor.  It's wired similar to the Neutral Required devices, however, it uses the grounding conductor instead of the grounded conductor.  This means that there will be a small amount of current on the grounding conductor, and that the grounding conductor is required for the device to operate.
This setup would be wired like this...

Notice there's a bare, and green wire connected to ground in this diagram.

tl;dr
Your device
The device you're using (MS-OPS5M-XX) requires a ground to operate, according to the documentation.
Solutions
Install grounding conductors
One solution, would be to install a grounding conductor with this circuit. This will likely require quite a bit of work, and might be quite costly.
Install a grounded conductor
It may be possible to extend a grounded (neutral) conductor from the light to the switch box, which could then be used to power the device. In this case you'd have to purchase a different device (one that requires a neutral rather than a ground).

The neutral is required to power the motion sensor and solid state timer. It cannot function without at least 1 hot and one neutral. Since all neutrals should be joined in the breaker box to one terminal block, any neutral in the house will work. Also (while not recommended, by the NEC you could wire neutral to anything in the house that's grounded, plumbing, electrical box itself, although being the house was built in the fifties the NEC wasn't as strict so finding a bonded/grounded surface may be difficult. But you have to provide a path for the neutral wire in the switch to get back to the neutral/ground terminal in the breaker box, one way or another to get it to be functional.

Small print is, (The NEC requires that no ground wire, may be used as a current carrying conductor.) Although the ground wire ultimately meet the neutral wires they shouldn't have any current. But on the other end probably most of the stuff in your house doesn't comply with modern NEC anyway...


Can I split a 208/120V 3-phase circuit into 3 separate 120V circuits and keep the shared neutral? I have a 208/120V 3 phase circuit currently feeding an outlet for a drill press. I would like to change this to 3 separate branch circuits for lighting. Can I keep the shared neutral? I plan on keeping the common internal trip breakers in place

This only works with genuine 3-phase power.  If you are using a "phase converter" to fabricate "3-phase" from a single-phase supply, Do Not Do This.

What you would be creating is called a multi-wire branch circuit (MWBC).  There are several articles on here on how to do MWBC's, such as mine here, or you can Google it.   You will need to pigtail neutral, mark the wires as grouped wherever they are near other wires, and as Kris points out, use a 3-pole breaker.

The circuit breaker would need to be sized for the thinnest wire including the ground.   Sometimes 4-conductor circuits are installed with a smaller neutral than the hots, in that case the smallest wire decides the breaker size.

Also if you are feeding common USA 120V receptacles (i.e. NEMA 5-15 or 5-20), the breaker can be no larger than 20A. There are special rules which permit 30A for lighting circuits.

The three circuits need to be individually breaker protected.  You have to replace the three pole breaker with three single pole ones.
Save the old breaker in case of future upgrades.


GFCI installation in bathroom switch box doesn't work as expected My bathroom wall switch controls the old light above the old medicine cabinet but it only has 1 cable with a black and a white wire. I took off the old switch and put the black wire on the hot side of the GFCI and the white wire on the other side both in the "line" position. This new GFCI has both a switch and a outlet.

Turned the power back on and the swich does nothing but the outlet works and when I plug something in to it the light comes on. Turn the hair dryer off and the light goes off. What's the problem?

You just tried to hook up an outlet to an old-style switch loop with no neutral wire.  Right now, your hair dryer is wired in series with the light, and the switch is dangling in the electrical breeze.

(In other words: You'll need to find another place to put the GFCI function, or run a new /3 NM cable to the switch box so you can have a neutral there.)

If you want a GFI outlet and don't need the old light, you might try this.  Sacrifice the light.  Twist the two wires that fed the light together and put a cover on the box that fed the old light. Then you will have power and ground in the switchbox.  Then wire in your GFI outlet. (I am not an electrician, so this may not meet code. Perhaps one of the electricians on the site will tell us.)


Any fabrics that block visible light without blocking IR/Bluetooth? I'm wondering what materials would block visible light (emitted from LEDs, for example) but would not impede IR signals or Bluetooth.

Context: I'd love to block all the blinky lights on my home theater setup without invalidating any of my remotes and PS4 controllers (or wifi devices). Ideally I'm looking for a fabric of some sort, but open to other suggestions.

I'm thinking it would be cute to install a pull curtain over the part of my shelving where I want to block the visible lights, thus why I'm inquiring after fabrics. If there's a glass or other material that might work, then I might consider a door of some sort.

Any help/insight would be appreciated. Note that I am aware of IR repeaters and am not interested in installing one. Plus my understanding is that it wouldn't help at all with my PS4 controllers.

EDIT: Many have suggested I just "tape" over the lights themselves. I really would prefer not to do this, as I find value in being able to see the lights easily when I need to debug an issue. For example, one piece of equipment is an HDMI switcher where the lights indicate which input source is currently selected; it doesn't switch automatically with the Apple TV I have connected to it, so I would need to see the lights to determine if I need to switch the input. I need to do this before consuming media, not during, thus why I'm interested in a fabric or a door that can conceal the lights temporarily. Another item in this space is my cable modem, so same deal: if my internet is acting wonky, I want to see those lights easily. But if my internet is fine, I don't want to see them while watching a movie or playing PS4.

Unless you get metal lined material or mirrored glass doors the radio won't have an issue. And to be honest even if you did it would probably still work fine by going through the wood or whatever the sides of the shelves are made of unless they are solid metal.

Any solid fabric is going to block the IR. You could potentially go with a fairly lose weave fabric so that the light can get through the holes. The remote will probably still work but you will also still be able to see the blinking lights.
If the amp is right at the front of the shelf you could potentially put a small hole in the curtain in line with the IR receiver in the amp to allow the remote to get through. But if there is any separation between the two you end up either needing a big hole or the remote only works from one direction.

A dark tinted glass or plastic may be your best option. Some will block IR, some won't. The problem is being able to test the material without having to first buy some doors made out of it.
You could do a test, get some of the stick on limo tint plastic, it's fairly cheap, and see if your IR remote works through that with sufficient range. If so then get some plain glass doors and add the tint. That wouldn't completely block the blinking lights but would make them a lot dimmer.

The other option is the more direct approach, put something over the blinking lights. You could use something solid like a sheet of black plastic in front of everything with a cutout where the IR receiver is.  Or you could use a dark colored tape and put it only over the lights.
Visually not always the nicest approach but once everything in there is dark then you could put some fairly transparent glass doors over the front and it wouldn't be visible.

Just tape over your blinking lights and spare yourself the complexity of fabrics, tinted glass, and the like. Get a handheld shaped paper punch at a craft store to punch out electrical tape in squares, circles, spirals, or stars and your blinky light will disappear without you worrying about wifi, IR, bluetooth, etc....


How do I connect a dryer with a four prong plug to a three prong socket? I've just moved house and my clothes dryer has a four prong plug but on the wall there's a three prong socket. Do adapters exist for this? Or do I need to get a new cord for my dryer? Or is there another solution?

You could replace the cord on the dryer, but you'd have to bond the chassis of the dryer to make that acceptable to current NEC codes (Article 250.140). This can be a safety hazard if done incorrectly, and it may or may not void the warranty on the dryer.
Since your dryer is set up to use a 4 prong receptacle, the optimal solution would be to update the receptacle to a 4 prong (NEMA 14-30R if I remember correctly).  However, this will require you to run new cable to the receptacle, since you'll need a cable with a ground. Depending on the draw of the dryer and the length of the run, you'll either have to pull new 10-3 /w ground or 8-3 /w ground cable.
EDIT:
As @TheEvilGreebo pointed out, you may be able to simply swap out the cord on the dryer for a 3 prong version. Check the manufacturers documentation to verify the procedure, and to make sure your model supports this.
EDIT:
This schematic for an electric dryer might help you understand how the dryer could be wired (depending on make/model/manufacture date).

EDITED for clarification:

The three prong plug has two hot legs for the two bus voltages to add up to 220 volts, plus a neutral wire. Prior to 1998 the neutral was also grounded to the dryer case. A four prong plug has the two bus connections, a ground, and a neutral return. Often these are used if the dryer circuit requires 120 volts at some point, the current would flow from one bus and return through the neutral. If you were to change from a four prong to a three prong and your dryer is designed to use 120 volts at some point, then that current will have to be returned on the ground leg. This is not acceptable by NEC code, nor is it safe. If the 120 Volt circuit were to short, the full 120 volt potential could be present on the dryer case! Imagine touching the dryer at that time, and maybe on a wet floor!

