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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There's a difference between hot/neutral AC lines in a plug, but does it matter?
Saw the good answer to this question:
Is there a difference between the two conductors in 120VAC wiring?
But I'm wondering as a followup, since the two primary prongs in an AC mains plug are ...
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What do you call a DIY AC plug?
This may the dumbest question ever, but I'm trying to replace the AC plug on a small appliance (it's European but voltage-switchable and I'm using it in the US), and I don't know what to call those ...
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What should I do about this fixture brace?
I'm preparing to hang a ceiling fan fixture in a bedroom. I need to remove an old ceiling light's electrical box and brace first, however I don't see how I can remove them. The brace has limbs which ...
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What's the best/easiest way to install and wire a wall light?
I would like to add a wall light to a wall, but I'm not sure the best way to go about doing this.
I'm thinking it will be easiest to wire it up to a ceiling light (directly above proposed placement ...
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Should I run 2 regular circuits or a subpanel to my septic site?
We're installing a septic system on otherwise undeveloped land. Eventually there will be a house near the septic system, but that could easily be years away. The electric service entrance is on a post ...
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How do I test circuit breakers?
Suppose I need new circuit breakers and buy some at a local shop. How do I test them to be sure they haven't been damaged on their way from factory and will do their job when time comes?
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How can I tell if a circuit breaker is worn out?
I was installing a light and tripped the breaker (in retrospect, should have turned the breaker off before starting). When I finished installing it I reset the breaker and tried the light switch. ...
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Insufficient voltage to dryer receptacle; what next?
I just moved into a home and I am hooking up a used dryer (which I'm told works). The dryer spins, but I get no heat.
I bought a multimeter, and it tells me that the receptacle provides insufficient ...
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Can I convert ceiling mounted octagon box to electrical receptacle?
I've installed a number of strip lights in my garage to replace the single incandescent fixture on the ceiling. They all use a 3-prong plug, not hardwired. I want to replace the incandescent fixture ...
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Why are my downlights constantly blowing?
I have a strip of 3 downlights in my living room, and I am constantly changing globes.
Usually two of the globes blow in the first day or two of use, but the third globe will last much longer (at ...
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Fix intermittent connection problem in a monorail low voltage light fixture
I have a WAC low-voltage monorail (probably a SOLORAIL model) that is about 7 years old. The rail is about 12 ft long and has four fixtures attached.
For the past 2 years, one of the fixtures has ...
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Large voltage swing on incoming main hot line- definitely outside?
So for much of last fall, I had an issue of flickering lights in my house (half of the house seemed to flicker in unison). Back in December, I called the electric company, who came out, and claimed ...
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Light fixture inside knee-wall storage
We framed knee walls in our attic and want to use the areas behind them for storage. These areas are triangular in cross-section, about 3' high at the knee wall, and of course the ceiling hits the ...
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How to tidily integrate power into an island
I'm currently running the ducts for wiring into my gutted kitchen and was wondering how best to integrate power into my island.
I've seen pop-up products like this and this that fit nicely into the ...
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Where should I place a stove master switch on an island?
We're having our kitchen redone and I would like to integrate our free-standing stove into the island unit.
Where would be decent place to put the stove master switch within this island as there are ...
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