Home Improvement

BMitch

12:17

@Tester101 We've managed to guess what the real question is, but from the original post, it's not clear. We don't have details on the state of the appliances in the rest of the home to give an answer beyond "don't do this" and no photo to describe what the procedure would be. And the user hasn't returned to the site since asking the question, so we're unlikely to get any follow up. If they return to clarify it, we can always reopen.

I personally just did a down vote instead of a binding close vote, but I see the logic in closing it.

Tester101

12:36

@RegDwighт "Inside corner".

@BMitch Just doesn't seem like a bad question to me. And it's something home buyers might run into.

BMitch

@Tester101 The question, if he asked it, was probably good. The post itself wasn't. That's why I'd consider reopening if they came back to improve the question.

Tester101

@BMitch I've seen much worse. It's clear enough from the question body what (s)he wants to do.

BMitch

13:07

@Tester101 I think the better question would have been "how do I test the appliances during a home inspection when the utilities have been disconnected?" Their goal wasn't to reconnect the gas, it was to test the appliances. There's nothing saying that any of us couldn't ask that question now (but not me, I'm busy enough).

The Evil Greebo

13:34

hola

lsiunsuex

@TheEvilGreebo nice

The Evil Greebo

to get to the first pic from the 2nd took 10 hours on sat and another hour on sun

lsiunsuex

@TheEvilGreebo whats the gap in the drywall on the wall to the left?

The Evil Greebo

a gap

a filled gap now :)

lsiunsuex

nice

whats going on the rest of the walls - paint ?

wallpaper ?

The Evil Greebo

14:03

paint

we'll be painting to match the accent tiles - a darker blue accent wall and then greys on the others

The Evil Greebo

14:29

i am wiped out today

had a miserable night last night - should never eat indian food after 7pm

kept up half the night w/ acid reflux

The Evil Greebo

15:30

Wake up!

wax eagle

@TheEvilGreebo slapping yourself can be really effective

The Evil Greebo

I wasn't talking about me

wax eagle

@TheEvilGreebo slapping someone else is even more effective

The Evil Greebo

*slap @waxeagle *

Hmm, you're right, I do feel better! :D

wax eagle

@TheEvilGreebo :) see how that works...also ow.

The Evil Greebo

15:44

hehe

lsiunsuex

we had tickets to a dj event at a club here a couple weeks ago - was exhausted and it didnt start till 1am - slapped myself in the face really hard with both hands - didnt do shit for me except make my face red

lsiunsuex

16:08

lifehacker.com/5959503/diy-multiple-roll-tape-dispenser awesome idea

The Evil Greebo

i like!

lsiunsuex

make a little stand out of it and would be a good idea for all the tapes and ribbons used for christmas present wrapping so it could sit on a table

Tester101

@lsiunsuex needs a section for wrapping paper.

Aaron

16:32

so a minor pondering

I was working on a tight quarters box with an outlet in it

I was trying to wedge it in there, and I guess something touched something, because it sparked and tripped the breaker

I went down and turned the breaker all the way to off and then back to on

nothing on the whole circuit

The Evil Greebo

did the breaker re-trip ?

Tester101

How old is the breaker?

Aaron

the breaker stayed on

so I wandered aroudn the house for a bit pondering

The Evil Greebo

are you sure you reset the correct breaker?

Aaron

that outlet is a in-line outlet, with the wire entering, being attached to the top pair of screws, then another wire leaving attached to the bottom pair of screws

@TheEvilGreebo yes

Chris Cudmore

16:46

Sometimes you have to flip it all the way off before turning it back on.

Aaron

5 mins ago, by Aaron

I went down and turned the breaker all the way to off and then back to on

The Evil Greebo

But, and this is important, have you tried turning it off and on again?

(Yes, I was just waiting for that opportunity)

Chris Cudmore

I wasn't here 5 minutes ago. So it didn't happen.

BMitch

@Aaron You may have sent enough juice over the circuit to cause an intermediate junction to fail before the breaker tripped.

Aaron

So I thought well, maybe the outlet got fried, so I'll replace the outlet

The Evil Greebo

16:48

completely unrelated - can one buy ganged breakers of differing amps?

just curiosity at this point - we ran 2 new lines to the bathroom - 1 for outlet, 1 for lights/fan - and per code we made the outlet 20A

Aaron

So I turned it back off, got the multimeter and everything, NCVT, etc, pulled the receptacle out of the outlet, (but didn't disconnect it yet), then went back downstairs, turned on the breaker to double-check the hot/neutral on the outlet, and got back upstairs and saw that everything was working again

Tester101

@TheEvilGreebo Probably not, but you can buy handle ties. What are you trying to do?

