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Activity for manassehkatz‭

Type On... Excerpt Status Date
Edit Post #289924 Initial revision about 1 year ago
Answer A: What is the point of buying grounding wire?
Stripping more than a few inches of wire is a lot of work. If you need 6 inches of 14 AWG or 12 AWG grounding wire in a junction box, you can use bare wire, green insulated wire, or strip a piece of other insulated wire (typically black or white). But for anything longer than that, use either green w...
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about 1 year ago
Edit Post #289825 Initial revision about 1 year ago
Answer A: How can I test a monopole timer switch?
Key information is in the installation manual. Unfortunately, as is often the case, Lutron doesn't have easy-to-find installation manuals on their own web site. Fortunately, Home Depot does. This is a "leak current through switched hot to power itself" timer. The first clue is that it only works w...
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about 1 year ago
Edit Post #289606 Initial revision about 1 year ago
Answer A: How do you test the quality of an ethernet cable?
There are two levels of testing you can do with Ethernet twisted pair cables, or technically twisted pair cables in general (e.g., telephone, serial, etc.). You can verify the wiring - i.e., does each pin go where it is supposed to go - and the quality. The wiring test basically checks continuity ...
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about 1 year ago
Comment Post #289469 Do they flicker when on (i.e., should be 100% on but flicker off a little bit) or when off (i.e., should be totally dark but occasionally flicker on)?
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over 1 year ago
Edit Post #289468 Initial revision over 1 year ago
Answer A: Home Improvement: Is it necessary to expand acronyms like OSB?
One solution, which I know has been discussed in other contexts, is to have a community-specific glossary of terms. A really neat way to do this would be for the first time something is included in a post that is a term in the glossary that it would automatically be hot-linked, much the way that Sefa...
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over 1 year ago
Edit Post #289357 Post edited:
osb explanation
over 1 year ago
Comment Post #289356 How is this different from plywood or pressure treated wood (used *mostly* outdoors) or carpeting or any other building material that isn't either plain metal or a "all natural" product? Modern building involves chemically treated stuff. As far as OSB specifically (similarly, non-finish-grade plywood...
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over 1 year ago
Edit Post #289369 Initial revision over 1 year ago
Answer A: What is the blue dye on edges of OSB boards?
From the Georgia Pacific page on OSB: Blue edge seal helps prevent moisture intrusion And on the specifications page downloadable from the Georgia Pacific web page: > BlueRibbon Rated Sheathing is edge coated to limit absorption and pick-up of moisture. Edges tend to have a much bigger is...
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over 1 year ago
Suggested Edit Post #289357 Suggested edit:
osb explanation
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helpful over 1 year ago
Comment Post #288891 YMMV. But 3kW is probably not enough for most people for a partial-house generator. The trick is handling the large loads when you need them. Just refrigerator, computers, etc. will be fine. Once you add almost any level of HVAC, 3kW is going to be a problem. If you don't have gas as an option for co...
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over 1 year ago
Comment Post #288892 Solar doesn't *have* to involve a grid interface, but that's the normal way to do it, unless you are off-grid, of course. Gas heat (whether radiator or forced air) is a good match for running on batteries or a small generator. Similarly, if you have a gas cooktop or gas hot water heating then that is...
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over 1 year ago
Edit Post #288892 Initial revision over 1 year ago
Answer A: House-level battery backup now, solar panels later -- what do I need to know?
The trick is getting everything to work together. Typical solar (without battery) installations actually work with the grid. If you generate more power than you need, the balance goes to the utility and you get some money for it. This is net metering. The problem is that it is grid-tied - if the p...
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over 1 year ago
Comment Post #288891 In an outage, people understand if there are loud generators going. The worst that will happen is that they may ask to borrow some refrigerator space. The real problem is that a small generator is always going to be a manual switchover - a 10 minute process if the generator is kept in a proper workin...
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over 1 year ago
Comment Post #288871 My **real** point is the "hard to see unaided" phrase. You can't see current or voltage unless there is a complete circuit and some physical result of that circuit (e.g., a light bulb lighting up or a heater producing heat or a motor turning). And any/all of that only happens when there is a complete...
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over 1 year ago
Comment Post #288871 I agree regarding practical usage with respect to light bulbs. The expectation - *as set in NEC* - is that a switch off means the hot wire is disconnected and it should be perfectly safe in a standard 120V fixture. And no, most people (including I suspect most electricians) do not use an NCVT to chec...
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over 1 year ago
Comment Post #288871 *Unlike current, voltage is hard to see unaided* Huh? How do you "see" current? In any case, the normal, recommend, safety device (for DIY and electrician alike) is a good quality non-conductive Non-Contact Voltage Tester, [NCVT](https://amzn.to/3NEcA5P) and test every circuit before you work on it.
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over 1 year ago
Edit Post #288882 Initial revision over 1 year ago
Answer A: What does "wall fishing" mean?
Usually I hear it as just fishing. This is the process of getting a wire or cable from one place to another through inaccessible (or less accessible than desired) areas. That includes hollow walls (e.g., drywall over studs), space between the ceiling and the floor above, attics, crawl spaces, etc. Th...
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over 1 year ago
Edit Post #288879 Post edited:
over 1 year ago
Edit Post #288879 Initial revision over 1 year ago
Answer A: Electrical switches: Does it matter which wire it's on?
This answer is from a US/Canada perspective. Other countries vary in wire colors (exception: bare (uninsulated), green, green/yellow are always ground) and standard practices. Below is a full "how do I wire a switch" answer. But the implied question is, I believe, something like: > I have an em...
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over 1 year ago
Edit Post #288610 Initial revision over 1 year ago
Answer A: Is wordpress.com the official hosting site for the WordPress content management system?
Most WordPress sites that I know of are hosted on other servers. Any reasonable LAMP server, which includes most typical low-cost web hosting services, can host WordPress. Many web hosts include "one-click" (though really not quite a single click - you have to enter a bunch of parameters - but very s...
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over 1 year ago