@4dchessplayer516 that comment says more about you then me. Thanks for your input though I'll have to respectfully disagree with you. Have a great day and stay safe.
Hi sir, I will shamelessly ask for your opinion in my case of a possible breaker fault at my home, would you please kindly tell me your opinion and what do you think about the situation is? So, yesterday our electricity suddenly gone off on 11AM hot day, then I tried to go reset the breaker on and off after 24 hours as I suspect that it can be just a brownout from our electricity provider or we got cut off, While I tried to check, and flick the circuit breakers and it's switches, there's just one light flickering while main switch is on, weak light and flickering.. My uncle and I is confused because we thought the connection is completely cut off according to the electricity provider business center but there's that one weak fickering bulb in our kitchen and or bathroom, depends on what we switch on.
It is great to see a female Electrician. I am a retired Electrician and I like your work as I find it first class in quality and code. I am amazed at all the great tools electricians have today. Keep up the good work! Also amazed at the great ladders you have. Well done.
Came over from TikTok. You are an inspiration to our youth. My son just graduated HS and is about to start his journey in to electrical work. I'm constantly sending him your stuff. Thank you, helps make it approachable for him.
Okay super glad the UA-cam gods put this video in my recommendations. I remember going on the job with my dad as a kid and the electrical foreman was a woman and it was such an inspiration to me. Here I am 25 and I'm an industrial electrician definitely in a man's world. It's so nice to see other women proving themselves in the trades through good work. Instant sub.
You took a complete nightmare of a job & made it look beautiful. Good to see such great pride in work. Youre a huge credit to the electrician everywhere
@@Wilem35 yeah sometimes it dose suck, but its good money and its needed if we want this impossible infrastructure to keep running, i been doing auto for 4 years and hvac for 5 its not all that bad if you aint over doing it, dont lift shit you know too heavy and be smart enough to say thats a dumb idea and probly gonna hurt me
Nice work! It would be interesting to know more about the failure. I changed out a panel for a friend after his double pole 30A breaker for the water heater burned the bus bar. He was out of space, so just putting the new breaker in an unused space wasn't an option. You wouldn't believe what we found. I worked like you did including labeling each cable. His house is very old and still had a couple of cables from the 1930's. Because of their age, I wasn't comfortable bending them and possibly damaging the insulation. I had the rest of the cables out and i had my friend help guide those 2 old cables while I pulled the panel down. As soon as I had the panel off, my friend said "why am I wet?". I looked at the panel and saw it was wet in the back. We looked at the service cable and there was a tiny stream of water running out from the inside of the cable! We looked everywhere for a source of water. I thought maybe it was rain water coming through the meter box, but that was completely dry with no sign of corrosion or rust. The wall where the panel was mounted was also completely dry. I removed the service cable and there was a slit in the outer jacket. Whoever had upgraded the service to 100 amps hadn't enlarged the hole where the 60 amp cable came through and just forced the larger cable through. The lower part of the wall is stone which stays cool and can cause condensation. We slit the cable and the whole inside was wet. I removed the breakers from the panel and about half of them were damaged. Most of the bus bar was corroded. I asked him if he noticed any flickering lights, but he hadn't. That surprised me given the condition of everything. We made the hole larger before installing the new service cable so it wouldn't be damaged and develop the same problem.
In my 30 years of being in business as an Electrical Contractor, the two brands I have had to replace the most hands down..... is the Square D / QO panels and main breakers. And the old Bryant Panels. Made by Westinghouse. That was a terrible product. I have never had a problem with Siemens Panels. I am glad to say, you do know what you are doing. You have very good electrical knowledge. And you do good work. With painted nails at that..... That I won't do...
Love that you took the time to retain panel breaker layout. I know of a mall that changed maintenance companies, and the old company removed all the breaker labels in every panel before they left.
I really like your explanations and these longer form videos. I’m about to start my apprenticeship at 29, transitioning from a career in IT. Was laid off and can’t find anything due to mass layoffs and the overall threat to job security from AI. I figured the trades are where it’s at for job security right now. I will say, people always mentioned to me while growing up how hard the people are in the trades, but based off these comments I see tons of support and positivity from those very people. I’d only ask everyone to try giving your apprentices some of this positivity and encouragement so we can get rid of this stigma from the trade. Many “older” people like me who go into the trades are usually at a vulnerable point in their career, and it would go along way to know that I will have a journeyman who is willing to teach while being understanding and encouraging. Thanks for your excellent content 😊
I find this tremendously fascinating! It's fun to watch someone do work that they're really good at. I looked for more of your longer vids but didn't find any. I hope you do more longer vids and get away from the shorts. Watching a job from start to finish is quite compelling but I know it takes a lot to shoot and edit it all. But thanks for this one and I'm looking forward to more longer ones in the future. Cheers.
This channel should be the TOP Recommended Video for all kids 17-25! This video is a great combination of tutorial, informational and motivational for young people. I bet this woman will make her 1st million by the time she is 30 and she will have NO College debt, Thanks for giving me a small white pill today, its so rare to see mature people your age in the USA, I normally only see mature young adults from other countries.
Hate it when circuits aren't labeled or are improperly labeled. Takes so much more time in the long run to figure things out. When making up a panel I always make sure circuits are labeled. If some aren't, I pull out my trusty circuit tracer and get those circuits labeled. Clean work for what you had to deal with and I'm sure I wouldn't be able to do any better. It's been a few years or so and did a panel change out to simply update the system, because the previous was just getting old and the home owner wanted it updated. But it was set in sheetrock and that was a joy keeping the sheetrock intact. Added so much more time. Square D is the boss. That's all I use if possible. Never had issues with it. Did install bad breakers once or twice though. They were bad from the manufacturer and didn't know they were bad until a load was put on them. So easy fixes right there.
