35
votes
Should I rewire my house?
You don't know what you have! You already have the best wiring method made. 90% of my brand new work is exactly this stuff, and it's required in industrial installations.
We just need to get you up ...
17
votes
Accepted
Do I need to replace 14-Gauge Wire on 20-Amp Circuit?
Except when there is an actual danger right now (there isn't), the problem is always the future. It is extremely unlikely that any future homeowner or electrician doing additional work will notice the ...
13
votes
Should I rewire my house?
the electrical system as a whole is grounded via the conduit with no ground wire present
That is perfectly fine. As long as it is all metal conduit (conduit can also be PVC) and connects to metal ...
12
votes
How do I install a smart switch with this wiring I don't understand?
What you are likely seeing is "phantom voltage" except when the circuit is turned on. That is quite common and doesn't necessarily mean much. The key is "120v (0v at switch) when ...
11
votes
Accepted
Is this a sound plan for rewiring a 1920s house?
How will a stud finder find the wires? Usually, there is no bonafide way to identify a buried wire's run except by trial and error. This is why after virtually every knob-and-tube removal, there are ...
- 1,142
10
votes
Electrical line has no juice after being shortened
Usually there is a switch before the disposal. You push a button, or flip a switch to turn on the disposal. Did you turn the switch on? If this is the case, then this was not the best option for this ...
- 2,372
9
votes
Accepted
Repair frayed electrical wire with strain-relief stopper
Well, it's hard to tell. That part is called a "strain relief" but in these types of mass produced products, it's often molded onto the cord when manufactured. Unless the manufacturer sells a ...
- 2,775
9
votes
Is this a sound plan for rewiring a 1920s house?
I just did my own house and...
your knob and tube are kinked in insulators inside your walls and are run separate through the home
you have lathe behind your plaster. you are in for a real treat
you ...
- 87
8
votes
Can I get 240v out of a 120v generator?
What you describe won't work, and it's not safe for you (or anyone else) to do what you describe.
If you have a single phase 120 volt generator and you need to supply power to a 240 volt split phase ...
- 181
8
votes
100 amp residential house service panel unbalanced voltage and power drain under load. Causing power outage
Typical symptoms of an open neutral. At your main panel measure between the two hots (or any 240v breaker), you should get 240v or close. Then measure between one hot and neutral at the main panel, ...
- 23.3k
7
votes
Accepted
How to repair basic cable/wire issue for household appliances
There's no good way to repair just that wire, and the adjacent wires are also probably close to failure. You'll need to remove a section of cable and rebuild.
Label the cable a ways from this end so ...
- 149k
7
votes
Wiring an in-line on/off toggle switch on an LED lamp with additional controllers is not working as expected
Yeah, this is a "throw parts at the problem and hook stuff up randomly" type deal. There is a significant knowledge gap here. Not least you did not notice the circuit is on with the ...
7
votes
Stapling cable inside of a box when there is no room
Try harder. You don't have a lot of room to swing a hammer there, but a staple can be tapped in by getting the head of the hammer into the ceiling and then moving only as far as the hole permits the ...
- 226k
6
votes
How to repair basic cable/wire issue for household appliances
Generally you are better off to remove the problematic section of wire and just solder the unbroken wires to the connector, shortening the cable slightly, rather than try to patch the section which ...
- 226k
6
votes
Do I need to replace 14-Gauge Wire on 20-Amp Circuit?
In the real world you can't control what crazy-seeming thing the next guy is going to do 20 years down the line. What seems unlikely to you today (extending the circuit off the end of that 14 gauge ...
- 3,241
5
votes
Accepted
Is it safe to replace a lamp's UK 5 amp round 3 pin plug with a 13 amp rectangular 3 pin plug?
Yes - almost certainly. You need to get the wiring right (the wires should be colour coded in the usual way - if in doubt post pictures). The pins are in the same positions in both plugs. The 13A ...
- 7,926
5
votes
Wiring question regarding replacing hardwired fluorescent shop lights with LED plug-in lights
For what it's worth, my solution was to install outlets in the ceiling box, using a faceplate designed for the purpose, then just plug in.
- 33.2k
5
votes
Accepted
Replacing old light-switch with remote
Connect the new switch where the hot is black, lamp side is Red and the neutral goes to the white. Be sure the two black wires are under the screw or have a wire nut to connect them. It appears it is ...
- 7,114
5
votes
Should I rewire my house?
I would certainly not replace the metal conduit in a house. Replacing it with romex is arguably a lower-quality installation.
As to the need for grounded receptacles, a proper quality receptacle will ...
- 2,430
4
votes
Repair frayed electrical wire with strain-relief stopper
Nice pun. Your plan will work to get this appliance working again. You can crimp or use blue wire nuts for the connections. As far as the stopper, try cutting it at the seam and then peeling it off ...
- 86.4k
4
votes
Can I get 240v out of a 120v generator?
Transformers are your friend!
Easy peasy, if the numbers work.
Start by looking at the air conditioner. You need to know the number of "watts" the air conditioner uses, probably between 1000 and ...
4
votes
Repair frayed electrical wire with strain-relief stopper
The strain relief is molded on but can be recovered and reused.
The technique I use is to pull out the copper then drill out the plastic using a hand drill or pin vice until the strain relief is ...
- 24.8k
4
votes
Accepted
12/2 connected to 8/3 wire with extra wires taped off. Is this legal?
As a tap to a second building with no sub panel NO It would not be legal.
The term tap usually means connecting a smaller conductor to a larger feeder and there are some cases where a tap is legal ...
- 103k
4
votes
Accepted
Appropriate installation for a detached structure electrical sub panel?
One circuit or feeder to an outbuilding
If you install a 120/240V split-phase #6 feeder, you have to get rid of the #10 circuit. Then you would feed the well from the subpanel you plan.
The only ...
4
votes
How to repair damaged fence to its original strenght
There's more than one way to join galvanized wire, and a few ways you can do this. Some are better than others:
Solder: you can use solder to join ends. This is cheap if you have the equipment, and ...
- 5,269
4
votes
Accepted
Can I split a circuit in the middle of a 3-wire cable?
You can splice into a 3-wire cable just as you'd splice a 2-wire cable, assuming it's not for a three-way switch or some other specialty case. Do it as you've drawn.
You'll need slack. If you don't ...
- 149k
4
votes
Replacing old light-switch with remote
OK, so your box has a red-black-white /3 cable, and a /2 cable. The whites are joined with a hokey splice. The blacks, plus a black pigtail to the switch, are joined with a hokey splice. It's ...
4
votes
How should I connect a new panel while temporarily feeding the old one?
You're better off re-routing the feeder to the new box, and then running power to the original box as a subpanel.
The reason is subfeed lugs are costly or unavailable. The only panels that come with ...
3
votes
Repair frayed electrical wire with strain-relief stopper
I have often used a razor blade to carefully slice through these strain relief molded parts all along their mold seam. This is followed by a repair to the cable followed by wrapping the molded strain ...
- 333
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