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11:38
2
Q: What is good advice for introducing kids to home improvement?

DMooreI have kids. My oldest two have done a lot of framing with me, punched holes for electric, connected electric on dead circuits... But also I am very apprehensive in letting them use some tools - angle grinder, nail guns, torch, circular saw (they can use the miter) along with a few others are...

This comment got 4 up votes, why isn't this question closed?
This question appears to be off-topic because it is about teaching children. — Niall C. Aug 29 at 14:03
Hmm... Apparently I reviewed it, and voted to leave it open... That doesn't sound like me.
12:27
@Tester101 get some coffee, that wiring is perfectly possible if there is an open neutral/hot (whichever the white wire is).
Your measurements are not possible. Make sure you're getting proper contact with your probes, and/or check your meter. If black is 120V to ground and 0V to White, then white should also be 120V to ground. Measuring 0V means both conductors are at the same potential. It's not possible for the white conductor to be at the same potential as the black conductor, and the grounding conductor at the same time. — Tester101 2 mins ago
Alu wiring could have worked lose, partial breaker trip, disconnected wiring when removing the heater, etc.
If it's 240V the white is ungrounded. I guess a broken conductor would cause those readings.
Are you assuming white is neutral or a second hot?
Ungrounded (hot). He didn't mention another conductor, and he said it's 240V. But I'm not sure how it worked at all with an open hot.
If it's a 120/240V heater, it would likely be 2 120V elements. So if one leg dropped, the other element would still heat.
depends on how it got disconnected, and only running half the heater like would require a neutral or they ran current over the ground.
Unless the ungrounded conductor broke, and shorted to ground. In that case the 240V heater would become a 120V heater.
12:38
regardless of how, I still hate aluminum wiring for homes.
True, if there is no third conductor, this is a true 240V heater.
@BMitch Your service entrance cable is likely aluminium.
/me gets a chainsaw, this problem can be easily solved. brb.
we need a new "on hold" reason: Pics or GTFO
13:28
In the first diagram, a break in the white disables the heater. In the second, it puts both elements in a 240V circuit.
@Tester101 I suspect a break in the white for this second diagram would have little effect on the heater since the neutral is only handling the imbalance and both elements should be fairly balanced (unless they are on separate thermostats in which case you only get heat when both elements are turned on).
@BMitch If the white breaks in the second, current flows through red, through element 1, through element 2 and back through black (240V). When white is intact, current flows through red, through element 1, and back through white (120V).
@Tester101 If both elements are on, the current going over the neutral should be near 0.
And if only one element is on, then you get nothing when the neutral breaks.
The thermostat switch is likely tied to both elements, they are either both on, or both off.
Notice the tie in the diagram (DPST)
You're diagrams are too cool for me
13:42
@Tester101 Wouldn't this put both elements in their own (hot-wise) 120v circuit since voltage drawn at any point is this 120
@Jason Yes, if the neutral is connected.
If the neutral is broken (open) both elements are part of a single 240V circuit.
hmm
damn, can't do ascii art in chat
resistor logic would still keep each element ~120v so it should still work, not burn out
right?
@Jason exactly, two loads in a series cause the voltage to drop to 120 at each resistor
13:46
But what happens to current?
Current is only impacted by parallel loads
Take your second diagram, replace the two resistors with 120v lightbulbs, and put a lightbulb on in the middle of the neutral circuit, the neutral bulb won't light up and the other two will shine normally.
I'm thinking that if the two elements are perfectly matched, the broken neutral is irrelevant. The neutral shouldn't be carrying any current after the bridge between the two elements.
@BMitch, assume all the light bulbs are the same wattage/ resistance and they have a start value (basically not LED) then yes
@BMitch VTC, Exact Duplicate.
1
Q: Will the second light in this circuit light up?

Tester101When talking about neutral faults in this answer, I (incorrectly) said that a neutral fault could lead to a shock hazard. It was pointed out in the comments that I was dead wrong, and that the scenario that I presented was incorrect. I looked at the problem for a bit, but just couldn't wrap my...