Lexi very new to this channel as it came up in my feed. I wanted to point out a very dangerous situation that MANY electricians fail to realize until the damage has been done. At the 8:29 mark you are placing yourself in a dangerous situation. My brother who has been a certified electrician for 30 years made his typical safety bad decisions which cost him his left eye. Seeing your face near those lines without eye protection is cringe mode. My brother is always preaching the safety side now because he made the mistake of not wearing eye protection. Just trying to keep you safe and with both eyes in tact!
As an HVAC journeyman and instructor I applaud you. I have taught a few young women who are now doing wonderfully in the tech world. You on the other hand have influenced you women to join the the tech world. Again I applaud you for showing young women that they too can have a well paying and rewarding career in keeping the world we have created running. We need more women like you to lead the way.
Not sure how long you’ve been an electrician….but have you considered teaching? Like at HS Tech/shop if they still exist or a trades college? Your presentation style is clear, concise and confident. You call it as you’re doing it and would be a great teacher of your trade profession, IMO. GREAT JOB.
I don't usually bother pulling out breakers or loosening terminals when I do panel changes. I just cut everything off as close to the termination as possible. Not the feeder if I can help it, but sometimes it's faster to cut them, rather than fight stuck terminals. In a 40 circuit panel, that really has more than 40 circuits in it, it saves a ton of time. Great work though, you cleaned it up real nice.
Just a small suggestion. I work in the Networking and I deal w cables often and everything needs to be labeled and documented. I use the Brady M210 label maker. It really nice and you can have it so it writes the lable longway on the cable instead of around it. It's the best hundred box i've ever spent and it saves me a ton of time.
about 45 years ago, i joined my father's construction business, then later took the company over. As I learned the trade from electricians, i became a big fan of Square D and today, if i have a panel replacement to do, I will go for Square D if I can get it. Out here in the boondocks, suppliers don't always have a wide selection, so you take what is available in the moment, unless you are able to make the drive to the big city. Great work, surprising that NY doesn't have more stringent and up to date code requirements (some of which, frankly, i think are way way overkill).
Got a recommendation for your video after watching another electrician's channel, so you're doing something right for the YT algorithm. Nice, informative but concise video, +1 sub. As an aside, I moved into the electrical trade after a fairly decent amount of time working as a 911 paramedic: I would highly encourage you to wear your seat belt. I know everyone has a story of a best friend's brother's aunt's first cousin who had a wreck and swears that if they'd have been wearing their seat belt, they'd have died, and while that can be the case, it's unbelievably rare (I can only think of one example in many hundreds, maybe thousands, of vehicle crashes I worked, never mind the actual data on seat belts). I have worked a number of fatalities that probably would not have been fatalities if the driver/passenger had their belt on correctly. Anyway, seat belt crusade over; great content, please keep it coming!
As a master electrician and ICC inspector (34years). Great job. FYI you stated you labeled the breakers, mention to viewers that the directory filled out is code. Because most don't know thar. Also your old panel had a mix of brands, Siemens and Eaton, which is a violation and probably a patial cause of the issue. As for Square D. I have not seen homeline cause that. Siemens, I have seen so many. FYI bushings are required on any fitting 1" or larger.. Again, Great job
Looks super nice, I like that you managed to get them pretty clean even after all the obstacles that you had to deal with. I only had issues with Square D one time but a lot of houses around here use the old federal pacific. the red ones, the worst in the world. Good Job
Love the work you do Lexi! I've never had to deal with that kind of mess but I've moved into apartments and a shared house with some of the outlets getting warm with barely any wattage going through and found loose wires, and in one apartment the outlets were cheap quality and plugs would literally fall out. I've replaced bad breakers but nothing that had burned, they were just older and would trip at not even half their rated amperage.
Lexi, Amazing job of rewiring such a Nightmare panel. I recently wired Both a 200 Amp and a 100 Amp panel and a 100 Amp sub panel including the main underground wiring through electrical conduits into the panel. Excellent job , you can wire my House any time. Did I mention Excellent job?!! Square D system is so nice, I enjoy them.
wow that looked like a lot of work! I have watched videos about IT workers doing cable management on network racks. and it kind of reminded me of that. Great job! 😀
Eaton/Cutler Hammer is my brand of choice for Panels. The root cause for most of these issues are air gaps between the breaker where its makes contact with the buss bar. Actually any part that is not making a good connection will create excessive heat and cause problems. Great job done here! Keep up the good work!
Nice, neat job!. You might find preprinted adhesive wire labels (they come in books and also plastic dispensers) to be a time saver over hand-writing each circuit number on tape.
Most of the residential panels I open up and look in. Don't even look that good so the fact that you had one damn near blow up on you and you still made it Look that good. It says a lot. I can only imagine what your panels look like when you actually have long enough wire and enough time to sit there and make it look neat. Well done! You took a shit sandwich and you made it look like a Big Mac 👏👏👏👏
0:07 I then proceeded to turn to my peer and say "You need to go change this panel immediately" and then they looked at their subordinate and said.... 🤣 had flashbacks of military life, everyone telling someone else to do the work.
Well you Young Lady have again demonstrated that there is a great need for Young Ladies to enter the electrician trades. You have shown exactly what everyone should remember The 5 P's of doing a perfect job. Nicely done.
