Mini Split Condenser in Garage? With ventilation? I live in a fairly warm and dry environment and due to HOA restrictions am unable to place a window A/C unit, outdoor unit, or a system on the roof. I understand that A/C shouldn't go in attics due to the heat.

However, I was wondering if an A/C unit could go into a garage that had an exhaust / intake fan cut into the side of the wall. This air flow could even be directed into a self contained box which the condenser portion is in.

Is such an installation feasible? If so, how do I calculate what amount of CFMs the fans will need to push to sufficiently cool the a/c unit?

Is it correct that a 1 ton A/C system passes about 400CFM per minute? If my garage is 5000 Cubic feet (25x25x8), then it would take about 12minutes to cycle through all the air. Thus I would need exhaust and intake fans that can push 400CFM?

Thanks.

According to this webpage, "the answer is an emphatic NO."  The page goes on to say this is because the total volume of air in an enclosed space is insufficient, including a garage with an open door as the air isn't likely to circulate enough.

From this we can deduce:

There is nothing in most codes preventing you from doing it.
If you are planning to do this, you'll need to pay very close
attention to where your intake and exhaust air are coming from.
If you don't design your ventilation perfectly, your system may not
be able to cool your space

If you are anticipating making an opening in the wall of the garage so that the hot exhaust from the condensing unit would have an unobstructed path to the outside, then in theory your idea to have the condensing unit inside the garage could work.

You would need some sort of seal to prevent hot air from the condensing unit from flowing back into the garage. You could mount the condensing unit on brackets on the wall of the garage. The opening could have a decorative grill on it that would hide the fan.

Normally the fan side of the condensing unit faces outward from an exterior wall so this might not work in practice because having that face of the condensing unit close to the inside of the wall of the garage might impede access to diagnostic ports of the unit.

The input air to the condensing unit would be from the inside the garage and there would have to have an opening for air to be admitted to the garage to replace that being pumped out.

You would still have to get permission from the HOA board to do this and they might find grounds to withhold approval. Would the HOA allow you to cut an opening in the wall of the garage?

Finally, the noise of the condensing unit would be trapped in the garage and could be very disturbing. The condensing unit is meant to be outside where the sound disperses. But modern condensing units make much less noise than formerly.

*EDIT**
You could get creative with ducting to get the hot air to the outside of the garage. The opening on the outside might be a rectangle 6 ft long by 0.5 ft high on the wall where it would not blow on passersby.


Should I ground my TV antenna? Should I (electrically) ground my TV antenna?

I've heard both: "you must always ground your antenna" and "you don't need to".

I haven't grounded it (at all) yet.

Under what circumstances is it useful or necessary?

I imagine a TV antenna could theoretically be struck by lightning, but I don't know if that's the only reason to ground.

My home is single storey. All 4 of my neighbours within 50m or so have taller antennas. Some have trees twice that tall. A few houses down, there are double storey homes too. My street is lower than surrounding streets and is in a low lying area (does this remove all chance of lightning strikes to my home?).

Grounding is not required by law (where I live).

In my case, would grounding it simply increase the (unlikely) possibility of a lightning strike?

Yes, you should have a grounding block wired to a ground rod before the antenna wire enters your home. It won't necessarily prevent all damage from a direct lightning strike, but it will help.

NEC in the States (NFPA 70) says that if you don't ground the grounding box to the same ground rod that is connected to your breaker box, you need a #6 wire between the ground rods. Obviously, that doesn't apply in your locale, but it's still a good idea.

YMMV, but I get excellent digital TV reception from an antenna mounted in my attic. Removes all the worries about grounding, wind, etc.

We always sprayed rubberized undercoating (available at any auto parts store) around the base of our antenna poles (the two feet before it goes in the ground). We live in lightning alley and never have had a direct strike in over 46 years and our antenna pole is 50ft tall due to our location.


Two Water Heaters - One off affecting the other? We recently moved into a property with 2 water heaters installed. These were installed less than 3 years ago, so they are relatively new. Now, in an effort to conserve electricity (we are just 3 people in the house), I switched off one completely.
We then noticed that the other (functional) water heater's pilot was going off every other day, causing no hot water. We then switched both heaters on 2 days ago, and the problem hasn't reoccurred...

We had a technician come over today, and he said it could be a problem with the thermocouple. But when I mentioned that one of them was switched off, when the problem occurred, he evaluated the plumbing, said that both feed into the same water line, and that that could be the problem causing the pilot on the functioning heater to switch off.

My question is - Does the operation of one water heater affect the other in a setting described above? Of course, I will evaluate whether the problem reoccurs with both heaters being on over the next few days.

It sounds like you are describing two different problems.
FIRST PROBLEM: Turning off a hot water heater.
First, there are two ways to hook up two water heaters: series and parallel.

SERIES

In series, the water comes in to the first water heater, then passes through the second hot water heater, and finally goes to your fixtures.
If you turn off the second water heater, then the water in the second one cools down between uses. This results in very long warmup times.
If you want to turn one of these off, turn off the first one. (This is actually a legit way to save on energy costs if you don't need the extra hot water volume because in many places the water supply is colder than room temperature and the first tank allows the water to sit and reach room temperature before it's heated.)

PARALLEL

In parallel, the incoming cold water is split between the two water heaters. Hot water coming out of the two heaters is combined and sent on to the fixtures.
If you want to turn off one of the water heaters, you also have to close the valve to the inlet or the outlet. Otherwise you will just be mixing the cold water in one water heater with the hot water from the other heater.
Leaving one heater closed off for a long time is a bad idea because the water can become stagnant and foul.

SECOND PROBLEM: Pilot light going out
Just turning off one heater should not cause the pilot light on the other to go out.

I would surmise that your heaters are connected in series and that is causing surges when one unit is left powered off. This is because of the unbalanced state of heated vs cold water. When water moves from the cold to heated system the heavier cold molecules are compressing the heated molecules that are oscillating in an excited state. This is causing the pilot light to go out as a result. This is known as the Bernoulli principle that is rarely seen in liquids but it was identified as a interaction routinely seen when two disparate bodies of water collide in a circular reservoir. To avoid this you should eliminate the unused tank altogether or regulate the temperatures in both tanks to be within 15% variance of each other. I hope this helps.


How to tidily restore a sandstone fireplace I would really appreciate some advice in regards to the best solution to restore a stone fireplace that was previously covered by plasterboard.

I am looking to fit a log burning stove into the hole, however I would like to restore as much of the old fireplace as possible.  The plasterboard has been applied so it protrudes the fireplace (see attached picture), can anyone recommend a tidy way to create a neat edge between the sandstone and plaster?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks.

Iain

Cut back the plaster evenly and use a fancy stone trim piece. You can use a tile saw to miter the corners, use paintable caulk where the plaster meets the trim, to hide irregularities. Use construction adhesive, or silicone, or tile mortar, to adhere the trim to the sandstone. Your biggest job will be cleaning up the sandstone and brick.

It would be great for looks, but it may not be worth it to get it working. Putting Fire Brick back in is one thing, but how's the chimney. A gas fireplace (piped or tanked) might be the only cost effective solution.

Other that, you'd cut back the plaster to reveal the full brick up to the mantel shadow. Then, you can add framing members to terminate the plaster on the sides & can bridge the side lumber with lumber to support a new mantel.

I hope you can restore the look, it would be a real plus.


What is the proper 'per code' method for running nonmetallic sheathed cable above a ceiling in the attic? Can the wiring be run over the top of the ceiling joist, or must it be run through bored holes when running perpendicular to the joists?

This is a non-habitable space, will have an attic entrance only for the purpose of blown-in insulation and is not tall enough to stand in. There will be no junction boxes, lights or any other reason to enter this space.

Accessible or not
While you might call this area inaccessible because it's small, dark, and difficult to enter. In this case, the codes definition of accessible is whether or not there's permanent stairs or a ladder.

Cable run across the top of joists
If the attic is accessible by permanent stairs or ladder, any cable running across the top of joists will have to be protected.  Protecting the cable is as simple as installing "substantial guard strips", which can simply be a 1x2 furring strip on each side of the cable.

If there's no permanent stairs or ladder, this protection only has to be provided to cables within 6 ft. of the entrance of the attic.

National Electrical Code
Chapter 3 Wiring Methods and Materials
Article 334 Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cable: Types NM, NMC, and NMS
334.23 In Accessible Attics. The installation of cable in accessible attics or roof spaces shall also comply with 320.23.
Article 320 Armored Cable: Type AC
320.23 In Accessible Attics. Type AC cables in accessible attics or roof spaces shall be installed as specified in 320.23(A) and (B).
(A) Where Run Across the Top of Floor Joists. Where run across the top of floor joists, or within 2.1 m (7 ft) of floor or floor joists across the face of rafters or studding, in attics and roof spaces that are accessible, the cable shall be protected by substantial guard strips that are at least as high as the cable. Where this space is not accessible by permanent stairs or ladders, protection shall only be required within 1.8 m (6 ft) of the nearest edge of the scuttle hole or attic entrance.
(B) Cable Installed Parallel to Framing Members. Where the cable is installed parallel to the sides of rafters, studs, or floor joists, neither guard strips nor running boards shall be required, and the installation shall also comply with 300.4(D).

Cable run through bored holes
You could always run the cable(s) through holes bored in sanw lumber joists, but you'll have to make sure the edge of the hole is more than 1 1/4" from the nearest edge (2" according to IRC).

