Unique Tips And Tricks

[Joethemechanic]

Here is one that makes me run away when people do it wrong. Notice on the far right the load capacity is decreased by 50%

Sling Angles - Sling Angle Information - Ashley Sling

Understanding sling angles is crucial to select slings to carry any given load. The sling angle sheet helps you determine the sling angle.

ashleysling.com

 

[Joethemechanic]

I think I remember that the proper U-bolt pattern was like the bottom drawing, with the U of the U-bolt closest to the tail as shown, with alternating attachment, but with four U-bolts, and spaced four times the cable diameter.

No, never alternate. The way the u bolt distorts the wires in the live end weakens the wire rope. It more or less puts a kink in it, The kink causes some wires to be in more tension than other ones.

 

[Ponchik]

I have built a load bank with (8) 1650watt hair dryers all strapped on a 2x4 in a wooden box. They all turn on with (4) different switches.

 

[Ponchik]

and this along with an incandescent bulb are very helpful in troubleshooting

 

[Little Bill]

For wood screws, keep a bar of soap handy and rub the screw on the soap before screwing it into the wood. I use unscented Ivory soap because it doesn't smell, plus I like having it in my tool bag for emergencies. If you ever get a hole in your gas tank, you can rub a bar of Ivory soap back and forth over the hole a bunch of times and it will plug it temporarily. Gas does not dissolve Ivory soap. Water does of course, so if it is raining, it doesn't last long. But once I had a rock punch a hole in my tank on a gravel road when I was in the woods in Oregon. Used the soap to plug the hole, but it was raining (Oregon), so I used a 3M insulation wrap I had to put overt the soap to keep the rain off. It worked perfectly so as per usual I left it like that for almost a year until I traded the truck in.

When I was young, I was attempting to run some screws into some oak boards (no power drivers or impacts). My Dad watched me struggle for a while then laid a bar of soap down in front of me. I asked what that was for. He took one of the screws and laid the threads in the soap and turned it to get the soap all the way around. Then he said "now try the screw in the wood". It seemed to just fall in after that.

One other trick he taught me is not really electrical but can come in handy. If you are putting up paneling, or other wall cover, and you need to cut out for electrical boxes, take a tube of lipstick (stolen from your Mom or wife) and run it on the outside edge of the boxes. Then take the paneling and place it where it goes and press it against the boxes. The lipstick will mark the paneling where you need to cut out the holes.
I did this just the other day when putting in a dead bolt. I put it on the cylinder and turned the dead bolt. The cylinder hits the door casing and marking where to drill for the cylinder.

 

[acin]

When I was young, I was attempting to run some screws into some oak boards (no power drivers or impacts). My Dad watched me struggle for a while then laid a bar of soap down in front of me. I asked what that was for. He took one of the screws and laid the threads in the soap and turned it to get the soap all the way around. Then he said "now try the screw in the wood". It seemed to just fall in after that.

One other trick he taught me is not really electrical but can come in handy. If you are putting up paneling, or other wall cover, and you need to cut out for electrical boxes, take a tube of lipstick (stolen from your Mom or wife) and run it on the outside edge of the boxes. Then take the paneling and place it where it goes and press it against the boxes. The lipstick will mark the paneling where you need to cut out the holes.
I did this just the other day when putting in a dead bolt. I put it on the cylinder and turned the dead bolt. The cylinder hits the door casing and marking where to drill for the cylinder.

I use exterior grade screws , the coating is very smooth

 

[Sberry]

I see this rule violated all the time. Probably done wrong more than it's done right. Usually done wrong by the same loudmouth A Whole that doesn't like my Flemish Eye

View attachment 2566087

Ya,,,, there is a code for that.

 

[Sberry]

2 lamps in series for a warmer.

 

[Strathead]

If you need to push a fish tape in to a live panel, get a rigid coupling of the pipe size. Put a bell pug in the end and screw it on the conduit threads inside the panel. When you push, the fish tape will stop at the bell plug. Take the coupling off and you have 2" of fish tape to pull in. Of course, none of us here would EVER open a panel that is hot, let alone pull wire in to one... but...

This was an idea I got from E C and M mag years ago. Credit where credit is due.

 

[Strathead]

When you need to use a hole saw to say, drill a 1 3/8" conduit hole in a box where it already has a 7/8" hole in it. screw a 4S cover to the box. Use it to center the pilot and the hole saw won't walk on you. A common sense thing to me, but I have seen people struggle with this more than once.

 

[Sberry]

 

[Sberry]

Those connections last forever. Took the 4x4 apart scrapping the truck, wires looked brandy new despite constant hi pressure wash abd brine on roads. We keep the nuts up and take a spray can with the little straw and shoot them with spray and cover the inside of the box with a shot of spray.
Others use all that crap with the gell, the crips all kinds of schemes and this works as well or better, those other things just seem to migrate water. Outside can simply fill a wire nut with silicone first and that works well.

 

[Sberry]

For guys that have wells,,,, a gage in the pit or elsewhere is ok but one at the wash sink is even better. Can keep eye on it.

 

[Joethemechanic]

For guys that have wells,,,, a gage in the pit or elsewhere is ok but one at the wash sink is even better. Can keep eye on it.

Useful for checking your friction head loss under dynamic flow conditions too.

 

[Sberry]

I happened to look, losing tank pressure in the middle of the night, downhole check was leaking.

 

[LarryFine]

When you need to use a hole saw to say, drill a 1 3/8" conduit hole in a box where it already has a 7/8" hole in it. screw a 4S cover to the box. Use it to center the pilot and the hole saw won't walk on you. A common sense thing to me, but I have seen people struggle with this more than once.

Another method is to insert the old sized cup inside the new sized cup.

 

[Sea Nile]

2 lamps in series for a warmer.

This picture gives me an idea.
If you wired these keyless lamp holders in series then put a dryer plug on the end, using two incandescent light bulbs you could plug it in to the the dryer receptacle and if the house has a loose or lost neutral, you could watch as the brightness of the bulbs fluctuate between the two lights as loads get turned on and off throughout the house.
I know there are easier ways to ID a lost neutral, but this would be a good teaching tool, or to show the PoCo guy who checked with no load and thinks everything is fine on their end.

 

[Joethemechanic]

2 lamps in series for a warmer.

Easy Bake Oven


Do you use an old refrigerator with the compressor disconnected and the light on for a welding rod warmer?

 

[Sea Nile]

This picture gives me an idea.
If you wired these keyless lamp holders in series then put a dryer plug on the end, using two incandescent light bulbs you could plug it in to the the dryer receptacle and if the house has a loose or lost neutral, you could watch as the brightness of the bulbs fluctuate between the two lights as loads get turned on and off throughout the house.
I know there are easier ways to ID a lost neutral, but this would be a good teaching tool, or to show the PoCo guy who checked with no load and thinks everything is fine on their end.
View attachment 2566101

I just realized my mistake, you would have to wire it like a MWBC, one leg to neutral on one light, the other leg to neutral on the other light.

 

[Sberry]

Yes, wasnt really a fridge but a metal cooler. I quit after a while, lamps used to burn out, these lasted years, not as much power but last.