Votech, 1973, 74 & 75 in Afton Okla. I have a few years on you. I excelled in the main panel, so it was always mine. I retired in March this year at 67 years old. Generally, there is a reason that the old panel failed. In all my years I made it a priority to find that reason before repairing the damage. It never just happens. It could have been just a poor-quality panel. Federal Pacific made some cheap junk, this does not look like Federal Pacific. I suspect that this panel had aluminum bus. If possible, it is best to get tin plated copper bus. Aluminum is too soft. With heavy current loaded breakers that cause the pinch connection on the back of the breaker to get warm. The installer needs to take notice as they install each breaker. How tight is the pinch connection as the breaker is snaped into place. The panels being produced today are not as good as the panels built in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Here are my final thoughts for all you learning electricians. Every electrical connection in this panel needs to be checked "To be tight". several times before you put the cover back on the panel. I would recommend that you get in a habit to mark the head of the screws with a felt tip marker. Also pull on the wire and do not over tighten them. Panels should have every connection checked every three to five years. This check can be done without turning the power off. Most loose connections can be seen by noticing a discolored wire or screw. The pinch connection on the back of each breaker is more difficult to check. However, this is where a thermal infrared camera finds the bad pinch connections without taking the cover off of the panel. I graduated from Votech in 1975, I decided to join the Navy as a way to further my training. I served on the USS Ranger, aircraft carrier for the next five years as an Electrician. After getting out I spent the next twenty years in field service for Westinghouse. The last twenty years I worked power plants and worked for a major utility company, Designer Transmision Distribution, Substations Protection and Control Engineering. May I offer final words of "Fifty Years of Wisdom". Never trust anyone to turn power off on a panel you are going to work on. Know your test equipment. Never loan it to anyone. Always test it on a known "LIVE CIRCUIT" before checking the circuit you are about to work on. If you need to leave for a short time, always re-test upon returning.
Greetings Lexi I am a native New Yorker of Puerto Rican parents , I have dual master electrician licenses; Puerto Rico 37 years / Allentown 20 years I am impressed by your brave heart and electrical acumen . I am also an ordained Christian Chaplain and as such I send you my blessing for a long , safe and prosperous career . I hmet a female master electrician whose husband was her apprentice; she was an extraordinary electrical professional , as are you !
I'm from Chicago and we are big in Sq D products, never any issues like that. Sq D was based in Chicago until Schneider bought them out. Great job on that replacement.
Square D- notorious for aluminum buss bar failures- I,ve lost 2 in the same location. They last about 4 to 12 months. Finally switched to copper buss bars. The Aluminum models are starting to be quietly discontinued one by one as to not arise a recall.
I don't know if you'll ever see this. But for straightening wires, you can build a tool for a few bucks that works amazingly well if you get the placements right. Get a 1" or 1.5" putty knife and 3 plastic/nylon drawer rollers, a few screws, washers, and nuts. You'll want flat rollers not crowned. Align them on the putty knife where 2 are pretty much in line and parallel with the long edge of the knife, and the middle one is offset where the outer edge/circumference of the middle roller crosses the line of the edges of the other 2. Drill holes and screw the rollers onto the putty knife. Now you have a tool with a handle you can drag down a wire quickly and easily and it will straighten them out beautifully if you got the pressure right from the placement of the rollers. Rollers too close puts too much pressure on the wire and will curl it. Too far and loose and it won't change it much. Save your fingers. Old school Square D QO are the gold standard imo, but their Homeline stuff is just as trash as anything else. I'll never understand why that garbage exists. Saving 50 bucks on a panel for something like a $500k house makes absolutely no sense. It doesn't even make sense for a $10k detached garage or out building in the long run. Panel and breakers are definitely the wrong place to be cheap when it comes to the electrical. Actually, not much of anything is the right place to be cheap when it comes to electrical. Maybe the wall plates, and that's the place most people will spend extra because they can see it.
You ever run into scenarios where someone over does it with ground wires? Such as: when the breaker panel was replace at a house i used to rent, the installer had put a junction box in the attic to then run EMT out the attic and to the panel outside. This being metal conduit it was grounded to the panel which itself was grounded to the water pipes and Earth ground as per code. The installer had put a bus bar in the junction box, then ran 14 gauge ground wires for every circuit going through the EMT (about 40 circuits (THHN of Hot + Neutral + Ground)) to the point they were struggling to pull it through and even some how managed to tear the insulation on one of the hot wires which shorted to ground and popped the breaker it was connected to. I spoke with the installer and informed them that NEC code didn't call for that many ground wires in a metal conduit and it needed only the conduit plus one or two additional ground wires for good measure, because the junction box + EMT + panel served as a conductor to ground as well. installer opposed it in every way shape and form saying that can't possibly be code and that every circuit needed it's on ground line to the panel. what are your thoughts on this?
Worked in Upstate New York a few times did two Greenhouses, strip mall clothing store and condo project. Worked for other people since I don't hold any electrical licenses. Seen alot of bad work practices I would not repeat myself. Workers didn't seem to care much about quality of work. They cut the plastic switch and receptacle boxes that were sticking out of the drywall after finish flush with the wall instead of removing the box and putting an old work or reinstalling it. They also said they didn't have to remark the neutral (black) on a switch leg because it's not required. Just alot of dumb shit that I had to deal with.
I love seeing videos of a hard working intelligent beautiful woman show other woman they can go out a learn a trade and can independent and live there life on there terms. Great video Lexi!!!
