Message from @Hessian

Discord ID: 408766336794099713


2018-01-31 03:28:02 UTC  

It's silica I'm pretty sure. New construction of an Airport terminal

2018-01-31 11:00:45 UTC  

Then you better get a breathing apparatus @Deleted User

2018-01-31 19:23:04 UTC  

The home has no lead paint and was checked out by inspectors. Unfortunately it does have the aluminum.

2018-01-31 19:23:54 UTC  

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/322712495108128779/408341641670295562/image.jpg

2018-01-31 19:24:42 UTC  

There is only a positive and negative for the light switch. No third wire for the green screw. Is that an issue? The old light switch I removed didn’t have a green screw.

2018-01-31 19:27:30 UTC  

Again, this is a CO/ALR light switch with aluminum wiring

2018-01-31 20:27:54 UTC  

Is it a metal box? @Deleted User

2018-01-31 20:28:39 UTC  

It's not a positive and negative, think of a switch like a handle on a faucet. It cuts the flow if water on or off.

2018-01-31 20:29:21 UTC  

Is there a metal pipe feeding the box?

2018-01-31 21:50:26 UTC  

@Deleted User Not even the founder of America’s strongest identitarian movement is immune to the travails of home ownership!

2018-01-31 21:53:00 UTC  

@John O -#7072 basically it’s more of an “in wire” and “out wire,” right? I know that’s not the correct terminology but the juice just flows through the wire, stops at the switch if it’s in off, and continues on if the switch is in on right?

2018-01-31 21:53:20 UTC  

Basically like a valve.

2018-01-31 22:24:13 UTC  

Yeah. I didn't want to get too pedantic, but technically it's not positive and negative, it's grounded and ungrounded. The switch breaks the ungrounded wire, making it so there is no path from the electric company to your light

2018-02-01 01:31:01 UTC  

No, the box is plastic

2018-02-01 01:37:57 UTC  

I saw there were ground wires when I zoomed in. Take a pic of the inside of the box, please

2018-02-01 03:16:50 UTC  

Ok, will do.

2018-02-01 03:18:07 UTC  

I know that there is a third wire in all the outlet boxes in that room

2018-02-01 21:10:21 UTC  

How do I tell what size gage the old wires are. They look like two different sizes. I would guess 10 and 12 guage

2018-02-01 21:10:36 UTC  

But I want to know for sure before I get the wire.

2018-02-01 21:17:35 UTC  

It should say on the insulation. That sounds like a good guess. What size is the breaker?

2018-02-01 23:31:29 UTC  

@Deleted User Older wires tend to be a little bigger. It should typically be 14 or 12 gauge for a residential lighting circuit. And for your positive/ negative question. A switch doesn’t need a neutral, it just makes are breaks the current path. Only things that burn electricity (have wattage) needs a neutral. One wire will be always hot and the other will be your switch leg which sends power back to your lights.

2018-02-01 23:33:19 UTC  

The only type of switch that needs a neutral are some occupancy sensors or a switch/outlet combo

2018-02-01 23:33:55 UTC  

Wait, your branch circuits are aluminum?

2018-02-01 23:36:17 UTC  

Be very careful not to splice aluminum and copper together. They heat up and expand at different rates and the reason you seen goop on one of the terminals was to prevent the aluminum from oxidizing. You put something called nolox on aluminum when using it for electrical circuits.

2018-02-01 23:39:12 UTC  

They do sell special purple wire nuts to make copper to aluminum splices but I’ve even seen them burn off.

2018-02-02 00:31:17 UTC  

Yeah, I had some electricians come over and fix the stuff where the previous owner screwed up and tied that stuff in together.

2018-02-02 00:32:28 UTC  

I got the AlumiConn ALuminum to copper logs. They look way better than the pigtail tops and they have the anti-oxident gel inside for the copper

2018-02-02 00:33:08 UTC  

@Hessian Also, thanks for answering my questions.

2018-02-05 20:03:24 UTC  

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/322712495108128779/410163524564680714/image.jpg

2018-02-05 20:04:38 UTC  
2018-02-05 20:04:51 UTC  
2018-02-05 20:06:28 UTC  

Sorry guys, just getting back to this. So this is a one-way aluminum light switch. I realized it did have aNeutral wire in the box. Do I need to hook it up? If so, how should I do it? Should I find a larger account and connect a third aluminum wire to the pigtail and then to the green screw?

2018-02-05 20:22:22 UTC  

@Deleted User yes, connect a third aluminum wire with the ones that don't have insulation and connect it to the ground. Don't touch the neutral

2018-02-05 21:47:40 UTC  

The power is off and I have checked the wires for electricity.

2018-02-05 21:47:46 UTC  

Thanks

2018-02-05 21:51:42 UTC  

One more question, if the wires in the outlets are 10 gage and I accidentally got 12 gage, will the slightly smaller wire effect the functionality of the power outlet?

2018-02-05 21:54:27 UTC  
2018-02-05 22:11:37 UTC  

It's a ground. It's not normally current carrying. You really shouldn't, but you could probably get away with it

2018-02-05 22:11:45 UTC  

I wouldn't feel good about doing it

2018-02-05 23:13:16 UTC  

@Deleted User are you sure that's#10? Looks like 12

2018-02-05 23:37:37 UTC  

@Deleted User get a pair of wire cutters and slip the wire into the smallest hole that doesn't cut the wire. Then you'll know for sure what gauge it is.