texts: What's the difference between ETL and UL listed electrical outlets? Which should I purchase?

texts:
I want to be legal and pass home inspection. I'm in California in the USA, replacing some electrical outlets.
ETL appears to be less-common, but equally recognized:

The main difference between UL and ETL listed products is that ETL doesn’t create its own standards for certification. UL develops standards that are used by other organizations, including ETL.
Both are Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories(NRTLs). They serve as non-governmental labs that operate independently. Additionally, they are recognized by OSHA as being suitable labs to test products based on safety standards.

Will ETL GFCI outlets pass a home inspection for a garage that's apparently required to have GFCI outlets?

This is one of the GFCI "ETL Certified" outlets on Amazon I am considering. $20 for 2.
Other references:

Google search for "etl vs ul"


texts: Crack in concrete slab of house - what best to fix it with?

texts:
I have had different people suggest bondcrete,  polyurethane, silicone and various layered combinations thereof, as well as epoxy, concrete caulk and mortar. In addition, on this stack site a search of "house foundation crack" gives a number of issues which are similar, and I've come away with similar information. Any advice for Australian property specifically would be good.
I am renting out a 10y old house I built on clay soil Lake Macquarie NSW. Extensive concrete piering was done under the house. There were some problems with draining /flooding in patches of yard not addressed until last year as I was living abroad, and a fair bit of movement over the decade is indicated by some cracks in walls vertically and some pieces of cornice have separated from the wall by a few mm.  Most of the house is tiled or floating floors and no problems with damp  EXCEPT...
Over the past few years in the two carpeted bedrooms,  after a heavy rain there seems to be some rising damp.  (These bedrooms are on the side of the house that does not have drainage and it does not flood,  but can get very wet. We have realised we need to add drainage along this side of the house as well.) These carpets have become a bit musty so we have pulled up to replace them with floating floors.
We have have purchased Dunlop's Damp Proof concrete sealer but have found several cracks,  maximum 1mm wide and up to 1m long. These are near the patches of floor that have been getting damp.
We are really hoping we won't need to resort to more expensive options like a structural engineer, injections or replacing whole bits of concrete. We haven't been able to get anyone to come and look at the floors and have tenants in,  so need it resolved soon. We are hoping to try filling cracks and sealing floor, as rest of house has no  rising damp problems,  and monitoring issue.
The advice we've been given over the phone varies between sealing the cracks with bondcrete / polyurethane / silicone. I can't get a clear idea from Mr Google either. Has anyone dealt with something like this prior?
Thank you, see attached pics as well.


texts: Adding recessed lighting to room with ceiling fan/light already installed, and using fan will all the light off

texts:
I have 1 switch, that controls light of ceiling fan and fan is controlled by remote control.

However, I find the room quite dark, thus I want to add several led pot light.  I know this is possible.

During summer season room get quite warm, thus at night, I want to use the fan and turn all the light off,

Is this possible without running a new electrical line?


texts:
I have a PTAC AC that blows cold air, but barely cools the room. The landlord is claiming its because the room is the livingroom and its an open to the kitchen and hallway.
I know that the rule of thumb for a functional central AC is a 20 degree F delta between the intake and outtake of the AC unit itself. But the PTAC itself has the intake on the bottom and the outtake in the top of the unit.
Question is, what is the HVAC standard for measuring the deltaT? How far should it be taken from the outtake? Or should it be done right at the intake below the unit?
This is an old unit that had the compressor replaced about a year or two ago. I have noticed that the outtake of air is not uniform, and there are significant gaps with weak air coming out.
AC's outtake is about 26" long and 6" wide. The first 2" to 4" from the left dont output much air, the 6" to 8" after it does, then another weak air outflow for another 7"-9", then again, about 6" (or so) of good air flow out, then the last 2" to 4"  dont output much. What could be the issue with that?

Refrigerant (R22 oz): 28.2
Voltage: 230
Cont Mtr AMPS: 0.79
Cooling BTU/hr: 16,900
Total cooling Amps: 7.30
Total Cooling Watts: 1,743
Compressor LRA: 38.00
Compressor FLA: 6.20
Evap. Motor Amps: 0.29
Heating BTU/hr: 0
Heating Amps: 0.00
Heater Mtr Amps: 0.29

Test pressure

High side: 300 psi
Low side: 150 psi

Max  fuse size: 20 Amp time delay on HACR type circuit breaker


texts: I have the 2 circuits in the kitchen with GFCI outlets, but I'm not quite sure which other ones do NOT need GFCI. Other circuits in the kitchen include Microwave, Fridge, and Dishwasher. It makes sense to me to not have the fridge on GFCI though.


texts: Should I use a roller or a brush for painting exterior walls?

texts:
I'm about to embark on painting my house. I have researched all the info here and on painting sites I can find about preparation and safety etc., but I'm still not sure the best choice regarding applying the actual paint itself.

I have HardiPlanks on the outside similar to this image but an older model of the planks so the chamfer isn't quite as pronounced.

I'm wondering should I just get a Big Brushes (125mm?) or should I cut in under each plank and around windows, then roller what I can, or just do the lot with brushes?


texts:
Should I cover my air conditioner for winter? It's difficult to find an appropriate cover, but finding a cover for an evaporation cooler is easy (and because they allow for air flow from the outdoors, it makes sense).

See this answer for things to do before winter hits, where it's not clear whether an air conditioner should be covered or not.

I don't want to let water build up inside and given my climate, it will freeze and thaw repeatedly which can be very damaging. On the other hand, I don't want to create a moisture barrier that leads to other problems.

Any official word on this?


texts: Can I connect a water hose to an irrigation system?

texts:
I am planing to install water lines as you can see in the picture. Right now I I have a water hose that runs along the house, I am referring to the segment that goes along the wall between the patio and the house.

The other two segments together with this one are what I am planing to install.

For now I just have a water hose that I run along the line above described. There is a gap space between the house and the patio where a pipe/water hose fits just fine. My plan would be to install the first segment of the future irrigation system and to connect the water hose to it for now (no sprinklers so no water pressure loss) because I want to cover that gap with peanut size decorative stone. Later I would disconnect the water hose and fully install the irrigation system. As an alternate solution I would love to leave the water hose there till I proceed with the irrigation system plans but I am afraid that the water hose is not winter resistant, so my question is: can I put an irrigation system segment there and connect the water hose to it at at the point where the irrigation line reaches the corner of the house?


texts: Wood creaking sound (intermittent, but persistent), how to finally put it to rest

texts:
Last year, we bought a house built in 1986. Over the past year, I've been able to identify a single (and I do meant SINGLE) knocking sound which generally repeats every 20-60 seconds until I go to search for it.
I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the structure, and presume my body weight & position, but that's where it gets strange. I hear it when I wake up in the morning. It does happen sometimes when I lay down for bed, or sometimes in the middle of the night. But as you might be gravitating to, I hear it when I am in bed. If I stand up, I still hear it. As soon as I start walking to go find it, it stops.
Now is it a critter? No. We have cats, but no matter, my wife or daughter can go look for it rustling through the house and basement, and outside and it continues for them, but all they have ever identified is that they think it comes from the heat vents in the basement under our room. It doesn't. Heat, AC, nothing, moving pipes, turning the system off, it happens when it wants to in all of the above. I have also moved and or secured the pipes/vents to no avail.
It's not something I can really call a contractor in for as it doesn't always happen when I go sit on the bed. It happens at all seasons and weather conditions.
Now, given that I can be in bed to instigate this sound, I've tried moving (and not moving) to promote its occurrence or cause it to cease but it does not. Therefore, I can lay in bed for hours, and not move a muscle, and listen to it for hours, every 10s, 20s, 120s, etc. a single "pop" or "knock"
I am trying to capture the sound on a recording so I can share it. But consider this: take a #2 pencil and wrap it against a 2x4... but do it lightly, e.g., drop a #2 pencil on a piece of paper on a carpeted floor - that is a great replication of the sound.
I'd like ideas of what it can be, and how to catch/isolate it, so I can finally wake up to a silent morning. :)
I really do believe it's structural (which is why I mentioned the year built) and think its a support beam moving on a nail or plywood, but as aforementioned, it happens with me completely still, and I cant instigate it, so why would it be the same repetitious sound endlessly....
Here is some photos of the suspect area:
Basement under bedroom, where clicking is heard
UPDATE (11/7/2018):
At the link above I just uploaded a video file with the noise. There is 1 (maybe two) heater unit click noises, you can distinctly tell them apart from the ones that sound wooden. (listen for the sound of a drop of water, or pencil tapping). Also, and this is potentially attributable to the "intermittency" of it all, is today is a windy day, and no one is in my bedroom. I just cannot isolate the noise well enough to locate it.


texts: How to stuff a portable storage container?

texts: I plan to renovate my house by next week. So I need to shift my valuables to the new house. I have arranged to use portable storage containers for the move. But now I have doubts about the packing process. Can we pack as much as the stuff in a storage container? Are there any limitations regarding the weight of the stuff? Please share your experience.


texts:
We are installing a laminate floor in our family room and have precisely the same problem as described in this question.  The brick is not even close to flat where it meets the floor, leading to ugly gaps.
The solutions given in the linked question are not what we'd like to have.  No trim or border.  We'd really much rather have the "floor underneath" look, where the floor appears to simply disappear underneath everything in the room, including the fireplace brick.
This implies that we have to cut the brick somehow.  I've seen a few online videos showing how to do this, but they were lucky enough to have a grout line at floor level.  There is no grout line at the correct level - the floor goes right into the physical brick.
I am looking for methods and suggestions regarding how to best cut the brick.  Tools, gotchas, ways to make sure it looks neat, etc.  I only get one shot at getting this right.  :)
As an alternative, I'd consider using some kind of a "gap filler" to hide the gap, as long as it is level with the floor and can be colored to match either the grout or the floor.


texts:
Even though my thermostat was set to "Off" or "Heat", my air conditioner is coming on randomly and blowing cold air out of the vents.  I figured that the thermostat was bad so I disconnected all of the wires to replace it, but even without a thermostat attached, it's still blowing cold air.

I have an upstairs and a downstairs unit, but only the downstairs unit has this problem.