National Electrical Code 2014
Chapter 3 Wiring Methods and Materials
Article 300 Wiring Methods
300.4 Protection Against Physical Damage.
(A) Cables and Raceways Through Wood Members.
(1) Bored Holes. In both exposed and concealed locations,
where a cable- or raceway-type wiring method is installed through bored holes in joists, rafters, or wood members,
holes shall be bored so that the edge of the hole is not less
than 32 mm (1 1/4 in.) from the nearest edge of the wood
member. Where this distance cannot be maintained, the
cable or raceway shall be protected from penetration by
screws or nails by a steel plate(s) or bushing(s), at least
1.6 mm (1/16 in.) thick, and of appropriate length and width
installed to cover the area of the wiring.

NOTE: When dealing with engineered structural members, boring holes may not be an option.

The "average" electrician will just leave them unsecured (obviously dangerous).

If you hire an expensive electrician, he will drill holes through the joists.

The proper method is to use running boards, which are two, parallel 1x2 boards that are nailed into the joist on either side of the wire. Electricians will not do this because they are not carpenters.

(Personally, I consider Romex to be strictly for hacks and always use thin wall EMT, so I don't even have problems like this.)


Why are the lights flickering when the a/c is on? The lights flick on and off when the a/c is on and the sound of a/c is too noisy and look like it's going to blow.

I already checked the connection if they have a short circuit. Did not found any trouble

Im going to assume you are talking about either a window air conditioner or portable unit - not central AC.

The lights flickering means the voltage is dropping.  Incandescent bulbs are particularly sensitive to that.  Most CFL and LED bulbs flicker less, though some may still flicker.

The voltage is dropping because of a large current draw.  It is normal for there to be a momentary large draw as the compressor starts up.  Fridges and freezers do the same thing.  Its part of the reason for having a dedicated circuit for such appliances.  The manual for your AC may even say it requires a dedicated circuit.

If its doing this when the AC first turns on, its not a problem.  If it were drawing too much power for too long your circuit breaker would trip.  If the compressor is starting and stopping rapidly causing constant flicker, your AC unit needs servicing or replacing.  The noise might be the compressor or a fan dying, or just vibrations.  Hard to tell without hearing it.

I would get a electrical multi tester and verify the A/C unit is not drawing more amps/volts that it should, I would also wonder if the A/C unit is disrupting flow and possibly reversing the current.  Electricity flows to the path of least resistance which is the purpose of the earth.


LED Light Glowing when off I have been searching the internet and StackExchange for a couple of weeks now and have not found anything that fixed the issue.
I recently added a room in my basement, all new wireing, lights, switches.
when i turn the breaker on to that room all of my led lights glow when the switch is off. when i turn the switch on the light come on as expected. i have read where people say this is due to the minimal current that is usually in your circuits when off, and they said to put a regular light bulb in one of the sockets and it will act as a resistor and dissipate the remaining current. i just tried that tonight and the leds still glow( all 4 lights)
Below is how they are currently wired for reference. Any help or ideas is appreciated.

LEDs need very little power (that is the point after all).  In fact, if you have a live cable running next to a cable feeding the light, then there can be enough inductive coupling between the cables to cause a glow.

The fact that you say "I tried to seperate the 'main line' as much from the lines feeding the lights and it seems to have worked for the most part." makes me think this is the explanation.

I have it happening with certain (probably very sensitive/efficient) LED bulbs in the house.  My guess is that there are very small amounts of current leakage in electrical systems (even switches).  Certain LEDs can give a bit of light using that current.  I just accept it...it's a bit of nightlight in the room and added electric bill has to be extremely minimal.


How to remove glue from a CD/DVD plastic case I need to remove some glue/adhesive residue from CD/DVD plastic cases (not from CD/DVD themselves). I tried with acetone but it ruined the plastic case (from transparent it became white). Which product should I try instead?

Use an orange oil based product like Goo Gone.

If the glue is a water soluable material then just soak the case in warm water for a while.

If you use the Goo Gone you will want to wash with warm soapy water afterwards to remove the oily film.

you can try wd40 or paint thinner also.  most polycarbonates are not soluble in the methylated spirits or naptha that makes up the solvent in both of the above


Should a smoke alarm be installed in the attic? I installed hard-wired and interconnected smoke alarms through the house. I wondered, though, if a fire spread through my attic I might not know about it until the ceiling or roof collapsed.

Should I install an interconnected alarm in the attic?

Is there some reason this isn't required/recommended?

FEMA writes:

  Few, if any, smoke alarms are Underwriters Laboratories
  (UL)-listed for use in the temperature extremes an attic can
  experience. Few, if any, codes require alarms in one- and
  two- family residential attics where nearly all (90 percent)
  of attic fires occur.

  — “Attic Fires in Residential Buildings”, Topical Fire Report Series 11(6), January 2011

I am baffled that smoke detectors in attics aren't more common. We suffered a catastrophic fire in our 3-week old home when the house next door, under construction, went up in flames and our roof caught. We were outside the home at the time but were shocked to discover that it took 20 minutes after the roof first caught fire for our smoke detector to go off. Because of the location of the fire the top of our staircase did burn, so I shudder to think what would have occured if this had happened in the middle of the night. When we rebuilt we added detectors in the attic, as well as ladders built below window frames in our kids' rooms... just wouldn't be able to sleep otherwise. I can't understand why smoke detectors are not standard.... the only other person I know who had a house fire had it start becuase of lightning, also on the roof.


Can you terminate more than one common on the furnace C terminal? TL;DR: Can you terminate more than one common on the furnace C terminal?

Background:

I've linked a diagram of how my non-programmable thermostat is currently hooked up. I want to replace it with a Trane Z-Wave thermostat that requires constant power. There's already a blue wire in the 18/5 bundle, but it's disconnected on both ends. The C terminal on the furnace control board is already in use by the rooftop condenser. If possible, I'd like to connect the blue wire to the stat and terminate it on the same C terminal on the furnace that is already in use by the A/C.

Some model numbers:

Furnace: Goodman GKS9 Gas Furnace with A/C (CAPF) - manual(PDF)
Old stat: Honeywell TH3210D1004 non-programmable
New stat: Trane TZEMT400BB3 Z-Wave

Yes you can terminate any number of connections on the C terminal.  All of the connections will be in parallel.  This is very common.

The Common leg of the 24 volt power supply is where all the 24 volt circuits terminate to complete their circuit.


How should I unstick an old gas appliance valve? There is an old gas pipe for a dryer unit that hasn't been used in maybe 15-20 years. The pipe seems to be of good integrity (as good as anything else in the house) however the valve which is currently perpendicular to the pipe (closed position) is stuck.  It may be painted shut but I can imagine that there may also be corrosion at the pivot joint.

I have only tried moving it by hand. I plan to chip and scrub away any paint that I think may interfere with turning. Then wasn't sure what sort of lubricant to use and if I should try a gorilla wrench or avoid any tools?

I assume there is no flint and steel in the ball valve that I should worry about (kidding). But seriously, wondering if the ball itself could fail when I crank the valve if there is corrosion gluing it.  Currently in the closed position no gas coming out so it's doing its job.

There is not much to fail on that valve, i think you are correct that it is the paint.  Put a little paint stripper on and let is soak for while. Clean it all up and run the edge of a flat blade screwdriver around where the valve handle meets the valve body.
Find the closest or the main gas shut off and have the appropriate wrench ready at that location in case you need to quickly shut of the gas supply.
check with your gas company before you do this, some times they will have to come out to reset the diaphragm after a meter has been shut off
Get the appropriate size pipe cap and use a pipe wrench to put it on the open end of the pipe with pipe dope so you can work on the valve.
Get a pipe wrench in order to secure the pipe assembly from moving while you work on the valve handle. Take an adjustable wrench ( crescent wrench ) and adjust it so it fits over the handle, The longer the better for leverage. Have a helper hold the pipe assembly from moving with the pipe wrench and then try to gently get the valve handle to move, use caution and just try to move it a little.  IF it starts to move then gently make short movements in both direction until you feel that is moving freely. If you feel you are not getting it to budge then stop.
With all of that being said, i would  suggest you ( or a pro ) just replace it with a modern 1/4 turn ball valve and not mess with the old one.
If you do then have all of your new fittings, dope and valve on site and ready to install. You will also need a test solution of soapy water to test the connections for leaks once the gas is turned on. You can find a small bottle of the solution in the plumbing section of your home improvement center. ( a pro will have everything need to do this.)
Check with the municipality and see if you are allowed to work on gas supply in your town.
Find the gas shut off up stream or if not then at the meter and shut it off.
Check with your gas company before you do this, some times they will have to come out to reset the diaphragm after a meter has been shut off
You will need Two pipe wrenches. Take it off at the threaded nipple coming out of the 90 elbow. The nipple may come out, replace it if it does. Put  new nipple on the  valve and then the appropriate fitting for the gas appliance you will be connecting, Use pipe dope on all the connections.
Did i mention, check with your gas company?
Disclaimer: I am not a plumber i just play one on the intertubes, proceed at your own risk.

Try loosening the nut on the underside of the valve slightly try to turn it. You may need to tighten the nut again when done.


Gap between basin waste and p Trap First time poster – thanks for all replies.

I have just replaced a sink in my bathroom, but am finding it extremely frustrating replacing the P Trap under the sink for the following reason.

The original basin waste was very long, so I couldn't find one that was the same length as the original. I bought the longest one I could find, which now means that there is a tiny gap (about 20mm) between the basin waste and p trap that I cannot find any reasonable way to extending or adapting. Any adapter or extenders I've found are much to big for this gap.

All pipes are 40mm.

Does anyone know of an adapter that would be suitable in this situation? Thanks.

You need to simplify your design and bring the trap down to the level of the outlet connection, like so:

It's a bit difficult to offer more detail with what I can't see in the photo. It may be that your outlet is so low that you can't achieve exactly that. Post a clear photo showing the entire thing (or just remove it all and show us the bare outlet).