The only squareD I have ever used was SquareD busbar trunking wich I installed in a crisp making factory and I found the squareD busbar an excellent product easy to install and the components were large and robust so yes I think squareD is an excellent product
Eaton sucks as a manager of I/E in a chemical plant I would hire you in a minute . Great work dont ever short cut any thing I have over 45 years in the trade you skill level is over the top compared to the standard electrician. Be safe and respect the energy
Did a job in a small apartment. The apartment came with a 50amp, through the wall, heat pump unit. At some point it broke down, then; either because the land lady was too cheap, or the tenants a bit irresponsible about letting the land lady know about it, they used portable electric heaters in every room to heat the place. Years of this later we come along because things are acting up. Every outlet was 20amp but they all had over heated wire and insulation. It was like bending stale burnt spaghetti. Lol. We had to get to non-heat damaged copper, then splice pigtails on. The electrical panel was also toast. Nearly every breaker was holding each other up rather then the bus bars.
You getting a call while you're trying to get your shit done, trying to explain to someone else how to get their shit done, that's my life haha very relatable
I had this happen to me, lost a leg in the dryer, looked and panel was melting. Turns out we removed a tree in the yard next to the basement where the panel is and without the tree, the rainwater would go into the basement behind the panel. Had to put new panel in, and dig a little trench/regrade the dirt next to my house lol
Yeah that burnt smell takes a while to leave. Just left a job where a solar charger fried the equipment. I replaced connectors and all, and i could still smell the burnt smell after a couple days when i revisited.
Many times breaker failure and board damage is caused by someone using the wrong breaker for that panel. Eaton, GE, Square D Homeline and Siemens have a push in style breaker style very similar to one another, so people think it's okay to use what ever fits, going against the manufacturers specs for that specific panel. I see this much too often, and sometimes by other service techs that don't know better, just use whatevers cheapest or what they have with them. It's one hell of an expensive mistake!
I had this issue with a 7 year old Siemens panel/breakers at my house. Had it replaced with all new and they used Square D arc fault. So far so good. They were arcing but did not smell. It burnt the bus bar they said.
As an Electrician of 10ish years I just wanted to say go back to school for an associates in Electrical engineering technology. Save all your money and go back save your body. An associates will allow you to design cads (office only work), commission hv equipment (non labor field work, testing) or project management. I understand your channel is more residential. If you ever worked large commercial construction or industrial in a large company you'd understand the roles of project manager or design engineer because you would see them onsite at times or communicate to them yourself. I'm trying to get enough money to do it myself. I know of a few people who have done it as well. Youll need atleast 2 years worth living expenses. school is 2 years at a community college. In terms of money entry level designers make the same a journeyman and have a high pay ceiling of non physical work. I speak to you in this way because I showed the same thirst for the job for years until my back gave out. In my area electricians go for 75K carded out. Designers go for 60-120K. All the money is in high-voltage equipment/ underground cable testing or cads. It's called being a technologist. Just thought I'd share because it seems your passionate about electrical work.
Очень непривычно видеть девушку электрика, у нас в стране я ни разу не встречал девушку которая бы занималась монтажом или ремонтом электроустановок. И в принципе интересно посмотреть на работу, оборудование и инструмент электриков на другом континенте. Ты молодец, прими моё глубокое уважение за ту работу что ты делаешь.
As a Master electrician with 20 yrs experience I'm impressed great prep work and attention to detail. Keep up the great work
But if she was a GUY you would of criticized her work....just saying
@4dchessplayer516 that comment says more about you then me. Thanks for your input though I'll have to respectfully disagree with you. Have a great day and stay safe.
@@bchef4u2pmaster electrician and a gent for letting em down easy lol
@@4dchessplayer516 Did you just call him a simp
Hi sir, I will shamelessly ask for your opinion in my case of a possible breaker fault at my home, would you please kindly tell me your opinion and what do you think about the situation is? So, yesterday our electricity suddenly gone off on 11AM hot day, then I tried to go reset the breaker on and off after 24 hours as I suspect that it can be just a brownout from our electricity provider or we got cut off, While I tried to check, and flick the circuit breakers and it's switches, there's just one light flickering while main switch is on, weak light and flickering.. My uncle and I is confused because we thought the connection is completely cut off according to the electricity provider business center but there's that one weak fickering bulb in our kitchen and or bathroom, depends on what we switch on.
Way to label the panel, taking the time to do the job right. Love seeing someone take pride in their work
It is great to see a female Electrician. I am a retired Electrician and I like your work as I find it first class in quality and code. I am amazed at all the great tools electricians have today. Keep up the good work! Also amazed at the great ladders you have. Well done.
I officially have panel envy. That is the cleanest looking panel I have ever seen. Love the prep work. Professional.
Came over from TikTok. You are an inspiration to our youth. My son just graduated HS and is about to start his journey in to electrical work. I'm constantly sending him your stuff. Thank you, helps make it approachable for him.
That is awesome! Tell him I said good luck !
Okay super glad the UA-cam gods put this video in my recommendations. I remember going on the job with my dad as a kid and the electrical foreman was a woman and it was such an inspiration to me. Here I am 25 and I'm an industrial electrician definitely in a man's world. It's so nice to see other women proving themselves in the trades through good work. Instant sub.
😺
Excellent work 😊
I am not a woman, but I support u guys supporting each other. 😄
She's a fake and, a joke. 🤡
You took a complete nightmare of a job & made it look beautiful. Good to see such great pride in work. Youre a huge credit to the electrician everywhere
Great job! So glad to see young folks exceling at the trades. Really hoping you will add safety glasses to your equipment list
Been there done that. Those wire's are in your face
as a man in hvac and auto, saftey glasses never beat saftey squints
The trades suck, you'll be worn out by the time you're 40.
