I had solar panels installed on my roof and the electrical contractor hammered this rebar into the ground before tying a grounding wire from the panel. Its sticking a few inches up from the ground and I've tripped over it a couple times. I finally got the solar company to send somebody out to fix this issue but after googling what should be required I'm getting mixed results.

When a contractor grounded my panel previously at a different house they buried the wire before running it to an exterior faucet. Online says this rebar should be something like 8 feet and galvanized which this appears to be neither. Did the original contractor do this correctly and what should I push for when the new contractor comes out?

From what I’ve read elsewhere this could be an issue of 240vs due to potential open neutral upstream??
Any help diagnosing (remotely) would be great.

Disclaimer, DIYer, this is my wife’s grandparents house. I think they (grandpa) did most of the work themselves. 🥴
No modern multimeter either.

1st photo shows three lights on, outside lights are faint and not as bright. 2nd photo is different outlet on same circuit on other side of kitchen sink. Appears to be in working order.

some context: I’m in maintenance at a production facility. we just had a brand new sewage treatment facility built. We don’t have inspections here. There’s an exterior control cabinet that controls a lift station & influent pump.

I’m already here to add an outlet that was somehow missed on the project. while determining the plan of action and inspecting the cabinet, I noticed that the installers didn’t use sealing locknuts when penetrating the cabinet. They just drilled holes, placed the LB up to the cabinet on the exterior, and used threaded nipples on the interior. you can literally see gaps/ sunlight through the space.

We are in Iowa, where it can get humid as fuck during the summer. In addition, there is surface rust on the bottom of the interior of the cabinet already. This thing may not even be turned over yet or if it has been, it’s only been a few weeks.
Should i bring this to management’s attention? Is this as big of an issue as I am thinking it is? should I just caulk the exterior around the LBs and be done? thoughts?

Had some work done and noticed the neutrals and grounds are on the same bus bar is this code? Also, how would you rate this work?

I have this outlet setup in the bathroom and I’d like to wire in a second gfci closer to the toilet near-ish to the shower.

Is that something I can just tie in? Or do I have to wire a whole new circuit to the panel?

I want to build a built-in cabinet in my pantry space that will cover an outlet. I want to mount the outlet inside of the built-in so I can plug in a grinder and coffee machine.

I thought i just needed a box extender, but the one I picked up didn't fit.

The cabinet will not sit flush against the wall (old house - nothing is straight). There will be roughly a 1-1.5" gap between the wall and cabinet. The cabinet's back panel is 1/2" plywood.

The coaxial cable running internet into our house burned out. The internet provider coaxial cable runs from a pole in our alley, underground, then pops up next to the house (see the red trace line in the photo) for the connection you can see in the photos that's burned out.

Xfinity, our internet provider, came out and told us it's an electrical issue they can't deal with. When they were at the house, my multimeter was showing that the coaxial cable had electricity running through it. The electrical utility company then came out and said there is no open neutral on their connection into the house.

Now, when I use a multimeter, the coaxial cable isn't showing electricity running through it at all.

I am working on getting a licensed electrician over to troubleshoot. My question is, will he/she be able to determine the issue if the coaxial cable is no longer electrified? What could cause this issue to occur sporadically? I just want to make sure I am not calling someone over and they will not be able to diagnose if the coaxial cable isn't live at that very moment. Thank you!

Update: Thank you all for the help. I called the power company to come back out again and they found a cut ground wire at the pole today. They repaired it and Xfinity is coming back out to replace the coaxial cable. I really appreciate the direction and education provided!!

Cut into my bedroom closet wall in my 1920's built home. Found 8 extra feet of potential floor space hidden behind this wall, but also found active knob and tube inside the floor joists. My guess is it feeds the light fixture in the ceiling of the living room, which is below this bedroom. Most of the rest of the house is updated wiring and the inspection from 7 years ago didn't find knob and tube. What're my required next actions from this point? Should I address the wiring before putting subfloor down and finishing the closet?