How should I build a base floor for a large summerhouse? Hi my question has 2 parts about piles and creating a subfloor.

I want to install a 4.8x4.8m (~16'x16') summerhouse; its existing floor is 24mm (~1") floor boards on 75x50mm (~"2x3") floor posts.

I don’t want a concrete base so I thought I could create my own piles using 110mm (~4.5") pipe (filled with postcrete and topped with damp-proof membrane) for the sub floor to rest on.

Is 110mm (~4.5") good enough or should I get 150mm (~6")? How deep should I go with the piles and at what spacing.

I then want to create a base frame for the summerhouse to go on and was thinking that as it already comes with a 75x50mm (~"2x3") floor I could create another one (joist running the opposite way) with 75x50mm (~"2x3") timbers.

Are these good enough timbers for the sub floor as I don’t want to go too high either? what spacing should I have between them?

Try this guide. step-by-step and easy to follow!  http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/blog/build-a-shed-base/


Can I put a UK 3 pin plug or use an adapter on a dishwasher I brought in South Africa? Can I put a UK 3 pin plug on a dishwasher I brought over from South Africa, or use an adapter?

Standard electrical outlets in both Britain and South Africa supply 230V at 50Hz. There's a fair chance your dishwasher would adjust and work on 120V/60Hz power, too if you were bring it to someplace like the U.S. or Canada. That's not guaranteed, but manufacturers tend to like to sell their goods into more than one country.

Regardless, electricity in Britain is just like the electricity in South Africa, so if you can find the right plug adapter (type M to type G) you'll be fine.

As long as there is a live ground and earth cable in the wire then yes you can use a three pin plug


Repairing electrical outlet fin I broke the tab off my electrical outlet connecting the two hot wires, and then realized that this was unnecessary. Is it a bad idea to solder the brass tab back and still use the outlet?

Into the trash goes this 75 cent outlet

It was wrecked by removing the screws and soldering the tab.

Soldering like that to alter a device is not a proper wiring method and is not safe.  Solder does not conduct as well as copper, and melts much sooner.   Edit: Here's a link that shows solder has 9x the resistance: copper 0.0168, solder 0.145.  As soldered it has no chance of carrying the required current.  Keep the solder in the electronics lab.

If you hadn't also pulled the screws out, I would say just unsolder the tab (you're not allowed to modify devices like this) and put 2 pigtails on the 2 screws.  You join those with a wirenut to the two wires you would have otherwise attached to those two screws.

However since you've also torn the screws out, I would say toss the receptacle in the trash.  They cost 60 cents, or $3 for the really good ones.

Those screws are captive, meaning when they are most of the way out, they get really stiff.  You're supposed to stop turning at that point.  That is a detent designed to keep the screws attached for your installation convenience. Pulling them out damages their threads.  If the receptacle has features like screw-clamp, removing the screws "loses" the clamps and ruins the receptacle.

So now you know in the future: anytime you're loosening a screw and it gets weirdly stiff most of the way out, that is a mechanism trying to keep the screw captured.  Don't do a "gorilla act" on it.

Looks neat and reliable but not kosher to inspectors.

I did the same thing, once in my 1st rec. room 30 yrs ago until I realized they used these for wall switched light fixtures outlets.

The dimples retain the wire from getting squeezed away from under the screw.

Someone handy with a needlenose can do an insulation strip in 2 sections on the same wire.


Detecting concealed PVC water pipe with ultrasonic sensor I'm planning to install some glass shelves in one corner of my washroom. The problem is, there are some plumbing pipes snaking around underneath the ceramic tiles and I risk punching holes while mounting the metal brackets. Is it possible to use an ultrasonic sensor like this one to detect the water pipe behind the ceramic tiles?

Or is there any other inexpensive way to do this?

An infrared thermometer would probably be a better solution.   You should be able to see them if you run hot or cold water.   You may need to decrease or increase the room temp to get better accuracy but I would go this router vs anything else.


How can I hide exposed countersunk screws in kitchen cabinets side panel? How do I hide screws on the side of a kitchen cabinet wall that has slightly countersunk screws?  I will be painting my cabinets black.

You can use wood filler if you're painting the cabinets. Use a putty knife to apply, and then sand even after it dries.

Alternatively, if you're going to stain the cabinets, you can use a plug cutter that matches the countersink diameter. Using matching scrap wood, cut a plug that has a similar grain pattern, and lightly tap it in the hole after applying a thin layer of wood glue. When it dries, you can use a chisel to cut it flush or nearly flush, and then finish up with sandpaper. Then you're ready to stain!

If I remember correctly, this 5/16" diameter plug cutter works well with a #8 countersink hole. (You may want to check, it's been a while since I used that combination on a project.)

I'm not a DIY genius, but I'd go with "filler".


How can I figure out why my washing machine is tripping the GFCI receptacle? I have a Kenmore 80 Series (Model No. 110.24872300) washing machine which up to this point has been working fine. Since it is near a sink, the outlet it is plugged into is a GFCI outlet. On the last load I came back after letting it run for some time to find that it had tripped the GFCI in the middle of the wash cycle - the washer was still full of soapy water. I reset the outlet and let it run again, only to come down the next morning and find it full of water still (it had tripped during the rinse cycle this time). I reset the outlet again and this time it finished the rest of the cycle.

My guess is that water is somehow getting onto the internal components of the washer and causing it to short - is there any way I can test this theory or fix the problem myself?

(Summarizing the comments above)

To narrow this problem down, there are three places that could be causing the GFCI to trip, a malfunction in the washing machine, a problem with the downstream wiring (aka load side of the GFCI), or the GFCI outlet itself. If there isn't anything downstream, then plugging the washing machine into another GFCI outlet, or simply swapping out the outlet for a known good GFCI outlet, will identify if the outlet itself is faulty.

If the outlet trips when the washing machine isn't running and isn't even plugged in, then there's a fault in the wiring on the load side of the GFCI outlet.

If the issue is neither of the above, then running the washing machine and monitoring to see which step is occurring when the trip happens will isolate what part of the washing machine may be leaking current to a ground. It could be a certain water level, a motor being engaged, a transition step in the controller, etc.

Washing machines or any other motor should not be on a GFCI! Should be a dedicated single receptacle. If there are other outlets on the washer GFCI, replace that GFCI with a single receptacle and put the GFCI on the next jump in order to protect other outlets.


What's the best way to lay tile in a straight line I'm about to lay porcelain tile over backerboard in my kitchen. There are several entrances in the kitchen, and several points of visual reference that will cause even a slightly skewed line to be very, very evident.

What's the best way ensure that my first few rows form a straight line as I lay them? I don't want to lay an entire row, step back, and realize it started skewing halfway up the row.

I've tried laying out dry tiles until satisfied and snapping a chalk line along the edges in the past...but this gets covered up by the thinset very easily if I'm not painstakingly careful.

Are there any strategies or methods to make sure you're keeping a straight line as you lay a row of tile?

Use a laser level to project a level line across the wall. Something like this is self leveling.

This won't work if you need to line them up to a non-level reference. In that case you can use a simple laser line (which is much cheaper than the self leveling models).

The best way is using the 3,4,5 or 6,8,10 method. Makes 2 perfectly straight lines of 90 degrees..


How does an illuminated switch light up without a neutral There are some illuminated switches that operate without a neutral. For a lamp that is lit when the switch is ON, I can envision a circuit diagram that has the switch lamp in series with the switched circuit. But this would create significant additional resistance in the current flowing through the line to the main load. If the switch is parallel to the line, virtually no current should flow since the resistance to the lamp is so much higher than the completed switch circuit.

For switch lamps lit in the OFF position, a switch lamp in series would allow a trickle of current through the actual load, causing a dim glow in a fixture or some current in a motor.  This seems wrong.

How do no-neutral illuminated switches work?

They DO pass current through the switch and light at all times - just a few mA. The indicator is wired in parallel to the switch contacts.   For most types of bulbs its not enough for the light to turn on.

However with modern LED light bulbs these types of switches (as well as dimmers, and home automation switches) that dont use the neutral can cause the LED bulb to turn on enough to be noticable or flicker.

The current flows through the ground line when the indicator is on. Therefore no neutral is involved.


Can I build storage in front of heaters? We're in an NYC pre-war apartment building. Under every window, there's a built in radiator:

Each has a knob that supposedly shuts the radiator off but it doesn't always work. Meaning you can tighten it down and the radiator still gets hot.

I saw a nearby real estate listing where someone had built a cabinet below their windows, creating a bench and some storage. I'm interested in trying the same thing, but I'm worried that storage over and around the hot radiators would be a mistake.

Does anyone have suggestions on insulating the radiators so that we won't be melting crayons? Or for turning them off? Anyone tried this?

Note: these photos are both from real estate listings. The first isn't our actual unit, but does show how the radiators are flush against the wall.

If the radiators are still hot you'll have to get the shut offs repaired first. The heat and the resulting drying action will raise havoc with the wood. The issue isn't so much a fire hazard as a drying hazard. The wood is going to shrink in the winter and expand in the summer. The seams and joints will split. I would also make the design so that you have access to the radiator in the event of a leak.

I think it may be a good idea to have the storage cabinets built in! Why don't you get an electrician in to take a look at the radiators to see what can be done about the, if you're really worried about the items that are in there? Otherwise, the heat could do wonders for items that need to be kept dry - maybe linens and clothes? Good Luck!


How should I run stripped cable through conduits? I have a 6/3 NM-B cable that is to be run through a Southwire Ultratite conduit to an external outlet for a generator.  I plan to strip the cable prior to threading through the conduit: 1. for ease of passage; 2. for thermal issues. Just wondering what is the protocol for where the stripped section should start - just outside the conduit, or just inside? Also, the Ultratite fitting at the back of the outlet box has no provisions for clamping the wires in place.  Can I presume then, that in this instance, clamping is not necessary as long as the wire is firmly anchored before entering the conduit run?

