DIY special - this is in tne pressure contactor for a water pump that runs the house pressure (nominally 50 psi). In rebuilding the wonky setup, this pressure switch was not used, but it shows what happens when you don't use the right conductor size. The pump was about 10 feet away from this switch, so the DIY'er cut off the male end of a 110v extension cord and wirenutted it to pigtails on the quick disconnects provided in the switch itself. Strange. But the undersized extension cord shows the effect of the bad choice (could have used a 12/3 instead) of cheap cords. All fixed now, replaced the controls completely with proper wiring by the well company.
The brown wire in the wirenut was once white and the insulation on the two wires is fused together.
They were stuck together, and the wires and nut are welded together!
Gauge mismatch - the smaller wire is a conductor from the cheap extension cord.
Current Wire
- 22g A1 Kanthal
- 24g A1 Kanthal
- 26g A1 Kanthal
- 32g A1 Kanthal
Current Mods
- Sig 150
- IPV4S
- Rx200
Current Attys
- Tsunami
- Velocity
- Tugboat v1
- Mutation v4
- Mutation v3
- Royal Hunter
- Freakshow mini
- Kennedy clone
- Derringer clone
Current Favorite Builds
- 26g dual coil parallel 6 wrap 3.5mm ID on velocity
I like flavor and clouds but would lean more towards flavor without sacrificing too much clouds. I am comfortable building regular and parallel builds. I'm considering NiChrome or maybe even Nickel or SS 316L to try out TC.
Based on this post about working with vintage patterns I went a-hunting and found the following information on knitting needle sizes.
>In the UK until the mid twentieth century knitting yarns were 2 ply, 3 ply, 4 ply or Double Knitting (four thicker plies, equivalent to 2 x 4 ply) and occasionally very thick yarns such as Aran or chunky. You used size 12 needles for 2 ply, size 11 for 3 ply, size 10 for 4 ply and size 8 for DK and two sizes smaller for the ribbing. Needle sizes were based on Standard Wire Gauge (an indirect system of measurement with high numbers for thinner needles) and everyone knew what was what. Although the various manufacturers didn't like to acknowledge it one brand of 4 ply could be substituted for another; you just knitted the tension square to be sure.
So for anyone who's ever converted, know that old-school needle conversion charts are really just approximations and that old needles / new yarn or vintage yarn / modern needles actually WILL go a little skeewiff if you take a look at the Standard Wire Gauge chart
Am I screwed here? I just bought my home 2 months ago, I'm currently updating all light switches and outlets. After reading up on it, I'm 99% sure it's a code violation to use 14 gauge wire on a 20 amp breaker. Can I just easily switch from a 20 amp to 15 amp breaker? Or can my problem not be fixed that easily?
Working on my 83 C20. Based off of diagrams and what have you, the green temp gauge wire should come out of the firewall, and then connect somewhere on the engine to convey the reading.
The only green wire that I have that fits the bill runs up above my transmission. Does anyone have any idea what I do with this? I haven’t had temp or oil pressure readings since I bought the truck, and I’m trying to rectify it on my own. Any suggestions?
I'm also wondering what is considered a good price for a pound of lead free soldering wire.
Would this product be considered a good deal?
It is $20 dollars after shipping for a pound of .062 inch lead free rosin core solder wire.
Let me break down my questions
-
What size solder wire should I use to solder standard power cable wires?
-
What is a good price on a pound of wire?
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How much soldering could I do with a pound of wire?
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Where can I find a good deal and a good selection of soldering supplies?
Thanks in advance for any help I can get!
Background:
5 years ago I leased an all electric car. I purchased a GE EVSE for it that was listed at 40 AMPS. the electrician I hired to install it installed a 40A breaker and then ran the pictured wire to the box, the wire run is no more than 6ft long.
Last year the charger quit working. So now I'm looking to replace it. The easiest ones just plug into a NEMA 14-50R
I'm comfortable connecting up a 14-50R, what I'm not comfortable with is knowing which pieces, if any, need changing.
For instance if this is 12 gauge wire (which 4mm would seem to be) does the wire need to be upsized?
I don't like the idea of putting a 50A outlet on a 40A breaker, but the load is only 32A.
So questions;
- Is it OK to put a 50A outlet on a 40A breaker?
- Is this actually 12 gauge wire?
- If it's not OK to put a 50A outlet on a 40A breaker should I replace the breaker with a 50A breaker?
- Does the length of the run make the potentially undersized wire OK?
While I realize that /I/ will only be putting a 32A load on it if/when I sell the house they'll just be looking at a 50A outlet and might try to plug in an ARC welder or something which is, to my understanding, why electrical code has those restrictions.
Thank you for letting me use up some of your time.
Hello,
I have six thermostat wires in my wall, but only four are connected to my current thermostat: Y, W, G, RH (with a jumper wire to RC).
I confirmed the two spare wires (blue and black) are unused on both ends of the cable, and thus I would like to make one a C wire.
When I open my furnace (Goodman GMH95/GCH9) I can see that that I have a C terminal, but two wires are already connected (I know this is common for installations). Now normally I would just create a pigtail of four wires (the current two, the desired C, and one to connect to the terminal), but I noticed something odd - one connected wire is 18 AWG solid copper, but the other is 20 AWG stranded copper. I followed the 20 AWG wire and discovered that it connects to my flow-through bypass humidifier (GeneralAire 1042 series - 24 volt).
I never pigtailed different wire gauges together before, so I decided to do some research online and found that it is not recommended. It seems the primary concern is over stressing the thinner wire, and thus creating a potential fire hazard. I have read that you can always use a thicker wire (smaller AWG), but I'm unsure of what the 'flow' direction is (ex: 18 to 20, or 20 to 18). So for example I don't know if connecting an 18 AWG to the terminal, and then putting the 20 AWG in the wire nut with other 18 AWG wires would create this problem.
I've also read that the stranded wire should not be a problem, so long as the strand is tightly bound with unbroken wires (as they are thinner).
What would be proper step to perform in this scenario in order to connect the C wire? The best solution I can come up with is to pigtail the 18 AWGs together, and connect that pigtail to one side of the terminal, and the 20 AWG to the other side of the terminal.
[Edit 1]
After more research I did find that I could potentially hook the humidifier up to a nest as well (instead of the humidifier having a separate control).
This would utilize the 6th and final spare wire I currently have in my wall. I checked the solenoid wires, and they are 18 AWG. I may go this route to simplify my overall setup.
Just wondering. No real reason why.
I'm planning to get a 0.8HP split type inverter unit for my small room and happen to find an authorized distributor for it that also offers *free* installation promo.
However, electrical works like laying out cables/wires from our main breaker to my room for the ACU's power supply is not included in the promo and they advised me to buy the materials needed for the electrical works myself to save money, because their package is a bit expensive. That way, I would only need to pay the one who would do the wiring, they said.
When I asked about the rating/specs of the things that I need to buy, they said that I should get a 12awg Stranded Wire and a 20A Nema 3R 2-Pole Bolt On Circuit Breaker [It needs to be outside].
But, according to some forums and some electricians, the correct gauge for an AC is 10awg.
Who should I trust? I'm confused.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance! ♥
Going to replace that 100amp main breaker backfeed with a 40 amp even though I don't have to, just in case there is a spec for the minimum wire gauge on the breaker.
My thought was to land the neutral and ground from the feeder under the slotted screws (circled) instead of on the lugs. Is there any reason this would not be acceptable? Should I just ignore the manufacturer and put them on the lugs anyway?
https://preview.redd.it/bvo59izcolz61.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7178dd0616ba323af789a27233dfb7603bc3cb33
