A Shed Downunder.

[drivesitfar]

1/2: just curious why the water tank is in the roof? is that because of the solar or do tell? nice job fixing it and good to have a spare shower next door. personally I would have skipped a day's shower, but the way you are working I bet you have stuff flying everywhere especially if crawling in the insulation of the attic (roof space).

keep up the great work and of course everything is top notch from what I've seen so far.

Did Mrs. 1/2 and the rodents win a few more ribbons and points?

 

[1/2 Cup]

Since you aren't busy I'd like to see a picture of the jack hammered electrical chase.

Shorty no problems happy to oblige.

The West Wing is of solid brick construction and that includes the internal walls as well. I think you guys call them cinder blocks, then they are all rendered or stucco finished. Due to the fragile nature of the cinder block most of the chase work and removal of the old wall boxes and conduit had to be done by hand. That little exercise took nearly a day.

The old socket outlet you may remember.

View media item 60610
Then the new wall box and conduit set in place using a rapid cure Bostik epoxy adhesive. That took another day just to get the nine of them set correctly.

View media item 60814
The key things were that the wall boxes has to be set level and just below the finished surface which went well.

The other consideration I had was in order to install the conduits in each case which had to go down into the sub floor space so that I could wire them later I did not particularly want to remove the base board and not damage it.

That took quite some time and fiddling with to achieve.

So yesterday it was time to wire each of the outlets. I had always known that this part was going to be a challenge due to the construction style of the building being all brick both inside and out.
The other factor was that there is not a whole heap of room to move easily and it is like working in a maze.

View media item 60815
I donned a set of coveralls and began the decent into the abyss so to speak, to give you an idea it is a stomach crawl to get where ever you need to go with just enough room in places to lay on you side and do what you had to do. I took just enough tools to do what I had to do and a LED lamp to light the way.

Rather than drag the cable that feeds the socket outlets with me I precut plus some, the lengths I needed and had fed them down into the floor space from each room. This made the job a whole heap easier.

I took three trips down into the subfloor to complete the new wiring an remove the old conduits and cables. In total I spent 5 odd hours under the floor and I needed a long hot shower after it let me tell you.

So today basically all I have to do is to cement / mortar in and refinish each of the wall boxes, then fit off each of the outlets tomorrow and apart from the mains and main switchboard will basically complete the electrical upgrade.

I trust this answers your question. Have a top day.

 

[1/2 Cup]

1/2: just curious why the water tank is in the roof? is that because of the solar or do tell? nice job fixing it and good to have a spare shower next door. personally I would have skipped a day's shower, but the way you are working I bet you have stuff flying everywhere especially if crawling in the insulation of the attic (roof space).

keep up the great work and of course everything is top notch from what I've seen so far.

Did Mrs. 1/2 and the rodents win a few more ribbons and points?

Drives, thank you yet again

Older homes for the most part had there hot water services in the roof space. They were gravity fed and not mains pressure units. When I originally replaced the old unit with a mains pressure type it was just as easy for it to be put in the same spot with minimal changes required to the pipework.

Now a days most hot water services are in a dedicated spot or on the out side of the home.

Ours is centrally located in the large roof space we have so one gets minimal water wastage waiting for the hot water to arrive at your tap. Given that it is not too bad to service.

The other reason for keeping it where it is located will be that down the track I intend to get solar hot water panels installed so this will then become the storage tank with minimal additional plumbing required.

I do love my hot showers....

Mrs 1/2 Cup had two shows last weekend, well Sunday and Monday any way at a place called Euroa, not that far from here.

http://www.travelvictoria.com.au/euroa/

Both Stevie and Jackie performed well and won their respective groups both days.

So they are 1/2 way toward their Australian Champion certification requirement of 100 points. So more ribbons and certificates to add to their collection.

Have a great day and thank you for dropping by.

 

[Grumblebum]

Oops I mistook the first photo for the old horse hair plaster instead of brick. So an oscillating tool would not have done much for you there.