There are (at least) two problems with this, and the solution to both is to change to THWN (or another wet-rated labeled conductor) when you change to conduit.

Problem one is that stripped NM is not labeled and not acceptable per code for that reason, as @Speedy Petey said.

The second is that you are running to an external location, which means that the conduit is by code defined to be a wet environment, and even with the sheath on, NM is not rated for wet locations, but you need a wire that is rated for wet locations.

i am assuming this is a USA install. once you remove the cable sheath you install it just like single wires if they are properly rated (at least as high as your peak voltage, usually 300 or 600 volts).  there is no need to leave parts of the sheath on.  if these wires are not rated or are not sufficient then you need to use real THHN singles or install it with the sheath all the way.  i am not familiar with the type of conduit you mention.  the uninsulated ground wire in metal conduit could be an issue (it can spread fault current to the conduit).  you could buy a spool of green insulation THHN to replace any uninsulated ground wire with.


How to prepare floor for vinyl plank installation over old sheet vinyl I've demoed a built in bathroom vanity leaving a footprint that I had to fill in with OSB. The thickness of the new OSB and old sheet vinyl appears pretty darn level; maybe 1/16" (or less) off? Looking at the best options to 1) cover the seams where old vinyl meets OSB, but also 2) ensure that this new OSB replacement is level with the existing floor as best as possible? I'm not sure if a self-leveling compound can be poured on, or some form of floor patch could be troweled on to ensure a proper foundation before laying planks, or if this would even be overkill? Suggestions? For context, I'm installing 6 x 24" vinyl plank tiles over this. Separately, I also utilized screws (countersunk) to fasten the OSB to the previous subfloor which in hindsight apparently wasn't appropriate to do?

Is it Ok to use Henry’s patch’n level compound on the OSB and seams? Figured I could trowel it on and then sand presumably?

Unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of adding a thin underlayment to the entire room as the flooring that meets this room is so uneven and already low. Anymore depth added would make the transition very high and strange.

I would use the Henrys or remove the sheet vinyl.    No problem with your countersunk screwheads.


Need neutral out at my well house but only have 220 v I have 220v to my well house but need to install a 120v convenience receptacle for maintenance tools. The feed coming from my main panel is direct burial. What can I do ?

I think the question is what can I do without running a new line?

My question is do you have a grounding wire with the 220V? Because if you don't you are going to have to ground that circuit also.

Other than that you could set a small panel, split your circuits and add a buck transformer to provide you with 120V from your 220V feeder, and your going to have to ground one secondary side of the line. If you are using an autotransformer configuration the ground should be on the isolated phase of the secondary.

If all of this is a little much experience wise, I would recommend you contact a licensed electrician.

Good luck.

If your wire is 4-wire (L1+L2+N+E) just connect the N wire if you don't want to replace current wire you could:

  install a step-down transformer (you should connect also to ground one of secondary coils and add a breaker on the secondary)
  fit earthing pole, and just use the current PE conductor as neutral (it was allowed till about mid 90's, at least for ovens).


filling a 3 inch hole in a fire rated dry wall ceiling My sprinkler system in my condo was just decommissioned and 12 sprinkler heads will be reomoved.  As a result I will have 1 sprinkler head hole in the ceiling of each room in my condo (total of 12). My ceiling is fire rated with 5/8 inch drywall.  Can I use a round self adhesive vinyl plug to cover the whole if I stuff the hole with fire rated insulation. Or can you suggesdt another way to cover these holes vrs drywall and the mess it creates with spackling and sanding.  Would appreciate any help.

Ed

The opening must be sealed in accordance with the listing of the rated ceiling/floor assembly. This will vary among the wide variety assemblies currently and previously listed. Unfortunately, there is no generic correct answer. A correct code compliant solution requires research and expertise atypical among homeowners, or plain dumb luck.

It depends on what's over the ceiling.  If there's a boiler room, garage (not likely), or something that might cause a fire, I'd cut out and replace with type X.  If it's just an upstairs neighbor (unless he's a pyro), you'll be fine just plugging it.


New door jamb is smaller than the one it replaced. Can I use it? I've installed the new jamb, however the new jamb appears to bow a bit, and goes in quite a bit at the bottom. I haven't screwed it down yet, or shimmed it, I wanted a second set of eyes (and 3rd, 4th, 100th) to make sure I didn't do something wrong.

Update

Okay, I apologize for the lack of information given here. To expound, my wife locked the door and closed it behind her before checking to make sure she had her keys, and broke the door frame somehow to retrieve her keys.

So, only the strike side really needs to be replaced. I removed the molding and the old jamb, and bought a new kit from Big Box.

Also, the wall is plaster. From what I've read, plaster door jambs and drywall door jambs are different sizes although we measured thickness of old and new jambs @ Big Box, a quick check of width shows 5 1/4" on the old jamb, and 4 1/2" on the new jamb.

Is there any way to use this smaller jamb? I don't think they have larger ones in stock.

It's the carpenter's responsibility to properly shim and anchor any door jamb. Unless it's a rigid steel commercial unit, it's not designed to be self-supporting.

I usually shim behind each hinge on the hinge side, and at four locations, including the latch position, on the latch side. Use a combination of wedge and flat shims. For an exterior door I usually use 3" gold construction screws behind the weather stripping.

Jamb is installed poorly. This installation illustration may be helpful to you... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICYwPa5_bFY


Adding two lights to existing light Would like to add two more lights to an existing light/switch setup. Would like to double check my approach. See below for existing vs proposed... purposely did not include ground.  Any and all feedback greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Existing

Proposed v1 (bad) and v2 (good - based on feedback from @bib and @Speedy Petey)

The proposed wiring shown as Revision 1 in the original drawings is not code compliant. Under NEC 300.3(B), all wires for a given circuit must be in the same cable or raceway. In your example, the new lights get the hot lead from a single wire from the switch and the neutral from a separate cable or raceway from the old fixture.

Basically you need a balanced load in each cable or raceway (hot out/neutral back or hot out/switched hot back) to prevent the possibility of induction heating.

As @Speedy Petey suggests, a much simpler, and code compliant method, is to run a cable with a neutral and a switched hot from the existing fixture to the new fixtures.

UPDATE: Based on the added drawing in Revision 2, the proposed circuit is now code compliant. Also, as @Ben noted, any white wire used as a hot that is exposed in a box or fixture must be marked black or red with tape, paint or marker to show that it is hot.

No problems there - although most would probably indicate the switched hot line as black/ or white/black.  Even if you have a white wire used like this. Always mark/label it black.  Some go as far as to wrap electric tape the length of it to hide the white. Better safe than sorry.


How high is shower waterproofing treatment supposed to be? We noticed a sudden water leak while deep cleaning the master shower with the removable shower head, and quickly found the culprit - the tile "bench" in the shower had a grout joint that has completely separated on the leading edge facing the water, and that allowed water to get behind the tile.

My concern is how easily water showed up in the downstairs dining room. Should there be waterproofing around the whole shower and behind all tiles to prevent that from occurring? This is a relatively new home (2016) and I'm wondering if I should just reseal and move on, or if this is something worth taking up with the builder who has already told me this is "homeowner maintenance." Also, given I know water went all the way through, at least to an HVAC duct, is that cause enough to remove tile and investigate any other damage?

Thanks in advance.

When a 2-year-old shower is leaking, something is definitely wrong. Call the builder, and tell him to fix it.

Yes, there's supposed to be waterproofing behind the tiles. The tiles and grout by themselves won't be enough to keep the water out of the wall. I don't know if there are precise rules for how high the waterproofing should go, but I would think at least as high as the shower head. When I built my shower, I went all the way up to the ceiling.

I happen to agree with that the tall when we do here were on from code for new home is red guard rubber 8" up regard all the way to ceiling across top a seal and if possible if need be if you    Tile the ceiling deftly behind the tile and if there's a crack that big that it means there's an issue behind the tile either with 2 by fours or Hardie board or something making the tile move you didn't have to  Check it out  And deftly was the builder's responsibility to make sure that that was not gonna moveIf he had a tile God do it he wasn't watching the guy and it may be the tile guy responsibility but always falls back on the project manager


Two Circuits down and no Breakers Tripped I had one 110V circuit running four CPU (13v) devices (Laptop, Switching hub etc) and a completely separate 220v circuit running two CPU Servers (13v output 1,300W draw each).  This set up had been running for two months as is no problems.  Yesterday I added a third server to the 220v circuit and it ran flawlessly for an hour or so.  Then ALL of it went down..... both the 110v and the 220v circuits.  I checked and neither breaker had gone (I reset them anyway).  I flipped the main breaker and no difference.  I grabbed my wire tester and it lit up on both lines all the way to the devices yet NONE of the devices are working.  No smoke, no bad smells no fire no nothing.  Is there such an issue as a ground wire needing to be upgraded or some such thing that would allow pos juice to flow to an outlet yet not allow a device to power up?  I'm not an electrician clearly if it needs to be said lol.  Thanx very much for any input you may have.

Are any of the outlets GFCI? Check the button and lights on all of them and push in the reset switch.


Should bottom wall plates in a basement be treated lumber? Question for those who are well versed in framing and then maybe some code as well. I got into a discussion the other day between a couple other trades, they were suggesting I was wasting my time using treated plates in all of the basement walls I built.

The basement is a 4" slab of concrete. It's not a leaky basement, but I figured since the wall plate is directly touching the concrete floor, that it should be treated. I also went an extra step and used foam sill sealer.