@@Wilem35 I'm a electrician. 73. Still going at it. Don't have to. But it's been very good to me and my family
@@Wilem35 yeah sometimes it dose suck, but its good money and its needed if we want this impossible infrastructure to keep running, i been doing auto for 4 years and hvac for 5 its not all that bad if you aint over doing it, dont lift shit you know too heavy and be smart enough to say thats a dumb idea and probly gonna hurt me
Awesome young lady. Great job taking the time to label the circuits. Slow and steady wins the race. You're a true electrician at heart.
Nice work! It would be interesting to know more about the failure. I changed out a panel for a friend after his double pole 30A breaker for the water heater burned the bus bar. He was out of space, so just putting the new breaker in an unused space wasn't an option. You wouldn't believe what we found. I worked like you did including labeling each cable. His house is very old and still had a couple of cables from the 1930's. Because of their age, I wasn't comfortable bending them and possibly damaging the insulation. I had the rest of the cables out and i had my friend help guide those 2 old cables while I pulled the panel down. As soon as I had the panel off, my friend said "why am I wet?". I looked at the panel and saw it was wet in the back. We looked at the service cable and there was a tiny stream of water running out from the inside of the cable! We looked everywhere for a source of water. I thought maybe it was rain water coming through the meter box, but that was completely dry with no sign of corrosion or rust. The wall where the panel was mounted was also completely dry. I removed the service cable and there was a slit in the outer jacket. Whoever had upgraded the service to 100 amps hadn't enlarged the hole where the 60 amp cable came through and just forced the larger cable through. The lower part of the wall is stone which stays cool and can cause condensation. We slit the cable and the whole inside was wet. I removed the breakers from the panel and about half of them were damaged. Most of the bus bar was corroded. I asked him if he noticed any flickering lights, but he hadn't. That surprised me given the condition of everything. We made the hole larger before installing the new service cable so it wouldn't be damaged and develop the same problem.
Water got to it
Water universal solvent 👍
In my 30 years of being in business as an Electrical Contractor, the two brands I have had to replace the most hands down..... is the Square D / QO panels and main breakers. And the old Bryant Panels. Made by Westinghouse. That was a terrible product. I have never had a problem with Siemens Panels. I am glad to say, you do know what you are doing. You have very good electrical knowledge. And you do good work. With painted nails at that..... That I won't do...
Love that you took the time to retain panel breaker layout. I know of a mall that changed maintenance companies, and the old company removed all the breaker labels in every panel before they left.
It's t so much fun untangling someone's mess but such a good feeling when it's all made right. Good video and narration!
Keep posting these longer format videos there much more educational.
*they're
:p
Maybe she don’t have time to do longer videos all the time
That's the plan!
@@lextheelectrician Just wanna inform you that YT started suggesting your videos. You earned new sub.
@@orion310591RSDitto
I really like your explanations and these longer form videos. I’m about to start my apprenticeship at 29, transitioning from a career in IT. Was laid off and can’t find anything due to mass layoffs and the overall threat to job security from AI. I figured the trades are where it’s at for job security right now.
I will say, people always mentioned to me while growing up how hard the people are in the trades, but based off these comments I see tons of support and positivity from those very people. I’d only ask everyone to try giving your apprentices some of this positivity and encouragement so we can get rid of this stigma from the trade. Many “older” people like me who go into the trades are usually at a vulnerable point in their career, and it would go along way to know that I will have a journeyman who is willing to teach while being understanding and encouraging.
Thanks for your excellent content 😊
I find this tremendously fascinating! It's fun to watch someone do work that they're really good at. I looked for more of your longer vids but didn't find any. I hope you do more longer vids and get away from the shorts. Watching a job from start to finish is quite compelling but I know it takes a lot to shoot and edit it all. But thanks for this one and I'm looking forward to more longer ones in the future. Cheers.
This channel should be the TOP Recommended Video for all kids 17-25! This video is a great combination of tutorial, informational and motivational for young people. I bet this woman will make her 1st million by the time she is 30 and she will have NO College debt,
Thanks for giving me a small white pill today, its so rare to see mature people your age in the USA, I normally only see mature young adults from other countries.
Dammmm my 34 year old ass walks out lmao
This is how a professional electrician should always work , very efficient excellent technic. Beast mode 👍
Hate it when circuits aren't labeled or are improperly labeled. Takes so much more time in the long run to figure things out. When making up a panel I always make sure circuits are labeled. If some aren't, I pull out my trusty circuit tracer and get those circuits labeled.
Clean work for what you had to deal with and I'm sure I wouldn't be able to do any better. It's been a few years or so and did a panel change out to simply update the system, because the previous was just getting old and the home owner wanted it updated. But it was set in sheetrock and that was a joy keeping the sheetrock intact. Added so much more time.
Square D is the boss. That's all I use if possible. Never had issues with it. Did install bad breakers once or twice though. They were bad from the manufacturer and didn't know they were bad until a load was put on them. So easy fixes right there.
Wow Lexi, I'm totally blown away with your work and your know how! You are one sharp electrician. Great video, thank you.
Thanks for your vids. It's helpful that you talk about all the issues that pop up as you go along here with the initial issue.
Lexi very new to this channel as it came up in my feed. I wanted to point out a very dangerous situation that MANY electricians fail to realize until the damage has been done. At the 8:29 mark you are placing yourself in a dangerous situation. My brother who has been a certified electrician for 30 years made his typical safety bad decisions which cost him his left eye. Seeing your face near those lines without eye protection is cringe mode. My brother is always preaching the safety side now because he made the mistake of not wearing eye protection. Just trying to keep you safe and with both eyes in tact!
I'm going to check the tightness of all my panel connections today! I installed it 20 years ago so its a good time.
