New dehumidifier power cord. Does this look purely superficial to you guys, or should the cord/unit be replaced?

Hello, I got myself a ZigBee Smart Switch from Sonoff and already created a mermaid diagram to visualize the wiring.

(This is a German house and I have been told the electrician has done everything properly back then. If necessary we can theoretically actually ask him.)

Images:
1-4 Smart Switch
5 & 6 Switch and Wall
7 Light (is going to change soon)
8 My wiring diagram

Is this possible and my theory correct?

Looking into the wall I will use Neutral and Line In from the plastic hub things right? (Luckily blue has exactly one free.)

Therefore the black one coming from the plastic hub to the switch will be Line In and the one disappearing into the wall will be Line Out to the bulb.

I think one of the blue ones coming in there is the one from the light, I would not run that back into the Sonoff switch directly but leave connect them to that common neutral hub.

Thank you a whole lot! I am really new to this.

The ac unit built into my wall died and I now use a regular window unit plugged into a different outlet/breaker. I'm also running out of space to run things with all of the computers, printers, etc. I've got in my house. I was wondering if I could convert that outlet to a standard 20a outlet? The double pole breaker makes me think otherwise but not sure.

Have 1 live old Bx box with Hot and Neutral. Would like to Splice into a new J box > Switchboard > Wall Sconce + Ceiling Fixture.

Any advice on what to do? What to avoid? When you splice the old wires into the Romex, where will the final ground terminate at ?

I have an older 3 prong 240v outlet that my dryer is plugged into. It’s in metal conduit all the way and is connected about 10ft away from the main panel. I have this antminer s21 pro bitcoin miner that I want to plug in to it and test it for a day before shipping the miner off to be hosted. The miner power cord currently has a different 3 prong twist lock plug from the previous owner. Can I take that off and add on a 3 prong plug like the dryer cord to the miner power cord and then plug it into the 240v outlet? It has a 30 amp breaker. And I would be doing this just to test the miner and have it run for about 24 hours. So all I’d do is swap out the 3 prong twist lock plug for the 3 prong one that matches my dryer outlet receptacle. I included a picture of the miner power supply specs too. Thanks for any help.

These tiny cables used to carry live and neutral seems too low quality and unsafe, they claim 13A 3250W and surge protection. what so you think?

An inspector claim 40 years experience, but say it needs to keep the clamps to hold on the romex wire. But the truth is most single gang box’s clamps can not hold anything, when pushing 12/2 cable wire it will be pushed off. The NEC code has such exception for single gang box.
Inspector pointed 4 problems, 2 of them are not corrected, spent a lot of time to check with state and get back the inspector.

I've bought a multimeter and decided to hookup a wire (don't have alligator clips) from my strings to one probe and probe the steel connector of the radiator and got a reading of about 114 volts AC.

My guitar is plugged into my audio interface through an instrument cable which has a ground connection on the outer part.

Can someone help explain the voltage reading? Is this potentially dangerous? Is the voltage coming from my PC's power supply since there is no ground connection to the outlet?

Is it possible to find a female 6-30p to TT-30r adapter to plug to make this work? The male plug in the picture is to a popcorn machine. They don’t have another 30a plug for this and are wanting to buy and use this jockey charger thing. But obviously need a plug for it. Or would it be best to cut this male plug off and put a more common 30a plug on it?

Recently, I observed that my prepaid metre has been tapped from the electric pole. And this was possible because the service wires were first connected from the electric pole to the prepaid metre before entering the cutout fuses.

Can someone tell me or give me a diagram of how to connect the service wires from the electric pole to the cutout fuses first before entering the prepaid metre?

To the right of this LB I’m going to come straight through the panel and mount a 30amp RV service. If I use a male adapter the collar won’t fit through my 7/8ths hole I’m drilling for the 1/2’’ pvc. I’m trying not to drill a bigger hole than needed so I don’t need a pound of caulk to cover the edges when finished. Any advice how I can get through the back of the panel and keep the RV service flush on the siding?

I found this half buried under vines while I was clearing part of my yard.(I got it propped up for the picture but it was sideways on the ground when I found it) It looks like the wire going to it is buried and it must've been there for at least a few years but should I be worried that it's a fire hazard?

We’ve been having minor electrical issues throughout our house (old house but we just bought it). Now recently yet another issue arose. Our ceiling fan/light keeps turning off and on seemingly at random, though it seems to only happen when the lights are on too. It’s the only place I’m seeing any issue.

Can I fix this myself? If so, how?

The way our house was built our three outdoor outlets and one indoor outlet are all on the same breaker. Sometimes things plugged into the outdoor outlets trip the GFCI built into the breaker and the indoor outlet shuts off. The issue is our internet is plugged into the indoor outlet on the same breaker.

If I have an electrician install a GFCI outlet on each of the 3 outdoor outlets or use something like this https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lighting-and-electrical/switches-outlets-and-plugs/electric-plugs/3263050 when plugging things in will that solve the issue.

