John Kogel

https://www.inspectorsjournal.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=15393&SearchTerms=clamp,meter We kicked this around and Bob Kenney pointed out that the clamp meter needs to read leakage current to be useful. Good point, I thought.

As long as the service neutral and the feeder neutral are in good condition, there's pretty much no chance of physical harm. However, if, for some reason, the resistance of the neutral were to increase or, most dramatically, if it were to break, then having the ground wires connected to the neutral terminal is a sub panel could kill someone. It's like a seat belt. As long as nothing else goes wrong, it doesn't do much. I respectfully disagree a little bit. [] It doesn't do much only if the load on the sub is balanced perfectly or if nobody comes in contact with the bare wire, with is usually covered with a thin outer sheath. At the main panel, the grounding conductor presents a high resistance compared to the neutral, so very little current will flow there. At the subpanel, the neutral and the ground in a 4 wire cable offer a similar resistance, being of similar or equal gauge and length. Juice will flow thru both wires when one side of the panel is loaded, if neutral is bonded to the subpanel. If a 120 volt space heater is plugged in to that subpanel, about 1/2 of the current would be carried by that grounding conductor. Edit: Or in Chicago, by the conduit.

At the main panel, the return path back to the source thru the service conductors is kept short as possible, and most of the current follows the path of least resistance. if the neutral is bonded at the sub panel, the grounding conductors will carry some current whenever the neutral is energized. The bare copper conductor between the sub panel and the main panel will therefore be a shock hazard. If copper plumbing pipes are bonded to the sub panel, then bonding the neutral at that point puts a potential shock hazard on the plumbing fixtures. A fraction of one amp is enough to cause a human heart to stop pumping. Wet skin conducts electricity better than dry skin.

Protimeter Surveymaster pinless is one of the best for all around moisture detection. Tramex has one that is better for deeper readings. I have a pouch with a belt clip for my moisture meter. It is either in my hand or in the pouch. The pouch was designed for old-fashioned (big) cellphones. Any digital laser thermometer will do for starters. A bare hand works as well, but is less elegant. A voltage sniffer is essential for knob and tube wiring, abandoned wiring, lights that don't work, etc. A simple slot-type screwdriver with a slim handle, for poking and pointing. Expect to lose tools when you are first starting out. After a while, you bring only what you need and you check inventory before the door gets locked. Even so, you will be going back to collect something you left in the house. Like Steven says, have spares of everything. My camera quit on me last week, but I had a spare in the glove box. My Repair kit - Duct tape, black tape, clear packing tape. A few screws, finishing nails, machine screws, bit of wire. I don't do much damage, but the clear packing tape is great for putting something back that just won't stay where it was. []

Marc, how did you get the gables facing the eaves? Oh right. it's a Cajun thing. [] Thanks, Tom, I get it now. Mold in the closet behind the knee wall.

More info would help, but here is a start. BTW, evidence of mold in the lower attic means this house design is not working as well as it should, no? Soffit vents are almost always a good thing to add, and this can be done from outside. How were you able to determine that the insulation in the lower section is pressed against the roof sheathing? If it is fiberglass batts, they will sag a bit as a rule, unless the drywall is pushed up against it from below. A gap of an inch or two will allow air to move along the underside of the sheathing. If the ceiling is vaulted, you may have to do some dismantling to install baffles. Then you need vents across the upper side of that roof plane to let the rising air out. A roof vent installed every 4 feet or so along the ridge is usually adequate. Roof vents or continuous ridge vents will work better than gable vents. Cut a hole in a closet ceiling so that you can access that other attic space. If you are on the Atlantic Coast in a storm path, you should certainly go with local knowledge. What works well here may not be so good where you are.

It's supposed to dump into a toilet, not a washing machine. Wrong, and maybe a bit disgusting too. Although there appears to be a filter system. There is an air gap if the discharge pipe hangs on the toilet bowl or a stand pipe, so that's your anti-siphon. The granules are washable, the bowl spins and the poop scooper flips the turds into a grinder. Very inventive. The cleaning cycle takes a while, it seems. And what if kitty needs to take a crap while the thing is flushing? [] Download Attachment: Doc1.doc 408.48?KB

They shoulda used car doors for the windows. They are stronger. [] Some hippie-types in the 70's built ferrocement houses with car doors for doors and windows. Your window crank faucet reminded me of the story in Mother Earth News, the magazine.

Maybe the loose connection was at the bus bar connection in the middle. There's a burn mark there as well.

I think that's it. Stop salting the stoop! []

What Jim said. What is not clear is the disconnect below the meter is labeled 'Solar AC Disconnect'. I don't see another disconnect for the line power. Is there another meter with a disconnect outside? That would explain the main panel with line coming into it thru the wall. I imagine the little cylinders below the panels are surge protectors?