I had similar crawl space fun running RG6 and data cables under my brothers new (to him) house a few weeks ago, I feel your aches there.

Great progress you will be chuffed to update the complete box on that project.

Cheers GB.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Oops I mistook the first photo for the old horse hair plaster instead of brick. So an oscillating tool would not have done much for you there.

I had similar crawl space fun running RG6 and data cables under my brothers new (to him) house a few weeks ago, I feel your aches there.

Great progress you will be chuffed to update the complete box on that project.

Cheers GB.

GB, I have used my dads oscillating saw on the kitchen cupboards kick board in the West Wing last week and it worked a treat, he may not get it back and it can live in the Shed Downunder for a bit until he wants it back. To be honest he has never used it for him self.

I was sore all over after that little escapade under the floor let me tell you, its getting better by the hour, a Scotch and Dry numbs the pain.

Each of the nine wall boxes were grouted in today with a Hilti compound that sets as hard as a rock, so much so the if the home fell over these would be left standing.

By tomorrow I will be handing the West Wing over to Mrs 1/2 Cup as my messy work will be complete.

So its new floor coverings and window furnishing as well as the gas central heater service and general cleaning.

There is still a heap we would like to do but that will come in time.

Have a good one GB its past the yard arm here.

 

[Lyndon]

Steve

I posted over in Thomas' thread about the Australian batting order for the BS 1.0. It's despatch is due in a couple of weeks if Thomas is correct, and I need to get the reading order sorted out Down Here.

Please post on my thread what order you might remember. I do know that from me it's probably going to Rod (GB) in W/Gong, because he's nice and close, and if he's lucky I might deliver it rather than post it. But it's been too many wines (and too many compliance audits, etc etc ) since then to remember what the rest of the batting order looked like after that. Do you remember?

Lyndon
Don't ask me!!!!????

 

[1/2 Cup]

Steve

I posted over in Thomas' thread about the Australian batting order for the BS 1.0. It's despatch is due in a couple of weeks if Thomas is correct, and I need to get the reading order sorted out Down Here.

Please post on my thread what order you might remember. I do know that from me it's probably going to Rod (GB) in W/Gong, because he's nice and close, and if he's lucky I might deliver it rather than post it. But it's been too many wines (and too many compliance audits, etc etc ) since then to remember what the rest of the batting order looked like after that. Do you remember?

Lyndon
Don't ask me!!!!????

Let me put some thought into the batting order Lyndon and I will PM you as this pea brain is way past the o'çlock at the moment.

Regards

 

[shortykorte]

Thanks for the pictures. Looks like great fun. Looks like cinder block was used for structure and brick for aesthetic veneer?

Not forget some QST

 

[Bob Heine]

Steve, your crawlspace photo brought back a memory from my youth. My crawlspace didn't have cross beams or brick, just floor joists sitting on the dirt. Crawlspaces are never fun places to work but some can leave a lasting impression.

The first house my wife and I rented (from her mother) was an 1850s saltbox with an "inside" kitchen added on. The addition also contained the bathroom. The bathroom was small (sitting on the toilet I could put my right hand in the sink and my feet in the shower) and located on the un-insulated outer wall. I couldn't stand up straight in the shower because of its location on the short wall. John Quincy Adams lived in this saltbox house but ours was a little smaller.

One cold winter day the pipes to the bathroom froze so I headed for the crawl space to apply some heat. The kitchen addition had no foundation so the outer wall rested on the ground. Luckily the floor beams were in the 24-inch spacing range (whoever built the addition just eyeballed the framing) so I could crawl from the furnace pit under the main house out to the addition. To fit between the beams I had to put my arms (had two at the time) straight out in front of me and push myself along with my toes in the dirt. As my hands reached the outer wall to access the copper pipes, I realized my -phobias didn't include claustro- as I wasn't having a panic attack. I had not planned an exit strategy (ropes tied to my feet?) and I realized I was trapped unless I could dig my toes into the dirt and do the reverse of my entry strategy. My shin muscles turned out to be a lot weaker than my calf muscles but just strong enough to pull myself out.