What else could cause the AC to be turning on?


texts: How do I calculate deflection in shelving boards?

texts: How do I calculate the deflection of a hard maple board 5/4' x 11-1/2' x 6' supported at ends only that will carry a load of 125 pounds?


texts: Precautions in connecting high voltage source to a relay?

texts:
I want to use the following relay to control a 220V AC electrical device.

The device may be an oven or a heating plate which I think should draw a less than 10A current (but the current should still be quite large).

I think I should cut the "live" wire of the electrical device and insert the 2 cut wire parts into the relay, while the "neutral" wire should be left unchanged. And then enclose the relay with a plastic box to protect it from touch by anyone.

As I have only some experience with small current electronics but have no experience in handling large current devices. I want to know that should I use "Heat-shrink tube" when connecting the cut "live" wires into the relay pins ? If yes, which type/model of "Heat-shrink tube" should I use for an enough protection ?

Moreover, is there any online tutorial/example for connecting large current device to a relay in a safe manner ?

Thanks for any suggestion.

EDIT :

After some googling, I find that there are two youtube videos that show the use of this kind of SONGLE relay to switch some 120V AC light blubs. They are located here and here.

Although this kind of relay seems do well on short term high voltage/current AC switching, safety concerns (e.g. overheat, etc) about its long term usage are still under question.


texts: Should the plastic vapor barrier be removed from under or replaced under exterior wall drywall?  I am working on a house which had major termite damage.  The house is located in a town in upstate New York (Erwin) where termites are not common.  It is believed that the moisture in the exterior walls either caused or contributed to the termites entering the structure.  The structure of the wall was drywall, plastic vapor barrier, paper backed fiberglass insulation, OSB board, 1" blue board, Tyvek vapor barrier and vinyl siding on 2x4 studs.  The plastic vapor barrier seemed to hold the moisture in the wall and the termites set up shop under the plastic and ate the studs and paper backing.  They also ventured out in tubes through and under the drywall.  Not all of the walls were damaged.  We are debating on if we should remove the plastic from those walls as well as if we should not replace the plastic on the walls we have repaired.


texts: Should I put a moisture barrier under tile on a basement floor?

texts: I bought porcelain tile for my basement.. Should I put Ditra down in order to prevent any moisture? Is there a cheaper way? I had tile put in the other room and there is white powder that comes up through the grout. I don't want this happening in the other rooms.


texts:
I have an older building on my property that I am in the process of fixing up.  The person that built it used 2x4s for the ceiling joists and it is beginning to sag a bit in the middle of the ceiling.

I would like to fix this and also hopefully prevent future sagging.  My current plan is to jack up the ceiling until it is level and then sister 2x6s to the existing 2x4s.

I have a few questions about this approach:

is it a reasonable approach to resolve the current/future sagging issue?
The ceilings are already kind of low - could I potentially use a 4x4 instead of a 2x6 to get the same support and save myself the 2" of head room?
The current 2x4 joists continue through the wall to the outside - am I ok stopping at the wall with the new 2x6 joists?  They would just rest on the wall frame.
Am I ok to sister the 2x4 and 2x6 joists using screws every 18 inches or so?

Update:

There are two spans of about 12 feet that meet in the center of the ceiling.
The joists are spaced somewhat irregularly - between 18 and 24 inches.
As @LeeSam mentioned the ceiling joists are the roof joists as well.
There is no material attached to the bottom of the 2x4s.
There is plywood and tar paper on top of the 2x4s but nothing else.
The angle of the roof is fairly shallow, it raises about a foot over the 12' span.
Water doesn't currently pool on the roof

Crude drawing:


texts: What size conductors would I need for a 10 ft. extension cord for a plasma cutter?

texts: I would like to have a 10ft extention cord for my 220v plasma cutter. I just put a 3 prong (crow foot) connector on it to match the plug for my Lincoln arc welder and I would like to be able to move it around some. Would 10/3 wire be enough?


texts: How should masking tape be used when multiple coats of paint are being applied?

texts: When painting, sometimes mask-free cutting-in is impractical and masking tape must be used. The advice here is to remove masking tape before the paint has dried. That makes sense when a single coat is being applied. But what should be done with masking tape when multiple coats are being applied? Surely the correct procedure is not to remove the tape and re-mask for every coat.


texts: How do I affix wires to an E27 T210 lamp holder?

texts:
I have a E27 T210 connection for a lamp holder, and there are no screws to fix wires into.  It is also unclear how they push in.

If this a push connection are the wires supposed to be soldered?


texts: We found a pergola design that we loved and copied the design but now that it's (mostly) up we are questioning its stability and safety.  The 2x6 beams are notched 3" to fit together, which I have read makes them equivalent to 2x3's.  We love this design and want to make it sturdy and safe.  We plan to put diagonal supports from the posts to beams, but wanted to seek advice before we proceed.  The louver boards (see the second picture, they will be built in each of the 8 openings) have added a load.  We want to make this stable.


texts: Why do CFLs stop buzzing when an incandescent light is added to the mix?

texts:
I have 8 CFLs in a circuit of ceiling cans all connected to the same dimmer switch. They buzz all day until I add an incandescent light to one of the cans.

Why does the buzzing stop with the introduction of an incandescent light?


texts: Should I glue down or top nail the first and last row of hardwood engineered flooring?

texts:
I am stapling down 1/2" engineered prefinished hardwood flooring.  To get started, I need to run a row next to the starting wall, allowing 1/2" for expansion.  Since my pneumatic flooring staple gun, so to it's size and shape, will not allow me to use it on the starter row, I have the choice of top nailing or gluing it down (to the sub floor).  I would prefer to glue it, say with 'liquid nail', rather than to top nail it to avoid filled nail holes that could show if the putty filler color does not match perfectly.  The rest of the floor will be stapled except for the wall pieces on the other side of the room etc.

Is it OK to use the glue down method on the 1st and last row without effecting the hardwood expansion problem? and if so, is 'Liquid Nail' an acceptable glue product for this application.


texts: What is this bathroom basin tap connection and can I replace it myself?

texts:
A few months back I had a problem with the cold tap in my upstairs bathroom — no water would come out after turning it on. I also noticed that the flexible tap hose underneath the basin was damp and sometimes dripping a little bit. So I got a plumber out who fixed the lack of water problem by replacing the tap thread. I rather assumed that that was also the cause of the flexible tap hose dampness, but I was wrong. Then I noticed that there was a tiny gap where the tap wasn't 100% over the hole, so I loosened the back nut and repositioned it to close off the hole.

Unfortunately that didn't solve the hose dampness/dripping problem. So now I'm thinking that the problem is perhaps due to the flexible hose being past its best. So I'd like to change the hose.

As a DIY/plumbing newbie, I don't recognize the connection between the hose and the plastic piping. At first I thought it was a standard braided hose, but then when I unscrewed the nut, the thread of the hose is connected to what looks a bit like a compression olive. Is anyone familiar with the connection? And would a reasonably handy but inexperienced DIYer be wise to fix it himself, or is this a job for a pro?

EDIT: To assist with Duncan's helpful answer, I'm adding two images:


texts: Cutting side entry hole in main breaker panel

texts:
All the main breaker boxes I could find had top or bottom feed entry from the service meter can.  Besides being a pain to work with, is there anything wrong with drilling a 2" hole on the side of the panel where my lb box is to enter the panel with main feed wires?

I'm not sure how the wires will bend, but once they do there is plenty of room at the bottom of the panel to go up into the lugs.

The 2" hole will have sharp edges, but after installing the threaded Union and nut, there will be no sharp edges.


texts:
How I can test that the ground cable of my AC power outlet is really grounded / correctly grounded ?

Is  a quick test that I can do or an instrument that does just that ?

Also, how is grounding rated if it's rated at all. Some x amount of charge discharged per each second?

I'm well aware that most buildings basically have a ground wiring for each power outlet, and all ends up linked to a metal stick in the ground, but how do I check the grounding when I'm near a power outlet and I don't know anything about the blueprints of the house or anything else ?


texts: How do I alter the shape of my existing concrete steps?

texts:
I have some concrete steps from my back door that I plan to cover with paver brick, so that they tie in aesthetically with my new paver patio. The existing steps are rectangular, but I want them to be circular, like so:

If you were going to do this, how would you attack it? Here are my ideas:

Option 1) Pour a 4" slab in the shape of the outer circle step, around the existing steps. Then build up the steps with landscape block and fill with gravel where necessary. In this case I'd probably make each circle a bit bigger so I could fit block around the corners of the existing steps.

Option 2) Build circular forms around the existing steps and pour concrete around the existing steps to build up the shape I want. I'm not really concerned that the new concrete won't bond to the existing concrete since it's all going to be covered by paver brick anyway. Any concerns with using something like QUIKRETE for this?

Option 3) Rip out the existing steps, pour new concrete steps, cover with brick. I would like to avoid this because existing concrete is about 4'W x 5'L x 4'D, so it will take a very large piece of machinery accomplish this. It may not be possible to get a machine that big into my back yard. If this is the only way to do it right, I'm probably going to scrap the whole idea.


texts: How can I remove a switch and terminate a circuit in its place?

texts: I have a switch that used to control outdoor lighting.  It no longer does any more and I'd like to just leave it off permanently.  Is there an easy way I can terminate it from within the gang box? Eventually I might want to use it again so I don't want to completely rip out out the wiring/circuit; just leave it off and replace the switch with a faceplate cover.


texts: Will separate dishwasher drain cause sewer gases and wet dog smell?

texts:
Will this separate pipe for dishwasher cause sewer gases to enter into cabinet and dishwasher to get wet dog smell? The separate dishwasher pipe design - at top of pipe is a 2” Wye fitting - one side is open and other side dishwasher drain hose goes into it, the wye is connected to a straight pipe, then a p-trap (glued on), then a pipe connecting into drain / waste line (same drain line the sink connects to above it).  The corrugated dishwasher hose goes diagonal to straight pipe and is zip tied (little bit of flat) and then up to wye opening (not a smooth high loop).
If so, how do I correct problem? can I cut off Wye and cap pipe, connect dishwasher to Insinkator with high loop inside cabinet - note sink and insinkator have Oatey aav (dfu 20) for vent?  Have a similar setup with a basement bar sink but no garbage disposal.  Been trying to determine where sewer gas (methane) is coming from.  Put clear p traps on today to see if aav (put new one a few days ago) are working or high winds drawing down p traps. Have water softener, well water has been tested, septic tank cleaned last year, raised roof stacks foot and put candy cane with 3/8” drilled hole caps, ran garden hose down every roof stack, recaulked all toilets.  Plumber that designed n installed long gone and was approved by county so please no comments just solutions.


texts:
I have a toilet that will start running as if the flapper is bad. (I’m confident it is not. I’ve replaced it twice.) It doesn’t drain much, just enough to trigger a fill every 20 - 30 minutes.