@ChrisCudmore I just wanted to give @Tester101 another excuse to play with lightbulbs and sample wiring layouts. :)
13:52
I'm not connecting two 120V lamps to a 240V circuit.
@Tester101 you already do it today, every light in your house is on half of a 240 circuit.
Isolated neutrals though
@BMitch me and you are sharing a 240v circuit because we use the same earth to ground stuff
Curse you Ohms, and your laws!
We need to stop calling Natural Laws "Laws". We should call them Facts instead.
Ohms Facts. Kirchoff's Loop Fact.
The Second Fact of Thermodynamics
@BMitch Sure you can. When you do a multiline message, there's a "fixed font" button on the right
@NiallC. grr, I had tried to paste with backtick around the first and last line. Didn't look for the new buttons.
^-- mod hammer
14:26
Wait...
There is a way to deliver, distribute and dispense controlled substances by means of the internet, that is in a manner authorized by law?
It is not possible to distribute any physical object by means of the internet. It violates certain natural facts.
that seems a little excessive just for a carjacking
Love the dismount.
@Tester101 I used to work for a pharmacy, they joked that they were simply legalized drug dealers.
@Tester101 sure, I get prescriptions by online ordering through my drug benefits plan all the time
14:31
So what is TOR used for? Does it have any legitimate uses? Or is it just kidporn and warez?
@Aaron In the US? Really?
@Aaron But not narcotics or other scheduled drugs.
Do you have to sign for the package?
How do they verify that you got the drugs?
welll... are we talking about different schedules of medications?
Because there may be different things allowed for different schedules
I'm trying to think what the strongest thing I've gotten via mail is
Yeah. Each drug is on a schedule, which has different rules governing it.
14:36
It might just be tricor - for cholesterol - which is a controlled medication, i.e, you do need a prescription to get it, but it's not a ""narctoic""
I only know one thing about drugs
South Park has taught me much
@BMitch Did I do this the right way round?
Tag synonyms always confuse me.
Sounds like a BDSM tag
@Jason It taught me how to recognise the Loch Ness Monster.
14:48
3 fiddy
BDSM???
@Tester101 NSFW extended version
@Tester101 posts tagged as grounding will be changed to grounding-and-bonding, is that the direction you were looking for?
When the "Under the Dome" trailers came out, all I could think was "Simpsons did it!"
14:51
@BMitch Yes.
I posted the new South Park game trailer last week
@BMitch I think that's backwards. We want [grounding] to be the default.
Most people won't recognize grounding and bonding as an appropriate tag.
"Can I steal a ground from another circuit" -- Grounding is appropriate. G&B isn't.
By the way, Can I steal a ground from another circuit?
0
Q: Electric ground from another circuit

robert blockI have a circuit that has a couple outlets and they used 2 wire no grounds. Can I replaced the wire with 3 wire for the outlets and add new 3 prong outlets. It is a long difficut way back to my panel ground bar to run a ground wire for the two wire power source. I have another 240 circiut used fo...