Turned out my wife does have claustrophobia so she had a sympathetic panic attack when I came out of the pit.

 

[drivesitfar]

1/2: your new rental looks and sounds all too familiar to me. I too have cement block walls and when a former owner of my 60 year old house added on rooms maybe a few paychecks at a time almost all the interior walls are cement block too. did I mention I might have more masonary tools than most masons?

Awesome job cleaning up that old electrical and your crawl space is actually bigger than mine. min in 80% of the house has a cement floor that is nice but I actually had to lose the weight I've been losing so I can crawl in there again and finish a few plumbing and wiring projects soon. I think I might be able to fit now so i'll keep you posted.

just curious and you probably already know this, but are you 4 x 4 posts sitting in dirt or ?? that would be a real issue here with all the rain and bugs so we'd have that on cement blocks. did you mention termites in your area? wouldn't the ground to wood contact give them access to your entire house? i'd jack the house up temporarily, pull out those beams and trim them to fit on a cement block or even a brick might be better than in the dirt. if you already have that on your TO DO list or maybe there is some cement under the beams I can't see I apologize.

nice pictures and work and thanks for sharing

BOB: I can relate to that feeling because when I went down in my crawlspace I was stuck for a short while and had to breath calmly and ease myself out of a similar situation. I also had no exit strategy and everybody was at the in laws while I stayed home to fix a problem.

 

[Strouty]

1/2, are full basements uncommon in Australia? Just curious, I know it seems in the US that the warmer areas tend to not have basements either.

 

[HOTFR8]

1/2, are full basements uncommon in Australia? Just curious, I know it seems in the US that the warmer areas tend to not have basements either.

Basements in this country are very rare. Homes are either built on stumps or on a concrete slab.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Thanks for the pictures. Looks like great fun. Looks like cinder block was used for structure and brick for aesthetic veneer?

Not forget some QST

Not a problem Shorty.

I wouldn't call it fun but I do feel great that its all done and dusted.

The construction of the home is typical of houses of the era ( circa 1950s ) around here. There is a double brick base that's about 15 inches high all round then the cinder blocks on top up to ceiling height inside and out and then stucco finish has been applied to the cinder blocks again both inside and out.

Today is a bit of a clean up day and getting things in order in the West Wing and the Shed Downunder , winding down so to speak.

Mrs 1/2 Cup is looking at floor coverings today.

Thanks for dropping by and have a great day.

 

[Strouty]

Seems to me that it would be a real benefit to have a basement, around here you don't get taxed on the square footage unless it is finished for living space. Is the ground stable? Does it flood easily? Sorry, just curious.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Steve, your crawlspace photo brought back a memory from my youth. My crawlspace didn't have cross beams or brick, just floor joists sitting on the dirt. Crawlspaces are never fun places to work but some can leave a lasting impression.

The first house my wife and I rented (from her mother) was an 1850s saltbox with an "inside" kitchen added on. The addition also contained the bathroom. The bathroom was small (sitting on the toilet I could put my right hand in the sink and my feet in the shower) and located on the un-insulated outer wall. I couldn't stand up straight in the shower because of its location on the short wall. John Quincy Adams lived in this saltbox house but ours was a little smaller.

One cold winter day the pipes to the bathroom froze so I headed for the crawl space to apply some heat. The kitchen addition had no foundation so the outer wall rested on the ground. Luckily the floor beams were in the 24-inch spacing range (whoever built the addition just eyeballed the framing) so I could crawl from the furnace pit under the main house out to the addition. To fit between the beams I had to put my arms (had two at the time) straight out in front of me and push myself along with my toes in the dirt. As my hands reached the outer wall to access the copper pipes, I realized my -phobias didn't include claustro- as I wasn't having a panic attack. I had not planned an exit strategy (ropes tied to my feet?) and I realized I was trapped unless I could dig my toes into the dirt and do the reverse of my entry strategy. My shin muscles turned out to be a lot weaker than my calf muscles but just strong enough to pull myself out.