The strange thing is the tank only drains slightly and then stops. If I turn the water off it will only drain approximately 1/4 to 3/8’s of an inch and then stop draining completely. I can leave the water turned off for two weeks and it will never go below that level. I’m thinking if it were a bad seal it would drain completely after that time.

Is it a crack in the tank? I’ve just about had it and ready to replace the toilet. It’s approximately 20 years old.


texts: What size wire do I need for a 100amp underground 300 ft run?

texts:
I want to put in a 100amp subpanel in my garage.  The run will be underground and 300ft long.

I have a Siemens panel with breakers rated at 60/75 deg C.

What is the proper wire size I need?  I was originally thinking I needed to put the wire in conduit, but is there a better way to go with a direct burial wire?


texts: Is a sagging floor possibly detrimental?

texts:
I live in a house built in the early 1900's. The dining room, which is in the center of the house, sags enough to where you could set a marble in the middle and it will always roll to one side.

The main beam running the length of the house in the basement has a support jack installed, but is it dangerous or detrimental to the property to have so much sagging in a particular room?


texts: Temporary brace for a wooden retaining wall

texts:
I have a 2.5 ft tall retaining wall made with 2x6 planks held up by 4x4 wooden posts.
Part of the retaining wall is now blowing out after the Texas winter power outage.
I believe that my pool behind the retaining wall has a cracked pipe somewhere.
While I wait for insurance and contractors, I need a way to temporarily hold the retaining wall up.
I think some 2x4s braced against the ground would be fine enough, but Im not entirely sure how to make sure that the 2x4s themselves dont push out from the wall.
Does anyone have an image or drawing of how a temporary brace would look like?
I have searched online, but I have only found braces that you can buy for concrete walls in larger construction projects.
Any help would be appreciated.


texts: Pavers mortared to cement - how to grout joints

texts:
In my front yard I have a curved walkway made out of cement. The cement walkway is about 45 inches wide and sits on top of some compacted dirt.
This past weekend I used some exterior thinset mortar (rated for outdoor use and wet conditions) to mortar concrete pavers to the walkway.
My question is related to "grouting the joints".

since I have a concrete base and no where for the water to drain, do I need to use polymer mortar to fill my joints?
Or can I get away with using a polymer sand sweeping it in the joints and watering it down?


texts: Can flow of gas be too strong to ignite in oven?

texts:
My Viking oven lights only intermittently.  I hear the spark module sparking.  It tries for 4 cycles and then turns off, to prevent explosions I assume.  I have replaced spark module once; no help.

When I take the metal floor of the oven off so I can look down and see the spark module and the gas manifold, it usually lights.  I see sparks.

It is hard for me to think of a reason it would light with floor off but not with floor on.  Could there be so much gas coming out that it replaces available O2 under the floor and so cannot light?  Ideas welcome.  I want to bake!


texts: Electric water boiler .. how is the system supposed to work? (UK)

texts:
I'm not from the UK and am used to water being heated on-demand by a gas heater.
Having recently moved to London, the flat has electrical heating and I cannot figure out how I'm supposed to set this electric boiler system.

Here's some pictures to get an idea of what's there:
- http://i.imgur.com/6ASWnpS.jpg - the boiler and it's Control Unit (not sure what it's actually called)
- http://i.imgur.com/7OIgZu7.jpg - the Control Unit buttons and text

The control unit has a switch with positions Off and Timed.
There is also a boiler power switch labelled Immersion.

The Immersion switch seems to turn the boiler on, as it starts making water noise when turned on and five minutes later I can get some hot water on the tap.

With the Immersion switch On, changing anything else on the Control Unit doesn't seem to have any effect. Again, when the Immersion switch is Off, there's no hot water, regardless of the Control Unit.

On the top side of the boiler, to the left of the Important label, is a valve which is itself labelled as T&P valve and the label next to it refers to a Temperature and Pressure release valve.
When I turn on the Immersion switch, water starts heating, but about 10 minutes later, water comes out of this T&P valve. It's not dripping, it's actually running, I can't estimate the debit, but it's probably like a half-on tap, which to me seems like a lot.

The Important label says: If the T&P valve is dripping (not running) to 1) Turn off mains water, 2) Open a tap, 3) Hold the valve open until it stops making noise, 4) Turn off tap and mains water back on.

I've tried turning on the Immersion switch, waiting 10 minutes, water would come out of the T&P valve and then I've turned on the shower. The shower was warm, but not boiling hot,  and the water turned to completely cold in about 3 minutes. After this point, the T&P valve still had water running out.

After I turn off the Immersion switch, the valve will stop in a few minutes.

Does anyone know how this thing is supposed to work?


texts: What are my options to level out my air conditioner?

texts:
The air conditioner on the side of my house is on a small slab of concrete.  Over time, it has started to tilt as the land has settled.  We just recently moved in and a few of the neighbors have givens us advice, almost all of which is different.

What options do I have other than paying someone to remove the unit and re-lay a new foundation for it?


texts: Cable required for pulling 3 phase power outdoors

texts: Might be stupid questions but what kind of cable I for pulling 3 phase power outdoors around 10 meters outside. Frost is not an issue but even if I pull the cable within a pipe there is a good chance of moisture over its life.


texts: Gas furnace ignites but then makes large knocking sound

texts:
My gas furnace will ignite, but after the pilot goes on for a moment it creates a large periodic knocking sound over and over again instead of the fan starting. I have my suspicions, but I wanted to ask if anyone has run across this before.

Here is a link to the startup sequence
https://youtu.be/K2jNJ1Abh20


texts: I am installing new shelves in my pantry, 12" x 55" with walls on three sides.  The shelving material is laminate over particleboard.  Considering how heavy a shelf full of canned goods is, can I get away with just using 1" nailers on all three walls to rest the shelves on, or do I need L brackets in the middle as additional support?


texts: Are off-brand framing nails compatible with my Craftsman nailer?

texts:
I have a Craftsman Clipped Head Angle Framing Nailer (28 degrees) Model No. 351.181790.

They don't appear to stock the specific nails for this gun anymore. Which according to the manual are:

18351 - 8 penny, .120 2 1/2"
18352 - 10 penny, .120 3"
18353 - 16 penny, .120 3 1/2"
18357 - Galvanized 8 penny, .120 2 1/2"
18358 - Galvanized 10 penny, .120 3"
18359 - Galvanized 16 penny, .120 3 1/2"

When I search for those nails I just get out of stock pages from Sears. I did find one forum that claimed:

  I am sorry that we do not stock these nails any longer but you should be able to get them from any big box hardware stores or home centers.
  Stanley Bostitch will fit.
  Campbell Housfeld will fit.
  Atro nails will fit.

Do any of these other brand nails work with my Craftsman?


texts: Screw Drive garage door opener motor won't open but motor runs for 1-2 seconds

texts:
My garage door motor which opens and closes on a screw drive system has stopped opening my door. When I press the remote or button in the garage it attempts to open for just a second or 2 than quits. What is my issue? Do I need a new motor or can it be fixed....

So I recent had a Garage door "professional" come out to my house and look at my garage. I originally thought I was having a motor problem because it would only lift the door sporadically. After performing a 25 point inspection he believed he located the problem, which was the spring system from my Wayne Dalton garage door (torquemaster). He told me how horrible of a system they are and they don't fix them; because of that, they only replace the entire system and that would cost me $700 or more. So now I'm left trying to figure out what I need: torquemaster springs, bracket assembly, both, or if I need something completely different. I need some Wayne Dalton experience.


texts: What are typical power use, pressure, and volume for domestic dishwasher pumps

texts:
I have just replace my dishwasher.  The walls (plastic) had a crack running the length of all 3 sides.  It's given us 15 year's service, so it has paid it's dues.

When I pulled it it was still working.  Occurs to me that the pump may be useful for other things.

What is the typical flow rate and volume of these pumps?  I found one manual on line for a replacement pump that listed 220v 88W 15 PSI, 60 liters/min  (~15 gal/min)

Is this typical?  Huge variation?  (I know that commercial ones use much higher pressure and volume.  The one in the restaurant I worked at took 90 seconds for a cycle, instead of the 2 hours for my home unit.)


texts: How can I resolve a "vent intake or termination" problem on my furnace?

texts:
It's June so my furnace has been off for a while. But it's cold today and I have a sick kid home so I tried to start my furnace but it's not working. I'm getting an LED code with three red flashes which, according to the label on the inside of the access cover, means "Vent intake or termination problem". I noticed that the filter (16 x 20 x 1) was out of place and kind of pulled a little into the unit. But it didn't look like it damaged anything. It was also really dirty, so I figured maybe the issue was that the dirty filter blocked the air enough that it triggered the error. So I bought a new filter and replaced it.

I couldn't find a "lockout reset" button on the unit so I reset the LED fault indicator and turned the unit off for a minute or so, hoping that would reset it. That didn't work and I'm still getting the 3 red flashes. I waited an hour, thinking that it might reset automatically (which I know is the case with some units) but that didn't work either.

Any suggestions as to what else I can check? The intake where the filter goes looks fine; as for the outgoing vent--I don't see how I can check that for a blockage. It vents through a metal vent into the chimney. I also don't understand how that would have gotten blocked up.

The unit is a York TG8S gas furnace. I haven't been able to find a service manual online--just a "technical document" that wasn't much help and an owner's manual that was pretty useless from a technical point of view.


texts:
So my central AC unit started doing something that I have not experienced before.

Once the AC stops, cold air comes out of the intake vent, like really cold air.  This has lead to ice forming on the inside of the evaporator coils.  Once this ice melts water drips down onto the insulated duct work of the intake.

Any clue what might be causing this?


texts: How to disassemble old Moen kitchen faucet

texts:
I have an leaking older single-handle Moen faucet.  All the info I've found for such faucets shows a removable cap on top of the handle; removing that exposes a screw, which allows removal of the handle, etc.

