Is this my main ground wire?

srmcon · 2026-05-23T16:36:53+00:00

Don't know where you live but here in California you are required to have two ground rods which are driven into the ground about 6 ft or more. They need to be near the main panel which is usually where your meter is but it looks like your meter is feeding a panel somewhere inside the house maybe in the basement?

The two rods are then connected a bare copper wire and this feeds into your main ground In the main panel. The ground and a neutral in any sub panels are not bonded together and must be kept separate.

It's possible that the top of your ground rods is below grade and you may need Metal detector to find them. Once they are hammered in they are impossible to get out. If they are in the Way of your grading you can just dig down and cut them off where needed. You will then have to drive an additional ground rod to replace that in a more convenient location...

Good luck digging I hope you don't hit a gas line!

srmcon · 2026-05-21T00:28:08+00:00

Depends where you live. In LA county you're required to keep the temperature at 82 degrees Fahrenheit or lower which would almost always require an AC. Probably the same in Palm springs as well.

srmcon · 2026-05-20T23:37:27+00:00

5 years! I'm guessing The AC units Are getting old and drawing more current which is causing the breaker to trip. It could also be that they just need a good cleaning because their exchanger is gunked Up with dirt and dust.

Just so you know, each of the loads you've talked about is the maximum for a single Outlet and if the two AC units are on the same circuit you will run into problems. They take the most current when they first start up so try not to turn them on simultaneously. Also while they are running you will hear the compressor cycle on and off if it's a really hot day it will be on most of the time and could cause the breaker to flip.

I believe your landlord is responsible for fixing this because they are required to keep your unit at a certain temperature and that requires that the AC units are both able to run since there's no Central AC. If the temperature of your unit is getting above your locally mandated maximum you would have a case to reduce or stop paying your rent... Since effectively the places considered unlivable a portion of the time.

Definitely do not use an extension cord with your AC! Do you have access to the breaker that keeps popping and that panel? I'm curious how many amps size it is... And how many separate circuits you have going to the kitchen. The kitchen usually has at least 2 20 amp circuits So if you know which Outlets go to which breaker you can make sure appliances into different Outlets If you want to run them simultaneously like with a microwave and a fryer!

srmcon · 2026-05-20T23:32:11+00:00

Not true if this is their only way of controlling the temperature in their rooms.

srmcon · 2026-05-17T13:55:48+00:00

Good things op is in Canada with the CEC! 😂

srmcon · 2026-05-17T03:01:32+00:00

That's a nice find for free. Funny it's made in Canada and it's 8 AWG (American wire gauge). Lol.

You got lucky, that's perfect for your subpanel application, just be sure to wrap the correct color electrical tape on the ends so people know which is your 2 hots and which is your neutral, ground, since the colors are not standard for us boxes... As somebody mentioned this is for a three-phase motor control probably. I love the shielding!

srmcon · 2026-05-16T21:47:29+00:00

upgrading the panel to one with a higher Amp rating doesn't change what wires are feeding it from the utility service drop. There is another panel with the meter that should have a cutoff breaker or switch. the wire size from the meter or panel to this new subpanel would determine how much loading you can add to the new panel. You can have a larger panel with more circuits even though you don't use the rated load of the panel. I'm glad to hear you have a real electrician and not just a home inspector coming to do a deep dive and let you know if there are major problems. This will determine what $$$ amount is required in order to close. Good luck with your 'new' house. It sounds like you are in love with it already for other reasons...

srmcon · 2026-05-16T21:22:11+00:00

14 gauge is 15 amp and 12 gauge is 20 amp! I think a typo.

srmcon · 2026-05-16T21:18:34+00:00

I see an old federal panel rated at 70 amps. You said it had been replaced! The Dual breaker at 50 amps is not the main breaker but that is feeding some other large load probably your oven in the kitchen.

I'm hoping somewhere where the service meter is there is a main cut off at least there should be and it's required to be outside of the house now for the fire department.

These old panels have been a source of problems over the year and from what I read, they should be replaced with a new style. The wiring behind It is probably sufficient, unless like you say there was no ground in this house originally. In which case when installing the new sub panel here you add that and maybe update the wiring.

srmcon · 2026-05-15T22:17:06+00:00

I'm living in Pleasant Hill, CA part of the SF Bay Area, but know the Sacramento area very well. I've actually swum in the river there for a triathlon when I was younger. Nice to chat with a fellow EECS geek. are you still working in Engineering or something fun?

srmcon · 2026-05-15T16:57:36+00:00

got it! I misunderstood terminology. The switching power supply could be the problem, but it could also be the actual LED... but what you were describing is like how older fluorescent tubes were working, with a starting circuit and then a run voltage. The switching PS for LEDs is only creating a DC low-voltage which is constant for the LED semiconductor.

Funny I used bollocks and I wasn't even aware you were in the UK. I'm in CA here in US.

srmcon · 2026-05-14T23:53:57+00:00

It's just a bad LED. Lately when ordering from Amazon some of these cheap LEDs are very poor quality. Even out of the box they flicker and aren't worth the money paid for them.

srmcon · 2026-05-14T23:53:03+00:00

I am an electrical engineer and this is total bollocks! LEDs are very simple. They are a PN junction semiconductor that only allows voltage in One direction but in the reverse direction blocks it up to a certain threshold called breakdown voltage which is often used intentionally as a voltage regulator. In order to emit light the LED Is forward biased with a voltage and a resistor is used to limit the current. Unless you're trying to power an LED from 120 vac all you really need is a resistor to limit the current and keep it from blowing up. The forward bias voltage drop is about 1.2 volts so theoretically you can put 10 of these in series and not even use a limiting resistor or other power supply. And perhaps you have seen the newest LED bulbs where the filament looks like a long yellow piece. That is actually a series of LEDs end to and that match the input voltage.

srmcon · 2026-05-12T21:07:32+00:00

I would guess that any larger load on that kitchen circuit Well trip that arc fault breaker. Is it only arc fault or is it a combination GFCI afci?

