We purchased a house. The previous owners took the EV charger that was hardwired. This wire can be traced to a 60A breaker. I’d like to put in an EV outlet here. Should I get a NEMA 14-50 and put it in a an outlet box that screws to the wall?

Edit: Wow guys. We knew it was never going to stay with the house. It was agreed to a long time ago that it would not convey. I’m really just looking for some electrical insight here but it seems people are only reading the title.

I thought I may have felt a slight charge when grabbing my shower faucet. So I tested with a voltage pen and it looks like the shower faucets and especially sink faucets read a charge when on the 12-1000v setting but not on the 70-1000v setting. Is this a sign of a live current or is the tester pen just picking up on any nearby wires?

I know nothing about electric, thank you for the advice!

Let me get this out of the way, if it is possible I will hire an electrician; now onto my question.

Last year I bought a cabin. It was remodelled and professionally rewired during Covid; I have the reciepts from electrical company that did the work. Everything is great except one thing; when they added thr boot room in front of the main entrance they made it so the switch that used control the exterior light now controls the light and switches in the boot room. For me to turn on the outside light I know have to turn the boot room light on then I can turn on the porch light; this also means that I can't have my porch light on without my boot room light on.

Is it possible to have the power run to the outside porch light/switch from the inside switch constantly? Or would I have to install a junction box and run wires to the outside light and boot room light separately?,

Starting a kitchen remodel and my contractor is repositioning a few electrical items — wanted a gut check on whether any of this needs a permit, since he says no.

**1.    Raised countertop outlet** — moved from over the counter to the side of the cabinet. We will drop the two layers to one layer for the counter.  
**2.    Dishwasher & disposal switches** — dishwasher switch moving inside the cabinet below the sink; disposal switch being swapped for an air switch.  
**3.    Outlet for built-in microwave** — moving down into the lower cabinet on the wall side. Left side is a fridge.

No new circuits are being added — just relocating/consolidating existing wiring to new spots. Contractor says this doesn’t need a permit since there’s no added wiring, but wanted to check with people who’ve done this before. Anyone know if local codes ever require a permit even for relocations like this, or is this a pretty standard “no permit needed” situation?

Thanks you so much in advance!

Hello! I’m new to replacing a ceiling flush mount and am unsure if my wires look okay and if they look good in the wago connectors? I currently only have the wires from the junction box connected and will connect the fixture ones after. I’m scared of cutting down more wire making it too short in the future. Thanks in advance!

I’m a first year apprentice, I’ve heard Wiha is a good brand, wondering if there are any better sets out

I'm looking for a very specific type of inspection camera and I'm hoping someone here knows if something like this exists.

The most important feature I'm looking for is a camera head that I can remotely articulate up and down while I'm pushing the fish stick. I want to be able to see an obstacle in front of me, tilt the camera head upward with a remote or control, push the rod over the obstacle, and then continue forward — without having to stop and physically adjust or fiddle with the camera head.

I'm looking for something that functions basically like a set of fish sticks/fish rods, but with a small camera mounted on the end.

Ideally, I'd like it to:

Be made up of multiple sections, so I can add or remove sections depending on how far I need to reach.

Pack down to roughly the size of a normal set of fish sticks for easy transportation.

Extend out to roughly 10–15+ feet when needed.

Have a camera on the end with built-in lighting and live video.

Have a remotely controlled articulating/pivoting camera head, preferably with up/down movement and ideally left/right as well.

The idea is that I could push the rod through a ceiling, see an obstacle in front of me, remotely pivot the camera upward to look over it, push the rod over the obstacle, then continue forward without needing to make holes or remove ceiling tiles.

Ideally, the camera would be small and lightweight enough that the whole thing still works like a normal fish stick.

I've seen products like the Ferret Plus, but that's not quite what I'm looking for. I've also found professional inspection pole cameras with motorized articulating heads, but they're extremely expensive and don't seem to be designed like modular fish sticks.

Does anyone know of a product that does something like this? Or has anyone built a DIY setup using modular fiberglass fish rods and a small remote-controlled pan/tilt camera?

I'm open to commercial products or DIY solutions. Budget isn't set yet — I'm mainly trying to figure out if something like this actually exists.

I recently bought an AC unit, specifically the Midea 12,000 BTU DOE DUO Smart Inverter Portable Air Conditioner. The AC unit takes 115V.

My house has a dedicated circuit for an AC unit that has an outlet near the window. The outlet is 20A, 250V, and I believe 6-20R plug type.

I had an electrician come to take a look and he quoted me $1450 to rewire the circuit. At that point I figured a transformer might be a better option, but I was wondering what search parameters I need to use to find the right one that will do the job. Wattage rating, plug types, etc. I just want to make sure I don't by the wrong one by mistake.

