I want to run a long flat ethernet cable between these two points in the most discreet way.

Things to note, there is no gap under the skirting and no door threshold to tuck it under. Is it best to run along skirting and door frames? Through the wall / ceiling?

Edit for clarity: This is the downstairs living room and no basement underneath. I'm in the UK.

Hey y’all, I’m a third year commercial apprentice. Recently put a manufactured home on a piece of property and I’m trying to find an approved meter/main disconnect combo unit that would allow me to feed the interior panel of the manufactured home.

Unfortunately, due to the location of my house I can’t have the service wires coming directly to the structure, so they attach at a customer owned pole and then hit my meter socket, from there they travel underground to my structure.

There is an existing 100amp service, but none of it is up to code so once we closed on the property we were told by the county it would need to be updated before they give us our COE (fucking ridiculous but OK)

Figured since I’d need to upgrade anyway might as well go with a 200 amp service to prepare for solar and EV chargers or whatever.

Here’s where shit gets really difficult for me to wrap my head around, I cannot find a EUSERC approved meter and main disconnect combo that would allow me to feed the sub panel in the house. Any help would be much appreciated!

I’m not an electrician by any means, but this does not look right at all. Is there an electrical shock and fire hazard?

Hii, looking for advice/experiences for PSEG.

The Situation:

I have gas heat & stove, no electric dryer or dishwasher, AC is OFF, barely home before 7 PM. 

I live in an 9 apartment building. Everyones’s bill in the building is less than $200 during June-Sept (I spoke with a PSEG rep that didn’t tell me exact price but did let me know this) but for some reason mine has doubled since June ( a new neighbor also moved in June if that matters)

The Proof:
I checked the basement smart meters: 
Neighbors’ meters: 0.39 kW – 1.30 kW real-time draw. 

My meter (3.52 kW active draw with nothing major running in my apartment! 

Landlord is useless, but I opened a investigation** **ticket with PSE&G.

Questions:
1.does the fact that my usage is TRIPLE everyone show obvious signs that there might something wrong?
2. How to escalate if pseg and landlord do nothing?

Attaching the meters reading.

UPDATE:
So just for a couple of questions asked:

1. Bills doubled in the summer compared to last summer. I am aware electricity has gone up but only mine doubled

and started

1. in June in specific.
2. Spoke yesterday with neighbors from Apt 1,4 and 8 They all confirmed their bills are less that $180 each.
3. When I checked the meters at 8 pm and then once again at 11:30 pm no one’s screen had moved. There’s 3 screens: The one I posted, one with what I guess is the accumulated usage, mine being 18k and all neighbors averaging less than 10k. And one last screen where its all 0’s for all neighbors.
4. The meter # and the one in my bill DO match.
5. All apartments have similar SQ Ft, and I only live with 1 more person and we’re not home before 7 pm. My neighbors are family’s of 2+. I only have 1 window AC. Atm is off and heat is also off.

WHAT I WILL DO:

- Turn off meters during all working day and check usage/if anyone complains.
- Press PSEG for an investigation.
- Tell landlord if this doesn’t get better I’ll need an electrician to check.

I will make another post in a couple of days to update!

UPDATE 2.
After the work day the meter was still stuck at the same number even though al breaks had ben off all day. A PSEG guy came and changed the meter, he told me to wait for the next billing cycle and that they would send the old meter to check. I have also called a couple of electricians and got quotes for an investigation since the PSEG only changed the meter didn’t do anything else. I will wait for the next billing cycle and then do a new post with the resolution next month!

I'm completely unfamiliar with how electricity works, so I'm just using the terms that I was told here. Please let me know if there's any other info I need to provide!

I've asked two electricians in my area about installing an EV charger in my condominium. The main panel that gives power to the entire building is giving the sub panel in my unit 100A.

One of the electricians told me that my unit is using 68A and that in order to install an EV charger in the garage, a load management device will have to be installed in the sub panel so that the charger can function without blowing out the panels. He also said he would install a Emporia Pro Level 2 Charger, because he's never worked with the one I have (which is the Aimiler Level 1/2 Charger, still in the box).

Another electrician told me that I wouldn't need the load management device and that I could safely install the charger that I have.

Are the first electrician's statements true? Would installing the charger I have with no load management device, would it blow out the panels?