This faucet doesn't have a clearly-removable cap; instead, it has a slightly inset surface on top of the faucet, which is covered with a 'Moen' sticker.  I tried gently prying on that, but it wasn't clear that it was meant to come off.

So, before pushing on and maybe defacing the surface, does anyone know how to disassemble this faucet?  Or, for that matter, what the model number would be.

Thanks

Edit: It turns out, the "Moen" thing is just a sticker.  Peel it back, and there's the screw.  No cap to pry off.


texts: What should I use to seal/coat interior of stone foundation wall?

texts:
I have a stone foundation in my basement which was re-pointed about 4 years ago.

While slight, the mortar crumbles a little bit over time.  As a result, it causes a bit of a mess with the dust at the edge of the flooring.

I would like to seal or coat the stones and mortar so that crumbling stops.  I don't want to paint the stones, just seal or coat them with something clear.  Any suggestions on what kind of product to use to do this?

I was thinking of using something like this:  http://www.homedepot.com/p/Seal-Krete-1-gal-Original-Waterproofing-Sealer-100001/100144884

However, I am unsure if that would be effective or cause any problems with the stone and mortar wall.  In addition, I am located in Canada and the Home Depot in Canada does not seem to carry this product.

Thanks!


texts: Need to attach deck ledger to house covering a vent

texts: I am building a deck attached to the house, and on one side I will need to have the ledger covering a section of wall that has a crawlspace vent cover. If I have a big enough gap between the ledger and the siding (maybe bigger than what you would normally do -- make it closer to 3/4" perhaps?) would that be enough space to let air escape through the vent? Or is there some other way to make sure I don't block off the ventilation?


texts: How to deal with little holes in shower's tiled wall

texts: My shower wall had a tiny towel rack which was installed with screws.  Because of the location, I tended to bang my head on the corner when coming in close to the faucets to adjust the temperature.  I took it out.  I couldn't leave holes, so I sealed the holes with screws and washers.  That is effective in that it keeps the water out of the holes, but I don't like the way it looks.  What would be an alternative approach?


texts: Is there a way to make toilet porcelain dirt and stain resistant?

texts:
I'm sure this problem is present all around the world as toilet brushes are ubiquitous in every toilet I've ever been to. But this is the 21st century, there must be a better solution!

Is there a smart way to make porcelain non-sticky? How do I get rid of the toilet brush once and for good?


texts: Why would capping one sprinkler zone cause my toilets to whistle?

texts: Ever since they capped one of the sprinkler zones in an area that no longer needs watering, two of my toilets start whistling when the sprinklers are running and only stop when I flush them.  How can I get this corrected?


texts: Seal out draft from sliding, frameless shower door

texts:
There is a draft coming from the vertical gap between the two sliding doors on my shower.

Is there some sort of sweep or stripping designed for this purpose?  Lacking that, are there any alternatives I can use to keep the cold air out?


texts: What is this ceiling beam called above interior wall?

texts:
I'm attempting to add ethernet to a bedroom. This will involve drilling a hole from the attic to route the cables behind the drywall. I expected to see 2x4 above the interior wall but found a tongue and groove 2x6 as shown in the photos below. It runs in parallel with the ceiling joists and ends about an inch away from the roof overhang. House is in California and built in 1958.

Does this beam have a name and what is the purpose? Can I drill down through it to route cables?


texts: Wood rot fix for siding and framing base?

texts:
Wood rot fix for siding and frame base?
Some water is seeping into my garage when it rains. Called a concrete guy because I thought patio was too sloped, but he said sloping was by design and he suggested the real issue is the siding has wood rot and it’s letting water damage the wood frame above the concrete slab and water is coming in that way. He suggested flex foam to seal - seems easy and cheap but will it be sufficient? Any other recommendations? My fear is worst case scenario requires tearing out the wood frame and rebuild. The ultimate goal is to add a small room to part of the garage so don’t want water seeping into new room.


texts: LED light bulbs turn off immediately after being switched on

texts:
I have 11 spotlights in my kitchen which are 12V MR16 fittings. Recently they've started giving me trouble. Only 5 out of the 11 still work correctly, the rest have gone

I decided it must be a heat issue - the halogen bulbs I had get seriously hot and I thought they might be burning out the fittings. I bought 1 new LED bulb and tested it, and it worked perfectly.

I went ahead and ordered another 4 of a slightly different brand. After installing them this morning, they stopped working. They work when I first hit the switch, then about 5 seconds later they cut out. Worse, now the one that worked fine is also doing this

Has anyone any idea what could be going on here? I intend to call an electrician to sort it out but I'm curious if anyone's seen this happen before. It's made me think the 240V - 12V transformers on each fitting may be the issue


texts: Why is neutral not connected to earth terminal?

texts: In a 3-pin socket there are 3 wires: phase, neutral and ground. Neutral is taken out and grounded and earth wire is also taken out and grounded. Is it possible to short the neutral and earth terminals and then grounded?


texts: Open Refreigerator door trips other breakers

texts:
I have a breaker problem. Opening door(s) on our whirlpool refrigerator randomly (maybe once or twice per month) trips OTHER breakers in the house (usually same one but for an adjacent room) trip. Those breakers have the test button on them. They are not adjacent breakers in the panel.
Thanks for any help you can provide!


texts: How do I fix a hole in an interior block wall?

texts:
Whilst doing some kitchen renovation I noticed a rather large hole in a cinder block wall the size of half a block. It seems that it was done with a lump hammer in order to plumb in some pipes. There are also two cracks emanating from the hole.
The hole is on a wall that supports the stairs.

How should I go about fixing the problem?


texts: I've been using it but it's very expensive. The grout powder appears to be normal grout... could I just combine it with some sort of epoxy mix?


texts: How to compute panel bus bar stab and breaker spring clip electrical contacts area

texts:
This is zoom of the image below showing the gaps and seeimingly insufficient electrical contacts between bus bar and breaker spring clips. Siemens seems to treat it as normal. So let's compute instead.

An electrical engineer told me:

"Compute the area as you would any rectangle. Remember that there is still a gap for a short distance below the edge of the feeler gauge.

I've never investigated that. But it would seem the contact area would have to be no less than the cross sectional area of the maximum wire size for the breaker... and probably a little more because of the added resistance due to the pressure contact versus the continuous metal of a wire."

To compute it, must I use the table for 60c, or 75c or 90c in the following?

https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/a7/a767224b-82d0-41a6-a02f-316c94392ce1.pdf

Original message:

Does anyone know where I can get thin copper conductor sheet. The spring clip and bus bar of original Siemens breaker and Siemens original listed enclosure panel is not making full contact (only at bottom) and Siemens won't admit they are incompatible.

So if I can insert thin copper sheet cut to the bus bar size.. then it can make spring clip and bus bar establish full contact. The bus bar thickness is short by 0.5mm or 1mm.


texts: What's the best approach to repair a wedge/corner crack in my foundation?

texts:
I've got a wedge/corner crack on one corner of my foundation. I'll try to post a picture of it as soon as I can, but here's a sample image of what I'm talking about:

However, my crack is more complex. There are actually two pieces. The upper piece looks like the one in the picture above, and the lower piece looks like a mirror image, such that the two broken pieces of the corner are wedged against one another at their tips.

This makes repair problematic, since the two pieces are wedged against one another so well that I can't pull either free to put any kind of repair compound on the back side of the cracked pieces. If I simply fill over the crack, I'm worried that it won't be strong enough to hold the pieces to the foundation, and it will just crack again.

How would you suggest that I should proceed? I'm thinking I have these two general options:

Try to inject some repair compound as deep into the cracks as I can, hoping that I'll get it deep enough to bond the pieces to the foundation.
Do my best to remove the pieces so that I can apply repair compound directly to the back surface, even if that means doing more damage to the pieces themselves.


texts: The dryer lint trap quit fitting. We cant put it back in as if it is too big. Have looked and doesn't appear to be anything blocking it and lint trap is cleaned after each use


texts: What is this crud in my shower valve, and how can I prevent it?

texts: I just replaced the pressure balancing valve and valve mixer cap in a shower that had lost its hot water. Replacing the parts fixed the problem, but when I pulled the old valve out, it was covered with a chunky white "crud" (see attached pictures of the valve and the inside of the valve body). I'm concerned that this crud will build up again and destroy the new parts, and I'll be right back where I started. Does anybody have any idea what it may be?


texts:
I have checked existing wiring to a pole barn and would like to know if it is correct.  There is a heavy 3-wire run between a service disconnect box and pole barn, 2 wires hooked on a double breaker, (1 on each pole) at the service disconnect box and neutral wire to neutral buss.

At the pole barn the 2 hots are connected at the main breaker at top of box with the neutral to the neutral bus bar. There is also a ground wire from the ground bus to a ground rod just outside (about 6 feet ). The distance between the two boxes is about 170 feet.

I would like to know if this a safe hookup. Thank you. Mark


texts:
I tried removing the bonnet nut from my old Delta style shower ball valve. I tried blow torching a bit, but in the end used a plumber's wrench and ended up twisting the thin copper pipes from the rough in pipe.
In the process I created 3 pinholes that shoots water upwards from in between the brass rough in valve and copper tubes that goes to the hot side of the ball valve mixer. I tried using the blowtorch, but it is very difficult getting the flame to stay on and heating enough for the solder to melt onto the pipe. In the video, I couldn't adjust the flame and hold the camera at the same time.
I've tried using some epoxy (pic), but I'm sure that won't hold.
Is there any other way I can spot weld or seal these pinholes?
http://imgur.com/gallery/PuChMD8


texts: How can I light up a room without a ceiling light?

texts:
I will soon be moving to an apartment that has no ceiling lights. Unfortunately installing my own is not an option, it needs to be reversible. There may or may not be a switch wired to an outlet.

I am looking for recommendations on alternatives to ceiling lights. Or really, in result, an effective way to light up a room.

At the moment I am aware of these options:
swag light
 or torch lamp

I like the idea of a swag light because it can be placed in the middle of a room. Though I have not used one so I am not sure how well they disperse light. The downside with a torch light is that it cannot be placed centrally in the room.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Lacquer will not cure due to not enough sensitizer

texts: I did not put enough sensitizer in the nitrocellulose lacquer by mistake, and I sprayed it on some cupboards. It's been months and it feels sticky. What should I do to fix this problem?


texts: Why is this Ptrap installed in this location?

texts:
Here is a recent installation done to my home

I took this one before i drained the water:

Note that this a p-trap that is installed at the external wall of my house. It would be in line with the p-trap of the kitchen sink, which very close at the other side of the wall.

