DIY Electrical Question

Moderators: HopefulSSer, admin

garys
Platinum Member
Posts: 2075
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2011 12:16 am
Location: Bismarck, ND

Re: DIY Electrical Question

Post by garys »

I think you folks will find that color of the sheath means nothing. When I built my garage, all the #12 NM I purchased was yellow while the #14 NM was white. The #12 UF I purchased was white. Each manufacturer might do it different. Colors vary with years of manufacturing and changes in the manufacturing process.

The white UF is rated for direct burial, as was the #2 black feeder THWN-THHN wire. Even though those wires are rated for direct burial, I never direct bury wire. My perference is to put all underground wire in conduit, so that is the way I do it.
DLB
Platinum Member
Posts: 1984
Joined: Fri Nov 08, 2019 11:24 am
Location: Joshua Texas

Re: DIY Electrical Question

Post by DLB »

Mysteries mostly solved. After moving laterally a short distance through the outside wall the AWG 10 terminates in an electrical box that I had previously thought to be part of phone wiring. :o There is low voltage wiring in there as well, and I now realize this is probably connected to the switch by the front door. The phrase 'pre-wired for a gate' was perhaps somewhat misrepresentative since the wire exists but goes nowhere near the gate location. At least I know how I did not find it when I trenched. The total length of the wire is probably around 6'. If I repurpose it at all, it will be a separate circuit or dedicated outlet in my shop. I have no idea why the PO did this, I see no benefit.

- David
RFGuy
Platinum Member
Posts: 2740
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2018 8:05 am
Location: a suburb of PHX, AZ

Re: DIY Electrical Question

Post by RFGuy »

David,

Glad you figured it out. By the way, generally speaking you can't put low voltage and high voltage wiring in the same j-box unless there is a transformer in there so that the HV feeds the LV for some application. Anyone with more NEC experience than me can comment, but just wanted to let you know in case you intend to sell your house in the near future that this might get caught by an inspector. If no plans to sell then don't worry about it.
📶RF Guy

Mark V 520 (Bought New '98) | 4" jointer | 6" beltsander | 12" planer | bandsaw | router table | speed reducer | univ. tool rest
Porter Cable 12" Compound Miter Saw | Rikon 8" Low Speed Bench Grinder w/CBN wheels | Jessem Clear-Cut TS™ Stock Guides
Festool (Emerald): DF 500 Q | RO 150 FEQ | OF 1400 EQ | TS 55 REQ | CT 26 E
DC3300 | Shopvac w/ClearVue CV06 Mini Cyclone | JDS AirTech 2000 | Sundstrom PAPR | Dylos DC1100 Pro particulate monitor
Hobbyman2
Platinum Member
Posts: 2660
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2017 12:52 am
Location: Ohio

Re: DIY Electrical Question

Post by Hobbyman2 »

Any time I buried a wire or a plastic conduit I put yellow caution tape about 2-4 inches above it when I backfilled .
Hobbyman2 Favorite Quote: "If a man does his best, what else is there?"
- General George S. Patton (1885-1945)
adrianpglover
Gold Member
Posts: 92
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2020 7:49 am
Location: outside of Houston, TX

Re: DIY Electrical Question

Post by adrianpglover »

The fact that it was labeled as "pre-wired for x purpose" I believe is actually pretty common. I have a large bathtub in my master bathroom that could be a jacuzzi tub, but the motor and everything else isn't there. There's a breaker labeled as "jacuzzi" and a switch on the wall in the bathroom that we couldn't figure out what it did when we moved in. Had to take the panel off the outside of the tub as the caulking was bad and the edge of the tub bowed a bit when you leaned on it, so when I was fixing these issues I found an outlet underneath the tub and traced it back to this switch and breaker (on a GFCI outlet, of course). Also found that this model of tub had a mounting plate for a pump, but no pump or plumbing for water/air jets.

The reason it will be labeled as "pre-wired" is that the PO likely was having some electrical work done or perhaps when the house was built, had the wiring done before the sheetrock was put up. That makes it a lot easier to conceal the fact that more electrical work was done later on, if they decided to, at a later time, install the wiring and motors for the gate operator.

