Archive for the ‘DIY Electrical Tips’ Category

Handy and Expensive

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

I just left a home in Denton where a previous tenant had helped the landlord make repairs to his rental home. When some appliances started to fail and the breakers sizzled and popped when they were re-set, the home owner called us to inspect and find the problem.

When I arrived and saw indoor wire strung under the eves of the roof and attached to the house with bent over nails, I went no further than the phone and called the homeowner.

The whole time I was there, the tenant explained to me how the work in question was performed by a “certified” electrician. I suspect the tenant ( a remodel carpenter) was responsible for the work. He had knowledge of all the splices and joints and even explained the breaker panel breaker sizing to me.

Well, I explained to the owner the fire hazards and the safety/shock hazards. The work in question needed to be removed and proper materials used to install the circuits. Also, the city would require a permit and inspection since the work had never been inspected by an electrical inspector.

All in all, the work was done twice. The 1st time was supposedly inexpensive, but dangerous. The second time the work was safe and had a 5 yr warranty. Done twice, twice the cost.  Next time, please call a licensed electrical contractor before making this expensive mistake.

 
Jeffries electric has great residential electric repairs and commercial electric repairs. We install 200 amp panels and replace federal breaker panels. We install landscape lights and recessed lights. We fix electrical plugs and electrical switches and 3 way switches. we are your Denton electrician, Coppell electrician, lewisville electrician, highland village electrician, Frisco electrician, Plano electrician, corinth electrician. We fix gfci plugs and repair breakers. We install whole house surge protector. Licensed electrician and insured electrician. Add phone outlets. We repair landscape lights. We fix light switches. Install ground rod. Electric repair work should be performed by a licensed electrician. Be safe and turn off the breaker first.

400 Watt Metal Halide lamp replacement

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

Want to keep those industrial lights in your warehouse or highbay business, and save lots of electricity?

I just left the supply house and my suppliers demonstrated a new folded flouresent lamp that is a direct replacement for the popular 400 W metal halide lamp. It uses 175 watts. 

The 400 watt MH actually uses 450 watts. This new lamp will save you more than half in energy costs. Call us and we can help you with the conversion to the new lamp.

Prolonged heat and Damage

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

When you see electrical outlets that have turned black and are melted and charred, what do you think? Was this mis- use or an inferior product? Did the appliance cord fail and cause the wall plug to burn?

overheated and burned

Use the correct outlet

 This outlet along with the others were all installed for the counter top in a new kitchen. Instead of using a 20 amp heavy duty outlet, the electrician saved a few dollars and installed a residential grade 15 amp outlet. The results were a chain reaction failure in this commercial kitchen. The cook just moved to the next outlet each time the plug failed.

Wrong outlets

too much heat builtup for too long

 The breaker did not trip because the current never exceeded 20 amps. But, the load on each 15 amp outlet caused an overheating condition and the loss of the device and the loss of sales when the kitchen could not operate. This usually happens at lunch time.

Electricity saving discussed by Flower Mound electrician

Monday, January 31st, 2011

This info is from a public domain file. Energy Saving and Energy conservation.Jeffries electric has great residential electric repairs and commercial electric repairs. We install 200 amp panels and replace federal breaker panels. We install landscape lights and recessed lights. We fix electrical plugs and electrical switches and 3 way switches. we are your Denton electrician, Coppell electrician, lewisville electrician, highland village electrician, Frisco electrician, Plano electrician, corinth electrician. We fix gfci plugs and repair breakers. We install whole house surge protector. Licensed electrician and insured electrician. Add phone outlets. We repair landscape lights. We fix light switches. Install ground rod. Electric repair work should be performed by a licensed electrician.Jeffries Electric is a GSA schedule holder. Be safe and turn off the breaker first.


To help monitor your electric or gas water heating energy use, it is helpful to learn how to read your meter.

You may also wish to contact your local utility companies for more information about reading your meter.

Electric Meters
The basic unit of measure of electric power is the watt. One thousand watts are called a kilowatt. If you use one thousand watts of power in one hour you have used a kilowatt-hour (kWh). Your electric utility bills you by the kWh.

The standard electric power meter is a clock-like device driven by the electricity moving through it. As the home draws current from the power lines, a set of small gears inside the meter move. The number of revolutions is recorded by the dials that you can see on the face of the meter. The speed of the revolutions depends on the amount of current drawn: the more power consumed at any one instant, the faster the gears will rotate.

