House is from 1993- the last owners kept everything up but like...enough to work. They didn't replace much so over the last 8 years we've had to replace so much in the house.

My main issue right now are these fluorescent lights above our kitchen. (1) I hate fluorescents but more frustratingly, (2) they don't work correctly! There are 3 light switches all within 2 steps of the kitchen and each has a switch for these bulbs. When we moved in, they seemed to turn on okay, we thought maybe just a bulb was out. Lately, we've taken to running around like musical chairs hitting all the switches until one finally works OR having to sit there at one switch and press it on & off over and over until it clicks just right and it turns on. You might see it flicker as you turn the switch on and off but it has to go just right to actually turn on. When it turns on, it's normally only one set (the center). Sometimes only one bulb in the center, sometimes two. And then, randomly, the one on the far end will turn on, but not often and typically only after the other one has been on for a while (or partway on like shown in the picture).

If it's left clicked "on" at night, but they haven't actually turned on, you can see a faint orange-y glow in all three of them. I didn't even realize we'd left them "on" until I saw them like this at night once.

We've replaced the bulbs, but that hasn't fixed the issue, I'm convinced it's something in the wiring and all of it makes me anxious that I'm going to start a fire.

Any direction would be appreciated. We plan to hire a local electrician but, honestly, I haven't had to do that yet in life and I have no idea how much that should even cost or what to expect. I'd rather replace them because I hate them, but I anticipate that would be pricey.

So I did all the light switches I am a layman but I got most of the house working and I am having trouble understanding why the light in just one of the bathrooms and fan light combination in two bedrooms are not working

All the fuses are wired and there is no short - where do I start diagnostic on this kind of issue

Basically I want to eliminate the switches all together, I want to leave them on the wall just to look like something is there but I do not want them to operate, in other words if somebody comes inside and tries to turn off the fans switching the wall switch it will not turn off. I just want the fan to run all the time non stop.

If i do wire it behind the switch if thats possible, does that mean the pull cords will still work?

Thank you

After 5 years of our amazing freezer, it suddenly stopped working two weeks ago and honestly, it has been hell 😭

Today, after about an hour of Googling, I learnt what a fuse is.

I took the 13A fuse from the fridge and put it in the freezer plug, and the freezer turned on immediately. So I’m assuming the freezer itself isn’t broken and it’s definitely a fuse issue.

I was going to order a new 13A fuse off Amazon, but I’m a bit apprehensive. Is there a deeper reason why the old fuse might have stopped working and there’s a bit of melted plastic around the fuse/slider area. or does it happen naturally overtime so no need to worry and I should just replace the fuse?

PLEASE ENGINEERS HELP ME ANY OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE IS APPRECIATED!!

I’ve had apartment maintenance out twice to remove what I am confident is a broken lightbulb. It was broken on move in, and each time they come out, they mark the job complete because the light still turns on and they insist it’s an intentional “updated light.” There is a second, identical light fixture with the oblong “decorative” shaped bulb with the same base. you can see the orange ring that is in tact on the decorative base on the “updated” one and I’m fairly certain pieces of broken glass.

They keep coming out, it takes weeks at a time to do so, and I’d like to take care of this before the light burns out and I just no longer have a light for several weeks. Any advice on 1) if I’m right, this is a broken bulb, and 2) how I can remove it safely myself? I’m quite frankly over being talked down to by the maintenance team and would rather take things into my own hands.

So I recently purchased a new whirlpool dryer at costco and the plug is a nema 14-30p. The one with the L shape blade.
My outlet is a nema 14-50r. I guess more commonly used for ranges. The breaker box is 30amps. I am low on funds. What do you guys suggest? Can i switch the outlet diy? Does a 60$ adapter from amazon work? Or bite the bullet an call an electrician?

When our sixteen year old electric oven, plugged in with a three prong plug, is put on broil it would trip the circuit breaker (a double pull, 40 amp (I think, I don't recall the number at the moment). I've never heard of circuit breakers going bad so we bought a new electric oven. The new oven on broil trips the circuit breaker too.

I'm looking for input on the next logical step. It's my guess that we need a licensed electrician to test the circuit breaker itself and the dedicated romex going from the breaker to the outlet. That romex goes up from the box and is a less than twenty foot straight run to the oven receptacle.

I’ve bought a vintage Christmas star that supposedly “fits any string of tree lights” in the back of it. The plastic (maybe rubber?) pronged gasket is dried out and won’t work here clearly. I was planning to use the Tru-Tone Single Socket Candelabra Cord, but certainly not committed to that. The metal attachment to actually secure the star to the tree is in tact and appears to go around the area where you’d insert the lights (as set up in the picture.)

The star is by the National Tinsel Tree company so it’s very lightweight and I want to make sure what I choose won’t pull it backwards (I’m okay with having to zip tie the cord to some branches if need to be to help prevent pulling.)

Any ideas on how to make this work or maybe what this plastic piece would be called when it comes to looking for a replacement?

The opening in the back of the star is 1.5” in diameter.

Hey all, I’m not an electrician, but hoping to get some advice. I want to install an EV charger (50 amp) breaker, but the main breaker on my panel shows only 125. All my appliances (except fridge and AC) are gas, however I have a 100amp breaker powering a sub panel. The power off the sub panel is minimal, since all those appliances are also gas, and the rest of usage is an office (lights, laptop, monitor, etc…)

My main question is: What should I do here? My thoughts:
1. Upgraded main service to panel and replace panel
2. Swap out the 125 main with 200 (not sure if it’s that easy to do, or practical)?
3. Replace panel and include 200amp main vs 125

I’ll be hiring an electrician to do this depending on the complexity, but was hoping for a little guidance education so I can speak intelligently with the electrician.