Tag synonyms may need to be reviewed. -> , -> , but ->
15:05
@Tester101 you're reversing things again, ->
At the column headers on diy.stackexchange.com/tags/synonyms they put a little arrow for you.
Yes. Safety is master, dangerous is synonym.
No wonder my loops never work, I'm always flipping the arrow.
i = 0; i >= 10; i++
My brain is in the today
Not sure about bathtub and bath, but I seem to have proposed it...
Otherwise buying a house with 1 1/2 bath could be really bad.
That's ok, I had the database go down on me last night (actually deadlock) and the dba's are blaming me for submitting queries that aren't streamlined for concurrency.
all the inserts are single rows that aren't dependent on any other row (to the best of my knowledge, most of this is an app who's code I have no control over)
what is a 3/4 bath? a shower, toilet, and sink, but no bathtub?
I think that's still a full bath
3/4 bath would be a sink, toilet, and a broken shower/tub.
Or maybe a toilet and a tub?
Or a bathroom with one of these...
@Aaron Yeah, 3/4 means standing shower without tub
15:18
^ Sinlet, or toink?
@Tester101 Shink
That just sounds like you have a speech impediment.
and toink doesn't?
not sure if this would be a good question for DIY, maybe you guys can help me out: I have a wooden cart on wheels that I would like to add some sort of "temporary legs" to make it stationary and add stability. Any idea if there is a solution out there already for something like this?
The best way I can describe what I'm looking for is the drop legs that trailers sometimes have: etrailer.com/trailer-jack/Fulton/FSJL80300.html
15:24
how big is the cart?
not too big, let me go measure
roughly 3 feet long, 3 feet high, and 15" wide
Take a picture!
ok brb!
I'd say the convention seems to be having a permanent leg and a drop wheel but I've seen drop legs before too, it definitely helps clearance issues to have the leg more removable.
Or just a locking wheel
the pictures will probably illustrate the problem better
15:28
Random Dev question, anybody use Atlassian Bamboo before?
Okay, here's the cart: imgur.com/a/gC41d
(Which is really just two cabinets affixed together and wheels on the bottom)
That's a silkscreen press on top, which makes it very top heavy. The wheels on it are very small, hence the need for some legs to add stability. I hesitate to put bigger wheels on it, that would probably make it too high off the ground
Why not just use locking casters?
that's what is on it now, the issue is the top-heavyness
it tips to the side
Dude, you need outriggers
haha, yup. I was thinking of just making 4 drop legs like the trailer kind, easy enough to make
15:34
But if you put them at the "wheelbase" you'll still have tip issues
you need to make a wider stance
Is a different cart and option?
A different cart is an option, but it would be easier for me to weld together some outriggers than replace the cart
....plus it would be an excuse for me to have a welding project :)
well, if you can weld well I've got an idea
Going out at an angle like Jason shows, will give you more stability than going straight down.
@Jason I'd love to hear it!
15:37
mainly because I can't find it online
1 sec, let me draw up some crude pictures
I'll go measure just how far out we could make these struts
@Jason Just don't use it in the airport washroom.
@Jason Yes, I like crude pictures. Please do.
9" from the side of the cart, which would add 18" total to the base width of the cart
That would be slick. How would it lock in place?
15:43
You'd need a locking hinge or pins
ah
Maybe something like a leaf hinge
Right. I'll poke around and see what I can find. Thanks for the help everyone, and the crude drawings :)
Just doing my civic duty
 
1 hour later…
16:52
diy mods: do you want me to post this on meta.diy?
3
Q: Announcement: new users can now post images

Niall C.Since the beginning of Stack Exchange, new users—those with less than 10 rep—have not been allowed to add images to their posts. Since this can be a deterrent for them, other users on several sites, including here on Gardening & Landscaping have asked for this restriction to be removed. Earlier t...

Sure. Thanks @NiallC.
"Use of Vaccines without proper birth control can lead to explosive population growth causing severe environmental degradation, mass death due to famine and heightened incidents of armed conflict due to limited resources"
"Do not take Vaccines if you've chosen to die from the mumps"
 