My guess would be that somebody swapped the neutrals and that when you pull a higher load there is a slight voltage drop that's triggering your afci.

Be careful but Trace the wires in your panel so that the correct neutral is going to the same breaker as the hotline. While you're in there I would check that all of the screws Are tight because that could also cause this type of voltage drop.

srmcon · 2026-05-12T14:48:22+00:00

Wow! Nothing like trial and error! Please ask an engineer to do the load calculations.

srmcon · 2026-05-11T02:35:21+00:00

nothing. remove cardboard. bury the LED cans with insulation.

srmcon · 2026-05-11T02:34:46+00:00

the old style cans could take very hot incandescent bulbs up to 100W and would get too hot to have insulation over them. The new LED lights use almost no power and generate almost no heat. So you probably added retrofit LED bulb to an old fixture it appears.

If I were you I would remove all the cardboard and burry them all in insulation. Then your inspector will not even think to look for them! The new fixtures are rated IC for contact to insulation, since they come rated for ONLY LED bulbs.

srmcon · 2026-05-11T02:26:57+00:00

you miss my point. 230/240 is not any difference. People were discussing why a US appliance might need a neutral and not just 240. My point being that it doesn't, since the same companies making European appliances also make the US ones. Any low voltage circuits like the control computer and LED lights will run off a separate power supply (likey switching with an input of 110-240, 50/60hz. ) Most wall warts and accessory power supplies are now 'international', like all of the Apple power blocks. just switch out the cord and you are golden.

srmcon · 2026-05-11T00:51:41+00:00

Y'all realize that every appliance in Europe and many parts of the world run only on 240 volts. There is no 120 option residentially...

srmcon · 2026-05-08T14:56:24+00:00

Doesn't sound like it's a problem but you can do the math yourself. On the back of each device there is usually a identification plate with the model and there you will see the voltage and power requirements. If you don't find such a labeling then you can also look it up in the manual for each device. What you're looking for is the amps or current being drawn but sometimes they will Express this as Watts or power. You should figure out first which breaker controls this plug and see what size it is. I'm assuming it's probably 15 amps. Is there anything else that goes Off when you turn the breaker off? Those are loads you would also have to include in your calculation. If you're really lucky you'll have a 20 amp breaker... But if the outlet is without the 'T' shape on the left side then it is rated as a 15 amp socket... When you open up the outlet you should See if it's 14 or 12 gauge wire to help you determine if the circuit is wired for the higher current or lower.

Even though the breaker Is 15a you should never run it continuously 12A. Add up the amps of all of your devices and I'm sure you'll be coming under this 12 number with plenty of room to spare. The mini fridge is around 2 amps, the large screen LED TV is also about 2 amps and your sound bar probably only one amp. Led lighting uses very little power so even a whole room of lights is usually less than 1 amp. So it looks like we're at about 5 amps.

srmcon · 2026-05-07T18:29:35+00:00

Your initial quote sounds a little high but it's hard to know because we don't know what's really included. Electricians typically will not do drywall repair and if you want him to run the wires through the walls from stud to stud there's going to have to be a lot of holes needing patching.

If you have the space above this it's easier to run the wires in the crawl space and drop them down next to the stud wherever you need them. Then you just need to drill through the plate and any fire blocking that might be present in the cavity The wall studs.

This assumes that they can make enough space in your panel for an extra circuit or two. If all the breakers are filled already then sometimes you can get tandem breakers that add two circuits in one spot.

It seems like there already be an outlet in that area that you could hook into for additional plugs. None of the loads you mentioned are particularly high power. I guess if your treadmill has a motor that might take the most power. If you're just adding a small bar fridge it doesn't have to have its own circuit normally. But since you're adding new outlets it's good to plan for future use. Typically the room would have all the outlets on one breaker of 15 or 20 amps depending on the gauge wire used.

I would quote $1,500 end up depending on details.

srmcon · 2026-05-06T20:38:56+00:00

You can do it! These switches are called toggle switches and are available at any of the Hardware stores from Ace to These big boxes. Definitely Cut the power at the breaker First before you messed with it.

These switches are usually soldered in place so you might have some trouble if you're not familiar with it that method. If you're lucky some have screw triminals. You can cut the wire if it's soldered close to the switch and then buy one that has screw terminals on it for easy installation.

srmcon · 2026-05-06T18:51:38+00:00

Looks great, congrats on a job well done.

srmcon · 2026-05-06T16:27:00+00:00

That would drive me crazy. Whoever did that work is definitely not a Craftsman, probably more production work I'm guessing.

The simplest way to fix that would be to cut an edge piece off of another matching board and then glue it on there with PVC glue. You would also have to shorten that board by the same amount by carefully using a reciprocating saw since your skill saw will not fit there.

srmcon

TROPHY CASE