I my mind the GFCI closet to the issue should trip and shutoff power to the outdoor thing leaving the breaker on and the indoor outlet working. I have no idea if this is how things work in reality.

I do not want to do anything to make the GFCI less safe I just do not want my pellet grill or outdoor string light shutting off my internet.

I am in the planning stages of having this pavilion built into my backyard. I know I want to put conduit in the cement to come up where the spa will be put in. I do have a few questions about the electrical wire runs. Should I put a sub panel on it? How can you run the wires in these posts for the lights so that the wires don’t show? I plan on having roll-down shades to be able to enclose it to “help” keep bugs out. I will need a few plugs in the outdoor kitchen, one for the TV, one for a refrigerator. Also switches with dimmers for the lights and fans. Since I’m still in the planning stage, I’m looking for any and all suggestions. Thanks in advance!

I went to unplug my microwave today and there’s this orange mark on the outlet and the plug looks like this. Is the microwave plug/outlet still safe to use?

This is totally based on assumptions but I’ve had issues with my college roommate, and he would complain about the rice cooker smelling when it’s getting cooked. I always check if the cooker is on, but when I came back today, it was off. I checked the cord, this is what it looked like. I just have a slight feeling it might have been him.

But maybe it’s that I’ve never checked the cord and it eventually got like this. I’ve used it for around 1 year now.

Also, how do I even prove it was/wasn’t him ? Is this something you have to just deal with?

Hey guys, curious what other owners are doing to generate more leads for their electrical business.
My first year and the start of my second year went pretty well, and I stayed fairly booked up, mostly through word of mouth and referrals.

Just wondering what’s been working for you guys lately to keep the phone ringing and bring in a steady flow of new jobs.

Would love to hear what’s actually working for other electricians out there. Cheers!

Background

I've just moved into a new-to-me house, built in 1958 with obvious remodels over the years. We had a typical real-estate purchase inspection, which as everybody knows is largely superficial. There was electrical work done some time back under a permit, and the permit had expired without final inspection. As part of the purchase, we required that be addressed, which it was inspected and approved by the city.

BTW out inspector did find a number of things, which were either fixed or we got the price adjusted. He just didn't find this.

The Breaker Box

On the panel is a 220v double breaker 40A, labeled "Oven - 240v not in use". Note the actual range is gas, with 110v power. There is a 15A breaker labeled "Kitchen Lights Oven".

Note the oven is supposed to have a 20A dedicated line, but hold that thought.

In the Garage

Directly across the wall from the range, is a 220v outlet. Presumably for an EV but not stated. My assumption was they took the "Unused" Oven 240 and ran it into the garage.

Issue #1 220v outlet wiring

Should measure 220v between the two hot lines. Should measure 110v from each hot to Ground, and should measure 110v from each hot to Neutral, and should measure 0v from ground to Neutral.

Actually measures 0v between the two hot lines. Measures 240v from each hot to Ground, and measures 110v from each hot to Neutral. (I think the two hots are actually wired to a single hot line, and the Ground is wired to the second hot, and the Neutral leg is either Ground or Neutral, but what do I know I'm a frickin software engineer).

Issue #2 Oven

When I turn the 220v breaker off (because I think it's whack), the oven loses power. Soooo the 110v oven is powered by one leg of the 220v. Which I expect is completely wrong and perhaps unsafe? I'm not sure half the 220v breaker would pop if the oven had a fault.

Tell me if I'm wrong, please.

So it looks like someone who didn't know what they were doing tried to wire a 220v outlet for an EV while using half that to power a new smart oven across the wall, that needed 20A.

Insert your own profanity here.

Edit: I do want the garage 220v for an EV charger.

Could I fix this cord by connecting the right colored wires and what’s with all the wires exposed around the colored wires?

1963 electric panel. AC/Heat breaker is going bad. I need to replace the breaker but I can’t find it anywhere. Is there a modern day replacement available or must I source one exactly like the old one?

Edit: Can anyone tell me the name of the breaker.

My roommate lives on the bottom floor of our apartment and wants to hang his tv on this wall. The stud is about where I drew the red lines. Ideally would mount on the same vertical level as the box, but I don’t know if that’s safe

Hi -
I recently purchased a new range. The installation instructions have two sections, one for Canada and one for the US.

The US version says to identify whether you have three wire or four wire range hook up and to go and get the appropriate power cord and hook up the range. If you’re hooking up a three wire system, there is a shunt provided by the range manufacturer to connect ground to neutral.

The Canadian version of the range comes with a four wire power cord preinstalled, no instructions are given on how to replace it with a three wire cord, and the neutral to ground shunt is not provided.

As my house was built in the 60s it has three wire 240V wiring therefore I need to use the three wire hook up. I have found it difficult to even source a three wire power cord at normal hardware / electrical supply shops.

My question is why is this three wire conversion made so difficult in Canada and is there some solution here other than replacing the power cord and installing an ad hoc shunt, or running a new range power supply line (which is not practical in my house)?

My smoke alarms have aged out. I previously had wired smoke detectors and am moving to a 10 year battery version. Do I need to cap this male end that goes into the alarm?