1 hour later…
18:50
@Tester101 There is no vaccine for MUMPS, sadly it's still alive and well in the wild...
nerd
Shots fired at the Capitol
MSNBC reporter just said "for all intensive purposes"
Welcome to Project Update Thursday
YaY!
I actually did something.
I installed bifold closet doors. It's not much, but it's something.
@ChrisCudmore Hey I need to do this!
My closet is nowhere near wide enough, half of it being blocked by a sliding door makes for a pain in the arse
19:03
I put 2 24" in a 48" closet. The only fiddly bit is getting them adjusted so they line up right.
@ChrisCudmore did you do the ones that hinge to the wall for support or hang on the rail
@ChrisCudmore mine's maybe a bit larger than this, I was pondering just adding another rail and doing 3 sliding doors at 1/3rd of the closet opening blocked at a time to avoid using the space in front of the closet for folding doors to stick out, but I think I'd just be better off doing a two bifold doors hinged to the wall
@ChrisCudmore did you buy the doors individually or did they come hinged together?
3 pins on each door. One bracket into the jamb and floor at the bottom, The jamb upper bracket is on a rail, and tightened. The moving bracket is a plastic slider with springs.
I bought 2 24" bifolds, each of which was 2 x12" 6 panel , hinged together.
@ChrisCudmore ahh so you hinged it to the top and bottom at the jamb as opposed to hinging it to the side? So the weight is supported by a pin to the floor rather than hanging like a door on the side of the jamb?
@JimmyHoffa Yes. All the weight is on that one pin. The upper fixed bracket just holds it vertical.
@ChrisCudmore Right. I didn't think about doing it that way, I've only ever seen them hinged to the side of the jamb for support which worked well or hanging on the rail above which is bloody horrible over time
19:08
I think hanging on the rail is a slider.
@ChrisCudmore how did that work with carpet below, was the jamb on the bottom already solidly over the carpet? Right now the bottom of mine just has a metal rail which actually barely pushes down on the carpet rather than being done right with the carpet ending at the jamb
@ChrisCudmore I've seen bifolds like this, they were horrible because the bottom floats and shit get's bent as well as the top rail bending from the weight
I don't have a scrap of carpet in my house.
@ChrisCudmore ah, that makese it easier..
19:10
Carpet seems to me to be a big dirt magnet.
At least I can take a rug outside and beat it.
All our furniture is either leather or wood.
Which really came in handy when the boys didn't yet have full bladder control.
Yeah, I've had wood and carpet in different places I've rented, I always used to like wood more but after the last place I kind of prefer carpet. Either way we'll always have carpet because my wife's feet get cold
@ChrisCudmore This is why we use rugs regardless of the carpet
Problem solved.
@ChrisCudmore Your wife must be a pushover if it's that simple ;P
My wife grew up outside of Warsaw during Solidarnosc. She's tough, and used to hardship.
My countertops finally arrived, I installed the sink, faucet, dishwasher, stove, and some cabinet doors. It was a productive weekend.
Nothing else since the weekend, work has been a bit crazy.
19:16
It looks like I'll be working outside this weekend, cleaning up the gardens etc.
OoH! Authentic cardboard flooring. Nice!
Are those custom or off the shelf cupboards?
Semi custom cabinets, order from the factory from a limited selection.
@BMitch Wise use of boxes, we always have amazon boxes about too... this gives good ideas
Gotta protect the floor while moving around appliances.
@BMitch I have some nice 70's linoleum in the kitchen right now...couldn't care less... not sure what to replace it with in time. Probably vinyl tile.
If I went completely custom, I could have kept the same cabinet layout from my original kitchen, not having to move any utilities. Semi custom gives you a lot more choices than the off the shelf cabinets, that's what the kitchen people at big orange/blue are ordering from.
@JimmyHoffa I had adhesive tile on top of 70's linoleum, and my place was built in the 80's.
19:29
@BMitch So most of the cabinets are the same as the off-the-shelf, but you had a couple special pieces made?
@BMitch You're suggesting I should remove the linoleum before putting the tile down? No... surely when you just leave the original garbage there it just enhances the look and feel of the new garbage
@ChrisCudmore sit down with a kitchen designer in one of the big box stores, they are ordering from a catalog from a regional manufacturer. Everything is delivered, nothing bought off the store shelves.
@JimmyHoffa I think the layers add an extra spring to your step. :)
These are the off the shelf cabinets: homedepot.com/b/webapp/catalog/servlet/…
I'm more of a blue person. Except for tools. Orange has a better tool section.
Big orange worked with these guys for my order, big blue has a similar arrangement to the same company but the cabinets have a different name: woodmarkcabinetry.com
@ChrisCudmore I like blue, but orange is a 3 minute drive (could even walk it). Nearest blue is a 30-40 min drive not counting traffic.
I've got a half dozen oranges closer to me than the nearest blue.
@BMitch Much of my cabinets are in quite good shape for their age, the one thing I need to do is get all the drawers on rails or something but I don't even know how I can do that... not all the drawers have boards on the sides to attach a rail to
19:38
@JimmyHoffa My rails attach under the drawer.
@BMitch Do they support the drawer well when fully extended?
Yup
What do they mount to? just the lip the drawer runs into and the back wall?
