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kid sinister posted:It happens once or twice every laundry day. I can't seem to predict when it will happen, but it seems to happen only when the drum spins or the pump... pumps, whether or not the dryer is on and tumbling (it's a gas dryer, so it's on only 120V) on that same GFCI. Sometimes it doesn't happen during a cycle, sometimes it happens twice on a cycle. Interesting: I tried running that washer off of 2 different GFCIs in my basement via extension cord, and it never tripped once. Once I swapped out the original GFCI for one of those that didn't trip however, it starts tripping again. So the problem is the washer? What do I fix?
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Jul 25, 2010 17:48
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kid sinister posted:Interesting: I tried running that washer off of 2 different GFCIs in my basement via extension cord, and it never tripped once. Once I swapped out the original GFCI for one of those that didn't trip however, it starts tripping again. So the problem is the washer? What do I fix? Looking at this logically, we have several components of the system. Washer, GFCI outlet, extension cord, house wiring. We know it's not the washer, since it ran fine on a couple of other outlets. Not the outlet either, since that's been changed. That means it's a problem in the house wiring or the problem is solved using an extension cord. Try running the washer from its normal outlet using the cord. I think it'll still trip, but stranger things have been known to fix problems. If it still trips, you need to try to figure out why your house wiring doesn't like that receptacle box. Is it the first in a string? Last? Only? Poke around, and don't blow yourself up.
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Jul 25, 2010 19:49
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Looking at this logically, we have several components of the system. Washer, GFCI outlet, extension cord, house wiring. I've tried running a few empty loads on that washer on its tripping GFCI but through the extension cord, and so far it works. I doubt the problem is with the wiring, that is a brand new run of #12 to the only device on that circuit. I did nick the outer sheath pulling it through my wood joists in one spot, but it was barely a scuff and I figured a short there would cause the GFCI to trip every time... Ideas? Also, I got another question that I hope one of you can answer. All of the original wiring junctions in my house were solder-rubber tape-friction tape and I replaced them all with wire nuts. However, I dropped a few bits of that rubber tape on my hardwood floors and ground it in with my feet. Does anyone know an easy way to get that poo poo off? It's like a scuffmark from hell! You can't rub it out, it only smears out farther. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Jul 27, 2010 |
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Jul 27, 2010 15:59
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kid sinister posted:I've tried running a few empty loads on that washer on its tripping GFCI but through the extension cord, and so far it works. I doubt the problem is with the wiring, that is a brand new run of #12 to the only device on that circuit. I did nick the outer sheath pulling it through my wood joists in one spot, but it was barely a scuff and I figured a short there would cause the GFCI to trip every time... Ideas? kerosene or something similar
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Jul 27, 2010 20:23
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gently caress it, I'll throw down the bones for a whole house surge suppressor. What brands do you all recommend? What specs or features should I look for? I'd like something to protect the phone and cable lines too.
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Jul 27, 2010 22:19
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kid sinister posted:gently caress it, I'll throw down the bones for a whole house surge suppressor. What brands do you all recommend? What specs or features should I look for? I'd like something to protect the phone and cable lines too. 
grover fucked around with this message at 22:40 on Jul 27, 2010 |
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Jul 27, 2010 22:38
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kid sinister posted:I've tried running a few empty loads on that washer on its tripping GFCI but through the extension cord, and so far it works. I doubt the problem is with the wiring, that is a brand new run of #12 to the only device on that circuit. I did nick the outer sheath pulling it through my wood joists in one spot, but it was barely a scuff and I figured a short there would cause the GFCI to trip every time... Ideas? So running the washer on an extension cord fixes it? Sounds like it's fixed.