If you can determine that the dryer does not require 120 volts, and that no current is returned on a neutral leg, then I see no reason not to use the three prong (although why does it have a neutral leg at all?). I would ONLY do the conversion if it is recomended by the manufacture. With todays economy I don't think that a manufacture would go to the expense of a four prong plug if it was not required.

The conversion kits mentioned by others may be to convert from a three prong dryer to a four prong receptacle. That is okay, being that the neutral wire is not used.

EDIT:

Wiki tells it like it is.
"Modern appliances require 4 conductor cordsets (separate conductors or wires for line 1, line 2, ground and neutral). Generally, this setup is safer, because the current-carrying neutral is not connected to the dryer case. However, it is useless if the wall receptacle does not have a separate ground slot. In that case, you'll have to do the very simple procedure of converting a 4-wire dryer to a 3-wire setup. Conversion of these appliances in the U.S. is prohibited by the NEC (National Electric Code). The receptacle and wiring should be modernized to a 4 conductor arrangement instead."


How do you protect solar panels from hail? Saw another question on solar panels and it reminded me of one big thing that always made me hesitant to consider them.

We get several hail storms each year and having an expensive glass covered(?) panel facing almost straight up seems like it is asking for trouble. How do people who have solar panels mitigate this risk?

Smaller panels are one way to go; see this article Hail Damage and your Solar Panels:

  If you decide to install photovoltaic
  modules and worry about hail damage,
  there are a couple of things to
  consider. One of the most important
  concerns the size of the modules. If
  the region you live in is subject to
  frequent or serious hail storms,
  smaller modules are easier and less
  costly to replace. Also if a large
  module sustains damage, it will
  seriously reduce the power output, or
  even cause the system to fail
  completely. The drawback with using
  smaller modules is that they are often
  more expensive to install.

But of course there is not much that would withstand very large size hail but then your home insurance should cover the damage (just like the damage that would happen to your car and/or house during one of those hail storms).  I do not think it is very expensive to get your solar panels added onto your home insurance policy (if they are not covered already).  See this answer too: Do roof solar panels and hail mix?

Mount 1 inch thick Plexiglas cut 1 inch larger then the panel dimension, over the top of the panel with space between the two. Do not mount the panel to the Plexiglas.


Electric Water Heaters: Tank vs Tankless (Instant On) Energy Usage? I've been told that a tankless electric water heater is enormously more expensive than a tank water.  I have a 50 gallon water heater that I must replace.  I have a friend who is a plumber telling me that I would pay 2-3 times more for electricity with a tankless water heater, but what I've been reading doesn't seem that it would be more.

Does anyone have any experience with an electric tankless water heater that would do at least 7 GPM (2 bathroom home; don't need it for washer or dish washer)?  What kind of an electric bill differential are you seeing?

...in a modern tanked heater with modern levels of insulation, and people actually using hot water from time to time, standby losses are microscopic .vs. use. So a tankless electric is a very expensive electrical installation (huge power draw needs huge wiring and often a service upgrade to support something like 3X 40A breakers) that might save 1-3% on heating water.

If you want to save money on heating water, consider a tanked heat pump water heater - there you can get some serious efficiency that actually applies to the hot water you use. Unless you heat your house with electric resistance heat, it's a win even in the winter, (your heating source heats the air that the heat pump removes heat from to heat the water) and in the summer it helps keep the house cool "for free."

"Enormously more expensive" is just wrong.

That may be true for certain specific cases, depending on "how the cookie crumbles".  In that case, he'd be able to give you specific reasons why that technology would not be wise for your house.

One example might be a need to go with a non-direct-vent gas unit in a new location and have to punch a hole in the roof for new venting.

If he's making that as a blanket statement, he is just plain wrong.  I would suspect an ulterior motive, and you probably don't want to start that conversation LOL.

Electric on-demand heaters are not necessarily more expensive than tanked heaters.  I generally find they're surprisingly inexpensive.  Gas on-demand heaters are pricey, however, especially if new vent plumbing is required.

New technology works better when you're smart.

Many new technologies are vulnerable to being applied in a klutzy and inefficient way that makes them not work well at all. That's where, again, skills pay the bills - and people without skills get frustrated trying to make new technologies work.

One example of a sizing issue:  Adding a low-flow showerhead can allow use of a much smaller heater, which can mean running much smaller cable.

With on-demand, you might use more

This means the middle person in the shower who used to have to hurry to leave the last person anything at all, doesn't hurry anymore.  The last person can take the time they need.  That extra use is a true luxury you now have, but it's not free.

Crossing over from gas to electric may add energy cost

Since electric energy starts as heat, and only 33-40% makes it into electric energy, it's an inefficient way to buy heat. When you burn your own natural gas, you get 80-90% of the therms in your water.  So, X therms of electric is generally more expensive than X therms of gas.

It's not only about cost: convenience is worth it.

We are affluent Americans.  We have money for conveniences.  On-demand does some amazing things:

Unlimited hot water.  This is huge. Especially if you have a family showering.
Quick hot water.  With electric, you don't need a vent, and the unit is not large, so you can position it near the point-of-use.  That means hot water in seconds, not minutes. What's your time worth?  What's the water you flush down the drain worth?


What type of electric heating system is the most energy efficient? I am about to buy a flat that hasn't got any central heating system.
There's no way to use gas heating.

The only way to produce heat is by converting Electricity.

The flat at the moment has some electrical panels mounted close to the windows, but I don't see it as an efficient solution.

I am considering heated floors, but I am interested in hearing from you.
I want to use the heating method  that is energy efficient / calorific power balance.

100% of electricity is converted to energy is true. But what is the energy used for? Generate heat, as in resistive heating? All of the electricity is converted to heat, sounds efficient. But you can do better. You can use your electric energy to move heat obtained for free from somewhere else. In other words, a heat pump is more efficient than resistive heat. The source of free heat can be the air, the ground, or even ground water. How the heat that is moved into your house is distributed can vary. You can blow heated air around, or you can move heated fluid around. The heated fluid can give up its heat at radiators, or base board heaters, or into your floor.

There's many options, but you should get heat by moving it rather than causing resistive wires to give it up.

A heat pump is cold because the temp that it produces is colder than other heats even if the heat pump heat is a warm temp. A heat pump is pretty much a cooler in the north but is great for the south.  Coal heat is the best one can chase everybody out of the house in the dead of winter with coal but we all know about coal.  Oil heat to much maintenance.  Gas used to be less expensive.  Short of burning wood that you got for free but put alot of labor in to get it we pay.  Electric heat whew who priced that.  Insulate insulate insulate seal the cracks buy good windows.  Change the furnace filters and clean the cooling coils.  Heating elements can run you broke say you have your electric furnace going your dryer running your hot water tank heating water and you are makeing toast that will send your electric meter in to outer space that it is spinning so fast.  Tubes of caulking are inexpensive seal up those cracks and there are many publications on other things to do.  Take it from a man who paid a 1,130.00 dollar electric bill this winter for one month.  And yes I worked in the HVAC industry for over 30 years there are things you can do to safe a buck.


Can I add receptacles on the same circuit as the garage door opener in my garage? I am wanting to add two new outlets on a unfinished wall in my garage. This wall currently has no outlets at all and is a exterior facing wall. I was wondering if i can tie into the outlet in the ceiling that is used for my garage door opener. I believe this outlet is on the same circuit as all other outlets in my garage. I don't plan on running a lot of devices at the same time, just need the extra outlets for ease of use on that side of the garage. I have never had a breaker trip in the garage either. I am wondering if this is allowed? It is the nearest outlet that i can tie into and it would be very easy to do as well. These would be two 15 amp outlets and would be used for light use.

These outlets will need to be GFCI protected if the garage door opener outlet isn't already that way, but yes -- there isn't a limit on how many receptacles can go on a general receptacle circuit.

Do double check to make sure that your circuit doesn't serve something else funky though.

You may be violating code - we don't know the breaker size or the wire gauge to your garage.  Also, you'll know you've got too much loaded on there if the breaker flips every time you try to open or close your garage door.

But short answer is yes, you can.  Just install it properly (tons of youtube videos).


How to remove a screw inserted from the wrong side in an IKEA ALEX drawer unit? We just bought an IKEA Alex 9 drawer unit. I assembled most of it without difficulty, except for step step 25 from the assembly instructions. I wasn't paying enough attention, and screwed the screw in from the outside of the drawer through the drawer castors/slides, instead of from the inside out as the instructions show. This means the drawer won't close. I've managed to get the drawer out from between the castors, but I can't get the screws out from the castors.