Turned out my wife does have claustrophobia so she had a sympathetic panic attack when I came out of the pit.

Bob, your situation sounds very much like mine. It was pretty tight under the floor and like a maze that had not been accessed since the day it was built.

Two days on and I am still sore and sorry for it let me tell you. It would be quite easy to have a panic attack in a situation like that and the only exit strategy was for me to yell for help from Mrs 1/2 Cup to get the emergency services to cut a hole in the floor to get me out.

BTW, I have never seen a home in that style before, thanks for sharing.

1/2: your new rental looks and sounds all too familiar to me. I too have cement block walls and when a former owner of my 60 year old house added on rooms maybe a few paychecks at a time almost all the interior walls are cement block too. did I mention I might have more masonary tools than most masons?

Awesome job cleaning up that old electrical and your crawl space is actually bigger than mine. min in 80% of the house has a cement floor that is nice but I actually had to lose the weight I've been losing so I can crawl in there again and finish a few plumbing and wiring projects soon. I think I might be able to fit now so i'll keep you posted.

just curious and you probably already know this, but are you 4 x 4 posts sitting in dirt or ?? that would be a real issue here with all the rain and bugs so we'd have that on cement blocks. did you mention termites in your area? wouldn't the ground to wood contact give them access to your entire house? i'd jack the house up temporarily, pull out those beams and trim them to fit on a cement block or even a brick might be better than in the dirt. if you already have that on your TO DO list or maybe there is some cement under the beams I can't see I apologize.

nice pictures and work and thanks for sharing

BOB: I can relate to that feeling because when I went down in my crawlspace I was stuck for a short while and had to breath calmly and ease myself out of a similar situation. I also had no exit strategy and everybody was at the in laws while I stayed home to fix a problem.

drives, I still have a few masonry tools myself from when I was an apprentice and they came in pretty handy for what I was doing.

Keep us posted on your sub floor excursion for sure.

The 4 x 4 posts are what we call stumps, in this case they are Red Gum timber and are set in concrete. They do have ant caps at the top of them to prevent bugs.
There is no evidence of termites damage at all. For the most part they are in sound condition but a restump down the track is on the cards.

In some places there is concrete stumps, I guess they just used what they had at the time.

Thank you one and all yet again for dropping by

Have a great day.

 

[1/2 Cup]

1/2, are full basements uncommon in Australia? Just curious, I know it seems in the US that the warmer areas tend to not have basements either.

Basements in this country are very rare. Homes are either built on stumps or on a concrete slab.

Seems to me that it would be a real benefit to have a basement, around here you don't get taxed on the square footage unless it is finished for living space. Is the ground stable? Does it flood easily? Sorry, just curious.

Strouty, as HOTFR8 indicated it is pretty rare to see a basement out here, that said you do see under home garages in hilly areas.

The soil in our area is a very reactive red clay and we are actually in a flood zone but going on the historic flood levels for this area our home has never been inundated at all.

I have seen five major flood events here in 50 years where we have had water in the street but has never flooded a home in our immediate area.

The terrain is fairy flat here.

I trust this answers your questions and thanks for dropping by..

 

[Strouty]

Thanks!

 

[HOTFR8]

Seems to me that it would be a real benefit to have a basement, around here you don't get taxed on the square footage unless it is finished for living space. Is the ground stable? Does it flood easily? Sorry, just curious.

Strouty, as HOTFR8 indicated it is pretty rare to see a basement out here, that said you do see under home garages in hilly areas.

The soil in our area is a very reactive red clay and we are actually in a flood zone but going on the historic flood levels for this area our home has never been inundated at all.

I have seen five major flood events here in 50 years where we have had water in the street but has never flooded a home in our immediate area.

The terrain is fairy flat here.

I trust this answers your questions and thanks for dropping by..