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Jul 28, 2010 00:30
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grover posted:TVSSs aren't like power strips, you'd have to buy separate ones for each line. I went with the SquareD I linked; specs are fine, it's cheap, and it's a good name brand. I haven't looked into one for my cable yet, but I'd be interested in what you find as it's not a bad idea. Instead of protecting your phone line, just ditch your landline and go with nice safe cell phones instead If I understand these TVSS thingies right, they're installed as their own circuits? I'd just install it with a 15A double pole breaker? I got enough slots in my box to do that. I found this thing that protects line, phone and cable: http://www.smarthome.com/4871/Intermatic-IG1300-2T1C-Whole-House-Surge-Protector/p.aspx They do sell the cable module individually though: http://www.smarthome.com/4874/1-Line-Coax-Cable-Protector-IG1CM/p.aspx
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Jul 28, 2010 01:57
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I'm running a new circuit and in searching for a new breaker, I've realized my panel may be total crap and a fire hazard. Its (from what I can tell) a Zinsco (breakers say "Type Q"). The internet tells me the breakers commonly fail to trip and can melt to the bus and firey inferno and rape your pet gerbil etc etc So, replace the Zinsco?
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Jul 28, 2010 07:10
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:So running the washer on an extension cord fixes it? Sounds like it's fixed. Except extension cords aren't allowed for permanent use... Grover, what were you saying about it being nasty inside? Should I just unplug it and give it a good cleaning inside? edit: Also, still got that question about a 2 pole breaker for a whole house surge protector, and what kind of specs to look for. And what exactly is a TVSS and how is it different? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 17:52 on Jul 28, 2010 |
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Jul 28, 2010 17:46
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Transient voltage surge supressor (TVSS) is the technical term for a surge supressor. Or, was until recently when they changed it to surge protective device (SPD), but everyone still calls them TVSS. And I'm not sure you'd be able to do much to clean out your washer motor. Drench it with a can of electronics cleaner, perhaps? If it's not tripping other GFCIs when on the extension cord, I don't think leakage current is your problem; it wouldn't change just because it's on an extension cord.
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Jul 28, 2010 22:37
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Well then, if logic's out the window for my washing machine, then I guess I'll have to perform every possible maintenance and fix for it. I've already swapped out GFCIs and I'm pretty familiar with the insides of washing machines. Hell, I swapped out the motor coupling in one yesterday. What would I do if there was leakage current?
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Jul 29, 2010 21:29
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kid sinister posted:Well then, if logic's out the window for my washing machine, then I guess I'll have to perform every possible maintenance and fix for it. I've already swapped out GFCIs and I'm pretty familiar with the insides of washing machines. Hell, I swapped out the motor coupling in one yesterday. What would I do if there was leakage current? Isolate every possible place it could be shorting to ground, go in there with a multimeter, and check continuity to the ground prong on the plug. Once you find it, clean up or replace that part, spray it with contact cleaner, redo any enamel that might have worn off, whatever. The only thing guaranteed with leakage current is continuity to ground. Get rid of that and you're golden. corgski fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Jul 29, 2010 |
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Jul 29, 2010 21:52
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^^^^thanks, I'll try that. I think I'm down to this SPD for my house. A name brand even I've heard of that protects line, phone and cable. What do you guys think? http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=6929§ion=28317&minisite=10026
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Jul 29, 2010 23:22
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OK, replacing my Zinsco panel, too much of a hazard Electrician quoted, parts and labor, $1500-1800 for the replacement (plus $200 and several hours of wasted time for city inspection). Seem right? Is it worth upgrading my service to 200A? My current service is 100A (at least that's what my panel is). We are a very low power household with gas appliances so I don't anticipate every needing more than 100A but maybe its worthwhile for when I sell the house. dwoloz fucked around with this message at 02:43 on Jul 30, 2010 |
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Jul 30, 2010 02:37
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dwoloz posted:OK, replacing my Zinsco panel, too much of a hazard $2000 is about normal for a complete service change with panel and code compliance. While you're at it, get the 200A, it does help resale. It's possible that your service is 200A, but your panel is 100A. It largely depends on when/where your house was built, how much money your utility/contractor had, phase of the moon, whether or not there were incentives from/to the city. With your New Panel (and for that $200 inspection, which is not a waste) you'll get all kinds of goodies: More circuits in the kitchen, GFCI/AFCIs everywhere, more circuits to your utility room, and less chance of shocking yourself in the bathroom on ANYTHING, plus much cleaner whole-house grounding. You may even get more outlets on some wall or in some hallway. Whatever the guy quotes, you get it in writing, and you make him stick to it. Code compliance can get expensive, fast, especially if you've got an old house that only cosmetically has grounding. Look at all the "my house is from the 90s but only has 2-prong outlets" in this thread.
