Electrician here...If you need advice or help

[letsgofishin]

yea, cost is an issue for gfi breakers, but they are 'centrally' located as a spot to look for when things 'trip'.

many folks / end users who dont know about gfi's and or know / understand how they are daisy chained wont find the source of the trip to be able to reset them.. whereas most folks know to look in the panel to reset...

my last home had the gfi daisy chained to the patio... it took me forever to figure out where the trip was...as it was 100ft away... i was ****ed...

as for the bx and plastic.. i think if you bonded the shielding to a ground screw/connection then it is ok, but not sure...

 

[bigdaddystar]

armored cable is perfectly fine to use with plastic boxes so long as there is a ground wire inside...(which there always is) that completes the gound path...

A sub-panel can be added quite easily....

And yeah finding tripped gfi's can be a pain sometimes....I get those call alot I try to walk the people through to locate it....I really hate charging a $100 to go reset a gfi

 

[letsgofishin]

depending on how many calls you get for locating tripped gfi's, i wouldnt feel guilty charing a client an extra $75 to install one in the panel... and although that customer may know where to look for his gfi, the next owner may not...

panel gfi's seem to be more compact...wondering if panel devices are tested more and or reviewed more then cheap devices sold at HD for less then $10?

 

[bigdaddystar]

well heres another thought on the gfi thing as well....GFI's react quickly usually in tenths of a second but it is always a better idea to have the gfi located as close to the point of contact as possible...less distance means faster response but of course we are talking almost instantly either way.....

The only real time I use GFI breakers is on outside things like patio/landscape lighting and spas of course.

 

[letsgofishin]

heheh, ok, your splittin hair now... hehehe... reaction time at the speed of electrons as a factor over a 100sf house and wire runs in the hundreds of feet, plus resistance in connections... aint gonna add up to a whole lot.. but i like the critical thinking there... hehehe


andyea, if the gfi is near the device that you are protecting then i would definately agree... if it blows .. it is right there... no need to go hunt it down and figure which breaker is tripped, yea, not a big deal there either but the average home owner will take a minute or two to figure out which...

my comment above about the gfi being daisy chained from a different room somewhere in the house is the pita... with the op of this question wanting to put gfi's right there in a new box, would be best if he can get tthem to fit...

 

[hamiltonguy]

I ordered this 36" 2x39W T5 retrofit kit from oceanaquatics.com. I'm using it for a shadow box I made so I only need to use one bulb. When I finished wiring it, and plugged it, nothing happened.

It came with 2 yellow, 2 blue, and 2 red wires and 2 small yellow wires already connected to each end cap. I wired one yellow wire to one end cap and 2 red wires to the other end cap (as shown in the picture). I connected the blacks, whites and greens together and taped/capped them.

Should I connect the other yellow wire to the one end cap as well?

The ballast is an Advance ICN-2S54-90C programmed start ballast.

I put tape on the ends of all other wires.

 

[letsgofishin]

i would want to see the schematic that was originally on the fixture.. but typically on the lower power fixtures it takes two bulbs... if you wire one, it will over drive it and it will be brighter and last shorter periods...

 

[psyrob]

How do you convert computer fans to plug into the wall to cool a canopy with T5's? I found some amateur advice, but wanted to hear from you...thanks...

 

[MHG]

ok back to my tripple gfi gang box. can I transition from mc to romex in a square box in the wall out to a plastic box with my 3 GFI's? There is not enough room to bend the mc into the back of the plastic box.


I also noticed them all slightly warm (with no load). after a google search I see it is common...

 

[bigdaddystar]

the basic code rule to romex is that its not to be run exposed or within reach...so high up in your garage is fine but it cannot be ran on the wall down to a box....and as far as them getting warm that is slightly unusual...there is o real reason for that....with dimmers you see that kind of thing they can get quite hot but gfi's not so much

 

[bigdaddystar]

since they the low volt type (12v) a transformer will be needed or adapter...a transformer from radio shack can easily be picked up for about 5 bucks...you need a 120vac to 12vdc transformer...you can wire it in line with the lights so when they turn on so do the fans...just make sure to splice from the input side of the ballast (where it plugs into the wall) and not output side.

or gett a separate adapter all together and plug them in themselves..about 10 bucks

How do you convert computer fans to plug into the wall to cool a canopy with T5's? I found some amateur advice, but wanted to hear from you...thanks...

