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Electrical Wiring
Ask questions here about proper wiring and electrical installation here.
4,935 Questions
As you say you had to reset the circuit breakers, the water heater's heating element may have "died" by shorting to Ground or Earth. This could be the reason why its circuit's breakers tripped to cut off the power. Time to buy a new water heater...?
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Typically, you should be able to tell a difference as quick as 15 minutes or so, but it may take well over an hour or two for it to reach "operating temperature". Some electric hot water heaters, you can even hear them as they heat, and you typically can the gas ones. Your biggest variables, assuming you're not using hot water as it heats, is the amount of water that is in the heater, as well as the heating power the heater puts out into the water. Electrics are practically 100% efficient, but gas ones are not even close, but they do operate at higher heater temps and can heat the water faster. <><><> It takes about an hour for a fifty gallon electric water heater to heat up.
What should you do if a circuit breaker feels spongy and won't reset?
Some breakers must be turned all the way to the OFF position after they have tripped.
Before you spend a lot of money, just flip the breaker all the way to the off position THEN try to turn it back on.
Other answers
If this circuit breaker is a GFCI or RCD and it won't reset when you press its RESET button, it is doing its job.
It is telling you there is something wrong in the circuit it is protecting.
It may be a fault within an appliance (or its flexible cord or its plug) that is plugged into a socket outlet on the circuit being protected by the circuit breaker.
To find out, disconnect all appliances on the circuit and then press the RESET button. If the breaker no longer feels spongy then you know if is not a fault in the circuit wiring.
Then press the TEST button on the breaker. If it immediately trips then you know that the breaker itself is not faulty.
Then press the RESET button again and re-connect one appliance at a time until you find the one that causes the breaker to trip off. That is the appliance (or its flexible cord or plug) which has a fault that is causing the breaker to trip. The fault will have to be repaired - or the appliance will need to be replaced - before the circuit breaker can be reset with that item connected to the circuit.
Sometimes a fault can develop inside a socket outlet and there is now a "Neutral-to-Ground" short, or even a "Live-to-Ground" short, in the wiring to the outlet. Usually such shorts occur in the wall box behind the outlet because the wiring was done carelessly. Such a fault will also prevent a GFCI or RCD from being reset. That kind of fault must be fixed before the circuit breaker can be reset.
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If it is a regular circuit breaker it might be that the breaker is mechanically defective.
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For more information click on the links to the Related Questions shown below.
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As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed.
Before you do any work yourself,
on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances,
always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.
IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB
SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY
REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
Do CFL Bulbs explode when they burnout?
Good quality CFLs are tested in the factory for correct power draw and light output before being boxed to ship and should then give a long life of at least 5 years before they just "die" without exploding.
If a good quality CFL explodes then it could have been damaged sometime after it was manufactured, like it was dropped on the floor before it was installed. Even though it worked for a while, it may have been taking too much power or something similar which caused it to explode.
However there are also some very cheap CFLs on the market - even some with good "brand" names that are actually fakes - that may have been badly made or badly handled even in the factory. Such cheap ones may never have been tested before being put in the box to ship.
For that reason it is worth paying the proper price for the genuine article because:
* it will give good light output throughout its life
* it will take no more than the proper rated power consumption
* it will last a long time without exploding!
If you asked this question because you have no experience of working on the latest household power circuits and you hope to get enough information on this site to be able to do the job properly and safely, it is best to warn you not to rely on getting accurate information from this site about such a potentially dangerous subject. By asking this question you probably aren't quite ready to take on this particular task.
Really, don't do this one yourself. Electricity is far too dangerous to handle if you have not been trained how to do this work. That you asked this question here shows that you don't already know your local Wiring Codes or Regulations and do not yet know how to fit a new household electric power distribution panel with the latest types of circuit breakers and wiring.
How to do this job depends entirely on the Wiring Codes or Regulations for the locality (Town/State) and on the exact locations of the appliances you wish to hook up. If an appliance is to be used anywhere that is subject to water splashes or spray - such as in any room supplied with running water pipes, like a kitchen, bathroom, shower room, etc., or in a pool-side area - in many places nowadays it is actually illegal to attempt to do this kind of work unless you are already a licensed electrician.
For your safety and that of anyone else who may to use the appliance, ask a professional licensed electrician to advise you or to do the work for you. IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB
SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY
REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
If you do this work yourself, always turn off the power
at the breaker box/fuse panel BEFORE you attempt to do any work
AND
always use an electricians test meter having metal-tipped probes
(not a simple proximity voltage indicator)
to insure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.
What happens if you plug a 110v appliance into 220v outlet?
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It won't run, there is insufficient start up voltage. It's all in the way the windings in the motor are connected. Since I'm an electrician, I just haven't done this because I always do something to make it right i.e. change the input voltage or change the connections of the motor windings. I would suspect the most it would do is buzz. Just a guess.
If in doubt, consult a qualified electrician to have it rewired if it's dual voltage or change the power source to accommodate your motor.
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As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed.
Before you do any work yourself,
on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances,
always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.
IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB
SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY
REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
Should you have your freezer plugged into a GFCI?
<><><> Whether or not your freezer should be protected by a GFCI depends on the locality (Town/State) where you live. The latest Wiring Codes or Regulations in some localities insist that GFCIs must be used to protect appliances in any room or area where there are pipes supplying running water, such as a kitchen or utility room, or in any area which can be subject to water splashes or spray, such as a bathroom, a shower room or any "outside" area such as on the exterior wall of a house, in a garden or by a pool.
The additional current drawn when a freezer's compressor motor starts up shouldn't cause a GFCI to trip because the current should always be the same in both the "hot" and the "neutral" wires.
One possible reason a GFCI might trip when the compressor motor starts up could be because the motor has a fault which only happens when the motor "shakes" during start-up. Such extra vibration at start-up is quite normal - and should not cause any current to leak to Ground - but this can sometimes happen if the wiring to the motor was done carelessly or its wiring's insulation has gotten worn-through at some point because of the vibration taking place over a long period of time. The answer to the Related Question shown below has detailed information about the way that GFCIs and RCDs operate.
<><><> No, unless it is equipped with a soft start compressor motor the freezer's compressor will draw additional power when it starts up likely causing the gfci to trip. same is true for refrigerators. (a common catch-22 is that if the receptacle is in a wet location or concrete floor location, like a garage, the NEC requires it to be GFCI protected.) <><><>
Can a 240 volt sub panel run 115 volt motor?
In Europe 240 volts is standard, so no a 115 volt motor will not work. In USA 120 volts is standard, so if your sub-panel has 120 volts, (check with voltage meter) then yes. Read carefully, To get 240 volts in a sub-panel in USA the electric company brings two (2) wires, each wire has 120 volts, 120 + 120 = 240. One of those 120 volts will run your motor. Look for the wires from the electric company and check them with your voltage meter. If this is a commercial application you will need to call an electrical contractor, power companies for commercial applications do not follow the above.
What is the usual outlet height for a stove?
the current standard I believe is 450mm from finished floor height, although there are many installations that have it at 300mm from finished floor height.
There are no hard and fast rules, the most important thing is that it is relatively local to the stove (normally directly behind it), and easily accessable when the stove is pulled out for safe connection/disconnection.
Can you run a 240V heater on 120V supply?
You can BUT it will not warm up to its rated amount, therefore, it probably will not perform its function well <><><> For more information see the answers to the Related Questions shown below. <><><>
As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed. Before you do any work yourself,
on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances,
always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.
IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB
SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY
REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
How do you connect a load and line wire to a neutral and hot?
A switch makes or breaks the hot wire, it does not bother the neutral or ground. To wire in a switch just put in between the line and load wires. There are two terminal points on the switch; put the line wire under one and the load wire under the other. For a low-voltage circuit without an obvious hot and neutral, just cut one of the two wires and splice the switch in there. Low voltage stuff should be double-insulated so it really doesn't matter which wire you choose. If you are using this for low-voltage DC be sure to check the ratings of the switch. Regular switches for household use are for AC only. They can handle 15A, but cannot break an arc that forms breaking a DC load as they are designed to have the voltage across them go to 0V 120 times a second. Most switches will be rated to 600 or so VAC, but only 30-50VDC. Make sure you take this into consideration, or else you will burn your switch's contacts. If you are on low-voltage AC you are fine. Carry on.
What does it mean if a wire has a raised stripe line or rib going all along it?
