Power Flux (dimming)

I spend alot of time outdoors and use my power tools or air compressor alot and use a 12 gauge contractors cord.  One problem I always have is that with my outdoor receptacle being above my deck sometimes the cord slips between the boards and hangs up and really causes a problem if the storm door is opened as it also catches the cord sometimes, and already damaged my other cord.



I am wondering if there are any issues with running the cord through pvc along the edge of the house and to the receptacle to protect it.



I am also wondering, since my old cord is damaged at one end, if rather than trying to repair it, if there is any code violation of running it into a weatherproof box and wiring it to a GFCI receptacle, reason I wonder this is that I have one on hand and have had no other use for it as I rent the house and cannot do any wiring to it, but it has no GFCI outlet which concerns me at times.
      

Hello everyone. I need ask advice on my electrical.



Over the past few weeks the lights in my house (built in 1941) have been dimming intermittently. It wasnt happening very often so we figured that it wasnt anything big. Over the past few days however it has become more and more frequent and the fluctuations have been of higher intensity.



The power company came out this morning, did some tests, and told us that it is a bad main breaker. We have a call in to our home warranty company (we bought less than a year ago) and they have said that an electrician will call within 24 hours to set up an appt.



I have 2 questions...



1. Does this sound like a reasonable explanation for the flickering?

2. Is there a safety issue here? Should we be spending the night in a hotel until this is fixed?



Thanks for any advice!
      

Scratching my head on this. New pole building. For now, I want to use one circuit for the lights. What I'm trying to do, is, at one door, I have a 3 way, switching two flourescent lights. Also in that 4-gang light switch, is run a light over the door on the outside, and a light over the overhead service door, and another light over the door, on the inside. So 1 3way, and three single pole switches. At the back door, the other 3 way for the same two lights, and a light over the door on the outside, and another light over the door on the inside. I have the power from the m/p, going into the light box nearest the M/P. Long story short, instead of how I have it, which operates all the lights, as long as one of the three ways are on. If someone could help me with how it should be. I am using 12-3 from the switches. Using 12-2 from the first light box, to the second. I have a another 12-2 running into each switch box, to supply power for the single pole switches.

Thanks for any/all input.
      

I built a shed and wired it.

I used #8 direct burial from the house to the shed.

I have a breaker in the house 15 amp for just my compressor.

When i run the compressor i seems to drain power from everything else,

ex: all light in the hose fad, my filter on the fish tank stops.

Could some one help me figure this out and put a stop to it.



Thanks Dak
      

Hello everybody! First things first..I don't know much about wiring besides there being a positive, negative and a ground.



I am in the process of gathering information about installing two lights on the soffit of the corners of my house. There is an outside light by the sliding glass door that I was going to tap into for power, since the switch for it is in the kitchen.



My question is will this be possible if I was to run two twin head flood lights off of the same switch.   (  http://www.lampsplus.com/products/br...ht__h9572.html   )





What would be the easiest way to run the wiring for this? Through the soffit or just through the attic? The problem with the attic is there is vaulted ceilings in a few rooms of my house so it is pretty much impossible to walk in the attic to the far side of my house...actually I don't even think it is possible with the amount of insulation and how the ceilings are.



How would I go about mounting the light to the soffit? A junction box? Will I have to run conduit?



Here is a picture of what I am trying to do. Excuse my art skills in paint.





Thank you!
      

I was in my attic today doing some work when I noticed a bare twisted copper wire that ran along a ceiling joist.  All along it was charred wood and charred  fiberglass insulation.  Luckily the fire it caused did not sustain itself and I was able to find the problem.  I then traced the wire and figured it originated in my breaker box (although I could not determine exactly where in the box).  It then ran across my attic alongside a ceiling joist and down into a wall ending up connecting to my water meter.

  Several months ago,  the electric company was restoring power to my area and ended up sending a power surge into my house taking out an oscillating fan, a toaster and a GFI outlet.  Last winter, I also had to have my electric meter pole replaced by an electrician after a tree branch took it out during an ice storm.

  I was wondering if one of these events could have caused the ground wire to heat up or something else entirely is going on?  I am suppose to have a company blow in  insulation soon and I need to figure this problem out.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.
      

Hello everyone,



I am trying to replace a 40-year old garage door opener that stopped working, and the motor reads "250v"-- are 250 volt openers standard? does the 250v mean something completely different? or will I have to re-wire it to a standard 110v outlet type to put in a new opener? The original cover has most likely been lost to time; the brand was Overhead Door company.



I haven't purchased any new openers yet, making sure I know what I am getting into first :-)

The door is not especially large --9'x7' not sure of their weight; if it matters, the door will likely be replaced shortly as well.

Thanks for any and all help!
      

Hello! Great help here. I did a search and could not find a solution to my problem so I had to make a new thread.



I just purchased this house and it is a bit of a fixer upper. one side of the house has no power. This looks to be a sub panel? and it is on the side of the house with no power. I was wondering if anybody could help with the wiring of this panel? The main box is just on the outside of this box.







This looks like an old box and I can not see where to wire the ground/common wires. There are 2 bars under the breakers and both have a black wire connected to them.
      

On my second floor with a High / Low switch and a timer hooked up to it.  The fan works fine on high and the timer works - but if I try to put it on low it stalls out.  I can hear it try to work - it sounds kind of like trying to get a car to turn over.  It starts up, spins for a second and stops and repeats that cycle until I turn it off or set it to high.  The fan was installed when I bought the house so I have no idea how old it is or its brand / model.



Does anyone know what might be causing the problems on low, is it still OK to run it on high, even with the issues on low and is this something that can be fixed easily or does it require special services - electrician or otherwise?
      

Hello I need seriouse help! In my situation I have a three switch, one for the light, one for the vent fan, and one for the heater. This is in a bathroom rent house. My problem is that when I turn the switch on for the light, the light and fan turn on, when I switch the heater on, that switch does nothing, the same when I switch the fan on. The wall plate is labeled: light, fan, heater. So what I attempted to do is put a switch outlet combo in. I have two black wires, two white wires and a ground. So I put the black wires on brass and the white wires on black,( they are black screws instead of silver, not sure if I got the right kind of switch). So when I did that, when I turn the switch on, the fan turns on, but no light, also when the switch is on the outlet is hot.( which fine that is how I want it). But what did I do wrong, why does fan work but not the light. I my biggest fear is that I might have made a fire hazard. Please help and tell me if what have done is safe, and maybe help me figure out how to turn the fan and light on with the same switch..  Thank you for all your input, have trouble falling asleep, keep thinking the house might burn down.. Sorry for the long post