111
votes
How can I repair this gas leak on my new range? Teflon tape isn't working
Stop, turn off the gas, ventilate the house, and hire a pro.
If you applied teflon tape to a flare fitting, you are NOT the person to be installing your gas range. You fundamentally don't understand ...
- 202k
50
votes
If my 120 volt toaster oven draws 14 amps on high & my oven draws 12 amps on high, which one would use less electricity to bake a pizza?
The actual power consumption is Watts, not Amps. Watts, for a resistive load such as an oven (toaster or full-size, but not microwave) is essentially Volts x Amps. So the comparison is really:
...
39
votes
Can I Piggyback 4 15 amp outlets off a 30 amp fuse?
Since the wire is 14/2, the breaker feeding it must be 15A.
Someone apparently changed that to a 20A breaker (presumably because they were sick of constant breaker trips every time they attempted to ...
33
votes
Accepted
Can I safely plug a 15A 100V appliance into a 20A 250V wall outlet?
No. That is a NEMA 6-20 receptacle. Your NEMA 5-15 appliance is specifically designed to not plug into it.
Because it would destroy the appliance if you did.
That is why the system of plugs works ...
32
votes
Accepted
Troubleshooting repeatedly clogged drier vent
Remove the screen from the exterior end of the dryer vent. It is a danger, violates building code in most areas, and should never have been installed.
Dryer vents are meant to blow untrapped lint ...
- 3,393
30
votes
Small nick on power cord from an electric alarm clock, and copper wiring exposed but intact
That cable, as is, will tend to "bite people". It also has damage that could increase resistance there causing that spot in the cable to get hot. Continued flexing will worsen the wire damage and the ...
29
votes
Propane appliances throwing orange flames suddenly and generator's back firing
Let's learn about energy: BTUs.
Put 1 pound of water (just shy of a pint) on the stove and stick a thermometer in it. Turn the stove on, and watch the water warm up on the thermometer.
You're ...
28
votes
Propane appliances throwing orange flames suddenly and generator's back firing
Kris' comment is likely a good reference. Consider to perform a test by operating only one device. If the duration of normal operation increases, or normal operation continues throughout the test, it'...
- 10.7k
25
votes
How can I repair this gas leak on my new range? Teflon tape isn't working
Repeating the comments : Do NOT use any pipe dope or tape on flare connections . They are metal to metal seals and anything on the metal sealing surface can cause a leak. Pipe threads (tapered) ...
- 8,271
25
votes
Accepted
Propane appliances throwing orange flames suddenly and generator's back firing
Ask your propane company to check the gas pressure anywhere in the system and then fire all appliances in the system, the low pressure side (after the second stage regulator) should stay above 11 ...
- 266
22
votes
Is it okay to plug 16A/250V appliances to a 10A/250V outlet?
The values on the plugs & sockets are for the maximum that the plugs & sockets can support, not what the devices will use.
A device that consumes 16A at 250V is using 4000W or 4 kilowatt. This ...
- 10.5k
20
votes
Accepted
Refrigerator fail due to adjacent chest freezer
Total, utter, male-bovine-derived-organic-fertilizer.
The cabinet isn't helping it cool any (and is almost certainly less ventilation space than the manufacturer requires), but the freezer really ...
- 202k
20
votes
Can I use ratchet straps to lift a dolly into a truck bed?
Having had to manhandle quite a few appliances on my own I would do this. Put the truck tray down. Tip the appliance over until the top just rests on the edge of the tray. Lift the back of the ...
- 301
20
votes
Safe to use 220V electric clothes dryer when building has been bridged down to 110V?
It won't work. Your 220V (really probably 240) outlets will actually have 0V, not 110V.
The reason for this is that normally the 220V outlets make their 220 by taking both 110 lines that are out ...
- 6,352
20
votes
Ice maker stopped working for years, made a bucket of ice, and stopped again
made a full bucket of ice
Could be all kinds of things, but since a full bucket normally requires several batches of ice, that could indicate a problem with the "bucket full" switch:
...