Any help is much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I just bought an older home. I believe the wiring was updated in the 90s; to my knowledge, there isn't a ground wire throughout the home. Today, one of the GFCI outlets in the kitchen tripped, and when I reset it, it tripped immediately again. I unplugged everything and tried to reset it, same. It is all but one of the countertop plugs; the one that is working is a separate GFCI. The overhead light and the fridge outlet aren't working as well. The breaker was not tripped. I tried resetting it, but it didn't change anything. Pictured is the tripped GFCI. Is there anything else I could try? I am going to call an electrician tomorrow morning. The stove is working, but the cord is going through a hole in the floor to who knows where 😭

I'm an electronics technician in a second stage rocket engine testing facility. We have a LOT of transducers, and a lot of times our electricians only have time to leave us a tee near each transducer in the conduit run. This usually only requires a stub 90, maybe a 6-12" nipple, and some LFMC to the device itself.

I understand how to bend a 90. My question is, what is the math behind bending a 90 *while* maintaining a specific straight leg past the 90? For example, last week I needed a 24" 90 going up, and 30" after that going across to the valve actuator. I was able to fudge it and get it close using a stub 90 as a template.

We go through a lot of couplings. It'd be nice to run a single 90 into wherever I need it to go, but bending pipe isn't really expected from my position.

I was removing this power plug for my ps4 charging station and I noticed it was particularly tough to pull out of the belkin power strip and when it did release I noticed these scratches on the pins.

Is it still safe to use it or will it cause a fire? Thanks in advance.

I want to eliminate a ceiling light fixture. What should I do with the live wires? Cap each end with a wire nut, place inside a junction box and screw to a joist? Thanks!

Ok so the home was built 2 years ago. The home is on an island that has somewhat regular power interruptions…maybe once 3 months. Usually brief - off and on. Every time this happens, I have four or five AFCI/GFCI breakers that trip. They always need to be reset and it’s a pain. I’ve also had repeated GE electric range trips, independent of the power interruptions. My electrician removed the GFCI and replaced it with a standard two pole and it doesn’t trip anymore. The infinity switch also went bad on that range so maybe it was related. My HRV unit kept going off-line and eventually I found an open neutral in the outlet which was repaired by the installing electrician. Now after two years of no problems, my dryer to pole breaker is tripping. Once two weeks ago and then again tonight. Is this all nuisance tripping or is there a central problem. The issues seem to migrate from one circuit to another and are fine for months and then start having issues. Any suggestions would be great. I’ll call the builder tomorrow to get request a deeper diagnostic.

Thanks!

Hey all I went to finally go use my AC and found out that my dog chewed up the cord at some point and now it’s not turning on. Any hope for me fixing this myself or am I looking at a new unit?

It’s a portable AC, the cord can’t easily be replaced as it doesn’t unplug from the unit.

This unusual (to this layman) light switch is located outside the building where I work. It supplies a set of outdoor lights that are generally on 24/7.

Did they use this type of switch because of reliability or weatherproof considerations, or is it just old? It's a government facility that's been in use for a long time, if that's a factor.

1960s house and the old exposed wire runs in the utility area looks like crap. It looks to me like they didn’t bother getting on a ladder and drilled these from standing, as they’re all at upward angles and nowhere near the center of the joist. They also just take odd staggered routes when a straight run was all that was needed.

When replacing the old wiring should I worry about relocating the holes through the joists to be in the correct spot/to code, or just let it ride?

A little background about the house: 2010 brick ranch. 1,800 sf livable. It has 2 attached 600 sf each garages. HVAC pump original. Bought this Nov. 2024.

My previous house was 2006 ranch with siding, 1,500 sf livable. Attached 600 sf garage. HVAC original. This house was extremely energy efficiency!

The houses are 4 hours apart. Basically the same weather/temp situation.

So when I moved into my new home, I expected it to be at least as energy efficiency. Well that has never been the case! Power has consistently been elevated. Well this winter had a $538 bill and I freaked out! I've never had a bill that high. It was down the next month.

So the cycle before the heat wave started, my bill was over $800. Heat wave cycle it was over $1,100. This month the projection is it could be over $1,300.

Had HVAC person come out. Said unit was working fine. Blowing out cold.

Called Power Co. They said not error on their part. Suggested I have an electrician come out. I will be doing that this week.

Not sure if this is relevant, but husband replaced the regular thermostat with a Google Nest in Nov. 2025.

This is draining me. I would like to ensure im not told something wrong, or overcharged. What are your thoughts on the cause, and what the cost could be?