it's open cabinet beneath many of my drawers
19:39
Distance Wise, Orange and Blue are a wash.
@JimmyHoffa back and front of cabinet, bottom/side of drawers.
@BMitch Interesting, I thought they had to be mounted against something laterally, didn't figure there were ones you could just mount at the ends of the rail..
Suppose I could get some of those and that would be easy to install
My next project idea that I'm actually thinking about doing is unsafe and downright stupid. Anybody think you could cut a tree down with a circular saw just fine?
@JimmyHoffa I did it last week just fine
It was about 4"
@Jason Oh good. I figure I'll save myself the money on the tree removal people and just spend the money on something I need anyway: For the price of tree removal (not root), I should be able to get a nice circular saw and a ladder, both of which are things I need. This tree is considerably thicker than 4"...
How thick?
19:46
I notched one side and went at it from the back
You've got at best 3" of blade exposed on a circular.
"Tree is wood"
it goes just a couple feet over my roof height, figure I'll get up there and chop the top 2-3' off, then 4-5' below that is reachable through the second floor window (it's right up against the house, thus why I'm removing it), and then i can chop down the next chunks from the ground.
Do you have a reciprocating saw? They work great for limbing.
19:48
drawer bottom, green releases at front of drawer to unhook from slides
@ChrisCudmore Nah, and if 3" at best, then the circular is not going to work, though technically that gives me 6" but the tree's a solid bit larger... Though this is an opportunity to spend money on tools instead of a service, so maybe I'll think about a reciprocating saw..
slides extend all the way out
@BMitch and those are mounted at the front lip and against the back; not against the interior sides?
this one attaches to back + side of cabinet door
Ahh cool. The mounting part was what I was concerned about, that would be easy
19:49
snazzy for 1-2 time use
my other drawer attached to bottom lip of opening and back
(that's all my image spamming)
@BMitch thanks, gave me ideas about what to look for. All I saw so far were side-mount, now I know there are other mounting options.
going off the "Simpsons did it!"
"Dell did it!"
@BMitch my image spamming has just begone
Starts and ends!
As for PUT, I filled the cedar garden box with dirt
and then the sides gave way
so it's being held together with a ratcheting strap
20:02
@BMitch Good idea, I can just buy this crap on amazon. Didn't think about that because I figure I should look at it and hold it, but at the end I just need to make sure I buy the one with the right measurements
@BMitch Surprisingly, a Google Image Search on those words did not return anything nasty.
@JimmyHoffa I'm just picking amazon because SE makes money when you buy stuff from their linked post, shameless plug.
@BMitch Either way, no reason I shouldn't buy widgets and doodads for my house online. Some things you want to measure and verify but at the end of the day if it lists the measurements online and they're what you need, I'll get a much better selection than getting lost in the big box joint
I frequently buy from big box stores because home improvement projects frequently need return trips. I've never done a plumbing project that didn't require at least 3 trips.
But some things you have to go online to get the selection.
Yeah, being able to return stuff is good. I have a small hand full of widgets already gathered that need to go back...
20:14
Jezus dumbass! THIS IS NOT SOCIAL SECURITY! It's our Tech Support line.
Should have told him Social Security is shut down.
@ChrisCudmore Maybe he knows that and that's why he called you
@ChrisCudmore I keep having people trying to make appointments for something like an MRI when the call me, happen to be one digit off.
Last place I would always get calls from people asking if their prescriptions were ready yet...
I'm sooo tempted to schedule everyone for a 5am appointment.
I'd like to be a smartass, but I just can't do it. These people are probably trying to feed their kids.
20:21
That's why I can't do it either, honest mistakes, unlike many of the spammers that I mod hammer.
I only have an extension here, no direct line.
Spam on personal line get's 5 am appointments though
or:
Our do not call list works pretty well. I only get Pakistani Duct Cleaners and "Microsoft" tech support telling me my computer's sending out messages.
In other words, illegal calls.
Just switched to a new VOIP service, they have a blacklist that I can append as these calls come in. One junk call and smack, no soup for you.
I bitched at my newspaper because the called me 10 times in a week to get me to upgrade to daily from my Saturday only. They never called me back, and I got 13 weeks free.
There's something about the reliability of POTS that I just can't give up.
Had a 3 day power outage during the floods. POTS still worked.
@ChrisCudmore Floods? You up north of Boulder?
20:30
Were you calling a lot of people? I guess during a power outage, I'm perfectly happy cleaning up around the house, reading a book, or taking a trip to somewhere that has power.
Toronto.
We had a month's rain in 3 hours last July.
@ChrisCudmore technically that's north of boulder...
@ChrisCudmore More or less same thing here few weeks ago
I suppose so...
Don't tell me where you live. The location of @JimmyHoffa must be kept secret.
2
20:57
Thanks for joining us for this week's PUT

Project Update Thursday - 2013/10/03

2 hours ago, 1 hour 58 minutes total – 134 messages, 4 users, 2 stars

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