How can I get the screws out of the castors? If I try just unscrewing them, they just go round and round. (I guess either the thread doesn't go all the way to the head of the screw, or I've damaged the thread of the screw next to the head). I've tried applying pressure from the end of the screw while unscrewing, but that doesn't help. Any suggestions?

Some photos:

And this is a view of the thread on the castors/slides (from the outside) from one of the ones where I haven't put the screw in yet. You can see that there is a little bit sticking out with some thread on the inside:

As you turn the screw to unscrew it, press on the "point" of the screw to counter the force on the screwdriver trying to push the screw back into the drawer runner. That should allow it to unscrew.

Use a screw driver behind the head of the screw while unscrewing it should work like a charm


What is this copper-looking wire on my light fixture? I had an electrician install two hanging pendants over a kitchen island. The install went well and the pendants work fine.

However, after the install I've had an opportunity to look at the fixtures up close, I can't understand what this wire is. The light fixture hangs with a chain and has a typical-sized black cord which I assume is the main power for the pendant. However, there's a copper-colored wire which hangs along down with the chain and the black cord, which doesn't seem normal to me.

Any idea on what this is? I'd like to remove it, but I want to be sure what it is and if it's important first.

Here is a closeup of the copper-colored wire:

And here is a view of the full pendant:

I'm almost certain it is the ground wire. Do not remove it.

If you were to open the light fixture, there should be a screw where one end of the ground wire is attached. Then, mounted in the ceiling is a metal box through which is fed all the electrical wiring. There's a screw on the ceiling box that the other end of the ground wire is attached.

  Thank you. A natural follow-up question to this, since the original intent was to remove the distracting copper wire for aesthetic reasons, is: will the ground wire be less effective if it is painted or somehow covered to match the rest of the fixture?

Adding paint is essentially adding a layer of insulation to the wire. Since insulated wire still conducts electricity, a painted ground wire will be just as effective (i.e., conductive) as one that lacks an exterior coat of paint. You simply want to ensure that you do not paint over the location where it is attached to the screw on both ends (it needs metal-on-metal contact).

This is a ground wire. And it looks like the ground was added later or like only the cage is grounded.

Remove it only if you are replacing the 2-wire cord with at least 3-wire cord.

With 4-wire cord you can light the bulbs independently (power1, power2, (shared) neutral, ground).

Also be sure that all metal parts are grounded.


Considerations for spray foam insulation with roof replacement possible in about 10 years We have an old house in the Philadelphia area which we bought last year. This has a slate roof and we were told by our home inspector that we'd need to consider replacing it in 10 years. It is the original roof and has been on the house ~70 years so I think the estimate of 10 years is conservative. I plan to continue having the roof checked out and slates replaced as necessary.

Spray foam insulation is attractive because we are installing an AC system and it'll bring this within the thermal envelope of the house, albeit at a premium cost. Assuming the lifetime is so short (and all the insulation will be out when a new roof is installed) I'd expect that I could have roof leaks or other issues before the roof is replaced.

Does this type of insulation add major overhead to what would be simpler tasks? How do leaks manifest with spray foam insulation? Do they hide themselves for a longer period?

Spray foam is fine here. Hire it out, don't try yourself. You won't save much if any money and this stuff is better installed by pros. Make sure the roof decking is bone-dry on the day they install it. Determine what kind of R-value you want, too. The stuff is so expensive that installers will often try to convince you that 2 to 4 inches is sufficient for a variety of phony-baloney reasons; ignore that. If you want an R-50 roof (which is a good idea, and only slightly higher than code-minimum for your area in the latest version of the energy code), that'll require 7" of foam, which can very expensive. Typical price is $2+ per inch thick per square foot. for an 800 square foot attic, 7" of foam would cost more than $11,000!

Spray foam may be unnecessary. If you don't install the AC unit and its ductwork in the attic, then you can skip the spray foam and pile cellulose or fiberglass on the attic floor to get better performance for 1/3 to 1/10 the price. And it's easily DIY-able.

It really sounds like spray foam insulation is a great option if you're looking for a little less mess in your attic. There are so many different options though that it really just comes down to whether or not you're looking for someone to do it for you, or whether you would like to do it yourself. I personally like the idea of spray foam since it can be a one day and done kind of deal.


Neutral wiring in a panel in a panel does it matter if the neutral wire goes to a different side of the panel than its corresponding hot wire?

or

can I connect two neutrals in a junction box that go back to different junction bars on the panel?

In a main service panel; where the grounded (neutral) is bonded, you can land the grounded (neutral) conductor at either bus bar.

In a panel where the grounded (neutral) and grounding bus bars are separate, you can only land a grounded (neutral) conductor on the grounded (neutral) bus bar.  In this case, you'll either have to install a grounded (neutral) bar on each side of the panel, or route all the grounded (neutral) conductors to the same bar.

The neutral bars should be grounded.  Thus, it doesn't matter what neutral bar you connect to.  If it does cause an issue, it's because one of the neutral bars isn't grounded.  The fix would be to ground that neutral bar.


How can I increase airflow through an attic without soffit vents? My house does not have soffit vents. The overhang at the eaves is too small. The ceiling leaks were sealed up by an HVAC company about 10 years ago. They also blew in insulation to an R30 level in the attic. There are gable vents (22” rounds) on both ends. A roofing company just put a new roof on and added a ridge vent. Am I ok to leave it alone? Do I need to put in a gable fan for air intake?

I live in Oregon and gable vents work fine here if you needed more flow I would suggest a solar exhaust fan in the middle of the house to create more flow but if you don’t have excess heat your system is working fine. I have added exhaust fans to my homes as it reduces my cooling costs.

The Code requires Attic Ventilation to be “cross ventilation “ and shall be 1/150th the area that is to be vented. (See ICC R806 Vents.)
However, there is one exception: The attic ventilation can be reduced to 1/300th the area to be vented provided one of the following items are met:

a Class I or II vapor retarder is installed on the “warm-in-winter” side of the ceiling, or

not less than 40% and not more than 50% of the ventilation is located in the upper portion of the attic. The upper portion is defined as: “Upper ventilation shall not be lower than 3’ below the ridge or highest point of the roof. “  (See ICC R806.1.2.)

So, if your attic is 20’ x 40’ then the area is 800 square feet. So with ridge vents you need 1/300th the area, or 800 / 300 = 2.67 square feet of vents. You can calculate how many square feet of vent you have and know if your venting meets the Code minimum. If so you should be ok.
So, you can see there is clearly a benefit to having ridge vents, gable vents, etc.


Avoid rust where railing anchors into concrete If you have seen railings anchored into concrete, you may have noticed how they tend to rust at the junction between the railing, the concrete and the air. Here is a photo of a pretty typical example:

How can this be avoided when building a new railing?

Honestly, I don't think you can. The problem is railings such as this rust from the inside out. The outside gets primed and painted while the inside never gets any kind of treatment.

Aside from using solid "tubing", which is unrealistic, the only other thing I can think of is to "try" to treat the inside of the tubing in areas where water can seep up in to the tubing, such as an anchor point.

weep holes drilled into the sides of the tube would delay this


Should I solder stranded wires when connecting them to a plug? I'm about to perform a few electrical changes in my house in order to be able to control lighting fixtures (230V, 30 to 200 mA) from a PC. I have some doubts about the way stranded wires should be connected to the plugs.

For instance, I suppose the way of connecting the wires shown on the next photo is dangerous, because the connection can easily become loose, is it? It seems that pulling the plug a few times by the wire instead of the plug itself would have disastrous effects on the connection.

If yes, should I solder stranded wire to make it solid? If so, what should I take care of, aside using a rosin-core solder? Once I solder it, how am I supposed to connect it to the metallic parts of the plug?

One should never apply lead alloy solder to stranded wires (often called "tinning") that are to be tightened under a screw. Eventually, the solder will cold-flow under the pressure and the screw connection will become loose.

This doesn't happen overnight; it can take months or years. I have personally seen this happen on several occasions.

It can be okay to just tin the very tip, to help keep the twisted wire strands together while tightening the screw. However, it is preferable just to leave some extra wire sticking out, and cut that off flush after tightening the screw.

