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1500 questions
38
votes
3 answers
When doing electrical work, what do I use to check wires are safe?
If I am thinking of replacing a light switch, a light-fitting, a socket/outlet or doing other work with household wiring where there may be 120 Volts or 240 volts present ...
There is already a question on "what should I have done differently [to…
RedGrittyBrick
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38
votes
2 answers
What on earth is this small wall-mounted computer?
I live in a rented apartment, and there is this little plastic box on the wall that I had been ignoring. Here is what it looks like:
There are no markings or holes on the casing. I got curious and opened it up, and was surprised to find a small PCB…
mostsquares
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38
votes
8 answers
How best can I discover what is up with my electrical bill?
This might be subjective, I don't know. However, it's a serious problem for me. My electrical bill is outrageous. It's three times as large as my next-door neighbor, and four or five times the size of my neighbor's across the street. It's worse in…
moswald
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37
votes
12 answers
How much weight can screws in drywall hold?
I've always had the question of how much weight can a single screw into a drywall withstand?
For instance, I would like to do things like this:
It's hung with 5 screws. The whole thing weighs approximately 50kg (110 pounds) so we can say that each…
Gastón
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37
votes
4 answers
How do you know when and where it is safe to drill into a wall?
Lots of home projects involve cutting or drilling through walls (everything from nails, screws, or hooks to mount things to cutting through drywall and drilling through studs to run wire).
In general, how do you know what's safe to break through and…
jrdioko
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37
votes
5 answers
What kind of lubrication should I use for a lock?
I recently made the Yale lock on my front door much easier to open by spraying some WD-40 in there.
However, I just saw this question on WD-40 not being a “true” lubricant, and wondered whether it was appropriate to use on Yale locks?
Paul D. Waite
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37
votes
11 answers
How do I secure my house against intruders?
What are some suggestions for securing your house from an intruder? Right now we have a GE Simon XT alarm system, but it doesn't cover breaking a window. We put some PVC pipes in the tracks of the lower floor windows as well. What other suggestions…
esac
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37
votes
2 answers
How do I find and dispose of the dead animal that's presumably in my ceiling?
We're trying to track the origin of a very putrid smell in our condominium. We have a loft type home, which means two floors with a drywall ceiling between the first and second floor.
I first noticed a subtle odor in the kitchen, which is not an…
Tim Post
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37
votes
2 answers
Is there a proper name for this kind of toothed disk?
I'm building a piece of furniture with an adjustable part and would like to use a toothed disk similar in concept to the examples show below. Before having it custom made, I am searching for a manufacturer, maybe buy something off-the-shelf. Problem…
frIT
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37
votes
10 answers
Why are “Wire Nuts” not used in the UK?
I have never seen a wire nut used in the UK, but they seem to be very common in the USA, why?
Walker
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36
votes
6 answers
What is the purpose of tape when finishing drywall?
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but it doesn't seem immediately obvious how a thin strip of paper tape actually helps the taping process in drywall installation except for perhaps reducing the amount of mud needed between panels.
This, from…
JYelton
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36
votes
6 answers
How do I wrap pipe threads with teflon tape?
When wrapping pipe threads with teflon tape (thread seal tape), what is the direction and recommended number of times to wrap the tape around the threads? Any other recommendations or tip/tricks when applying teflon tape?
Jeff Widmer
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36
votes
6 answers
Are mobile air conditioning systems an inherently flawed design?
I read an opinion somewhere that almost all mobile air-conditioning systems are "working against themselves". An A/C whose motor and compressor is inside the house as opposed to being mounted on the outer wall is inherently "flawed". I am talking…
Martin Drozdik
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36
votes
9 answers
Can I gain AC efficiency by spraying condensate water on the outdoor coils?
Recently, I was working from the basement and I noticed tonnes of condensate water going down the drain, and thought I might re-use it to improve the efficiency of my home AC system.
So I put a condensate pump (tank&float combo unit) in the drain…
Billy left SE for Codidact
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36
votes
5 answers
Why can I not assemble conduit around cable, but must pull it after assembly?
I have seen a number of answers here from our esteemed electricians about running wiring through conduit, and many of them include a warning similar to:
You're not allowed to piece the conduit together over the wires - they must be pulled only…
FreeMan
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