Complete newbie

Do you have a wire stripper, the kind with the different sized holes for the various wire guages? If so you can carefully try sliding the wire into the different sizes until it just fits with no room to spare. Be careful not to knick the wires at all and of course make sure the power is off.

As far as your office wiring project is concerned, it sounds like it wouldn't really be that difficult. As long as you've got a path to run the wire and space in the panel it can be done, however panel work is dangerous because unless you pull the meter or have some kind of main shutoff before the panel, you will be working in close proximity to live electricity. That is why it is strongly recommended that you get a couple of books and do some reading before you attempt anything of that nature.

 

Arch,

I've taken my fair share of lumps on this forum (see above) as well. Would you rather the professionals not point out potentially hazardous conditions?

Learning to do anything well is a hassle, especially wiring.

I'm sure the pros like John, Wgoodrich, Sberry, etc. all know at least one person that lost either their home or their life because they thought they knew what they were doing, and well, didn't.

You'll recognize the difference between 14 and 12 gauge wire because at 12 and larger (gauge goes down as size goes up), they're a pain in the butt to bend. Start with the smallest wirenut and work your way up. Give each wire a yank when you think it's secure.

 

Look at Wiremold products, specifically Plugmold. Multiple receps on a surface-mount strip can be powered from any existing receptacle. Take it with you when you move (after spackling the wall where you've mounted it).

http://www.wiremold.com

 

Yes, I would do that, but wouldn't that be the same thing as just using a lot of surge protectors on one outlet?

Yes, I realize that that situation is a hazard. I myself have already had a fire due to electricity in my home seven years ago. I know what it can be like. I am glad that they alerted me to the situation, but there was no need for comgenboy's unusual comment. All I said was that it would take me time to fix because it is not something I am capable of doing immediately.

 

No, it's not the same thing. Wiremold is equivalent to running wire within the walls, only they aren't in the walls. Check it out.

 

Ah, yes. It does seem like a good product. So, should I first determine if the existing outlet can handle the extra power? And if not, I'd need a new circuit - and an electrician.

 

Laying out circuits is a matter of figuring out what appliances and fixtures you will use where, and not connecting more to a circuit than it can handle. When builders do it, they don't know what you're going to plug in where so they just limit themselves to 8 outlets on a 15-amp circuit and 10 on a 20-amp circuit. You can either just use that rule of thumb, or you can tailor it to your individual needs.

When you get to kitchens, dining rooms, bathrooms and laundry areas, special rules apply and you have fewer freedoms.

 

Well, I have 365 watts worth of lamps. In addition to that, I have one CRT monitor (about 100 watts), one computer with a 400 watt power supply, a scanner, speaker system, printer, and typewriter. Everything after the computer I'm not sure about how many watts they take up. Any ideas? That way I could get an accurate number. Right now I'm running all this off of one outlet - the lights off of the bottom one and the computer stuff off of the top one.

 

Assuming that is not a laser printer you're talking about, then you are probably under 1000 watts. If this is the only load on the circuit then you don't have a problem and can tap off of this outlet.

 

I'm honestly not sure if it is the only load on the circuit. One armored cable goes from my main breaker panel to a junction box on the rafters in my basement, about twenty feet from the main panel. This junction box breaks off three ways: one way is directly to the furnace, another is to a junction that doubles as a light underneath it that then splits off in many different directions, and the third is the one outlet that's powering all this stuff. So, it is not the only outlet on the circuit from the main panel, but it is the only outlet on the circuit from that one junction box. So what does that count as?

 

Before you do anything, make a complete map of what is on what circuit. Be annoyingly thorough.

Start with a list of everything electrical in your house. Include each half of every receptacle, each switch, each light, each appliance. Don't forget the stove, the oven, the stove exhaust fan and light, the furnace, the doorbell, the clocks, the A/C, the hot water heater, the bathroom fans, the refrigerator, the garbage disposal, the dishwasher, the front porch light. Look in the basement, the garage, the attic, all closets, the roof, the crawl space, and the entire perimeter of the outside of your house. Move storage units, appliances and furniture so you can see if there's a receptacle behind it.

First test everything and make sure it all works with all the breakers on. Then turn off each breaker one at a time. Find out what doesn't then work. Keep at it until you have a breaker number next to everything on your list.

This information will come in handy over and over again. Keep it up to date as you make changes. You cannot sanely make changes to the electrical system of your house without 100% reliable information about what is on what circuit.

 

Okay, so whenever I find the breaker that turns off the computer stuff, everything else that turns off too is without a doubt on the same circuit, correct?

 

You say this problem will take time to fix, until you buy the book, and tools, yet you’ve already had an electrical fire in your house!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO WAIT TILL YOU LEARN!!!!!!!!!
You have a serious fire hazard right now. Call an electrician in the mean time and get this problem fixed. Then start reading as much as you want

 

Call an electrician to screw on wire nuts for me? I know I won't know which way to do it immediately myself, but it still seems like anyone that I'd call to ask to do that would laugh. But hey, maybe I should, just to get it done now.

 

Sorry if I offended. Just wasn't sure reading the thread if it was serious or someone trolling for fun.

Like many people have said, your life and family's lives are at stake when you mess around with wiring - libraries are free and so is knowledge.

 

Yes, and I have been utilizing both. It takes time, however, and perhaps that is why, even though this is an incredibly simple job, I should call an electrician to get this done so I can just get it out of my hair.

 

New question, rather minor, but hard to look up: If installing using surface mounting, how would you attach the raceways and such to a concrete block wall, since you can't use screws or anything? Like in the interior of an unfinished basement.

 

With a good sized drill, a masonary bit, and plastic screw anchors, you can secure just about anything you want to concrete block.

 

Also, check your local code for basement wiring. The raceway may not be legal below grade.

 

archcommus1,

You can find some useful information here;

http://www.blackanddecker.com/Projec..._27_10770.html

 

Thanks for the info, I'll be sure to read up on that. Why do some codes not permit raceways underground? Because of the possiblity of water and such?

 

unbelievable. OK... for those of us in the electrical trade this seems insane. However, without electrical training, I have heard of worse things being done. I don't think things like whether to twist the wires or not are pertinent in this case. What is pertinent is how to fix it.
first of all, I suspect in a house buit that long ago we are talking about aluminum wiring mixed with copper wiring. So one thing we are looking for is al/cu approved wire nuts etc. second of all, if you really want to start with the smallest wire nut and work up, somebody who doesn't know crap about this stuff will get frustrated before they ever find the right one.
Suggestion. arch... look at the wires going into each splice. They should each have an AWG wire size and type (i.e. aluminum, copper) find out how many go into each, and what type. Then, go to your local hardware store with this information. Get the correct wire nuts. Tighten them in a clockwise manner. Also, get a multimeter (a cheap one is better than none) and make sure nothing is over 16 amps. Repair everything you can with this, and then, either call an electrician, or READ! And continue asking questions... !!!!

 

Which splice do you mean? The one that I made with the tape?

 

yep, that and any others that you or anyone else may have done by similar methods

 

Well, I was at Lowe's tonight and was looking at sample wire setups, and I saw the exact same kind of stiff, thick wiring that I have, so apparently it's still used in a lot of setups. I didn't have any money at the time, but I did see those large orange wire nuts that were mentioned earlier.