 

[bigdaddystar]

correct.....some ballasts allow you to run less bulbs but you usually have to do exactly what the ballast was designed for....most ballasts will tell you right on them the type of different loads they can handle

i would want to see the schematic that was originally on the fixture.. but typically on the lower power fixtures it takes two bulbs... if you wire one, it will over drive it and it will be brighter and last shorter periods...

 

[MHG]

the basic code rule to romex is that its not to be run exposed or within reach...so high up in your garage is fine but it cannot be ran on the wall down to a box....and as far as them getting warm that is slightly unusual...there is o real reason for that....with dimmers you see that kind of thing they can get quite hot but gfi's not so much

Yes, but once I am inside my sheetrock walls I should be able to transition from MC to romex using a square box Yes?


Google the warm GFI thing... Lots of people asking that so I just think most of us never pull them out to notice...Only a few degrees...

 

[bigdaddystar]

exactly...as long as the romex is in wall or overhead out of reach you are fine....also remember mc rusts so try to keep it away from a salt creep or spillage...I usually use all pvc parts around my tanks even for electrical and plastic boxes since I know it is inevitably going to happen and they cannot rust....plus its cheaper.

 

[MHG]

New Question

New Question

Some have pointed out to me that I can not have more than one circuit in a single box... True or false... I have 3 circuits in a triple gang...

 

[letsgofishin]

ok back to my tripple gfi gang box. can I transition from mc to romex in a square box in the wall out to a plastic box with my 3 GFI's? There is not enough room to bend the mc into the back of the plastic box.


I also noticed them all slightly warm (with no load). after a google search I see it is common...

you can switch from bx to romex in that box in the wall, but you need to put a cover on it and make it 'accessible'.. you can not have a concealed junction box...

and like bigdaddy said the romex needs to be in the wall or inaccessible, (high up)...

but they sell a bx connector that is a 'right angle', so you can run the bx to the connector without bending the bx, and the wires run thru the connector and into the box at the 'sharp angle'??? not sure if that is stated clearly... let me see if i can find a pic of it

as for the 'heat' with no load on the wire and covering should not be any warmer then the ambient temp... unless it is connected to something that is 'conducting' the heat thru the wire... thru thermal conduction...

with a load on, it shouldnt be 'warmer' either, but maybe a little warmer then ambient if you have a really cold room??

http://i3.quinbyhardware.com/6946404.jpg

 

[letsgofishin]

Some have pointed out to me that I can not have more than one circuit in a single box... True or false... I have 3 circuits in a triple gang...

you can have more then one circuit in a 'box'...

it is common for a house or building to be run with cable like 12-3 w/grnd or more wires...

one hot wire per circuit, and a shared nuetral, would mean three wires... (included the grnd).

so romex 12-3 w/grnd is 3 conductors plus ground... so you would have two hot wires, one nuetral, that is shared, and a ground that is 'shared'/common...

you could then pull one cable from the main box or sub panel for two circuits into one box, and land a hot / nuetral and ground, and then carry the other hot wire and nuetral and ground to the next box, and then land the ground, nuetral and the other hot wire...

this would allow you to kind of 'daisy chain' the cable from one box to the next and to the next, and alternate circuits.

typically every other outlet should be a different circuit... this way you arent moving devices/equipment to another outlet and it is really on the same circuit... that would be the same as if you have an outlet strip plugged into one outlet and have a dozen devices plugged into it, kinda like a xmas tree spaghetti mess thing...

if you run half the devices to one outlet box and then go to the other outlet box the total load should be split across two circuits...and if one blows the other should still be hot/active

i would urge folks to put their lights on one outlet box, and their heater and chiller on the next box, (after confirming if thier outlets are wired alternately), if not, it wouldnt matter.. if the chiller trips the breaker then the light will go off...

again, i am not the best guy to desc ribe/define things, and i hope big daddy can understand and clean up what i tried to write... hehehe

 

[letsgofishin]

Some have pointed out to me that I can not have more than one circuit in a single box... True or false... I have 3 circuits in a triple gang...

ahh, just re read your message.. sorry... i am not sure on this one...

Im guessing that it is ok especially if you label the devices to the respective circuit... but am not totally sure...

great question though... hmmm

 

[letsgofishin]

i did some reading, there is a lot out there, but most seemed to confirm that sharing a nuetral is ok, if the outlets are on different legs, (3 phase), and that the breakers are tied together so that when you turn off one, it turns off the other... so that you dont turn off a breaker and think the box is safe...

 

[MHG]

Well I got tired of playing games so I put in 3 seperate boxes and re-did the drywall. The 4" square box that transitions from MC to Romex is accessable by removing that plumbing housing below the outlets...

Thanks for the help...