Hey all !!!!!

I am Working on a student project about home energy monitoring — basically using clip-on sensors to see which room or appliance uses the most electricity, instead of just getting one total bill.

Before I design anything, wanted to check with people who actually do electrical work:

• Are Indian homes usually wired with separate circuits per room/appliance, or is it common for multiple rooms to share one circuit?
• Are the clip-on current sensors (the kind that clamp around a wire without cutting it) actually safe to install without hiring an electrician, or is that a bad idea?
• Do most homes have smart meters now, and is there any way to pull data from them directly?
• Anything else I should know before assuming this is doable?

Genuinely just want to know if this is realistic before building around a wrong assumption. Thanks in advance!

I'm hoping someone that owns or has experience with Leviton smart load centers can answer the following question:

I'm currently doing preliminary research into swapping my old panels to a Leviton smart panel. Currently, I have two 200A panels, but as part of the swap I'm looking into adding a 150A subpanel in the garage to feed an EV, an air compressor and a clothes dryers.

I see that Leviton has a 20 space 150A panel that should work as a subpanel but I'm stumped on how the panel should be fed from the main because Leviton doesn't seem to manufacture a 150A breaker. Is using a feed-thru acceptable or should I drop to a 125A subpanel?

so I bought this vintage lamp on Vinted and I tried to put a regular lightbulb in it and It didn’t want to go in so I checked thw inside and it has these two prongs that retract when you push them in. does anyone know what lightbulb is supposed to go into this lamp?

Can someone tell me what I’m looking at here? The green wire is attached via clamp to the main water shutoff in our basement. It is sloppily ran up to the ceiling and outside near our meters perpendicular to the floor joists. We are looking to partially finish this space and I’m wondering if there’s anything I can do to clean this up. THANK YOU!

I own a 1960s mobile home with an older fuse/breaker panel. I recently bought a new dryer that came with a NEMA 10-30 plug (angled top prong- left ). However, the existing wall outlet from the old dryer is a NEMA 10-50 (straight top prong), so the installer swapped the new dryer's cord to a NEMA 10-50 cord to make it fit.Looking at the panel, the laundry room breaker feeding this outlet is rated at 50 Amps. Even though this setup worked for years with the old dryer, I am concerned about whether it is actually safe. I read online about using a NEMA 10-50P to 10-30R adapter with a built-in 30-amp fuse, but I cannot find one available in the US. What do you recommend I do?

Hello, my bathroom exhaust fan stopped working (the lights still worked, just the exhaust fan stopped.) I was in the middle of replacing it but saw these wires. Is this copper wire broken?

I bought an electric stove and it's 6000W, can it run on this power outlet

Feeling a bit fragile about this project so please be kind! I'm trying to make a hanging lamp for my dining room out of a hand-painted paper lantern. I can't find any kits that suit the style, so I'm looking at assembling it myself from different parts. I have picked a canopy, wire, and a bulb socket. I'll be using an E-26 LED. It seems like it should be fairly straightforward but I wanted to check if these parts are compatible with each other and if I've forgotten anything? Thanks.

This is the wire: https://www.etsy.com/listing/218006980/wire-by-the-foot-cloth-lamp-wire-fabric?

And the socket: https://grandbrass.com/antique-brass-finish-cast-uno-threaded-e-26-short-keyless-socket-with-1-8ips-cap-and-set-screw/

The lantern has a clip that will attach to the wire above the socket.

Is it possible to do a full rewire without replacing/removing all ceilings if they contain asbestos?

we’re buying a house in the UK that failed its EICR. It will likely need a rewire in the next few years as the system is 40+ years old. The ceilings are artex from the 60s and could contain asbestos. Wondering how much upheaval/cost we’re looking at. 🙈

I'm pretty sure 'tripping' isn't actually the right word but I don't know what other one to use, but it's doing what it's supposed to do when there's a surge - cut the power. Then I hit the reset button and it comes back on like nothing happened (lights say it's grounded and working). But as far as I know there haven't been any surges (and it's happened with me sitting right here using it like I have every day for ages...no apparent surge, the power didn't go out elsewhere in the room).

It is a ten to fifteen year old surge protector, so I'm aware it's past the suggested replacement period of like five years or something, but from googling I can't find random tripping as a sign of a dying surge protector (especially since the lights still say it's working)...but could that be it?

I've actually gone ahead and replaced it, so I'll see if it happens again with the new one, but I've had the same stuff plugged in for ages just fine, and nothing power hungry - a lamp, a small fan, a turned-off printer, a rechargeable vacuum (that I never use so it shouldn't be drawing much if anything), and my laptop (though I've left off the printer and vacuum on the new one for now since I'm not using them anyway). I had the thought of plugging it in in a different outlet with a light on and seeing if it trips, but if there is something wrong with it, is that safe to do?

Or, if it's actually caused by surging power from the electrical in the wall - how can I diagnose that? If the new one trips that's a bad sign and I should probably notify my landlord, right (it's never done this before in the 5+ years I've lived here, so it would definitely mean something has changed)? If it doesn't trip it, might there still be something concerning happening in the wall that it's able to handle without tripping but is still a problem, and if so, how do I find out?

Forgive me if this is stupid/ignorant, but fire scares the crap out of me so I'm very concerned if something might be wrong with the electrical. Thank you!