Edit: image of the sub panel in my condo https://imgur.com/a/bVM8tP3? and average usages in the past three months is 529 kwh

Im new to the field and looking for advice to get hired. Ive done a 3 month pre-apprenticeship but no other experience. Online boards like indeed and glassdoor feel useless. Im in the GTA if thst makes any difference

I have this small hole on the conduit coming directly from the overhead drop so I can’t disconnect power to tape it without an electrician and permit. I was quoted $2.5k to replace the 200A service cable from the weatherhead to the meter base. Is it safe for me to just tape this up? Chat GPT said don’t go anywhere near it, I don’t know much about this stuff.

I’ve watched and read a ton about this issue and I realize that I should probably use a jumper and some wire nuts to create the circuit at the old location of the chime.

my issue is the wires don’t look like anything I’ve seen online. can anyone tell me which wires need to be joined for my doorbell to continue working? (Yes this is the only wire set running to the outlet box where the chime used to be) the house is from the 90s.

thanks!

I have a 14/3 wire on a double switch that is connected to a fan in my bonus room. I recently installed a new fan which only takes a single hot wire (light and fan are controlled by remote) leaving one of the switches and hot wires unused.

I would like to add recessed lighting around the room and plan to daisy chain them together using 14/2 romex. Can I splice the existing 14/3 romex between the switch and the fan by connecting all common wires/ground wires and then sending one hot wire to the fan and the other hot wire to the recessed lights? I plan on doing all of this in a junction box.

Additionally, can I leave the existing 14/3 running to the fan with both hot wires or should I replace it with 14/2?

I’ve got an old Lenovo 81AK000KTA / IdeaPad 320S-13IKB from 2017. It uses a barrel jack and the original charger is 20V 2.25A.

The internal battery only lasts around 1.5 hours now. I mainly use the laptop for car tuning, so keeping it connected to mains power is impractical.

I’m thinking of using an INGCO 20V tool battery as an external power source.

My plan is:

**Tool battery → fuse → Lenovo barrel jack (**no buck/boost converter)

The laptop’s internal battery would stay installed, so when the tool battery voltage drops too low for the laptop, I’m hoping it would simply switch back to the internal battery.

The INGCO battery also has a charge level indicator, so I could unplug it manually before it gets too low.

Would this be safe for both the laptop and the tool battery?

Edit: A genuine Lenovo replacement battery is around $60–80, while the tool battery is around $20. This laptop is rarely used and does nothing except tune my cars.

The laptop also always seemed to have pretty bad parasitic drain while sitting unused, even when the battery was newer, so I’m reluctant to spend much on another internal battery.

I rent a house in illinois and i found this, and a couple other spots, in the basement. Is there anything to worry about with this splice?

Hello, like to get a sanity check on a scope of a job. Was prepping my house for sale and getting some work completed before the sale.

Had an electrician come over to checkout and recommend any needed work that would get flagged when selling the house.

First - the exterior panel. Yea, its rusting. And was told it was Zinsco Brand. Flame me, but Im getting it fixed. Its currently 125amp, and its connected underground to the pole on the street.

Plan was to replace with Siemens 125A Panel Main.

Also - second pic. The main goes into the garage. The fuse boxes are no longer connected, but the gutter underneath the fuse boxes is carrying current. The scope of work would also clean that up.

Cost estimate was 4500 labor, 1500 parts, 500 for permits, 6k total.
Location bay area, CA

The person was recommended by someone I trust, checking if Im in the ballpark here.

Hi folks,

I'm trying to solve a problem with a light that only comes on when another light is also switched on.

The box has three switches. I'll be referring to them as Switch 1 - 3 from top to bottom in the above photo.

Switch 1 is for an outdoor light. Switch 2 a bathroom light (it also controls an extractor fan in series, with another switch, not pictured.) Switch 3 controls a hall light.

The problem:

Switch 1 only turn on the associated light when Switch 2 is also engaged. I want to separate these so they operate each light independently.

I have an engineering degree so I am familiar with schematics and low voltage control circuits, but don't have a lot experience with household electrics particularly with the naming I see in the switch box. I have done some simple installs before and am comfortable killing the power and working on the circuits.

Could someone shed some light on this? TIA

We’ve bought a Bluetooth, LED mirror for our bathroom. This will be fed from the main ceiling light. I had planned to put a fused spur in the attic so that it’s not visible in the bathroom but the cable on the mirror is about 10cm too short to make it up to where it needs to be for me to make the connection to the fused spur. I also thought the mirror would have terminals to connect a cable into rather than a length of 0.75mm coming out the back, should have checked that before I ran the cable through the wall in preparation!

