c/electricians

tyler6•13d ago

Old timer told me to stop using those fancy auto-darkening hoods for boiler work

I was up on a boiler retrofit job last Tuesday over in Cincinnati, and this 65-year-old pipefitter named Hank kept telling me my auto-darkening hood was gonna fail when I needed it most. I laughed it off until I dropped a wrench and the battery cover popped off, and there I was stuck in a tight corner with no shade and sparks flying everywhere. He handed me a beat-up passive lens hood and I finished the day without any issues. Has anyone else had a battery die at the worst possible time?

0 comments

linda500•17d ago

TIL the hard way about aluminum wiring in my house

I went to swap out a light switch in my 1970s house in Denver and the wire literally crumbled in my hands. Had to call in a senior guy to pigtail everything with copper, cost me $350 but at least the place isn't a fire risk now. Anyone else run into brittle aluminum wires on old jobs?

2 comments

robinp72•18d ago

What happened to the quality of 3/4 inch EMT fittings?

I've been in the trade about 12 years now, own a small shop in Pittsburgh. I swear I used to be able to buy a box of 3/4 inch set screw connectors and they'd thread on smooth every time. Last 6 months or so, I've been getting these batches where the set screws strip out before they even bite into the pipe. Had a job last week where I went through 8 connectors just to get 3 to hold tight on a simple 20 foot run. The metal feels thinner too, like they're shaving down on material to save a few cents. Is it just the supply house I'm using or is everyone else seeing this garbage from the big brands now?

3 comments

the_andrew•19d ago

Watched a brand new transformer blow up on a Tuesday morning

I was swapping out a meter can for a new build outside Austin last month, and the utility crew showed up to tie in the transformer. They got it hooked up, flipped the switch, and within 30 seconds there was this loud pop and oil spraying everywhere. Turns out they wired the secondary backwards after the test. I just stood there with my coffee while they scrambled to shut it down. Has anyone else watched a utility crew mess up that bad?

2 comments

thea_mitchell20•20d ago

Finally figured out why my Zinsco panel kept tripping the main breaker

Had this old Zinsco panel in a rental house I was working on last week, kept popping the main every time the tenant ran the microwave and AC at the same time. I thought it was overload, but I checked the load calc and it was fine. Spent two hours chasing my tail until I remembered an old timer once told me Zinsco breakers don't trip the same as modern ones - they can weld shut. Sure enough, one of the branch breakers was stuck closed and feeding back. Replaced it and the main stopped tripping. Anyone else run into weird Zinsco gremlins that aren't the usual fire-hazard stuff?

2 comments

margaret304•21d ago

Is it really fine to leave junction boxes buried behind drywall or should we all be pulling them to the surface?

I keep seeing guys on new builds in Dallas just drywalling right over junction boxes with splices inside, and my old master always said that's a code violation waiting to bite someone, but then others argue it's common practice if the box is accessible before the sheetrock goes up so which side is actually right here?

3 comments

the_morgan•22d ago

Wasted $180 on a fancy meter I didn't need

I was working a side job last summer and got it in my head I needed a Fluke 87V. Spent $180 on a used one online because everyone said it's the gold standard. First week I used it to check voltage on a simple outlet and felt like a fool. My old Klein does the same thing for basic residential work. I'm not running a plant floor or fixing VFD drives. Anyone else buy a tool way above what you actually need for the jobs you do?

3 comments

margaret_kim13•22d ago

Just realized how much romex has changed since I started back in 2003

The old cloth-covered stuff we used to pull through those farmhouses in Iowa was a nightmare compared to these new 12/2 rolls with the nylon jacket that just glides through studs, has anyone else noticed how much smoother the new jacketing is?

2 comments

mark_thomas•23d ago

My father in law told me to twist wire nuts tighter. He was right.

Last Saturday I was wiring up a ceiling fan in my sister's house outside Cleveland. I twisted the wire nuts snug like I always do, maybe a quarter turn past hand tight. My father in law Bob watched over my shoulder and said "twist them until your fingers hurt, then give it one more." I laughed it off but tried his way. Fired up the fan three hours later and it worked perfectly, no flickering or noise. Anyone else have a relative who still gives you good advice even after 20 years in the trade?

2 comments

iris574•23d ago

Finally caved and bought a Wago connector kit after years of wire nuts

I've been using wire nuts for 15 years and honestly thought Wagos were just a gimmick for lazy newbies. Last month I had to rewire a rat's nest of junction boxes in an old house near Portland and grabbed a kit out of pure frustration. They saved me at least 2 hours of twisting and taping in tight spots where my fingers barely fit. I'm still not tossing my wire nuts entirely but I get it now. Anyone else have a tool they swore off then changed their mind about?

3 comments

alice336•24d ago

Had a homeowner scream at me for 10 minutes because I wouldn't flip a breaker he'd taped down

Guy in Oak Park insisted his grow lights couldn't handle a 5 minute power flicker so he'd taped a 30 amp breaker in the ON position. Told him that's a fire waiting to happen and he called me a drama queen - has anyone else dealt with someone this stubborn about safety?

2 comments

lucaslee•24d ago

Spent $150 on a fancy wire tracer and it couldn't find a single line in my own basement

I bought one of those Klein ET450 tracers after watching a YouTube guy make it look effortless. Spent a whole Saturday trying to trace a buried line in my basement in Cleveland, and it just kept beeping at random spots. Tried swapping batteries, read the manual twice, still useless. Anyone else had a tracer that just refused to work on older wiring?

