General questions

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jimmy_mcquade

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i have some general questions i would like to ask, so here goes.

1. i aksed one of the electricians i work with why he folds about a foot of wire back before cutting the wire to the correct length, he said you'll learn.
i guess that comes from experience. is this a common practice to leave extra
cable? it it ok?

2. i ran romex cable from a light switch to a plastic light fixture. what do you do with the ground if there is no ground terminal on the light? the light that was wired in was a porcelin light. i had to run other cable in the house and did not get to see how it was done. i didn't want to ask the same electrician another question and make him mad.

3. i got dad to let me look in his siemens 200 amp breaker box at home to look at the gfci breaker wiring. since i am new to wiring, i want to learn as much as i can. my question is this, if you do a service call and you need to replace a non gfci breaker on the left, say position # 21 with gfci breaker and the neutral wire will not reach the gfci when you remove it from the neutral terminal strip, are you allowed to butt splice an additional strip of wire onto the existing wire to make it long enough, or can you use a wing nut to connect the wires. can you also do this either of these to make the neutral wire of the gfci long enough? are these correct wiring methods?
i heard the boss talk to one of the electricians about this at work, but did not hear his answer on what he did.

thanks,
jimmy
 
1. I'm not real sure of your appplication..box? panel? wire size ?
of course, basically, it's easier to cut more off later if need be, than add more

2. If the equipment ground is not needed, obviously there is no where to connect it. Fold it out of the way. Tape it, if you wish, wire nut it, if you wish. Just remaember (a) it might be needed alter and (b) if it touches any other bare conductor it can cause problems.

3. It is permissible to "splice" the gfci "tail" using any acceptabel method.

You are making a wise choice to read Mike's Forum. There's a lot be be learned form any of Mike Holt's sites.
 
480sparky said:
See 300.14.
Click to expand...

In ref to the exception.... some leave a "loop" or some "extra" wire at j boxes to be available for future "taps" or as "reserve" if needed further down the run.
lots of "possibiities' depending on the particular application.
 
jimmy_mcquade said:
i have some general questions i would like to ask, so here goes.

1. i aksed one of the electricians i work with why he folds about a foot of wire back before cutting the wire to the correct length, he said you'll learn.
i guess that comes from experience. is this a common practice to leave extra
cable? it it ok?


thanks,
jimmy
Click to expand...
Rabbit,quick get the bunny gun
 
I think it is too bad that some guys don't want to answer a new guy's questions. I think those kinds of guys generally don't know much. What would it hurt to try to teach someone something? Beats me?

I don't know exactly what you're referring to when you talk about folding back a foot of wire, but I have always felt it was easier to handle long ends than short ones. I bet there are some contractors who won't like leaving any more than necessary... I guess there's no need to be wasteful either, though.

There are definately some experts here on this forum... ( No, I'm not one of them ( I wish ) )

...I see you have 4 posts ...you hang around here and you'll learn something.:)
 
realolman said:
I think it is too bad that some guys don't want to answer a new guy's questions. I think those kinds of guys generally don't know much. What would it hurt to try to teach someone something? Beats me?

I don't know exactly what you're referring to when you talk about folding back a foot of wire, but I have always felt it was easier to handle long ends than short ones. I bet there are some contractors who won't like leaving any more than necessary... I guess there's no need to be wasteful either, though.

There are definately some experts here on this forum... ( No, I'm not one of them ( I wish ) )

...I see you have 4 posts ...you hang around here and you'll learn something.:)
Click to expand...

In my state you have to be licensed to do electrical work. I can understand why electricians don't want to answer unlicensed / untrained people's questions. To me, no one without training should be working on electrical systems. Others here may feel differently. I joke about getting zapped or starting fires but in reality it is serious business. Anyone that asks what to do with a ground wire when there is no place to connect it should not be working on electrical systems, IMHO.
 
If you read jimmy's profile, he says he's an apprentice. Just because he's just starting out in the trade and isn't licensed is no reason not to answer his questions.

Everyone here, at one time in the past, didn't know the answers.
 
480sparky said:
If you read jimmy's profile, he says he's an apprentice. Just because he's just starting out in the trade and isn't licensed is no reason not to answer his questions.

Everyone here, at one time in the past, didn't know the answers.
Click to expand...

I've been HERE for years and doing electrical work for 40. Every day I realize I still don't know the answers.
 
K8MHZ said:
Anyone that asks what to do with a ground wire when there is no place to connect it should not be working on electrical systems, IMHO.
Click to expand...

What's your point? It's a catch 22, if his journeyman HAD allowed him to make up the box he wouldn't be asking this question. But he didn't, so he doesn't know.

Remember, everyone was green once! When I started I was thrown head first into the trade and like him asked questions as I went along. Nothing wrong with that, IMHO. If it was something like high voltage switchgear, that would be a different story...
 
480sparky said:
If you read jimmy's profile, he says he's an apprentice. Just because he's just starting out in the trade and isn't licensed is no reason not to answer his questions.

Everyone here, at one time in the past, didn't know the answers.
Click to expand...

Admittedly, I didn't read his profile before he posted. Now that I did, I see he lists his occupation as an 'electrician's helper' and lists apprentice as the reason he is related to the field. Where I come from a helper and an apprentice are two different animals. Registered Apprentices in the State of Michigan are referred to as electricians as are Journeymen. Helpers are not. In a state where there is no licensing most apprentices are part of the IBEW and need to be in school as well as have on the job training. Our state requires 800 hours of documented school time plus 8,000 hours of documented on the job training before taking a state test which is required to be a licensed journeyman here.

If his intent is to become a journeyman I understand and agree that posting here with questions is prudent. My mistake if I mistook the person as someone wanting to just do their own electrical work and save the expense of hiring a trained electrician.
 
I had rather see an apprentice/helper (which in Oklahoma are the same thing, as it is illegal to work a helper that is not registered as an apprentice) asking questions of his journeyman. However, I think it shows GREAT initiative for him to seek answers where he knows that he will receive correct answers. It hints to the fact that he just might make it in this industry.

Let's face it, electricians, inspectors, EE's, and instructors don't do this kind of work just for ALL the glory and good looking women.
 
Hope you all didn't scare him away. :)

Jimmy come back. And keep in mind there are no stupid questions, just stupid people.....and I don't mean you.

Keep learning man. And welcome to the forum of hard knocks.
 
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