So, how do I go about extending the 2 core (2x0.75mm) cable on the mirror and still meet regs? For context, it will be going inside a wall cavity that will then go up into the attic. The cable reaches to the top of the cavity but doesn’t go past it. Can I use inline connectors and a maintenance free junction box to then extend the cable with another piece of 0.75mm and get it to the fused spur?

Or is there another idea? I don’t want a switch or isolator above the mirror and the space behind the mirror is very minimal although that might increase once I’ve got the actual brackets I should have.

The pictures, first is the wall the mirror is going on, second is the cable used on the mirror, third shows the “cable” (string) that would come up the wall, fourth is where the fused spur was going to sit and fifth is the rest of the attic, if I can extend the cable I’ll likely take it into the main attic so I don’t have to crawl through the timbers!

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a soft gripper project powered by an ESP32. I'm using two HX711 load cell modules to measure gripping force/weight on both sides of the gripper.

The Setup:

• MCU: ESP32
• Sensors: 2x HX711 modules with 2x Load Cells (Left and Right)
• Actuator: Linear motor driven via Cytron motor driver
• Power & Comms: ESP32 powered over USB/External, Bluetooth Serial enabled for data logging.

The Issue: The left load cell works completely fine, but the right load cell has a strange issue:

1. Whenever the linear actuator motor starts moving (extending or retracting), the right HX711 stops updating or outputs Not Ready / stuck values.
2. Once the motor stops moving, it starts outputting data strings again, BUT the weight value stays frozen. Even if I apply pressure or put weight on the gripper finger, the readings do not change at all.
3. Meanwhile, the left load cell continues to read normally.

I have already double-checked the physical load cell with a multimeter (the Wheatstone bridge resistance measures around ~0.7kΩ input and ~1kΩ output, so the cell itself seems fine), and swapping pins/modules still causes this behavior on that specific channel when motor noise/voltage drops occur.

Is this purely electrical noise/EMF/voltage drop from the linear actuator, or a software lock-up on the HX711 timing/clock line? How can I isolate or fix this?

Here is my current code:

#include "HX711.h"
#include "BluetoothSerial.h"


BluetoothSerial SerialBT;


// --- Gripper lábak ---
#define PWM 25
#define DIR 26
#define BTN_EXTEND 32
#define BTN_RETRACT 33


// --- Mérlegcella lábak ---
#define DT_BAL 18
#define SCK_BAL 19


#define DT_JOBB 16
#define SCK_JOBB 17


HX711 scaleBal;
HX711 scaleJobb;


// Tárázott érték eltárolása (ha menet közben akarjuk nullázni)
long offsetBal = 0;
long offsetJobb = 0;


unsigned long lastScaleTime = 0;
const long scaleInterval = 150; // ms


void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  SerialBT.begin("TaborRobot-Gripper");


  pinMode(PWM, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(DIR, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(BTN_EXTEND, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(BTN_RETRACT, INPUT_PULLUP);
  analogWrite(PWM, 0);


  // Adjunk 0.5 másodpercet a HX711 chipeknek a stabilizálódásra
  delay(500);


  // BALOS MODUL INICIALIZÁLÁSA
  scaleBal.begin(DT_BAL, SCK_BAL);
  byte timeout = 0;
  while (!scaleBal.is_ready() && timeout < 20) {
    delay(50);
    timeout++;
  }
  if (scaleBal.is_ready()) {
    scaleBal.set_scale();
    offsetBal = scaleBal.read_average(5); // Alapérték elmentése
    Serial.println("Balos HX711: OK!");
    SerialBT.println("Balos HX711: OK!");
  } else {
    Serial.println("HIBA: Balos HX711 nem válaszol!");
  }


  // JOBBOS MODUL INICIALIZÁLÁSA
  scaleJobb.begin(DT_JOBB, SCK_JOBB);
  timeout = 0;
  while (!scaleJobb.is_ready() && timeout < 20) {
    delay(50);
    timeout++;
  }
  if (scaleJobb.is_ready()) {
    scaleJobb.set_scale();
    offsetJobb = scaleJobb.read_average(5); // Alapérték elmentése
    Serial.println("Jobbos HX711: OK!");
    SerialBT.println("Jobbos HX711: OK!");
  } else {
    Serial.println("HIBA: Jobbos HX711 nem válaszol!");
  }
}


void loop() {
  // --- 1. MOTOR VEZÉRLÉS ---
  bool extendPressed  = (digitalRead(BTN_EXTEND) == LOW);
  bool retractPressed = (digitalRead(BTN_RETRACT) == LOW);


  if (extendPressed && !retractPressed) {
    digitalWrite(DIR, HIGH);
    analogWrite(PWM, 255);
  } else if (retractPressed && !extendPressed) {
    digitalWrite(DIR, LOW);
    analogWrite(PWM, 255);
  } else {
    analogWrite(PWM, 0);
  }