Am I going too far with this? Is it just a waste of money? Treated plates are significantly heavier, more expensive, and also annoying to work with because they warp a day after picking them. I'm considering going to common kiln dried lumber and using the foam sill sealer then, but I worry that if the basement ever floods that sill plate will wick up water so fast, and destroy the drywall and studs until vented and dried out.

In my state the bottom plate is required to have the foam seal and treated lumber for external load bearing walls only. I do use foam internally but not treated lumber. The foam prevents moisture from wicking into the plate and rotting it. I do use the foam inside but more often  I will use tarpaper as I usually have a roll and it works well and is cheaper than sill seal foam. What you are doing will last but is a bit over the top (one of my buddies says I am over the top with the tar paper). In the case of a flood, the Sheetrock itself is going to wick the water faster than the wood will. I like the barrier under the plate be it foam or tarpaper.

Treated lumber contains toxic chemicals and using it for indoor framing is a violation of building code in most areas.


How do I safely get glue off of wood that's to be stained? I'm building a closet and I've just made doors for it. It's red oak wood with a rail & stile construction and raised  panels. I was a little careless and some of the wood glue (Titebond) escaped through the joints and are visible outside (see the picture on the right).

Normally, I would just sand it off if it was on a flat surface, but given that they're in the corners (and a little on the sides), it'll be harder to sand without gouging. I plan on staining it and am wondering what would be the best approach to removing the glue so that the wood will absorb the stain without any patchiness.

I was thinking that some cotton wool lightly dipped in mineral spirits should be sufficient to remove the glue, without any effect on the wood. Is this a good approach? Are there alternatives to this?

Mineral spirits should work.  If not, I would use Goof Off (or similiar).  There's lots of glue solvents, and wood glue should be pretty easy for any of them to handle.  I think it would dissolve right off, but I'd probably test it on any scrap red oak you have just to make sure it doesn't discolor.

Cotton may work, but I wouldn't be afraid to use a fine steel wool here, probably 000 like you would use for finishing polyurethane.

I applied acetone repeatedly and then sanded the areas. After drying, applied stain and gtg.


What Paint Finish (flat, satin, etc) Should I Use in a Rental Property? What finish should I use (flat, eggshell, satin, etc) for the walls in a rental home? In the past I've used eggshell and even satin on walls on the theory that I would be able to clean them (as opposed to repainting them) in between tenants. But I find that I want to repaint entirely in between tenants so the net result is that I've increased my prep time because it takes longer to take the gloss off those finishes. I'm currently considering two options:

recommitting to cleaning the walls, not repainting and just being better about setting a tone that lets prospective tenants know that they are our partners in maintaining the condition of the property
finishing all walls with 'flat' and repainting in between tenants ... still setting the tone mentioned above but accepting that the best way to get a really fresh look for new tenants is to paint, and given that, using the paint that is easiest to paint over.

I'd love to hear some opinions on the matter.

Good question Nick.  I manage several rental units and have dealt with the same situations. Originally, flat paints were used in most of the rentals and almost every couple of years they needed repainting especially if kids were in the unit. Flat paint is hard to wash and very susceptible to marring and finger prints etc. The newer flat enamels are better, but not great. I changed over to a harder eggshell finish. Depending on the time a tenant is there, the eggshell really outlasted flat, usually good for 3 to 5 years unless damaged. Satin enamel works great for ceilings, hides marginal imperfections and very easy to clean between tenants. I have also found that since looks is more important than durability, I have used a lot of PVA grade wall paints from Ben Mor. At contractor price, it can be almost half as expensive than premium grade paints, covers well, lasts for several years. I have given up on expecting paints to be show ready after a few years in a rental. Cleaning and touching up walls takes almost as long as painting so a new quick same color wall paint job between tenants freshens up the place and smells new when showing the apartment. I tend to use just a couple of colors for most everything, so I buy 5 gal cans for economy, batch small leftovers and treat older paints with Flotrol. Be sure to keep the color formula in a notebook (ask for an extra sticker) so you can buy a good match later. Changing colors always requires two coats, but one coat of same color is normally fine. You can use your leftovers with new paint if you strain it through a mesh colander and batch it with your new paint, thus slight color changes disappear.

I've been a painter at large apt complexes.  They use Semi gloss


How do I easily tell if vent below microwave is vented to the exterior? We had a house built recently and there's a vent on the wall where the microwave is on the exterior of the house, but it doesn't seem like anything is coming out of this vent when we turn it on while cooking food on our stove top (which is directly below the microwave). We leave the fan on for twenty minutes and it makes a loud noise and doesn't really do anything. And in the winter, I don't feel any cold air coming from the bottom of the microwave.

While the house was still being built, we noticed that there was no hole cut out in the wall for the vent (they said they would do that when the microwave is installed). Is there an easy way to know if that was done or could there be another issue at play here?

Properly installed range hood vent, including those combined with microwaves, almost always use an external vent hood that has a flap to prevent backdrafts. The flap is pushed out by the increased air pressure created by the vent fan.

While there are sometimes internal backdraft flaps, there is almost always an external one as well.

Look at the exterior hood and have someone turn on the vent fan. You should see the flap moving. If it does not, you likely have a problem.

You can remove the external hood by removing mounting screws and cutting the caulk seal around the edges. You can then look into the hole to see where (if) it is connected.

Many vent hoods can be set up for interior or exterior venting. This usually involves changing the orientation of the fan itself during setup. The installer may have left the fan pushing the exhaust into the kitchen. If so, you should be able to feel a draft at the top of the unit when the fan is on.

Microwaves don't need venting to the outside.  You are making this thing too difficult.  Venting for the outside is for smoke and moisture and unless you have an industrial microwave (you don't) there won't be smoke or moisture going out of the microwave.

What people use venting for on microwaves is to get rid of smell.  This isn't overly important and not needed for code purposes.  You can vent smells anywhere - anywhere were others won't mind them.

To answer the question - there is no reason someone would set an outside vent for a microwave for a home.  So unless this used to house an oven I would assume it does not vent to the outside.


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Neutral wire is a current carrying conductor just as the hot wires are. All the current to the load must flow back through the Neutral wire to the source. It is required to be the same size. The Ground wire can be smaller in size. Check the NEC or UGLYS


How to fix my LED track lighting that is flickering? I replaced all of the bulbs in the track light with LEDs. I also replaced the two switches with LED compatible smart switches (dimmers). The furthest light on the track has been flickering and recently the next one has started to flickers as well. The flickering started when I changed the bulbs to LED and I figured that changing the switches would fix it, it didn't. Do I have to replace the track lighting completely with "LED Compatible" ones?

NOTE: The house was built about 19 years ago.

If you look on the box/packaging that the LED bulbs came in, they will tell you the type of switch they require. Some LED bulbs work fine with CFL dimmers (which are the cheaper one's that some manufacturer's will say can dim LEDs) but the majority of 120v LED bulbs require an ELV dimmer.

Another thing worth noting is that a lot of smart dimming switches are rated for about 150W. Common LED bulb wattage is at around 9W. This means that switch will only support up to 16 bulbs.

And lastly, if you have any mixed bulb type/vendors on the circuit, it can also cause flickering/conflicts.

They correct answer is the bulb was a 2 pin mr16, which is a low voltage light. Your need to control the transformer, so you need a elk low voltage dimmer. It cost about $70.


How to attach ground wire for ceiling fixture, if mounting bracket does not have a green ground screw, and no ground wire coming from junction box? My ceiling metal junction box has 2 white wires(twisted together) and 1 black wire. No copper or ground wire inside that I can see?  The new fixture has a black, white and green/yellow ground wire.  The provided new metal mounting strap bracket does not have a green ground screw.
What can I attach the green/yellow ground wire from the fixture to??

Although 2 whites and a black would be unusual.
In the US code allows for a grounding conductor to be pulled from the service, or any point fed from that service panel.
2 wire fixtures did not have grounds for the first 75 years of electrical code so many fixtures were not grounded.
If fed by conduit and individual wires the box may be grounded through the conduit.

I assume that the two white wires are two lives are for two separate circuits (i. e. two lights, switchable seperately or light+ceiling fan) and the black wire is neutral. In this case, you would connect the ground to the neutral. That's the normal way to do this if you have no ground. However, I would first check what the incoming wires actually connect to. Also you can't have an RCD with this kind of wiring because it would blow the RCD immediately if you touch the grounded parts of your new fixture.


Wire AC Condensor fan motor to three prong plug for shop fan Here is the wiring schematic on the motor:

How would I wire these wires safely to a plug like this:

Mains wiring is dangerous

You're not allowed to just barf a bunch of wires and call it done.  The fan, I assume you scrounged this from an old air conditioner, is made to fit inside a housing, which you have removed.  You need to head off to the metal press to restore two key functions of the housing: Physical protection from fan blades, and electrical protection for the wiring.

Once that is done, you can fit an appropriate cord and strain relief onto that housing.

The fan is almost certainly 240V

... Since most air conditioning units hook up 240V no neutral. The motor will not like 120V because it's simply the wrong voltage.  There's nothing you can do with the start capacitor to improve that.

Which means it can't be powered from 120V (unless you do some very graduate-level stuff that's way out of your depth and would be prohibitive in cost, since I assume the point here is to scrounge/be cheap).  It needs to be powered from 240V, which means it needs a different type of plug.

You need a NEMA 6-15 (I presume this isn't a 3600 watt fan).  This has the 2 blades rotated 90 degrees, so they are flat to each other.  See #3 here

This in turn means you'll need to run a 240V circuit to your garage if you don't have one already.  However they are rather useful, and let you get good deals on 240V tools on Craigslist from people who didn't know what they were buying and are now stuck with a white elephant.

