I was a 25 year electrician for 25 years up until my stroke 2 years ago started at$7.50 an hour In Vermontdidn’t know why wire nuts were different colors ended up being one of the top electricians was told after my stroke I left big shoes to fill just a word of wisdom to up and comers your only as good as who you work wit your a team
I've worked on quite a few old ragwire houses and it always amazes me how little they cared for making things even _look_ nice, even if they're technically illegal. The phrase "if you're going to do something wrong, do it wrong the best and safest way you can," rings very true here. That panel was uuuugggglllyyy. Same with knob and tube setups. They just flung wires around all willy-nilly. The last knob and tube house I worked on had been remodeled 3 times and you could tell when by the type and style of NM cables used. It had the panel *_IN THE BATHROOM_* over top of the sink hugging the edge if a window. Pretty negligent stuff. Even back then, they knew water and electricity aren't friends but they did it anyways.
Houses didn't used to have finished basements. It's expensive to move the main panel in a house, and people like finishing basements in these old houses and added bathrooms, that's usually how the panel ends up in a bathroom.
Question as I am going to run into it on my farm in a few days. Meter and 200 amp disconnect on the pole. Does that mean any main panels behind it need the neutral/ground separated like the ones downstream from it? Also Meter > Disconnect > ATU > Main does the main and neutral need to be separated from the disconnect back in that situation? Co-Op can probably tell me but their engineers are... fun... to work as a homeowner with especially when it comes to generators yet they generally don't have any problems with me working on the ones running my transmitters go figure..
When I replaced my oven, I had to upgrade the wire from 10/3 to 8/3 since the oven spec was 40 amp. The miracle happened when doing the work, found a 14/2 that a mouse had eaten the jacket off. Talk about a fire in the making. I decided to put a work box (properly grounded) in the attic to replace the segment going down the wall to the basement where I could access the destination box. I really wanted to replace the entire line from panel to box but would have been a bit much. What do you all do to seal drill holes in floor and ceiling plates? I used insulation. Take care and thank you.
That's why armored cable is better in New York City They really like armored cable AKA BX cable Not too long ago you could only use BX cable But now they allow romex for One family home and 2 family homes sometimes 3 family homes after that only armored cable
@@jcaleca60 I am a huge fan of armor cable (mc) because of what happened. Also, if you have the opportunity to try 12/2 stranded mc, it’s sweet to work with, especially since many outlets have back wire devices and wago style lever nuts. Using stranded around a screw can be quite a challenge.
That example of the exposed wire that needed a wire nut, really need to trim back the exposed conductor first so that the wire nut will completely cover the conductor. What he did is a little better but still not sufficient. Maybe he is just demonstrating what is wrong and didn't intend the 'fix' as a direction but he should have said the proper way.
Give you some advice. take it for what it is worth. take off your tool pouch. pack them in a tool box. i am a sparky. been in the trade since 1978. over time that bag will shift your back. i now am going to a Chrioprator. Several Sparky,s over there years i known has had back issues. i keep my tools now in a tool box. took them off about 10 years ago. a few of my back disc,s now have degenerative. it is mild. just have to take it careful though. drink lots of water.
Let talk about those contractors who support trade schools and training but never provide. How do we report general contractors in a respectful way that will not jeopardize our future
"If the house is over 20 years old..." The question isn't so much, does the house meet current code, but did it meet code at the time it was built? Some of the changes are definitely needed to prevent fires, but most of them while good, are not critical.
The house I grew up in was built in 1971 and it had excellently-done wiring in it. Its only major electrical hassle was that its initial main panel failed. I wasn't yet born so I have no idea what really happened, but it was replaced with a good QO panel which is probably working just fine to this day.
I’d call an electrician to have this fixed - 😂. Life Question: when installing GFCI breakers, do you leave the pretty coiled neutral or do you shorten appropriately?
Ampacity and wire gauge are not directly correlated. There are other factors such as length-of-run/voltage drop that sometimes need considered, too. You can often go bigger, as long as the devices the wires connect to are rated for that gauge and type of conductor. Bigger conductor means less resistance which means less heat. If I were to wire a house, I'd wire all circuits with receptacles with 12-guage wire. Even on 15-amp circuits.
I think as an electrician my house is more out of code then most. I wouldn't say it's dangerous but that's cause I'm an electrician and I understand electricity. Definitely would need some things done if I were to sell it 😂😂
If a old house is like a old person DR. Phil would be very rich both with their crazy things that happen to them over time and even a few things against the law one never knows of until you dig in to it.
Been electrician 37 years see it all the time home's like this tell people they think you are trying to rip them off . Bern like that for 30 years lol 😆 you trying to.rip.me off rofl
@@ElectricProAcademy They work very poorly on wet or damp cables too, so if it has been exposed to wet conditions it can easily say it's dead when it's live. I only use them when fault finding. Never use them to prove dead, always use an approved voltage tester.
I was a 25 year electrician for 25 years up until my stroke 2 years ago started at$7.50 an hour In Vermontdidn’t know why wire nuts were different colors ended up being one of the top electricians was told after my stroke I left big shoes to fill just a word of wisdom to up and comers your only as good as who you work wit your a team
You should do a video on how you fix the problems in the "dungeon". Just did some wiring in my basement and wonder how close to perfection I came.
Lots of work Joel hope it all comes together for you.
I've worked on quite a few old ragwire houses and it always amazes me how little they cared for making things even _look_ nice, even if they're technically illegal. The phrase "if you're going to do something wrong, do it wrong the best and safest way you can," rings very true here. That panel was uuuugggglllyyy. Same with knob and tube setups. They just flung wires around all willy-nilly.