Soldering is fine, if it's a permanent installment. Reason being, what I often do is tin the stranded wire and solder it to the pin after removing the screw. That way, it's not ever going to come adrift. Obviously not the intended way, as screws are provided,but to my mind, it's a better electrical and probably physical connection. As also mentioned, the outer sheath needs to be under the clamp so that the people who insist on pulling the plug out by the wire don't put extra strain on the internals.


Is it possible to be electrocuted from a properly functioning GFCI circuit? It's my understanding the the purpose of a GFCI circuit is to prevent shock by tripping the circuit if there is an imbalance in current in vs. current out. So my question is, if you have a functioning GFCI circuit, either due to a GFCI outlet or a GFCI breaker in the service panel, is it possible to be electrocuted?

Presuming you had a properly functioning GFCI outlet it would be "safe" to stick, say, a piece of metal into the hot socket while holding the other end? Similarly, if you had a GFCI breaker in the service panel could you "safely" change a light fixture or socket on the circuit without cutting off power to the circuit first.

(I use "safely" in quotes here because I understand you would not want to do this... I'm just curious if this is indeed the case.)

Yes you can be electrocuted even with an operating GFCI. A GFCI will only trip if current goes from the hot and does not return on the neutral. That means it will trip if you stick a fork into the hot and jump into the bathtub / touch the fridge while holding it (because the current on the hot is NOT seen on the neutral - the power is escaping through the water or fridge chassis to ground).

A GFCI will not trip if you grab one fork in each hand and respectively stick one fork into the hot and another into the neutral (because all the current on the hot is also seen on the neutral). At that point, you're relying on the current operated circuit breaker, which will only trip once the current exceeds its rating (which it may or may not do while going through your relatively high-resistance body).

GFCI's limit shock to a low level, fail often, and are a good supplement (defense in depth). http://www.thecircuitdetective.com/gfis.htm

The trip setpoints (eg 30mA/20mS) are based on the statistical analysis of electrocutions.  (see IEC60479-1) The confidence in this may be >95%.  So there is a chance that a person could be electrocuted and the fully functioning GFCI offer no protection whatsoever.

Lesson: To avoid electrocution, don't touch live conductors!


Pretty big electric shock when touching my lamp I just received a fairly large electric shock when trying to turn on the lamp on my nightstand while I was sitting in bed. When we purchased the lamp, it was 110v however we had it changed to 220v since we live overseas. The lamp base is vintage copper metal. I'm pretty sure I was touching the copper when I was shocked. The shock was so intense it left a burning sensation on my finger, I saw "white" and it flipped the main fuse for our whole house. I had to manually flip the main fuse back on. I have been using the lamp for several days with no problem (we just received it in our shipping container) however another lamp we had the voltage changed short circuited when I tried putting in a light bulb so I'm guessing the rewiring was done wrong on all the lamps. I was holding my 6 month old son's hand as he slept when I was shocked. I'm worried that I became a conductor for the current and maybe he felt it but he seems to be okay. Didn't even wake up. Is there a need for me to be worried for myself or my son? Obviously, we are going to take the lamps to a local electrician here and have them fixed.

No need to worry about you or your son, but the lamps were obviously done wrong, or at the very least the work was extremely shoddy.

Have them re-done by someone who knows what they are doing in your area.

Even if the baby was shocked, there would be nothing to do about it now. If it did not wake up, then it's a safe bet there were no psychological effects.

Lucky you weren't standing in a puddle of water when that happened or you would be dead and your finger would just be a black stump made out of charcoal.

People who get electrocuted generally do not exhibit any permanent effects except that they sometimes leave a word out of sentence.

Converting a lamp to a different voltage is not a good idea, unless it is very valuable and rare lamp (like over $1,000), because it takes a lot of expertise and skill to do everything correctly and safely (as you found out).

You cannot use American bulbs with 220v lamps, so you not only have to change the wiring, you have to change the socket also.

Insulation standards are completely different for 220v, so the lamp's wiring, posts and possibly interior design have to be changed.

Normally the solution to using a foreign electrical fixture is to use a plug adapter.


Checklist for installing proper electrical outlet outside the house I plan to install electrical outlet in the following location:

It would be used mostly for:

USB camera that is always plugged in.
pressure washer.
car charging.

I plan to splice the wires from the electrical box behind the lamp which I pretty much always leave powered on because it has a built in motion detection sensor:

I watched few youtube videos on how similar projects are done and If I understand correctly, I have to:

Turn off electricity at breaker box.
Buy old-work electrical box (i.e. one that has those wings and can be attached to the wall opposed to stud). PVC material should be preferred as then I don't have to use metal-sheathed cable.
I need to drill a hole in the wall where the new electrical box will be installed and then use a sawzall (or something similar) to cut out rectangular shape that matches the electrical box.
Punch a hole in the bottom of electrical box behind the lamp. Punch a hole in the top of electrical box that I just bought. Guide the cable behind the wall to both boxes.
Buy a 15 Amp GFCI protected outlet because GFCI is mandatory for outdoor outlets. Connect all 3 wires to it and screw in to electrical box. Splice all 3 wires on the other end to the lamp wiring.
Buy a Plastic Weatherproof in use cover and attach it to electrical box. In-use is mandatory as I would leave camera plugged in at all times.

Am I missing something? Do I need wire clamps too that would lock wire in the electrical box? Do I need to apply silicone caulk somewhere? Is it ok to install outlet that high above the ground? Are parts that I plan to order compatible with each other? Do I need to check wiring going from light switch to the lamp if it can actually handle 15 Amps?

The fuse in electrical panel is rated for 15Amps. At the moment I don't know how likely it is that some other device behind the 15A fuse would ever cause consumption to go over 15Amps.

As a related by separate issue regarding the camera USB power. If it were me, I would not put the USB power adapter on the outside of the house under the in-use cover like that (even if you found one with room under the cover). My reasoning is because if the camera is for security, all someone needs to do is unplug the USB adapter and it is dead!

The USB wires themselves are "low voltage", meaning most of the wiring rules don't apply. So what I did on mine was to put the USB power adapter INSIDE of the garage plugged into an existing outlet, then just drill a hole in the wall for the USB cable to pass through to the camera base with nothing exposed and visible. You can seal around the wire with some simple silicone sealant.

I've done this a couple of times.  You are on the right track.

Tools:

electrical tape for taping wires together
box (you might get away with old one that's already there)
new cover for outside (get the once that have a break away tabs on bottom so you can have it closed and something plugged in)
GFCI outlet (it'll come with everything needed, screws, twist ties, etc...)
A nice set of electrical pliers to clean and cut wires as needed.

Work:

turn off power to the switch (you can plug something in and see if
it turns off when you flip the breaker)
attach new GFCI to the existing box, usually you connect ground wire last.
There should be 3: line (black hot), load (white neutral) and ground (green)
secure the GFCI with screws
attach the cover on top


How can you replicate Sand/Perlite? Just finished patching two rather large but thin cracks that required taping and 8" on either side of joint compound/feathering. It looks rather smooth and would blend in nicely if it weren't for the fact that the wall has a texture to it.

I believe the name is Sand or Perlite? Although it is a very fine texture.

http://imgur.com/qFL2QqS

I know that home depot and the like have additives to paint that will help achieve the desired sand look.

However, I am wondering what has been your experience in matching sand textured wallpaper with the rest, and if using an additive such as the one provided in the link above is better than say: using a paint roller to roll on some joint compound?

Or should I even do it at all? In a small repair behind a doorway with the same texture the paint roller was able to recreate some of the 'sandy' appearance and is rather unnoticeable. I am just concerned as the area in question is highly visible.

That type of texture is created using specialty spray equipment and requires a bit of skill and experience to master.

I would recommend, for your small repair, that you experiment with readily available spray texture "in a can". There are many types available, practice on cardboard until you can reliably spray it to match your texture.


Dryer receptacle on sub-panel feeder A (built in 1987) house that we are under contract to buy has a 30-amp sub-panel in the attached garage. The sub-panel is currently populated by two 120V, 20amp circuits for receptacles in the garage. Upon inspection, I discovered that its electrical supply is as follows:

30 amp breaker at main panel, with 8/3 NM-B with ground run to a box with a NEMA 10-30R dryer receptacle in the basement (yes, I'm aware that 10-30R should be replaced with a 14-30R)
Another 8/3 NM-B with ground running from that box to the garage sub-panel

So it certainly seems that the dryer receptacle and sub-panel share the same 30-amp supply at the main panel. I know that this isn't best practice and will include it in my inspection objections, but can anyone point me to a code reference that would forbid this installation? For example, if they exist, what are the NEC sections requiring a dryer receptacle or subpanel to be on dedicated circuits?