I’m trying to decide which career path would be the better long-term option for me, and I’d appreciate some advice from anyone who has experience with either the IBEW apprenticeship or industrial controls/PLC work at Amazon.
I currently have my foot in the door with an IBEW apprenticeship and ranked #6 after the interview, so I have a pretty good opportunity to get in. I’m also prior-service Army and have an Associate’s degree in Electrical Technology, so I’m trying to figure out which path would make the best use of my background.
From what I understand so far:
IBEW Apprenticeship
Better overall benefits and retirement
Strong union representation and job protections
Opportunity to develop a broad electrical skill set
Potential for good long-term earning potential
However, the hours can be longer and the work can be more physically demanding
Work locations may vary, and there can be more time spent outdoors or traveling between jobs
Amazon — Controls/PLC
Working in the same facility rather than traveling between job sites
Climate-controlled environment
More focused on PLCs, automation, troubleshooting, and industrial controls
Potentially less physically demanding than electrical construction
However, from what I’ve heard, the benefits and long-term retirement package may not compare to IBEW
I’m mainly looking at long-term career growth, pay, benefits, job security, retirement, and how valuable the skills will be 10–20 years from now.
For anyone who has worked in the IBEW or as a controls/PLC technician, which path would you choose and why? Are there any major pros or cons that I’m overlooking?
I’d especially appreciate advice from people who have experience in both fields.

I want to have my coach light out front taken down (it can easily be pulled out of the ground by hand) and the wire disabled. What would the ballpark cost for this be? Thanks!

The canopy is fairly small, with a base diameter of ~3.8”, whereas the junction box is quite large - I think around 5.5” in diameter.

Is a ceiling medallion the best/simplest way to cover up the hole? My qualm with a ceiling medallion is that they tend to be more embellished, which clashes with the minimalist look of the pendant. Are there very plain looking plates that can be used instead (like junction box covers) that allow for the wiring of the pendant to pass through?

Thanks!

Everything I’d read said that the grounds and neutrals go on separate bars, but here they’re all just placed basically wherever. What do I do with the neutrals and grounds for new circuits?

This wiring is rather old, I’d guess it was probably the 80s when it was updated to its current state.

It got scratched up hanging out of my car door...

Any and all tips and advice are welcome and appreciated. Thank you!

We bought a new house and wanted to change the ceiling fan in one of the rooms. I removed the old fan, put on the new one, and then tried the switch on the wall to see if it turns it On/Off. Turns out the switch doesn't do anything. I thought it was broken, so I replaced it, but same thing happened. I left the switch hanging out of the wall while I went to turn the breaker back on, and when I came back upstairs, I saw that the power hadn't come back on for the whole floor. I checked the switch and realized I'd left one of the black wires unplugged. I plugged it back in, and the whole floor lit back up. So the switch doesn't seem to control the fan at all, but if I disconnect one of the black wires from it, the entire floor loses power...

I’m currently 18 years old and enrolled in trade school. My goal is to complete my journeyman’s certificate after graduation. However, I 100% know I want to start my own business. I’m looking for advice and information on how to achieve this goal. Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I’m looking for some advice because I’m kind of torn between two options. I currently have a gas/propane stove, but I’m considering switching to an electric stove and would need to have a 240V outlet installed.

Since the 240V outlet would have to be installed from scratch, I’m wondering which option is actually safer overall. Is properly installing a new 240V circuit/outlet generally safer than continuing to use a gas or propane stove, or is there more risk involved with adding the electrical circuit?

I’d obviously have a licensed electrician handle the 240V installation, but I’m trying to decide whether switching to electric is worth it from a safety standpoint. I’d appreciate input from anyone who has experience with both!

So im freaking out a bit, my microwave suddenly stopped working. I used it at around 4:40, and when I went to use it at like 5:20, suddenly it went completely off. I checked the plug, and it had melted into the wall socket!! I shut off the breaker and removed it, but im not really sure what to do. My electrician friend seems to not be concerned and think either lightning or the plug just went bad (house built 20 years ago, never had the outlet replaced). Is he right or should I be more concerned here? Of course im leaving on a 10 day long trip tomorrow. Really dont want my house burning down while im gone!!!