The last knob and tube house I worked on had been remodeled 3 times and you could tell when by the type and style of NM cables used. It had the panel *_IN THE BATHROOM_* over top of the sink hugging the edge if a window. Pretty negligent stuff. Even back then, they knew water and electricity aren't friends but they did it anyways.
Yikes!!
Houses didn't used to have finished basements. It's expensive to move the main panel in a house, and people like finishing basements in these old houses and added bathrooms, that's usually how the panel ends up in a bathroom.
Question as I am going to run into it on my farm in a few days. Meter and 200 amp disconnect on the pole. Does that mean any main panels behind it need the neutral/ground separated like the ones downstream from it? Also Meter > Disconnect > ATU > Main does the main and neutral need to be separated from the disconnect back in that situation? Co-Op can probably tell me but their engineers are... fun... to work as a homeowner with especially when it comes to generators yet they generally don't have any problems with me working on the ones running my transmitters go figure..
When I replaced my oven, I had to upgrade the wire from 10/3 to 8/3 since the oven spec was 40 amp. The miracle happened when doing the work, found a 14/2 that a mouse had eaten the jacket off. Talk about a fire in the making. I decided to put a work box (properly grounded) in the attic to replace the segment going down the wall to the basement where I could access the destination box. I really wanted to replace the entire line from panel to box but would have been a bit much. What do you all do to seal drill holes in floor and ceiling plates? I used insulation. Take care and thank you.
@@ElectricProAcademy Steel wool "can" rust and disintegrate. Might think about "brass wool". Yes, it is a thing and available. Just a thought. Cheers!
Couldn't do 6/3 50 amp?
That's why armored cable is better in New York City They really like armored cable AKA BX cable Not too long ago you could only use BX cable But now they allow romex for One family home and 2 family homes sometimes 3 family homes after that only armored cable
@@jcaleca60 I am a huge fan of armor cable (mc) because of what happened. Also, if you have the opportunity to try 12/2 stranded mc, it’s sweet to work with, especially since many outlets have back wire devices and wago style lever nuts. Using stranded around a screw can be quite a challenge.
@@MrKen59 Can't a rat chew through armored cable? ;-)
That example of the exposed wire that needed a wire nut, really need to trim back the exposed conductor first so that the wire nut will completely cover the conductor. What he did is a little better but still not sufficient. Maybe he is just demonstrating what is wrong and didn't intend the 'fix' as a direction but he should have said the proper way.
I had actually even wondered that myself, but figured I must have been missing something. Glad to learn that I wasn't wrong for thinking that
Yes those are common, that for sure.
Fixing my son's new house. It too has many violations
Give you some advice. take it for what it is worth. take off your tool pouch. pack them in a tool box. i am a sparky. been in the trade since 1978. over time that bag will shift your back. i now am going to a Chrioprator. Several Sparky,s over there years i known has had back issues. i keep my tools now in a tool box. took them off about 10 years ago. a few of my back disc,s now have degenerative. it is mild. just have to take it careful though. drink lots of water.
Let talk about those contractors who support trade schools and training but never provide. How do we report general contractors in a respectful way that will not jeopardize our future
"If the house is over 20 years old..." The question isn't so much, does the house meet current code, but did it meet code at the time it was built? Some of the changes are definitely needed to prevent fires, but most of them while good, are not critical.
The house I grew up in was built in 1971 and it had excellently-done wiring in it. Its only major electrical hassle was that its initial main panel failed. I wasn't yet born so I have no idea what really happened, but it was replaced with a good QO panel which is probably working just fine to this day.
I’d call an electrician to have this fixed - 😂. Life Question: when installing GFCI breakers, do you leave the pretty coiled neutral or do you shorten appropriately?
😆
Definitely shorten that pigtail! Everything you can do to reduce resistance and ensure that faults are hitting the GFCI without interference.
Why is the wire size need to match with the breaker, we obviously don’t want to downsize but why can’t we upsize the wires for a specified breaker.
Ampacity and wire gauge are not directly correlated. There are other factors such as length-of-run/voltage drop that sometimes need considered, too.
You can often go bigger, as long as the devices the wires connect to are rated for that gauge and type of conductor. Bigger conductor means less resistance which means less heat. If I were to wire a house, I'd wire all circuits with receptacles with 12-guage wire. Even on 15-amp circuits.
Let's see should I get counseling from a qualified electrician counselor?
2:55 isn’t necessarily true. What about voltage drop?
@@ElectricProAcademy .... my moto is to do it right and there will be no voltage drop to worry about.
If a circuit is tripping ask him to share
didn't you install the electrical panel you where showing yourself?
@@ElectricProAcademy 1000amps!? very few people (you is the only one I can think of) needs that much lol. Have fun with that!
I think as an electrician my house is more out of code then most. I wouldn't say it's dangerous but that's cause I'm an electrician and I understand electricity. Definitely would need some things done if I were to sell it 😂😂
If a old house is like a old person DR. Phil would be very rich both with their crazy things that happen to them over time and even a few things against the law one never knows of until you dig in to it.
4:39 What does your wife think about your weird arm right here? :-D
You dint properly torque that Robertson screw
Been electrician 37 years see it all the time home's like this tell people they think you are trying to rip them off . Bern like that for 30 years lol 😆 you trying to.rip.me off rofl
Uhoh! Plaster and wire lath no thanks! Not fun!
🤣
Never trust those electrical testers
@@ElectricProAcademy They work very poorly on wet or damp cables too, so if it has been exposed to wet conditions it can easily say it's dead when it's live. I only use them when fault finding. Never use them to prove dead, always use an approved voltage tester.
can you wear gloves while filming videos to show little of awareness to the apprentice😵