19
votes
Why does my 240 V dryer affect these voltage measurements?
3-wire dryer connections are dangerous
Especially when neutral fails.
As you measured, starting the machine pulls neutral from the middle to the voltage of one hot leg (because neutral is disconnected ...
19
votes
Whirlpool Over the Range Microwave suddenly lost power after messing with door switch
You've already gotten the longer answer. Here's the slightly shorter and clearer one from the sci.electronics.repair FAQ:
Various door interlock switches prevent inadvertent generation of microwaves
...
- 9,282
18
votes
Is okay to use commercial appliance inside average US home? For electricity spec: 115/60Hz/1 Ph (NEMA 5-15)
That's fine, they are nominally the same. 120v is utility supply defined by ANSI C84.1. 115v is point of use desired voltage, generally specified by NEMA. One is 120v +5/-10% tolerance, the other is ...
- 16.6k
18
votes
Accepted
Why is the drawer basket tilted in my refrigerator?
That basket is meant to sit completely in the lower slotted ridge and flat. Try adjusting it to fit down in there. You might have a basket in backwards, so try switching it around.
- 78.8k
17
votes
Why is my stove tripping the breaker?
You probably have a heating element with deteriorated insulation. The heating element in your oven is a length of wire inside a metal tube filled with magnesium oxide. When the heating element heats ...
- 1,813
17
votes
Accepted
Whirlpool Over the Range Microwave suddenly lost power after messing with door switch
We are used to things like refrigerator or oven switches that turn a light on/off. In some cases they do a little more - e.g., my oven door switch also turns off the convection fan, so the heat of the ...
16
votes
Kitchen setup for US appliances in Europe/India
Yes, the most common solution is to sell your US appliances and buy new in India.
The difficulties and expense of getting transformers etc and making it impossible for others to connect the wrong ...
- 26.3k
15
votes
Can I use ratchet straps to lift a dolly into a truck bed?
I have a local delivery service and use a hand truck and the sides of my tray as ramps to load and unload large furniture on my own. It only takes a second or two to wheel modern fridges and most ...
- 151
14
votes
Accepted
Best way to fit a clothes washer under a counter
I had the exact same problem and rather than removing the wood from under the counter, I totally removed the feet from the bottom of the washer and that gave me an extra 5/8". I put some thin ...
- 78.8k
14
votes
What would cause a microwave oven to trip the breaker when I open the door during heating?
Is the microwave door sagging a bit? This could be slightly changing the sequence of opening and closing of the microswitches in the door safety interlock, which the last time I looked are two ...
- 10.9k
13
votes
Accepted
Disable the LG washer/dryer melody at end of the cycle?
I've used the following method to make obnoxious sounds coming from home appliances and toys much quieter:
Find where the sound comes from. Usually there's a little grill or perforated plastic that ...
- 1,193
13
votes
Freezer dripping water
Ecnerwal does a great job explaining why that line is getting wet. More could be said about how to minimize the effect.
The suction line is cold because that's the tube carrying heat out of the ...
- 27.9k
12
votes
Small nick on power cord from an electric alarm clock, and copper wiring exposed but intact
It depends. The proper procedure would of course be to replace the cord, but from a safety perspective, insulating tape will work. It may be against regulation, and if you have kids or pets around it ...
- 1,800
12
votes
Accepted
Is this broken pipe the reason my freezer is not working? Can it be fixed?
That broken pipe has let all the refrigerant escape, so it will no longer work.
Compared to the cost of a new one, the repair will likely be more expensive given the time, tools and materials ...
- 26.3k
12
votes
Accepted
Can a GFCI circuit ruin a refrigerator compressor?
GFCIs don't kill refrigerators. A certain percentage of refrigerators will develop leakage currents over time whether they are plugged into a GFCI protected circuit or not.
All of the refrigerators ...
- 10.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible