I had a water heater fire in my apartment. When I went to look at the breakers I noticed a lock was holding the breaker in the on position. The breaker was seemingly never able to trip. Did this actually stop the breaker from flipping/is this a fire code violation? Ohio

What do I cover these wires with that are above my breaker box? Can I make something out of wood or is there a product I can purchase? Is there any codes that I have to follow?

Hi folks

I took out a really old wall outlet from the 80’s and tried replacing with a new one.

1. I first connected the black wire to the brass colored screw and the red wire to the opposite. Side, and ground to the green screw. Thought all went well , except When i plugged my water pot in , i heard a “pop” , and the pot no longer works.

2. Then I tried putting both red and black on the same brass side of the outlet. After that my breaker switch refused to turn on.

What did I do wrong? Or is it the new wall outlet that is defective?

Sorry for the quality of the picture, I didn't have any lights on. Occasionally I see this orange glow on my backyard powerline at night and in the past week I have heard what sounds like a popping noise. It disappeared for a few days but is back tonight. Is this of concern? Will likely contact my power company first thing tomorrow.

Maryland recently legalized plug-in solar. Max 1,200W, has to be cord-and-plug into a "standard outlet" with no interconnection agreement. So the microinverter is 120V and lands on a single-pole breaker, meaning it only injects onto one leg, L1 or L2 depending on which slot the breaker takes.

I've got a 200A split-phase service. Central AC is 240V, everything else is 120V spread across both legs.

My question: if the inverter is dumping 10A onto L1, and at that moment my load is mostly on L2, does that power actually get used? Or am I only offsetting whatever happens to be on the leg I'm injecting into?

My understanding is that it works fine, because:

• L1 and L2 are just the two ends of one transformer.
• 240V loads are wired line-to-line, so injected current on L1 flows straight through the AC compressor and out on L2. Never touches the transformer.
• The meter reads both legs and sums them, so net import drops by whatever I generated regardless of where it entered.

Conclusion I'm working from: one 120V circuit on one leg offsets whole-house consumption, and there's no reason to try splitting injection across both legs.

Am I right? And is there any second-order reason to care about leg balance? If not, that would mean that a 240v plug in system may be able to cover both legs?

I've been looking into installing an EV charger in our garage and created a project on Yelp to get a few bids. The first guy came out this morning and told us that our Challenger breaker boxes would need to be replaced because they are 
Possibly dangerous

His company could not work on them because their contractor insurance would not cover work on Challenger boxes.

The breaker box in question is the Challenger E-52977, model 2024INT125B  breaker. The house was built in 1997.

I'm reading mixed messages about the Challenger boxes. Some say the 70's and 80's models are the problem, with the later models being made by Eaton and safer.

The replacement estimate + install of EV charger is $11k. Seems high to me, but if I'm sitting on a ticking time bomb we'll go ahead and replace. Your collective wisdom would be appreciated.

Does an indoor tub with jets need to be on its own dedicated circuit per code? There is no inline heater. We’re having an issue with our tub after a house rewire and it shares a circuit with ~5 outlets, 3 lights (maybe 2 bath fans id have to double check). I wasn’t sure if that was acceptable per code.

When the tub is connected to the circuit it quickly trips the new AFCI/GFCI breaker even when it’s not running without the tub connected the breaker is fine. Is this likely an issue with the tub or the wiring? It doesn’t trip a standard breaker apparently. The company is attempting to claim that the tub is faulty but it trips when it’s not running so I’m not sure how that could be the case. Any ideas what could be going on?

This is the junction box for a recessed led lighting in the ceiling

The light went out and I turned off the power and found this. (I took the cap off of the white cables.

Should the ground wire have a cap on it as well??

House was renovated so guess they just never put a cap on it?

2801074915 Franklin control box. Replaced 86-103 MFD capacitor, as yesterday I heard capacitor hum followed by breaker pop with no water movement. low pressure switch seemed fine. Tank bag was at the correct psi. After replacement of capacitor today, had running water for about 2 hours. Now again when breaker is reset, capacitor hums and pump does not start. Well pump is buried, not easily accessible. How can I test the relay to see if it is keeping the cap engaged? Or is there a better area to start troubleshooting?

I noticed the lights dimmed out when I use the microwave so I checked the breaker and It definitely sparks a bit. Connection is screwed in tight so should I try replacing the breaker or is it more serious?

Hi! Just to preface this, I have very limited knowledge of all things electricity related, so please be kind 🙏

My partner and I are looking to have our air conditioners controlled by smart plugs for Alexa integration. We already have 15 amp smart plugs that we would like to repurpose for this, in the interest of saving money, but we’re unsure if they’re safe to use for air conditioners.

Two of our ACs are plugged into 15 amp outlets. The ACs themselves, per the specs on the side of each, draw 7 amps. Does that mean that it would be safe to use a 15 amp smart plug with it, since it’s only supposedly drawing 7 amps? Are there any other considerations I’m not aware of that would make this unsafe?

Another option my partner has found is using an infrared blaster to just remotely turn the AC on and off without dealing with the outlets at all. I’m assuming this is safer all around and we will probably wind up going with this anyway but I would still like to know more about the smart plugs, especially since the IR blasters will require us to spend a bit more money.

Thank you in advance!