Thanks!

Strouty, 1/2 pretty well covered what I should have added. Our soil in many places make it impossible to have a basement. Some places the soil is so sandy a hole fills as fast as you can dig it. In other places like my location a pick end is required on a back hoe just to make a hole and even then the rock still holds moisture as I found when I dug out my pit. Our climate is very different as well and in my location and 1/2's as well we do not see snow.

Prior to living here most building sites I visited usually involved a large tractor to help get the delivery trucks out as they would get off the main road and bury them selves or the fork lift.

I am sure 1/2 did not mind me posting a reply and further comments on this as this sort of question as I have to say is what makes the GJ interesting as we find out about different members and why things are built differently in other parts of the world. All we need now is some one to explain why homes in Queensland and the top end of the Northern Territory are build up on stilts.
The breeze under them to keep them cool would be the main reason.

 

[BBChevro]

All we need now is some one to explain why homes in Queensland and the top end of the Northern Territory are build up on stilts.
The breeze under them to keep them cool would be the main reason.

You've pretty much got it Simon, that is the main reason.

Other advantages are things such as termite protection - a traditional "Queenslander" house had ant caps on the stumps so that there was no undetectable path for the little buggers to take (they had an iron bracket that went past the cap and attached the bearer to the stump so it wouldn't blow away in a cyclone ).




I would not enjoy crawling around in that crawl space 1/2cup (I'm glad it's you, not me) - but at least there is a crawl space, my place is "slab on ground", so no access at all.



You look to be making great progress

 

[sean Buick 76]

Not an easy job but the upgraded electrical will be very nice, well done mate!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Thanks!

HOTFR8 has nailed it as well.

Strouty, 1/2 pretty well covered what I should have added. Our soil in many places make it impossible to have a basement. Some places the soil is so sandy a hole fills as fast as you can dig it. In other places like my location a pick end is required on a back hoe just to make a hole and even then the rock still holds moisture as I found when I dug out my pit. Our climate is very different as well and in my location and 1/2's as well we do not see snow.

Prior to living here most building sites I visited usually involved a large tractor to help get the delivery trucks out as they would get off the main road and bury them selves or the fork lift.

I am sure 1/2 did not mind me posting a reply and further comments on this as this sort of question as I have to say is what makes the GJ interesting as we find out about different members and why things are built differently in other parts of the world. All we need now is some one to explain why homes in Queensland and the top end of the Northern Territory are build up on stilts.
The breeze under them to keep them cool would be the main reason.

Thank you HOTFR8 Your comments always value add to the discussion.

You've pretty much got it Simon, that is the main reason.

Other advantages are things such as termite protection - a traditional "Queenslander" house had ant caps on the stumps so that there was no undetectable path for the little buggers to take (they had an iron bracket that went past the cap and attached the bearer to the stump so it wouldn't blow away in a cyclone ).


I would not enjoy crawling around in that crawl space 1/2cup (I'm glad it's you, not me) - but at least there is a crawl space, my place is "slab on ground", so no access at all.


You look to be making great progress

Thank you Mark.

I am glad the under floor stuff is completed now and we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now.

As per usual, thank you one and all for dropping by and have a great week end.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Not an easy job but the upgraded electrical will be very nice, well done mate!

Sean thank you.

The electrical upgrade was certainly a huge challenge for me, an old home, solid brick construction inside and out, an original electrical install that had been illegally and at times compromised all manner of safety and fire risk.

So I can now hold my hand on my heart and say it is safe and fit for purpose.

Again, thank you for dropping by.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Yesterdays effort in the West Wing was compared with the last few days a breeze and I focused on all those small but none the less important maintenance issues that come with owning a home.

. Remove and replace two sliding door track roller sets.

. Remove and replace two dead lock assemblies.

. Identify and tag every key related to the home.

. Prime painted each of the socket outlet wall boxes.

. Terminated each of the cables at the socket outlets ready to fit them off when the paint has dried.

