cc_rider wrote: 
see lazy's post.

 Coaxial wrote:  That's what I used too, but it's not easy. The rod seemed to hit a rock every inch or so. I tried multiple locations with similar results. Plus the rod gets pretty mangled after a few dozen strikes. I learned the hard way to put the grounding clamp on the rod before pounding it in. I think whatever tool they use to drive metal fence posts, that's what you want to use.

Coaxial wrote:

 kurtster wrote: 

Wow. When people lament to me about how they don't really have the time and inclination to learn how to do needed repairs or remodeling jobs themselves, so it's worth it to "let the professionals do it", I just shake my head. Just because you're paying money to someone doesn't mean they are going to do the job correctly.

 cc_rider wrote: 

 kurtster wrote: 
Glad you're getting things sorted out. Sounds like you had some serious issues.

On those ground rods, depending on your local codes and soil conditions, you may be allowed to bury a coil of wire 'x' feet long and 'y' feet deep. I'm just wondering about the challenge of driving 8' of rod into the ground. I've driven a couple 4' rods and it was quite a production, but our soil has a lot of rocks. I wonder if there's some kind of vibratory machine that can do the job?

The saga of the breaker box in the new place. 

The new 200 amp box is in, but we have much more to do.  The old factory box was a 100 amp that should have been a 150 amp box.  We found one of the grounds leading to the garage addition was hot !  The AC which was an add on was jury rigged to two non ganged breakers.  The amperage was sufficient, but non ganged ?  Great googidity moogidity.  We also found out how unbalanced the legs were as well.  The lights are now burning brighter and we can hear the furnace working less hard.  Stuff that was labled GFI wasn't.

Thank God we did the inspection before we bought.  Our inspector who is also doing the rewiring broke the rules and pulled the cover off the old box and saw the double tap for the garage.  We litterally had a fire waiting to happen and the existing wiring would have made all the insurance in the world worthless.  That's when it became a no brainer to put in a new box.  So a one day project has grown to another day.

We put in a whole house surge protector.  I get to pound into the ground this week two 8 foot ground rods and we have to rewire the feed to the AC unit.  The way mobile home packs are traditionally wired, pwoer surges are routine just from your neighbors turning things on and off, let alone lightning and utility problems.  The generator interface will be in the garage so we won't have to have power cords running through open doors or windows and deal with drafts, CO and other stuff.  The cost doulbled but when its all done and over, we will be so much safer and more efficient.

To be continued ...

 oldviolin wrote: 
I *just now* finished putting a ceiling fan in our bedroom. Went to turn it on and realized, "ah, dimmer. Damn."

 oldviolin wrote: 



If he used that time to relax but he is one of the most disorganized people I know. No sense of time. If he says I'll see you at 2:00 ya got a five hour window, if he says Tuesday maybe Friday.

That plus his disagreements with the IRS ("income taxes aren't legal") are not helping him. But he is my "baby" brother and what can I say.

 buzz wrote: 
no dimmers here.

 buzz wrote: 
I don't believe having a dimmer on a ceiling fan is a good idea...

 mzpro5 wrote: 

well, I'm on the lam but I ain't no sheep...maybe He just want's it all to go by a little more slowly...like me 

 buzz wrote: 
I don't have a single dimmer in the entire house....

 DaveInVA wrote: 
could the CFs be failing in the fans because of dimmers?

 oldviolin wrote: 



I would say that is from working at Ford for 30 years but he has been like that his entire life, our Black Sheep.

 mzpro5 wrote: 
why bring me into this?

 oldslabsides wrote: 
The CF;s didn't like my ceiling fans either and those small base CF's are not cheap so I also went back to filament bulbs. The wiring is new so I figured it was the vinration killing them.

 DaveInVA wrote: 
Funny you should mention that... we have ceiling fans in the living room and both bedrooms.  When we moved in we replaced all the bulbs in the house with CFs, including the ones in the ceiling fan fixtures.  Within weeks, we started having issues with the CF bulbs - flickering and then finally blowing out.  I assumed the inconsistent voltage of the old wiring was too much for them so I put old-style bulbs back in those fixtures only.  No more flickering or blowing.

 oldslabsides wrote: 



I'm concerned that the little house is going to need some serious electrical work before I sell it.

But as fate would have it my brother is an electrician, trained by the IBEW, and working at Ford for 30 years. Only problem is things have to be done at his leisurely pace which is why I won't even have him look until the house is vacant, that way he can somewhat take his time.

 oldslabsides wrote: 
Most those ceiling fixtures especially if they have CF bulbs will never draw more than an amp. Even with a ceiling fan it wont be much higher than that. Those old wires will just be loafing along and not generating much heat.