My questions are:

Is this a mistake?
If so, what damage it can do?
what is the correct part that needs to be installed?

update: I have rebuild it myself. here is the result, what do you think?

update 2 posted a folow up question: what is the correct procedure to patch up cinder block hole with plumbing?


texts: I've bought a standard light dimmer and a dimmable led lamp. Dimming works fine. However, when I dim the lights my ADSL connection drops. The DSL light on my modem turns off and I can't connect back again unless I switch off the light or turn it all the way up. What is causing this? And how can I prevent the connection drop without moving the modem to a different room?


texts: Diagnosing instant circuit breaker tripping, with nothing connected

texts:
I had a previous question regarding an AC, but now that I have disconnected the AC and the problem remains, I want to diagnose this problem a bit more.

First step was seeing if this specific breaker trips by itself.  With all other breakers opened on the main panel, this one lone breaker trips.

I then turned off the main power, the breaker closes fine. The moment I flip on the main breaker (with all others opened), this one trips.

With main breaker opened, along with all other breakers opened (off), here are the measurements:

Specific breaker opened:

Live-Neutral:   20,000 Ω
Live-Ground:     4,000 Ω
Neutral-Ground: 20,000 Ω

Specific breaker closed:

Live-Neutral:     400 Ω
Live-Ground:    4,000 Ω
Neutral-Ground: 4,000 Ω

For the sake of learning about electrical problems, what would be the potential problems that can cause this? Or is my diagnosis not enough?  This circuit dedicated to an A/C has been working for about 3 months.  It tripped one time before and I just reset it, not sure what the problem was, but now it has tripped a second time and does not reset.

EDIT1:

  @JACK: "Remove the two wires going to the circuit breaker. Now try to
  reset the breaker....."

I unplugged the live from the breaker to the circuit, doesn't trip.

  @Ilmari Karonen: "where along the circuit you took those measurements?"

I took the measurements at where the AC connects to the junction box, while the circuit is still connected to the breaker.

Regarding the circuit, it should have no other sources of problem, because it goes from the AC junction box straight to the main panel. It is buried inside a concrete wall straight down into the ground, then runs along the ground to the main panel, so very minimal chance for renovation damage. It has been working for about 3 months.

My next test is to connect this circuit to an adjacent breaker and see if it'll trip. It has 3 dedicated breaker to 3 separate AC units, so I have a confirmed functioning breaker right beside it. I'll update the question when that's done. Need to wait for the weekend when I have light and can shut off the power to the apartment.

One possible source of problem is that the wiring to the main panel was not long enough for some of the wires, so the electrician had to extend it a bit. It's a lot of work so I'll want to confirm it is 100% the wiring there before I take them apart and potentially cause other problems.

EDIT 2019-11-04:
Breakers aren't tripping when completely disconnected from the circuit.  I've confirmed that the wiring is a bit messed up.  Somewhere in the extended connection to the panel there is induced current (non-infinite resistance; 200k to 500k Ω).  I'm also getting a hot neutral on another circuit now... so that's kind of messed up.  I highly suspect the extension was done incorrectly, since it is wires twisted together with electrical tap (no wire nut, no pig tails, etc).

I'll have to take my time and properly deal with this... so that'll be a completely separate question.


texts: Australia: Which wire is hot / active and which is neutral?

texts:
Here's a photo of wires coming out of my ceiling (grey, yellow/green and black) and the wires going into a ceiling lamp (brown and blue).

So in Australia the general colouring codes go like this:

Brown: Active / hot
Blue: Neutral
Green/Yellow: Earth (ground)

I didn't do the wiring in the picture, it was there when I bought the house, but when putting up new lights I want to make sure it's done right.

Obviously this is a sloppy job with the ground wire missing!

My question is: The grey and black coming out of the ceiling, which is active/hot and which is neutral?

For obvious reasons I don't want to invert the phase by switching around hot and neutral.


texts:
I am in the process of putting down some outdoor conduit at one of my properties. I am replacing some old UF wire that wasn't buried properly (or came up over the years) and has shorted.

I chose to go with metal conduit, because from what I've read, the NEC only requires a min. depth of 6 inches.

The conduit will hold the 40 amp 'line' for my A/C unit; if possible I would like to have it also hold another 20 amp 'line' for an outdoor outlet.

My questions are:

What size conduit should I use? (I was thinking 3/4")
Can I snake all wires for the AC and outlet in one conduit (2 conductor 1 ground for ac [8awg] / 1 conductor 1 neutral 1 ground for outlet [12awg]) - not sure the fill on this size
When i stub up, I need to wrap around the foundation a little bit; any issue going above a hose spigot?
Am I crazy for using rigid metal conduit? A lot of people I know say just go 'as deep as I can' and use PVC. But that's against code and even though this won't be inspected I try to stick to code as much as possible.

Thank you for the help


texts: Waterproofing weeping tile inside vs outside

texts:
I just bought a new house. The basement is mostly concrete slabs, except for under the porch steps: there is a single row of cinder blocks. It's leaking water from a corner (at eye level) in that area.

They had already injected (something: foamy to touch) through the visible holes and it even came out from the porch steps outside. However, when there was a day-long heavy rain, I could still see liquid water on the wall. There was only 1 day-long heavy rain since I bought the house, so don't have much more observations. We didn't really have heavy rainfall other than that 1 day.

The contractor said that since there are hollow cinder blocks, they will always collect water, and I need to install a weeping tile. He says it's just as efficient inside and outside.

But my question is: if I install the weeping tile inside, then water is still going THROUGH my basement walls, doesn't that create the risk of water freezing and making cracks even bigger?


texts: I'm adding a new toilet in basement and would like to know if the (drain) pipes that will be buried under the slab have to be covered with something else exept of the gravel (like wrapping them or putting it in a larger diameter pipes) in order to protect it from the stress of the slab settling etc. When looking at the point of connection to the old pipes I see nothing.                                                   Thanks


texts: How can I build a ladder that runs on rails?

texts:
I have a kitchen with a high ceiling and want to install an extra level of shelves to make use of the space. To reach the top shelves, a ladder is required. Ideally, it would be attached to a rail and be removable.

My question is: How can I build this type of thing? What parts do I need to make the rail and ladder myself?


texts: I can't shut of the hot water completely

texts: I have a leaky shower. I bought new inserts to replace the valves in the faucet handles. I shut off the water at the main coming into the house and then removed the hot water side first. When I removed the valve a quarter inch stream of hot water continued to flow out of the pipe. As the hot water heater in in the basement and this bathroom on the floor above I don't think it a gravity issue of any kind. I replaced the valve and that stream of water continued to leak, but now out of the faucet. I can't seem to get it stopped. Any help would be appreciated!


texts: Legrand USB Outlet (USB socket dead after minimal use)

texts: Does anyone know how to troubleshoot these wall outlets? Both USB ports are dead however the wall outlet port works just fine. Prior to this I was able to successfully charge from USB port for about a week, and there has been no change in wiring.  Is there a fuse ? Tendency to overheat?


texts: Which type of welder is the best for pretty delicate welds

texts:
I have some experience with Arc welders and a little with MIG.  However the rods and metal I have welded with are big compared to the 1/8in metal I will be working with.  Getting a cheap MIG welder is not cost effective if I have to buy a tank with it.  Never done TIG.  Looking to upgrade my DIY skills and not break the bank to do a project.
I am looking for a welder to accomplish the following:
Not break the bank!  Under $200 $100 preferable
Finished weld needs to be pretty as the final piece will be on display.
Recommendations for ARC MIG or TIG?


texts:
I have been looking for days for a certain type of clip/clamp and I cant find the name of it. It is basically like this photo below (same size) but flat. It almost looks like a razor blade. It is mostly mounted on the wall with a screw and you push one side which sends the clip teeth up. I've seen it mostly used to add support for curtains. I am looking for an inconspicuous/small clip/clamp that I could mount on a wall to hang some fabric. Any help or alternative suggestions is appreciated, Thank you. Just trying to find something small and inconspicuous so it doesn't stick out too much when the fabric isn't up.

It does a similar job as these clips
 but looks more like a razor like this


texts: Connect Unistrut/Superstrut to the garage ceiling

texts:
I'm planning on building storage above my garage door using an 8' x 4' platform from plywood and 2x4s. One 8' side would attach to the garage wall with lag screws. The other 8' side would be attached to the ceiling with threaded rods.

The ceiling is sheetrocked and there is living space above the garage so I don't have access to the trusses. The trusses run perpendicular to the 8'x4'.  The threaded rods will connect into Unistrut or Superstrut that is lag screwed into the ceiling trusses.

I have a couple of questions:

The open part of the Unistrut is facing down of course. Do I put a fender washer inside the Unistrut and lag screw through that? Or do I purchase a large square Unistrut washer, which stays on the outside of the Unistrut bottom and screw through that?
What size lag screw do I use? I figure my trusses are 1.5" thick I think. Plus 1/2" sheetrock and the thickness of the Unistrut. Should I go with 3/8" x 2" lag screws?

Thanks!


texts: This chandelier had no bulbs when we moved in...guess they couldn’t find replacement either? Please help!


texts: Hot water in showers gets very hot when other hot water is turned on

texts: This symptom is opposite of what you might expect. House has two showers and one gas water heater. First, if hot water at either shower is turned on all the way, you get comfortably warm water, but if any other house hot water is turned on, you get very hot water at the shower. Thus the problem, only one shower can be used at a time and no other faucets or appliances can use hot water while one is showering. What's going on?


texts: Replacement thermostat wiring for new Honeywell Wifi model

texts:
I moved into a home recently and found the old thermostat temperature controls to be inaccurate at turning on and turning off A/C as set so I purchased a Honeywell RTH6580WF thermostat as a replacement. The current thermostat is an old Honeywell round mercury bulb model. In attempting to replace the current thermostat I found that I need a C wire for the new thermostat to work correctly, although my old thermostat only had G, Y, W, and R wired up. I read more into this issue and found that I should be able to take the G wire and move it to the C on the new thermostat as well as at the furnace, and then place a jumper from Y to G at the furnace and that should take care of it.

