Easy Electrical Repairs

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Easy
Electrical
Repairs
By Charles Dunne
with Richard V. Nunn
Copyright ® 1976 by Oxmoor House, Inc.
Book Division of The Progressive Farmer Company
P.O. Box 2463, Birmingham, Alabama 35202.
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be

reproduced in any form or by any means with-
out the prior written permission of the
Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in connec-
tion with reviews written specifically for inclu-
sion in a magazine or newspaper.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 75-32263
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Printing 1976
Easy Electrical Repairs
Editor: Grace Hodges

Schematic Drawings: John Anderson
Cover: Taylor Lewis
Oxmoor House believes that the information contained in this

book is accurate. However, Oxmoor House does not represent
or guarantee that the book is free of inaccuracies, nor does Ox-
moor House represent or guarantee that members of the public
can necessarily perform all of the operations described in the
book without substantial risks to their personal safety. Readers
should proceed only at their own risk in applying the tech-
niques and advice contained in the book.
Introduction 4 Using solderless connectors 51
Connecting wire to a fixture 52
Electricity and How It Works 5 Making an Underwriters'
Current and voltage 5 Laboratories electrical knot 53
Keeping power in the line 6 Cutting armored cable 54
Ohms and heat 8 Connecting armored cable 55
Amperes and watts 9 Connecting nonmetallic cable .... 58
and AC/DC
Electric cycles 9 Working with conduit 59
Using a fish tape 61
The Power to Your House 13
Main service center 14 Working on Household Circuits ... 63
Safety precautions 18 Replacing a switch 63
How much power do you have? . . 19 Replacing a wall outlet 65
Individual circuits 22 Converting a wall outlet to a
Map your present circuits 24 grounded receptacle 66
Analyze the circuits 26 Adding new wall outlets 68
Installing a new lateral-run outlet 68
.
Save Electricity and Conserve Installing a new outlet from

Energy 27 a switch 69
Save on lighting 27 Installing a three-way switch 74
Save on big power consumers 27 Changing a ceiling fixture 75
Read your meter 29 Installing a swag lamp 77
Installing outdoor lighting 78
Electrical Safety 31
shock
Electric 31 The Care and Repair of Small
Safeguards 31 Appliances 80
System grounding 32 Repairs you can make 80
Safety rules 34 Opening the appliance 81
Ground fault interrupter 34 Appliance parts 81
National Electrical Code 36 Rewiring a lamp 82
Underwriters' Laboratories 36 Caring for an iron 84
Caring for a toaster 86
Electrical Repairs 38 Caring for a can opener 87
Faulty wiring system 38 Caring for a coffee maker 89
Tools 40 Caring for an electric mixer 90
Materials 40 Caring for a portable
Electric wire 43 electric oven 91
. Voltage drop 44 Caring for an electric
frying pan 92
Electrical Methods 48 The doorbell system 93
Joining wires 48
Taping wire joints 50 Index 95
Do you know the difference between a
watt and a volt or between 50- and 60-
cycle electrical current? for which you must pay well.
If not, you belong to the great ma- Still another reason for learning how
jority of people who have
only a pass- tomake your own electrical repairs is to
ing understanding of electricity, avoid throwing away small appliances
although they use electricity hundreds because they don't work. Maybe some
of times a day. When an appliance of thesecannot be repaired, but it is
groans and quits or a light switch goes quite likely that many need only a
out, most people start looking for help. cleaning of the contact points on the
Easy Electrical Repairs has been writ- switch or a tightening of a loose wire.
ten to relieve that helpless feeling. It is By knowing how to make simple
not intended to convert you to a full- repairs,you can keep a lot of your ap-
fledged electrician, but it will give you a pliances working and save the cost of
sound and basic understanding of what replacing them.
happens inside all those wires and It might surprise you to know just
electrical machines you depend upon so how many electrical appliances,
heavily. gadgets, and devices you use. Most peo-
Fortunately, the things you need to ple guess they have 20 or 25, but, in fact,
know about electricity aren't compli- the average home has more than 50, not
cated. You will learn to make most of counting the lights. To verify the figure,
the simple electrical repairs around the I counted the gadgets in my house and
house and do so safely and correctly.

to found 53, from electric blankets to hair
You will still need to call the profes- curlers, and I didn't get around to the
sional electrician from time to time, but portable tools in my workshop or the
only for the difficult work worthy of outdoor devices such as the electric
his attention. charcoal starter we keep in the garage.
There are several good reasons why Finally, by understanding electricity
you should understand electrical and the appliances we use, we can con-
power. The your own safety;
first is for serve energy while stillenjoying
when mishandled, electricity is electrical conveniences. To help you
dangerous. If you know how it works, with program, this book will teach
this
then you will not make dangerous you how your electric meter so
to read
mistakes. Actually, electricity is no that in less than five minutes a month
more dangerous than your automobile, you can keep track of just how much
which also can do great damage if you electric power you use. Fine, you say,
don't know how to use it or if you lose but why not take the electric figures
control of it. straight from the electric bill? Why
The second reason understanding
for bother to read the meter? The answer is
electricity is time and
to save yourself simple. It is always a good idea to dou-
money. Most professionals are busy ble-check every bill to see that a
with major electrical work such as mistake hasn't been made. Errors creep
rewiring homes, and little repair jobs, into the very best systems, including
like replacing a switch or installing a the billing system used by your power
new wall outlet, are nuisances that company.
must be worked into his schedule and Now, on to the watts and volts.
Electricity and
How It Works
Electric power is a mighty servant. It Big generators at the power station
does hundreds of jobs every day in the produce tens and even hundreds of
home and is a major contributor to the thousands of volts; this is enough
modern life-style; but it is also some- electrical pressure to blast your home
thing of a mystery to most of us. right off the street, if the current were to
The following discussion of electrical come directly from the generator to
terms will help remove some of this your fuse box.
mystery and tell you how electricity What actually happens is that this
works. current, under high pressure, is
"pumped" into a network of wires
Current and voltage through which it is distributed to thou-
The electric current flowing through sands of homes and factories. At
the wires in your house is simply a various points along this network, the
steady stream of electrons which are current passes through transformers in
developed by a generator at your power power substations which act as local
station and pushed through wires from distributing centers. At each substation
the station to your home. The force, or the voltage, or electrical pressure, is
pressure, that pushes this stream is stepped down, and the current from the
called voltage, and the volt is a unit of incoming line is divided and sent out
measurement of this force. over a number of smaller lines.
The great majority of the

/* '
electric power generated in
**'<%> the United States is
produced by burning fossil

fuels, such as oil, coal, or
gas in big power plants like
this one.
Generating station
Newer houses will

have three- or
four-wire service
Outside meter-
Meter box
Main switch
and fuse box
By the time the current gets to the Keeping power in the line
transformer that serves the houses on It has been noted that voltage is the
your block, the voltage has been pressure pushing the current through
reduced to perhaps 2300 and finally electric wires. Most electric power com-
comes into your home as 230 volts. panies maintain a nominal pressure of
We are all familiar with power 115 volts in their lines, although this
failures, especially during electrical will vary from 110 to 121 volts. Your
storms. In some places only the power home's wiring and modern electrical
on one street goes out; in other areas, appliances are made to function within
whole square miles are blacked out. this pressure range. If the pressure gets
From the description of the power dis- much higher than this, the wiring and
tribution network, you can see why this appliances may be damaged; if it gets
happens. When a transformer is hit, much lower, they lose their efficiency.
every power line beyond it in the net- For the most part, power companies
work fails because it is no longer pass- are able to control their line voltage
ing power along. Thus, if the quite well, but they face the problem of
transformer that serves your block is how people use electricity. Electricity
hit, only the few homes it serves will go must be put on the power lines as it is
black. But if a substation serving a generated. This means that when the
whole neighborhood is hit, hundreds of demand is low, some generators must
homes will be blacked out until its be turned off; when the demand in-
transformer can be repaired. creases, more generators must be
The electric power coming to your started.
house over this network of power lines At 3 a.m. power use is low. Between 5
is called power-line voltage, usually and 6 a.m., the demand begins to in-
referred to as line voltage. crease rapidly and continues to increase
6 Electricity and How It Works

Nuclear- fueled generating
plants are being built all
over the country, but at
present account for less
than 3 percent of the
electric power we use.
until it hits the day's peak around 2 full capacity; this is also the time when
//
p.m. The demand begins to taper off brownouts" occur.
then but remains fairly high until A brownout takes place when the
midevening. Through all of this fluctua- power company has every generator in
tion the companies monitor demand its system going full blast but still can-
and bring their generators on line as not generate enough power to meet the
needed. demand. The system can't keep 115
The greatest power use occurs in hot volts of electric pressure in the line, and
weather and is highest on the third day the voltage slips down to 110, 105, 100,
of a severe heat wave. This is the time or lower. As the power gets lower, your
when power-generating facilities are lights get dimmer, the picture on your
taxed to their utmost, with every piece television set shrinks, and motor-
of generating equipment working at driven appliances don't operate well.
Electricity and How It Works

Transformers on utility
poles near your home are
the last step-down units in
the electric power
distribution system. They
reduce the power to the
proper level to enter your
home's electric system.
the line voltage gets too low

If denly break down in the middle of a
because of high demand, automatic peak-demand period.
safety devices cut off the power flow to means that a power com-
All of this
prevent damage to the distribution pany must have enough generating
system. Then you have a blackout. capacity to meet the highest anticipated
Power companies go into action demand of its customers, even though
when a brownout appears imminent. that peak demand may occur only once
They have agreements with industrial or twice a year, and it must have a
users who shut down their heavy reserve capacity to take care of break-
equipment when the demand exceeds downs. With electric power demand in-
the supply. Appeals are sent out by creasing by 10 percent every year, most
radio, television, and newspapers ask- power companies have been racing to
ing all customers to cut down power build generators to keep up with the
use. Also, power companies are tied peak demand; only a few have been
together in huge networks and can buy able to get much ahead of it.
electricpower from each other. When
one company finds itself in trouble, it Ohms and heat
can buy power from other companies as As already noted, voltage is the force
far as 1,000 miles away, provided these that pushes the current through electri-
companies aren't experiencing an ex- cal wires. But wires tend to resist the
cessive demand and have extra power passage of the current, and some metals
to sell. resist more than others. Smaller wires
Real trouble occurs when a
waveheat resist more than big ones. This resis-
is widespread and no extra power is tance is measured in a unit called an
available or when big generators sud- ohm (om). The more ohms of resistance

a wire offers, the more voltage required age by multiplying the number of volts
to push the current through. by the number of amps.
Whenever is forced to
electricity Thus, if your electric iron draws 10
overcome develops heat;
resistance, it amps and your line current is 115 volts,
the greater the resistance, the greater you multiply the two to discover that
the heat. This is an extremely useful at- the power consumption of the iron is
tribute and makes possible both the 1150 watts. The wattage figure repre-
electric light and electric heat. sents the amount of energy consumed
In a light bulb there are tiny filaments by the appliance in one second. By the
made of metal that offer extremely high same token, a 100-watt light bulb uses
resistance to the passage of current. The only .9 of an amp (100 watts divided by
resistance is so high that great heat is 115 volts =
.9 amps). So, your electric
developed as the current passes iron uses about as much power as
through, causing the filament to turn eleven 100-watt light bulbs,
white hot almost instantaneously. The You will find a metal plate or label on
glow of the white hot filament provides nearly every electrical appliance,
your electric light. which gives vital information about the
The same principle is employed in appliance. It is important to know how
electric irons, toasters, and other to interpret this information. The plate
devices that require heat to operate. The on an electric dishwasher, for example,
current is sent through wires of high might read:
resistance and causes them to become 11C .. -„ ,n «-,
« 115 .volts 12 amps 60 ,
cycle AC
It takes many volts to push current The figure 115 volts means that the
through wires of high resistance. Only a appliance was built to be operated with
few tiny filament wires are used in a 115 volts of electric pressure or line
light bulb, so the current demand is voltage (but it will also give satisfactory
relatively small. But in electric irons service at about 10 percent above and
and other appliances requiring a lot of below that figure),
heat, a large number of high-resistance The figure 12 amps tells you that the
elements are used. This explains why unit draws 12 amps of current when
heating devices use so much more operating. Multiplying the volts (115)
electric power than those devices that times the amps (12), you discover that it
do not require heat. consumes 1380 watts. The reason for
this heavy consumption is that heavy
Amperes and watts heating coils are used to dry the dishes
you could stand at one point on an
If after they are washed,
electric wire and count the electrons This figure of 1380 watts is extremely
that pass the point each second, you important to you, as you will see a bit
would be measuring the current's rate later, when we look into the electrical
of flow. The unit of measurement for circuits in your home. (Note: the watt-
this is the ampere, usually referred to as age figure never exact but only
is
an amp. (Don't try to memorize it, but reasonably close to the actual power
you might like to know that one am- consumption. This is because of the
pere is 6,280,000,000,000,000,000 small variations in line voltage. When
electrons passing a given point in one computing wattage, you can multiply
second.) by 110, 115, or 120 volts. The 115-volt
The total power
your electrical
in figure is a good average.)
system is and
a combination of current
voltage (the number of electrons mov- Electric cycles and AC/DC
ing per second and the amount of To understand the figure 60 cycle,
pressure pushing them), and it is you must know how a generator works,
measured in watts. You find the watt- This is complicated, and we won't get
Electricity and How It Works 9

