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1500 questions
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2 answers

What does a Summer/Winter switch on furnace air ducts do?

On some of our furnace ducts, there is a switch/valve for Summer/Winter or S/W. What does changing this switch/lever accomplish? Can bad things happen if I forget to switch it? Bonus question: Pictured below, an Aprilaire humidifier control unit…
The Other Steven
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What purpose are these openings on the roof?

I have a slanted roof on my house. I think it's called a Gable and Valler roof where some vertical portions of the home intersects with some of the slanted parts of the roof. With that said, there are some openings where squirrels apparently are…
Classified
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I accidentally ran 14 gauge wire. Should I swap out my 20 amp breaker for a 15 amp breaker or rewire with 12 gauge wire?

I just finished installing seven LED recessed lights in my master bedroom. I had to fish wiring through the ceiling and through the wall to an existing switch. I'm changing the one gang switch box to a two gang switch box. I got everything put in…
Jonathan Fry
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What causes a water heater's relief valve to discharge water?

I have a Gas Reliance Water Heater 1212. I found recently (in winter) there is a water dip through the relief valve into a 5 gallon bucket. Sometimes, it can fill the whole bucket. Sometimes, it has no water drip at all. I can't find the reason why…
Richard Sayakanit
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Is there a significant benefit to using plastic window insulation year round?

In order to help save more money and funnel more of those savings to debts, I'm looking for more ways to save money. I've heard that puting plastic window insulation over single-pane windows typically found in older houses can reduce utility bills…
jmort253
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7 answers

What tool should I use to remove this screw in my miter saw motor housing?

I have a miter saw from the company "Elektra Beckum", which went out of business several years ago. The saw worked flawlessly until my house got flooded last summer. Now I had the time to clean it. The saw runs again, but it is very loud. I want to…
steloe
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How can I remove 16GA finish nails from hardwood boards (to reuse the boards)?

I temporarily nailed decorative 1x4 poplar boards on the ceiling of our foyer after ripping out part of the plaster between floor joists when doing a bathroom remodel above it. I put the boards up because there was a question in my mind about how to…
mr blint
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What is this electrical box next to the switchboard?

Black wire is coming from a hole to the brick wall so possibly outside. It looks like it’s falling apart and attached beside the main circuit breaker panel for the house. No idea what it is.
rausted
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Ethernet bus topology for home automation?

Typically, Ethernet uses a star topology. Which means that if you were to use a protocol based on TCP/IP —like MQTT— for wired devices, you would end up with a (number of) central node(s) and one cable for each device. That's a lot of cable. I was…
Naoise Golden
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Why are there occasionally sparks in my old breaker panel?

Anyone notice any wiring issues here? I know the housing wires are old. This Main panel runs from the meter. I have noticed occasional sparking here where the blue dots are. It causes the house to drain power or flicker lights, but never trips a…
Larry D
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I’m trying to make a 220V power cord

My plasma cutter has a 3 prong 220V power cord. I want to make an extension cable that I can plug into my dryer's 4 prong 220V outlet. I have a 3 prong receptacle to put on the other end of my cord for the cutter. I have 3 conductor wire - two…
Matt T.
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How do I plumb a door that has spring-hinges?

I moved into a new home recently, and the front door is out of plumb, causing it to rub on the frame. I found this tutorial on adjusting hinges to plumb a door. Tip #1 is to tighten the screws - they're all tight. Tip #2 is to drive longer screws…
Jack
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How to make electrical wires safe for plasterer after removing wall lights?

I have a plasterer coming to re-skim my walls in a few weeks and he’s asked me to remove the wall lights and “tape” up the wires. I can remove the wall lights ok, but just wanted to make sure the wires were safe. Obviously the electrics will be off…
User1
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I turned a breaker off, and now the security alarm system won’t stop beeping

I turned off a breaker for about an hour. I then heard a low beeping noise, not the full-blown alarm siren. I turned the breaker back on, but the beeping persisted. We called the alarm company. They told us the police were never notified and that we…
YesterdaysTools
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How to drain a toilet bowl?

I want to clean a stained porcelain toilet bowl. It feels like a small crusty coral reef right at the bottom in the water, visible to anyone looking down. I suspect its like calcium/lime but this is not normally a problem in our area. Plain…
Criggie
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