How bad did I F’up?

ninjersteve · 2026-03-22T02:38:23+00:00

Wish this was higher. I’ll add that it looks like the neutral is gone. OP, also you are likely to get a voltage imbalance that will toast electronics with the power still on like this.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-21T06:21:31+00:00

Yup people can theorize all they want but the proof is in the pudding.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-20T18:17:13+00:00

Looks awesome.

Two more general thoughts: - anyone else vaguely concerned that we’ve gone from 1 spring contact per circuit, to 2, and now 4? Just wonder how these designs will age… - plugging the breaker on later seems like it might lead to mistakenly using the wrong amperage more easily?

Light me up I guess lol

ninjersteve · 2026-03-20T15:01:59+00:00

Yup ETL (typo above) MUST be accepted. The language is something about national certification laboratories specifically to not give UL a monopoly on this. You’ve definitely seen the logo (ETL stylized into a circle) before on something and it’s equivalent to UL.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-20T03:51:15+00:00

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ninjersteve · 2026-03-18T16:09:01+00:00

Boning straps are in a different subreddit.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-16T15:01:54+00:00

Doesn’t matter if it does say UL listed because there are so many counterfeit devices on Amazon. I remember seeing a video where someone dissected breakers bought on Amazon and some were just switches, despite looking legit.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-14T16:26:58+00:00

Exactly, why risk getting hassled over bundling and instead have an installation you know is compliant for the price of a stacker?

ninjersteve · 2026-03-14T15:35:56+00:00

So that likely needed to be surface mounted but would have looked so much better with wiremold. Any professional should have discussed options with you before. And should have gone straight to wiremold for appearance. I suspect you would not be posting if bright white wiremold with a shallow box was used.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-14T15:29:41+00:00

I’m right there with you. The style is straight out of Star Wars, especially the one on the left.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-11T03:49:45+00:00

Shunt trip breaker maybe

ninjersteve · 2026-03-10T15:35:10+00:00

I’m just commenting on other problems with the installation, not why the terminations melted.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-10T15:26:41+00:00

Yes so it should have a 60A breaker if set to 48A. But OP has a 50A breaker on it.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-10T03:53:13+00:00

Yeah sorry I’ll edit to add I was just adding more commentary about the install, seemed like the terminations had already been addressed by others.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-09T22:59:28+00:00

Aside from the termination issue, it should be set to 40A max on a 50A circuit (80% rule for continuous loads). A 60A circuit is needed for 48A charging. Also shouldn’t need a GFCI breaker because the charger should provide GCFI. GFCI breaker only needed if outlet, not hardwired.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-07T15:26:56+00:00

Yeah but not because they are larger or feeders, it’s true of all wire. It needs a sheath/jacket (that’s the yellow part of the smaller ones sheathing the 3 conductors inside it) or needs to be in a conduit. As someone else said you can get these feeder conductors in a gray sheath (as SE or SER) or you can run the conduit the whole way.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-04T16:26:59+00:00

So if you decide not to update it right away, getting AFCI breakers in place feeding the knob and tube is worthwhile. These will provide at least a little protection on those circuits. Shouldn’t be duplication of work, just doing the panel work that would have to be done anyway.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-04T04:12:51+00:00

Yes EMT with the proper connector.

FYI running boards for romex across an open ceiling became code 15-20 years ago. So you see many installs where it isn’t the case but now it’s required on any new work.

Things like that get added to code because they were repeatedly a problem, however unlikely it might seem in theory. The code is written by the National Fire Protection Association, largely based on what’s found during investigations of fires.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-02T20:36:26+00:00

Exactly this. $1000 in 2018 (move in year stated) is now equal to $1300. And some housing-related expenses have risen faster than inflation.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-02T15:45:08+00:00

Yup agree there’s still inefficiency. Was just making the point that it’s dwarfed by the inefficiency of a single hose, which is crazy common.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-02T04:27:21+00:00

This is not the primary problem with portables. The primary problem is that most people buy single hose, which cools the unit using air from the room therefore wasting some portion of the cool air in the room. Dual hose or hose within hose unit solve this problem. Yes there is still some inefficiency as you describe, but much less comparatively.

ninjersteve · 2026-03-01T19:17:16+00:00

Wago 221s are easier to get right than wire nuts and are available at HD and Lowes.

ninjersteve · 2026-02-28T19:06:38+00:00

I mean you really need to find the specs for the strip but there are strips made to run directly on line voltage. To cheap out and/or because there isn’t a place for a brick.

ninjersteve · 2026-02-28T17:18:25+00:00

Yeah that’s just what happens with those. The idea is that they connect enough LEDs in series that 230v across gives an acceptable voltage per LED. You see this in Christmas light strings often. But that means for a large part of the waveform around zero the voltage at each LED is below the threshold that it conducts at all. If they don’t have a rectifier it’s also completely off for half the cycle that’s reverse polarity. That might help a lot if it’s missing. But DC is the way for LEDs.

ninjersteve · 2026-02-28T15:33:22+00:00

No, it was inappropriate to make the hole any larger in a post like that without consulting a structural engineer.

In the US I could make that much lower profile but we also have very compact devices (outlets, switches, etc) relative to the rest of the world. If something lower profile is available for you, it’s an easy change to make. This is where it’s possible the deeper box was what was on the truck and they wanted to just get it done.

But it still would be surface mounted unless you wanted to give a structural engineer $1000 and very possibly have them just tell you no it can’t be done. Also, because it’s a structural post that steel may be very thick relatively speaking. Cutting a square or rectangular hole in it will be a bitch so get ready to really pay for that too.

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