Those lugs are designed for one large gauge conductor only. This 'electrician' says that it is alright to have those smaller gauge conductors tapped in there? Have him put it in writing that it is safe and correct, otherwise, your client wants it repaired.

There is a huge difference between the install cost of a ducted system and a ductless system. In this area, small, open-plan homes can easily get most of their heat from a single-head ductless that costs about $3000 to install and is about 225% efficient, with an approximate payback period of about 10 years when replacing electrical resistance. "Never" is the wrong word. A ducted system costs a helluva lot more. I agree. The Mitsubishi Slim Jim Heat Pump would be my choice if I had $ 3G to spend on heat right now. I would put in 2 indoor units. They can be run independently, so you actually have more control than you do with a conventional ducted system with a single thermostat. Baseboard heaters that are used regularly in a clean house don't smell like burning hair. I like the fact that you can adjust the heat in every room. Programmable thermostats are probably the most cost-efficient addition you can make to an electric heat system. To any system, actually.

An electric baseboard heater costs about $50, depending on the wattage desired, and can be tapped in to the existing thermostat. No fuss, no drywall repair, and it puts the warm air down on the floor.

Don't you hate that? Why can't they leave a note describing where they tapped in to what circuit why? I would advise that an electrician go over the bathroom circuits. The GFCI may be faulty, but most likely, a connection or two is out of whack. Daisy-chained GFCI's can drive you batty. Then explain it all to your client and watch for the blank looks. [] I believe GFCI's are still needed even if the circuit has AFCI protection. This is cut+paste explains why. I think. 1) As you undoubtedly know, the GFCI detects any difference between the current going out the hot wire and that returning via the neutral. If that difference is greater than .006A or so, for .025 seconds, the breaker trips. 2) The AFCI somehow (via FM?), most of the time, maybe, detects an arcing situation in the circuit downstream, whether or not (sometimes) an arc actually exists.

I believe a baseboard heater or a wall mounted fan heater would be even better than a plugged-in space heater. In my area, which is cold and wet, we expect to see a heat source in a bathroom. With the gizmos and air fresheners people use in their bathrooms, I think you're right. One duplex receptacle won't be enough as a rule. Morgan, check the spelling in your tagline, you're missing the 'n' in 'Engineering'.

IMO. it is technically correct. I would warn my clients that there might be a poor draft because of the higher roof and that would depend on the prevailing wind, the stove design and the quality of their firewood. In other words. they could have a downdraft problem even though the chimney meets the min specs.

I believe it is an older variety of cellulose. Based on the color, mostly.

I'd be worried about a kid dropping a Tonka truck on that mat and causing a deadly shock hazard. A coffee table with metal legs would scare the crap out of me. Radiant heat under ceramic tile floors works fairly well. The systems I know about draw a few amps at 120 volts. A 240 v system needs half as much current to generate equal heat, but the result is about the same, BTU-wise. Electric heat is said to be 100% efficient, because all the energy consumed is given off as heat. Since you have the 240 v circuits in place, go with conventional baseboard heaters. The small wall-mounted fan heaters are very good, but some people don't like to hear a fan starting up. There is an electric heater for kitchens that fits under the cabinet. Kick panel heater, has a little fan in it.

Hello, dude. Airco made furnaces under license to one of the bigger companies, Lennox, maybe, for quite a few years dating back to 1970 I believe. Best suggestion I have is to write the new owners for info. http://www.olsenhvac.com/contact_us.asp Around here, an oil furnace will often have been installed when the house was built. So if you have the date of the Permit of Occupancy, that might be a clue. Sometimes the date is stamped right on the blower motor, visible when you open the filter compartment. Mind you, the blower fan may have been changed.

No serious problems with my place.

No doubt a manufacture's defect. But I would take a close look at the attic ventilation to make sure it can't be blamed on that.

Some survival tips I learned from stepping on wasp nests out in the bush - it isn't the wasps that hurt you so much as the run to escape them, like the stick in the eye or the fall over a cliff. [] If it's Yellow Jackets, 5 feet is often far enough. They'll swarm above the nest for a while, then a few scouts might find you, but you can walk away. A wasp trapped in your clothing will keep stinging until you find it and get rid of it. Bees are less of a threat in the PNW and can only sting once.

Well spotted, John! Here's a revelation about birds. They have personalities. We say 'they'll be back, and they'll do this", but it is just that one bird and his immediate family. If he dies, chances are "they" won't be back. Just saying. []

Here, trusses before the 70's will be site-built with plywood gussets. I helped build a truss 'factory', just a big shed, in 1973, and we banged balloon trusses together with plywood gussets to build it.