The Evil Greebo

but my cousin pointed out we're not supposed to have 2 diff lines going into the same box

cause if one goes off the other is still hot

so we ended up running 20A for both circuits and ganging them together

i looked for handle ties at big Orange but no luck

@Aaron sounds like the breaker retripped, you didn't catch it, and when you pulled the outlet you cleared the short

Tester101

@TheEvilGreebo You can have multiple circuits in a single box, as long as the box is large enough for all the wires and devices.

BMitch

@Aaron sounds like you didn't fully reengage the breaker

The Evil Greebo

16:50

@Tester101 well per my cousin (who's not licensed but is more knowledgable than I on electrical) it still isn't a good idea

BMitch

or maybe the breaker is failing and needs to be replaced

The Evil Greebo

@Aaron if the line was still shorted when you flipped the B back on, it might have felt like it engaged and turned on when it didn't

Aaron

@TheEvilGreebo buying a house isn't a good idea either, just look what happens then!

The Evil Greebo

@Aaron I KNOW, RIGHT!?

but seriously - imagine you turn off the breaker labeled "2nd bathroom lights" and think the box is safe, then you touch the line to the receptacle in the same box and ZZZZZAP

Aaron

So anyways I just wrapped out the sides of the receptacle in electrical tape, shoved it back in there and cast a voodoo spell on it

The Evil Greebo

16:52

@Aaron always sound

Aaron

@TheEvilGreebo that's why breaker labeling is stupid and a circuit diagram labeling every switch and outlet with which breaker number controls it is better

The Evil Greebo

@Aaron good luck with that

Aaron

esp when you have some crazy crap in my house like the downstairs bathroom, half the kitchen, and the left side of one bedroom upstairs is on one breaker

@TheEvilGreebo that's what I ended up having to do

I should scan them in

The Evil Greebo

speaking of stupid labels - my cousin / wife are buying a house in DC and I'm acting as their eyes and ears (beause they are overseas)

so I go thru the house the other day and looking at the panel, two problems

1 - a double gang breaker is un-labelled

2 - the labels that are marked are almost illegible

waht the hell is a water herion ?

Aaron

@TheEvilGreebo what location/age?

The Evil Greebo

16:54

freshly gutted completely rewired re plumbed re hvac

Aaron

^water heron

BMitch

@TheEvilGreebo This is why Doctors shouldn't work with electrical

The Evil Greebo

oh except they put in a 200A panel but didn't update the inbound lines from 100A

@BMitch everything is being done under permit too!

how the hell that panel passed...

Tester101

17:24

@TheEvilGreebo As long as you're under 300V between devices (which you almost always will be in residential), there is no problem grouping devices in the same box. If you're over 300V, you can still do it, but you need a divider in the box between the devices.

The Evil Greebo

@Tester101 You don't see potentially messing with a live line thinking it's off as a problem?

Tester101

No. You should be checking with non-contact tester before sticking your hand in anyway. If you're not, you shouldn't be sticking your hand in at all.

@Aaron Did you get your breaker to reset?

The Evil Greebo

@Tester101 lol so you're an electrical darwinist ;)

Tester101

@Aaron Remember, they are mechanical devices and they do wear out/break.

@TheEvilGreebo I think all electrical devices should be installed with special screws, that only qualified Electricians have the drivers to.

The Evil Greebo

@Tester101 DON'T OPPRESS MY RIGHT TO DARWINIZE MYSELF!

Tester101

17:29

@TheEvilGreebo The problem is, it's usually other people who get hurt.

The Evil Greebo

@Tester101 yep. But still... can't fix stupid. anyway we ganged the 2 circuits together

so if you turn off lights you have to turn off the receptacle as well

safer even if not required

Aaron

@Tester101 Every time I turned it to off and back to on it seemed solidly on

Tester101

@Aaron Did you check for voltage at the lug, when it's "on"?

Aaron

It's all back and working now, and that box is right up next to a piece of trim so I couldn't really get the nvct in there before I pulled it out to try to replace it

Tester101

Sometimes when they fail they feel like they're working fine, but the internal mechanism is not making contact.

Aaron

18:28

Tester101

@Aaron Is that an ad for a black hole?

Aaron

Sadly, no, but that would be awesome

Chris Cudmore

@Tester101 I want one of those portable black holes you see in the old Looney Tunes shorts.

Tester101

@ChrisCudmore Those aren't black holes, they're worm holes. They always lead somewhere else.

Aaron

Charting political trends via facebook, November 2012 edition

Tester101

18:51

@Aaron So people don't like Mitt anymore?

lsiunsuex

god i love this car

jalopnik.com/5959710/…

wax eagle

@lsiunsuex I can haz?

lsiunsuex

just shy of 400k

wax eagle

@lsiunsuex I no can haz :(

BMitch

19:11

@lsiunsuex how is sexbox made?

lsiunsuex

car websites / blogs never show pictures of the interior of the car :( sooo dumb - if i'm buying a car - i'm probably going to be driving it. wouldn't it be nice to see what i would see (the interior ) in a review?