The information plate on
any electric appliance
provides useful infor-
mation. From this plate,
you learn saw was
that this
built to operate on 115
volts, can be operated at
any number of cycles from
25 to 60 hertz, which
means it can be used in
Europe, and draws 10 amps
when operating. You also
see that has the
it
Underwriters' Laboratory
approval mark.
into a long explanation but just say that companies, however, develops a
a generator looks like an electrical different kind of current called alter-
motor with a spinning center that nating current, or AC. It does this
revolves inside a stationary outside because, as the rotor in the generator
piece. Both the center and outside piece turns, it is alternately positive through
are wrapped in thousands of feet of fine one half of its rotation and negative
copper wire. As the center, or rotor, through the other half. Thus, it pro-
turns, electric power is generated. duces alternating pulses of positive and
All electricity has polarity. You've negative current to send out through
seen evidence of this on your the power line.
automobile battery where one post is The cycle number on an appliance in-
marked positive ( + ) and the other formation plate refers to the number of
negative ( — ). Electric current flows these alternating pulses sent out by the
from the negative to the positive posts generator each second. American and
in a battery system, passing through the Canadian power companies have stan-
appliance or device on the way. (If you dardized on 60 cycles per second. In
connected the posts directly, without Europe, however, the standard is 50 cy-
running the current through an ap- cles. Many American-built appliances
pliance, you would create a short cir- can't be operated on European current,
cuit.The flow of current in a battery is although some are built to operate on
always the same, from negative to posi- either 50 or 60 cycles.
tive, and is called direct current. All Obviously, as long as you are in the
batteries supply direct current. United States or Canada using ap-
An electric generator of the type pliances made in either country, you
mentioned above and used by power don't need to worry about cycles. If you

All batteries, from
automobile storage units to
the tiny cells in a transistor
radio, supply direct
current.
plan to take an appliance to Europe, As for alternating and direct current,

read the information plate to see just keep in mind that all line voltage in
whether or not it will operate on 50 cy- your house is alternating current, and
cles. If not, you can buy a plug-in con- all power from any size battery is direct
verter to take with you. current.
The word "cycle" is presently being Appliances designed for AC cannot
phased out of the language of electricity be operated on DC current. That is, you
and is being replaced by the word can't use battery power to run a
"hertz." So when you see "60 hertz" on machine designed for line current, and
an appliance information plate, it you can't plug a device designed for DC
means the same as "60 cycle." battery power into a wall inlet. If you
Electricity and How It Works 11

do, you will damage it severely. volts, a converter which supplies 9 volts
You can, of course, buy converters for should not be used with it.
small battery-operated devices such as Some portable radios are built to
tape recorders. You plug the converter operate on either batteries or line cur-
into a wall outlet and into the unit. The rent. These have converters built right
converter does two things. First, it con- into them, and you must push a switch
verts the AC line current to DC current; to go from one to the other. Also, some
then it steps down the line current from appliances are made to operate on both
115 volts to the voltage required by the AC and DC power. The information
unit, usually 6 or 9 volts. plates on these will be marked AC/DC.
When buying a converter, get one for The reason for this is that electric line
the unit you want to power. The voltage is DC in a few places in the
voltage output of most converters is world. Electric power in the United
preset and cannot be adjusted. If your States and Canada started out as direct
tape recorder, for example, requires 6 current but long ago was converted to
alternating current.
Equipment designed for

battery operation was
made to run on direct
current. It cannot be
plugged into an AC line

unless an adapter is used.
The adaptor changes the
AC current to DC and
reduces it from normal line
voltage to the power
needed by the unit, which
is usually 6 to 9 volts.

f
-
-^
The Power
du
to Your House
i
3s
TmnTllinnri
__ ,J
The place where electric power enters

your home from the power company's
line is called the service entrance. If you
go outside and look at your service en-
try, you will see either twoor three house into the main service panel, or
wires coming from a nearby utility pole fuse box, located inside the house.
to the entrance head, which is located In some communities, power lines
10 feet or more above ground level on are buried underground instead of
the side of your house. The wires come being carried on utility poles. In this
down the side of your house inside a case, your service wires will come up
pipe to the electric meter. Just below the out of the ground near your home and
meter, they go through the wall of the run to the meter.
This home has three-wire

electrical service. The
center wire of the three is
neutral, while the other
two each carry 115 volts.
13
appears that you have two-wire
If it main fuses located near the top of the
service, look a second time. In some in- box. Thechief purpose of these fuses is
stallations, you can see three separate to protect your home in the event of a
wires. In others, two of the wires are large surge of power in the line, such as
twisted around each other, while the might occur if lightning strikes the
third wire is separate. In two-wire in- power line or transformer.
stallations, you will see two separate You will also see that a heavy wire
single wires. leads away from the fuses and into a
The power company is responsible conduit. If you follow this conduit,
for the service line as far as the meter. you'll find that it leads to a cold-water
Once the line leaves the meter, it pipe. This is the wire by which your
becomes the responsibility of the home- electrical system is grounded. To
owner. ground the system, a solid connection
If there are only two single wires to earth must be made, and the cold-
from the utility pole to your home, you water pipe is the best and most conve-
are receiving only 115-volt power. This nient method of making this contact.
means that you probably don't have as These main fuses usually are marked
much electricity as you need in this day MAIN and RANGE. The fuse marked
of electrical appliances and heavy MAIN protects all the 115-volt circuits,
power use. You should consider having and when it is blown (which is very
your home rewired, both for safety and seldom), there is no power in any 115-
convenience. When you do, the power volt circuit in the house. The fuse
company will provide three-wire ser- marked RANGEprotects the 230-volt
vice, and your electrician will install a circuits. When both fuses are removed,
new main service box and new circuits no electricity can enter the wires in
throughout the house to take advantage your home.
of the additional power. In some installations these main fuses
your house has three entrance
If may be located in a small service box
wires, you now have 115-230 volt alongside the service center. It is a good
power. This means that you have idea to become familiar with your
enough power to operate an adequate system and to know how to turn off the
number of circuits and to use a large power in the event of an emergency.
number of appliances. It also means The time to do this is now, when no
that you can have a 230-volt circuit for emergency exists.
an electric stove or large air condi-
tioner.
When resetting a fuse or circuit
In a three-wire circuit, there is one
breaker, turn off all appliances first,
white wire, called the neutral wire, and
reset, then turn appliances on one at a
two black (or another color other than
time. Otherwise, the sudden power
white or green) "hot" wires. Each black
demand will blow the fuse or trip the
wire is used with the white wire to pro-
circuit breaker again.
vide 115 volts, so you have two 115-volt
service lines. In addition, the two black
lines can be joined in your main service Below the main fuses in the service
box to provide the 230-volt range and box, you will see either two neat rows
heavy appliance circuit. of circuit breakers or a collection of
screw-in fuses. Each circuit breaker has
Main service center a small switch. When there is a problem
The service line enters your home in the circuit the breaker protects, this
and goes directly to the main service switch automatically flips open, discon-
center, or fuse box. If you look into this necting the circuit. After you solve the
box, you will see that the incoming ser- problem, reset the circuit breaker by
vice wires are connected first to two pushing the switch closed once more.
14 The Power to Your House

Service cable from
pole to house
Service entrance
head screws to wall
Wires form drip loops

when clamped up to utility wires
Meter box
Watertight connectors
Clamps to wall
Lead-in cables
Shield entry to house wall
Main switch and fuse box inside house
>240-volt circuit to electric range
-Grounded wire
All white wires connect

to common cable
TIT—-- Circuits through house
'Cable to additional switch

box of fuse box
Four extra fuses-
White wire to common ground' Four circuits

Most three- wire service is
brought to the home
through twisted wires,
such as these. To find out
whether you have two- or
three-wire service, count
the number of wires
actually entering the
service entry head.
Right:
Power enters the home at
the main service box. This
box has 8 fuses, showing
that there are 8 separate
home. The
circuits in the
two black squares with the
wire handles at the top of
the box are the main fuses
for the entire system.
Far right:
The inside of a fuse box
looks like this when the
protective plate is
removed. The black wire,
attached to the screw
beneath each fuse, is the
"hot" wire for the circuit
protected by that fuse. The
very thick white wire near
the bottom of the box is the
system's grounding wire,
which is fastened to a cold-
water pipe not far from the
fuse box.

This home is protected by
circuit breakers instead of
fuses.The advantage is that
there are no fuses to
replace. To put a circuit
back in operation, after it
has been shut off because of
a short circuit, you need
only to reset the circuit-
breaker switch.
Sometimes the main fuse is
located in a separate box

beside the main box
containing the circuit fuses
or circuit breakers. This
home has 200-amp service,
and each of these cartridge
fuses is rated at 100 amps.
You can turn off all the
power by pulling down on
the handle at the right side
of the box.

there is trouble in a line protected
If the service box. If you ever remove
by a screw-in fuse, a tiny metal band in- cartridge fuses of this type, use ex-
side the fuse melts and, in so doing, dis- treme care, and wear rubber gloves,
connects the circuit. Once the fuse has since it is easy to accidentally touch
been blown, it must be removed and exposed metal and receive a fatal
replaced by an undamaged fuse of the shock.
same value, usually 15 or 20 amps.
In boxes with circuit breakers, the Safety precautions
main fuses may also be circuit breakers Even if you are very familiar with
that operate in the same manner as the electricity, always approach the main
smaller breakers in the box. More service box with a great deal of respect.
likely, you will see two blocks with Don't ever take chances when working
small handles on them. To remove in or near it, and always know exactly
these fuses, you pull the handles, and what you intend to do before opening
lift out the blocks. Looking at the back it. Don't poke around in it with your
of each block, you'll see two cartridge hands or with tools.
fuses —
fuses that are several inches Here are some safety precautions that
long and look like shotgun cartridges. could save your life. Pay attention to
In some older service boxes, these them.
cartridge fuses may not be in blocks but 1. When entering the main service
may be inserted between brass clips in box for any reason, don't stand on
Right:
To shut off the power
completely, pull the main
fuses. Rubber gloves are an
excellent safety precaution
when working in the main
service box; they protect
you if you should
accidentally brush against
an exposed wire.
Far right:
Pull out the main fuses, and
turn them around; you find
that each has two cartridge
fuses inside. The chief
function of these fuses is to
protect your home against
surges in the power line,
such as would occur if
lightning were to strike the
x>wer line or a trans-
ormer. They also provide
i quick and handy method
}f shutting off all power.

a wet floor. If the basement floor is when pulled down, shuts off all
anything but bone dry, put down a current. For safety's sake, turn off
couple of short 2 x 4s to serve as a the current by either of these
dry platform. methods, even when changing a
2. The service box is constructed so fuse. Changing a fuse isn't a
that a panel covers all exposed dangerous operation, but you
wires and circuit connections. Al- could accidentally touch a hot
ways make sure that this panel is wire as you work. If the current
in place and securely screwed has been turned off, nothing will
down before changing a fuse. It happen to you. If it is on, you may
will protect you from accidentally receive a severe shock.
touching a bare wire.
3. Never touch any bare wire in the How much power do you have?
service box. You remember that power is
4. For absolute safety when working measured and wattage is
in watts,
around the box wear rubber-soled found by multiplying volts times am-
shoes and thick rubber gloves. peres. The average 115-volt power line
5. Learn how to turn off all the provides 30 amps of current, and two of
power. In some cases, you may these in the three-wire service provide
have to pull the main fuse blocks; your home with 60-amp service. Sixty
in others, there is a handle at the amps are considered a bare minimum
side of the service box which, for a small home and inadequate for
Far left:
Keep a pair of rubber

gloves hanging near the
main service box, and put
them on every time you
change a fuse. It takes only
a moment, and could it
prevent a serious accident.
Left:
Never touch the main
service box or anything in
it when the basement floor
is wet or even damp. To
make sure you aren't
grounded through a damp
floor, stand on a couple of
dry boards. When working
on electricity anywhere in
the basement or outside the
house, it is a good idea to
wear rubber-sole shoes.

larger homes and for those with many Here is a handy chart to use.
appliances.
The service now considered minimal *3-wire 60 amp service provides 13,800 watts
is three- wire, 115-230 volt service pro-
3-wire 100 amp service provides 23,000 watts
viding 100 amps of current. If you have 3-wire 150 amp service provides 34,500 watts
an electric range, electric clothes dryer,
3-wire 200 amp service provides 46,000 watts
electric heat, or an electric hot-water *60-amp service x (2) 115 volt circuits = 13,800 watts
heater, you should have 150- or 200-
amp service.
To discover how many amps you are At no time should the current used in
receiving, check your main fuses by your home exceed the number of watts
pulling the block marked MAIN. You'll available. While some of these numbers
find two cartridge fuses inside, one for look pretty big, it doesn't take long to
each hot wire. Look at the ratings build up the number of watts being
marked on the sides of these fuses. If used, if you have appliances that are
each is a 30-amp fuse, then you have 60- heavy current users. An electric water
amp service. If each is 50 amps, then you heater, for example, may use as much as
have 100-amp service. 4500 watts, and an electric range as
The importance of knowing how much as 16,000 watts. Add another 8000
many amps you receive is that by watts for an electric clothes dryer, and
knowing both volts and amps, you can you have a total power demand
of
compute the total number of watts you 28,500 watts just for these appliances
have available for use in your home. alone.
Power Used By Appliances"
Appliance Watts Amps
Air conditioner, window 750 6.5

