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Change your wiring method
You started with non-metallic jacketed cable, requiring 500mm of cover. That's similar to the US where cover must be 24" for that type of cable.
However, the US has other wiring methods that only require 6" cover. (e.g. 150mm). This involves a tough metal conduit that you can't pierce with a shovel blade. The pipe is pricy but ...
answered Mar 31 at 6:18
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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11
Having done this to pull 40A 220v back to my workshop, you're digging too narrow a trench. Get a shovel out and dig the trench at least the shovel-width. You're going to want to go down at least 18" (to get below the frost line). Wrap some tape around the shovel handle at your desired depth, and use that to measure progress. My house has been on the lot ...
6
I think your methodology is sound. You want to make sure the plug and outlet is accessible so putting it under the sink is the way to go. When you mount it be sure to secure it to a stud and away from anywhere that could be exposed to water. This means away from the shutoff valves and not directly under the sink supply connections. Cable straps will hold the ...
4
I have seen many damaged wires inside walls when remodeling, some with the outside jacket and both the conductors and ground exposed. Some have even damaged the wires because of visible arcs I know the breaker was tripped. Others just skinned the wires or the jacket (this doesn’t include the wires I was called to repair where they were severed in the walls). ...
4
I don't know how much code applies to low-voltage wires. Since it's unlikely this will be inspected at any point in the near future, I'm not sure it much matters.
You can drop Ethernet or coax through a drilled hole like this. Mind you, it's not sightly, but it sounds like that it's not a concern. It would be trivial to remove, since you simply remove ...
3
No, not all US 240v receptacles are the same, and none may be right for that tanning bed.
The color of the wires on the terminal block indicates that this is probably is designed to operate on a European power system that operates one hot leg at ~230v to ground, and the other at 0v to ground. US style power systems operate with two hot opposing ~120v legs,...
3
You pretty much "got it right". Whether you are required to use a GFCI or not is often the requirements of the local code and which code version is being enforced. I don't believe a GFCI is required for a DW in the 2017 code. But if you wanted to be extra safe, it can't hurt to install one. You may get nuisance trips.
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Make the pit as narrow as the soil will handle given the angle that it wishes to adopt. Starting with one spade-width trench... make a test pit of 1m length, Chopping the sides away about 20cm wide and taking out cubes using the spade, keep the cubes and turf nicely on the side. Once you have a 20cm wide access pit, see the best way to get 50cm deep in a 1m ...
2
You need to rent a power trencher!!
2
I see your question is tagged UK, and I recently had power run to an outbuilding in the UK too. In my case, the work was notifiable under Part P, as it was the installation of a new circuit. I hired a qualified electrician to do it.
He told me the cable could safely be run only two inches below my lawn, as (a) it was steel wire armoured cable which a spade ...
2
For the last couple of decades, many new homes have been wired using UTP cabling because its not significantly more expensive than plain old phone cabling.
So its not uncommon for cat5 and cat6 cable to have only one pair used for a `phone, and the other pairs idle. It will be relatively straightforward to reterminate both ends of each wire.
At the ...
2
I agree with the above. Still, it might be easier to hard-wire, similar to old DW. To check if you can do this, tip the new one to the side and trace how its power cord terminates. I'd bet it has the same 3 screws (usually located behind the front kick panel - so it is easy to reach when installing or removing). Then all you have to do is: release the ...
2
This is a tour de force of NEC violations, all due respect.
220v, existing 3-wire circuit, new 4-wire cooktop (I understand that white and ground on cooktop get connected to bare ground on incoming line).
Noooo, that's never true. Neutral is not ground. 4-wire cooktops are looking for neutral. 3-wire range connections provide hot-hot-neutral. A ...
answered Apr 3 at 2:15
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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2
The exception that allows grounding your range, ovens, cooktops and clothes dryers via the current carrying neutral (which is called "the grounded circuit conductor" in the NEC) does not include a water heater and so grounding your water heater that way is a code violation.
As you recognized the safety of those circuits that were legal to be installed that ...
2
There's several parts here
Can I tap into the junction box for power?
Yes, provided it's not overloaded with wires.
How do I wire it?
If I were you, I'd add a second junction box. You'll have
2-line power from the existing box
2-line cable run to your fan
3-line cable run to the switch
Find the breaker to the box you want to tap into and turn it off. ...
1
Normally the cord attaches to the fixture or to a multiwire splice that connects to the housing and to the ballast if the ballast has a grounding wire or terminal. If the ballast doesn't have a ground wire or terminal the ballast is just grounded to the fixture housing by it's mounting screws.
The ground wire on the cord usually attaches to a designated (...
1
So we have a couple of conventions here. The conventions are suggestions.
First, over on the wall/ceiling side, the "convention" is that black is always-hot, and red is switched-hot from a switch.
Second, on the fan, there's another "convention": blue is light and black is fan.
So. The problem is that your ceiling wires did not follow the ...
1
You will not be able to combine those to 3-way switches with the switch you have shown. You'll need a double 3-way combination switch, which is two 3-way switches combined. It looks very similar to the one you have shown but with two extra screws.
With the wires shown in your picture, adding the outlet won't work. You've either got load wires or hot wires ...
1
For folks reading this in the future: I have also found that, with 3 or more wires, sometimes the wire-nut does not screw on all the way, leaving some of the bare wire exposed. May not always be easy to see. Then, when tightening the cover, it shorts out. $0.02
1
It seems most unlikely that a plastic anchor with moderate pressure would damage the insulation on a wire.
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I have dug many a trench using a Pick Mattocks in the US, in Iraq, etc. Anything from sand to asphalt. It makes just about a wide enough hole, you can go back and forth to make it a little wider if you want. I prefer about one and a half blade thickness. It's hard work in rocky soil, but you need enough space to backfill properly so you don't get a dip in ...
1
Perhaps an AirSpade or even Hydro Excavation!
A Case for AirSpade:
This tool uses a high-velocity air stream to move and aerate soil so that it can be vacuumed away.
Better yet, find a contractor who has one of these and will come excavate your trench for you using this technology. Here is a video blurb showing its efficacy: Video
Disclaimer: I have ...
1
I would recommend investing in (or renting?) two tools : a trenching shovel and a digging bar.
A trenching shovel is narrow but attaches to the handle it's easier to scoop into the trench to remove soil. If you don't have access to a trenching shovel, you can try a transplanting shovel as they're narrow but deep.
The digging bar is good for loosening up ...
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