Electrical Question
I think I already know the answer but here goes. I inherited the old family farm some years ago. One of the buildings was the origional house--only 24' X 16'. Over the years it was converted to a hen house and then to a machine shed. I'm in the process of making it into a hobby space for the wife (back to a "hen house"!). I've set up a 240V 20 amp main breaker and split that into two 120V circuits. Now the question: If either of these circuits exceeds 20 amps, the breaker will trip; right?, killing both circuits. The 200 amp 240V service that most of us have is really 400 amp, ie., 200 amps on each "leg" of the 240 volts? BTW: This old building is lathe and plaster, full 2" x 4" rough-cut studs on random spacing, and put together with the old square nails.
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My wife and daughter get a static sized shock when touching the light switch or fridge.
I don't get shocked, nor are shoes or bare feet a factor.
The fridge is next to the switch.
Any ideas?0 -
I have a wall of outlets that suddenly stopped working, my daughter was watching TV and said it went off for a few seconds , went back on for a moment and then turned off completely. The circuit breaker was not tripped and has been reset several times.
My question is can one faulty outlet affect all on that circuit without tripping the breaker and if so how do I determine which outlet is at fault?0 -
I picked up a few 4 bulb fluorescent light fixtures a while back.
Was checking them today, and the ballast (2 per fixture) shows 277 volts, 60 HZ. My question is, are these standard 110 fixtures, or something special?
"Don't send flowers when I die. Send money now so I can buy more guns and ammo."0 -
I am installing an 220 AC disconnect for a HVAC unit on the outside of my house. My question has to do with its proper location. Height above ground surface and distance away from AC unit? What are those distances?
Also, there is an exterior water faucet near where the HVAC unit is set. Is there a minimum distance to consider for the placement of the 220 AC disconnect from the exterior wall faucet in addition to the above distances?
Thanks for any help.0 -
Im installing a stackable washer and dryer outfit today and doing this it has put me in need of a dryer cord of about 10ft. Is there a danger in running a cord this long for the dryer? 0 -
I plugged in a small space heater in an area of my basement that
does not receive any direct heat from the furnace as the area is
unfinished. I noticed the plug was warm and the prongs we're hot
to the touch. I don't think this is normal. Thoughts?0 -
I'm running conduit to a place in my shop (30-40 ft.) for just a 120V outlet. It will be mainly for shop a light. Is it possible to run the line (hot) at a different, larger gauge wire than the neutral? Or should both wires be the same gauge? I'm also running a small ground wire as well. 0 -
Any advise on how to splice an underground electrical wire? I cut the main line from the house to my old pole barn while sinking holes for the addition. I had cut power prior to digging and I'm glad I did.
Now I have to splice it. Any advise. The neighbor said wire nut it together, put it in a pvc sleeve, and seal both ends with silicone.
Another guy handed me some aluminium blocks with tighteners on em and said use these and wrap them in rubberized tape. That appears to be the wrong way. Won't the aluminium short it out. As you can see, I am not electrical wiz.
What say you guys?
"Save the Whalers, they need jobs too."0 -
Been having trouble with a hallway light turning on and off by itself.. Well I went into the attic to investigate, and none of the junction boxes have covers.. Would that cause the light to come on and off.
It goes on and off sometimes for 5-10 minutes. I can fix cars but I try to stay away from electrical crap.0 -
Will 12-2 w ground carry 30 amps? I need to run a 220v, 30 amp circuit. I am going 20 feet with it. Would I fuse each branch 30 amp or 15? Thanks! 0 -
what is a proper way to wire a 120v 4bulb fluorescent ceiling fixture with a wall switch??
power to the switch, or power to the ballast first?0 -
Bedroom lights are out,no power.
Circut breakers not tripped.
Outside bedroom exterior wall is an outside plug which had two heaters on it.
Where should I check first,the outlet itself or breaker?0 -
I installed a GFI on a 2 wire circuit. Ran jumper from white neutral to green ground screw. Test light shows it is wired correctly. Push test button and it trips like it is supposed to. Next outlet on the circuit also has jumper from white neutral to green ground screw. Tester shows it is wired properly. It, however will not trip the GFI when you push the test button on the tester. Second outlet is wired to load side of the GFI that is in front of it on the circit like it is supposed to be. I have done this before and it worked fine. Yes I know this is cheating but it is not practical to run a new 3 wire line underground to this small garage. What am I missing? I have installed a GFI using only 2 wires in the past and it worked without the jumper. Had to mark the outlet as not having an equipmen ground. The new GFI's will not work this way. 0 -
if I put a meter I get a reading of 120 volts on both legs of a 220 panel
If I put a load on the line like plunging in a saw have tried several so I know its not the saw the voltage will drop to zero or just a few volts no load 120 volts again .
I think I lost neutral maybe a break or a weak section in the line ? its a burred cable
any thoughts
rude comments or good advice all welcome [^]0 -
I was asked at work last week if freezing water changed its resistance.
I was kind of stumped on this. I don't think it would but do any of you actually know for sure?
If it matters the actual application would be taking pipe to soil readings on a cathodic protection system where the ground is frozen as it is right now here.0 -
Have many "dimmers" thru out a condo rental unit. Lights keep flickering? Replaced many of the dimmer switches but problem still exists. Could this be a panel or a problem with the electrical service itself? Thanks 0 -
While putting up the Christmas tree my wife noticed one of the floor outlets in the room was quite warm/hot to the touch.
The other outlets or light switches in the room are cold to the touch. The breaker is cool. All the outlets and switches work.
I notice when I unplug all the Christmas lights that one hot outlet cools off.
The outlet that is heating up doesn't have anything plugged in. The Christmas tree is plugged into a different outlet.
What you guys think? Would love a few opinions before I attempt to electrocute myself...0 -
What is the difference between a 120 volt light bulb and one of 130 volts. Obviously it is only 10 volts. Would the 130 volt bulb not reach its full brightness on a 120 volt system. I'm looking for the brightest 120 volt weatherproof flood lights I can get. There doesn't seem to be a lot of options for these anymore. I already screwed up once and ordered 230 volt flood lights by mistake. 0 -
45watt solar panel at 12VDC under optimum conditions puts out how many amps? 0 -
12 ga. copper wire is good for 20 amps. If you need 30 amps you have to go with 10 ga. copper. Each leg is 30 amp. So you need a double 30 amp breaker, so if one leg goes the other leg will trip also.
If you have a Home Depot nearby they carry an "Uglys" book which tells you many wire and current facts.0 -
Alpine is correct,.......you need 10 gauge! 0 -
Yowsuh! 0
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