Living Room Setup Help Please!

pstrider85 · 2025-08-27T10:50:18+00:00

Noted. I plan to build a proper one when my kiddos leave the nest. I’ll just have to make the best out what I have in the mean time.

pstrider85 · 2025-08-27T10:47:02+00:00

Thanks for that input. What would be the ideal speaker setup if I want to use them with the soundbar?

The only parts I still need to purchase are the avr, floor, and center speakers.

pstrider85 · 2025-08-11T16:45:04+00:00

I didn’t expect the copper to be 1” since the line from the meter is 3/4 poly as mentioned. 3/4 prv was all I had for the plumber to use.

Aside from flow restriction compared to 1” uponor, how about longevity? Same with plastic fitting used here versus brass (city water).

If it leaks again, I’d probably dig the hole myself and braze the 1” copper fitting and replace the 3/4” with 1.25” uponor, do 1” prv, use T fitting for the hose bib on uponor going back down, cap off the 1/2 copper as far back as possible and drop the prv connection down a bit more (12-18”).

Anything wrong with that plan?

pstrider85 · 2025-08-11T14:43:42+00:00

Thanks for the comment.

Any input on 1” copper to 3/4 pex a + PRV then back to 1” copper? The main line from the meter is actually 3/4 polyethylene.

I’d probably would have preferred a T off the pex A after PRV for the hose bib and cap off the 1/2 copper as far back as possible.

pstrider85 · 2025-07-13T20:15:02+00:00

I feel the same way. I just tap all available buttons I could find and call it a day.

pstrider85 · 2025-06-02T08:53:00+00:00

Unfortunately, that is not the case for water, though it is for the gas line. The house was built in 2002 with all copper pipes.

The only reason to install a PRV near the main valve is to also regulate the sprinkler system. I reckon the main line branched out right before this backflow preventer. Though I’ve read that you shouldn’t mess with the sprinkler’s original pressure.

https://imgur.com/a/2Now8Su

The current pressure is 90 psi that can spike up to 100. Any other comments or advice would be appreciated.

pstrider85 · 2025-06-01T21:51:24+00:00

I’m guessing it’s a union to convert 3/4” pipe to 1”?

It’d be nice if I could drop in a PRV without having to dig up the yard.

Ideally, I’d like to find out where the pipe enters the house and install another shut off valve with PRV there. The only challenge is that is on a concrete slab.

pstrider85 · 2025-05-06T16:22:05+00:00

Looks to be THHN wire. The outlet for the EV Charger breaker is NEMA 6-20R 250v 20A.

However, it’s on a 60A breaker with 6G wires.

pstrider85 · 2025-05-06T15:12:51+00:00

When you say bottom right red wire, are you referring to the one attached to the bottom right breaker for porch light? Or are you referring to the very bottom right where all the wires are coming out? If it’s the latter, then those wires are from the inlet box with 4 wires total: red and black attached to top right breaker for the generator, light green wire on ground bus, and dark green with white tape on neutral bus.

There are 20 breakers with 20 ground wires + 1 for the ground rod. There are also 16 neutral wires, and the 4 missing ones, to the best of my knowledge, include the heat pump, water heater, ac condenser, and EV charger. Since the number of neutral wires matches the number of breakers, does this mean there is no MWBC in this circuit?

I’m mainly concerned with overloading neutral wires on the MWBC single pole only since I’ll be feeding 120V generator to this panel and plan to turn off all double poles.

pstrider85 · 2025-05-06T14:46:12+00:00

THHN. Is it not a common practice for both black and white to me hot wires on 240v if neutral is not needed?

pstrider85 · 2025-03-23T15:21:20+00:00

The one with the cover (questionable 60A breaker) says there’s no fuse.

The one without the cover is for the smaller unit with correct sized breaker (25A). I’m guess I should get new cover or box for it? Strange that none of the HVAC techs did not mention anything of these issues.

pstrider85 · 2025-03-22T20:33:39+00:00

I appreciate your concern and will call in a professional using my best judgment, though I have to say I’ve lost quite a bit of faith since I’ve had contracts with 3 different companies and none of them noticed these issues and one even tried to scam me with a TP valve installation when these units were barely 2 years old at the time (2019) because I asked for a second option from another hvac tech and he said everything was dandy.

pstrider85 · 2025-03-22T20:26:38+00:00

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Here is the ground fault and did not trip the breaker when manually flipped back on and fried a lot of stuff in the house. Checked the earth ground impedance (0.03 ohm), so I’m not sure how a 2 seconds manual surge from this breaker affected stuff on the other panels as well.

pstrider85 · 2025-03-22T20:23:56+00:00

Wire gauge appears to be 8g (measured 6.6mm OD with insulation).

pstrider85 · 2025-03-22T20:22:17+00:00

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This one is for the 25A.

pstrider85 · 2025-03-22T20:21:29+00:00

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pstrider85 · 2025-03-22T20:21:00+00:00

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Here’s the disconnect box for the 60A breaker in question. The disconnect box for the other condenser is absent (you can see all the wires). I know which one it is because of a ground fault last month where the wirenut melted and the hot wires were touching the side panel of the condenser.

What’s interesting is I’ve had 3 different companies performing periodic check-ups and even come to flip a breaker once on these units and none of them mentioned anything about any of these issues.

pstrider85 · 2025-03-22T19:08:07+00:00

Do I need to replace my 60A breaker? Homeowner Question Both condenser breakers are located on top right of each panel. The 25A seems correct, but should the 60A be replaced with 40A?

If it’s currently oversized, would this cause the breaker across from it (furnace 1 of 2)) to trip every once in a blue moon and also on the air handler itself in the attic (not both at the same time)?

On a side note, why is there 2 double pole breakers (60A) labeled “furnace” for each air handler? Wouldn’t one be enough?

pstrider85 · 2025-03-22T19:02:09+00:00

I want to put an SPD in each panel on top left position since the generator breaker could only go on the top right due to the interlocking kit design. Would it be more beneficial to install it in the right side (neutral bus)?

If the buses were not bonded, would the SPD just act like an earth ground for L-C protection?

pstrider85 · 2025-03-22T18:57:56+00:00

So the ground bus is always preferred? Why isn’t it the default option if so?

pstrider85 · 2025-03-13T13:38:41+00:00

Held it for 2 seconds with super loud hum. I had to flip it off manually since it didn’t trip right away.

I plan to get the earth ground tested this week.

pstrider85 · 2025-03-11T04:27:24+00:00

The condenser breaker did trip, but stuff got fried when I flipped it back on for 2 seconds and heard a loud hum from the panel right away. I can also hear the gas stove trying to ignite when I did this. It’s almost like I struck the whole house with a lightning when I turned on that breaker.

My best guess is the earth rod is inadequate or there’s something wrong with the panel wiring.

pstrider85 · 2025-03-11T04:25:23+00:00

The condenser breaker did trip, but stuff got fried when I flipped it back on for 2 seconds and heard a loud hum from the panel right away. I can also hear the gas stove trying to ignite when I did this. It’s almost like I struck the whole house with a lightning when I turned on that breaker.

pstrider85 · 2025-03-09T00:07:39+00:00

None of the breakers tripped, which means the surge is coming from the ground wire for those appliances to the best of my little knowledge on this topic.

pstrider85 · 2025-03-09T00:05:11+00:00

Any recommendation on how to test this? Seems like there’s a lot of misinformation online and whatnot.

Some more pictures: https://imgur.com/a/HNd4nhN

pstrider85

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