. Refit the peg tidy on the clothes line.

. Remove all the tools and stuff I have finish with back to the Shed Downunder

. Since we have had the home I noticed that when it rains there is always a pool of water on the gas cook top which is built into where the combustion stove had been. Upon investigation I found the brick chimney had been closed off but not sealed with a 15 x 15 inch sheet of rusty tin held in place with a brick placed on top of it with the rain water pooling and running down the inside of the chimney.
Being about 15 ft high it was not easily seen from ground level. So a quick hand sketch of what I needed and a visit to a long time acquaintance who owns and operates a roofing and flashing business then three hours later I received a text saying that my chimney cap with a ventilation cowl was finished. Talk about great service, so I will install that today.

. Mrs 1/2 Cup went MIA investigating flooring and window covering options. I am leaving that with her.

. Friday nights being what they are around here we seem to get a run of visitors some times and it was no different last night. Our neighbour and another mate dropped by with a gear change lever off his Harley Davidson ( its an anniversary model, don't ask me what year but it a nice looking HD ) that had the bushing flogged out in it, my mate had machined a new bushing that I pressed in for him and then it was back and forwards to our neighbours home to do a trail fit, adjust and reassembly. Quality Shed Time and a neighbour that was really appreciative of my time..

So when the dust had settled it was well past oçlock so I was looking forward to an nice coldy


One and all, thank you for dropping by.

 

[CoopVA]

Just checking in 1/2 Cup. Things seem to be progressing nicely! Glad to see you getting some quality Shed time and nifty Harley work going on!

 

[drivesitfar]

1/2: i'm almost surprised you couldn't fab up a cover for that fireplace, but it is good to have friends.

looks like your TO DO list has had a few more items added and even more checked off.

has your tenant been back to the house since he first saw it and agreed to rent it from you?

I bet he will be happily surprised or did you give him the link to your thread?

hope you are enjoying your TIME OFF so to speak.

cheers

 

[1/2 Cup]

Just checking in 1/2 Cup. Things seem to be progressing nicely! Glad to see you getting some quality Shed time and nifty Harley work going on!

Thank you Coop, I am really happy where things are at with the West Wing at the moment, I have achieved what I set out to do three weeks ago plus some.
The Quality Shed Time was great for a change and to that end I spent several hours last night with beer in hand sorting a whole bunch of old but usable electrical fittings and outlets from the West Wing plus some of the bits and pieces that one tends to accumulate over the years. The is quite a heap of stuff and I intend to sell it on Gumtree ( Craigs List )

1/2: i'm almost surprised you couldn't fab up a cover for that fireplace, but it is good to have friends.

looks like your TO DO list has had a few more items added and even more checked off.

has your tenant been back to the house since he first saw it and agreed to rent it from you?

I bet he will be happily surprised or did you give him the link to your thread?

hope you are enjoying your TIME OFF so to speak.

cheers

drives I supposed I could have done it, but my friend has all the right sheet metal gear and did it in a flash for me which was fantastic.

I did install the chimney cowl yesterday and it took a whole 10 minutes to do.

I will be catching up with our prospective tenant at work Monday as he has been filling in for me while I have been away, more just directing traffic so to speak.

He will be surprised at the changes we have done thus far.

I have had a fantastic few weeks off work, yes it has been challenging at times but I have stepped off the Merry Go Round that is called work 100% for that time. Some have said you should go away for a holiday, take a break and my response to that is " what I am doing is a holiday "


All. Yesterday, I concentrated on the final 9 socket outlets that working on over the last few days, fitted the Chimney Flue Cowl, installed the new main earth stake and its bond to the water main incomer and then for the most part cleaned and moved all my stuff back to the Shed Downunder.

Just to show you guys how a socket outlet is wired out here, you will note the standard cable colours are different the Red is what we call the Active ( hot ) and the Black is the Neutral.
We switch the active in all cases.