As an HVAC journeyman and instructor I applaud you. I have taught a few young women who are now doing wonderfully in the tech world. You on the other hand have influenced you women to join the the tech world. Again I applaud you for showing young women that they too can have a well paying and rewarding career in keeping the world we have created running. We need more women like you to lead the way.
Educational and somehow therapeutic. Thank you!
Not sure how long you’ve been an electrician….but have you considered teaching? Like at HS Tech/shop if they still exist or a trades college? Your presentation style is clear, concise and confident. You call it as you’re doing it and would be a great teacher of your trade profession, IMO. GREAT JOB.
I don't usually bother pulling out breakers or loosening terminals when I do panel changes. I just cut everything off as close to the termination as possible. Not the feeder if I can help it, but sometimes it's faster to cut them, rather than fight stuck terminals. In a 40 circuit panel, that really has more than 40 circuits in it, it saves a ton of time. Great work though, you cleaned it up real nice.
I’ve seen this same issue with homeline and Eaton “br” panels. I personally like how “qo” and “ch” breakers attach to the bus bar better.
Just a small suggestion. I work in the Networking and I deal w cables often and everything needs to be labeled and documented. I use the Brady M210 label maker. It really nice and you can have it so it writes the lable longway on the cable instead of around it. It's the best hundred box i've ever spent and it saves me a ton of time.
about 45 years ago, i joined my father's construction business, then later took the company over. As I learned the trade from electricians, i became a big fan of Square D and today, if i have a panel replacement to do, I will go for Square D if I can get it. Out here in the boondocks, suppliers don't always have a wide selection, so you take what is available in the moment, unless you are able to make the drive to the big city. Great work, surprising that NY doesn't have more stringent and up to date code requirements (some of which, frankly, i think are way way overkill).
Master Electrician in RI here. Great to see smart women in the trade. Good for you! I don't miss that residential stuff one bit though!
Lexi, good luck to you on YT! Liked/subbed. It's great to see more women in the trades - especially electrical.
Thanks for the sub! Working on engaging more here it’s just a lot of work 😂
Excellent video ! You obviously take pride in your work. We need more young people in the trades !
I love watching you and seeing how you do things. I would say great job. I learned a lot just by watching. Thanks for posting
I did panels for most of my short career working for an electrician. I don't know why but I loved doing them. Nice work and brings me back
Nice job Lexi! Square D is my goto. I think they make the best breakers. All the best!
Nice to see somebody working and knowing what todo. Great job.
Got a recommendation for your video after watching another electrician's channel, so you're doing something right for the YT algorithm. Nice, informative but concise video, +1 sub.
As an aside, I moved into the electrical trade after a fairly decent amount of time working as a 911 paramedic: I would highly encourage you to wear your seat belt. I know everyone has a story of a best friend's brother's aunt's first cousin who had a wreck and swears that if they'd have been wearing their seat belt, they'd have died, and while that can be the case, it's unbelievably rare (I can only think of one example in many hundreds, maybe thousands, of vehicle crashes I worked, never mind the actual data on seat belts). I have worked a number of fatalities that probably would not have been fatalities if the driver/passenger had their belt on correctly.
Anyway, seat belt crusade over; great content, please keep it coming!
I would love to see this through a helmet camera or head cam. It’s hard to see how skilled you are from a distance. YOUR Amazing❤❤❤
I am watching you on FoxNews as we speak and I see my two daughters in you. Great story and channel. Subbed and sharing, and thank you
As a master electrician and ICC inspector (34years). Great job. FYI you stated you labeled the breakers, mention to viewers that the directory filled out is code. Because most don't know thar. Also your old panel had a mix of brands, Siemens and Eaton, which is a violation and probably a patial cause of the issue. As for Square D. I have not seen homeline cause that. Siemens, I have seen so many. FYI bushings are required on any fitting 1" or larger.. Again, Great job
Looks super nice, I like that you managed to get them pretty clean even after all the obstacles that you had to deal with. I only had issues with Square D one time but a lot of houses around here use the old federal pacific. the red ones, the worst in the world. Good Job
Great job all around ! You scared me not wearing safety glasses with the ends of the wires so close to your eyes. But hey like I said great job !
Love the work you do Lexi! I've never had to deal with that kind of mess but I've moved into apartments and a shared house with some of the outlets getting warm with barely any wattage going through and found loose wires, and in one apartment the outlets were cheap quality and plugs would literally fall out.
I've replaced bad breakers but nothing that had burned, they were just older and would trip at not even half their rated amperage.
Lexi, Amazing job of rewiring such a Nightmare panel. I recently wired Both a 200 Amp and a 100 Amp panel and a 100 Amp sub panel including the main underground wiring through electrical conduits into the panel. Excellent job , you can wire my House any time. Did I mention Excellent job?!! Square D system is so nice, I enjoy them.
Beautiful to watch. Please release more videos like this. Its great to see work done well, why it failed etc
Beautiful job. I miss doing that kind of work. I have never been a fan of eaton breakers.
wow that looked like a lot of work! I have watched videos about IT workers doing cable management on network racks. and it kind of reminded me of that. Great job! 😀
Eaton/Cutler Hammer is my brand of choice for Panels. The root cause for most of these issues are air gaps between the breaker where its makes contact with the buss bar. Actually any part that is not making a good connection will create excessive heat and cause problems. Great job done here! Keep up the good work!
You are a beast at this! so cool hearing you explain as you go.
Thank you so much for sharing. I am always impressed when I watch your videos.
Nice, neat job!. You might find preprinted adhesive wire labels (they come in books and also plastic dispensers) to be a time saver over hand-writing each circuit number on tape.