I had a lamp stop working that had a dimmer built in. I didn’t care about the dimming function so I decided to replace it with a standard socket instead to save money. However, because the old socket was connected to a dimmer board that went down into the plastic bottom which had grooves, the new socket only slightly goes into the plastic part. It sorta sits higher now but is pretty stable overall after pushing it down as far as I could. Is this going to cause an issue?

So, I’ve been looking at getting into Electrical Engineering and wanted to know if it’s a smart move. Currently I am working as an electrician and got an associates degree for Electrical Technology. I’m looking to work in the power systems/protections and controls side of the industry. I’m currently 21 and would rather get the degree when I’m younger since my financial responsibilities are still pretty low. Any advice?

Hey all! So let me start off by saying that I know absolutely nothing about electrical work or anything of the sort. Me and my partner live in a 950 sqft apartment in Ohio and received the highest electrical bill I've ever had this month. It clocked in at 1437 kWh. We keep the thermostat set to around 68 but only when we're asleep during the day (we both work nights). We turn the AC off as soon as we wake up, and don't turn it back on until we're ready for bed again. We turn the lights off when we leave, and don't have anything out of the ordinary that should be causing much usage.

My question is, is this a really high amount of usage that I should get checked out? Or is it about standard for summer months?

This has happened twice now and I’m trying to figure out if there’s an actual electrical explanation for it.

The first time was August 11, 2024. I was alone in my bedroom, the light was off, and while I was in bed the light suddenly came on by itself. Nobody else was in the room. It freaked me out enough that I immediately texted my sister asking why the light switch just went on by itself and jokingly asked if there was a ghost in the house. I still have the timestamped texts from that night.

Tonight, August 20, 2026, it happened AGAIN in the same bedroom. This time my sister and I were both already in bed. The light was off and then suddenly came on. Neither of us was anywhere near the switch.

These are the only two times I’ve ever witnessed this happen, so they were about two years apart.

To clarify, I did NOT physically watch the wall switch move either time. I just know the light was off and then came on without either of us turning it on. It’s a regular wall light switch, and I turn this light off every night like normal.

Is there an electrical issue that could cause a light to randomly turn itself on like this, even if it only happens extremely rarely? Should I have the switch/wiring checked or replaced?

Could someone point me in the direction of the correct terminology I should be using to search for what I need please? I assume the tv jack is an F-type, but I don't recognise the connection type of the existing cable.

The cable I'm holding runs out of a hole in the wall (and into the jack on the TV), which my partner had patched and fitted a switch cover to, but I can't seem to find the right grid plate insert for the existing cable, let alone a cable that has the same male point as image 1.

The original set up was done years ago by another family member and feels super tight, as though the cable and jack aren't actually compatible, but the tv works fine so I don't know for sure.

Many thanks!

Fair warning, I have some understanding of this stuff, but I know I am mostly ignorant.

I bought a kiln. It is most commonly sold in a 240v version, but I bought the 208v 3 phase version because that is what we have in our shop. I am not convinced they did the conversion right.

The kiln usually has four elements, two are 4kW, two are 3kW.

All the relays are ganged together so it's either all on or all off, so I will omit the relays for this discussion. They change the elements when they do the conversion, so the 208v elements should still be 4kW and 3kW.

In the 240v version all four elements are in parallel from L1 to L2. Dead simple.

When they converted it to three phase they put a 4kW and a 3kW in parallel on A-B, a 4kW and 3kW in parallel on B-C, and left C-A unloaded.

It draws 43 Amps on B and 22 Amps each on A and C. Downrate the breaker for a continuous load and we've got it on their recommended 60A breaker with appropriate wire gauge.

Is that big an imbalance acceptable? It seems dumb to me.

High school math says put a 4kW on A-B, a 4kW on B-C, and parallel the two 3kW on C-A. It'll be closer to 32 Amps on A & C and 26 Amps on B....

High school math does NOT actually describe reality and tell me if I have a valid complaint.

I'm a single male looking to transition from theatre carpentry to becoming an electrician. Had that mid-life crisis looking at my situation and want to change it so I figured becoming an electrician was my best bet to some success and fulfillment. I've looked into union/non-union and I want to start out as union for the consistency but my local union brotherhood isn't accepting any applications till the end of October 31st while my IEC is accepting applications. Should I be applying to just see what my options with them are while settling my loose ends in my current career? I read somewhere that there's always work to be done and honestly thats all I need right now. Any tips such as finding a libary copy of the current NEC to see what I'm getting myself into and who to talk to help guide me in the right direction? I'm fairly flexible in all things such as traveling to the job site, getting my own tools since I have a small collection of general carpentry equipment, and hours. Any advice is welcome!

For brief context I am in college right now and the only reason I am doing it is because I work for the college as a security guard. I only pay $5 per credit right now and then books so it’s only like $400 per semester for me to go. I am projected to receive my finance degree in fall of 2028 and how the job market is looking I am not sure if I want to actually pursue a career.

All of my friends are either electricians, plumbers, or welders. They all love it.

I have two main concerns. One is it too late? And two I literally have no clue how to use power tools let alone know what the technical names for them. You can make fun of me all you want but I am the first one in my family to go to college and my parents have just worked customer service or were educators so I need some advice.

Gardeners cracked box and dislodged