The problem I run into is that the Y slot on the furnace is empty and I have a wire in the C slot on the furnace even though there wasn't one at the old thermostat. I've since discovered that the A/C compressor is wired in at the furnace as well, with the Y from the thermostat and the Red cable from the A/C compressor twisted together with a wire nut, and the white cable from the A/C compressor going to the C slot on the furnace. I spoke with Honeywell support on the phone and they said I'd need to have an HVAC contractor come out to resolve this issue, saying I would not be able to use the new thermostat with the current wiring situation. (I've included a diagram of the current wiring setup.

My idea is that I can run new 18/5 thermostat wire (current installed wire has only 4 wires) and then wire up the new thermostat from thermostat to furnace as R-R, W-W, Y-Y, G-G, C-C and then instead of twisting the Y from thermostat with the red wire from the A/C compressor I can just put two wires on the Y on the furnace and also have two wires on the C on the furnace, with the second of each coming from the A/C compressor. I've included a diagram of this hopeful configuration.  I'm not sure if this is the proper method and I haven't been able to find anyone with the exact same setup to verify so I thought I'd ask for anyone's assistance on this. Does that sound like the best solution? I appreciate any guidance with this. Thank you very much for your time.


texts: Hooking up a NEMA 6-30p heater to a 6-50r socket

texts: I'm renting a garage, and it gets too cold in the winter to work comfortably. I ordered an electric 30 Amp rated space heater but realized that I have a 50 Amp, NEMA 6-50r receptacle. Obviously I cannot just use a straight-through adapter or different plug because that would defeat the safety of the expected 30 Amp breaker circuit. However, would it be safe to create an adapter where it goes from a 6-50p pigtail, into a circuit breaker box with a 30 Amp breaker, which is wired to a NEMA 6-30r receptacle? All this would be using properly sized wire and grounding of course. Being a rented space, I don't want to be installing any permanent fixtures.


texts: How much clearance should I allow for a coat of poly?

texts:
I'm working on a project that will have wooden inserts sliding into a groove. I've done something similar before and ended up with too small of a groove after a few coats of paint (even though I allowed something like a 1/16" clearance) and ended up sanding down the inserts and repainting.

So my question comes down to: How thick is a standard coat of oil based polyurethane going to turn out?


texts: Adding 2 led flood lights to 15amp breaker

texts:
I currently have a 15amp circuit that runs outside to a 4 outlet receptacle that was for a

pool pump which is no longer in use. It was run with #8 wires with a #10 ground. I want to

hook up 2 flood lights with 14/3 wire to that circuit. Can I still leave the  4 outlet

receptacle hooked up. I would have to disconnect the #8 wires and run a pigtail back to the

panel. If so would I need to run the pigtail in #8 wire.

I know it would look weird but is it legal


texts:
I noticed two switched outlets on one wall were not working. (I am assuming the outlets are switched because the receptacles both have their tabs removed and I have located a switch on the wall that does 'nothing'). The bottom half of the outlets are working fine in both cases.

Now the wiring I encountered is confusing and I will try to represent it as clear as possible and get some suggestions before I attempt any other work.

Outlet 1 has 2 4-wire cables coming into the box. The 2 black wires are each individually connected to the copper side. The 2 red wires are connected to the top silver screws and the 2 white wires are connected to the bottom silver screws. Ground wire in place. The tab is broken on the silver connector side. Using a Fluke VoltAlert both black and red wires are ringing hot regardless of switch position.

Outlet 2 has 1 4-wire cable and 1 3-wire cable coming into the box. The 2 black wires are connected to the bottom copper screw. 1 red wire is connected to the top copper screw. The 2 white wires are individually connected to the silver screws. Ground wire in place. Rings hot on black wires only regardless of switch position. Tab is removed between copper screws.

Now the switch itself has one black wire at the top screw and one red wire connected to the bottom screw. Black is always hot while red is hot only in 'on' position.

Where do I start? Thx.


texts: there is only one wire going to a light fixture

texts: I was asked to install two wall sconces. The old ones were removed but there was only one feed wire (hot from the switch). This is an old craftsman house in california,


texts: Line Voltage Dropping when Microwave runs

texts:
When I turn on the built-in Microwave in a 3 years old house it starts and then in 2-3 sounds the changes and it is apparent that something is wrong. The microwave does not heat.
Then I noticed that the gas range electronic display was turning on and off when the microwave was turned on. I took out the multimeter and there is 20 Volts drops when the microwave is running!
No trips in the circuit and the damn Microwave and Gas Range are not even on the same circuit.
What could be going on?? Should I be worried?!


texts: What do you do with the toilet brush after you clean the toilet?

texts: I mean, it’s wet and I don’t want to put it back in it’s holder until it’s dry to prevent mold/bacterial growth. And also it’s dirty. Am I supposed to rinse it in the sink?


texts: Does C&M MX24 have a constant pilot light?

texts: In disputing the reading that our gas meter has in a usually empty property, British Gas are claiming that every boiler has a permanently lit pilot light. I'm pretty sure that isn't the case with some or even most modern combi's, and our C&M MX24 seems to be one that lights on demand as you can hear the spark generator. Am I correct that an MX24 should not be using gas when there is no heating demand?


texts: Can I use 16mm or 10mm DC cable for AC home appliances?

texts: I am going to install wiring in my home and I am curious if I can use 16 mm or 2 core DC cable for AC small appliances like fans and TV?


texts: Want to run a new Electrical cable to new shed

texts:
On our property we have a older shed (10 x 10) connected to the main panel by a 15 AMP breaker( the direct burial wire is 14/2).
I've  extended that shed and want to add more outlets and overhead lights.I'm want to upgrade that  breaker from a 15 to a 20 AMP, then use 12/2 romex inside the shed and 12/2 underground..
Do i need to remove the older 14/2 direct burial wire completely  or can it just be disconnected?
Also ,am i correct in thinking i can old run one connection to the shed, as well as the older wiring in the shed which is 14 /2 needs to be  changed out for the newer 12/2, due to the  higher breaker?


texts: How to connect kitchen sink PVC J pipe to flanged drain pipe?

texts:
How do I connect the PVC J pipe to the drain pipe in the kitchen sink?

The drain pipe has a large flange on it.  Because of the size of the flange, when using a flanged "top hat" washer, the nut can't get close enough to the threads on the PVC pipe.  The previous owner just packed putty around the connection.


texts: No remote/pull chains, how do I turn off fan without turning off the lights on combo unit

texts:
Just moved to new house 2 months ago. Bedroom ceiling fan/light fixture doesn't have any chains and did not have a remote with it. I have 2 wall switches, one turns the entire unit on/off and the other does nothing that I can tell. One switch on the fan unit with only function of switching blade direction. Aside from unscrewing the light bulbs anytime I want the fan on to sleep, or buy a remote, is there a way to control off/on function of fan seperatly from lights (not worried about adjusting the speed of the fan, just want to turn it off or on at current speed).

I assume I will eventually need an electrician or new fan/remote however those aren't options for me financially for at least 3more weeks. Seeing as to how it's a bit cold outside, I'd like to use my lights without needing to throw on a few extra layers every time or worse, walk in, flip the light switch to see where I'm gong and be instantly annoyed with the cold air and fact that I can't seem to fix the problem.

There are no brand symbols or names on the fan/light unit that I can see from below. have not seen ANY marks whatsoever but will add a comment if I figure out the brand of ceiling fan I'm dealing with. Most likely Hampton bay or the other "h" brand the commonly excludes pull chains on their ceiling units. And unit is 6yrs old or less (house is only about 6yrs old).

Is there a solution that doesn't involve dragging this on til I can replace the unit or remote?


texts: Why does one of my showers consume all the hot water?

texts:
1960s house with 2 showers. Just replaced the 55gal electric hot water tank elements, and there is hot water in all of the faucets, showers.
However one of the showers only runs lukewarm. Obviously there is an issue with that shower’s mixing valve. But, this lukewarm shower takes/uses all of the hot water. So, if someone has a lukewarm shower, the hot shower has no more hot water.
It is a small hot water tank, so back when both showers were not it was not unusual for this to happen. But now that barely any hot water is coming out of the lukewarm shower, it’s a mystery where all that hot water has gone.
Checked for leaks and can’t see any in the hot water supply. Checked the hot water tank and it’s working. So where is all the hot water going if the shower is lukewarm? Next step, after looking at the mixing valve is to put a low-flow head on that shower and see if it’s just the sheer volume of cold water overwhelming the hot water and making it feel lukewarm while simultaneously putting all the hot water down the drain.


texts: Can I use Quikrete FastSet Repair Mortar to replace the mortar between stones in a fireplace hearth support?

texts:
My brick fireplace hearth is supported by large stones sticking out perpendicularly to my foundation wall in the basement. It forms a kind of shelf on top of which the hearth was laid. The stones themselves were attached together and to the foundation wall using mortar. This mortar was very crumbly and falling apart. I removed all the old mortar therefore the hearth is not supported by the stones anymore. I'm looking at replacing the old mortar and providing structural support to the hearth again. I was advised by a mason to inject new mortar above and between the stones using a mortar bag from below. He advised me to use type S mortar for this.

I already have a 60lb bag of Quikrete FastSet Repair Mortar. Is it wise to use this product in place of regular mortar, or should I really use mortar? The FastSet seems to be a structural solution so I don't see why it couldn't be used in this situation, but it's only advertised for concrete repairs, so I don't know.


texts: Tile spacing both above and below 1/8", what type of grout should I use?

texts:
I've laid tile sheets for my back splash in my kitchen.
The tiles on the sheets are not exactly the same by length (in comparison to the corresponding tile on another sheet).

Therefore I have grout lines which are mostly between 1/16" and 3/16" (but not consistently one or the other).
There are also some where the tiles are almost touching.
Most of the spacing between tiles on each sheet are 1/8" (though they vary as well, mostly larger)

I've read that unsanded grout will sag in a space larger than 1/8".

Which type of grout should I use (sanded/unsanded)?

Also one more thing, the store I bought my tile from sold me a bottle of Flexible Grout Admixture.
Should I use this in place of water or is it just a sales gimmick and I should return it?