View media item 60878
The cable from what I understand would be similar to your Romex? It is what we call TPS ( Thermo Plastic Sheath ) and as you can see it is double insulated.
The copper conductors are 2.5mm stranded ( 7/065 seven strands of .065 mm ). We don't normally use solid copper out here nowadays.

Typically where the circuit is fed from say a 20 amp circuit breaker you can have 20 outlets on one circuit, not that you would do that as you would split them over serveral.

The finished double 10 amp socket outlet.

View media item 60879
While I was at the electrical wholesalers ( Laurence and Hansen ) I picked up these great little numbers for when I was under the floor and in the roof space. These are a 10 and 20 watt LED units and they work a treat. I can highly recommend them for a host of applications, they come with a three year warranty as well.

View media item 60877
Anyway that's it for me this morning I out to the Shed Downunder

Have a great day and thank you one and all for dropping by...

Enjoy your Memorial Day long week end and please take a moment to reflect on its significance.

As we say out here in Australia on such occasions:

LEST WE FORGET.​

 

[bolensboneyard]

Les we forget! My Memorial Day weekend was made for me at Walmart no less. The wife and I were there this morning getting supplies for the weekend and a young guy was there with his two small daughters (about four and five years.) We left at the same time and when I looked over at them the girls started squealing and waving the flag hollering yea! the American Flag. Dad smiled and I held up my fist in solidarity with a tear in my eye. There is hope! Hope this makes yours a better weekend too 1/2 Cup. Cheers!

 

[rmalkow2]

Good looking switched outlets you're putting in. It's interesting that you use stranded wire and the red/black coloring which I personally think is more intuitive. I'm sure there's some old history on why we do what we do here but not being an electrician myself its never made real common sense to me.
The LED lights are getting more and more useful and lower in price finally. In addition to corded types like yours I find myself using more of the battery versions in many situations where I need a brief bit of light but have no where to plug in. And LED lights come in every shape and size package nowadays.

 

[CoopVA]

Color coding here (USA..) is Black-Red-Blue for 120/240 volt hots, White for Neutral and Green ground. 277/480 volt are Brown-Orange-Yellow hots with a grey neutral and green ground. A black neutral freaks me out...

 

[1/2 Cup]

Les we forget! My Memorial Day weekend was made for me at Walmart no less. The wife and I were there this morning getting supplies for the weekend and a young guy was there with his two small daughters (about four and five years.) We left at the same time and when I looked over at them the girls started squealing and waving the flag hollering yea! the American Flag. Dad smiled and I held up my fist in solidarity with a tear in my eye. There is hope! Hope this makes yours a better weekend too 1/2 Cup. Cheers!

Thank you Bobby, appreciated and likewise have a great weekend.

 

[HOTFR8]

1/2Cup, are the LED's a flood type light and I have to ask where have you used them?

 

[1/2 Cup]

Good looking switched outlets you're putting in. It's interesting that you use stranded wire and the red/black coloring which I personally think is more intuitive. I'm sure there's some old history on why we do what we do here but not being an electrician myself its never made real common sense to me.
The LED lights are getting more and more useful and lower in price finally. In addition to corded types like yours I find myself using more of the battery versions in many situations where I need a brief bit of light but have no where to plug in. And LED lights come in every shape and size package nowadays.

rmalkow Our switched outlets are great it allows you to turn off an appliance at the outlet before you unplug it.

Our colour code may seem strange to you guys but it is just something we grow up with and accept as the norm.

I should get a battery powered LED work light at some point as well and as you say they are getting cheaper an more reliable all the time.
The corded units you see can be directly connected as well and used as a permanent fixture but they have been so handy.

Color coding here (USA..) is Black-Red-Blue for 120/240 volt hots, White for Neutral and Green ground. 277/480 volt are Brown-Orange-Yellow hots with a grey neutral and green ground. A black neutral freaks me out...

Coop

Now this is where our colours can get a little confusing:

240 volt, single phase which is our normal domestic supply voltage at 50 hz.