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Jul 30, 2010 04:17
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:$2000 is about normal for a complete service change with panel and code compliance. While you're at it, get the 200A, it does help resale. It's possible that your service is 200A, but your panel is 100A. It largely depends on when/where your house was built, how much money your utility/contractor had, phase of the moon, whether or not there were incentives from/to the city. Will the electric company have info on whether I have 100A or 200A service? My take on this situation was that I was only getting a new panel and not adding or modifying any circuits in the house. Its a 1919 with two or three circuits still with knob and tube but most with romex (albeit ungrounded). Hm, this worries me now that it sounds like I might have to make the whole house compliant. The electrician who came out to look today didn't mention complexities of updating the whole house but I will have to ask about that. The reference to the wasted time was the several hours I'll have to spend at the city planning office waiting for them to call my number
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Jul 30, 2010 06:08
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I don't like this conversation dwoloz but it answers a question I've been afraid to ask  . My house was build in '67 and the panel was installed in a closet in a bathroom (both of which I believe are big fat no-nos). I'm in the process of remodeling the bathroom and decided to take the closet out. Where the panel is located it could easily be flipped so it's in a hallway but if the whole house would have to be updated and brought up to code I'm going to be screwed.
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Jul 30, 2010 15:14
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dwoloz posted:Will the electric company have info on whether I have 100A or 200A service? You can find out easily by walking out and looking at your electric meter. The meter will say right on it "100A" or "200A." Usually, 100A meters are pretty small, maybe 6" across, and sit in a box barely larger than they are. 200A meters are probably 8" and sit in a 12"x14" box or bigger. As for TouchyMcFeely, panels in closets = bad, panels in bathrooms = bad. Things may be different where you're at, but here, you only need to bring the house up to code if you're replacing or adding to the panel. Just turning it around so it faces the other side of the wall should be something a homeowner can do, but you'll still want to call the power company to shut your power down while you do it. This may require a permit; check with them. The power company here is so lazy, you can just turn off your main, pull your meter out of the socket, do what you want, then call them up and tell them that you need another seal put on the socket can. They'll plug the meter back in, make sure nothing blew up, then slap a seal on.
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Jul 30, 2010 18:36
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Thanks for the heads up. I was under the impression that anytime you pulled the meter the power company wouldn't put it back in without an inspection/permit. The problem I have is that I've slowly been fixing wiring issues that I've come across that were created by the previous owner. Double tapped breakers, balls of electrical tape behind walls and all kinds of other goodies. The house isn't anywhere near up to code but I'm slowly working on getting it there. If I were to have an inspection done at this point I'd probably be in a heap of trouble. I'll give the local permit office a jingle and see what they have to say. Hopefully I'll get lucky. Thanks for the tip. TouchyMcFeely fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Jul 30, 2010 |
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Jul 30, 2010 19:05
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:
Edit: after some googling, I think I figured out why. The closet it is in is 3' deep, so I think that's why it didn't come up. Edit 2: what about an auxiliary panel? My father in law installed an auxiliary panel box in for our second floor in our bedroom closet. Is this against code? AFewBricksShy fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Jul 30, 2010 |
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Jul 30, 2010 21:03
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AFewBricksShy posted:Why is this? That's just it, there has to be enough clearance directly in front of a panel for any rework to be possible in the future. How much room is highly subjective to the inspector. babyeatingpsychopath posted:As for TouchyMcFeely, panels in closets = bad, panels in bathrooms = bad. Oh god, that reminds me of a picture I found in a forum for electrical inspectors, of the failures they found. One guy had a fusebox in his shower stall...  Found it back, I posted it in this thread last year. Still gets me though. Of all the ways to tack another bathroom onto your real estate listing... 