If it goes to a subpanel, it's a feeder.

You cannot put a receptacle on a feeder.

What needs to happen is the dryer receptacle needs to be replaced with a blank junction box cover, and then a new 10/3 cable run from a dryer receptacle in a new box, to either main or sub panel, where it'll land on a 30A breaker.  This means the 10/3 cable will be alongside the 8/3 feeder, either to the main panel or to the sub.

You can use 8/3 for this dryer run if you really want to, but I don't see a reason to do that.  Dryers won't pull more than 30A (really: <24A) because every dryer manufacturer expects a 30A circuit, and sizes for it.

Once the entire 8/3 feeder is devoid of receptacles, it can be upgraded to a 40A breaker, because that's allowed on 8/3.  In practical terms, that will support the dryer and 1 receptacle circuit on each leg of power (so 2 if balanced).

One more thing.  If the subpanel came first and the dryer plug was an afterthought, it's possible this was spliced inline, and that probably means the wires in that box are way too short. You need 6" of length past the clamp, or 3" beyond the surface of the box.  In that case, move the box so one end has enough length, and re-run the other end.  Better, leave the "enough length" side as the dryer branch circuit, scrap the other end, and run a whole new feeder in 6AWG, bypassing the box entirely. 6AWG gives you 60A at the subpanel.

The sub panel must be supplied by four wires and the grounds and neutrals need to be completely isolated in the sub panel!

The two 20A circuits on the sub panel being supplied by a (hopefully) single double pole 30A breaker don't scream holy shit there's a problem here but depending on the calculated load from them I'd estimate this wiring is undersized and needs upgraded. You also didn't specify the distance to the garage from the main panel, this is absolutely essential.

Also, you didn't specify was if the garage was attached or detached, that makes a major distinction with the NEC and subsequent local codes. If this garage is attached then we only need to ensure that the sub panel and it's feed is appropriately sized. If the garage is detached then we open a whole different can of worms where we're needing external grounding, blah blah, etcetera.


How to install hydronic radiant heat over concrete slab I'm trying to figure out the most ideal way to install hydronic radiant heat in my basement over the existing concrete slab. I've looked at several products for heat distribution, like Warmboard, before settling on this: http://radiantengineering.com/tfinu

I'm trying to figure out the ideal way to install it with the minimal loss of height. I was provided a sample of the aluminum fin and its height measured to just under 3/4". In their brochures and pictures, the fins are shown attached downward but I'm thinking it may be better to face them upward. I'm also planning to go with an engineered hardwood floor atop.

My current best guess to the ideal way of doing this is to first start with a 6 mil poly sheet as a vapor barrier. Next, get ~1/2" OSB boards and cut 1/4" dado grooves 8" OC where the fins will be placed and make a floating subfloor out of it. Next, I'd cut the same kind of 1/2" OSB into sections just under 8" in width and place them in between the groves. This should provide enough height for the fins to fit in. Finally, I'll use 1" screws (still figuring out that part) to fasten the fins to the two layers of OSB. I've attached a quick and dirty picture to illustrate what I mean (screws are not to scale).

I'm hoping someone could chime and provide some feedback to this approach. Or am I totally missing something really obvious here? I don't want to lay the PEX down and pour concrete over it because that goes into a whole other topic about thermal mass and heat loss.

Thanks

From Radiant Engineering, thanks for discussing our ThermoFin U product. The preferred method is to install the plates with the fins down. For a ThermoFin U installation on concrete, you would build a surface to be able to screw the plates into by first putting down a layer of Atlas Rboard®, recommended 1/2", which you should be able to get from your local building supplier.
A Google search on Atlas Rboard® will bring up their site and the product info.

On top of the Rboard® you would put down a layer of plywood. The fasteners will hold best if you can use 3/8" plywood. It will work with 1/2" plywood if necessary.

Keep in mind that you want the heat energy to be going into the plywood sleepers and the finish floor, which is why we recommend the Rboard®.

The energy without the layer of insulation will be drawn into the concrete, and the response time would be longer in heating the floor. Heating up the mass of concrete is not necessarily a good thing when you want the entire surface floor to be warmed. The ThermoFin U heat transfer plates are easier to install if the fins are down against the subfloor and plywood sleepers on the fins. See the PDF multipage spec sheet that is linked on the U-fin page of our site. You are making a sandwich of aluminum and plywood to evenly heat the structure and provide a friendly surface for the flooring installation. You can call or email us for more help. We also have routed 180 degree return bends for the PEX tubing when using ThermoFin U.

We used Crete heat panels sized for 1/2 pecks tubbing it comes with the lock pucks do not have to staple any thing to the floor we always put sheets of foil face insulation under the Crete panels we go around the space along each outside wall we use foil face straps cut at right height to match new floor line along the walls after the pecks is installed we have company spread the self level jep Crete mix it is very liquid it must be dry and set up surface color will be almost white white before any flooring we did this in a building on a slab when done our total height increase was 2 and 5/8s before floor covering Home Depot has a flooring that has a ceramic cour so it transfers heat very well the building was 38 by 56 steel finished inside. I had a contractor put pecks down set the different heat areas with nessaty manifolds and a Propane boiler set the temp in the fall warm up the floor great heat and very cost efficient.  Mini splits for air conditioning system works great


How should I route my Romex and Network cables and can I safely drill another hole through this joist? I am trying to run a bunch of network cables from my network switch in the basement into the attic so that I can disperse them throughout the second floor bedrooms. At the same time, I needed to repair some Romex cables that squirrels bit and chewed through in my attic. I decided to replace the entire span of damaged Romex. I paid to have the attic "squirrel-proofed" with a one way door and their entrance-way was fully sealed so they wont be damaging things anymore hopefully. Also at the same time that of all this is happening, I am deciding to take the opportunity to run two more 14 gauge and two 12 gauge Romex pulls for a planned attic expansion.

Anyway, I am trying to figure out what the best way of routing all of these wires would be. I had to rip out the drywall because the wires were stapled to the frame when the house was renovated in the early 90's so my only option was to cut into the drywall to unstaple them. So I was able to take a good look at what is going on behind the walls. There are a whole host of "alarm", telephone, and COAX wires running DIRECTLY on top of the Romex. This was likely done by the lazy alarm installer technicians AFTER the electricians did there work in the 90's. I am pretty sure that is not to code to have low voltage wires run through the same hole as 110v. I want opinions on the best practices of how I can go about "cleaning" this mess of wires up. I noticed that when we run our portable space heater in the upper floors, the 14 gauge Romex gets luke "warm" which I don't particularly like.

Finally, I wanted to know if it would be okay from a structural standpoint to drill an additional hole through the header joist for the front facade of the house between the first and second floors  for the network cables and new Romex runs. Or would it be OK to put in a notch with some nail guards?

Here are some photos of the situation. I would just like to get some professional opinions on the matter.  Pictures:

From the basement:

Passing over a stud: (this happens due to the fact that the wires run behind a closet on the second floor. I could technically bypass this and go straight up but I'd possibly have to knock down more drywall on the second floor. )

Going up to the second floor: (the network cables just "float" past the header joist and do not go through it at all)

At the end of the day, I will have a total of SIX Romex Cables, One for the front two second floor bedrooms, one for the back two bedrooms, one for the front attic renovation room, one for the back attic room, and two 12 gauge for HVAC unit and appliances (in the attic renovation))

Well, your pictures have twigged an occasional issue I run into where I can't see them, (likely not your fault) but flying blind....

From a functional point of view you really don't have to worry about separation. Twisted pair is actually quite good at ignoring noise, and 60 Hz noise is of little note to 100MHz ethernet anyway. You can do it all wrong and it will work, 99% of the time. I don't suggest that you do it all wrong, I do suggest that you don't freak out about it.

From a code (and safety) point of view you should not have low and line voltage going through the same hole, and from a hyper-cautious network standpoint they should be separated by a good 12" when parallel, or cross at 90 degrees if they need to cross. Separation matters a lot more in an industrial environment with noisy devices on the powerlines than in a typical single-family residence.

From a "best practices" point of view, network and power in separate stud bays (when running vertical) or between different sets of joists when running parallel to the joists is certainly a best practice, though not required by code - it maintains separation quite aggressively.

