They gave me a real hard time about doing my own wiring too (even though it's technically legal) until they inspected my work. They were real hardcore about it; they were ready to pull my meter and take it away. But it's been inspected several times and now the inspectors actually like me and just issue me a permit without giving me the third degree.
Can't you just get the permit 1st and call for an inspection like a licensed electrician would? That's how it works here. Homeowners can do everything themselves except gas and HVAC.
Yeah that is true. Those Rohloff gear hubs are supposed to survive longer then every other part of the bike.. Recommended for everyone who uses his bike a lot!
Tell that to Lutron. Any motion sensor with "No Neutral Required" requires ground instead. I use one in my washroom. I connected it to neutral because it was there.
That's just wrong. You know a neutral wire can deliver a fatal shock if it has a break in it, right? NEVER ground to the neutral wire. It's very dangerous.
I'm not grounding to the neutral... I'm using the device AS IT'S DESIGNED. This device is DESIGNED to run using only hot and ground if there is no neutral, but use neutral if it's available.
Lutron MS-OPS2 if you're interested.
Lutron MS-OPS2 if you're interested.
Many years ago when I was living in Massachusetts, I hooked up with a guitar player; he was from England. His father was building a new home and we got to setup in some as yet unfinished room. I noticed all the AC wiring was within metal pipe conduit. I asked him about it and he said his father wanted it that way. Guess that exceeds "minimum code" 🙂
Where I live, EMT (metal pipe conduit) is the minimum code. It is my opinion that it is also the minimum required for a a safe installation.
With EMT you can repair and upgrade the wiring practically indefinitely. Do you want to rely on 100 year old wiring in your house? Do you want to cut a bunch of holes in your walls to update and repair it? Then you want EMT. Plus it's easy to add circuits in the future. You can usually run an extra wire or three in existing EMT. Just pull the wires through and hook em up! (Or screw em up if you're so inclined.)
With EMT you can repair and upgrade the wiring practically indefinitely. Do you want to rely on 100 year old wiring in your house? Do you want to cut a bunch of holes in your walls to update and repair it? Then you want EMT. Plus it's easy to add circuits in the future. You can usually run an extra wire or three in existing EMT. Just pull the wires through and hook em up! (Or screw em up if you're so inclined.)
They are in the business of making money. They do THAT to ensure they are getting every tax dollar they possibly can.
The only other time I saw metal conduit in a residential home was in the Three Stooges episode, where Curly remarked "The pipes are full of wires!"
There was a discount available on industrial fire insurance if you used metal conduit here in India.
I did that, now the pipes and fittings are hardly sold new.
It is mostly cable and PVC profile casing / capping here, or PVC and HDPE pipes used as ducts.
Ground fault interrupters are insisted upon at new installs.
I did that, now the pipes and fittings are hardly sold new.
It is mostly cable and PVC profile casing / capping here, or PVC and HDPE pipes used as ducts.
Ground fault interrupters are insisted upon at new installs.
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I don''t remember exactly how the circuit is configured, but it seems it might not be a direct connection to the ground pin, and is limited by a resistor or varistor going in. It's still really incorrect. I've never seen that before. I hope I don't see it again. But I do know appliance manufacturers are not constrained by building wiring codes as pertains to internal appliance wiring. Perhaps the current is low enough not to trip a gfi. But that would be 'really' low!
And, in the USA the ground and neutral are tied at the panel. So, I get the basic idea of what was done. It just doesn't seem necessary or judicious. If I can find the manual, I'll scan the schematic. Maybe together we can figure out what the hell is going on!
I am an EE, and I would not connect a neutral to ground. But there are plenty of devices that tie together ground and neutral internally. That can be particularly hazardous when using a variable autotransformer to power such devices, if there is some defect in the building wiring. They tell you to use an isolation transformer just to make sure.
I've heard stories about the times when the separate ground was just considered a PIA. I got the fridge from a farm, which are not subject to municipal electrical inspection except voluntarily. But the inspector has no authority to prevent use of property wired any old way.
That doesn't explain why the manufacturer wired it that way, but it does explain why the ground prong might have been removed, because there wasn't a grounded outlet where the fridge goes.