1000 8.7
1300 11.3
Blanket, electric (single) 250 2.1
(dual) 450 3.9
Clock 3 .02
Fluorescent light, one tube 50 .4
Fan, attic 400 3.4

Fan, table 75 .65
Fan, vent: kitchen, bath 70 .6
Furnace, gas or oil 800 6.9

Hair dryer 300 2.6
Heater, room 600 5.2
Heating pad 60 .5
Hi-fi stereo 300 2.6

Humidifier 500 4.3
Light bulbs as marked 1
/2 amp per 60 watts
Radio 75 .65
Shaver 10 .08
Sump pump 300 2.6
Sun lamp 275 2.4
Television, 18" B&W 300 2.6
Television, 18" Color 350 3.0
Vacuum cleaner 400 3.5

Power Used By Appliances* (Continued)
Appliance Watts Amps
Kitchen and Laundry

Blender 250 2.1
Can opener 100 .85
Coffee maker 600 5.2
Dishwasher 1800 15.6
Freezer 600 5.2
Frying pan 1400 12.0
Fryer, deep . 1400 12.0
Garbage disposal (small) 500 4.3
(large) 900 7.8
Grill 1300 11.3
Iron, hand 1100 9.5
Ironer (mangle) 1650 14.3
Mixer, food 150 1.3
Oven, microwave 650 5.6
Refrigerator 250 2.1
Rotisserie 1400 12.0
Roaster 1400 12.0
Stove, small electric 1650 14.3
Toaster 1100 9.5
Washer, clothes 900 7.8
Waffle iron 1100 9.5
Tools
Drill press 800 6.95
Drill, portable (small) 200 1.7
(heavy-duty) 400 3.4
Saw, circular 1150 10.0
Saw, radial 1500 13.0
Saw, saber 400 3.4
Soldering iron 100 .85
Heavy-duty, needing
230-volt circuits
Air conditioning, central 5000 43.5
Range 8000 69.5
16,000 139
Washer/Electric Dryer 5200 45.2
Water Heater (small) 2500 21.7
(large) 4000 34.7
*The chart shows the average number of watts consumed by a given appliance. This is a help in
making a general estimate of the loads you are putting on your circuits. However, the consumption
varies from model to model, so eventually you should compute the actual consumption of the ap-
pliances in your home. Remember the formulae (using 11 5- volt circuit): watts divided by volts
equals amps; amps times volts equal watts.

Individual circuits cal fire you overload the circuit.)
if
The electric power in your house is To determine how many general-

divided into separate circuits. Each cir- purpose circuits your house should
cuit begins at its own fuse in the main have, divide the number of square feet
service box. of living area by 375. Thus, if you have
There are three types of household 2000 square feet of living area, you
circuits: general purpose, appliance, should have at least 5, and preferably 6,
and special purpose. general-purpose circuits. Two thousand
divided by 375 is 5.3). If you now have
General-purpose circuits fewer than 5 circuits, you should con-
A
general-purpose circuit serves sider adding more.
house lights and wall outlets If, example, you now have 4 cir-
for
throughout the house, except for those cuits, you have adequate wiring for
wall outlets in appliance circuits in the 1500 square feet. By adding one 20-amp
kitchen and laundry room. For many circuit, which serves 500 square feet,
years electricians installed one general- you make your wiring adequate for
purpose circuit for each 375-square feet 2000 square feet.
of floor space and protected each circuit You can put as many outlets as you
with a 15-amp fuse. want in any circuit, placing them
More recently general-purpose cir- where they are most convenient. The
cuits have been increased to serve 500 rule in good wiring is to have a wall
square feet of floor space and have been outlet for each 12 running feet of wall.
protected by 20-amp fuses. (Note: If your The wall outlets should be convenient
circuits were designed for 15-amp fuses, to the location of your furniture.
you must continue to use them. You Keep in mind that every circuit has a
can't change the capacity of a circuit watt capacity, which you learnby
simply by changing the fuse; changing multiplying volts times amps. A 15-
the circuit's capacity also involves amp circuit thus has a capacity of 1725
changing the size of the wire used in the watts (15 X 115 = 1725). A 20-amp cir-
circuit. Putting a 20-amp fuse in a 15- cuit has a capacity of 2300 watts. This
amp circuit reduces the protection the means that you can use lights and ap-
fuse provides and can lead to an electri- pliances on these circuits up to the total
Consider adding some new

wall outlets, if some of your
electrical outlets look like
this.Otherwise, you might
be overloading the circuit
by drawing more electric
power than it was
designed to provide. This
causes the wires in the
circuit to overheat and
creates a fire hazard.

capacity, but no more. for each 4 kitchen-counter space.
feet of
Suppose, for example, that your The same rules used to compute the
family room is on one 15-amp circuit, watt capacity of general-purpose cir-
which has a 1725-watt capacity. You'd cuits apply to appliance circuits. Each
like to iron clothes here while you appliance circuit has a capacity of 2300
watch television. Your 18-inch color TV watts which should not be exceeded.
set uses350 watts. Your iron uses 1100 Kitchen appliances use more watts than
watts. The room is lighted by two 100- you might suspect, so you should watch
watt bulbs. Is it safe to put these lights carefully to see that you don't overload
and appliances on this one circuit? these circuits.
The answer is yes. When you add up For example, when preparing break-
the wattage, 1100 + 350+ 100 + 100, fast, you might use the coffee maker
the total is 1650 watts. However, if the (600 watts); the toaster (1100 watts); and
kids come home from school and want the juice squeezer (150 watts). This
to plug in an electric corn popper, rated totals 1850 watts. If your refrigerator is
at 300 watts, you have to say no. This plugged into this line, add another 250
appliance would raise the total to 1950 watts. The total is now 2100 watts,
watts and overload the circuit. which is safe. If, however, you plug the
electric frying pan in to cook bacon, you
Appliance circuits add another 1400 watts, and seriously
In addition to general-purpose cir- overload the circuit.
cuits, your home should have special Because using appliances in combina-
appliance circuits. The National Electri- tions, such as the one just mentioned, is
cal Code requires at least two 20-amp, not unusual today, the wall outlets in
grounded-type circuits for kitchen and your kitchen should be on two circuits;
laundry appliances. then you can divide the electrical load
An appliance circuit must be separate between them.
from any lighting circuits; all of the
wall outlets on it must be of the three- Special-purpose circuits
prong type so that the appliances are Appliances that are heavy users of
grounded when in use. As a rule of current are often given their own fused
thumb, you should plan one wall outlet circuits. Your furnace, dishwasher, or
Converter plugs, which

enable you to use an
appliance with a three-
pronged grounding plug in
a standard two-prong
can create a
outlet,
hazardous situation, unless
you make the ground
connection. One type of
plug has a grounding wire,
another has a metal
grounding tab. Both fit
under the screw in the
center of the wall plate on
the outlet and take only a
moment to connect.

garbage disposer, may be on its own cir- electric ranges, hot-water heaters,
cuit, which is usually a 20-amp circuit clothes dryers, and central air-condi-
that is separately fused. In other words, tioners require 230-volt circuits and
the line from the main service box may usually are on individual circuits of
lead to a small fuse box near the ap- their own. You must not plug a 115-volt
pliance. The fuse provides additional appliance into a 230-volt circuit, and to
protection. prevent your doing this, 230-volt ap-
It is wise to be aware of any special- pliances have a special three-prong
purpose circuits and know where the plug that fits into a special three-prong
fuses are located; otherwise, you can outlet. You cannot insert a standard
spend a lot of time trying to find out plug into this outlet.
why you can't get an appliance to work
when the problem is simply a blown Map your present circuits
fuse in the special fuse box. It is a good idea to make an electrical
Heavy-duty appliances such as map of your home, especially if you
Right:
Heavy duty equipment,
such as this whole-house
air-conditioner, usually is
put on a single circuit and

separately fused. The fuse
box for this unit is located
on the wall, at right.
Far right:
Inside the fuse box of a
large air-conditioning unit
you find a fuse similar to
the main fuse in your main
service box. There are two
cartridge fuses in the back
of this box.

Bedroom
5 = Switch
T5& = Ceiling fixture
^. = Wall outlet
have moved into it recently or have bolsyou can recognize: a circle for ceil-
never attempted to identify the in- ing fixtures; an S inside a square for
dividual circuits. You can use the map switches; two circles inside a small rec-
to determine possible circuit overload- tangle for wall outlets. (There are recog-
ing and to aid in planning new circuits. nized electrical symbols for these
Begin by making a floor plan sketch things, but the map is for your own use,
of each floor of the house; include the so use symbols that have meaning for
basement and garage. Now indicate the you.)
location of every ceiling fixture, wall Next make a sketch of your main ser-
outlet, and wall switch by using sym- vice box showing the fuses or circuit

breakers and assigning a number to for each 375 square feet of living
each, i.e., Circuit No. 1, Circuit No. 2, space, or a 20-amp circuit for each
etc. Make the map easier to read by 500 square feet.)
using a different colored pencil for each • Do I have at least two appliance cir-
circuit. cuits serving the kitchen, laundry
Now comes the important job of find- room, and dining room?
ing out which circuit serves each • Has any heavy-duty equipment,
switch, fixture, and wall outlet in the such as dishwasher, garbage dis-
house. Circuits for fixtures and switches poser, etc., been installed that
are the easiest to locate. Turn on all the should be on a separate circuit but is
lights, then, one at a time, remove the not?
fuse or switch off the circuit breaker for • Could I make living more conve-
each circuit; note which lights go out. nient by adding new wall outlets?
(Remember to observe the safety pre- • In our daily use of appliances are
cautions when working in or near the we accidentally and habitually
main service box. Don't take chances.) overloading any circuit? (Perhaps
Mark the circuit number next to each you use the toaster, coffee maker,
fixture and switch on your map. and electric frying pan on the same
Use a small table lamp as a tester in circuit. This doesn't necessarily
the wall outlets. Turn off Circuit No. 1, mean you need new circuits. You
and plug the lamp into those sockets may be able to correct the situation
you believe should be on that circuit. If by dividing the use between two
the lamp fails to light when you plug it circuits. To do you will need to
this,
in, mark that circuit number next to install a new wall outlet or two,
that wall outlet on your map. Continue which is a much simpler job than
the procedure until you have identified adding a new circuit.)
the circuit number of every wall outlet. The objective of this analysis is to
Don't forget to draw in and identify determine whether or not your house is
each special-purpose circuit as well as adequately wired. You may discover
any separate fuse boxes. And, finally, any of the following:
determine which circuits supply cur- • Your service from the power com-
rent to your doorbells, intercom system, pany is insufficient. If you have 60-
and kitchen and bathroom ventilating amp service, for example, you may
fans, and enter these on the map. find you need 100- or 150-amp ser-
The results of this mapping may vice.
surprise you. Usually, lights, switches, • Although you have sufficient power
and outlets for each circuit are grouped coming in, you need to add or adjust
close together in the house. But if some- circuits to take care of the way you
one has added outlets or switches, or use electricity.
adjusted the circuits in any way, you • Your present arrangement of cir-
may find one lone outlet on the first cuits is adequate, but you need to
floor coupled to a circuit that serves the add more wall outlets for conve-
second floor. nience.
• Your present system is adequate. If
Analyze the circuits you find this to be true, take a mo-
Sit down and study the map. Com- ment to consider the future. Will
pute the watt capacity of each circuit, this system also be adequate later
and note this next to the fuse or circuit on? Do you plan to add more ap-
breaker on the chart you have made of pliances? How would such an addi-
the main service box. Ask yourself the tion affect your system?
following questions: When you finish the analysis, you
• Do I have enough general-purpose should know any inadequacies of your
circuits? (You need a 15-amp circuit home's electrical system.