Most of the residential panels I open up and look in. Don't even look that good so the fact that you had one damn near blow up on you and you still made it Look that good. It says a lot. I can only imagine what your panels look like when you actually have long enough wire and enough time to sit there and make it look neat. Well done! You took a shit sandwich and you made it look like a Big Mac 👏👏👏👏
Love Square D. I use their QO panel and breakers and have used their Homeline panels too. You did a great job!
0:07 I then proceeded to turn to my peer and say "You need to go change this panel immediately" and then they looked at their subordinate and said....
🤣 had flashbacks of military life, everyone telling someone else to do the work.
As an aviation mechanic, if you secured all the wires so they can't vibrate and rub, that panel would fly!!! Great work!!
Well you Young Lady have again demonstrated that there is a great need for Young Ladies to enter the electrician trades. You have shown exactly what everyone should remember The 5 P's of doing a perfect job. Nicely done.
Votech, 1973, 74 & 75 in Afton Okla. I have a few years on you. I excelled in the main panel, so it was always mine. I retired in March this year at 67 years old. Generally, there is a reason that the old panel failed. In all my years I made it a priority to find that reason before repairing the damage. It never just happens. It could have been just a poor-quality panel. Federal Pacific made some cheap junk, this does not look like Federal Pacific. I suspect that this panel had aluminum bus. If possible, it is best to get tin plated copper bus. Aluminum is too soft. With heavy current loaded breakers that cause the pinch connection on the back of the breaker to get warm. The installer needs to take notice as they install each breaker. How tight is the pinch connection as the breaker is snaped into place. The panels being produced today are not as good as the panels built in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Here are my final thoughts for all you learning electricians. Every electrical connection in this panel needs to be checked "To be tight". several times before you put the cover back on the panel. I would recommend that you get in a habit to mark the head of the screws with a felt tip marker. Also pull on the wire and do not over tighten them. Panels should have every connection checked every three to five years. This check can be done without turning the power off. Most loose connections can be seen by noticing a discolored wire or screw. The pinch connection on the back of each breaker is more difficult to check. However, this is where a thermal infrared camera finds the bad pinch connections without taking the cover off of the panel. I graduated from Votech in 1975, I decided to join the Navy as a way to further my training. I served on the USS Ranger, aircraft carrier for the next five years as an Electrician. After getting out I spent the next twenty years in field service for Westinghouse. The last twenty years I worked power plants and worked for a major utility company, Designer Transmision Distribution, Substations Protection and Control Engineering.
May I offer final words of "Fifty Years of Wisdom". Never trust anyone to turn power off on a panel you are going to work on. Know your test equipment. Never loan it to anyone. Always test it on a known "LIVE CIRCUIT" before checking the circuit you are about to work on. If you need to leave for a short time, always re-test upon returning.
She does such a great job, keep em coming
I love seeing all the experienced folk in the comments approving your work. pretty wholesome to me haha
Greetings Lexi I am a native New Yorker of Puerto Rican parents , I have dual master electrician licenses; Puerto Rico 37 years / Allentown 20 years
I am impressed by your brave heart and electrical acumen . I am also an ordained Christian Chaplain and as such I send you my blessing for a long , safe and prosperous career . I hmet a female master electrician whose husband was her apprentice; she was an extraordinary electrical professional , as are you !
A very well made, enjoyable, and informative video. Great to see a woman in the trade! Liked and subbed!
She's Beautiful smart....and a Great Electrician.... I feel some kind of way because I was never trained like her. Thanks Sis ❤
I'm from Chicago and we are big in Sq D products, never any issues like that. Sq D was based in Chicago until Schneider bought them out. Great job on that replacement.
Square D- notorious for aluminum buss bar failures- I,ve lost 2 in the same location. They last about 4 to 12 months. Finally switched to copper buss bars. The Aluminum models are starting to be quietly discontinued one by one as to not arise a recall.
Looks good; true professional!
Great job. I may have missed you answering the question of what caused panel failure with the DP breaker??? Again great work
I don't know if you'll ever see this. But for straightening wires, you can build a tool for a few bucks that works amazingly well if you get the placements right. Get a 1" or 1.5" putty knife and 3 plastic/nylon drawer rollers, a few screws, washers, and nuts. You'll want flat rollers not crowned. Align them on the putty knife where 2 are pretty much in line and parallel with the long edge of the knife, and the middle one is offset where the outer edge/circumference of the middle roller crosses the line of the edges of the other 2. Drill holes and screw the rollers onto the putty knife. Now you have a tool with a handle you can drag down a wire quickly and easily and it will straighten them out beautifully if you got the pressure right from the placement of the rollers. Rollers too close puts too much pressure on the wire and will curl it. Too far and loose and it won't change it much. Save your fingers.
Old school Square D QO are the gold standard imo, but their Homeline stuff is just as trash as anything else. I'll never understand why that garbage exists. Saving 50 bucks on a panel for something like a $500k house makes absolutely no sense. It doesn't even make sense for a $10k detached garage or out building in the long run. Panel and breakers are definitely the wrong place to be cheap when it comes to the electrical. Actually, not much of anything is the right place to be cheap when it comes to electrical. Maybe the wall plates, and that's the place most people will spend extra because they can see it.
You ever run into scenarios where someone over does it with ground wires?
Such as: when the breaker panel was replace at a house i used to rent, the installer had put a junction box in the attic to then run EMT out the attic and to the panel outside. This being metal conduit it was grounded to the panel which itself was grounded to the water pipes and Earth ground as per code.
The installer had put a bus bar in the junction box, then ran 14 gauge ground wires for every circuit going through the EMT (about 40 circuits (THHN of Hot + Neutral + Ground)) to the point they were struggling to pull it through and even some how managed to tear the insulation on one of the hot wires which shorted to ground and popped the breaker it was connected to.