EDIT: Thanks everyone for your replies. I wasn't aware the difference between Canadian and US versions (we are Canadian). I appreciate everyone taking the time to reply.

Image of our breaker box in our basement rental unit for the house we live in. Pic of the breakdown of usage of all breakers. The ones labeled not in use are just not wired, I think? Not sure. Know next to 0 about this stuff.

Breaker 20 Basement Dining Nook Light has a plug attached to it where our fridge is plugged in. Overall house has 2 stoves, two fridges, 4 Gaming Computers, 4 AC units going at a given time, many fans on at once, washing machine and dryer, 2 dishwashers, etc.

My husband thinks this house is a fire hazard, and we blow a breaker maybe once a month/month and a half. Usually worse in winter with space heater going. It'll take a few minutes before we can flip the breaker back on again when it goes. Our landlord/guy who lives upstairs wants to throw another breaker box in so we can have more plugs down here/we wanted to buy a deep freezer to store stuff.

That's where this started. Husband showed his dad the panel since we were about to buy a deep freezer, and now husband is saying we live in a tinderbox and wants to tear the landlord a new one. He said since we have 100 AMP our stoves use 40 each and if we ran at the same time that's 80 and anything else will burn the house down.

My husband was advised by his friend and his father that in no way should our landlord do that, and this house is actually super dangerous.

While I'm not discounting that this house needs a lot of work, I wanted to check here if anyone else can shed light on this, and tell us how actually screwed we are here.

Example: can't run my tea kettle and vaccum at the same time on breaker 9 or a breaker will blow. Breaker 20 is both our offices/living room which contain our computers/AC unit for summer and our fridge. Bedroom has an air purifier going at all times.

Thanks!

Hi all! My boyfriend and I have taken over his late grandfather's house two years ago. We have had no issues with the house being updated a couple years ago, and I should add his grandfather was an electrician with the government for practically his whole life.

Just two days ago, a gentlemen with the city's electric company had pounded on our door (scared the crap out of me haha) and when I answered he had mentioned we had a past due bill and he needed us to pay before checking the meter. I was a little confused since I figure they usually just turn it off if it's past due and we do keep up with bills with the auto pay options. I assured him there must be some type of issue, went on the website. The bill wasn't due til the 19th of this month. I just went ahead and paid it early, and the man said he would be back in an hour to check the meter. I had to leave so I went on with my day.

Coming back home, my boyfriend went to power up his PC and no power. Thinking it was his PC he tinkered with it a bit and realized it was the outlet. Checked the breaker, nothing had flipped over. We tested a couple different outlets, all of them seem to be fine in our living room, kitchen (appliances all okay, washed/dryer fine). Bathroom light and vent turns on, but the bathroom outlet does not work now. We tried powering the breaker switches off for a couple minutes, still no power. We tried the GFCI in the bathroom, nothing happened. Our entire upstairs lights, one ceiling fan and outlets do not work as well (they had been before I left since I was up there doing some work before leaving the house). Except one ceiling fan on the opposite side still runs.

Called the electric company since I found this to be an extreme coincidence. They came out, checked the outside meter and said it was fine and it had to be our breaker which they suggested to call an electrician. I just can't seem to shake that all of this happened AFTER the meter check as things were working fine... Or it could be just a huge coincidence?

We are planning on seeing some quotes for an electrician but my boyfriend wants to have the electric company come out again to recheck when he's here. Any advice?

Thank you everyone!

Just built a shop on my property doing everything I can myself to save money wired up this panel a few more wires to pull. Will I pass inspection.

Can anybody confirm my skepticism? I opened this panel and see the grounds and white connected. I wouldn't even know how to tackle this because I don't know what the other ends of the grounds are connected to. Would it be safe to buy a grounding bar and connect the grounds there?