I don't know for sure, but if not for the manufacturer's creativity, I probaly wouldn't have gotten the unit for $50, asuming it was sold because it frosted up. The seller was not up front with that little tidbit.
I simply installed a grounded plug. I didn't mess with the internal wiring. It is possible I misread the schematic, and it was coincidence that the defrost clock began to work. But I doubt it.
I was changing the battery in an Android tablet. I had to disconnect 2 connectors to get to the battery. Everything went well, but I damaged one connector reinstalling it.
I had no idea what to do. These are tiny SM connectors that lock by a detent. So, I said WTH! I wet the connector with super glue, waited for it to harden up a bit--Just a bit--and sort of worked the glue into the shape of broken off connector piece while holding it in proper position with a screwdriver in my other hand.
Before it was all the way hard, I replaced the screwdriver with a small book, with a wadded up piece of paper towel underneath, to hold the connector down tight, and also be able to release the book and most of the paper towel when the super glue had hardened up a few days later.
I had it in the back of my mind, but it took a few days before I had the guts to see if it worked, Mean times, I tossed a few drops of Holy Water on the tablet and told everyone not to even think of moving it even the slightest bit. I recited my old stand by prayer:
"Please God, let this work!" I assume God can figure out what 'this' means. And I fired it up, and it booted. It's a good fix. It's been dropped several times, and it still holds.
That was possibly the least likely fix to succeed. I only made it because there was nothing to lose. Even if I could find a new cable, I think both halves of the connector were damaged. So, one last hooray, and the tablet lived to see a few additional years of life.
But lest I be accused of presumption, It got new life, for how long I have no idea. But that's true of everything!
I had no idea what to do. These are tiny SM connectors that lock by a detent. So, I said WTH! I wet the connector with super glue, waited for it to harden up a bit--Just a bit--and sort of worked the glue into the shape of broken off connector piece while holding it in proper position with a screwdriver in my other hand.
Before it was all the way hard, I replaced the screwdriver with a small book, with a wadded up piece of paper towel underneath, to hold the connector down tight, and also be able to release the book and most of the paper towel when the super glue had hardened up a few days later.
I had it in the back of my mind, but it took a few days before I had the guts to see if it worked, Mean times, I tossed a few drops of Holy Water on the tablet and told everyone not to even think of moving it even the slightest bit. I recited my old stand by prayer:
"Please God, let this work!" I assume God can figure out what 'this' means. And I fired it up, and it booted. It's a good fix. It's been dropped several times, and it still holds.
That was possibly the least likely fix to succeed. I only made it because there was nothing to lose. Even if I could find a new cable, I think both halves of the connector were damaged. So, one last hooray, and the tablet lived to see a few additional years of life.
But lest I be accused of presumption, It got new life, for how long I have no idea. But that's true of everything!
It's a motion sensor light switch. It uses the neutral or ground for the PIR sensor and the relay. Very low current draw, and nobody I know uses GFCI on an entire branch (not in North America, anyway), just the outlets near the sink and outside, so tripping wouldn't be an issue.
The "neutral wire" comes with a green sleeve over it that you remove if you can find a neutral instead of ground.
The "neutral wire" comes with a green sleeve over it that you remove if you can find a neutral instead of ground.
I've come to realize that the Village is all about revenue. They use TIF money to buy up large swaths of real estate and then re-deed the lots for new development. They'll buy a whole block, say 16 lots, and then re-deed it as one lot. Then they find a developer to build what the Village wants to build, which is behemoth mixed use buildings.
I saw the new plot for Downtown. Many, many buildings are not even on the plot, but big new buildings are. They are tearing down a whole neighborhood of single family homes and two flats, at least 30 buildings. They're building a parking garage for 500 cars. They're building a luxury hotel where condos and small shops were.
It's all about density and revenue. My neighborhood is the next one from Downtown. They've already torn down single family homes and built McMansions and luxury townhouses. I'm pretty sure my block is in their cross-hairs.
Yes, really low. Since a timer runs off it, I don't think it can be that low.
Every single house in the five county area has EMT. Once you go to "the boonies" they use a different building code.