Basic Electricity For Homeowners

[kurt]

I tried to get this up on a older laptop,now I got it now.This might serve as a summary of all we been talking about.These are still required in Miami Dade and are up to date from a quick glimpse.

https://www.miamidade.gov/water/libr...ble_PS_E01.pdf

[Worth1]

Here is and update and rehash of the weekend project I was doing at someones place.
I had to re run conduit through a wall from the back of the house to the front by way of the ceiling in the corner by the garage opening.
Then back out the wall into the ground and out to the sewer pump and high fluid level switch.
Two weekends ago I go over to finish and the breaker is tripped to the pump.
We flipped it back on and it tripped after awhile.
I was there to connect the GFCI outlet to it and put in a duplex outlet in the garage.
What the?

It came to my conclusion the pump decided to kick the bucket while I am working there.
I could feel that my friend wasn't so sure I didn't do something to fry the pump.
I explained to him there was nothing I could have done to fry the pump.
This pump had been in since 2003.
The sewer guys came out while he was there last week to install a new pump.
I was worried they may say something about my way of wiring this stuff up.
I asked my friend what they thought of it.
They told him it was really slick how I did it and thought it was great.
They told him the pump he had in it was cheap too.
The new pump runs fine and after about 30 minutes of pumping the red alarm light went out the way is was supposed to.
Everything is working fine.

Story of my life I go to fix something and something else blows up.

Worth

[Jimbotomateo]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Here is and update and rehash of the weekend project I was doing at someones place.
I had to re run conduit through a wall from the back of the house to the front by way of the ceiling in the corner by the garage opening.
Then back out the wall into the ground and out to the sewer pump and high fluid level switch.
Two weekends ago I go over to finish and the breaker is tripped to the pump.
We flipped it back on and it tripped after awhile.
I was there to connect the GFCI outlet to it and put in a duplex outlet in the garage.
What the?

It came to my conclusion the pump decided to kick the bucket while I am working there.
I could feel that my friend wasn't so sure I didn't do something to fry the pump.
I explained to him there was nothing I could have done to fry the pump.
This pump had been in since 2003.
The sewer guys came out while he was there last week to install a new pump.
I was worried they may say something about my way of wiring this stuff up.
I asked my friend what they thought of it.
They told him it was really slick how I did it and thought it was great.
They told him the pump he had in it was cheap too.
The new pump runs fine and after about 30 minutes of pumping the red alarm light went out the way is was supposed to.
Everything is working fine.

Story of my life I go to fix something and something else blows up.

Worth

I've had things go like that on jobs too Worth.. Not much you can do carry on. I'm sure you've saved a lot of people unnecessary costs in your time which you don't always get credit for.. One job in particular the homeowners plumber told him the shower pan was leaking so l gave him 3500 est to replace. Out of curiosity I pulled handle and escutcheon off before tearout and discovered the valve was leaking. The man was so happy to find out it was a simple fix! . Pretty sure he called different plumber to repair it..

[Fusion_power]

So a few thoughts. Worth, you are a decent electrician, but in my line of work, you would be fired (or learn the right way to do the job) the first day. The reason is that every connection, every screw, every bolt, every wire nut has to be torqued to exact specifications.

Extension cords: Always purchase 12 gauge extension cords and make a point to use them as they were designed. This eventually will save a lot of grief when some lobo puts a 20 amp hammer drill on the end of the 50 ft cord. I thew away a lot of 16 ga cords over the years just to have that extra bit of knowing that the cord would not burn something up.

Clkeiper, have the ground to your house checked by someone competent. A few years ago, I turned my microwave on the day after a huge storm. The microwave fluctuated up and down with the panel LED brighter then dimmer. I immediately called the power company and turned off all appliances until they got there and replaced the ground wire which was burned in two between the transformer and the weatherhead on my house. If your lights or appliances are fluctuating it is a sign the ground is compromised somewhere in the circuit.

The strangest problem I've had to troubleshoot was when I had a crew installing a piece of communications equipment that required a separate power pole and meter. We use an elaborate verification process that starts with checking voltage at every connection point prior to actually turning on the equipment. It was very fortunate that we did this because there was something strange with the power. From one of the legs to ground we were reading 120 volts. From the other leg to ground, we were reading 220 volts. From leg to leg we were reading 120 volts. Now if you have worked with 220, you know that from leg to leg should always read 220 volts. After a lot of head scratching, the guy who was doing power up called me to come and find out what was wrong because his readings were not by the book. When I got there, the first thing I did was pull the panel on the breaker box and read the voltages direct from the power leads which gave the same results as above. I then called the power company and had them come out and rewire the connections at the transformer which had been connected up wrong. The power company went nearly ballistic when I told them the value of the equipment they had nearly fried. It was the first time I've ever seen the vice president of a power company come to a jobsite to personally chew out a lineman.

[dmforcier]

I'm sure Worth works to the requirements of the job.

Good stories and good advice.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by dmforcier

I'm sure Worth works to the requirements of the job.

Good stories and good advice.

Darrel just comes on from time to time to try and get my feathers ruffled.
I pay him no mind what so ever.