I spoke with the installer and informed them that NEC code didn't call for that many ground wires in a metal conduit and it needed only the conduit plus one or two additional ground wires for good measure, because the junction box + EMT + panel served as a conductor to ground as well.
installer opposed it in every way shape and form saying that can't possibly be code and that every circuit needed it's on ground line to the panel.
what are your thoughts on this?
Worked in Upstate New York a few times did two Greenhouses, strip mall clothing store and condo project. Worked for other people since I don't hold any electrical licenses. Seen alot of bad work practices I would not repeat myself. Workers didn't seem to care much about quality of work. They cut the plastic switch and receptacle boxes that were sticking out of the drywall after finish flush with the wall instead of removing the box and putting an old work or reinstalling it. They also said they didn't have to remark the neutral (black) on a switch leg because it's not required.
Just alot of dumb shit that I had to deal with.
I love seeing videos of a hard working intelligent beautiful woman show other woman they can go out a learn a trade and can independent and live there life on there terms.
Great video Lexi!!!
The only squareD I have ever used was SquareD busbar trunking wich I installed in a crisp making factory and I found the squareD busbar an excellent product easy to install and the components were large and robust so yes I think squareD is an excellent product
Nice job Ms. Lexi.. I’ve ONLY used Square ‘D’ for last 35+ years..
Eaton sucks as a manager of I/E in a chemical plant I would hire you in a minute
. Great work dont ever short cut any thing I have over 45 years in the trade you skill level is over the top compared to the standard electrician. Be safe and respect the energy
Did a job in a small apartment. The apartment came with a 50amp, through the wall, heat pump unit. At some point it broke down, then; either because the land lady was too cheap, or the tenants a bit irresponsible about letting the land lady know about it, they used portable electric heaters in every room to heat the place.
Years of this later we come along because things are acting up. Every outlet was 20amp but they all had over heated wire and insulation. It was like bending stale burnt spaghetti. Lol. We had to get to non-heat damaged copper, then splice pigtails on. The electrical panel was also toast. Nearly every breaker was holding each other up rather then the bus bars.
You getting a call while you're trying to get your shit done, trying to explain to someone else how to get their shit done, that's my life haha very relatable
Outstanding professional work.
Your amazing I love you work I have Done electrical work for almost ten years And would love to work with you and learn more you are awesome
Nicely done! Keep killing it!
It looks great! So much better than what you had to start with. Good Job!!
Looks a lot better now after all the swapping of the burnt equipment.Nice work
Nice job. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Much appreciated.
This was a great video! "Not the neatest", lol! Lots neater than some I've seen.
I had this happen to me, lost a leg in the dryer, looked and panel was melting. Turns out we removed a tree in the yard next to the basement where the panel is and without the tree, the rainwater would go into the basement behind the panel. Had to put new panel in, and dig a little trench/regrade the dirt next to my house lol
Looked good by the end. Well done.
OMG My favorite TikTok electrician! So excited to watch this vid, ok back to the AC issue
Yeah that burnt smell takes a while to leave. Just left a job where a solar charger fried the equipment. I replaced connectors and all, and i could still smell the burnt smell after a couple days when i revisited.
Many times breaker failure and board damage is caused by someone using the wrong breaker for that panel. Eaton, GE, Square D Homeline and Siemens have a push in style breaker style very similar to one another, so people think it's okay to use what ever fits, going against the manufacturers specs for that specific panel. I see this much too often, and sometimes by other service techs that don't know better, just use whatevers cheapest or what they have with them. It's one hell of an expensive mistake!
just started my apprenticeship 2 months ago this is great info
Wish I was allowed to pull the meter where I live… gotta wait for the lineman to come out because they own that side of things.
No problem with Homeline. Thanks again
I had this issue with a 7 year old Siemens panel/breakers at my house. Had it replaced with all new and they used Square D arc fault. So far so good. They were arcing but did not smell. It burnt the bus bar they said.
Love your channel, please make more long videos like this one. Thanks !
As an Electrician of 10ish years I just wanted to say go back to school for an associates in Electrical engineering technology. Save all your money and go back save your body. An associates will allow you to design cads (office only work), commission hv equipment (non labor field work, testing) or project management. I understand your channel is more residential. If you ever worked large commercial construction or industrial in a large company you'd understand the roles of project manager or design engineer because you would see them onsite at times or communicate to them yourself. I'm trying to get enough money to do it myself. I know of a few people who have done it as well. Youll need atleast 2 years worth living expenses. school is 2 years at a community college.
In terms of money entry level designers make the same a journeyman and have a high pay ceiling of non physical work.
I speak to you in this way because I showed the same thirst for the job for years until my back gave out. In my area electricians go for 75K carded out. Designers go for 60-120K. All the money is in high-voltage equipment/ underground cable testing or cads. It's called being a technologist. Just thought I'd share because it seems your passionate about electrical work.
Some of those buss bars in certain brands are adjustable with screws and some are spring loaded. By the way you do beautiful work!
Other than having a wire nut in the panel and not in a raceway or 4 square above the panel I’m highly impressed.
Очень непривычно видеть девушку электрика, у нас в стране я ни разу не встречал девушку которая бы занималась монтажом или ремонтом электроустановок. И в принципе интересно посмотреть на работу, оборудование и инструмент электриков на другом континенте. Ты молодец, прими моё глубокое уважение за ту работу что ты делаешь.
Great job! Keep up the great work
An absolute true and young professional!
owner might not care about how neat it looks but trades peeps do, love the look of a neat load center or a gang of conduit or pipe turning a 90