Thanks!


texts: How can I extend a circuit from an outlet in a wall to the surface of concrete with conduit?

texts: I currently have an outlet as can be seen in the image below. What I would like to do is to add some outlets to the brick wall that you can also see in the image. I was thinking about using some metal conduit and using metal boxes to run the outlets. Where I am having trouble is figuring out the least destructive way to add the outlets. I don't have to have the existing outlet, so I could use this as some sort of a junction box. Any ideas on how to do this?


texts: What compound should I use to fill drilled holes in cinder block?

texts: I have some holes drilled previously on my house that I would like to fill in. Do they make a liquid concrete in a tube compound that I can squeeze into the holes to fill them in and keep wasps out? Outer part of brick has stucco as well.


texts: How often do septic tanks typically need to be pumped?

texts:
At the risk of potentially asking an off-topic question, I'd like to better understand the maintenance of a septic tank.  I've never had one before and am unfamiliar with how to manage one.

My primary question is: how often do septic tanks need to be pumped? We're looking to buy a 4/2 house with a concrete septic tank "supposedly" with a capacity of 2250.

My secondary question is: how should septic tanks monitored? Just an annual scheduled service check-up? I don't want to spend money needlessly but also don't want to neglect something that needs regular attention.


texts: Broken ice maker creating lots of frost in freezer

texts:
My sister was cleaning out the ice cube container in the freezer and broke something. Now the ice maker does not work and is creating lots of frost. I noticed some sort of shut-off valve next to the fridge and turned it off but the water dispenser still gives water and the frost continues to build up.

It's a massive built in fridge so I'm not sure how to get behind it if that's what it requires to fix it. At this point I don't mind if the ice maker doesn't work, I just want the frost to stop. Thank you to all who take the time to reply.


texts:
Previously I had access to commercial style storage racks purpose built for lumber.

Now I live in a smaller home. Is there an optimum arrangement to storing lumber in a garage or basement that will prevent mildew or excessive swelling/warping?

I would like to purchase 25-50 board feet of 4/4 poplar and store it in one of these places, but I'm worried about it getting ruined before I can use it. Any advice?


texts: So related to my question Do the nails stick out at all when toe-nailing studs?, is it a problem if the studs develop hairline cracks from the nailing?  It seems like almost every nail splits the board ever so slightly.


texts: What's the best way to repair this hardwood floor damage?

texts:
Does anyone have any better solutions for dealing with my hardwood floor damage than what I describe below?

Below is a picture of my bathroom floor. Water has apparently damaged it from a toilet leak (caused by a failed wax ring which I am in the process of resealing).

Do I have the best plan for repair? Is there a better solution? (I am a DIY newbie.)

Here's what I'm considering:

Cut out the damaged floor area in the shape of a rectangle roughly the size of the visibly damaged area. In the photo, this appears to be about six planks wide (or 6 x 2.5" = 15"). And roughly double that width in length. So that would be a total cutout area of about 15" x 30".
Use a corded jigsaw to do the above described cutout. I don't currently have a power saw, so this will be my first purchase. I did some research and I'm leaning in the direction of getting a corded jigsaw instead of a circular or mitre saw.
But then what? Should I look to replace the hardwood cutout section with another hardwood section of equal dimensions? If so, how could I make that happen? Or is there a better (perhaps more durable and/or flexible) flooring solution? Or maybe a temporary solution that clears up the immediate problem but leaves the door open to an easy upgrade in the future? (e.g., rubber padding!?)

Am I heading in the right direction? Any thoughts, insights, opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Fig. 1. Water damaged floor needs repair/replace.

Edit

Here is the video @DanMantyla describes in this answer.
Here is another.


texts:
I've got an active leak (probably one of the infamous Michigan rod holes) behind the electrical panel in my basement.  It's just seeping at the moment, but after seeping comes dribbling and after dribbling comes gushing, right next to all that electrical stuff --- bad.  I need to get in there and plug the rod hole.  Can I take the electrical panel off the wall to get at the rod hole?  How do I do that?  Do I need to turn the power off?

Clarification: I would like to avoid having to disconnect everything. That would require an electrician or a lot of work. Can I just move the panel?


texts:
I'm trying to fix the shower in our guest bathroom, and as far as I can tell, the shower cartridge just needs to be replaced. I'm trying to access it, but having difficulty removing the brass housing that holds it in place.
Rather than a locking pin, this one has a huge nut on the front. Unfortunately it's really slim and my adjustable wrenches keep slipping off. Is this all one piece, where I can grab further back on the body, or does that run the risk of damaging something?


texts: We're in the middle of a(n epic) flood. Why won't my toilet flush?

texts:
Apologies if this isn't exactly on topic, but I found Why will my toilet not flush after it rains or when ground is wet here, and my question is similar, so hopefully I can get a response.

I live in an area very susceptible to floods, and we're in the middle of the results of Harvey.  To be clear, that means cataclysmic flooding throughout the city.  Bayous are overflowing, and it's likely that all of the city sewers are as overrun as they can be, and may be backing up.

I know nothing about plumbing (though I know that we use the municipal system, not a septic), and we currently still have running water.  All of the sinks seem fine - water comes out of the faucet and down the drain.  But when we flush our toilet, the bowl fills up somewhat and slowly drains down.  The tank refills properly.  This happened first with one toilet (which, if it matters, is closer to the sewage line), and eventually has happened with the other toilet.  We've had the exact same behavior with the other massive floods over the past few years.

My interpretation is that the city sewage line is sufficiently backed up that what we flush sits in our pipes connecting to the sewage line, and once our pipes fill up, can't go any further.

What does this mean to us?  Obviously, try to limit our use of the toilets until the city sewer system recovers.  But I don't know enough about what lines go where.  Is it safe to run the sink?  Can I still wash dishes?  There's no great need for it, but could I use the washing machine?  I'd assume all lines would back up equally over time, but I know there are differences between sewer lines and whatever the other lines are called that go out of our house.

Are there any recommendations for being able to use the toilet?  "Hold it in until it's over" doesn't work when this flooding may go on for literally a week.

I've also looked at Toilet not flushing after flooding, but the consistent behavior during floods and only during floods seems to imply that our line hasn't collapsed.


texts: Installing Fake boxwood on concrete vinyl siding

texts: We are trying to add boxwood on what I believe is concrete siding and I believe the only way to do so is by making a frame on the back wall that will have to be drilled into wall. Can I drill in the this siding and will that create any issues? Is there any other way to do this?


texts: What are my options for getting this mess of cables under control?

texts:
I’m trying to fix this ugly condition in my old house. I understand that a lot of what’s happening here isn’t code complaint, probably in many more ways than I’m aware of. This picture shows the current condition, mostly is it came with the house (I’ve done some demo on the wall behind as well). I’m trying to fix this mess and looking for guidance from the knowledgeable folks on this forum.
Background:
As you can probably tell from the picture, the electrical panel is surface mounted. The power comes in through a knock out in the back of the panel. For unknown reasons, all of the circuits come out of the side of the panel, which results in the many exposed, face-stapled cables you can see in the picture.
I would like to clean up this mess.
Part 1 - I want to reroute 5 of the NM cables together, through a 2” knock out, so that they run directly into the wall behind the panel.
For Part 1, the 5 circuits are: 2 15 amp circuits (fed by the old metal cables, see upper right of panel. These which will be replaced with 2 14/2 NM cables); 2 15 amp circuits (fed by 2 14/2 NM cables); 1 20 amp circuit (fed by a 12/2 NM cable).
Part 2 - I want to reroute the remaining 7 circuits into a conduit connected to a 2” knock at the bottom of the panel. I’ll use THHN wire in the conduit, which will run to a junction box a short distance from the panel. At the junction box, I’ll connect to the original NM cables pictured and continue into the wall behind.
For Part 2, my 7 circuits are: 2 20 amp circuits (fed by a 12/3 NM cable, 2 hot wires go to 2 separate 20 amp breakers); 1 20 amp circuit (fed by a 12/2 NM cable); 2 paired 40 amp circuits (fed by a 10/3 NM cable, 2 hot wires go to paired 40 amp breakers); 2 paired 15 amp circuits (fed by a 14/2 cable, 2 hot wires go to paired 15 amp breakers); 2 paired 30 amp circuits (fed by a 12/2 cable, 2 hot wires go to paired 30 amp breakers); 1 15 amp circuit (fed by 14/2 NM cable).
My Questions:
By code, am I allowed to route 5 NM cables together and run them through a single 2” knock out?
Am I allowed to run 6 circuits in a single conduit (as long as the conduit is large enough) or is there a maximum number of circuits?
Am I allowed to connect conduit to the bottom of the electrical panel or do I have to connect to the top?
If I use PVC conduit, do I need a separate ground wire for each circuit or can I combine to reduce the total number of wires?
If I use a metal conduit, do i need to include a ground wire?
I would prefer if the new junction box was flush-mounted, but I assume it will need to be surface mounted like the electrical panel. Is there any way to connect conduit to the face of a junction box, rather than to the  side?
By code, how large does my junction box need to be?
I’m somewhat familiar with the NEC professionally, and actually enjoy reading the code. I’m happy to look up code sections if anyone can point me in the right direction and offer some guidance.


texts:
I am looking to place a 7'-10" x 9'-2" hot tub on my deck and am trying to evaluate the load capacity of the deck.
Inspecting underneath the deck it looks like the load will be evenly situated between 4 4x6 posts that are holding up dual 2x12's (There are more in each projection), and the floor is framed with 2x10's 12" on center.
The 4x6's are 8' apart one way and 5' the other.

I realize this isn't scientific and was looking for a rough guesstimate, thanks!


texts: How to change dishwasher embedded in wood floor?

texts:
I had a bad leak under my dishwasher, and it looks like the parts will be a fairly substantial cost, and I'd like to upgrade to a quieter model.   However a wood floor was installed after the dishwasher and has effectively locked it into place (see photos).  The adjusting feet cannot be reached to retract them, and there is no room to push it back first.