The temptation for the novice cheapie is to hork this up in some non-code-compliant way.  That's just dumb.  Cheap is not the same as stupid.  Aside from potentially killing you in the interim, the inspector will require you put it right when you sell the house, and that usually turns into an  expensive fiasco because you're in a hurry to close.  There are some things you don't mess with, and electrical is one of them.

Such negativity. Yeah it will work, just won't blow real hard. Still a nice breeze and a lot quieter. Yeah yeah all that safety stuff. At least make sure it's grounded. Purple to neutral, black to hot(small blade). Work either way but the exposed capacitor will be less risky on the neutral side. And definitely ground it!!! Screw the green to the housing somewhere.


How can I secure NM cable to a metal stud? I use NM staples to secure NM cable to wood studs but I am unfamiliar with the options to secure NM cable directly to metal studs despite trying a number of different search terms. Would it be okay to substitute metal screws in place of the nails using plastic NM staples which come with nails or would that void the UL listing of the staples? Or, is there another recommended method? I know for horizontal runs I can go through the center of the stud (also, I believe that counts as supporting, but not securing as per NEC:2011 section 334.30). Also, for this case I need to secure and support a vertical run down from the ceiling to an electrical box.
The Preferred Solution will:

secure the wire to the edge of the metal stud. The back edge of the stud faces the cinderblock foundation of my house and there is an air gap between the stud and the foundation wall.

not involve wood or other organic materials since the wall is in a basement and I am trying to avoid materials that could potentially breed mold (moisture is currently well under control, but you never know what the future holds). E.g. Attach wood to the stud and then use NM staples to secure to the wood.

Code Reference:

334.30 Securing and Supporting.
Nonmetallic-sheathed cable shall be supported and secured by staples, cable ties, straps, hangers, or
similar fittings designed and installed so as not to damage the cable,
at intervals not exceeding 1.4 m (41⁄2 ft) and within 300 mm (12 in.)
of every outlet box, junction box, cabinet, or fitting. Flat cables
shall not be stapled on edge. Sections of cable protected from
physical damage by raceway shall not be required to be secured within
the raceway.

Cables do need to be secured, but as you surmise, stapes and other nailed retainers wont work. There is a discussion of how to attach cables to steel studs in a brochure put out by the Steel Framing Alliance. Included in that broader pamphlet is this advice:

  NM wire is not stapled to a CFS stud because the
  staples will not penetrate the steel. Instead, wires are held
  in place with wire ties fed through punchouts in the CFS or
  with mounted head cable ties which are cinched around
  wire bundles. Mounting hole or mounted head cable ties are
  specialized ties that have a ring at one end that serves for
  fastening the tie to a CFS component with a screw. Other
  specialized wire accessories are available to re-support wires,
  like cable supports and standoffs.

Cable fasteners such as these can be used

There are also a wide variety of cable ties that can be threaded through slots in the framing or have standoffs that can be screwed to the framing such asthis type

Search steel stud cable mount and steel stud cable tie. Big box stores tend not to have them, so you probably need to seek out a specialty shop or look online.

You also can use cable spacers that work on wood or metal studs (using a screw)

It is also extremely important that you use grommets when you feed NM cables through steel studs or you risk a serious chance of shorting them out.

 Images and links for illustration only, not an endorsement of goods or sources.

According to bib you can use those yellow things, no idea what they are. If you can get the "Steel Framing Alliance" to wire your house for you, no doubt you will find out.

What the (hack) electricians who use Romex actually do in reality is usually not to secure it to anything. If they think they might get inspected by a non-bribed inspector, then what they do is wrap it to the stud using electrical tape at the minimum required distance. Once in while you can find an electrician who uses plastic cable ties. Its actually faster to use the plastic cable ties, but most electricians who are doing Romex jobs never get to the point where they need to secure anything, so they never bother to buy the ties even though its costs like $10 for 500 of them.

Galvanized stud is mostly used in commercial construction and commercial electricians always use metallic cable (or conduit).


How should I hang Christmas lights where I don't have any gutters? I finally got around to hanging Christmas lights this year. I bought gutter clips so I wouldn't have to permanently install anything, but I just realized that I don't have gutters along a pitched portion of my roof. The soffit there isn't perforated, so I can't hang them through it either. I did notice the metal flashing (maybe it's flashing? someone correct me if I didn't use the right term) is hung with nails underneath the eaves. Can I nail into that without worrying about moisture problems?

How about Magnetic Christmas Lights? I've never tried them, but if they use a descent magnet it would be a winner.

I've seen these before a Walmart or places like that.  It looks like it would clip onto your shingles.  They might be good for the short term of Christmas but I don't know how sun, wind and weather will affect their life.

I used the cup hook handle nail on my arched gable and bought the light hanger pro hook to string the lights.  Went perfectly and with ease.


How can I protect a hardwood floor from a rolling office chair? My wife's office has solid hickory hardwood floors, and I'd like to protect the floor from her rolling office chair.  What can be done to protect the floor?

Should I even be concerned about the chair damaging the floor?

In two old homes now I've shredded the wood floor under my chair, monster splinters eventually emerging.  I work at home in semi-rural New Hampshire.  I think they're very old pine floors, so softwood.  I plan to try Shepherd Brand Urethane Casters after putty and repainting.

From the manufacturer's site, "Nylon tread for carpeting, and urethane tread for hard floors."  Much buzz on Amazon about these.

Edit: After months with the new casters there are no new paint flakes or splinters. I haven't repainted the floor yet, but it appears these casters will do the trick.

The chair mat is the way to go. You have to use roofing tacks hammered into the corners to hold it down, otherwise it will slide around and be annoying.

Getting a mat is a good idea. If you don't do this what will happen is that dirt and sand particles adhere to the wheels of the chair and grind ruts in the wood creating bare spots.


What’s asbestos look like on heating vents? I’m repainting my heating register vents and noticed something on the ductwork I didn’t see before. Pics attached. Judging from a google search, it looks like the section of ductwork that connects to the baseboard is wrapped in asbestos.
I can’t find it on any other parts of my ductwork in the basement. Just on the pieces that connect to the baseboard register vents.
Should I be concerned? No plans to do any remodeling anytime soon. Is it worrisome that it’s so accessible to get at? And why would it only be used on this parts of the ducting?

I would say that looks like asbestos that I have done remediation on the white fibrous and board like material usually are I can’t tell the maroon color it could have been painted to encapsulate it.
The only way to know for sure is to test but this looks like it.


how to wire a 2 way switches with 2 pendants How do I wire a 2way 2light system. On the upstairs landing I want to switch 2 lights on and off at each end of the corridor.

It sounds like you want a pretty straightforward lighting circuit with a 3-way switch at each end of the hallway controlling the lights. To do this, you must have 3 conductors running between the switches. The typical way to do this is to run a 3-conductor cable, such as 14/3 NM or MC cable. You can't legally string a lone wire through the attic, so pull new cable if you need it.

This answer might be helpful, and it references others.

Electrical work can be a hazardous and lethal undertaking. If you have not been shown by an experienced tradesperson how this work is accomplished and what dangers to avoid, Than you might want to enlist the help of someone with experience with electricity. The reason for my answering in this manner is  due to the way you are  phrasing your question. I can't help but feel it might be better for you to hire someone for this job. If my assumption is completely incorrect and that you are soliciting answers to be able to understand how this installation should progress, please edit your question to add more detail and I will dutifully respond to the best of my abilities.


Roof Decking: Plywood/OSB over skip sheathing (decking) or should I strip to the rafters? I have a shake roof (looks like the original from 1952!) with skip sheathing.  Then an asphalt shingle re-roof over that (that makes 2 roofs in 60 years, thanks previous owners!).  I have repairs and upgrades to make now and potentially would like to put a whole new roof on eventually.

Can I just strip shingles and shake, then put new decking ON-TOP of the skip decking (considering it is in good shape)?  Or should I also rip out all the decking wood down to the rafters?

If I do put ply/osb over the skip deck, I'm guessing I should use longer nails and still try and fasten to the rafters?  What is the advice there?

Skip sheathing for shake roofs used to be really common around my area of the country and I've never removed it (or seen anybody else remove it for that matter).  OSB or plywood over skip sheathing makes for a much stiffer roof deck, resists problems with expansion better, and obviously doesn't require all the hassle of removing it.

After you strip the roof, do spot repairs to the existing sheathing where needed, then go right over it.  You'll want to use both longer sheathing nails and longer roofing nails.  The sheathing nails should be long enough to give a good hold in the studs, and the roofing nails should be long enough to penetrate both layers of sheathing.

60 year old wood is strong, but dry. Dry wood does not like nails much and is more prone to splits and cracks, leaving your Shingles more susceptible to wind damage. Also, the nails will back out more over time, since the fastening holding ability is reduced.

Plywood is the best choice for floors and roofs. OSB is best for sidewalls.


Height of cabinet for induction cooktop I just bought a new apartment, and purchased a new Bosch induction cooktop for the kitchen.
The cut in the counter top stone is the right size, but when I placed it inside I see that the bottom of the cooktop is very close to the drawer beneath it.
This doesn't cause a problem to open or close the drawer, but i was wondering if the bottom of the cooktop heats up, or can be bad/dangerous in any way because of being too close to the drawer.

Try it & see if you don't like it. ALL cooktops are zero clearance to counters & drawers, gas or electric...always have been. Bosch is no different whether it's induction or not. They just want you about 2" from the countertop front & back for pot & pan clearances.

Other than that, if you don't need the drawer for it's current use. You can turn it into a plate warmer by lining it with tin foil. This will put any fire worries to rest & you'll even be able to keep food warm, not hot, just warm.