kid sinister fucked around with this message at 04:01 on Jul 31, 2010 |
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Jul 31, 2010 03:57
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Whelp, I talked to the utility company today and everything is...questionable. They don't have a policy of requiring an inspection prior to reinstalling the meter but if there's any trouble with the meter base they won't install it without it being repaired. The other half of it is that I might have a 200A service coming to my house (but I've only got a 100A panel) but they're not entirely sure. The lady I was talking to was going through my file and also realized that they didn't have any info on what kind of appliances I had in the house either. After I listed all the stuff I have she was pretty surprised and concerned that I hadn't been having trouble with breakers popping. So I've got an appointment scheduled with someone from the utility company to come out and give everything a once over. I'm just praying that they aren't going to require any work that will need an inspection or I'm boned. Fingers crossed.
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Jul 31, 2010 06:13
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So i'm installing a ceiling fan in a room. I turn on a lamp on the floor to give light and tape both switches leading to the plate in the center of the ceiling in the off position. I remove the plate and check thoroughly with a hotstick type tester to ensure the lines I'm about to touch are dead. They show no sign of juice. I start fooling with the lines and suddenly the whole room goes black. I tripped the friggin AFCI on this circuit and it supplies both the ceiling and wall outlets of the room. Question is....how the heck did this happen with me touching lines in a box where the only two hots coming in were connected to switches turned off and tested as dead. Did me touching the neutral, which come to think of it was being shared by the lamp on the ground, cause a neutral to earth fault the uber-sensitive AFCI detected and tripped on? The lamp putting a slightly off balance load on neutral and me grounding it is all I can think happened here. Is this normal/safe behavior for the circuit? The home is only a few years old and I've never experienced any electrical problems with the original work or my own additions to the original work.
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Jul 31, 2010 07:11
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I believe most instructions state that the breaker should be turned off before any electrical work is performed. Why half rear end it at just the switch anyways?
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Jul 31, 2010 22:35
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chedemefedeme posted:Question is....how the heck did this happen with me touching lines in a box where the only two hots coming in were connected to switches turned off and tested as dead. Bingo, you just answered your own question. And yes, that's normal for AFCIs.
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Aug 1, 2010 04:24
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I'm rewiring my house and have a couple questions about coax and ethernet. 1. Is there any reason to go with quad shield vs standard RG6? My runs will be about 50'. Quad shield doesn't seem like it's much more expensive so I might just go with that. Is it any harder to work with? 2. What tool should I use (specifically) to put the connectors on the coax? 3. What should I look for in a coax splitter? I'm going to need to run coax to 6 different locations 4. Is it all right to run ethernet and coax together? 5. Do I need any sort of special ethernet cable? I already have a box of cat5e sitting in my parent's basement that I was going to use if I could. 6. Where can I find those keystone wall plates that angle the cables downward when plugged in? dyne fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Aug 1, 2010 |
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Aug 1, 2010 04:41
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dyne posted:I'm rewiring my house and have a couple questions about coax and ethernet. 1. Quad shielded is just that, better shielded. If you can afford it, go for it. Sure, there's a thicker shield there, but the shield is braided so the difference in bending is negligible. 2. Pros use a compression tool to terminate coax. You may also want to pick up a coax stripper too to make the job go a little faster. 3. Buy the splitter with the highest GHz rating you can find. Some are still rated in MHz, just remember that 1 GHz=1000 MHz. 4. Yes, you can run any low voltage cable together that you like: coax, cat5, speaker, intercom, etc. 5. If that box of cat5e is has the UL approval seal on it, it's OK to use. 6. 45 degree wallplates are little trickier to work with, since not all bigger keystone jacks will fit in them. If you're concerned about clearance you got 2 options: A. use the 45 degree plates anyway. Cables to Go makes something you could use. You'd need the outer ring along with the angled keystone inserts. B. use a recessed low voltage mounting bracket
