OT: Homeowner Wiring

OkiePC · Jan 28, 2007

I bought this house in October and finally got around to pulling out the old locked up garbage disposal...First time i've been shocked in years...

I turned it on, and heard it buzzing and turned it off. reached in to shut off the hot water going to the dishwasher and got hit pretty good on the forearm from the black wire after the oversized wirenut fell off. It was enough to make me jump back cussin'.

That's when I stopped and went out to the barn to find my meter...shoulda' done that first...

How many things can you find wrong in these pictures?

Tharon · Jan 28, 2007

Is any of that behind a GFI protected outlet, by any chance?

ndzied1 · Jan 28, 2007

Up here around Chicago romex and plastic boxes are strickly forbidden. EMT and metal rule the day.

Everything in a kitchen has to be GFCI. Kitchen islands require and outlet. Most every piece of wall requires at least one outlet.

elevmike · Jan 28, 2007

OkiePC said:
I How many things can you find wrong in these pictures?

1) The drill motor is sitting a little too close to the edge of the counter top and could get knocked off and broken.

2) The countertop dosent have a retaining edge to keep spills from running off the front edge.

3) The counter top lamanent choice is in terrible taste.

4)The floor grout needs cleaning. (all this requires is a stiff tooth brush and a wife).

That's it...

OkiePC · Jan 28, 2007

Tharon said:
Is any of that behind a GFI protected outlet, by any chance?

Nope.

That would have helped me out too...

It looks like they just tapped into the socket above the countertop and branched down.

elevmikeQuote:
Originally Posted by OkiePC
I How many things can you find wrong in these pictures?

1) The drill motor is sitting a little too close to the edge of the counter top and could get knocked off and broken.

2) The countertop dosent have a retaining edge to keep spills from running off the front edge.

3) The counter top lamanent choice is in terrible taste.

4)The floor grout needs cleaning. (all this requires is a stiff tooth brush and a wife).

That's it...

LMAO...I agree wholeheartedly...I am starting at floor level and working my way up...

Bob O · Jan 28, 2007

Mike,

I was going to point out the wrong color of the switch and switch cover but I thought I would let it slide since he got zapped.
I would have went with a dark brown with that finish.

IMHO

elevmike · Jan 28, 2007

Personally I'd relocate that switch to the back splash as I'm often found fishing with my hand in the grinder for a Barbie head or something like that. My luck would be to catch the switch with my belt, or have one of the kids try it out etc....

keithkyll · Jan 28, 2007

Exposed Romex. Needs watertight conduit.
Neutral (white wire) is switched.
I expect 120VAC. 101.9 looks quite low. Did he tie to ground instead of neutral? Or worse, the water pipe?
Box and Romex not secured to stud.
Ground lead (inside Romex) not connected or cut off.

There should be a test before the average Joe is allowed to purchase electrical products. I might let the unsecured box and wire in pic 5 slide, but the rest can't be excused.

Check you ceiling fan next to make sure he bolted it to a stud.

Tark · Jan 29, 2007

The required small appliance branch circuits are only to server receptacles and the refrigerator. The dishwasher and garbage disposal are not allowed to be connected to these circuits.

It is against the code to switch the neutral, in this case. Just a note, it is possible to use a white conductor on a switch, but this conductor would be carrying a hot and would need to be permanently marked and part of a cable assembly.

Everything in the kitchen does not need to be GFCI. The dishwasher, disposal, and refrigerator do not have to be on a GFCI.

panic mode · Jan 29, 2007

i hate wiring nuts... trademark or not, i don't see anything ideal about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_nut

ndzied1 · Jan 29, 2007

Maybe you should try using these push in style:

http://www.idealindustries.com/wt/IdcPushin.nsf

kolyur · Jan 29, 2007

I've been using this type of connector on my recent home improvement projects:

http://www.newark.com/jsp/Interconnect++Products,+Wire+&+Cable/Connectors/WAGO/222-413/displayProduct.jsp?sku=28K2061

They're similar to the push-in style but they have a lever to make removing the wire easier. Much better than wire nuts IMHO!

PeterW · Jan 29, 2007

Wirenuts....

When working in Canada recently we were horrified to see these being used as a matter of course, they've been banned over here for years.

For kitchens over here, you should not have any sockets or switches within touching distance of sinks etc, especially underneath where spills and/or blockages could pour over the socket. When I returned from Canada I found that the builder that installed our kitchen when I was away had done just that!!

We have to earth bond the pipes as well. (That's not meaning using as a earth return).

Common now to have earth leakage trips fitted, except in kitchens you don't want your freezer on it, which means the kitchen as a whole usually gets omitted or you live with the risk of the trip going (usually when your on holiday if you get that luxurary) and your freezer defrosting.

JesperMP · Jan 29, 2007

PeterW said:
Common now to have earth leakage trips fitted, except in kitchens you don't want your freezer on it, [..]

Same here, it is mandatory. And it must sit as the first thing where the supply cable enters the house, so no omitting the freezer allowed here. Even old installations must have this. I think that this device saves a few lives every year.
New installations in wet-rooms must also have all metallic parts tied to earth.

Rick Densing · Jan 29, 2007

ndzied1 said:
Up here around Chicago romex and plastic boxes are strickly forbidden. EMT and metal rule the day.

Pretty sure that is union driven and not safety.

OT: Homeowner Wiring

OkiePC

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elevmike

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panic mode

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