You'll often see houses labeled as "pre-wired for solar" or some other option, when it's really just a breaker and a short run of wiring to a box that gives a future electrician a location to tie in.

Glad you were able to figure out where the wire was run to. Sorry to hear that it wasn't what you were hoping for though.
Mark 7 (new 2020 - pre-COVID) | 12" planer (new 2020 - pre-COVID) | 11" bandsaw | 4" jointer
Grizzly G1023RLWX (new 2013) | Grizzly G0583Z (new 2012) | DeWALT DW618PK
Oneida Dust Deputy (on 5g bucket bolted to a 10g oil drum, used only with planer & jointer)
DLB
Platinum Member
Posts: 1984
Joined: Fri Nov 08, 2019 11:24 am
Location: Joshua Texas

Re: DIY Electrical Question

Post by DLB »

It is evidently acceptable practice under the NEC to cap live wires in this manner, which initially surprised me. My background is aircraft, we would not have done that even with a mechanical lockout on the CB. Perhaps contributing to how I interpreted the phrase 'pre-wired for a gate.' ;) A jacuzzi tub is different because you are ending the line in a standard-ish GFCI outlet, I have that too. (This has changed from how mine is though, the NEC now requires the outlet to be accessible for testing the GFCI and maintenance/replacement of the pump if present.) Mine would not meet the current requirements, as I learned from a potential investment property I'm looking at. As a lesson learned, reasonable access to the pump is a good requirement. If you ever add the tub, I suggest creating such access. The pump is not a lifetime part, and on mine its like performing a transplant.

- David
RFGuy
Platinum Member
Posts: 2740
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2018 8:05 am
Location: a suburb of PHX, AZ

Re: DIY Electrical Question

Post by RFGuy »

Just as a follow-up to David's original question, I found a product that seems to work reasonably well for locating underground buried cables. I finally got around to replacing some landscape/path lighting in my yard. I hadn't used the lights in a few years and all of them needed to be changed out. Unfortunately replacing the lights was the easy part because I learned that I had some disconnects on the buried wiring preventing them from working. I tried my Fox & Hound Tracer but could not get a reading on the underground cable, as I was afraid might happen with it. So, I purchased a product with model # MS6818 by a Chinese company called Seesii (link below). The first time that I hooked it up, it worked better than my Fox & Hound, but it was still difficult to locate the buried cable. It has three power levels and even on the highest setting I was having trouble at first. I tried some more troubleshooting with it off, but then hooked it up a 2nd time and it was too powerful this time?!?! Just walking around and holding the receiver in mid air I could hear the tone sounding and I could triangulate and locate the wire with ease this time. I turned the power setting back down to the lowest setting and this time it worked great for locating and tracing the underground buried cable. I can't say what was different on the 2nd try...I mean both times I disconnected the buried cable from the power source before connecting the tone transmitter. Anyway, it is working now, it is more powerful than my old Fox & Hound tracer and I am happy with the results. Only problem is it costs $197.00 but it is well worth it if you need a product like this.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N9 ... UTF8&psc=1
Seesii_MS6818.jpg
Seesii_MS6818.jpg (116.09 KiB) Viewed 1584 times
📶RF Guy

Mark V 520 (Bought New '98) | 4" jointer | 6" beltsander | 12" planer | bandsaw | router table | speed reducer | univ. tool rest
Porter Cable 12" Compound Miter Saw | Rikon 8" Low Speed Bench Grinder w/CBN wheels | Jessem Clear-Cut TS™ Stock Guides
Festool (Emerald): DF 500 Q | RO 150 FEQ | OF 1400 EQ | TS 55 REQ | CT 26 E
DC3300 | Shopvac w/ClearVue CV06 Mini Cyclone | JDS AirTech 2000 | Sundstrom PAPR | Dylos DC1100 Pro particulate monitor
Corrie1996
Bronze Member
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu May 13, 2021 2:50 am
Location: Scotland

Re: DIY Electrical Question

Post by Corrie1996 »

Hi I am new to this forum live in the UK so no product support here. I have a 4 inch proplaner works only on one speed. The problem appears to be the speed control potentiometer.
I cannot find any values on it other than voltage and current. Any idea what the range is or whether linear or logarithmic.
😊
Post Reply