Save Electricity
and
Conserve Energy
kilowatt hour is the use of one kilowatt

of electric power for one hour. Your
electric bill is based on the number of
kilowatt hours used in your home.) The
rate for electric power varies from area
Most of us could save quite a bit of to area, but you paid 3*f per kilowatt
if
money each year and help to conserve hour, which is a low average rate, it
the nation's vital energy resources by would cost you $26.28 for the year's use
cutting down on our use of electric of this light bulb. However, if the next
power. We can make this savings with- year you replaced it with a 60-watt
out having to give up any of the comfort bulb, you'd use only 525 kilowatt hours,
and convenience supplied by our and your bill at the end of the year
electric appliances. All we
need to do is would be only $15.55, a savings of
carefully monitor our use of electric $10.51.
power, and cut out the waste. Electric Use as much light as you need, but
power is handy and wonderfully easy don't overlight. Don't use a 100-watt
to use; unfortunately, it is also easy to bulb where a 60 will do. Don't light a
waste. small hallway with a 60-watt bulb, if a
In the United States, we now use 40-watt bulb permits you to safely see
about 1.7 million megawatts of electric where you are going.
power a year. (A megawatt is a million A big waste of electricity is leaving
watts.) About 80 percent of this power is lights on in an empty room, unless it is
produced by generators driven by oil, necessary for security reasons. A single
gas, and coal, and about 5 percent pres- hour of such waste doesn't cost much,
ently comes from nuclear-powered but, as shown, over a year these single
generators. The remaining 15 percent hours build up to an appreciable total.
comes from hydroelectric generators
that are driven by water pent up behind Save on big power consumers
river dams. Check your use of those appliances
You won't be able to see the oil or gas that consume a lot of electric power,
saved when you cut down on the use of such as air-conditioning equipment and
electric power, but you can see a real appliances that produce heat. Can you
result in your electricbill; it will get use them a little less than you now do?
smaller. A medium-size window air-condi-
tioner, for example, costs about 3 /2* an
!
Save on lighting hour to use. If you can use it for one

To see how electric power savings hour less each day, your monthly
can be translated into real dollars in electricbill will drop by a dollar.
your pocket, here is an example. If you Do you keep the electric coffee maker
burn a 100-watt light bulb steadily for plugged in all day? Coffee makers use
one year, you would use 876 kilowatt from 600 to 1000 watts, depending on
hours. (A kilowatt hour is 1000 watts. A the unit; so you can figure it costs you
27
Right:
When plugged in all
left
day, the coffee pot can be

an expensive luxury,
costing as much as $9.00 a
month in electricity. For
every hour you keep it
unplugged, you can save
from2<to3V2<.
Far right:
Air-conditioners, even the
smaller window units, are
big power users. During the
warm months, if you cut
your use by only an hour a
day, you can save a
considerable amount of
energy and money. Latest
models have been designed
to use less power than
older units; some deliver
the same cooling for as
much as one-third less
electricity.
Don't pull a plug from a

wall outlet by tugging on
the wire. The correct way
isto pull the plug, not the
wire. Pulling the wire can
loosen the connections
inside the plug and cause a
short circuit.
28 Save Electricity and Conserve Energy

The Cost of Electric Energy*
_. .
. .. Annual Annual
Electric Appliance
Emrgy Use Cost
Air-conditioner 2,000 kwh $60.00

Can opener lkwh .03
Clock 17 kwh .51
Clothes dryer 1,200 kwh 36.00
Coffee maker 100 kwh 3.00
Dishwasher 350 kwh 10.50
Electric blanket 150 kwh 4.50
Fan, furnace 480 kwh 14.40
Fluorescent light 260 kwh 7.80
Food freezer (16 cu. ft.) 1,200 kwh 36.00
Food mixer 10 kwh .30
Food waste disposer 30 kwh .90
Frying pan 240 kwh 7.20
Hair dryer 15 kwh .45
Hot plate 100 kwh 3.00
Iron 150 kwh 4.50
Lighting 2,000 kwh 60.00
Radio 20 kwh .60
Radio-phonograph 40 kwh 1.20
Range 1,500 kwh 45.00
Refrigerator (12 cu. ft.) 750 kwh 22.50
Sewing machine 10 kwh .30
Shaver lkwh .03
Television (black and white) 400 kwh 12.00
Television (color) 550 kwh 16.50
Toaster 40 kwh 1.20
Vacuum cleaner 45 kwh 1.35
Washer (clothes) 100 kwh 3.00
Water heater (electric) 4,200 kwh 126.00
*These figures from the Reader's Digest 1975 Almanac show the average annual energy use and an-
nual cost of home appliances in a typical American home. The cost is based on a charge by utilities of
3tf per kilowatt hour. In most communities the cost will be several cents higher, as the cost of energy
rises annually.
between and 3*/2* per hour for warm

2* kilowatt hours you use every month,
coffee. you unplug it for a couple of
If numbers written down
Just seeing the
hours each day, you will reduce your will motivate you to try an economy
bill by perhaps $2.00 a month. program.
There are two ways to find out how
Read your meter many kilowatt hours you use. One is to
Probably the best way to force your- take the figure from your electric bill,
save electric power is to become
self to The other is to read the meter yourself,
conscious of just exactly how much In many communities, electric bills are
power you use each month. Get a little issued every two months, which is a
notebook, and write in it the number of long time to wait for information when
Save Electricity and Conserve Energy 29

you are on an energy -saving program. day, take a reading, and record it. On
The electric meter is glass covered the second Saturday, take another read-
and located outside the house near the ing, and subtract the first reading from
service entry. If you look at it, you'll see the second. The difference will be the
either four or five small dials, like clock number of kilowatt hours you used dur-
faces, with pointers. Two of these rotate ing the week.
in a clockwise direction, and two coun- Power companies charge customers
terclockwise. If your meter has five on several different rate scales. Large
dials, three willmove clockwise. These industrial power users, for example,
dials record the number of kilowatt pay at a different rate than home-
hours of electric power that enter your owners. The rate code is noted on your
home. This does not indicate what you
bill.
You can easily read these dials your- pay for power but refers to the rate scale
Begin with the first dial on the left.
self. by which you are charged. To find out
Record the number that the little exactly what you pay per kilowatt
pointer has just passed. If the pointer is hour, the customer service desk at
call
between 7 and 8, then write down 7. Do your power company. The rate usually
the same reading for the second and is based on a descending scale, so that
third dials. the more power you use, the lower the
The fourth dial (or fifth, if your meter price per kilowatt hour.
has five dials) is read a little differ- You can find the average cost of a
ently. On this one you write down the kilowatt hour without calling the
number the pointer is approaching; if power company simply by using the
the pointer is between 3 and 4, you figures on your electric bill. Divide the
record 4. number of kilowatt hours shown on the
Suppose you decide to check your bill into the dollar amount shown. If
power use closely for a few weeks, and you used 495 kilowatt hours, and your
decide to take a meter reading each bill is for $19.54, you are paying an
Saturday morning. On the first Satur- average of 3.9* per kilowatt hour.
All electric meters have

either four or five small
clock faces that keep track
of the number of kilowatt
hours used by the
customer. If the pointer is
between numbers, record
the lower number on the
first three (or four) dials
and the higher number on
the fourth (or fifth) dial.
This meter shows a reading
of 0762.
30 Save Electricity and Conserve Energy

"I'm not afraid of electricity/' an
electrician once told me, "but I never
lose my respect for it."
Electricity is safe to work with when
you pay attention to what you are Insulation
doing but very dangerous when you are To be effective, insulation must cover
careless. Safety is simply a matter of the wire completely. If it is cracked or
knowing how to be careful. broken or worn, it may permit an
electrical leak. Always replace wires
Electric shock that appear to be deteriorating; they are
Nearly everyone has experienced an a source of danger and trouble.
electrical shock and found it unpleas-
ant. A severe shock interferes with Fuses and circuit breakers
heart and breathing action and can be When there has been a short circuit,
fatal. It is the current (amperage, not the fuses blow or circuit breakers trip
voltage) that is dangerous, and a shock disconnecting a circuit and shutting off
of 1/10 of an ampere can kill. the power. Breaking the circuit pre-
When you touch live wires, your vents overheating of the wires, a major
body becomes a conductor, and the cause of electrical fires. If you find the
amount of current passing through same fuses blowing repeatedly, don't
your body depends on the voltage driv- install a larger capacity fuse. The blown
ing it and on the resistance your body fuses indicate an overloaded circuit,
offers. If any part of your body is wet, and a larger fuse will permit the wires
the electrical resistance is lowered, and in the circuit to overheat. Correct the
a greater current flows through it. This situation by reducing the load on the
is why it is so dangerous to have wet circuit.
hands and wet feet when you are work-
ing with electricity. A shock, which Grounding of appliances
would no more than sting you when Electric current always follows the
you are dry, can kill you when water path of least resistance. Loose connec-
lowers your electrical resistance. For tions, deteriorating wire, or moisture
safety's sake, you want to avoid being inside an appliance can cause a short
shocked, but especially avoid being circuit. The stray current from the short
shocked when wet or even damp from looks for a place to go. If the appliance
perspiration. has a three-prong plug, it is grounded
through the round extra prong. If the
Safeguards appliance is not grounded, and you
There are several safety features built touch it, you get a stiff shock. If you
into your electrical system: the insula- happen to have wet hands or to be in
tion on all wires, the fuses or circuit contact with a grounded item, such as a
breakers, and the grounding of major stove or water pipe, the shock can be
electrical appliances. fatal.
31
Avoid electrical accidents
around your house by
replacing all wiring that
shows signs of deterio-
ration. The cord on this
iron should have been
replaced a long time ago.
Check old extension cords,
too, especially if they are
stored for long periods
between use. The
insulation may have
become brittle, causing it to
develop tiny cracks when
you use it.
When a short circuit causes

a circuit breaker to flip to
the "off" position, resetting
it takes no more than a
push of the switch.

However, if the trouble in
the circuit hasn't been
taken care of, the switch
will again flip to "off."
Therefore, when a fuse or
circuit breaker blows,
always correct the problem
before putting in a new
fuse or flipping the breaker
to "on."
If you don't have wall receptacles tacles in those wall outlets where you
that will take three-pronged plugs, you use grounded appliances than to use
can use a converter plug. There is a converter plugs. You will learn how to
short wire on the side of this plug that do this simple job in Chapter Seven,
must be attached to the wall outlet by "Working on Household Circuits."
means of the screw that holds the out-
let's faceplate in position. The wire System grounding
must be installed under this screw. If The National Electrical Code requires
the wire isn't screwed in place, the ap- a third wire in all home electrical cir-
pliance isn't grounded, and it can give cuits for the grounding of electrical
you a serious shock if a short develops. equipment. The third wire is connected
It is better to install grounded recep- to the metal box in which each switch
32 Electrical Safety
Connecting the ground
wire to the screw in the
center of a wall-outlet plate
takes only a moment with
a small screwdriver. Any
grounded appliance will
operate without being
grounded through this
screw, but you lose
valuable protection against
shock unless the
connection is made.
Are the grounded circuits

inyour house (the ones
with three-prong
receptacles) actually
grounded?'Perhaps
someone tinkering with
the electric circuits
unknowingly broke the
continuous ground. An
electrician can test your
circuits for you, or you can
buy an inexpensive plastic
tester, and make your own
test. When you plug it into
a grounded outlet, little

neon lights indicate
whether the circuit is
grounded or not, and
whether the "hot" and
neutral wires are correctly
installed.
or receptacle is mounted. In this way, grounding continuity, if your local

there is a continuous ground line the electrical code requires it. It must have
length of the circuit and back to the this continuity in those circuits used as
main service box. appliance circuits. Unfortunately, you
If your home has been wired using have no way of knowing whether an
either rigid or thin-wall conduit tubing, amateur has tampered with this
the conduit itself serves as the ground grounding continuity or not when
conductor in the system. In this case, a making additions or repairs to the
wire runs from a grounding screw on original electrical system. To be sure,
the receptacle to a screw in the side of you can have an electrician check the
the box to make a sure ground connec- system. He does this with a device
tion. called a "megger," an instrument
Your entire system should have this designed to test the condition of a
grounding electrode. Or you can buy an are in contact with the ladder, you
inexpensive three-prong tester and are grounded. What can be a minor
check your own system. shock under other conditions can be
fatal in this case.
Safety rules If standing on the metal ladder to
To assure safety when you are work- use electric tools, a drill or a hedge
ing with electrical circuits or ap- trimmer, for example, make sure
pliances, follow these suggestions: the feet of the ladder are insulated
• Never work with a live electric from contact with the earth and
wire. Always cut off the current be- avoid flesh-to-metal contact with
fore starting work; take out the cir- the ladder.
cuit fuse, turn off the circuit breaker • When a fuse has blown, correct the
on the circuit on which you are condition that caused it to blow be-
working, or pull the main fuse. fore replacing the fuse. If the cause
• Never work on anything electrical was too many appliances on the cir-
near water. Don't stand on a damp cuit, disconnect some. If you suspect
or wet floor. Use a couple of 2 x 4s as a short in an appliance, unplug that
a dry platform. Don't have wet appliance. Unplug the main fuse be-
hands or feet. fore taking out the blown fuse, and
• Before beginning any electrical be sure you are standing on an ab-
work, remove all rings, wrist- solutely dry floor. Tobesafe, put a
watches, bracelets, and other metal dry board under your feet; then
items that might accidentally con- replace the blown fuse.
tact a live wire.
• Though they seem clumsy, heavy Ground fault interrupter
rubber gloves offer good protection You have many appliances that do
when you work around the main not have the three-pronged grounding
service box. plug' such as the toaster, mixer, iron,
• If your basement floods, be careful, coffee maker, and can opener. These
Don't step into the water because it appliances can develop current leaks
may be in contact with live electric- and internal short circuits just as do
ity through one of the appliances, heavy duty units, particularly after
and contact with the water could long service. The short can be caused by
electrocute you. Later, when the a loose wire, or wires with cracked and
water has subsided, but the floor is worn insulation.
still wet or damp, don't attempt to When happens, the bare wire
this
work on the appliances. And even contacts the appliance frame or case
after the floor is dry, flooded ap- and may create a dangerous situation,
pliances may still have water in However, if the unit is grounded
them, or the parts and wires inside through a three-pronged grounding
may be wet. (Have the appliance plug, the current will return through
repair service come and check your the ground and blow a fuse, warning
machines.) Water makes electricity you that something is wrong,
very dangerous. Since these appliances aren't
• Wear shoes with rubber rather than grounded, they can continue to operate
leather soles when making electri- in normal fashion. If you touch the unit,
cal repairs. however, you'll receive a shock. And if
• Be cautious when using a metal lad- you are grounded because you are
der, particularly when working touching a pipe or a gas stove, or if you
outside. Never let the ladder contact have wet hands, the shock can be fatal,
the incoming power line. And Recently a device called a ground
remember that when the ladder is fault interrupter has been developed to
in contact with the ground, and you protect you in this situation. There are
Far left:
Metal ladders are fine

