DIY electrical work--am I crazy? U/D post 17

[raeoflyte]

One of my damn dogs peed on an electric baseboard heater in our addition. There is no way to clean it.

We're not handy people, but we are somewhat intelligent, broke, and highly motivated to have heat in that room before winter. We also have my FIL who isn't certified, but did all the rewiring/upgrading at his own home, and my dad who is a jack of all trades.

The instructions I'm finding to put in new electric baseboard heaters online look pretty darn simple. Maybe even simple enough for me to do on my own.

www.ehow.com/how_5135250_replace-baseboard-heater.html

Any suggestions or warnings? How bad can it go?

[hoops902]

That's a pretty easy fix. The big things are to kill the power by flipping the breaker, but be smart and do a double-check with cheap little voltage tester.

Someone who did the rewiring/upgrading of electrical shouldn't have a problem with this.

ETA: Honestly, "how bad it can go", is probably a mild electrical shock. We're not dealing with 220 power or raw power straight into the electrical box. There's always the random horrible accident that's possible anytime you're dealing with electricity, but the risk is slim/none for major problems here.

[alabamagal]

If you have someone comfortable enough doing it (FIL) then go for it. My dad has done some electrical work at our house - he is sheet metal worker by trade but can do minor electrical, certainly not certified though.

[Deleted]

Turn off the power. Be sure, turn it ALL off.

Do electrical projects during the day, so you have enough light to finish if something goes weird and you have to leave the power off for an extended period of time.

Plumbing, also start early and have any possible part you might need. Not having water for days sucks...

I have always done a lot of crafting and other handy stuff, and since I have more time than money, I will tackle anything that I am able to do or think I might without making something worse.

Look your fix up on Google, find a tutorial, or two or three is better, watch/read, and then follow the instructions. After a while it is hard to pay someone to do work for you, because you realize it really isn't rocket science in the first place. What you can do very cheaply will easily be in the 100s of dollars to pay someone else.

I have fixed:

- The elements in my water heater (way too much work but satisfying none the less... required a purchase a very large, semi truck, tool. The hardware store tool for this didn't work and I needed a very large ratchet.)

- The hidden element in my oven and the computer part at the top.

- My furnace. It blew a board that was obvious and a fuse that also was. I paid for a new board and plugged the new one in. Talked to a local repair guy and he gave me advice on how to do it and then re-set the emergency switch to make it come back on.

- My dryer heating element

- Replaced the pipe/fitting where the kitchen sink drains, because the water ate through the one we had and it was leaking.

- Fixed the acceleration problem with my truck by finding the part that was gunked up and sticking and spraying it with a can of lube. Cost - $2.99.

- Replaced some parts in my car. I asked the guy at the auto store how to rewire a tail light and followed his directions. Worked great! Replaced the turn signal switch in the column of my car, but called in a pro to remove the air bag for me. While he was here, he showed me how to do it in the future.

- And, I removed a room of carpet and put down sticky tiles. I placed nearly 600 of them with no issues. It took a week to prepare the floor and make sure it was glass smooth, but the floor looks great and has had ZERO issues.


The only project I will not tackle is roofing. I am a klutz, fat, and roofing is the worst, suckiest, project ever. BTDT and don't plan to do it again. Those roofers earn every dollar they make!

[hoops902]

::Turn off the power. Be sure, turn it ALL off.::

There's no reason at all to turn ALL the power off. You only need to make sure that particular circuit is off. Turning all the power off doesn't really serve a purpose unless you're unable to figure out which circuit your heater is on (which is easy to do if you have a voltage tester).

[swamp]

I refuse to touch electrical stuff, but DH does it all the time. He hasn't fried himself yet.

[Deleted]

Oct 2, 2012 11:03:08 GMT -5 swamp said:

I refuse to touch electrical stuff, but DH does it all the time. He hasn't fried himself yet.

This is why I always advise to cut all power at the panel. It only takes once when you "think" it is off. BTDT. I now turn it all off. Then again, I don't have a tester and should buy one.

[greenstone]

If your new heater is the same or similar style to the existing one, then you should be able to do this easily.

I've replaced all the electrical outlets, light switches, light fixtures, and ceiling fans in my house. I'll also tinker with some appliances. Simple electrical fixes are good DIY projects that save you a ton of money.

If you are at all nervous or your electrical panel is not well marked for which circuit controls what, then I agree with Shasta, turn off the Main. You shouldn't HAVE to but its good for peace of mind.

ETA: Even if the main is off, still have/use a voltage tester.

[greenstone]

Also, whenever you have a circuit turned off, it is a good practice to put a piece of masking tape over the switch in the electrical panel labelled with "Do Not Turn On" (or similar) so someone else in house doesn't turn it back on while you're still working on it.

Nobody thinks it will happen but it can.

[happyhoix]

For normally handy people this probably isn't an issue.