As for the lose wire it reminds me of a friend I knew with the same problem.
He wanted me to fix it.
No way call the power company and let them fix it, it is on their side anyway.
His was one of the main hot wires that was lose.

Worth

[Fusion_power]

Just pulling your chain a bit Worth. I know you are detail oriented enough to do the work I do. It is orders of magnitude more stringent than the electrical wiring I did back in the 1970's.

One of my favorite tricks for a solid electrical fix is when the cord on a power tool goes bad. I have lots of tools that are 30 or more years old. If I wanted to spend $20 per cord, I could purchase cords made for the purpose. Most of the time, I go to a reliable electrical supply and get a 10 ft extension cord of the appropriate wire size and modify it by cutting the receptacle end off and using silicon rubber to form a grommet where the cord goes into the power tool. I have several of these replacement cords on skilsaws, drills, etc. Why use an extension cord? Because it is made of UV resistant plastic, is available in the correct wire size, is made to be very flexible, and costs about half as much as the dedicated replacement cords. Don't ask what I do with the left over receptacle ends. I've created some hydra headed monsters over the years.

[Worth1]

In a brand new install the other day I was on a ladder.
The sound of a 12 gauge shotgun went off in front of my face and a bright flash.
It had nothing to do with me but it seems at just that time a wire shorted out in a box.
I didn't even jump.
Worth

[kurt]

If you came on our jobs here in Florida with that "Mickey mouse" rig you would be told to go home and come back with the proper equipment so as not to endanger the rest of my crew.If you could not afford one I would give you one and tell you to get back to work.To save a couple bucs on life safety equipment is absurd in the manner you described.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by kurt

If you came on our jobs here in Florida with that "Mickey mouse" rig you would be told to go home and come back with the proper equipment so as not to endanger the rest of my crew.If you could not afford one I would give you one and tell you to get back to work.To save a couple bucs on life safety equipment is absurd in the manner you described.

I have seen drills and skill saws with ROMEX cords coming out of them at peoples houses.
Oh yes, black tape lots of black tape.


Worth

[Gerardo]

Can someone illuminate me on what the issue is with a replacement cord.

If the juice gets in there and the machine operates and doesn't cause harm to other equipment, what's the problem?

How are lives in danger from say, a circular saw with a replacement cord?

Please explain.

Or is this all sarcasm and I'm reading too much into it.

[Worth1]

A lot of it has to do with compliance, certified, qualified, OSHA and all sorts of regulations.
So much so everything is made in China.
Americans simply can't get hurt due to workmans comp and lawsuits.
Some places are so strict you cant even turn sideways on a ladder and you can only use one hand to work.
The other hand has to be holding the ladder and both feet on the same wrung.
Plus someone holding the ladder.
Then there is a guy standing there taking pictures if you break any rules.
The ladder has to be inspected and readable stickers on it.
Worth

[Gerardo]

I understand now. Those jobsite restrictions you describe conjured images from this video, my favorite is the guy at 7:40 which is where the vid should start, and the ladder at 8:44 follows the regulations you mentioned: One guy holding it, two feet on the same rung, a guy taking pictures/vid, plus one hand for you, and one hand for the boat. The German hammers are pretty cool too, lots of gold nuggets in this one (end part is a bit different).

The title of the video is Construction Workers God Level.

https://youtu.be/5G7NL5p5j0k?t=7m40s

[Cole_Robbie]

My mother insisted that she wanted a new microwave over her stove, one of the ones that is a combination vent hood and light. The first one she brought home vented out the back, and there wasn't room to for the elbow behind it to reach the vent hole above. So I took it back and bought a different model with the option of venting it out the top. The default setup is to "recirculate vent" which is a ridiculous contradiction in terms. The vents on the front of the microwave are where it would blow air out. But by taking off the top panel, removing the blower, and re-mounting it inside, this one could be top vented. I bought a square-to-round metal ducting piece and a 6" flexible duct, which I screwed on with sheet metal screws.

The instructions for the ducting were basically "you figure it out." Then the rest of the instructions called for mounting it on surrounding cabinets. My problem was that I didn't have the top cabinet required, plus I was worried about the strength of the mounting of the existing cabinets. A lot of corners were cut in the building of that house. I can't ever assume anything is done right.

There's a metal plate that the back of the microwave mounts to, and the instructions said to try to find at least one wall stud, and use drywall anchors for the rest of it. I didn't trust that idea at all, so I found two studs and screwed a 2x4 to them, then mounted the plate to that. It's much stronger than relying on drywall anchors.

There was a capped-off electrical line hanging there, from the old vent hood. I wired an outlet into that so I could plug in the microwave, which had a ridiculously short cord coming out the top.

I improvised the white shelf brackets you can see at each front bottom corner. The cabinets have enough wood there for me to sink screws. I wedged it in with a couple more angled-in screws on top to secure it better.

I didn't quite do a pull-up on it, but I think it would hold me. So far so good. There will be a piece of paneling over the top at some point.

[dmforcier]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

Can someone illuminate me on what the issue is with a replacement cord.

Yes, a bad cord can indeed endanger life. It's not whether it works at all, but how well it stands up to use.

In the case of the Romex cited above, it uses solid wire. Never use solid wire where it can flex repeated - it will work harden and break.

Otherwise see above.