Search results

Interesting. Grease it up, tighten it until the plastic squeezes out. Done.

Why are propane (R-290) monoblock air conditioners allowed in Europe and other developed countries, but essentially unavailable in the United States? I understand propane is flammable, but I think these systems keep the refrigerant sealed in an outdoor unit. Compared to my natural gas stove...

I need to cut these square tubes clean and square. 4” x 4” x 1/8”. They will be posts for a solar array. Ten posts at 10’ and ten at 5’. I don’t have much other need for cutting steel. Do I need to just buy medium quality band saw or chop saw and be done with it? I can try it with...

I’m installing some medium sized solar arrays. THWN will be run through 2” buried conduit. Would you run this close to the 10 AWG ampacity? I thought I had lots of headroom but I do not. I’ve already unfortunately bought the 10 awg wire. But I can sell or try to exchange. Or I can drop one...

I’ve got an iPad and an Apple Pencil. I can draw things that are basic on the Notes program. But it doesn’t seem to be worth a **** for making detailed drawings of layout for electrical or anything else. My penmanship or drawing abilities don’t help. Shirley, there’s a better application to...

I’m just about to finish putting in some 2 inch conduit in a 24” trench for my solar array. This will run about 150 to 200 feet from the arrays to a shipping container where I’ve got my charge control, controllers, inverters, batteries, etc. The shipping container sits on blocks. Out here...

i’ve got all my house bibs in vaults. Top of the vault about level with the ground. We’ve got no frost line in this part of Texas. The utility company has the main shut off in a similar vault. Mine are installed like theirs. The difference is if they crack a fitting, they simply send a crew...

I’m putting together some plans for a modest solar array. I’ll have concrete in the ground with Simpson post holders coming out of the concrete and then 6 x 6 posts connected with 2 x 6 runners and 45° supports, etc. I’ve never had a problem with 0.60 CCA lumber in the old days. I’ll use hot...

I’d like to drill a 1” hole in a 10” concrete wall. Ideally, I will drill from the ”inside” to get the hole exactly where I want it. And I’d like to avoid blowout on the outside wall. I’ll be using an SDS max drill for the larger hole. I was thinking of drilling an 1/4” hole first. Then...

Is there a chart that specifies different anti seize for different metal combinations? Similar to the chart that lists the chemical resistance of various types of glove material. Anti-seize for stainless-aluminum; copper-stainless; aluminum-copper, zinc coated-copper, etc. I see permatex...

What do you guys think? I can drain these totes and leave the valve open. Or I can fill them up with about 300 gallons of water and leave the valve closed. Projected temperatures are about 15 F at night for 3 days. Warms up above freezing during the day. These things have a sort of a pallet...

I’ve been known to field bend a piece of rebar or steel a bit. I read somewhere that the reduction in strength was pretty minimal. I don’t really know if that’s true or not. But what about 5/8” threaded rod? Ok to put in a foot or two bend in a 10’ stick? Or should I just cut it and use...

I’m putting in some circuits in my cabin/workshop. Particularly in a storeroom I’d like to finish up and lock for secure storage. I know the location of the panel but it has not been set yet. Is there a rule of thumb for how much wire to leave at the anticipated panel entry point? I’ve...

I want to place an outlet on the outside wall of my cabin/workshop. Bare stud walls on the inside. The layup is three-quarter inch plywood, tyvek, 3/4 foil faced polyiso, 1x4 stringers, 24 gauge steel. Using an exterior box or an outdoor rated fixture, what’s the right way to address the wire...

I had some work done on my little pond. Approved by the wildlife biologist. Repaired a blowout in the dam caused by 15 years of seepage. And scooped out decades of silt. It was dry given the drought conditions. But in the old days, it held water year round. The creek feeding the pond is...

this is mostly a therapeutic rant. I reached out to the company last week, but haven’t heard back from them. I’m hoping it’s the holidays and they will respond after. Though I need the wire right now. 4/0 cable wrapped around a three-quarter inch spindle. And there was room in the box not to...

Good afternoon and Merry Christmas. I’m thinking through the details of wiring my workshop/cabin. I’ve got a conex solar fed powerhouse that can deliver about 20,000 W continuous. More than I’ll ever need as a practical matter for my 25’ x 25’ three story workshop and cabin. I was...

Does anyone have a brand recommendation? The ones on Amazon look like junk from reading the reviews. A quarter ton is fine. I need to lower some 120 pound inverters off the wall and then put them back up again. Thanks

I’m thinking of using 1/2” blind bolts to fasten H-beams to a piece of square metal tubing. Preferably hot dipped galvanized. I will run the answer by the engineer, but I wanted to do some legwork first What brands should I be looking at? Thanks.

I’ve got a bulldozer coming out to clean up my little pond. It’s dry now. It’s been there for the 20 years I’ve had the place. But about 5 years ago the dam on the right blew out during a flood. I’ll get a pic next time I’m up there. The gap is about 5’. In addition to cleaning out the...