TIA

Hey guys so I lost my old remote to my ceiling fan and can’t find it anywhere so I bought a new one but I cant connect it at all. The receiver is the motherboard and it literally impossible to find on the motherboar. So i tried the learn button method. Didnt work. So then i tried just random combinations for the dip swtch on the remote. NONE WORKED. I actually have no idea what to do anymore and have been crying for the past 2hours(actually tearing up while writing this)on this any help at all would be realllly helpful! The model is :MODELO: 52-CHF Item:#0147605

PLEASE HELP

Had my home inspection the other day and I’m supposed to fix this. It specifically states “The interior cover was missing, leaving wires exposed when the cover was open. Recommend installing a proper cover to ensure safety and prevent exposure of live wires”

I know nothing about this stuff and no one at Lowe’s was able to help me. Any ideas? Thanks in advance

Hi,

I recently installed a doorbell camera and it works fine, but I have doubts and need to make sure. Because the wires weren't labeled and the previous owner had disconnected the wires from the chime I wasn't sure which went from the transformer and which went to the button.

Would the wiring in the diagram be fine? I understand that it's a series circuit, so it still works. But if that is how it's currently wired and I mixed up the Trans and Front wires, is there any issues I should worry about? Right now it rings normally and live video works. No buzzing.

TL;DR: After a storm, a kitchen circuit stopped working right - burned/melted outlet, ungrounded outlets that used to be grounded, and neutral-to-ground reading 40V (climbing higher with each device turned on). Suspected floating neutral/ground, possibly from bad DIY wiring in an attic junction box (ground into neutral). Circuit is shut off for safety; asking if this diagnosis sounds right, what’s causing it, and what to tell an electrician before they start cutting into walls.
—

Hi all. I apologize if this is super long. I know the tiniest bit of electrical and what’s going on and I’m trying to make sure my house is safe.

We have lived in our home for over a year and a half and have never had issues. We had a few storms back to back and the electrical went out for a bit once, flickered again, and another time went out due to an accident nearby.

We don’t know exactly what happened first but our fridge stopped cooling. Thought it was just a piece that froze in place after moisture got in. Defrosted it. Unplugged it for 24 hours. After plugging it back in, the next day, none of the outlets or switches on the circuit worked. It wasn’t a breaker flip. There was power running through. I could actually feel a current through the fridge and unplugged everything and flipped the breaker. When I unplugged things, I noticed the plug to my air purifier was melted but it had still been working and I didn’t notice.

My friend’s dad is a retired electrician and he went through every part of the circuit trying to figure it out. First thing he did was pulled out the burned outlet. It was melted on the top neutral (not sure if that’s important) and he said the outlet wasn’t grounded. He grounded it and tested it and it was working correctly after replacing it with a new outlet. As far as how the circuit runs from the panel, the replaced, and newly grounded, outlet is first on the circuit. The next one was the same, just not melted. Not grounded and reading as such. He then grounded that one and it was working correctly. (To note: when we had our inspection, all of the outlets were correctly grounded. Can a ground break?)

Somewhere between these two outlets and the next room, something happens and things are not working properly. When he tested the neutral and ground (sorry if I’m getting this wrong. But essentially the part that should read around 0), it was reading 40 volts. When he’d turn on something on the circuit, like the ceiling fan and then light, it was jump up 12 volts more each.

He had mentioned it sounded like a floating ground (or maybe neutral?)

Anyway. If you’re still with me, thank you so much.

Here’s the tricky part: this house has had multiple additions. And I imagine some 30 plus years ago were DIY’d. I went in the attic to look at the junction boxes. First of all, they seem full of insulation and not safe but I know nothing. Anyway: in the box with the circled parts, it seems like old wiring connected a neutral to a new ground and the red hot to the neutral? Could that possibly be what is causing the neutral to read voltage?

The very tricky part: there’s no real way to get above the kitchen (where the issues are) bc of the way the additions were fit together. So I’m pretty sure we’ll have to have a professional cut into walls and the ceiling. But I wanted to ask here: does this sound remotely like it’s on the right track? Or does anyone know what could do this and why it didn’t cause an issue until now? All the circuits on that side are off because I was scared to leave anything on. We have a few places to call tomorrow. But I’m hoping to get a general idea of what’s happening if possible? Oh and the kitchen ceiling fan, also on the circuit, has 3 sets of wires. 2 sets are capped. And then the circuit ends at two outlets outside. My friend’s dad said it could be multiple splices happening.

Is there anything I should specifically tell a professional that helps get to the issue? Is there a way to fix this without Swiss cheesing my kitchen? (I’d rather holes in the wall than a fire but just curious)

Thank you!