Saturday, October 18, 2008

NEC And Receptacles


I just wanted to post something about one of the new changes in the 2008 NEC that has started to affect us in our jurisdiction. Article 406.11 of the 2008 NEC requires all 125 volt 15 and 20 amp receptacles specified in article 210.52 of a dwelling to be tamper resistant. I am not 100% thrilled about them however they are a good idea as far as safety is concerned. One good thing is if someone has a cord with damaged blades it probably will not accept it.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Suprise Visitor


Today we had another unexpected visitor at the old farm house. Just another black snake making his rounds. We are guessing they are coming out due to the fact we put some HID temporary lights in the basement and attic and they give off UV rays and a lot of heat.















They are kind of interesting to watch they can stretch across a large distance and are pretty fast. We have seen about 15 black snakes on this job since we started. We didn't see this one stretched out flat but I am guessing it was about 5 feet long.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Holiday Lighting


Well it is almost time for all the holiday lights and decorations to come out."Each year, hospital emergency rooms treat about 10,800 people for injuries, such as falls, cuts and shocks, related to holiday lights, decorations and Christmas trees."Lets not forget about the electricity that powers many of these decorations. As an electrician I have seen way more than my share of accidents waiting to happen from damaged cords, outside receptacles that are not GFCI protected and to many other things to list.



















If you don't have a GFCI receptacle to plug into be sure to get something like this..
I found this one on Amazon.
Also Make sure you inspect your lights for damage and be sure not to overload your circuits.



Here is a rough idea on the amp draw.
300 minis = 1 Amp

So for a standard 15 amp circuit that's 3600 bulbs = 80% of the 15 amps.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Lost Keys

Yesterday was a good day but the evening was sort of funny, Back on Saturday I had mentioned home security and how to secure your home. Well yesterday when I got done work I came home just like any other day. Once home I noticed the door was locked, normally my 2 boys would be home before me. So i get my keys and as I go to unlock the door I notice two small dents in the door jamb like that of someone trying to jimmy the door open. I then go in and find everything is in order and just as i had left it in the morning. Now I have some IR cameras outside my house. Time to do the boring task of playing back the dvr. Well to my surprise i didn't take very long to find the culprit. After finding out who did it I waited until my wife was home from work then the fun started. It sort of went like this.... youngest son walks in,
"mom" so did you loose your keys?
"son" HUH?
"mom" DID you loose your keys?
"son" UH well no.
"mom"well whats the 2 marks on the back door where someone tried opening it with a screwdriver?
"son" HUH I didn't do that!
"mom" so why were you messing around with the door?
"son" it wasn't me!
"dad" so did you forget about the CAMERA?

that was about all there was to that story thankfully thats all it was and now I can sit here and laugh about it as everyone at work did today.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Setting A Quazite Box


Today we finally got around to finishing up a run of conduit that's going to feed a pool house.This is a Quazite box we installed at the end of our run. In the spring when they put the building in for the pool we can just run our conduits here instead of digging everything up again.

One thing I saw today that was nice for a change, was on my way home I noticed gas had dropped below $3.00 a gallon. I know things are looking kind of bleak but that did make me happy, maybe some other things will drop in price too.

Monday, October 13, 2008

See No Evil

cat
more animals

Check your Smoke Detectors


Guess I am a little late on this one but last week was fire safety week, I guess now would be a good time to check those smoke detector batteries and make sure your detectors are working properly.

If you don't have smoke detectors now would be a good time to install some, To be sure your house is safe you should place one detector in every bedroom, and at least one on every level of the home, including the basement and attic.

I myself prefer smoke detectors that are AC powered with a battery backup, but even a battery powered smoke detector can save your life as long as its working properly.


If you have any elderly friends or family don't forget theirs either.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Home Sick


This evening I was looking for something on some Cd's I have and I ran across these pictures from back home. These windmills were put in since we moved away so they are an unusual sight to me when I visit. Its amazing how big these things are. I am guessing we will be seeing many more of these to come.