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Where do I put the ground screw in these boxes? I’ve got these metal boxes and I’m trying to make sure I’m bonding them ...
06/10/2026

Where do I put the ground screw in these boxes?
I’ve got these metal boxes and I’m trying to make sure I’m bonding them correctly, but I’m not seeing the obvious spot for the ground screw. Is it one of the threaded holes in the back, or am I missing something simple?
Also, when I’m drilling through the studs, how high or low above the mounted box should the holes be? Trying to keep the run clean and not make the next person open this wall and immediately judge me.

Came back from a weekend away to find one breaker tripped and refusing to reset. Started troubleshooting and found what ...
06/10/2026

Came back from a weekend away to find one breaker tripped and refusing to reset.
Started troubleshooting and found what looked like a hot-to-neutral short. Kept digging and now it seems like there are actually two separate shorts meeting at one outlet.
On one cable, the hot and ground are shorted. On another cable, the neutral and ground are shorted… and somehow that ground may also be tied into another cable’s ground too.
The sketch is the basic layout of the outlet I opened up. The X’s are the cables I currently have disconnected. If I reconnect the cable coming from the breaker, the lights and outlet work.
So after way too many words: is a neutral-to-ground short ever “okay,” or does that cable need to be replaced too? House was built in the 40s and still has some original cloth-wrapped wiring with no ground on other circuits. Obviously the hot-to-ground short cable is getting replaced, but I’m wondering if this neutral/ground situation is also a hard no.

I know this is wrong… I just can’t find the exact CSA/CEC rule to prove it. Found these grounding/bonding conductors wra...
06/10/2026

I know this is wrong… I just can’t find the exact CSA/CEC rule to prove it.
Found these grounding/bonding conductors wrapped around the connectors like somebody was making electrical friendship bracelets. It looks wrong, feels wrong, and I’m pretty sure the inspector would have a stroke looking at it.
Canada code guys, where’s the actual rule that says “don’t do whatever this is”? I need the section number before someone hits me with the classic, “show me where it says I can’t.”

How would you wire this 3-phase motor for high voltage 460V? Need a sanity check before somebody convinces me I’m wrong....
06/10/2026

How would you wire this 3-phase motor for high voltage 460V? Need a sanity check before somebody convinces me I’m wrong. 😅
Based on the nameplate, I’d wire it like this:
L1 to 1�L2 to 2�L3 to 3
Tie 4 to 7�Tie 5 to 8�Tie 6 to 9
Cap 10, 11, and 12 separately.
That’s how I’m reading the high-voltage diagram, but someone is telling me I’ve got it wrong. Motor guys, am I right, or am I about to make an expensive smoke machine?

I’m having central air installed and the HVAC guy is running Romex through the ductwork in my walkout basement to feed t...
06/10/2026

I’m having central air installed and the HVAC guy is running Romex through the ductwork in my walkout basement to feed the condenser back to the panel.
I asked him about it because it looked wrong to me, and he said it was totally above board. But every search I’ve done says this is a code violation and not allowed.
So now I’m trying to figure out if I’m crazy, or if this is one of those “trust me, I do this all the time” situations that should absolutely not be trusted.
Electricians, is this actually allowed or am I right to stop this before it gets buried and becomes my problem later?

Question for the old old-timers on here. Pulled this out of a 1947-ish build and it looks like old Teck-style cable with...
06/10/2026

Question for the old old-timers on here.
Pulled this out of a 1947-ish build and it looks like old Teck-style cable with some kind of lead sleeve. I’m trying to wrap my head around how they even installed or pulled this stuff through rigid back then.
Was this normal for the era? Special method? Brute force and prayers?
Any insight from the guys who’ve seen this dinosaur cable before would be appreciated.

Goodbye, time bombs. 😅They made it 50 years, but today was officially retirement day. Pulled these old panels out and I ...
06/10/2026

Goodbye, time bombs. 😅
They made it 50 years, but today was officially retirement day. Pulled these old panels out and I can finally sleep a little easier knowing they’re not sitting there quietly plotting their next surprise.
Sometimes the best upgrade is just getting rid of the stuff that’s been “still working” for way too long.

When people ask electricians for advice, hate the answer, then suddenly decide we don’t know what we’re talking about… L...
06/10/2026

When people ask electricians for advice, hate the answer, then suddenly decide we don’t know what we’re talking about…
Let me add some context.
By “people,” I mean the random posters who ask one oddly specific question, then get mad because the answer isn’t what they wanted to hear after they already spent all weekend and half their paycheck doing it wrong.
Or the contractor who confidently told them something completely backwards, so now they show up quoting it like it’s the electrical code carved in stone. And anyone who disagrees must be clueless… probably because they already signed the contract.
Anyway, here’s a random pic from a data center job I was on, because at least the conduit listens better than some people.

No grounds? House was built in 2006 and the whole place is piped in metal conduit, so now I’m staring at this panel wond...
06/10/2026

No grounds? House was built in 2006 and the whole place is piped in metal conduit, so now I’m staring at this panel wondering if I’m overthinking it. 😅
I’m wiring my basement the same way with metal conduit and making sure every connection is tight so the conduit acts as the ground. From what I’ve read, that should be acceptable, but everyone today seems to want a separate ground wire too “just to be safe.”
So here’s my question: if the rest of the house doesn’t have separate ground wires, what’s the point of me running them only in the basement? Am I wrong for wanting to keep it consistent with how the whole house was already done? Electricians, educate me before I start second-guessing everything.

What’s the proper, code-friendly way to add another set of 4/0 mains here? I’m about to feed a 200A panel in my new shop...
06/10/2026

What’s the proper, code-friendly way to add another set of 4/0 mains here?
I’m about to feed a 200A panel in my new shop through a 200A enclosed disconnect mounted right beside this one, and I’m trying to do it the “insurance won’t laugh at me” way.
My original plan was to swap these lugs for aluminum 4/0 stacked lugs, but that left-side 90° termination looks like it’s about to ruin the whole idea. I’m also trying not to spend $80 each on two 4/0-to-4/0 IPC taps if there’s a cleaner listed option.
Split bolts and parallel clamps feel sketchy in this tight of a space, Polaris taps don’t look like they’ll fit with the bends needed, and Schneider/Square D has a million lug kits but somehow makes it impossible to tell what actually works for this exact setup.
Electricians, what’s the most correct way to tap this for a 200A subfeed without making the panel look like a lawsuit?

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