conductors of electricity,
especially when they are
grounded by being in
contact with the earth. If
you are in contact with the
metal, you also are
grounded. If there is a short
circuit in the tool you are
using while on the ladder,
or if you accidentally cut
through the power cord,
the resulting shock can be
fatal. Safety suggestions:
wear rubber-sole shoes;
don't let your skin touch
the metal, especially if you
are wet or perspiring; use
the appliance on a
grounded circuit; insulate
the feet of the ladder from
the earth by using a board
or sheet of heavy plastic.
Left:
Be extremely careful when
using a metal ladder in the
vicinity of your electrical
service entrance. Don't
permit the ladder to
contact the wires, and
don't climb the ladder near
the wires. Stay alert to the
danger when painting or
making repairs near these
wires.
Protect yourself by
insulating the feet of metal
ladders from contact with
the earth. This ladder has
no-slip feet, which also
serve as insulation.
However, your weight
may cause the ladder to dig
in and make contact in
spite of these feet. Don't
rely on them alone.
two types of ground fault interrupters. tor. Write for an abridged version of the
One is an adapter, which plugs into a NEC called "One- and Two-Family
wall outlet, and into which you can Residential Occupancy Electrical Code"
plug any ungrounded appliance. The by sending $2.00 to the National Fire
other is a fixed unit combined with a Protective Association, 470 Atlantic
circuit breaker, which is installed per- Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, 02210.
manently in main service boxes one — You must, in most communities, ob-
for each circuit. tain a permit to do major electrical
Using a GFI, you will receive a very work. When the work has been com-
slight shock in the event of a short cir- pleted, it must be inspected by the
cuit in the appliance you are using. But building inspector or a designated
a solid state circuit in the GFI very master electrician, who certifies that
quickly senses the problem and shuts the work was done in accordance with
off the line current. The action is so the code.
quick that you feel only a momentary No permit required for simple jobs
is
and very slight sting, which is good, like replacing switches and wall outlets.
because it warns you not to use the ap- Keep in mind that the code doesn't pre-
pliance again until it has been repaired. vent you from doing the work yourself
The GFI was originally developed for on larger projects; it simply requires
use in electrical circuits around swim- that you do the work in a specified
ming pools, where current leaks from manner and that the work be inspected
the pump or water purification system and passed by a master electrician.
create an electrical hazard. It has special Homeowners who do their own elec-
application in all wet areas, such as trical work sometimes ignore the re-
laundry rooms, but is equally useful quirements of the local code, including
with any ungrounded appliance, such the need for a permit and inspection.
as a hairdryer. However, if they ever have a fire of
electrical origin, the fire insurance com-
National Electrical Code pany may cancel coverage because of
The National Electrical Code is com- this uninspected electrical work.
piled in a 536-page book of recommen-
dations for safe methods of installation Underwriters' Laboratories
and specifications for the construction The Underwriters' Laboratories was
of electrical equipment. Published by established for the purpose of testing
the National Fire Protective Associa- electrical products submitted to it by
tion, it was first issued in 1897 and is manufacturers. If a product passes the
revised regularly to include the latest UL tests, it may then carry the UL label,
safety developments. which tells you that certain materials
The NEC is only a set of recommen- and design standards have been met.
dations and not a law. However, most UL approval is not a guarantee of top
communities use it as a basis for local quality.You may find several switches
electrical codes that are the law. Any at your hardware store at different
electrical work performed in a com- price and quality levels, all with the UL
munity must conform to the specifica- label. All of these switches are safe to
tions of the code. Even though most use, will work as you expect, and con-
codes are based on the NEC, they vary form to the specifications on the label.
considerably from community to com- The more expensive ones may last
munity. longer, be easier to install, or have addi-
Before starting any major electrical tional features. But the least expensive
work on your home's system, read a is safe to buy, if you choose to do so.
copy of your local electrical code. Most For reasons of safety, it is a good idea
communities have printed copies avail- to buy only those electrical components
able in the office of the building inspec- that carry the UL label.
The conduit coming from
the lower left of this main
service box carries the
system's ground wire. You
can see where it is clamped
to the cold-water pipe
between the floor joists
(upper left-hand corner).
Every system is grounded
either by means of a
connection similar to this
or through a connection to
a long metal rod driven
into the ground.
To assure that your electric

ground is continuous, even
if the water meter should
be taken out for replace-

ment, a heavy grounding
wire is clamped to the
water pipe on both sides of
the meter.
Electrical Repairs
Should you attempt to make electrical • Lights seem dimmer than they
repairs yourself, or should you have should but get brighter when ap-
them done by professional? The
a pliances are turned off. You need
answer depends on you. to add power to the system. If you
To begin with, working with your have 100-amp service, you probably
electrical system (rewiring, adding new need 150 or 200 amps.
amperage or new circuits) is a precise • Air-conditioner isn't cooling as it
business. Each layout, each connection should. A separate circuit for the
must be handled in the precise way laid unit may provide the power it
down by your electrical code. Ex- needs. If not, increase service power
perience has shown that these methods by going to 150 or 200 amps.
produce the safest systems. • Lights flicker frequently
There is no reason why you can't (especially as appliances are turned
learn these precise methods and do the on). An increase in amperage is
complete job yourself. But when install- needed.
ing a main service box or rewiring a • You are using many extension
house, there is no room for guesswork cords. Increase number of wall out-
or for improvised methods. Even if you lets.
get the system to work with these • You use cube taps (those plug-in
methods, you may have built a poten- sockets that permit you to use
tial fire into it. several appliances from one wall
So the answer for major overhauling outlet).Increase the number of wall
of your electrical system is to do it your- outlets, and check to see if a new
self, if you can do it right. Otherwise, circuit is needed in the area where
call an electrician. The smaller jobs also these appliances are used.
have to be done precisely; but these are • Sometimes a switch doesn't work
uncomplicated procedures which you when you flip it. Replace it; the
can learn quickly. switch is worn out.
This chapter and the succeeding ones • Appliance plug and cord are very
will help you to identify your electrical hot. These are indicators of an over-
problems, show which ones you can loaded circuit. Add a new circuit or
solve, and demonstrate how to do so change appliance to a different ex-
safely and correctly. isting circuit.
• Automatic features of appliances
Faulty wiring system seem sticky. (The toast doesn't al-
How do you know when your house ways pop, and the washer some-
wiring system needs help? The system times skips a cycle). The probable
itself will tell you; here are some signs cause is low amperage, and you are
to watch for: using more appliances than your
• Fuses blow frequently. The circuit present power supply can handle.
is overloaded. The cure is to add Call the power company to discuss
another circuit, and divide ap- increasing your home's amperage.
pliances between circuits. • You get a slight shock when you
38
Far left:
If you must flip a switch

several times before it
works, it should be
replaced. The working
parts are worn and are not
making proper contact.
Left:
Feel the plug and power
cord of any appliance. If it
feels unusually hot, it may
be an indication of an
overloaded circuit. Check
the other appliances
plugged into the circuit at
the same time, and add the
total wattage of these
appliances. A 15-amp
overloaded when
circuit is
the wattage exceeds 1725, a
20-amp circuit, when the
wattage exceeds 2300.
touch the outside of an appliance. The second biggest problem is that

Don't use the unit until it has been your use of appliances doesn't conform
repaired, because there is a short in- to the layout of your system. For exam-
side. Check for the source of the ple, over the years you have added
short, and repair it. more and more kitchen appliances and
The above list distinguishes five basic now need two or three kitchen circuits,
problems. The biggest one, and the most but you have only one. Your system
costly to fix, is that your house has out- may have enough power, but that
grown its electrical system. You may power isn't distributed so that you can
have 3-wire 60-amp or 100-amp ser- use it. This means adding new circuits,
vice, but you now operate so many ap- which is a substantial wiring job begin-
pliances that you need 150- or 200-amp ning at the main service entry box.
service. This is a common condition Two other problems are less severe.
even in homes that aren't very old. Old and worn switches and wall outlets
Unless your power company is hav- aren't functioning properly. These can
ing severe expansion problems, it can easily be replaced. If there are not
supply increased amperage; you can enough wall outlets or if they are incon-
find out by calling the customer service veniently placed, add new outlets to the
department. But in order to handle the existing system.
increased amperage, your system will The final problem doesn't relate to
have tobe revamped, starting at the the house system but to faulty ap-
main service entrance. Existing circuits pliances, which have developed inter-
can remain, but new ones should be nal short circuits. These, as a rule, can be
added. repaired.
Electrical Repairs 39
The handiest tools to
when doing repair work
on your electrical circuitry
are a power drill and
jigsaw. You could use an
have
^^K
auger-and-bit and keyhole
saw instead, but power
tools make the job go much
faster. You also need fish
tape and a plug-in tester.
The fish tape is a thin,
flexible wire used to pull
wire through conduit and
through long runs in walls,
and you can rent one of the
containers. The plug-in
tester will tell you whether
or not your grounded
circuits are actually
grounded.
Only a few hand tools are

needed for electrical repair
work: regular and needle-
nose pliers, wire cutter, an
assortment of screw-
drivers, hacksaw, wire
stripper, single-edge razor
blade (which is good for
cutting through
insulation), two-wire tester
(which, when inserted into
a wall outlet, gives you a
quick indication of
whether the circuit has
power or not), and plastic
electrical tape.
Tools bender can be rented if you need them
You won't need a lot of specialized to work on thin-wall conduit. You'll
tools formost electrical work, and you also use a wrench to tighten the conduit
probably have all but a few in your connections, although this can be done
toolbox right now. with pliers.
Two power tools, a good electric drill The handiest tool of all, and one
and a saber saw, will come in handy. which will save your time and temper,
However, you can use a hand-powered is a wire stripper. This is an inexpen-
keyhole saw in place of the saber saw. sive tool and a good one to own even if
You can use a wire clipper and you do no more than occasionally
several pliers including standard, small rewire a lamp.
standard, and needlenose. Add a
hacksaw for cutting armored cable, a Materials
builder's hammer, and a set of insulated You won't need much in the way of
screwdrivers. You'll need very small installation materials: a roll of plastic
screwdrivers for appliance repairs, and electrical tape and a handful of solder-
two or three larger ones for typical cir- less connectors in various sizes, plus the
cuit repairs. wire, switches, outlets, and fixtures you
A conduit cutter and a conduit add to the system.
40 Electrical Repairs
Thin-wall conduit is a
lightweight tube through
which electrical wires are
carried. When installing
thin-wall conduit, you will
needa bender and a cutter,
which you can rent.
Every electrical connection

must be made inside a
protective junction box,
according to both the
National Electric Code and
most local codes. There is a
junction box made for
every imaginable
application. The easiest
way to get the right one is
your dealer where
to tell
you intend to use it, and he
can make the selection.
Some boxes are shallow,
some deep. You can buy
them to fit one, two, or
three switches or outlets to
be used on every type of
wall, such as plaster,
plasterboard, etc. All have
precut openings on all
sides; to use an opening,
simply punch out the tab
with a screwdriver.
Wiring devices where has a fuse or circuit breaker. A

it
Modern electrical materials are easy white, neutral wire and a black, hot
to use. All the parts are standardized wire lead from connections in the box,
and designed to work together. You usually located inside the conduit,
worry about whether one
don't have to through the walls of your house to the
manufacturer's wall outlet box takes area they serve. There they are con-
another maker's wall outlet. All fittings nected to four or five wall outlets and
are made in standard sizes. perhaps two or three ceiling fixtures
The materials needed are conduit or and wall switches.
armored cable, mounting boxes, con- The conduit arrives at the point
nectors for attaching conduit to boxes, where the first wall outlet is mounted.
and mounting hardware necessary for Here it is attached to a small rectangu-
ceiling fixtures. lar metal box, in which the wall outlet
Keep in mind that the main purpose itself is protected. The wires are con-
of wiring devices is to protect the wires nected to the outlet, and then continue,
that carry the current and to shield you through more conduit, to the next box.
from that current. The conduit and the boxes thus provide
Visualize a typical circuit in your a kind of protective tunnel inside of
system. It begins in the main entry box which the current-carrying wires run.
Circuit 1 (15 amperes):
Circuit 2 (15 amperes): Master bedroom: Hall outlets and lights
Two bedrooms, outlets and lights

Washer; Laundry
appliance service

Furnace motor
In some areas, instead of conduit, the you use a No. 14 copper wire to carry 15
wires may
be carried inside armored amps. You must use a No. 12 aluminum
cable, also called BX cable, or inside wire to get the same capacity. (See the
heavily insulated nonmetallic cable. accompanying chart, "Current
Capacity of Wire.") Copper also tends
Electric wire to be a little less brittle —
it bends more
Electric wire is like water pipe — the before breaking.

