peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
I wired some basement fluorescent strips with old extension cords.
Wacky things at home?
- Thread starter e57
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Simi Valley, CA
I forgot one. When we bought our first house I noticed in the garage that the were just two red wires run over the joists and figured out that they were being used as travelers for a 3-way. No big deal I'll fix them later.
8 years later when we sold the house it came up on the home inspection report. "You're going to fix that right?" "Why?" "Aren't you the Electrical Inspector for the city?" "Yep" "well isn't that a code violation?" "That's funny, wan't it a code violation when I bought the house?"
It just always worked so I never really paid much mind to it.:roll:
8 years later when we sold the house it came up on the home inspection report. "You're going to fix that right?" "Why?" "Aren't you the Electrical Inspector for the city?" "Yep" "well isn't that a code violation?" "That's funny, wan't it a code violation when I bought the house?"
It just always worked so I never really paid much mind to it.:roll:
e57
Senior Member
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
Yeah - I have a few of those - including that service I plan on doing right someday - I can reach the drop from my new deck, and back door.... :roll: Open J boxes in the garage I walk past every day... With the cover sitting right there 3' away.
marti smith
Senior Member
When the kids were in potty-training, they wouldn't go into the bathroom without the light on (it's a creepy bathroom). By the time either I or my hub would turn on the light it was too late. After too much of this I requested that the light be left on: denied. I went into the attic and hardwired it on. It's got a cfl that's been on now for 4 years.
jaylectricity
Senior Member
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Occupation
- licensed journeyman electrician
What I'd like to build is a cat food dispenser that dispenses 1/5th of my fatter cat's food at 5 times throughout the day. The problem is the skinny one eats whatever he doesn't eat in one sitting. She doesn't have a weight problem so I have a food bowl up high for her that the fat one can't get to. I keep that bowl full of food at all times.
jaylectricity
Senior Member
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Occupation
- licensed journeyman electrician
Why didn't you just open the switch and take the conductors off the switch and tie them together?
big john
Senior Member
- Location
- Portland, ME
One I just built: I got a big honkin' battery charger from one of our old plants. It was made in the '40's, it's covered in rivets with big Westinghouse gauges and rheostat knobs on the door. Looks like a prop right out of Frankenstein.
I wanted to use it as a neat-looking cabinet, but I added some effects: I back-lit the gauges, and took two porcelain insulators from some old PTs and mounted them on top of the cabinet with two stainless rods coming out of them. Then I put a rectified neon sign transformer inside the cabinet connected it to the stainless rods.
Now when you hit a hidden switch, you have a real Frankenstein effect: A Jacobs-Ladder arc of electricity climbs out of the insulators towards the ceiling. Good conversation starter.
-John
I wanted to use it as a neat-looking cabinet, but I added some effects: I back-lit the gauges, and took two porcelain insulators from some old PTs and mounted them on top of the cabinet with two stainless rods coming out of them. Then I put a rectified neon sign transformer inside the cabinet connected it to the stainless rods.
Now when you hit a hidden switch, you have a real Frankenstein effect: A Jacobs-Ladder arc of electricity climbs out of the insulators towards the ceiling. Good conversation starter.
-John
jeremysterling
Senior Member
- Location
- Austin, TX
marti smith
Senior Member
- Location
- Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
- Occupation
- Service Manager
I made a hand grenade out of a 480v - 24v 40va transformer yesterday, but it didn't serve a useful function, and it was kind of a one-time deal. Luckily, it wasn't in my hand at the time, but I was seeing spots for a few... 
LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Actually, with incandescents, this would have been a perfect use of the diode-across-the-switch idea.
LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Rectified? A DC neon supply? I've never seen one. AC works fine for Jacob's ladders.
LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Kinda like making a cat go "woof!"
- Location
- Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
- Occupation
- Service Manager
I hear ya, but it was slow and deliberate. Tried to replace an old transformer with an old one for a temporary fix. Apparently, the other old one wasn't any good either. Little wisps of smoke, and after about fifteen seconds -boom!
big john
Senior Member
- Location
- Portland, ME
I rectified it: AC works fine, but I get a stronger arc with DC. It was cheaper than trying to find a higher-voltage transformer.
-John
Howard Burger
Senior Member
- Location
- N of Anchrage, AK
The night-time routine includes locking the doors and making sure the lights are off in the garage and outside the house. Got tired of having to open the man door to the garage to see if I forgot (for the umteenth time) to turn off the garage lights. So I took a spare door chime transformer and wired it into the end of one of the fluorescent lights, and put an illuminated doorbell down near the floor by the man door inside the house. If the doorbell is lit, turn the lights off. A guest asked if it was for the mice to use when they wanted into the garage...
e57
Senior Member
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
So no thoughts of a timer or photo cell? Well I guess that wouldn't be wacky - would it.....
Not too long after moving into where I now live, I noticed some of the stray cats liked
using an area of my yard as a kitty litter box. Not in my yard kitties ! This is what I came
up with.
One wall switch/ motion sensor combo wired to an air compressor blow down solinoid that
had an adjustable time set on it. I set it outside hooked up to the air compressor,it didn't
take long to start hearing pssssssstttt, meeeoow. Needless to say the problem was taken
care of in a short time. I also scared the wits out of myself a couple times before I took
it apart.
using an area of my yard as a kitty litter box. Not in my yard kitties ! This is what I came
up with.
One wall switch/ motion sensor combo wired to an air compressor blow down solinoid that
had an adjustable time set on it. I set it outside hooked up to the air compressor,it didn't
take long to start hearing pssssssstttt, meeeoow. Needless to say the problem was taken
care of in a short time. I also scared the wits out of myself a couple times before I took
it apart.
- Status