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Aug 1, 2010 05:16
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Whelp, just came across another beauty from the previous owner. Somehow I never noticed before but all the original breakers (and I'm guessing the panel itself)is meant to be used with aluminum wiring. Even though the house is wired with copper the geniuses wired aluminum between the panel and meter and put in an aluminum panel. If I have the meter pulled I'm going to have to replace the wiring between the meter and the panel along with the panel itself. Fuuuuuuck me. Quick question - If they pull the meter will I be able to change out the wiring between the meter base and the panel or would they have to disconnect at the transformer? TouchyMcFeely fucked around with this message at 19:36 on Aug 1, 2010 |
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Aug 1, 2010 17:17
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kid sinister posted:That's just it, there has to be enough clearance directly in front of a panel for any rework to be possible in the future. How much room is highly subjective to the inspector. It's not really subjective at all, the NEC has very explicit and clear working space requirements. There are some wrinkles based on voltage and what type of surface is opposite the equipment, but for the vast majority of homeowners it will be: - Width of 30" or the width of the panel, whichever is greater - Depth of 36" from the front of the equipment - Height of 6'-6" or the height of the equipment, whichever is greater As long as these conditions can be met (for example, by leaving the closet door open while working on the panel), then you can stick your panel in as small a closet as you want. We often stick panels in 6" deep x 3' wide "closets" because architects think flush panels look like poo poo.
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Aug 2, 2010 21:41
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Lightning struck a tree RIGHT across the street from my house last Thursday, and instantly knocked out my cable TV and internet. Was the loudest strike I've ever heard, and being so close, sounded completely different; scared the crap out of all of us and my kids were terrified and royally flipped out. It tripped one of our GFCI circuits and fried out one of my garage door opener sensors, but I don't believe the whole-house surge suppressor ever activated (I was very thankful I had it, though! And will be getting one for cable soon as well.) I only just got TV and cable modem back a few hours ago; the lightning strike only fried the cable splitter; all our TVs and cable boxes were spared. Also, gently caress Cox Cable for taking 4 goddamn motherfucking days to get out here. NO TV AND NO INTERNET MAKE GROVER GO CRAZY! All-in-all, I was super-lucky, considering the strike was less than 10' from the cable TV cable and power line, and bark blown off the tree from the strike actually stuck in the power line. We really dodged a bullet.  You can see the ionized channel where the strike channeled through the cambria layer and blew the bark off. Looks like it was cut with a knife; the wood around it is all spongy, more like rubber than wood. 
grover fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Aug 2, 2010 |
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Aug 2, 2010 22:28
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Holy crap, grover! That's crazy! And for an update on my own situational masochism - Just got off the phone with the power company and the news was worse than I had hoped. They dropped in to take a look at my meter setup but thankfully didn't just pull the meter while they were here. Turns out that if I have the meter pulled I'll have to bring the meter base up to code. In this case, bringing the meter base up to code means I'll have to relocate the base to the opposite end of the house and install a new base with a master disconnect which also means they're going to require an inspection. I'm comfortable with doing something like flipping a deenergized panel but installing a new service is a huge leap past my comfort level. Looks like my little "weekend DIY project" just turned into a pretty big "Time to call in a professional" project. drat the luck and a curse on the God of Angry Weekend Builders!
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Aug 2, 2010 23:31
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I've been wondering if there is some good sort of "wireless" remote or something that I could buy so I could hang it up next to my recliner so I can turn on/off a overhead light and an socket outlet in my living room. Both switches for the socket outlet for the lamp behind the recliner and the overhead are all the way over on the other end of the room so it would be nice to have a remote to be able to turn it on/off. Same thing for the bedroom too, so I'm wondering if anyone know of a good kit/setup to do that? I mean for the three socket outlet lamps I could just get a plugin wireless thing, but it would be nice to integrate it with the switch itself.