Tester101

@lsiunsuex They are giving the view most people will see the car from (the exterior).

lsiunsuex

nextgenupdate.com/forums/universal-dumpster/…

at 400k, 3.74% interest with $0 down, your looking at $6754 / month for 72 months. not BAD...

BMitch

You know, I was kinda hoping that no one would answer that question.

lsiunsuex

considering a car like this, your gonna keep more than 72 months

Tester101

19:17

Chances are, if you're buying a $400,000 car, you're not buying it because it's the most comfortable practical choice. Not many people work hard and save their nickles and dimes to buy a $400,000 car.

lsiunsuex

@Tester101 for sure - this car is for people with money to burn - was just curious what it looked like monthly

Tester101

@lsiunsuex When you're dealing with higher end things like this, the interest is often far lower then what us "normal" folks would see.

@BMitch Then why did you ask?

lsiunsuex

i'd probably put half down and take a loan for the rest

there was a story of some dude that did that on a lamborgini and drove it all around the country,

Tester101

@lsiunsuex If you have to take a loan on a $400,000 vehicle, you can't afford a $400,000 vehicle.

lsiunsuex

i thought that once - and i question why people with money still have mortgages on their house - the reason you still take a loan is because the money (even at shitty interest rates) is still more valuable in your bank then tied up in a property / asset

BMitch

19:23

@Tester101 because I could. Did you see my question in TL?

lsiunsuex

rich people have mortgages - it doesn't make sense to have that much cash into a house / car / etc... when that cash can be in a savings / bond / stocks and be making more money

Tester101

I can't imagine the trade-in value is very good on a vehicle like this, not many people want to drive a used $400,000 vehicle.

Aaron

If a house costs 100,000 dollars, and I have 100,000 dollars, (and I pay in full) now I have a completely il-liquid asset, and no possibility for more money unless I sell or take out a HELOC or something else

lsiunsuex

@Tester101 still not true - limited runs (which this is) retain value. a McLaren F1 sold the other day for 3x as much what it went for new - and that car is over 10 years old

Tester101

@BMitch My opinion. CC or not, author is owner of content.

Aaron

19:25

If I don't pay the full 100,000 dollars, and pay some amount of interest (which I understand is a FEE), then I get to hold on to my money and make a decision about what to do with it, buy a second house, pay for an operation on my leg, invest it in my restaurant or any one of a number of things

Tester101

@Aaron @lsiunsuex This is why I said "Have to".

BMitch

@Tester101 I tend to agree, but he doesn't own the content of the answers, and there are some low rep users that got a lot of +1's on that question.

Tester101

@BMitch True.

BMitch

just trying to find a balance, hopefully he'll respond to my comment on the question.

Tester101

@lsiunsuex That's resale, not trade-in. You can almost always sell a vehicle for more than trade-in value, but you have to spend the time and energy finding a buyer.

lsiunsuex

19:30

oh, your nitpicking

buyers of these cars keep them in a garage and stair at them

someone looks through a registry one day, wants to buy one, goes through the list (or their assistant does) and starts dialing phone #'s to see whos willing to part with it

Tester101

All I'm saying is that the typical person who buys a car like this, can afford 10 of them easily and could pay cash.

lsiunsuex

yeah, probably

Aaron

I'd be scared of driving that thing on city streets

lsiunsuex

i tell the wife all the time i will buy a lamborgini someday - someday is probably after the kids have a full college ride, the house is paid off and the majority of the CC debt is gone, i'm confident we can retire comfortably and i can afford to buy it used

if something changes before than (win lottery, one of my startup's sell for an exceptional amount) - then its a different story and free game

you have to aspire to something. i'm not aspiring to own this car (specifically anyways) I'm aspiring to be in a position that if i wanted to, i could buy it.

Tester101

@lsiunsuex Hey, you never know.

Tester101

20:45

I think we need a close option called Gorilla vs. Shark.

0

Q: Should I use a centrifugal or axial fan for server room ventilation?

First of all I know this is a strange one. We have a server room which is small and a few servers in there. We have an AIR CON in there but we also have a ventilation duct which is a follows: 9 Meter Length x 600mm x 200mm I would like to know which fan would be best for ducting. I have been t...

exhaust-fan

Aaron

22:32

9

A: What is the purpose of this Y shaped bit?

It's a bit for screwing in eye bolts, or hooks. Attach the bit to your driver handle or power driver. Fit the eye bolt into the groove. Screw the bolt in/out, without hurting your fingers. The list of bits in this set, lists it as a "Y-shape hook driver".

I would have never thought there would be a bit for that

Karl Katzke

22:52

There's generally a tool for everything, even if it wasn't originally supposed to be used that way. The last time i saw someone need to screw one of those in, he used a hoof pick.

Transcript for