2 comments

miles_sanchez•24d ago

Used to crimp every single connection for 10 years, finally switched to soldering on a house in Phoenix

I was one of those guys who swore by crimp connectors on everything. Thought soldering was slow and overkill for basic residential work. Then I got a call back on a house I wired in 2019 where three crimp joints had failed in the attic. The heat out here gets over 115 and the vibration from the AC unit just loosened them up over time. Spent a whole Saturday redoing those with a Weller iron and shrink tube. Now I only use crimps on stranded wire in boxes where I can see them, but anywhere enclosed or hot I solder the joint and tape it. It takes maybe 2 extra minutes per connection and I haven't had a single failure since 2021. Any of you guys in hot climates run into this with crimps failing?

2 comments

reesemoore•25d ago

Had a talk with an old timer that made me rethink how I run conduit

Was pulling pipe in a basement remodel in Portland last week and this 70 year old retired electrician walks by, watches me for a minute, then says 'you know you're fighting the pipe instead of letting it work for you'. I thought he was just some know-it-all at first but he showed me how to use the bender with more of a body rock instead of arm force. Cut my time on a 3/4 inch run by half after that. Anyone else had someone call out a bad habit you didn't even notice?

2 comments

garcia.laura•25d ago

Was dead set against using WAGOs on a house I rewired last month, now I kind of get the hype

I've always twisted and taped everything because that's how old timers taught me, but I finally tried WAGOs on a 12 outlet kitchen circuit in Austin and it saved me like an hour of work. The connections felt solid and held up fine on a 20 amp breaker test. Has anyone else switched over and found a downside I'm missing?

2 comments

richard_dixon•27d ago

Used to hate combo AFCI/GFCI breakers but a job last week changed my mind

I always thought combo breakers were just a expensive pain. Had a house outside Nashville with a kitchen circuit that kept tripping a regular AFCI. After 3 hours of chasing phantom loads I swapped it for a combo unit. The GFCI part caught a intermittent ground fault from a loose neutral in a outlet box. Saved me from having to tear apart the whole wall. The homeowner paid for the extra cost too after I explained it. Anyone else come around on these things after a tricky troubleshooting job?

2 comments

ross.kevin•29d ago

Had a day last month where every outlet box was shallow

I was wiring up a kitchen remodel in a 1950s house over in Elmwood. Every single outlet box was one of those old shallow 1-1/2 inch steel boxes. I spent a whole afternoon trying to stuff 12-2 Romex and a GFCI into each one without pinching the wires. By the end, my fingers were sore from trying to fold the conductors just right. Has anyone else run into a whole house full of these shallow boxes, and what do you do besides swapping them out?

2 comments

murphy.blair•29d ago

Found out Romex derating rules are way stricter than I thought

I was running 6 current-carrying conductors in a 3/4 EMT for a remodel in Austin last month. Checked the code book and found out I have to derate to 80% of the 60C column for THHN inside conduit. That dropped my 12 AWG from 20 amps to just 16 amps. I had to upsize to 10 AWG on two circuits. Has anyone else been burned by this on a tight conduit run?

3 comments

lily_singh2•1mo ago

Lost $150 on a bargain meter that lied to me all day Tuesday

Picked up a cheap multimeter from a flea market for $15 thinking it was a steal. Spent Tuesday troubleshooting a three-way switch issue at a house on Maple Street and swapped parts that weren't even bad. Turns out the meter was showing wrong voltage readings the whole time. Had to buy a proper Fluke after work for $150 to fix the job. Anybody else get burned by junk tools pretending to work?

3 comments

walker.max•1mo ago

Just realized old Romex has way more copper than the new stuff

I was rewiring a 1950s house last week and when I stripped the old cloth covered wire, the copper was thicker than any 12 gauge I've seen in 20 years. Took me an extra 10 minutes per box just wrestling it into the junction. What's the deal with this skimping on modern wire, or am I just getting old?

3 comments

simon717•1mo ago

Just read a report that 70% of electrical fires in older homes start at the panel

I was looking through some NFPA data from last year for a safety class and that number really jumped out at me. It specifically cited loose connections and outdated equipment in panels over 20 years old as the main culprits. How often are you guys actually recommending full panel upgrades versus just fixing the immediate issue?

3 comments

nina_jenkins•1mo ago

Update on that tricky 3-way switch in the renovated kitchen

Everyone said it was a simple traveler wire swap, but a hidden junction box behind the tile backsplash added 4 hours to a 30 minute job. Has anyone else found surprises in 'simple' renovations?

3 comments

gonzalez.reese•1mo ago

Changed my mind on using a 4-inch hole saw for low-voltage after a job in Phoenix

Saw a clean, perfect pass-through on a retrofit that used a 1-inch bit and a flexible drill guide, took maybe 3 minutes. Anyone have a better method for fishing through double top plates?

3 comments

the_andrew•1mo ago

Overheard a guy at the supply house say he never uses a torque wrench on breakers

He was bragging about how he just tightens them by feel and has never had a call back. I had a job in Cincinnati last year where a loose connection on a 200 amp main caused a small fire. The inspector specifically asked if we torqued to spec. Has anyone else had an inspector actually check, or is this guy just lucky?

3 comments

tessa_clark74•1mo ago

Had to pick between a full rewire or a partial fix on a 1950s house

I got called out to a house in the old part of town, built in 1952. The owner had flickering lights in the kitchen and a dead outlet in the living room. After opening a few boxes, I saw the original cloth-covered wiring and some really old, cracked insulation. I gave them two choices: a full rewire of the main living areas, which would run about $8,000, or just fixing the two bad spots with modern wire and leaving the rest. They were on a tight budget, so we went with the partial fix. I used 12-gauge THHN for the new runs and put in AFCI breakers for those circuits. It's been three months now and they say everything is working, but I still worry about the old wire in the walls I didn't touch. For you folks, when you see old wiring like that, do you push harder for the full rewire even if the customer says no?

3 comments