Red = Active.
Black = Neutral
Green and with Yellow stripe = Earth or ground.

415 volt, three phase.

Red = phase 1
White = phase 2
Blue = phase 3
Black = Neutral
Green and with Yellow stripe = Earth or ground.

Then comes the colours in a flexible cord where we have adopted the European Standards.

240 volt.

Brown = active
Light Blue = neutral
Green and with Yellow stripe = Earth or ground.

415 volt.

Brown = Phase 1
Black = Phase 2
Grey = Phase 3
Light Blue = Neutral
Green and with Yellow stripe = Earth or ground.

Then comes the low voltage code we use at work.

Up to 50V DC ELV

Pink = Positive
Brown = Negative.

Up to 50V AC ELV

Orange = Active
Purple = Neutral

You do get used to it, trust me.

Have a great day and thanks for dropping by guys.

 

[1/2 Cup]

1/2Cup, are the LED's a flood type light and I have to ask where have you used them?

HOTFR8 , They are a flood light for sure. They have worked well in the roof space and under the floor of next door.

We are installing them as area lighting at work as well and have just purchased some stand alone solar powered units for our recreational areas around our Dams and Reservoirs.

They do not get hot like a Halogen unit or a Paraflood then there is the additional benefit in terms of power consumption. Also they take the rough and tumble of being bumped not so with the others.

Speaking of your typical Par38 flood light there is now an LED replacement lamp out for them as well which I used next door and works great..

I trust this helps.

Regards

 

[Bob Heine]

Color coding here (USA..) is Black-Red-Blue for 120/240 volt hots, White for Neutral and Green ground. 277/480 volt are Brown-Orange-Yellow hots with a grey neutral and green ground. A black neutral freaks me out...

I thought red positive and black negative (ground) was pretty standard in automotive wiring.

 

[1/2 Cup]

I thought red positive and black negative (ground) was pretty standard in automotive wiring.

Bob, correct in saying that but there can be exceptions in the automotive world. We see it mainly in the battery connections. That said we do use the Red and Black exclusively in our solar powered and stand alone control systems.

And again thank you for dropping by, have a great day.

 

[Bib Overalls]

On switch legs with Romex white wire is transformed to black. It's magic.

 

[1/2 Cup]

On switch legs with Romex white wire is transformed to black. It's magic.

That would do this little pea brains head in.

Regards

 

[Mudnut]

Hey Mate,

Could you show a photo of the spread of the
LED's. I am starting to think about lighting in my shed under construction. Fluro sized LED's are still too expensive, but interested in smaller spots for workshop.
Also thinking about outside lights, and in the accommodation attached.
Cheers,

Ken

 

[HOTFR8]

HOTFR8 , They are a flood light for sure. They have worked well in the roof space and under the floor of next door.

We are installing them as area lighting at work as well and have just purchased some stand alone solar powered units for our recreational areas around our Dams and Reservoirs.

They do not get hot like a Halogen unit or a Paraflood then there is the additional benefit in terms of power consumption. Also they take the rough and tumble of being bumped not so with the others.

Speaking of your typical Par38 flood light there is now an LED replacement lamp out for them as well which I used next door and works great..

I trust this helps.

Regards

I have seen a few used on show cars at a few events now you mention how they work. I may have to look for a few to replace the Par38's that I have.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Ken, try these few links.

http://www.lh.com.au/wp-content/upl...lphalux-iFlood-Brochure_FA_V2_no-trims_LR.pdf

http://www.lh.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Alphalux-LED.pdf

I don't have a lot of first hand experience with LED fluorescent replacement as it seems a little too expensive at the moment for my liking.

Certainly for area lighting the Alphalux units are fantastic plus a three year warranty.

I paid $39 for the 10 watt unit and $66 for the 20 watt one to give you the heads up.

Laurence and Hansen stock them and usually have a display featuring them.

I trust this helps.

Edit We have used a few Silvania High bay LEDs recently in a workshop and they work a treat and would be ideal for your shed.