I'm a little in over my head on what is probably a simple electrical wiring change. I have a bathroom with a separate "toilet room" that does not have any ventilation and is on an outside wall of an older home. I could have an a/c duct run over and also put in a ventilation fan, but those have a cost that just isn't quite worth it to me.
The main issue is how cold it is in there during the winter months, especially when you sit on the throne. I got the idea that I could put a small space heater in the toilet room, plug in to a "smart" outlet control, and in the morning before I get out of bed switch on the heater for a few minutes to warm things up a bit.
There are three way switches back to back that control one recessed light in the toilet room. The power seems to come in on the main bathroom side and there is a four-wire bundle coming through on the toilet side. I bought a switch/outlet combo and a regular outlet, hoping I could get one to work.
This is what I currently have on the left side, and the right side is what I want to replace it with, if possible. I have wired in the switch/outlet combo and can get the switch part to work, but the outlet is not hot. Because the switches are back to back on the wall, I think I could run another traveler or something between them if needed.
And obviously I know that the wires don't go straight through the wall as it may appear from the diagram, I just don't know where they go once inside the wall to show which ones run up to the light or out to the breaker box.
You cannot just add a receptacle to the powder room switch.
There are two travelers (switched hots) and common. There is no neutral there.
There is a three wire cable between switches. Ground is not included in the count.
It's 14/3 NM-b w/ground.
Does that 3w circuit control two lights ?
One in the powder room and one in the bathroom ?
The pics don't show everything, but this is how it was originally wired up. Both switches were the same. White and ground on one side, red and black on the other, with black going to the black terminal.
I also needed to add heat to a chilly toilet room with an exterior wall and no ducted heat of its own. But a space heater near a toilet would make me nervous in case of overflow.
Fortunately, I have a recessed can fixture directly above the throne. Twice a year, I swap the "summer" LED flood light with the "winter" heat lamp similar to this one. Perhaps this would work for you.
Ok..... your diagram is technically what you see but it's not the actual circuit.
The wiring from each switch goes somewhere else..... probably to the light or a junction box. If the switches were wired white to white, black to black and red to red...... nothing would happen. You need connections to power.
I'm trying to figure out two switches to the powder room light. Are there two doors to that room ?
I'm trying to figure out two switches to the powder room light. Are there two doors to that room ?
There is a switch outside of the powder room above the vanity, along with another switch that turns on the light above the vanity. The other switch is inside the powder room itself.
Fortunately, I have a recessed can fixture directly above the throne. Twice a year, I swap the "summer" LED flood light with the "winter" heat lamp similar to this one. Perhaps this would work for you.
I've thought about it... the issue being that there are a couple of months per year where the morning temperature is pretty chilly (maybe 40F) but the daytime temperature can get warmer (80F). The heater lamp would be great in the morning, but oppressive if you needed light in the powder room in the afternoon.
I am planning on putting the heater on top of the toilet tank itself, up off the floor. I would run it for 15 minutes or so first thing in the morning before I got up just to knock the chill out of the room.
I'm sorry.... I'm having a hard time understanding this. Why do you need a switch outside the powder room and inside the powder room.
The reason I'm asking is there is probably a way of disconnecting the three way switch outside the powder room and converting the one inside the powder room to a single pole switch. If you do that.... you can get a neutral at the powder room switch.
Why do you need a switch outside the powder room and inside the powder room.
I don't (and I'm not sure why they wired it like that in the first place, except for it is nice if I can repurpose the wiring). I bought parts for two different options, the outlet/switch combo and just a plain outlet, and I will use whichever one works. You can flip the light at the vanity before you walk in to the powder room, I just want the outlet inside the powder room itself.
Would it be an option to completely remove (wire out) the switch on the outside and have the switch/outlet combo inside the powder room? I don't really need the outside switch if I can turn on the light inside and also have an outlet for the heater.
Ok.....your next step is to go to the light and open the junction box and snap a picture.
The 3w in the first room can stay..... it will just not work.
In the powder room we need to convert that 3w cable to black- hot, red- switched and white- neutral.
We had a pretty good storm several days ago with high winds. The next day, I first noticed some flickering of ceiling LED lights I installed a month ago. This has continued since this first observation. Yesterday, I noticed flickering of ceiling LED lights installed a few days ago in another room on a different circuit. [color=#1b1b1b]Then this morning, for several minutes, we lost power on at least 4 different circuits (including both circuits with ceiling LEDs installed recently), while at least 4 different circuits had power. So strange to see so many circuits without power while an energy hog like the coffeemaker was still running.
We didn't lose one of the hot legs since we had power on circuits on each of the hot legs.
Because the LED light flickering manifested before this morning's partial brownout(?), I thought the problem was either in the LEDs themselves or in my wiring. So I picked up a CAFI/GFCI breaker that I was planning to install on that circuit to try and see if there is a poor connection in the wiring, and if not, then I know it's the LEDs. But given this morning's partial outage, it seems there may be more at play, perhaps related to the storm. I'll have to check with my neighbors when I get a chance to see if they noticed any issues this morning. The drop from pole to my house looks fine.
Any suggestions on how to investigate/isolate the issue(s)?[/color]
Wasn't sure if this should go in the Automotive Repair forums - but I wonder if it's common for modern battery chargers with more sophisticated electronics [i]not[/i] to charge dead or very low 12v batteries. I encountered this last fall while attempting to charge a battery in a lawn tractor I lent to my son. My new (discount national parts store) charger would just go dead when attaching the leads, no LED, no indication on the meter. Thankfully I hang onto things - brought out my Craftsman 2/6 amp charger which may be 20 years old and was able to charge the battery. I can get the battery to a certain level and have the new charger take over.
On several occasions my neighbor had to borrow my old charger when the battery in his spare car was deeply discharged. He just got a new charger from the same store as my new one (but with an LCD screen) and it was useless, just kept flashing red. Borrowed my Craftsman, charged the battery for a few hours - then his new one was able to take over. My old charger is very basic, a switch for 6 & 12 volts, 2 & 6 amps and a meter.
I wonder are these basic units not made any more? My neighbor brought his charger back for a refund. A different neighbor gave me a spare battery he had for my truck. That was around 9.6 volts so I was able to charge it with my new charger. The truck has been starting since Saturday - so it seems some new chargers just won't charge below a certain voltage.
12-23-20, 04:20 PM
Converting Three Way Switch to Receptacle