larger the wire's diameter, the more For wiring or rewiring household
current it can carry. And also like water circuits (general-purpose and appliance
pipe, it has a maximum load. giveWe circuits), use solid wire, Nos. 14, 12, and
wire a number according to its 10 in copper, or Nos. 12, 10, and 8 in
diameter. These numbers run from to aluminum. Use stranded wire in mak-
18: 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc. Zero represents ing extension cords and power cords for
the largest wire, and 18, the smallest lamps and appliances.
wire. (Although wire comes in odd-
numbered sizes, the even-numbered
sizes are the more frequently used.)
Current Capacity of Wire*
Some wire is stranded, that is, it is
made up of a number of small wires Wire Amperes
twisted together. When you see a single Size Copper Aluminum
number, 18 for example, this refers to a
solid wire. If you see the number 18/30, No. 14 15 _
this refers to a stranded wire and means No. 12 20 15

that 30 strands of No. 18 wire make up No. 10 30 25
the wire. The reason stranded wire is No. 8 40 30
made is that very thick wire, numbers No. 6 55 40
8, 6, 4, 2, and 0, is not very flexible and No. 4 70 55
becomes hard to handle. Strands of No. 3 80 65
smaller wire provide the correct electri- No. 2 95 75
cal capacity and still remain flexible. No. 1 110 85
You can buy either copper or No.O 125 100
aluminum wire, but copper has some
advantages. Copper has less resistance *The wire size is the minimum gauge
than aluminum, so you can use a that should be used for the amperage
listed. You can use the next larger size
smaller copper wire to get the same cur-
gauge.
rent-carrying capacity. For example,
The larger the diameter of

an electrical wire, the more
current can carry. Most
it
house wiring is done with

Nos. 10, 12, or 14 solid
wire. The No. 14 is the
minimum wire for a 15-

amp circuit. (The larger the
number, the smaller the
Multistrand wire
Single wire.) Multistrand wires
strand wire are more flexible than solid
wires and are commonly
used in appliance power
cords and extension cords.
When buying multistrand
wire, check its ampere
rating by looking at the
10 12 14 16 18 20
label on the wire spool.
Voltage drop chart applies to runs up to 50 feet. For
Remember that wire resists the flow each additional 50-foot run, select a
of current through it. The loss of voltage wire one gauge thicker. Thus, if the run
because of the resistance in a long run of is to be 80 feet, use a No. 10 wire instead
wire due to resistance is called voltage of a No. 12. This will compensate for the
drop. voltage drop.
The formula for computing voltage A situation in which voltage drop can
drop is the rated resistance of the wire be critical is in the use of very long ex-
multiplied by the amps it is to carry. If tension cords, especially in the yard
the wire has a resistance of 1 ohm and is when you are using a mower, drill,
to carry 10 amps, then the voltage drop saw, or chain saw. You might use a 100-
is 10, computed by multiplying 1 x 10. If foot extension, plugging it into an outlet
you have 115- volt service, subtract the that is already 50 feet from the main
voltage drop (115 -
10 =105 volts) to service box. If the wire in the extension
find out what voltage reaches the ap- cord is too small, you may not get
pliance at the end of this wire. This is enough power to operate the unit or to
fairly low voltage and the voltage drop get the best service from it. When buy-
may affect the way the appliance ing a long extension cord, get one that
works. However, you don't have to can carry the planned load. Check the
memorize this formula or use it for ampere rating of the appliance you ex-
selecting wire for your job. The wire pect to use, then refer to the accom-
specified in the "Current Capacity" panying "Extension Cord" chart.
Extension Cords
Length of cord Light load Medium Load Heavy Load

to 7 amps 7 to 10 amps 10 to 15 amps
To 25 feet No. 18 wire No. 16 wire No. 14 wire

When using long extension

cords of 50 feet or more,
remember that there is a
considerable drop in
voltage in long runs of wire
due to resistance. If the
wire in the extension cord
is too small, the voltage
drop may be great enough

to inhibit the effectiveness
of your appliance. Get a
heavy-duty extension cord
for use with outdoor
appliances.
'
Above and below:

A test light can be useful in
unraveling electrical
mysteries. It comes in
many configurations but
consists usually of two
probes and a small light.
Insert both probes into the
prong holes in a wall
outlet. If the light glows,
there power in the
is
circuit. The tester can be

used to make a number of
current and ground tests;
read the instructions,
which come with it.
Right:
The wire stripper is a tool
of many uses. Its primary
function is to strip the
insulation from the ends of
electrical wire. Notches of
different sizes, to fit
standard wire sizes, are cut

into the inside edges of the
handle. Put the wire into
the proper-size slot, close
the handle, and pull the
wire; the insulation is
stripped off cleanly and
quickly.
Far right:
When repairing
appliances, you often need
to attach a terminal lug to
the end of a wire. If you are
working with a two-wire

cord, such as this one, begin
by splitting the two wires,
since each wire will have
its own lug. Now strip one
of the wires to the correct
depth. When inserted in
the terminal, no bare
copper should show below
the insulated collar of the
lug.
Right.
Gently hold the lug in the
crimping slots in the head
of the wire stripper, and
insert the stripped wire
into the lug. Various sizes
and styles of lugs are
available at electrical
supply stores.
Far right:
Squeeze the handle of the
wire stripper. This will
crimp the body of the lug
tightly around the exposed
tip of the wire.
Left and center:
Wire can be joined end to
end by using a butt splice.
The ends of the wires to be
joined are stripped to the
correct depth, then each
wire is crimped in one end
of the lug. A metal sleeve
inside the lug insures good
electrical contact.
Another way to join wires

is to insert the stripped
ends into one end of a
closed-end splice, and
crimp.
to connecting runs of conduit. Most of
Be safe. Do
not attempt electrical these tasks, taken individually, are easy
repairs until you turn off the power at
once you know the right way to do
the service entry, which will be lo-
them.
cated in either a fuse box or circuit
Take the problem of joining two
breaker. Double-check; there may be
pieces of wire: when joined, they must
more than one service entry to your make a good electrical contact; a poor
home. For lamps and appliances, contact will cause trouble. If the wires
unplug the power supply cords. Also, are to carry any weight, the joint must
make sure any wiring you do com- be able to support it without separating;
your
plies with the electrical codes in
the joint shouldn't separate or be jarred
area. The store where you purchase
loose when the wire is moved, and
electrical supplies can help you with
there should be no wire ends that might
code requirements.
penetrate the insulation, which is put
over the joint. If you follow the
There is a neat, clean, and correct prescribed method of joining two pieces
way to do almost any task in electrical of wire, all of these problems are
work, from joining two wires together automatically taken into account.
Joining wires
Joining two wires is called
splicing, and the splice
must be well made and
solid, or later it can cause
problems. A loose splice
can come apart when the
wire is flexed or pulled;
and when the wire in a
splice makes only loose
contact, electricity passing
through the splice
generates heat. Begin the
splice by stripping the ends
of the wire. Allow at least
an inch and a half of bare
wire to give yourself room
to work. (Check your local
code, because some codes
do not permit splices in
wires.)
48
Twist the wires around
each other a few turns. The
heavier the gauge of the
wire, the more difficult it is
to make a good splice. The

wire in this picture is a
No. 14.
Use two pliers, one to hold

the splice and the other to
bend the end of the wire
around the splice.
Bend the remainder of the

wire into place, and test
It should be firm,
the splice.
with no movement
between the joined wires.
If you pull on the wires, the
splice should hold and

^M show no tendency to pull
apart.
Electrical Methods 49
Taping wire joints
The object of taping a
spliced wire joint is to
insulate the splice. Begin by
applying the tape to one
end of the splice, covering
a half inch or so of the wire
insulation. Apply the tape
angle so that as
at a slight
you wrap the tape will
overlap itself.
Wrap the tape around the

splice permitting it to
overlap itself as you
proceed. Finish the wrap
by covering the wire
insulation beyond the
splice. Be certain that no
sharp ends of wire have
punctured the tape and are
left exposed. Use a wire
cutter to remove any sharp

end before you begin
wrapping.
Check the completed

wrapping to see that there
are no exposed wires
anywhere. If necessary,
wrap a second time. Splices
of this type often are
soldered before being taped
to insure good electrical
contact.
50 Electrical Methods
Using solderless connectors
A solderless connector is a
plastic cap with a metal
spring inside. When the
bare ends of two or more
wires are inserted into it
and twisted, the spring
firmly grips the wire and
makes a good electrical
contact.To use the
connector, begin by
stripping the wire ends;
don't expose too much
wire, or the plastic won't
cover it.
For additional strength

twist the wire ends
together before inserting
them into the connector.
(Even if you don't twist
them, however, they will
make a good electrical
connection, but should not
be subjected to pulling
pressure.) Insert the wire
into the cap, and twist the
cap until it won't turn any
more. In this picture you
and incorrect
see a correct
application.The wire in
the connection on the right
was stripped too much,
and bare copper is exposed
below the connector cap.
This connection should be
remade.
Connecting wire to a fixture
The correct way to begin to
connect a wire to a fixture
terminal screw is to bend a
hook in the wire using
needlenose pliers. Make
the hook by grasping the
wire with the pliers and
turning the pliers to bend
the wire around the
needlenose.
This top view of the hook-

making process shows how
the wire bends around the
nose of the pliers.
Attach the newly formed

hook to a terminal screw
by hooking it around the
screw with the open
mouth of the hook to the
right. As you turn toward
the open mouth, you
tighten the screw. If the
hook is put on the opposite
way, the wire may slip
out from underneath the
screwhead as you
tighten it.
Far left:
Always use an
Underwriters' Laboratories
knot to prevent
electrical
putting pressure on the
electrical contacts when a
power cord is pulled. To
make the knot, pull a foot
or so of wire through the
plug; split about 3 inches of
wire, as shown. Begin the
knot by looping the wire in
the left hand behind the
wire in the right hand.
Left:
Bend the right-hand wire
down behind the left-hand
one.
Far left:
Bring the right-hand wire

around under the left-hand
wire, and pass it through
the original loop you made.
Left:
Pull both wires to draw the
knot Be sure there is
tight.
enough wire beyond the
knot so you can make your
connections inside the
plug. It is better to have too
much wire than too little,
since you can always cut
off the excess.
Right:
Before pulling the knot
down into the plug, twist
the stranded wire into a
solid wire to eliminate
frazzled ends.
Far right:
Pull the power cord, and
draw the knot down into
the plug. The completed
knot should be small
enough so that it fits into
the plug between the
prongs. You may find it
necessary to pull the knot
tighter to achieve this.
Cutting armored cable

Armored cable, sometimes
called BX, is a flexible,
metal-shielded set of wires
(a white and a black wire
plus a ground wire) used
for extending circuits and
for doing other
homewiring. Many codes
insist that new wiring be
done with conduit but
permit the use of armored
cable for additions of new
switches or wall outlets. To
cut armored cable, use a
hacksaw with a fine-
toothed blade. Cut through
the metal jacket, across one
of the ribs; when you have
cut through the metal, stop
sawing. Take the cable in
both hands, and snap it.
This will break all but a
small section of metal that
you cut with the saw. (This
is done to avoid
accidentally cutting
through the insulation of
the wire inside the shield.)
Finally, pull on the short
end of the metal shield.
Usually any section 12
inches long or less will pull
right off, leaving the wires
unshielded and ready for
work.
Connecting armored cable
These two paper-wrapped
wires are the electrical
wires of the cable; the
silver unshielded wire is
the ground wire. At right,
is a small bushing (a lining
used to reduce friction).