Notches are far worse than "holes in the center third" (top to bottom) of a beam, joist, or header. Holes should not be too close to the ends, even in that center third. I'm not sure there's any need for the cables to go through the header if they can "float by" (remember, I'm flying blind here)

Portable electric heaters are nasty, nasty loads. If you are plugging one into a 15 amp (14 Ga) circuit that, all by itself, with nothing else on, is loading the circuit very near to maximum (if it's a 1500w heater, actually more than is permitted for fixed/hardwired loads that might (as with a heater) be on for more than 3 hours. A warm wire is fully expected under those conditions. A 20 amp (12Ga) circuit would be more appropriate if you are in the habit of using one.

keeping the future in mind adding a 70 amp feeder and panel is a wise idea.
A run of four 1 inch emt conduits, and one 2 inch emt conduit between the basement and attic is wise.
That's in addition to the feeder conduit.
In the 2 inch conduit I advise running a fiber riser paired with media transceivers.
It will cost more initially but the ability to expand as technology does is worth it.
The 1 inch riser conduits are for the existing wires that were sloppily done to run in.


How do wire a dimmer in a 3 gang box with one incoming line. How do I make my dimmer work? Right now it does not work :(
Any help. Diagram attached of current setup. I would appreciate any help. I am presuming it is because I am not completing the circuit for the fixture on the switch but not sure how to handle that given the current setup.

You bought a 3 way switch. This is not a three way switch circuit. Return it for a proper one way dimmer switch. I have always found the "all-purpose just cap of the extras" type of components to be sketchy.


Is graphite lubricant safe for metal parts? I've heard an opinion that using graphite lubricant on door hinges can lead to metal abrasion and damaging the hinges. The idea is that graphite has abrasive properties and thus can damage metal.

Is this true? Should I use graphite lubricant on door hinges and similar metal parts around the house?

While I am not a chemist, this goes against anything I understand about carbon and its common chemical forms. In the crystalline diamond form, carbon is extremely hard and quite useful as an abrasive. However, in the form of graphite, carbon lies in sheets that are very loosely bonded to each other. These sheets can easily slide against each other under shear stresses because of the very weak bonds, so graphite forms an excellent lubricant.

I would suggest your source is incorrect.

Graphite will oxidize aluminum when exposed to oxygen


How should I prepare a plywood subfloor for floating vinyl plank flooring? The floor of my laundry room was three layers of hideous vinyl flooring of various vintages, a layer of 3/4" plywood underlayment (to match the height of the vinyl to surrounding hardwood flooring) and a subfloor of diagonal 1x6ish planks.

I removed the vinyl and replaced the rotting plywood. Now I'll cover the plywood with interlocking vinyl plank flooring of this type. The instructions are written for covering an existing flooring material, so they don't address preparation of the subfloor.

Although the vinyl planks are waterproof, it doesn't seem right to lay them on bare plywood, particularly in the laundry room. How should the plywood be prepared? I think I'll just paint with Kilz 2 and caulk gaps and seams.

I'd question how waterproof you need this to be. Will there routinely be water sitting on the floor? If not, you may be over-engineering things.

That said, off the top of my head, one option for waterproofing the subfloor would be to paint on Redgard:

It's a 'paint on' waterproofing membrane that you'd typically use behind tiles on cement board and the like.

Installed TrafficMaster Allure Ultra in my bathroom a year ago.  Put it straight on top of existing ceramic tile with no problem. Used Henry leveling compound to fill a few depressions and then laid the tile.  It's held up great and looks just like wood.


How to create a hidden plug for PVC pipe I'm working on building a semi-permanent set of full-size soccer goals.  Full-size in this case means 6' x 18'.  Because of the size and spans, I'm planning on using 1.5" PVC pipe and fittings.  And in order to help keep the goals from tipping over from strong winds, I plan on adding 25-50 lbs of sand in the base support tube for each goal.

While not to size, this picture gives a good idea of the general layout for the goals.

The sand will go in the longer, horizontal pipe that is on the ground.

Normally, this would be a fairly straightforward project.  The challenge is that I want to make sure the sand remains in the bottom pipe.  Unfortunately, I can't rely upon the wonderfully consistent draw of gravity as the goals are meant to be taken apart and taken off of the field during the winter.  And I don't want the sand spilling out when the goals are disassembled.

The goals are meant to last for at least 5-10 years, and the hope is that by storing them during the winter they'll have a better chance at lasting that long.  I'll be disassembling the goals the first few years, but will eventually pass that task along to someone else.

My initial thought had been to install a concealed plug of some sort on the inside of the  pipe.  So after adding the sand to the bottom pipe, I would plug it and keep the sand from getting out.  I added a red line to this example image to give a better idea.

My problem is that I couldn't find anything at the local hardware store that would serve as an inline plug like that.  I checked a number of fittings from other pipe dimensions, but they weren't fitting.

My question(s):

Are there any general guidelines for knowing which pipes or fittings can slip inside a different dimension of pipe.  For example, is the outer diameter of a 1" fitting supposed to fit within the inside diameter of a 1.5" pipe?

If so, what type or size of fitting should I look at in order to create this interior plug?

Is there a better approach to solving this type of a problem?  Would a different type of material slip inside of the 1.5" pipe more readily / consistently?

Given all the  ideas, the obvious solution would seem to be don't use sand.

Instead, fill the bottom pipe with cement.  Or fill it mostly with gravel with a few inches of cement or silicone sealant to hold the gravel in place.

Use foam sealer to plug both ends of the pipe from the inside.


Can Romex (NM-B) cable be run through conduit? A few days ago I asked an electrician if I could run cable through conduit - he gave me a funny look and said "No, Romex is not allowed in conduit."
When I searched online, there seems to be a wide belief that Romex cannot be run through conduit, but no one can find the code which states this.  See for example here, here, or here.   However, in many other places it's stated that you can, for example here or here.  And here, someone claims that the NEC says it's only allowed if explicitly stated in local code!
So, which is it?  Can I run Romex through conduit!?

Yes, NM cable can be in conduit. In fact. NEC calls for it to be in conduit, when protection from physical damage is required.

  National Electrical Code 2011

  ARTICLE 334 Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cable: Types NM, NMC, and NMS

  II. Installation

  334.15 Exposed Work. In exposed work, except as provided in 300.11(A), cable shall be installed as specified in 334.15(A) through (C).

  (B) Protection from Physical Damage. Cable shall be protected from physical damage where necessary by rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, electrical metallic tubing, Schedule 80 PVC conduit, Type RTRC marked with the suffix -XW, or other approved means. Where passing through a floor, the cable shall be enclosed in rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, electrical metallic tubing, Schedule 80 PVC conduit, Type RTRC marked with the suffix -XW, or other approved means extending at least 150 mm (6 in.) above the floor. [ROP 7-94] Type NMC cable installed in shallow chases or grooves in masonry, concrete, or adobe shall be protected in accordance with the requirements in 300.4(F) and covered with plaster, adobe, or similar finish.

There's also some notes in Chapter 9, dealing with how to figure for cables when calculating conduit fill.

  Chapter 9 Tables

  Notes to Tables

  (5) For conductors not included in Chapter 9, such as
  multiconductor cables and optical fiber cables, the actual
  dimensions shall be used.

  (9) A multiconductor cable, optical fiber cable or flexible cord of two or more
  conductors shall be treated as a single conductor for
  calculating percentage conduit fill area. For cables that
  have elliptical cross sections, the cross-sectional area
  calculation shall be based on using the major diameter
  of the ellipse as a circle diameter.

However, it depends on where the conduit is.  If the conduit is underground (or any other damp or wet location), then NM cable is not allowed.

  National Electrical Code 2011

  ARTICLE 300 Wiring Methods

  I. General Requirements

  300.5 Underground Installations.
  (B) Wet Locations. The interior of enclosures or raceways installed underground shall be considered to be a wet location. Insulated conductors and cables installed in these enclosures or raceways in underground installations shall be listed for use in wet locations and shall comply with 310.10(C). Any connections or splices in an underground installation shall be approved for wet locations.

  300.9 Raceways in Wet Locations Above Grade. Where raceways are installed in wet locations above grade, the interior of these raceways shall be considered to be a wet location. Insulated conductors and cables installed in raceways in wet locations above grade shall comply with 310.10(C).

  ARTICLE 334 Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cable: Types NM, NMC, and NMS

  II. Installation

  334.12 Uses Not Permitted.
  (B) Types NM and NMS. Types NM and NMS cables shall not be used under the following conditions or in the following locations:

  (4) In wet or damp locations

No, you can not run your Romex wiring in conduits. What you're looking at in the code book is referring to THHN and other wiring, that while insulated with a single coat is not insulated with a second covering and bound to 2 or 3 other wires. Power produces heat and heat is the main problem here.