Is it possible to use an older GE service panel as sub panel? I'm upgrading my electrical service from 100A to 200A and am hoping to leave the existing panel as is and feed it from the new main as a sub panel. I know for a sub panel the neutral and ground bars have to be separated, but I'm not sure by looking at the existing panel (an older GE 24 breaker) whether this is possible or not. It definitely doesn't look the same as the newer panels where you just remove the one tie bar.

Any insight would be appreciated.

It looks like that panel has two grounding bars.  One on each side, mostly hidden behind insulated wires in your picture.  It also appears like the Neutral bus bar is distinct, and care was taken to keep neutrals and grounds on their separate bars.  This will save you much time.

By the looks of your picture, the panel chassis is used as part of the ground bus, which is kind of sketchy, but ok.  I would also guess the brass screw on the neutral bar doesn't have any hole to put a wire through, and touches an unpainted section of the chassis.  if so, removing it will likely separate the ground and neutral plane in that breaker cabinet.

After doing that (and testing with a multimeter that ground and neutral are separated), you should be able to run this panel as a sub off of a 100A breaker in the new panel.

I wouldn't bond the ground with the nuetral anywhere. The nuetral is a current carrying ground and you really should let it run back to the source. Although the nuetral is an earth ground it is half the circuit and bonding the ground wires to it potentially puts your ground wires, and maybe the ground under your feet, in the active circuit. Sink a ground rod at the panel and bond ground wires to it. If your main panel has the nuetral and ground bonded I would separate them.


How can I mitigate low frequency reverb in a bedroom? Outside my bedroom window, there is a store air conditioner which runs 24/7. It's noisy in general, but closing the window takes care of most higher frequencies. My issue is with a specific low frequency (around 50hz I think) which obviously does not yield to my windows or curtains.

Now, when sleeping with my head against the back wall of the bedroom, this low frequency noise is very noticeable and is generally an issue for sleeping well. However, if I turn around and sleep with my head towards the center of the room the noise is barely noticeable.

I accept my lack of options in regards to blocking the noise getting into the room, but I'm wondering if there is a way to mitigate it even when sleeping closer to the wall. Would a acoustic foam on the wall by the top of the bed help at all?

And in general, is what I'm dealing with here the waves reverb in the room? do reverb solutions (foam, soft surfaces, etc.) help at all with such low frequencies?

Cheers.

Read about bass traps.  There are all different types; you can build your own or buy one pre-made.  It sounds like for your situation, a correctly tuned Helmholtz resonator will accomplish the task in a small package.  It's supposed to be cheap and easy; try this calculator.

You can determine the frequency of your noise with this app or similar.  Make sure that you see a clear low frequency peak because your phone might have a high-pass filter.  If you don't see one, then try putting your phone against the wall or against the AC unit, or try another phone/tablet/etc.

The lower frequencies have wavelengths that are much longer than the thickness of the wall and any padding.  To reflect these sound waves, you can cause an impedance mismatch by increasing the mass at the wall.

Can you put a bookcase there?


How can I prevent my HVAC condensate drain line from freezing? Last night, my heat (forced air) suddenly stopped.  Today, a plumber figured out that my heater is 90% efficient, produces lots of condensate, and the drain line had frozen.  We went outside and saw the drain line was about 2 feet long of 2" PVC, mounted vertically about 6 inches off the ground.  He sawed off the bottom 9 inches which had frozen, the water trickled out, and the heater started working again.

Problem solved for today... but it may freeze again, soon.  So the question is: How to fix it?

The plumber recommended rerouting the drain to use the sewer vent, despite it being against code.  But I don't want to do that.  To me, it would make more sense to insulate, heat, shorten, or widen the drain pipe so that it doesn't freeze.  It's only a trickle of water.

I'm a beginner here.  Here are my ideas.  What do you think of them?

Shorten the pipe outside, so that there's less area exposed
Widen the pipe at the end - if the ice starts at the end, from the drip, expanding it to 4" might work
Insulate or heat the pipe using heat tape or something like that (which I don't know anything about)
Something else?

Also:

Do I need to do anything to the part of the drain that's inside? The system is is my (unconditioned, tiny) attic
Is there a way to run the system in emergency mode, so that we're not all shivering, until we fix it? I read about this online but don't know how to do it

UPDATE:

I live in Central New Jersey.  The winter can get its cold spell, but nothing beyond that.
We ended up cutting off the entire run of the outside pipe.  Now there's only a spout facing directly down.  The spout is about 3 feet off the ground.
Do I have to worry about the water damaging things? The water trickles down my siding now.  It's near an external AC unit and a window well for the basement window, but it doesn't hit either one of those.  If I make it a bit longer, it will come closer to those, unless I make it much longer
Someone told me that the condensate isn't regular water, but is corrosive.  Is that true?
I have an in-house humidifier.  I shut it off for now, because I thought it would make the condensate worse.  Is that true? Can I turn it back on?

Finally I'm really a real beginner at DIY.  If I should a section of (wide?) pipe (with insulation) to it, can you recommend specific products and give me links?

Any or all of your ideas will help, it largely depends on your climate and how long of a below freezing stretch you can expect. The drain outlet is supposed to be within some distance of the ground, 18" I believe, which is why it was configured that way. In areas subject to freezing, all piping carrying water should be run as far as practical inside the heated envelope, so the drop to within some distance of ground should have been done inside. If possible, rerouting the run inside, with only a very short run outside should solve the problem.

As BMitch suggests, routing the drain through trap would comply with plumbing codes and is the best solution.

Shortening the pipe could fix the problem entirely since the water may not have time to freeze. In frigid climates though, any water outside will freeze. The high outlet could damage you outside wall finish and be an annoyance to passers by.

Widening the pipe will require more build up before blockage, so if the freeze periods are not too long, this could work. In frigid climates, it will still block up eventually.

Insulating the pipe would probably be all that's needed, it has the same effect as shortening the pipe, without wall damage. Actively heating the pipe would certainly work, but is probably only needed in extreme cases. Heat tape that wraps around the pipe and is plugged in to an outlet, with a thermostat to turn off the current above freezing is a common hardware store item in cold climates.

You only have to worry about the attic if it gets below freezing in there. Attics, though ventilated with outside air, tend to stay a fair bit warmer than the outside. I would guess that unless you have good runs of outside temperatures consistently below 0F(-18C), you shouldn't have a freezing problem in your attic.

I'm not sure, but I suspect there is not an override. A blocked drain can cause significant problems if the furnace continues to run. By shutting off the heat, it is good incentive for the owner to solve the problem.

Simply put, moist air from anything can build up condensate. If this moist air or vented furnace vapor is exposed to freezing temperatures, eventually it will form a build up. The temperature inside has to be greater than freezing air around it, or it will build up a frosty ice cube.

Pay close attention to insulating heat exchange if the furnace is not running to full duty cycle. For example, if the furnace runs 2 times a day for 20 minute cycles, the entire PVC pipe will be frozen from the outside of the house in. However if the furnace cycles for 15 minutes 24 times a day, frozen condensate build up will be less of a problem.

The solution is to remove as much condensate while it is still in vapor and liquid form inside the warm house, and inside the warm parts of the pipe by providing a condensate drain inside the house as close to heater as possible and slope all pipe in a up direction from that point, until the pipe reaches outside. This will allow vapors to condensate inside the pipe where it is warm and drain to the condensate drain point where it is also warm and not frozen. A simple coil or loop of the actual condensate drain tube will prevent forced gasses from the power vent to force burnt gasses into the house. Water will condensate in this loop or coil and block the low pressure of the power vent.


Cleaning and staining a fence with segments of different color and age I have a fence that I share with my neighbors and I have a couple of questions related to how to properly clean and stain this fence. You can see it in the picture below. There is another segment perpendicular on what you see there and to make the things more complicated that side is shared on a small segment with one neighbor and the rest of it with another neighbor.

These being said here are my questions:

What is the best way to clean and stain this fence considering that the color and the ages of various segments are different. To be clearer, in the picture you have the only two colors and ages present in my fence.
This is more of a legal, procedural question: how do I do the above without having problems with my neighbors. I think that the fence is on the property line so the ownership is shared. The newer looking segment separates me from my left side neighbor while the worse looking segment separates me from the two back side neighbors (back to back properties). One of the back neighbors has a vegetable garden there and I do not want to pollute his garden but I still want to stain/clean my fence. I am planning to use a power washer and an air pressure gun for staining but I am afraid that these might get beyond the fence and that might be trouble. Are there any ways to prevent this ?

The best thing you can do is try and reason with your neighbors. Good fences do make good neighbors and having been in the fence business for 30 years I know how it can be.

Try to explain to your neighbor's that you would like to stain the fence to preserve it. And that you will be paying for the stain and supplying all the labor.

Treating the fence will indeed add many years to the life of the fence. They might consider it if you approached them that way.

But no, you have what is called a shadow box style fence with lattice. Treating one side will not preserve it and there is no way to not get treatment on the other side. It will also look horrible from their side having partially stained areas. Even if your doing it just for aesthetics the same problem will arise.

If they agree when you use the pressure washer be sure and adjust the flow so the stream does not cut into the wood leaving what will look like scrape marks.

The product I use is Preserveawood. It is found only in Home Depot stores. There are three colors, Redwood, Pacific Redwood which is a bit darker and Cedar. Right next to where they sell the Preservawood they sell those little sprayers like bug sprayers. They put them there for a reason. The sealer comes in 5 gallon buckets. One bucket is good for a 400 lf.' of 6' high fence. Cost is about $125 for 5 gallons, $17.00 for the sprayer. DO NOT get the $10.00 sprayer it will clog up.