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Aug 3, 2010 00:25
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antimatter posted:I've been wondering if there is some good sort of "wireless" remote or something that I could buy so I could hang it up next to my recliner so I can turn on/off a overhead light and an socket outlet in my living room. Both switches for the socket outlet for the lamp behind the recliner and the overhead are all the way over on the other end of the room so it would be nice to have a remote to be able to turn it on/off. That's surprisingly difficult to find. I figured "oh that'd be easy" and ran off to Amazon but it doesn't seem so. There are plenty of the opposite. A fake switch that controls a lamp outlet, but no actual remote controls that activate a wall switch actually managing the power. Only things I've seen that do this seamlessly are Insteon (or the older x10). I've got Insteon in my house and can remote control most any light or fan, but the overall setup is more pricey. Even a minimum Insteon setup with one wall switch and one remote control would require what they call a bridge, which basically receives your remote control signal and puts it into your home wiring for reception from the switch. The switches dont receive wireless on their own. This is the site I get my Insteon gear from. They've got a wide variety of lighting stuff from various standards. You may find something you can pair up there. http://www.homecontrols.com/
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Aug 3, 2010 15:44
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There are some of these kind of remote controlled switches out there. The Lutron Maestro is one and Leviton makes a few others. The only caveat seems to be that they're all dimmers.
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Aug 3, 2010 22:51
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I've got a remote control for my Hunter ceiling fan; the remote control unit sits in the base of the fan. Unfortunately, this require buying an expensive high-end ceiling fan just for the remote control. (In my case, I got the whole shebang from an overstock store for $25, which was quite a good deal.)
grover fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Aug 4, 2010 |
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Aug 4, 2010 01:49
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grover posted:Lightning struck a tree RIGHT across the street from my house last Thursday Holy crap, that sounds EXACTLY like that lightning strike at my parents I described a few pages ago, down to the scar left in the tree. I was also home when that happened, and you're definitely right about how loud they are! In fact that bark from the scar flew off the tree so hard that it left a mark on our siding 12 feet away that didn't wash away for a few weeks. It fried everything on our network down to NICs, 3 light bulbs and the video card on my PC. The funniest thing though was it changing colors on our tube TV for a few days. Black people turned purple until the TV degaussed itself a few days later. Looks like I'm bumping up those plans for a TVSS!
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Aug 4, 2010 13:26
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kid sinister posted:Holy crap, that sounds EXACTLY like that lightning strike at my parents I described a few pages ago, down to the scar left in the tree. I was also home when that happened, and you're definitely right about how loud they are! In fact that bark from the scar flew off the tree so hard that it left a mark on our siding 12 feet away that didn't wash away for a few weeks.
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Aug 4, 2010 23:06
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grover posted:Keep an eye on the tree. They can survive a lightning strike, but are very susceptible to beetles and other pests that could very well kill it. If it's that close to your house, you may have to have it taken down. I wouldn't worry about it. Our struck tree is a black walnut, one hell of a strong wood and it already leaned towards the yard before it got it hit. Now, to wire up that TVSS... Grover said to use a 2-pole breaker, which as I understand it is just 2 breakers bound together with a fixed bar across the switches to shut off both circuits at once. However, the instructions say to use 2 separate 15A 1-pole breakers, which isn't allowed anymore for circuits sharing a common neutral. Are 2-pole breakers marked by their combined amperage? In other words, is a 30A 2-pole breaker just a pair of 15A 1-pole breakers bound together?
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Aug 5, 2010 17:00
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kid sinister posted:I wouldn't worry about it. Our struck tree is a black walnut, one hell of a strong wood and it already leaned towards the yard before it got it hit. No. A 2-pole 30A will trip when either leg hits 30A. A 2-pole 15A will trip when either pole hits 15A. They are, in fact, two single-pole breakers with handle ties.
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Aug 6, 2010 01:30
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