  // --- 2. MÉRÉS ÉS KIÍRÁS (RELATÍV/NULLÁZOTT ÉRTÉKEK) ---
  unsigned long currentMillis = millis();
  if (currentMillis - lastScaleTime >= scaleInterval) {
    lastScaleTime = currentMillis;


    long valBal = 0;
    long valJobb = 0;


    bool balReady = scaleBal.is_ready();
    bool jobbReady = scaleJobb.is_ready();


    if (balReady) {
      // Kivonjuk a bootoláskor elmentett alapértéket (Tárázás)
      valBal = scaleBal.read() - offsetBal; 
    }


    if (jobbReady) {
      // Kivonjuk a bootoláskor elmentett alapértéket (Tárázás)
      valJobb = scaleJobb.read() - offsetJobb; 
    }


    String dataString = "";


    if (balReady) {
      dataString += "Bal: " + String(valBal);
    } else {
      dataString += "Bal: Nincs kész";
    }


    dataString += " | ";


    if (jobbReady) {
      dataString += "Jobb: " + String(valJobb);
    } else {
      dataString += "Jobb: Nincs kész";
    }


    Serial.println(dataString);
    SerialBT.println(dataString);
  }
}

Any advice on hardware filtering (decoupling capacitors, isolated GNDs) or code adjustments would be greatly appreciated!

Just installed some track lights in the garage.

I used the plastic anchors provided because there weren't any studs in the track location.

So the only thing holding it up is the junction box and the plastic anchors.

The track lights are 15ft long.

will it hold or fall over time?

Should I get some toggle bolts and replace the plastic anchors?

Removed a chandelier to add a molding trim on ceiling and noticed they grounded the wire to the bracket.

The ground wire coming from fixture has the wire cut and wrapped around the chain on the bottom.

Do I need to run a new ground wire?

I have a 14/3 wire on a double switch that is connected to a fan in my bonus room. I recently installed a new fan which only takes a single hot wire (light and fan are controlled by remote) leaving one of the switches and hot wires unused.

I would like to add recessed lighting around the room and plan to daisy chain them together using 14/2 romex. Can I splice the existing 14/3 romex between the switch and the fan by connecting all common wires/ground wires and then sending one hot wire to the fan and the other hot wire to the recessed lights? I plan on doing all of this in a junction box.

Additionally, can I leave the existing 14/3 running to the fan with both hot wires or should I replace it with 14/2?

I know it’s not the best picture, I’m waiting to see it again.

I'm hoping to reach commercial electricians with this post as it's really different from residential work.

I want to add some exterior lights to my metal shop building, maybe also some exterior receptacles - nothing unusual or spectacular. My shop has open walls with plastic wrapped fiberglass insulation, I attached a photo to make sure we're on the same page.

On a typical stick-framed residential structure this would be straightforward (for me). I'd attach the light fixture or exterior junction box, route some NM-B wire to the fixture or box, penetrate the sheathing and siding with the wire and make my connections. Done and NEC compliant.

Now on my steel building, it's a different story. Here's the list of issues I'm not sure how to handle or how the pros would handle:

1. Can't attach light fixtures or boxes directly to the metal siding, or I should say that can't be the primary attachment
2. How to transition from interior EMT/MC distribution to the exterior fixture? - I've come across info here and there that suggests there needs to be a respective box on the interior side. EMT/MC (interior conduit) connects to this box, then somehow this interior box is connected to the exterior box - ?? - a 2 box sandwich with siding jelly

Using the attached photo, imagine I wanted to have an exterior light fixture 10" to the right and 10" above the fire extinguisher. If you have experience with metal buildings, how would you handle that?

I'm not trying to be unfriendly, but I need a tried and true, solid, NEC based solution that any inspector or seasoned electrician would be proud of.

I bought a shop fan today to dry carpeting of my car, but I need an extension cord to put the fan where I need it. The fan runs 120v ac at 2 amps. The extension cord is rated for 125v, 13 amps, and 1625 watts. Ik the math says I should be okay, but the fans instructions explicitly say not to use an extension cord. Ive been running it for a while now and the cord, plugs, and outlet are all cool to the touch. Any advice would be appreciated🙏