Whenever the raw end of
armored cable is attached
to anything, a bushing
should be inserted to
protect the wires from the
metal edges.
Right and below:

The bushing is pushed
down between the wire
and the metal covering. If
you do your own wiring
and then have it inspected,
these bushings are among
the things the inspector
will look for.
Right:
Armored cable is attached
to a junction box by means
of a connector, shown
here.To attach a
connector, bend the
ground wire back, and slip
the connector over the
wires, the bushing, and
first half inch of the metal
shield of the cable. The
connector is then fastened
to the cable by tightening
the screw.
Far right:
Wrap the ground wire
around the screw, and
tighten the screw to make a
solid contact. Do not
neglect to make this
ground connection or you
will destroy the continuous
ground of your circuit.
After tightening the screw,
any excess ground
clip off
wire.
To make an opening in a
junction box, select the
point where you want the
armored cable to enter the
box. Then, using a
screwdriver and either the
hand or a
butt of your
hammer, knock loose the
tab in the hole.
Far left:
Grasp the tab with pliers,

and twist it a few times; it
will come off.
Left:
Insert the connector into
the opening in the box.
Normally, the junction box
is mounted in the wall.
Here, it is detached for

photographic purposes.
Far left:
Once the threaded end of

the connector is in the box,
slip the connector ring nut
over the wires, down to the
threads. Turn it with your
fingertips.
Left:
Finally, insert a
screwdriver into one of the
notches in the edge of the
ring nut, and tap it to
tighten.
Right: Connecting nonmetallic cable
Nonmetallic cable is a
heavy plastic-protected
which are
cable inside of
electric wires. Cable can be
bought with different
combinations of wire, but
for normal circuit wiring
buy cable with three
wires — a hot wire, a
neutral wire, and a ground
wire. The first task in
connecting nonmetallic
cable is to strip away the
heavy outside insulation. A
single-edge razor blade is
handy for this job. As you

cut, be careful not to cut
into the insulation around
the individual wires inside
the cable.
Far right:
Slip a connector into place,
once the three wires are
stripped of their outside
protective jacket. This
connector is similar to that
used to connect armored
cable to a junction box; be
sure you buy the right type
of connector.
Re-
insert the connector into
the box, and thread on a
ring nut with your finger;
tighten it with a
screwdriver.
Far right: iy*i?*< >r

In another view of the
completed connection,
note that the red, or
ground, wire must be
attached to the box, while
the other two wires are
used to make the electrical
connection. The ground
wire can be connected to
the box by means of a small
clip or by means of a screw
driven into a hole in the
back or side of the box.
Some boxes come equipped
with this screw already in
place. Do not neglect to make
this ground connection.
Working with conduit
Far left:
A thin-wall conduit is a
thin tube used for carrying
electrical wires throughout
a home. It is easily cut and
easily bent, yet strong
enough to give good wire
protection. Conduit is not
threaded like ordinary

pipelike tube but is joined
by slip fittings; insert the
conduit into the fitting,
and tighten the nut.
Left:
The fitting that joins
conduit to a junction box
has one end threaded to fit
into the junction box
where it is held in place by
These two views
a ring nut.
show the connector
properly assembled (at top)
and the nut and expansion
ring, by which the conduit
is gripped, pulled apart.
Far left:
To join conduit to a
junction box, insert the
conduit in the connector;
tighten the connector on
the conduit.
Left:
Once the connector is
inserted in the box, the ring

nut is threaded on and
tightened by inserting a
screwdriver in one of the
notches in the edge of the
ring nut and tapping.
Thin-wall conduit is easily
cut with this special cutter,
which is clamped around
the conduit. You can rent a
cutter instead of buying
one if you don't do much
electrical work.
To cut the conduit, tighten

the cutter by turning the
knurled nut in the handle.
As you tighten, force the
cutter to revolvearound
the conduit. The sharp
cutting blade will cut a
groove that deepens with
each revolution, making a
smooth and quick cut.
After the conduit has been
cut,use pliers to remove
any burrs that might
remain around the edge of
the cut.
A conduit bender bends

conduit readily when you
apply pressure to the long
handle. The bender is made
so that the minimum-
radius bend allowed for
electrical installation is
made automatically.
Using a fish tape
A fish tape is a thin, flexible

metal tape with a bent
hook on one end, which is
usually packaged on some

type of convenient reel. Its
purpose is to pull wires
through conduit or
through walls. These two
junction boxes were set up
to show in principle how a
fish tape is used. In this
picture, the tape is inserted
into the conduit from the
left side, and run through
the conduit to the box on

the right. You can see the
hooked end of the fish tape
in the box at the right.
The two wires to be drawn

through the conduit are
hooked around the fish-
tape hook. If the run of
conduit not too long and
is
doesn't have too many

bends, a good tight bend of
the wire around the hook
will be enough. If the run is
long and full of bends, so
that you must pull hard,
you should wrap some
electrical tapearound the
wires to hold them on the
hook.
As you pull the fish tape

through the conduit, you
draw the wires through.
This method demonstrates
how wire should be run
between floors.
Working on
Household Grcuits
Stay in front of the wall when making

electrical repairs, unless you have the
skill and unless the codes in your area
ting off the power, even if you think the
permit you to do otherwise. If the job is so simple that this isn't necessary.
repair is inside the wall, in a fuse box
Turn off the power anyway. The sec-
or circuit breaker or in the power sup-
ond rule is to perform each task cor-
ply lines, call in a professional rectly, stepby step. Each correct meth-
electrician to do the work. The only
od has been developed for reasons of
exceptions to this are wall switches,
safety and for the good performance of
outlets, and ceiling lights where the
the system. Taking shortcuts can prove
systems are contained in metal junc-
dangerous.
tion boxes and are accessible.
Proceed slowly with your work.
Read all directions first, and then plan
When
doing maintenance or repair your work. Always purchase parts and
on your home's electrical system, keep supplies before you begin, and if you
in mind two basic rules. The first is have planned carefully, you should
never work on a circuit without shut- know exactly what you need.
Replacing a switch
When a switch gets sticky
or must be flipped several
times before the lights go
on, it should be replaced.
TURN OFF THE
ELECTRIC CURRENT;
NEVER WORK ON
ANYTHING ALIVE WITH
ELECTRICITY. The
following procedure
applies to replacing a
regular switch either with
a mercury (silent type)
switch or with a dimmer
switch. In each case, check
the instructions on the
switch package to be
certain the wiring is the
same before you begin.
Then, remove the wall
plate by removing the two
screws that hold it in place.
63
Right:
Remove the two screws
that hold the switch to the
box.
Far right:
Pull the switch from the
box. heavy-gauge wire
If
has been used in the

wiring, pull hard enough
to bend the wires and bring
the switch all the way out
so that you can work on it.
Remove the old switch by
removing the two
electrical contact wires. If
you take the screw all the
way out, the wires stay
bent, which makes
connecting the new switch
easier.
Right:
Put in the new switch by
attaching the two electrical
wires. The white wire
should be attached to the
light-colored screw.
Far right:
Press the switch into the
box. You may have to bend
the wires a bit first. Work
with it until the switch sits
neatly in the box. You will
note that the screws
holding the switch to the
box go through slots, rather
than holes, in the arms of
the switch. This is done so
that you can adjust the
position of the switch
slightly before finally
tightening the screws.
64 Working on Household Circuits

Replacing a wall outlet
Far left:
Replacing a standard wall

outletis similar to
replacing a switch. Begin

by removing the wall plate.
Left:
Remove the old receptacle
by removing the two
screws holding it to the
box.
Far left:
Pull the old receptacle from

the box. Here, the new
receptacle is shown
alongside the old one.
Left:
The old receptacle is
removed by taking out the
screws to which the
electricalwires are
connected. The new
receptacle is then put into
place, the electrical wires
are slipped around the
terminal screws, and the
screws are tightened. The
white wire is connected to
the light-colored screw.
Working on Household Circuits 65

Right
The new receptacle is
pushed into the box and

tightened.
Far right:
The wall plate is screwed
into place, and the
installation is complete.
Converting a wall outlet to a grounded receptacle

Right:
The kitchen wall outlet is
one into which a good

many appliances are
plugged. A three-prong
converter plug can be used
whenever an appliance
with a three- prong power
plug is used, but to get rid of
this nuisance, the outlet
can be converted to a
grounded receptacle. First,
turn off the power either
by flipping the circuit
breaker in the main service
box to "Off" or by
unscrewing the fuse for
this circuit. Then, unscrew
the wall plate.
Far right:
Pull the old receptacle from
the box, and remove the
screws holding the
electrical wires.

Far left:
To attach the new ground

wire, cut a length of wire
the same size as used in
your circuit (No. 10, 12, or
and strip the insulation
14),
from both ends. The wire
should be about 6 inches
long. Make a loop at one
end, and attach this to the
box by means of the screw
you see in the back of the
box. If there is no screw in
your box, buy a ground
attach the ground
clip;
wire to it, and clip it to the
edge of the box.
\
Left:
Purchase a grounded
receptacle for this
installation. The visible
difference between a
grounded and ungrounded
receptacle is that the
grounded receptacle has a
green-colored scew. This is
the screw to which you
attach the grounding wire
you have already
connected to the box.
Far left:
Attach the two electrical

wires, white and black,
making sure the white
wire is attached to the
light-colored screw on the
side of the receptacle.
Left:
Put the receptacle back into
the wall box, bending the
wires as necessary to make
it fit, and replace the wall
plate. If there is a
continuous ground in the
circuit to which you have
just wired the receptacle,
you do not have to use
™ converter plugs. Use a
tester to check to be sure
* that the circuit is grounded.

Adding new wall outlets
You can use as many wall
outlets as you need on any
matter of
circuit as a
convenience. However,
whatever number outlets • .* • *. •
•
you have, you shouldn't

overload the circuit by A - • V- -'•">"
Si
using more appliances at

one time than it can take.
There are several ways to ^
increase the number of
outlets with a minimum
amount of work. One is to
go straight through an
existing wall outlet in one
room, and install a wall
outlet in the room on the
other side of the wall. The I
procedure is simple.
Measure carefully to locate
the new wall outlet exactly
opposite the old one. Then
cut an opening in the wall
for a junction box, and cut a
short length of conduit to
connect the two boxes as
shown. Finally, make the
electrical connections,
white wire to light-colored
screw and black wire to
darker brass-colored
screw.
Installing a new lateral-run outlet
To install a new outlet five
or six feet from an existing
one, run a wire from the
existing outlet to the new
outlet. Chisel a groove
between the outlets, cutting
through the plaster or
plasterboard and notching
the 2x4s behind the plaster.
The wire, which is usually
armored cable, is fitted into
this notch. After the new
wall outlet is completely
wired, fill the notch with
plaster. It's a bit messy, but
the convenience of the
new outlet is worth it.
Chip away plaster
Cut baseboard
Attach wires to old duplex outlet

Installing a new outlet from a switch
Add a new wall outlet by
working from an existing
switch and ceiling fixture.
In most cases, ceiling
fixtures are controlled by
simple "drop" switches,
that is, the switch is
dropped from the ceiling
fixture, and two wires run
through the conduit from
the fixture to the switch.
You need to add a third
wire in this conduit run.
Study this wiring diagram
for a few moments to see
how the third wire is used.
Remove the wall plate,

take the switch out of the
box, and remove the
screws holding the ceiling
fixture. Let it down gently,
since the weight of the
fixture will be entirely on
the wires. If the fixture is
heavy, have someone

support it, or disconnect it
completely, and reconnect
it after the wiring of the
switch has been completed.

Insert the hook end of the
fish tape into the conduit at
the switch box leading to
the ceiling fixture; slowly
push it through the
conduit. You will meet a
little resistance as the tape
turns the corner at the

ceiling, but push a bit, and
the tape will make the
turn. The tape will come
out through the box of the
ceiling fixture, shown here.
Attach a wire to the tape;
make sure the wire is long
enough to go all the way to
the switch and also have
an extra foot at each end.

Right:
Keep pulling on the fish
tape, using a steady
pressure to draw the wire
through the conduit. You
now have a new wire in
the conduit from the
ceiling fixture to the wall
switch.
Far right:
Before connecting the
wires in the ceiling fixture
study the existing wires
carefully and refer to the
wiring diagram,
"Installing a new outlet
from a switch." Identify
each wire, and understand
how it should be
connected. In this photo,
the three wires to be
connected by means of a
solderless connector have
been pulled out and
stripped.
Right
The connection is made
using solderless
connectors. Note that the
three wires and the wire
from the fixture itself are
joined in the large
solderless connector. You
can now push all the
wiring back up into the
ceiling box, and put the
fixture back in place.
Far right:
Next, at the point on the
wall where you want the
new outlet,measure
carefully, and mark its
location.

Far left:
A cardboard template
should come with each
wall box you buy. Position
this template on the wall,
and draw an outline
around it.
Left:
Using an electric drill, drill
on the inside of the lines
you have drawn. Make
most of the cutout with the
drill, or simply make an
entry hole at each corner,
and complete the cutout
with a keyhole or power
saber saw.
Far left:
The finished hole, cut

exactly as indicated by the
template, makes
allowances for "ears" on
the wall box. The box,
shown here, has two side
pieces with screws in them.
Put the box into the new
opening, and tighten the
screws with a screwdriver.
The two metal pieces on
the side contact as you turn
the screws and grip the
wall to hold the box solidly
in place.
Left:
To run wire from the box
down to the new outlet,
tap out the tab in the
bottom of the box with a
screwdriver and your
hand.
% Jm
Left and right:
Drop a piece of string
down through the opening
in the bottom of the wall
switch box until you can
see it through the new
opening you have just cut
for the wall outlet. Pull the
string out through the wall
outlet opening.
Cut a length of armored

cable to run from the wall
switch box to the new wall
outlet box. Install a box
connector, including the
ground wire connection
and the bushing, before
running it into the wall.

Far left:
Tie the string to this
armored cable, and pull the
cable up through the wall.
Left:
You may have to jiggle the
string a bit, but you can
now pull the armored cable
connector into the wall
switch box, as shown. Slip
a ring nut over the wires
into the box. Tighten this
nut over the connector.
Far left:
Complete the installation

of the wall outlet by
attaching the wires,
inserting the receptacle in
the box, and putting the
wall plate in place.
Left:
Reinstall the switch in the
wall box. Carefully study
the diagram of the three-
way switch, which
follows, to make the
proper electrical
connections.

Installing a three-way switch
Three-way switches are
used to control a single
light from two different 3-way switch controlling outlet
points. For example, a located beyond both switches
stairway light, which is
controlled by a switch at
the bottom of the stairs and
by another at the top, can
be turned on as you start up
the stairs and turned off
when you reach the top.
The only difference
between two-way and
three-way switches is the
way in which they are
wired. Two types of three-
way switch wiring are
shown. At left, both
switches are beyond the

light in the household
circuit, and a three-wire
cable is used between the
two switches. At right, the
light is between the two
switches in the circuit, and
a three-wire cable runs
from each switch to the
light. Follow the diagram
that illustrates the type of
connection you need to
make. (Remember, you
must connect the black,
white, and red wires as
directed.) Locate the light -
and dark-colored
terminals on your
switches. And, although
your switches may vary
slightly from the ones
illustrated, the connections
should be made in the same
way, that is, by joining the
white and red wires to the
light-colored terminals,
and the black wire to the
dark-colored terminal.
Finally, in order to identify
a three-way cable, the ends
of the white wire coming
from the switch should be
painted black at the switch
and at the light.