Can I use only one phase out of a triphasic cable? Scenario

There is a three-phase cable popping out of the wall exactly where I need to put a light bulb.

Is it ok if I plug only two wires to the triphasic cable, (i.e. neutral and live 1) to achieve this?

Further questions

What consequences would this have (e.g. consumption?, stability?)

Context

At home I have identified two types of cables:

single phase cables (with their expected three wires inside).
three-phase cables (five wires inside).

The latter has two outputs, one in the kitchen for the stove/oven, while there is another cable in the toilet (most prob for the washing machine), which I don't use at all.

If there is a provided neutral wire, for most countries it should be fine,

Consequences:

If it was a large load, e.g. an outlet, you would need to make sure the load on each phase was reasonably balanced,

Having a lighting circuit on a different breaker to the rest of the house lighting is frowned at, as if that circuit trips, the light goes out, equally someone later on perhaps wanting to replace that light socket will switch off the lighting breaker, if they fail to test the light socket afterwards, they will have a nasty surprise.

No, primarily from the point of view of safety. It would be unsafe to have a light bulb in isolation (not being part of the exclusive lighting circuit for the house).

Secondly, should there be an inverter for the lighting circuit, the toilet would be under darkness during a power failure.


How is the alternating current in your home a complete circuit? Here's what I'm asking: if the electricity flows from the hot wire to device X, then to the neutral wire which ultimately carries the signal to ground/earth at the panel then how does electricity "get back to" hot?  Like, what "bridges the gap" between ground at the end of the circuit and hot at the beginning of the circuit?

The gap is bridged by the power company driving the current through your wires.

You can think of it as a remote generator pushing the current through your house, but in actuality there are several transformers isolating the current between generation and your house.  So the current itself recirculates at the transformer near your house, and that current is driven by current in the transformer's primary coils.

If all is working properly (and nominally), there is no current to earth.  That connection is there only to guarantee that each loop—including your house current loop—never has a potential voltage to ground greater than 120 volts.  If a loop were not grounded, that portion could conceivably float to any voltage through static effects or other processes.

The actual correct answer is that alternating current, unlike direct current, does not require a complete circuit, it simply requires a displacement current path.  Such a path is provided when the line is connected to the a large charge holder, like ground (Earth).

Though it's often convenient to think of every point on Earth as being electrically-connected (and thus providing a conduction path), that's actually not true, and not why it works.  This fact even trips up many electrical engineers!


Is there a good way to store and organize try/combination squares? I have a bunch of try/combination squares that I would like to store/hang in my work area but I cannot figure out a good system. Can someone recommend a good method to keep combination squares readily available and protect them from getting damaged? I would like to have at least the following within reach of my bench:

1 × 6  inch try square
2 × 12 inch try square(s)
2 × 12 inch combination square(s)
1 × 24 inch protractor square
1 × 24 inch straight edge / ruler (bonus points)

Updated information to address question:

I do have a pegboard in front of my bench. That is what is so confounding. I have not been able to think of a way to securely store/hang them on the peg board. Despite the existence of the peg board answers do not need to utilize the pegboard.

If all your tools are steel or other ferromagnetic material, I would try something like this:

It's a magnetic knife holder that you should be able to buy at any kitchen store.

Alternatively, you could build something along the lines of a traditional knife block by glue-laminating pieces of wood and leaving appropriate gaps for each square.  Although, some types of squares might not fit.

I built a custom tool holder that works pretty well.  Woodsmith had a good article on pegboard holders: http://www.woodsmithshop.com/download/211/pegboardrack.pdf


Ground wire giving shock All metal appliances in my house give shock. Following is experiment I conducted: I stuck my electrical tester in each hole of my mains wall socket (one by one) and it does not glow on neutral, glows on live, glows very dimly on ground. But when I stuck it with end point of my iPhone charger, it glows (dimly). My iPhone charger has no ground connection (2-pin plug).

I also conducted many other experiments but the above experiment is equivalent to all of them. Same thing happens with lenovo charger and my also APC UPS or any other modern appliance. Even if this house does not have ground connected to actual ground, event like this should only happen if all of these appliances have live wire leakage. Is it possible that bodies of electrical appliances gain some voltage when appliance is turned on (without any fault)?

I also tried connecting the ground wire from my UPS to one of metal pipelines (that go beneath my house) and viola! No more electric shocks from my UPS/desktop. While connecting this wire, I noticed my monitor turned off momentarily. Thus, I suspect this might be a huge mistake. Could this cause higher electrical bills?

Any help on what's causing this and how to fix this? This is India, Delhi, BSES yamuna electricity, single phase (domestic).

This can be caused by a bootleg ground together with a poor neutral connection at the service panel.

  In building wiring, a bootleg ground is an electrical ground that is wired from the neutral side of a receptacle or light fixture in an older 2-wire home. This essentially connects the neutral side of the receptacle to the casing of an appliance or lamp. It can be a hazard because the neutral wire is a current-carrying conductor, which means the casing can become energized.

You have probably encountered the combination of bootleg grounds on some of your receptacles, and a failing neutral path somewhere between the receptacle and the neutral connection from the power utility.

Here are some diagrams that you can show to your local electrician:

Home wiring with correct fault grounding:

This is the correct way to protect against the appliance case accidentally becoming electrified. If the hot wire (red) insulation fails inside the appliance, the casing will become hot, and almost instantly the circuit breaker will open.

Home wiring without fault grounding:

The earliest home wiring in my country (USA) didn't have fault grounding, and the appliances of that era didn't have little green ground wires.

Using a modern appliance in such an old house involves living without fault ground protection. As you can see from the diagram, there is obviously no place for the appliance's fault ground connection to go. Most users either use an adapter incorrectly, or break the round ground pin off the plug.

Bootleg ground -- what you evidently have:

Unscrupulous home sellers and misguided handymen may for various reasons connect the fault ground to the neutral wire inside the receptacle.

Sellers do this because they want to give the appearance of fault ground wiring in the house. An untrained repairman may do this because he thinks it is safer than leaving the ground disconnected.

Dangerous failure in a bootlegged circuit:

In every country, as far as I know, the neutral service connection is held near earth potential by the utility company's wiring, so connecting an appliance's fault ground to the neutral wire does provide some protection against an insulation failure inside the appliance.

BUT it introduces a more dangerous and much more common failure mode, the broken neutral. You are much more likely to encounter a corroded or broken neutral wire in an old house than you are to encounter failed insulation in a new appliance. The neutrals are usually clamped to a copper bar in the service panel, and these connections will become corroded over time.

When the neutral path is broken anywhere between the bootleg ground and the service panel, everything that is "grounded" becomes live. You can trace the path in the diagram, from the circuit breaker, thru the hot wire (red), thru the appliance load, down the neutral wire (blue), thru the bootleg connection, and thru the ground wire (green) back to the appliance casing. Because of the high resistance of the failing neutral (probably at the service panel), the appliance casing will be energized and current will flow to nearby earth through any accidental path provided, such as you.

Now, it's true that any current that flows through a person touching an appliance casing must also flow through the appliance loads, which is probably the only reason you are still alive. Note that the more appliances you have running the greater the shock you will get.

Connecting a ground wire to the plumbing is a stopgap that may prevent you being electrocuted by touching an appliance, but it introduces a new problem: you can now be electrocuted by touching your plumbing.

You are not going to be able to safely fix this yourself. You must call a licensed professional electrician. Even if you applied some repairs and got rid of the symptoms, without training and experience you might not find all the problems, and would be subjected to dangers later on.

Check the bonding screw in the panel. I have found that if it's not bonded correctly it will cause the ground to have voltage leakage on it, which is definitely not safe.


Does MC cable need protection in an exterior wall penetration? Does MC cable need a raceway, e.g. PVC conduit, when passing from a crawlspace through a mudsill and stucco and terminating in a surface-mount exterior receptacle box?
I am going to install several receptacles surface mounted to the exterior stucco wall of my house at the height of the rim joist. I am using MC cable for this circuit, running it through the crawlspace, the rim joist, the stucco wall, into the back of a surface mounted 1-or-2 gang weatherproof outlet box.
I repurposed a picture below to illustrate. Can the orange "hole" through the rim joist/stucco be just a hole or do I have to provide conduit protection. If I use conduit, the conduit becomes the interface to the back of the box, and how/do I need to secure the MC cable sheath to the box as well? What kind of PVC termination does there need to be at the free end of the conduit inside the crawlspace?