In my household, we have a rule - the only DIY stuff we do is painting. This is because of several DYI disasters, including the leaky faucet repair that should have cost a washer and ended up costing $80 for a professional plumber to fix, and the infamous gas grill - misassembly that my DH won't let me discuss anymore.

We do still sometimes assemble furniture that says 'some assembly required' but only if the furniture won't be used for a critical function, like sitting on.

So for us - electrical work is right out, if it gets worse than changing a light bulb.

[tskeeter]

Rae, I think most people are capable of doing some basic electrical work, such as replacing a fixture. I suggest that before you start, you get a couple of books about DIY electrical work and study up on the basics. How do you tell the hot lead from the neutral. Why do switches and outlets have screws with different colors on them. What makes a good electrical connection. What to do if I find aluminum wiring. How can I tell if the wiring is aluminum. What sizes and types of wire are used for different things.

[Apple]

Tip for the voltage tester... It will only work on the HOT wire, not the neutral (so if you put it in the wide slot on an outlet, it should not light up, it should light up on the narrower slot). It will only work on AC voltage (not an issue at home for the most part, just don't expect it to work on a car battery or something).

When you look for the breaker, keep the voltage detector on the hot wire (it will be lit up), flip breakers, one at a time, until you find the right one (hopefully it's marked). When the light goes off because you flipped the breaker, turn the breaker back on to make sure it lights back up, then off again. Also, best to test it on a known hot source both before and after you check your circuit. If you push on it, you may end up getting a "false" light, so hold it close to the wire, but don't push on it.

This is the one I use at work www.platt.com/platt-electric-supply/Voltage-Continuity-Tester/Fluke/1AC-A1-II/product.aspx?zpid=638793 When I'm doing a job where I really need to know it's dead, I use a meter, but this is an awesome tool if you know how to use it correctly--but it can get you if you don't. (We have a ton of DC control power around here, so I'm constantly reminding trainees, and even journeymen, that it will NOT work on those circuits and they need to use their meter).

[Deleted]

You can do it.

I'm not very handy - just cheap - and I managed to convert my hardwired stove hood into an outlet for a combination microwave/hood. Last month I installed a new programmable thermostat.

Wires aren't so bad. I like to watch 2 or 3 videos on the internet, read the package instructions, reread the package instructions, maybe grill the Home Depot guys a bit, and then watch the video again before I start... but I'm paranoid like that.

Go in to it knowing that it will take you 2-3 times longer than it would take an electrician or professional handy man. You will probably need to make a second trip to the hardware store. But so what? You'll get it done. And you'll know how to do it for next time.

[Bob Ross]

If there's any DIY electrical work that involves more than a fork, an outlet, a pint of whiskey, and a dare, then I don't want to know about it.

[Apple]

<grabs the fork and whiskey and prepares to make a dare, this could be more fun than Archie fixing a dryer>

[raeoflyte]

Thanks folks! We're going to do it! I'll spend the next week or so reading up on it though.

[raeoflyte]

New question:

We've read all the tutorials we can find and watched the you-tube videos. Everything said not to install them under an electrical outlet, but there are 2 outlets on that wall, and those heaters have been there for a couple decades. Seemed odd...

DH took the existing heaters off, and found that the 8 foot one was wired into the 6 foot heater, and then that heater was wired to the wall which happens to be just a few inches inside of the middle electric outlet so technically a heater wasn't wired under an outlet. (And we can install a new 6 foot heater in that same space with the existing wiring and still not be under an outlet).

Wiring the 2 together is definitely against code now, so we're trying to figure out if we can just replace the 6 foot heater and be okay. The room is 273 square feet and cubic feet of the room is approximately 2200 feet. (This is accounting for the highest part of the ceiling even though it slopes down, and I'm basically hoping that by estimating over on total cubic feet that will make up for not doing fancy calculations involving heat loss. We do have double pained windows in that room). We live in Colorado, so temperatures can get very low, but I'd guess that 40 is an average day time temp in the winter. We would keep this room at 55 degrees at night, and bring it up to 65-70 during the day.

The heater we have to install is: www.homedepot.com/buy/cadet-6-ft-1-500-watt-240-volt-electric-baseboard-heater-white-6f1500w.html#specifications which says is good up to 250 square feet. One of the comments says they have good luck with it in almost 325 square feet.


One more question: The existing wiring was for a 220. They only sell units (and from what we can tell only make) for 120 or 240. The home depot guy said that 240 is the same. Does that sound right?

Any thoughts or concerns?

[Apple]

I only have a minute, so can't be much help right now.

Yes, 240 is the same as 220 (as demand on power increased, they bumped up the nominal voltage to keep it from dipping to low out on the ends of the lines).

You wouldn't want a heater below an outlet mostly because if you plug something into an outlet, the cord may end up against the heater, melting the insulation, causing a fire hazard. If you were to replace both heaters, just be careful with cords plugged into that outlet. (Code changes every few years, so the two heaters were likely wired to each other because it's easier that way, or, one heater wasn't enough and they added a second one).

[raeoflyte]

Thanks for the info Apple!