When reading an electric meter, read and write down the numbers as shown on the dials from right to left. When the pointer is directly on a number, look at the dial to the right. If it has passed zero, use the next higher number. If it has not passed zero, use the lower number. Record the numbers shown by writing down the value of the dial to your extreme right first and the rest as you come to them. Should the hand of a dial fall between two numbers, use the smaller of the two numbers.

Natural Gas Meters
Natural gas is commonly measured by the cubic foot, and you are billed by the thousands of cubic feet (MCF) or hundreds of cubic feet (CCF). You may also be billed by the Therm, which is about the same as a CCF or 100 cubic feet. To measure the amount of electricity or gas that you use, the utility installs a meter between the incoming electric power or gas lines and the point of distribution at the house.

A gas meter is driven by the force of the moving gas in the pipe, and also turns faster as the flow increases. Each time the dial with the lower value makes one complete revolution, the pointer on the next higher value dial moves ahead one digit.

When reading a gas meter, read and write down the numbers as shown on the dials from left to right (opposite of an electric meter). It is important to note that on both types of meters, the hands of adjacent dials turn in opposite directions to each other.

Digital Meters
Note that some newer electric and gas meters use digital displays instead of dials. The difference between one month’s reading and the next is the amount of energy units that have been used for that billing period.

I have written a previous article about TED, the energy detective. This and other devices like it will help you decide how much energy you would like to buy.  Knowledge is Power.
Jeffries electric has great residential electric repairs and commercial electric repairs. We install 200 amp panels and replace federal breaker panels. We install landscape lights and recessed lights. We fix electrical plugs and electrical switches and 3 way switches. we are your Denton electrician, Coppell electrician, lewisville electrician, highland village electrician, Frisco electrician, Plano electrician, corinth electrician. We fix gfci plugs and repair breakers. We install whole house surge protector. Licensed electrician and insured electrician. Add phone outlets. We repair landscape lights. We fix light switches. Install ground rod. Electric repair work should be performed by a licensed electrician. Be safe and turn off the breaker first.

Plano Electrician can fix your doorbell

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

Bob called the other day and asked me if we were still on speaking terms. He said ” Are you mad at me? “  My reply was an incredulous ” What are you talking about?”

He proceeded to inform me that when he comes by the house and rings the bell, the least I could do was answer the door. I told him I was home that day and even with my old age and hard of hearing, I did not hear the door bell.

The door bell button.

I went to the front door and touched the button. No bell. No ding dong. Nothing. I told Bob about my defective ding dong device and he laughed. Told me he knows the name of a good electrician. I thanked him and said I think I can handle this problem.

With my volt meter in hand , I found out the voltage was present. 18 Volts. Just right. Not too much and not too little. I bypassed the front door button and found out my wall chime was stuck. The spring loaded metal plunger ( called the hammer) was stuck or sticky and would not move freely.

Well, this called for a trip to the big box store. Door bells or by the proper name , Chimes can be found from $10.00 and up. A nice pleasant ding-dong model sells for about $13.  Two screws to hold the body and two screws to hold the wires and I am now back in the world of social prominence.

In times past, only royalty could afford this luxury. I have an announcer to tell all who abide in this house that guests have arrived. You can abide in luxury also. If your door bell won’t work or your lanterns won’t light the dark halls and rooms of your house. Call. We can fix your announcer or your electric wall  lanterns.  Don’t live in the dark ages.

We take these little things for granted, but you can see how they have come into our life and when they disappear, they  tend to leave a void. A little $13 device was cause for concern to my neighbor and friend.  The nice things in life such as lights and TVor appliances can make your home so comfortable.  Please call if we can help. Your social standing may be in jeopardy, and opportunity is at the door.

Jeffries electric has great residential electric repairs and commercial electric repairs. We install 200 amp panels and replace federal breaker panels. We install landscape lights and recessed lights. We are a GSA Schedule holder.We fix electrical plugs and electrical switches and 3 way switches. we are your Denton electrician, Coppell electrician, lewisville electrician, highland village electrician, Frisco electrician, Plano electrician, corinth electrician. We fix gfci plugs and repair breakers. We install whole house surge protector. Licensed electrician and insured electrician. Add phone outlets. We repair landscape lights. We fix light switches. Install ground rod. Electric repair work should be performed by a licensed electrician. Be safe and turn off the breaker first.Fix door bell. Fix gfci. fix plug. Sanger electrician.