If you are asking about a wire used to feed power from a battery pack to a small battery-powered device or to connect an amplifier or other music device to a loudspeaker or headphones, the raised stripe, line or rib going all along the wire could signify either the positive or the negative wire. Measuring it with a suitable electrician's meter is a good way to tell for sure what it is. However you really need to know how to use an electrician's meter safely before you try to do this. On a 2 wire appliance cord the neutral is usually identified by a white stripe or a raised rib that runs the full length of the cord. This cord terminates at the wide blade on the plug. If the receptacle does not have a wide blade slot on it make sure that the identified side of the cord plugs into the left hand side of the receptacle. <><><> On the AC power cord if it has a white stripe it must be ground/neutral. I have a TV apart here and the "other" power wire is black and goes to a fuse inside the TV. They wouldn't put the fuse on the ground side. On the other hand if it's some other voltage they could put a stripe on any old wire. <><><> As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed. Before you do any work yourself,
on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances,
always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized. IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB
SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY
REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
What can you power with a 3000 watt generator?
A few small things. Watts = Amps x Volts. Amps = 800/120 = 6.66 amps. Check the amperage on what you want to plug into the generator. If it is over 6 amps the generator will not handle the load.
Using a 40 watt bulb in a 60 watt outlet?
It is safe to use a 40 watt bulb in a 60 watt socket. The socket is designed to handle a maximum of 60 watts but can still safely operate with lower wattage bulbs. Just ensure the bulb is securely screwed in and not touching any flammable materials.
What is the resistance of a 120 volt 15 amp circuit?
A circuit breaker is designed to "trip" when more than its rated current passes through the breaker. The current is caused by the 120V across a load of a certain resistance. The wire conducting the current must be sized to the current. For 15 amps you need 14 gauge wire. The breaker will be labeled and will have a current and voltage rating printed on the breaker.
Do electrons flow on the outside of a wire rather than through it?
Normally, no. But at really high frequencies they do. As we increase the frequency in AC (alternating current), the current begins to shift from an "evenly distributed" flow to something else. The center of the conductor will begin to carry fewer electrons and the outer surface or "skin" of the conductor will begin to carry more. It isn't surprising that we call this phenomenon skin effect and we see it in high frequency applications. In really high frequency circuits, particularly high power circuits, we see "wire" being substituted with a wave guide to carry the high frequency, high amperage currents used in applications like radar. The household microwave oven uses a waveguide to carry the power into the cavity where it heats what you put in. For anything the AC power grid, which works at about 60 cycles per second (60 Hertz) in America, there isn't a substantial problem with this phenomenon. A link is provided to the Wikipedia article on skin effect.
A conductor with a high temperature is likely to have a high?
Since you are talking about conductors, a high temperature one will have a high resistance. Reason being that the distance between the conduction and the valence band keeps on increasing on the increase of temperature.
A substance is said to be conducting if it has FREE electron in its conduction band. Since the distance b.w the to bands increases, less number of electrons are able to jump from valence band to conduction band, hence more resistance...
What wire size to use from breaker box to earth ground rod?
The wire size used in a service entrance distribution panel is governed by the size of the services over current device. The larger the service, the larger the fault current could be, the larger the ground wire to carry the fault current to ground. If the largest service conductor carries 100 amps use a #8, 200 amps - #6, 400 amps - #3, 600 amps - #1, 800 amps - 1/0 and over 800 amps - 2/0 for the ground wire.
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Golden Valley Electric Assoc. in Alaska requires #4AWG copper wire for a ground from the breaker box to earth ground rod. The same goes from the service entrance panel on the pole.
How do you hook up solar panels to run 110v?
Answer for USA, Canada and countries running a 60 Hz power supply service.
Nowadays 120 volts is the standard voltage for low-power household AC (Alternating Current) socket outlets.
Solar panels produce DC (Direct Current) so, because household power is AC, you will need to install a "DC - to - AC" power inverter, also known as a "grid tie inverter", of the right size and connect it safely into your house wiring.
Without knowing the make of the panels, the voltage they produce and the total number of them you are planning to install, it is impossible to give you a more helpful answer.
After you have installed the panels onto your roof, or wherever, the best advice anyone can give you is to call a licensed electrician to connect them to your household wiring in a safe manner that complies fully with the wiring codes or regulations in your locality. (Town/state) .
For more information about installing solar panels and grid tie inverters, as well as standard household power supplies, see the Sources and related links shown below this answer, and also the answers to the Related Questions.
IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB
SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY
REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
If you do this work yourself, always turn off the powerat the breaker box/fuse panel BEFORE you attempt to do any work AND always use a meter or voltage indicator to insure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.