What type of tools or techniques can be used to get the dishwasher out and a new one installed?  I'm thinking a chisel is about all that could work, and add some quarter round afterwards as needed to cover it up.   Power routers require some circumferential clearance to work.


texts: Can I wire a microwave blower fan to a plug by itself?

texts: I have a "OH SUNG" Microwave blower fan (6549W1V006c) that I would like to use by itself for something else. Im not sure if the plug I have will work on it but Im posting pictures of the fan wires, along with the plug wires. The blower fan has a black, white, red, yellow and blue wires. The plug has black, white, and green wires. Is this possible or what kind of plug would I need to wire it to? Thanks for any help!


texts: My Honda EU3000 generator has two types of output receptacles. One takes a usual (USA) 3 prong 110v plug.  The other is also 110v but seems to take some type of twist connector.  I need to find an adapter to change it to the usual 3 prong plug. What is this twist connection called and are there adapters to standard 3 prong plug type?


texts: Can I wire a secondary 240V breaker box for lab equipment from Europe?

texts: I have a dental lab in Europe and might want to move it to the USA. Some of the equipment rates as high as 4kW, and the the total maximum draw is 15kW for the whole lab. Can I wire a secondary breaker box in a building in the United States that is all 240V?


texts: TV wall mount ripped out, repair help please

texts:
I've had my 50" TV on a heavy articulated mount on the wall for 3 months. the other day i angled it to watch from the dining table like always and the top two 1/4" toggle bolts ripped out of the wall. Then the lower 2. No damage to the TV, just my wrists.

The cheapest drywall I have ever seen. The TV was not mounted into studs( I know I know...but it hung for a year in my last place not in studs either...).

Now, because I have holes in which to look into, I can see the studs. They are metal, about an inch and a half wide and I have drilled 2 new holes in them. BUT, the studs are 23 inches apart, not 16 as usual and so the mount isn't wide enough to ensure all 4 holes can be drilled through metal studs.

The problem now is that the 2 holes on the left side are drilled above the spots where the drywall was ripped out with a chunk missing(now patched)from each hole. What kind of support can I expect from these 2 holes? The new holes are about 5 inches up from the ripped out holes.The guy at Lowes says that 90% of the weight will be supported by the 2 studs in the metal studs. TRUE? So can I assume that the 2 holes on the left side won't tear out like their predecessors did?

My only other option would be to drill through the other side into the bedroom and place a piece of plywood there hoping that that would suffice. But I really don't want to do this. Should I risk mounting assuming that two toggles in a metal stud will hold?


texts: How would you repair this copper drain pipe, and how much pipe would you replace?

texts:
There is a small  crack in this drain pipe, and it's so thin there that I can bend it with my finger.  The section that's palpably weak is no more than an inch long.  The crack is exactly where the drop of water is in the top picture (just left of the Y, on the bottom of the pipe).

This section is hidden behind a finished wall in the basement.  It runs into an unfinished area soon after and is visible from there too.  There's about 30 feet of pipe in the unfinished area that is all fine on visual inspection and nowhere that I pushed on moves like the little bit where the crack is.

There is roughly 8 more feet behind the wall before it exits the basement to the street.  I'm obviously not thrilled about taking out the entire wall to the room to replace pipe if it's in good shape like the sections in the unfinished area.  Is there a chance the section that's leaking has seen increased wear because of the Y junction just before it?  If so, it seems reasonable to repair it and leave the rest as is.  Is that a good call or should I replace more than that?

What is a good way to patch this section given that I don't have much space for access without ripping out studs in the wall in front of it?  The piece of wood above the pipe is a support for the stud that drywall is attached to in the room.


texts:
I wanted to title this: Outside unit running, but thermostat is off but I'm 99% sure its the contactor unless someone here says otherwise.

Thus my real question: which contactor should I buy? I typed in the part no. on Amazon but I'm experiencing death by choices. No where on my current contactor can I find the words 1 pole or the amperage. The variety of contactor choices I have are making me nervous. Heres the pic of my current one

One last question, does manufacturer matter? Do I buy Siemens only?

Everything works fine by the way the fan just runs non-stop. Just fyi I've replaced the capacitor and a fuse on the control board this week.


texts: Replacing old 3-wire line voltage single-pole thermostat with a 2-wire one

texts:
I'm trying to replace an old Mears M21 SP thermostat controlling the baseboard heater with a new one (Honeywell RLV3120A to be specific). Problem is, the old thermostat has 3 wires (Black, Red, and White - all connected to the respective wires in the box). The new one is a simple 2-wire setup (I assume merely acting as a resistor in the circuit). What would be the right way to wire the new thermostat? Thank you!

Below is a not-so-great photo of the box. There are overall, 2 red wires (connected to the red wire of the stat), 2 black ones (connected to the black), 3 white ones (connected to the white), the ground one (not connected) and some other two wires coupled together but not connected to the stat).

UPDATE: Ignoring the White and connecting the Red and Black to the new stat didn't work - the stat never turned on. I've done some troubleshooting and this is what I see:

The box has 4 sets of input wires (wires in each set are connected together)

3 Black wires (not used)
3 White wires (connected to the white wire from the old stat)
2 Red wires (connected to the red wire of the stat)
A single wire that enters the box as Red but then is painted Black :-) (this one is connected to the Black wire of the stat)

Checking the voltage across all of those gives me the following:

There is no voltage between the weird Red/Black wire and any of the other sets of wires.
There is 240V between any pair of the remaining wire sets (Black/White, Black/Red, White/Red).

Has anyone seen the setup like this in the past? :-) What I suspect could be done is the following:

Ignore the Black set of wires (which was ignored before)
Ignore the weird red/black wire
Connect the new stat to the White and Red wires respectively.

This is basically similar to what one of the comments suggested except it stipulates that Red and White are the Power and Load ones. But I'd really appreciate some advise before I burn a circuit or do some other very bad thing. :-)

UPDATE 2: found this wiring diagram for another thermostat with heat anticipator. Judging by this,I should definitely see the potential between between Read and "Black" and none between White and Black. However, I see instead potential between Red and White and and no potential between either Red and "Black" or White and "Black..."


texts:
I have a garage made from cast concrete panels. The gaps between the panels and at the bottom have clearly had an attempt at waterproofing in the past but it has failed, so now I get standing water when it rains.
What would you recommend to seal the gaps between and below the panels?

Probably won't get the garage perfectly sealed since the door is at the bottom of a slope and there's no drain, but hopefully I can improve it a bit.


texts: Distance to leave between drilled holes in plaster

texts:
I've drilled 3 6mm holes in a wall, about 30cm away from each other. They were meant to be vertically aligned but the measurements were off and it's on about a 5-10 degree slant. Because of this I need to start again (or mostly start again).

I had initially thought that I could keep the top hole, and just drill 2 more underneath but I think that the relatively short distance combined with the relatively small angle mean that this hole will be too close to the existing one and it will end up as one wide hole.

Is there a recommended distance between holes in plaster (either officially or anecdotally) so that, if I do start again completely, I can keep the holes as close to their original locations as possible.

Alternatively, is there a filler I can use (bought off the shelf) to fill these holes that would make them blend in with the existing wall (which I assume is plasterboard) and I could drill wherever I needed to?

Edit (in response to comments): The holes are being drilled to put some mounts for shelves up. The fasteners are just standard wall-plugs (that expand when a screw is inserted to wedge them in place)


texts: Does the NEC allow splices inside a load center (main circuit breaker panel)?

texts:
I have built a detached garage which will have a 125A subpanel. (125A panel because it will double as a work shop with A/C and heat and power equipment). Power will brought in from the house load meter panel which only has 12 spaces which are all taken. In fact, several spaces are occupied by tandem breakers to carrying 220V circuits requiring the second hot leg to be carried by another tandem breaker with a space in between in order to pick up the other side of the bus. (I think this is illegal or should be. This is the way the panel was wired when we purchased it).

With the second panel installed adjacent to the meter base, I plan to get rid of all tandem breakers (which I do not like anyway) and move several breakers to the new panel which has 24 spaces, freeing up spaces in the meter base panel where I will install the 125A breaker to power the subpanel in my detached garage.

Moving these circuits to the new panel will require splicing wires in order to reach the new panel breakers. My question is: Does NEC code allow for splices inside the circuit breaker panel? Are there special type splices needed for this situation or are wire nuts allowed? All splices will be done correctly and taped. A master electrician and electrical engineer have said it is legal but a NEC reference, page and paragraph, would be helpful incase my inspector objects.

Thanks in advance for your response.  Don


texts: Can I use an airless paint sprayer to paint kitchen cabinets?

texts: Is an airless paint sprayer recommended for painting kitchen cabinets, boxes and doors?


texts:
I live in Karachi, Pakistan. We have underground water tanks and use motors to transfer the amount of water required to overhead tanks that then supply the house.

I get lower pressure in my house's upper section bathrooms. I had the pipes replaced recently so there is not blockage. Its just the natural pressure.

I was wondering if someone could guide me towards the equipment and associated tips on how to install an additional motor to increase the flow.


texts:
I want to install this square floating cabinet on my walls, but it's small, so I will only be able to hit one stud with it. If I add a wall anchor to the other side, will it be strong enough? Or will the cabinet will just fall?? What should I do then?
Thanks, I tried looking for an answer but I can't find it anywhere.


texts: What is the best adhesive for making styrofoam sandwich panels?

texts: I wanted to make some panels in which styrofoam sheets are sandwiched in between 2 steel sheets. What kind of adhesives are best for this job. I also want the fastest curing time for adhesive because I want to make these panels using a fast technique.


texts: Installing hardwire EVSE from existing NEMA 14-50?

texts:
I'm looking to install a hardwired EVSE, but currently I have the necessary wiring going into a NEMA 14-50 outlet.

Can I splice the wiring going into the outlet and run new wire to the EVSE? The EVSE would go above the outlet in the picture. Advice on what's needed would be appreciated.


texts: Installation Ecobee3 Smart Thermostat Confusion

texts:
So Ecobee' website says my configuration is compatible but after looking at my wires (Im not an AC guy) I have lots of questions as the wiring doesnt just align perfectly. Im assuming because my unit us 10+ years old and things have changed. So here are my questions..

My old unit has R but the Ecobee only has Rc and Rh. Do I need to
jump this to both?
My Y is jumped to W1 as you can see in the photo. Does the same need to occur on the Ecobee?
W2 is connected to both W2 and E but the Ecobee doesnt even have E. Is this needed or am I out if luck?
Lastly, O is on the Ecobee but labeled O/B. Is this ok to just connect to?

Sorry for the list but if anyone can take the time to explain Id be more than greatful. Im also thinking that the site may be wrong and its just not compatible. Please let me know if so.If additional pictures are needed I can provide them.