Just be sure and mix it well, pour it in the bug sprayer and spray it on. The sprayers come with 3 fan tips that give an even spray. Use gloves because it is oil base. The wood sucks the treatment up. Very easy and effective. It will last for 5 years or more actually.

First of all, you cannot "share" a fence. Property belongs to one party or the other. In a court of law normally they will consider the fence to belong to whoever built it. If part of it is overlapping onto someone else's property, all that means is Party X was dumb enough to situate his personal property on top of Party Y's real property.

If it is not clear who built the fence, I would recommend cutting a deal with the neighbor along the lines of whoever maintains the fence, owns the fence, and get it in writing. The agreement should say who owns the fence and what maintenance they are obliged to do on it. The owner should have the explicit right to have access to BOTH sides of the fence for purposes of maintaining it.

Once you decide who owns the fence and get it in writing, then that person can do whatever they want. Paint purple dinosaurs on it or whatever.

Getting a uniform stain on something like that looks like it would be impossible to me since it is weather beaten. If you want to go nuts, maybe try treating it with oxalic acid. That may even it out somewhat.


Is there a way to get hot water without altering plumbing or electrical wiring too much? Is there a way (other than collecting water and heating it on the stove ) to get hot/warm water from the tap without having to alter existing plumbing or electrical wiring ?

Check out the 1 or 2 gallon point of use heaters that install under the sink. They run on 120VAC and are fairly easy to install with minimal plumbing changes. There are also above sink mounted hot taps that mount into the sprayer hole in the sink. These are usually used for hot water for coffee/tea etc. Both of these type products are available at your local home improvement centers.

Here are several examples:  http://www.lowes.com/Plumbing/Water-Heaters/Point-of-Use-Water-Heaters/_/N-1z11qho/pl#!

Small under the counter HW Heaters usually come with a stranded 3 prong plug. Drill a hole to the basement under the sink trough the cabinet and plug it in with an extension cord. Not exactly my preferred method of wiring something, but I think even in Chicago (anal codes) it would be permissible so long as it is plugged into a GFCI. Even if it was hard-wired it still should be on a GFCI breaker as it will be in close proximity of water. (code is 6ft from water requires a GFCI)...FYI all non-dedicated circuits in your kitchen should be GFCI protected. (the ones that are assessable, not the one for your fridge\stove cause GFCI's break a lot)

You need an extension cord and two flexible supply lines. If there is only one pipe coming in (cold) then you will need a new valve with 2 take offs or a 'T' and some nipples if you know how to pipe fit.

From the new valve or 'T' one goes to the cold on the faucet, the other to the 'in' on the new tank. The 'out' from the tank goes to the hot on the faucet.

Assuming drilling a hole gets to somewhere with an outlet this could be done in about an hour providing all the correct sized supply lines are on hand, a T, 3 nipples, a good heavy cord, and of course a HW tank. Put a pan under it for when it starts to leak in a few years.

Good luck.

-If that sink has power under it for a disposal everything you need is right there for you. Assuming the switch for it is a button on the sink and not on the wall. Meaning it needs to be on a non-switched circuit or it would only work when the disposal is running. If you have EMT (conduit) pulling some wires from the switch to a new outlet below the sink shouldn't be that big a deal. If its romex your kinda out of luck unless its 3 wire or more and one of the conductors isn't being used. Don't cheat and use the green or bare wire.\

-depending on which way the power comes from even if it is a switch on the wall it may be always-on power down there.

-stealing power from the dishwasher is an option, but don't be surprised when the breaker trips as both items have electric heat coils. I wouldn't even attempt this unless its a 20a breaker.


How to properly ventilate a Mansard Roof? I recently purchased a home with a Mansard roof, I had some roofers come to give quotes to replace the top (it is finished) and they all recommend adding ventilation (known issue with Mansard's).

The problem is that they are offering two different solutions and I don't know which is best... hoping for some professional recommendations from the community.

1- Maximum Mansard Air-Intake drip edge

This is what 95% of the mansard homes on my street have and is the more expensive option

2- Ventilation Maximum (VMAXAT1 or VMAXAT2) uniformly positioned at the eaves

There is 1 house on my street that has it and it is less expensive

Any advice, first-hand experience, or help for me to decide which would be the right solution would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,

I own a mansard and we are battling this issue.  We had our roof replaced last year and the roofer that did it didn't even install 1/10th of the recommended ventilation.  Last winter was brutal in the north and we sustained substantial water damage from condensation inside of our home.  We are working with another roofer to get the proper edge venting installed.  Think of a cold glass on a hot summer day, that is what the inside of my roof decking looked like last winter.

Do not skimp or you will be sorry and sustain a substantially decreased lifespan of your roof, not to mention you could incur damage to the interior of your home if you live in the north (hot inside of the roof + extreme cold outside = large amounts of condensation).

Make sure you have a proper vapor barrier as well.  Loose fill insulation = more required ventilation.  I would also consider a power vent with both thermostat and a humidistat.  I am not a professional, but I am a Mechanical Engineer by education and since our issue, I have researched proper ventilation of mansards extensively.  Go with a very reputable roofer that will stand behind their work if you have condensation issues.

I think if you have space over your roof and also have budget then you should go with option1


Bathroom fan runs despite switch is off My fan in the bathroom is constantly running no matter what position I put the switch to.

The switch looks like this:

And there is some other controller that I don't understand what it does (never used it before):

Can someone please tell me, how is it possible that the fan keeps running even if I put the switch in the off position?

Is it probable that it has some internal sensor and that sensor turned it on?

Also, did someone see that "Thermolec" controller before and can point out to me what it does?

This is the model of the thermolec controller:

And this is the fan case (sorry I can't get to the fan right now because my hand is broken. I'll need help):

Thanks in advance for your kind help.

P.S. There was a power outage insident recently. A lightning strike hit the house and there was no electricity for 3 days in the neighberhood because 2 transformers were blown out. That's when the problem started.
It might be a coincidance because a real brutal heat wave has also arrived at the same time and the electrical generator that the State Electrical company has put infront of my windows doesn't help with dissipating heat. lol

The thermolec is a make up air duct heater , the lightning strike may have damaged the control board is the occupency sensor causing the fan to run as long as there is power. I would turn the breaker off pull the controller (switch) and disconnect its power  if the fan stops you know where the problem is the switch. If the fan continues to run with the power restored and the switch disconnected the thermolec duct heater may be controlling it and that would be the next item to remove power from the controller (with the power off). I would guess the occupancy sensor part of the switch failed.

It's getting a constant ground so look at the fan power switch being shorted. Power looks for a ground, normally the switch turning on gives it a ground and turns on the fan. Power sits waiting for the ground but if the on/off switch melts due to a surge it may act as if it's always on


Is there a way to safely have exposed electrical wires? We have a dumpster on our property for another home project and are hoping to take advantage of this by disposing of some bathroom lights and a ceiling fan. However, we do not currently have a replacement for these items.

I don't believe turning the breaker off (and leaving off) is an option.

If I were to remove these lights and then cap off with wire nuts and electrical tape would that be a safe option or is this just asking for trouble?

Yes. This is not only safe but best practice. Tuck the capped wires completely into the junction boxes to avoid accidentally snagging on passing ladders, wallboard, etc.

If the room continues in general use then install blank cover plates.

The simplest way to make the bare ends of the wire safe at the device end once the device is removed is to remove them from the breaker at the supply end of the wire.

This is common practice in industry where something will be disconnected for medium to long term. Isolation procedures and leaving things locked and tagged off are another way to do it, but removing the wires from the supply, taping and labelling them and leaving them in the bottom of the box/cabinet is usually preferred. A variation is to then connect the wires to an earth terminal/connector so that when working on the remote end one can simply verify via a continuity test that the wires are all common to earth and thus incapable of preventing a danger.


What size wire should I use for a 60amp subpanel? I am installing a 60 amp subpanel in a workshop in my backyard and I will have 2 - 20 amp services with 4-5 outlets on each and 1 - 15 amp service for lighting. The length from the main panel to the workshop is about 105 feet. I will be using a double pole 60 and GFI circuit breaker in the main panel to a 60 amp pull out on outside of work shop then inside to the subpanel. What would be a good size wire. I may run one saw at a time or a couple of saws.

6AWG copper wire would be the minimum for a 60A subpanel but with a 105ft distance you have too much voltage drop and need to go up to 4AWG copper to keep the voltage drop within acceptable limits (usually 5%).

The National Electrical Code Book / Article 110.14 (c)(1) identifies temperature limitations for circuits and feeders of 100 amp or less. If the circuit is 100 amp or less you have to size the conductors based on the 60-degree celsius column unless the breaker and the equipment terminations are rated for 75 or 90 degrees.

You have to use a #4 conductor to feed a 60 amp circuit.


How to clean this oil spill stain from driveway if council cant help? I am not sure whether this is Engine Oil, Diesel or Transmission Fluid because I was not here when this happened. What i certainly know is that it was a Diesel tractor that caused it.

Council won't help with the clean up and that stain just won't go away with Water. What can I do to clean it myself?

Its an Asphalt Road

You could investigate trying to spread a layer of the dry clay type cat litter over the spot and grinding it down into the surface with your foot. If there is any residual petro/oil material there that has not reacted with the asphalt road surface the clay material should absorb it and help to clean the surface. It may be necessary to leave the clay material there for a day or so. If you see some improvement after sweeping/vacuuming up the first application you may want to try a second or third iteration of the treatment.

A final stage of cleanup with water can be aided by using a soap such as laundry detergent and a scrub brush. The soap will emulsify the oils and allow some of it to be washed away with the water.

In the case where the spill has actually had a reaction with the asphalt it may be very difficult if next to impossible to remove the spot.

Brake cleaner will bring the oil to the surface, use a rag to soak it up.