How To Get A Good Electrician

I'AM a electrical enginner also an electrician and I want to make my own company of electric service and installations.Is this a good idea?

In theory, definitely. In practice, unlikely.

Alert electrician escapes gassing in the Midlands Contract Journal, UK - 15 Dec 2008 By Grant Prior A quick-thinking electrician cheated death after being sent down to work in a gas-filled basement. Birmingham magistrates heard how the spark … Risk prevents accidents Abeceder Denso Manufacturing Midlands fined GBP 28000 Health & Safety News all 3 news articles

Read the rest of this entry »

I'm installing underground power to feed a 200A service. Line is running 250 feet. Electrician said 4/0 wire aluminum, but I don't know if thats' 2-4s and a 2, or 2-4s, 1-2 and a #4 ground.
Also, what depth does it need to be buried to? What size schedule 40 conduit do I use? And how far from my undergound water line does it need to be?

I recommend running 2ott wire. This is aluminum wire, which is cheaper than copper wire, which is better, but costs more. You want 4 independent wires wrapped individually. (insulated) That would be (2) hot wires, generally red and black, a common

wire, generally white, and a ground. The depth of the trench is usually dictated by the Electric Co., not the building dept.Usually you can combo trench, thus saving yourself a ton of money by not having to dig and backfill an additional trench.When I say combo I mean water, phone, gas if available, sewer if it is coming from the same direction and available, and electric. All 1' apart, horizontily or vertically. The depth of the trench here in az. is 2' deep. I really don't know why your electrician is telling you this. It doesn't even concern him except as to where on the building the 200 amp service is to be placed. You said it is 250'. That is generally the distance from transformer to building, or house. The power co. does that, not your sparky. Is this the same guy wiring your house? There must be some confusion here. I have built a lot of houses,(General Contractor) and it is allways the power co. that decides the depth of trench, if any other utils. can even be in the same trench, what size and type of conduit. And you better check with the other utils. if it is ok for them to go into the common trench with power. The wire is supplied by the power co. You don't need to worry about the size or no. or any of that stuff. Generally, you have to dig the trench at the depth they tell you, provide conduit the size they tell you, and allow any other utils. to go in the same trench with them. ( generally 2 1/2" sch. 40 conduit @ 2' below grade for secondary. (From transformer to home.) Schedule 80 is used for when the trench goes under a road or driveway. Primary power (transformer to transformer is 5' below grade.) But I digress. I am assuming this is all new power to a new residence. If it is not, and you are going from your existing electric service on the property to a new building that you want to provide a 200 amp service, I highly recommend that you go or call down to your local building dept. to find out the code for your area. It changes from municipality to municipality. Trust me on this. Oh and by the way, the redwings skate like a bunch of little girls. GO BLACKHAWKS. AND GOOD LUCK. One last thing.
The grounding at the new service is inspected by the local building dept. Here they like us to attach a quarter inch solid copper ground wire inside the service to a number (4) 20' long stick of rebar in the footing.Or attached to (2) solid copper ground rods 8' long w/ an approoved ufer clamp. The ( 2) 8' long ground rods have to be pounded into the ground all the way except for an inch or 2 left exposed to attach the ufer clamp. Your sparky should know all this stuff and should be doing it, unless of course you want to do it yourself. Your power co. and building dept. both should have drawn diagrams showing you what goes where. It is really quite easy after you have done one. Not so easy the first time. There will allways be some little thing that you forgot to do the first time, and that can cost you sometimes quite a bit of money, or time. Ask lots of questions and you will be allright. You're really not a redwing fan are you? Remember: everything from the electric service to the building falls under the building department's domain. The opposite way, falls under the power company's. Don't let a building inspector tell you what to do where it isn't his concern. He'll get you doing all kinds of crazy things. They like to beat up on homeowners.Why? Because they can.

cont

Eastchester family says utility left them cold Lower Hudson Journal news, NY - 18 hours ago Sasso hired an electrician who was unable to find any problems within the Lockwood Avenue home. He called Con Edison again as the problem worsened. …

Read the rest of this entry »

2009 is going to be a busy year for the Peoria County Board: The fate of the Peoria Riverfront Museum. A decision on whether to renovate or build anew on the county-owned Bel-Wood Nursing home. How the county can most benefit from this year’s acquisition of the former Hanna City work camp site.
Read the rest of this entry »

will the phone service go to the first floor people or me? how will i know? should i just call an electrician?

you have several options. you could run a line down through the walls. or you could run a line down on the outside of the building to the basement. you could also run another line from the phone junction box down to the basement. if you cannot run it your self contact an electrician

Ask an expert San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 19 Dec 2008 The best advice is to have a qualified, licensed electrician take a look. If old aluminum wires are only in the main panel, the electrician may be able to …

Read the rest of this entry »

MORGANTOWN — Junior forward Da’Sean Butler insists that he was unaware he had topped the 1,000-point milestone as the West Virginia University men’s basketball team blew out Miami of Ohio 82-46 on Saturday at the Coliseum.
Read the rest of this entry »

I am wondering what is required to completely remove electric service from an office wall that is being removed. This is in Illinois and am wondering if a licensed electrician needs to perform this type of work and if a permit/ inspection would be involved.
The wall is 8' steel stud with a couple of outlets and a blank plate in it with a drop ceiling above. Does the wiring need to be taken out all the way back to the junction?
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!

Yes, the wiring that is to be abandoned needs to be removed by a licensed electrician in a commercial setting. Illinois has some of the toughest building codes in the country, and if you give the inspector a reason to snoop, you're in trouble. Remove all of the drywall first. A contractor can then remove all of the wiring as far back as needed and remove boxes, pipes, etc. Your wall is then ready to come down. Hope this helps.

Electrician: Holiday lights business slow this year OCRegister, CA - 17 Dec 2008 There was so much strong reaction to the poll on whether people should put up holiday lights against the backdrop of the recession and all the job losses, …

Read the rest of this entry »