Image Source
Edit: Added Image Source

The outdoor recep does not need to be a "GFCI Receptacle".  It can be a plain recep that is GFCI protected from a GFCI device in the nice dry indoors where it'll last a lot longer.
If able, I would stick another junction box on the interior.  Now, they make conduit nuts, and chances are the outside box (if it's watertight) has a threaded hole.  It takes standard pipe thread, which is used by IMC and Rigid conduit.
So, I would fit a piece of Rigid conduit there. Get it the right length so it screws into the outside box, and pokes through a knockout on the inside box by about 1/2".  Either put the inside box on shims/spacers, or have the pipe cut to the right length and have the hardware store thread it.
On the outside box it screws into the box body.  On the inside box, clamp it down with a conduit nut.
This will NOT be a valid grounding path so you need to run a ground wire.   Use the inside box to switcheroo from non-outdoor wiring method to several THWN wires. (must be green ground, white or gray neutral, and any other color for hot. So just buy a couple feet of by-the-foot THWN.

If you run conduit as a sleeve between the cable and the box, the conduit need not connect to the box;  the cable however should enter the back of the box on the outside with a clamp / box connector.
If you run conduit as a raceway, connected to the box on the outside, then the simplest thing to do is put another box on the other side of the wall, also properly connected to the inside box.  Enter the box with a clamp on the inside, with enough stripped to reach through the wall and terminate on the other side.


How much power should a ductless A/C system use while "off"? I (with the help of an HVAC professional) installed a ductless, split system. It's a 24,000 BTU, single head system. What surprised me is how much energy (relative to everything else in the house) it uses while in the off/stand-by mode.

It's on a dedicated circuit, and I calculated using my Aeotec Home Energy Monitor that it's continuously using about 130 W with no visible operation. The head/air handler is "off", no noise from the compressor, compressor fan is not moving, etc.

Is this common for systems to use this much energy in stand-by or does it indicate something may be wrong with the wiring or connections?

Additional notes:

My system doesn't make an off/standby distinction. There is just an off button on the remote. I use the terms interchangeably b/c while it is "off" it is still drawing 130 W of power.
The home energy monitor uses clamps (one on each incoming 120V main line). I know it's ~ 130 W by monitoring the usage for 5 min, throwing the 2 pole breaker for the A/C, calculating the diff, and then turning it back on to verify. It appears to be fairly accurate for other circuits that I've tested (e.g. ~15 W for an LED lamp, < 1 W for an in-panel surge protector, ~60-70 W for the fridge, spikes +1000 W for the microwave, etc.)

Your unit is probably a Heat Pump.  I sell these and I'm not aware of any companies that still sell a/c only units since the cost difference was minimal they have been phased out.  So being a heat pump it would have a crankcase heater either under or wrapped around the compressor.  As long as the main power switch is on the heater will be energized whenever the compressor is off.  That is to keep the oil in the system liquid so it can mix with the refrigerant gas when in operation.  It is a resistance type heater so the wattage seems reasonable.

In general most equipment or appliances that have electronic controls will use some AC while the equipment is in the off position. You just mentioned you turn your unit on and off with a remote. So there must be power to sense the remote and its calls to start etc. Also the need for the consumer to want instant start for their equipment, manufacturer's design power circuits that remain continually warm so they get that response.

All that being said. We would really not know if the amount you measured is accurate, or is high or low by industry standards unless we had some sort of engineering data base that would give us that information. To get that you would probably have to be part of that type of manufacturer.


Plumbing fixture for draining spa shower lines when off? I am installing a spa shower, no tub.  Is there a device I can include at low points of the outputs to the raincan, etc, that will bleed the lines when the shower is off, exploiting that there is no pressure in those lines, kind of like a tub kit diverter?

Unless your talking a country mile of "standing" water in those pipes you can install ball valves above the faucet.


If leading-edge is not suitable for LED dimming, why do so many switches have it? I have been battling LED dimming in my house for a few weeks now and I have come across some inconsistent information.
According to my research trailing-edge dimmer switches are the correct technology for dimming LED bulbs - in that case, why are there so many supposedly LED compatible switches with leading edge instead? (https://blog.lightbulbs-direct.com/led-dimmer-switch-compatibility/)
Example
https://www.screwfix.com/p/british-general-nexus-metal-1-gang-2-way-led-dimmer-switch-brushed-steel/53506
https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-2-gang-2-way-led-dimmer-switch-black-nickel/33350
Similarly on this switch it clearly states it's LED compatible however it says it only supports inductive and resistive load - https://download.schneider-electric.com/files?p_enDocType=Product+Data+Sheet&p_File_Name=GGBL6012LSBS_DATASHEET_WW_en-GB.pdf&p_Doc_Ref=GGBL6012LSBS_DATASHEET - neither of which seems to be used for LED (https://www.lyco.co.uk/advice/dimmers-trailing-vs-leading-edge/)

leading edge dimmer will cause repeated current surges into input capacitors on electronic ballasts. this will damage the ballast or the switch.
trailing edge dimmers will experience voltage spikes when they interrupt the circuit to inductive loads like iron ballasts and transformers possibly causing malfunction or damage.
What style of dimmer is right for your lamps depends on the lamps.

Your question asks way two many questions to be answered with one answer!
Electronic switches need power to cycle the output. No matter leading or trailing edge look to se if a neutral is required!!!
If a neutral is required it makes no difference electrical wise.
Old school dimmers used SCR’s silicon controlled rectifiers, back with old school incandescent lamps no neutrals were needed because you cannot see the tiny current needed to make them work with out a neutral. Now with LED’s a tiny Very tiny amount of currant called gate current lights up LED’s .
So leading edge and trailing edge are gimmicks in my opinion if no neutral is required.


What is the best way to remove hair from carpets? We do have a vacuum cleaner, but unfortunately that does not do a good job.

I do not mind purchasing a new one, but I am going to be here only for the next 3 - 6 months and I would rather not buy one unless absolutely necessary.

I found the following while searching if someone had already answered

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/removing-hair-carpet-48919.html

It does a partially better job than the vacuum, but does not remove most of them.

Any suggestions?

For problem areas, I tape together a square of masking tape about a foot (0.3 meters) on a side, and press that onto the carpet after a stiff brushing. The sticky will pull the hair right out. It'd be a lot of work for large areas though.

Contact paper! You know the rolls we used cover books with. I imagine it would be perfect for lifting hair


Will this solar charger work with my solar panel setup? I recently bought some used solar panels that are about 25 years old, because I got a great deal on them. They have some odd operating values, which is confusing me as to which solar charger will work with my system.

I have 6 panels @ 230 watts each (1380w total).

Their specs are ( as far as I can tell. I needed to peice a label together because there is really no information available on them online):

Name: Mobil RA-220 8b
Peak power: 230w
Vmax: 8.27 (V)
PF Pmax: 27.77 (I)
Voc: 10.55 (V)
Isc: 30.49 (I)

I am attempting to make a 24 volt system with either 4 or 6 panels. My friend said some of those values above are labeled incorrectly (volts vs amps). However, with her math, she recommended the Victron MPPT blue solar 100/50 solar charger, which is rated at:

max 1400w
12/24v
Max PV open circuit voltage: 100v
Max battery current: 50 amps

Would this charger work with this setup? If not, why? And is there another comparably priced ($300) charger that would work in the market?

I know I need to connect my panels in both series and parallel. What specifically would you recommend?

Thank you!

Wire the panels all in series to get the highest possible voltage to the controller. This will keep your current lower, requiring less wire, and allow the MPPT charger to work more efficiently. If you are charging a 24V battery bank, you need at LEAST 26V but it will operate much better with higher voltages. Just try not to exceed 100V. 6 panels is probably the max you'd want to run.

The Mobil ra220 panels actually have 2 modules each, and if you're measuring ~9V per panel they are configured in parallel. I'd recommend rewiring them in series for the reasons stated above.

I just did a math to your solar panel system.

1, As you said, the panels are about 25 years old, the efficiency must reduce about 20%, so the 230 Watt solar panels can only produce about 180W power, in the same philosophy, you can only get the optimum current about 21.76.

2, After 20% reduction, total power could be only 180W x 6 = 1080 Watt. And 50A solar controller is good for your 24V solar systems. I agreed with your friend, she did a good math on it.