Questions tagged [electrical]
Distribution and use of electricity throughout the home. Electrical standards vary greatly worldwide, so you need to provide your location in your question or profile to ensure you get answers that are relevant to you. Posting photographs of wiring junctions or drawing a wiring diagram and posting it is also highly recommended.
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What is the correct way to attach a receptacle to a metal face plate?
4" metal face plates and box are very common for exposed wiring. Receptacles connect to the face plate instead of to the box, which is different than in a house. The face plate comes with a few screws ...
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What are the tabs on this face-plate for?
The Steel City RS-6 4" face plate has metal tabs that break-off easily. What is their purpose?
(click for full-size)
As you can see, they are cut and bent to leave a gap/slot.
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Triple switch plate size issue
I have a plate of 3 light switches that's just taking up too much real-estate. See picture below:
As you can see, I've got a bookcase right next to it, and I could use a little more room there. The ...
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Why do old toggle switch leads read 40VAC?
Tonight I removed an old switch from one of the walls in my living room. We recently bought our house, and there were two holes in the wall where the old thermostat and humidity controller were. I ...
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My wall outlet is making a hissing noise, should I be concerned?
My wife leaves her laptop charger plugged into a wall outlet. As soon as she connects the other end to the laptop (meaning AC is actively flowing through the plug to the laptop), it makes a strange ...
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Are electrical outlets usually positioned on studs?
I lack a studfinder at the moment, and I'm considering getting a wall lamp that I think is just too chic. However, I live in an apartment, meaning any holes that I drilled would need to be filled in. ...
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Why does my fan switch sometimes turn the lights off?
I recently undertook a small project replacing a single toggle light switch with a Z-wave enabled dimmer switch, which is also wired to a fan toggle (a knob with 3 speed settings) in a 2-gang case. ...
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What can I use to manage the wires when replacing a looped ceiling rose light fixture with one that just has loose wires?
I'm changing a looped ceiling rose (LCR) light for a light that only has 3 connections, Live, Neutral and Earth.
The looped ceiling rose has 3 different metal parts that the wires go into, like this: ...
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What height should bathroom receptacle be off the ground?
I am doing the rough-in electrical in my bathroom gut. I want to put a few receptacles (outlets) above the vanity. Is there a standard height I should be installing the receptacle? I don't have a ...
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How do I join two cables outside so that they're safe and kept dry?
I have a new pond with a pump but the cable on the pump is far too short. I have some similar cable which will do the job to extend the length. My only concern is the junction outside. I need to make ...
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How should I rewire a miswired 3-way switch?
I have a 3 way switch that was wired incorrectly when the switches were replaced with a different color switch. Is there a methodical way for me to identify which wires represent which piece of the ...
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Which way is up? (electric outlet)
My house has electric outlets in both orientations. Which one is correct? Should the ground hole be at the bottom or the top?
OR
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How do I recognize which socket cover (fused or 3-pin) connects to which outlet?
I have two power outlets in this room, one is a normal 3-pin (UK) plate cover and the other is a fused (switched) plate cover (much like the one below).
I've know removed them and wish to put them ...
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How to prevent static electricity build up?
I have an office desk with a computer on it. After sitting in front of my computer for some period, if I get up and touch metal, I always get a spark.
In order to avoid surprises, I habitually touch ...
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How should I wire up a yurt?
This yurt 30 ft. diameter; area is 700 sq. ft. ; circumference is 90 ft.
The walls are lath lattice covered with canvas. There's no interior wall space to run Romex like a regular house. You can't ...
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