Can electricity pass through cloth?
Some materials used to make cloth - such as cotton or polyesters - are not good conductors if they are completely dry.
But if such a cloth is damp or wet the water it holds will easily conduct electricity and this can cause dangerous shocks or start fires if the voltage and current are allowed to get high enough.
Why is your Socket getting hot?
Possibility #1 Plugging in a high consumption appliance. Possibility #2 Loose connection. Look for glazing, or discoloration on the prongs of the device. Old receptacles can lose tension in the female spring loaded contacts. Check to see if the receptacle is Back wired through a hole in the back, or if the wires are terminated on the side screws. Back wired receptacles use the same spring-loaded contacts on the wire connection. Any loose connection can cause excessive resistance resulting in higher amperage and heat.
What kinds of motors can work as generators?
Some types of dc (direct current) motor can be used to generate dc, in which case they are often called 'dynamos'.
Some alternating current (ac) motors can be used to generate ac, in which case they are called 'alternators', but many types will only work as motors. For instance, a squirrel cage ac motor cannot be used as an alternator.
Which wire is the ground on a lamp cord?
For a flexible lamp cord:
If it is in the US, Canada or other countries using the similar wiring codes, if the insulation on the wires is colored then White is intended for the "Neutral", Black for the "Hot" or "Live" and - if there is one in the cord - Green should be used only for the protective safety "Ground" wire.
On lamp cords which are fitted with only a 2-prong plug, it does actually matter which way round the hot and neutral are connected. Except for very old style appliances or lamps because the plug can be inserted into a socket outlet only one way on modern devices.
One kind of plug which has 3 prongs - for separate hot, neutral and ground wires - can be inserted in only one position to ensure that correct connections are made for each of those wires. Another kind is a polarized plug where one prong, the neutral prong, is wider than the hot prong.
If the lamp cord is clear or a solid color, and has only 2 wires, one side may have a raised ridge and the other side will be smooth. The ridged side is intended to be used for the Neutral and the smooth side for the Hot. The National Electrical Code requires the neutral wire be identified.
Only do this if the device you are testing is unplugged: take a multi-meter, set it on ohms and check for continuity between the ridged wire (or wider prong) and the outermost metal part inside of the light socket, to confirm the lamp is wired correctly if it is you will get a reading close to or zero ohms.
The reason for this is if one accidentally touches the metal shell of a light bulb while unscrewing it, he or she will not be in contact with a hot wire and not get a shock. The hot wire is the switched wire and always the center contact in screw in light socket.
Note re. lighting cords in the United States: most of UL-approved 2-prong power cords have a polarized plug. The bigger prong is for the Neutral and the other prong is for the Hot.
If it is in a country in Europe or other places around the world using similar wiring codes, the Neutral wire is colored Blue, the "Hot" or "Live" wire is Brown and the Ground wire, if there is one in the cord, is colored Yellow and green.
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Old style lamp cords do not have a ground wire in the two wire set. It just has a hot and neutral wire. The neutral conductor has a raised rib for identification.
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As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed.
Before you do any work yourself,
on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances,
always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.
IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB
SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY
REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
Time constant of an RC circuit increases if the value of the resistance?
increases. Time constant, denoted by τ, is equal to the product of resistance (R) and capacitance (C), τ = RC. If the resistance increases, it will take longer for the capacitor to charge or discharge, resulting in a longer time constant.
What wire colors are the Neutral and the Ground or Earth wires?
In USA, Canada and other countries using a similar 60 Hz system:
- the Neutral wire is colored White or Commercial Gray
- the Ground wire is colored Green or is bare wire
In Europe and other world areas using a similar 50 Hz system:
- the Neutral wire is colored Blue
- the Earth wire is colored Green and Yellow
How do you wire an Italian electrical plug?
The modern standard Italian 230/240V grounded household plug is the
Type F CEE 7/4 (German "Schuko" 16 A/250 V grounded) plug.
This is a symmetrical plug with grounding clips on the sides and Live/neutral on the pins- as the plug is symmetrical, the location of L(black or brown) and N (blue) wires is "Don't Care" and can be either. The ground (yellow-green) is connected to the side plates.
The E/F hybrid configuration is asymmetrical (polarized) the ground hole on the plug makes it impossible to insert the plug into an F type socket with a grounding pin in more than one way. Insertion into an E type socket is ambiguous so the N and L conductors may be interchanged in the E socket.