Changing a ceiling fixture
A ceiling fixture is attached

Before changing a ceiling fixture, to a junction box
in the
turn off the power, and then remove

ceiling. Manylightweight
fixtures are held in place by
the old unit. Check to make sure the
two screws threaded into a
power is off by turning the light on
metal support bar stretched
and then going to the main fuse box across the opening of the
and unscrewing the correct fuse or box. To drop the fixture,
tripping the circuit breaker. The light simply remove the screws.
will go off, and you will know the Heavier fixtures are
power to the fixture is disconnected. attached to the box by a
threaded pipe nipple, as
this one is. When the nut is
removed, the fixture drops
down. In either case, once
the fixture has dropped,
the wires can be
disconnected and the
fixture taken down.
You can install a pipe

support to replace the
metal bar by using a
screwdriver to tap out the
center tab in the back of the
ceiling box and installing a
threaded fixture stud in the
hole. A U-shape extender
known as a "hickey" is
threaded tightly over the
fixture stud. These two
fittings, used together, give
you a solid attachment
directly to the ceiling box
and will bear the weight of
a heavy fixture. (Both
fittings are for sale at
electrical supply stores.)

The hickey, together with
a threaded nipple, is
attached to the ceiling

fixture. You can buy
threaded nipples in various
lengths. Use a length that
supports the fixture at the
proper distance below the
ceiling so the cover plate
fits snugly against the
ceiling. You may have to

try several nipples before
finding the right length.
The two wires from the
fixture go up through this
nipple and emerge in the
ceiling box through the
open side of the hickey.
After stripping the ends of
these wires, join them to
the same wires in the box
to which the old fixture
was connected by using
solderless connectors, as
shown. Tuck all the wires
into the box, push the
cover plate up against the
ceiling, and tighten the nut
that holds it in place.
Hanging Ceiling Fixtures

Ceiling box
Bar above ceiling
Box stud
Strap is supported by _
center nut to box stud
Fixture strap
Canopy screws
Place holes in fixture over

screws, then tighten screws
Hickey nut screws
%
> onto box stud
Chain support plug
To support
pipes of
Canopy lock nut diameter
needed

Cover plates on ceiling
fixtures vary in size. If the
cover plate on the new
fixture is smaller than the
old one, paint the ceiling to
hide the marks left by the
old plate.
Installing a swag lamp

4> Far left:
A swag lamp is the easiest

type of ceiling fixture to
\ V
install because you don't
have to run any wires
through the ceiling. The
lamp's wiring is woven
:v through the chain, where it
*4; is nearly invisible, and the
lamp can be plugged into a

regular wall outlet.
Left:
The hook from which the
lamp is suspended is
I t mounted in the ceiling,
preferably screwed into a
ceiling joist, which
provides solid support. You
can locate a joist by tapping
on the ceiling; the thumps
you make sound hollow
between the joists and solid
when you tap right over a
joist. Once you think you
have located a joist, double-

check yourself by drilling a
small hole at that point. If
the drill meets wood, you
have the right spot.

It is best to find a ceiling
support the swag
joist to Ceiling joist
lamp hook because of the is ideal
Toggle opens
weight of the lamp. But the Drill hole in plaster to support hook
hook that supports the Wood
chain near the wall can be threads'
supported by a toggle bolt

installed through a hole
drilled in the plaster, as
shown. Take your swag Machine
mm m
Or use
t
| E
hook to the hardware threads
dealer, and he can supply
the proper toggle bolt and
the threaded rod needed. \
Toggle type used
Drill a hole in the ceiling is
large enough for the folded in event there is no

toggle to pass through. wood over lamp area
Once through the hole, the Swag hook Wall outlet
arms of the toggle spring Fold wings
open and provide the for insertion
support you need.
Installing outdoor lighting
Your home should be well

lighted on the outside for
beauty, safety, and
security. Police say that
good lighting is one of the
best burglar deterrants. All
entryways, walks, and
passageways should be
lighted, as should the
perimeter of your home
and windows where
burglars might attempt to
gain access. All exterior
lighting should be
controlled from switches
inside the house.
There are two basic types

of exterior lighting — that
which is attached to the
house, like this porch light,

and that which is away
from the house, such as a
yard Those attached
light.
to the house can tie into
electrical circuits already
in the walls and are
simpler and less expensive
to install.

This security spotlight was
Buried Cables mounted to provide light
for a backyard. Because it is
To install underground
cable for exterior ..
in an exposed position, it is
|
lighting, dig a trench of weatherproof

from the point on your construction. When buying
foundation where the fixtures for outdoor
cable will exit the installation, make sure
building to the place they are of heavy-duty
where you intend to construction, are sealed
install the light. This
against water, and have
trench should be deep
enough to prevent the been approved for outdoor
cable from being injured use. You should find an
by normal digging — Underwriters' Laboratories
about 2 feet. label on the fixture saying
that it can be used in wet or
exposed places.
Far left:
In this photo, you can see

that a hole was cut in the
wall of the house and a
junction box installed. The
wiring was run from the
circuit closest to the
installation. A switch was
installed inside the home
near the door, just behind
and below The
this box.
circular plate,shown, came
with the fixture and was
attached to the junction
box with small screws. The
fixture was then held in
place by means of long
screws that threaded into
the openings on the
circular plate.
Left:
Enclosed or screened
porches should have
exterior-type fixtures, since
these areas are only
partially protected from
the elements. This wall
outlet is the exterior type,
with watertight caps that
cover the outlet openings
when they aren't in use.

The Care and Repair
of Small Appl'
governing speed or heat. Repairing

Turn off the electricity at the service these requires some expertise. If the
entry, either a fuse box or circuit problem appears to be in this section
breaker, or unplug the appliance to be beyond the switch, have a repairman
repaired. You can't be shocked by handle it.
electricity when the circuit is defused
or the appliance cord has been Repairs you can make
removed from the outlet. When you switch an appliance on
and nothing happens, do the following
things:
Most of us have a houseful of small • Start by suspecting that there is no
appliances, from electric knives and power in the house circuit. Check
toothbrushes to toasters and coffee the fuse or circuit breaker or take
makers. These are fairly simple devices, the appliance to a wall outlet served
operating around a small motor, a fan, a by another circuit, and plug it in
heating element, or some combination there. (Don't leave any stone un-
of these. All have a power cord by turned. Flip a couple of light
which they are connected to a wall out- switches to be sure that there is cur-
let, and all have some type of on/off rent somewhere in the house, and
switch or some slightly more sophisti- that you aren't living with a power
cated control that allows you to select failure.) You can test the wall outlet
one of several settings, such as the light- by plugging a small table lamp into
medium-dark control on a toaster. it and turning on the light.
In repairing a small appliance, you • If you are satisfied that there is cur-
might think of two electrical sections. rent coming to the wall outlet, turn
The first is from the plug on the power your attention to the plug and
cord through the appliance's power power cord of the appliance. Is the
cord to the switch inside the appliance plug in good shape? Are the prongs
housing. Repairs on this part of the ap- bent? Are the wires connected in-
pliance are easy to make and account side it? If the plug is of the molded
for a fair percentage of appliance mal- type, so that you can't see the inter-
functioning. nal connections, it is sometimes
The second section is beyond the worthwhile to begin by replacing it.
switch, inside the appliance housing. Is the cord cracked or worn?
The current passes through the switch Believe it or not, these simple steps
and goes to the motor or heating ele- can save you some repair money. Every
ment, perhaps through some kind of service man has stories about traveling
governing device. Several different five miles only to replace a fuse or
kinds of motors are used in small ap- straighten bent prongs on a plug. These
pliances, as are several methods of stories match the ones told by auto
80
mechanics who have been called even if that isn't the source of the pres-
because a car won't start, only to find ent problem. Are the power cord wires
that the car is out of gas. In both cases, in solid contact with the switch, at-
you still pay for the service call. tached with either tight screws or
By taking these steps, you assure solder? A faulty connection here is one
yourself that there is power in the cir- common source of trouble,
cuit; that the wall outlet is in good Now look at the switch itself. Oper-
shape and passes the current along to ate itfew times, and watch closely to
a
the appliance plug; that the appliance see how it works. Does it seem to oper-
plug is making contact in the wall and ate properly? Is it clean, or do the con-
is passing the current into the power tact points appear burned or dis-
cord; and that the cord is unbroken and colored?Has dirt, oil, or dust worked its
is carrying the current to the appliance way in and coated the points?
switch. Take the time to clean the points, and
be sure a good electrical contact is being
Opening the appliance made. If the switch is very dirty, the
DON'T EVER BEGIN TO TAKE AN cleaning may solve the problem.
APPLIANCE APART UNTIL YOU If the contact points are burned or
HAVE UNPLUGGED IT. pitted, clean them by using a piece of
The next step is to remove the hous- matchbook cover, running it back and
ing of the appliance in order to examine forth between the points. In extreme
the switch. Sometimes this means just cases, a couple of passes (light ones)
removing a few clearly visible screws, with a very fine emery paper may help.
But other times, you must play detec- Sometimes you'll find that the arm of
tive and hunt for the ways in which the the switch has been bent or has lost its
case is held together. spring. You may be able to correct this
Clues. Look for screws that are hid- by bending back into position, or you
it
den under nameplates. Look for press- may have to order a new switch from
fitted rings that hold the two halves of a the maker.
housing together and which must be If the switch appears good, check all
pried off. If the appliance has rubber or other connections and wiring inside the
plastic feet, look up inside these; screws housing. Are there loose wires? Are all
may be hiding there or disguised some- connections tight? Is the wire sound
where in the handle. If there is a dial on and uncracked, or does the insulation
the switch, it must be pulled off before appear broken? You should replace any
the housing can be disassembled. bad wire, but be sure to replace it with a
When taking an appliance apart, be wire of the same gauge. A hardware
careful to remember which screws store or a radio/TV supply store sells
came for each hole. The assembly wire.
screws often are not interchangeable, When you have finished this inspec-
either in threads or in length. Also, tion, reassemble the appliance, being
watch for lock washers and gaskets, careful to put it back together just the
which must be put back where you way it came apart. Now turn it on. You
found them. may have fixed it. But if you haven't,
you can assume that the problem is in
Inside the case the motor or in the governing device,
No matter what kind of appliance which is a job for a specialist,
you are working on, the next step, after
removing the housing, is to follow the Appliance parts
power cord to the point where its wires Today most appliance manufacturers
are connected to the switch. If the are very conscious of the need to supply
power cord inside the housing is good after-the-sale service, which in-
frayed, cracked, or worn, replace it, eludes both repairing appliances and
The Care and Repair of Small Appliances 81

selling parts.You can usually get parts if in correspondence, cite them all. The
you have the model number and part biggest problem in locating appliance
number Keep any manuals or parts parts is that there may be many differ-
lists that come with an appliance that ent models, each with a different part.
may contain parts numbers, ordering, If you can establish the numerical iden-
or service instructions. Every number tity of the part you need, you have a
on the appliance may be important, so pretty good chance of getting it.
Rewiring a lamp
ALWAYS UNPLUG A
LAMP BEFORE
WORKING ON IT.
Normally, only two things
can go wrong with an
ordinary lamp: either the
switch wears out, or the
cord and plug need
replacing. Both are easy
repair jobs. The switch is
either in the light bulb
receptacle, as in the lamp
pictured, or it is a separate
unit in the base of the lamp.
The separate base switch is
held in place by a single

ring nut, which you can
reach through the bottom
of the base. Simply remove
the nut, lift out the switch,
and disconnect it. Install
the newswitch by
connecting it to the same
wires you took the old
switch from, and tighten
the ring nut. If your lamp
has a switch receptacle, as
shown here, begin by
removing the top part of
the receptacle. A pressure
point on the receptacle,
often indicated by the
word "press," is the key to
removal. Press this point
with your thumb, or insert
a screwdriver between the
top and the base, and at the
same time, pull up on the
top.
82 The Care and Repair of Small Appliances

When the top part of the
receptacle is separated
from the bottom, the
interior part of the
receptacle and the wire
connections are exposed.
Use a screwdriver to loosen
the contact screws, then
remove the wires.
Sometimes fishing a new

wire through a lamp can be
tricky. One way to avoid
problems is to attach a
string to the old wire
before pulling it out of the
lamp. With the string
attached, pull the wire
through. Remove the old
wire from the string, and
tie the new wire to it.
When you pull the string
back through the lamp, the
new wire follows. (You
won't need this trick every
time, but it is handy to
know.)
Ifsomeone pulls on the

lamp cord, it might pull the
electrical connections in
the lamp To prevent
loose.
this, tie a knot in the cord,
as shown. The knot is
inside the base when the
wire is in place, and
prevents any pulling
pressure on the electrical
connections.

Twist the strands of the
new wires together, and
connect each wire to a
screw on the new socket
base by wrapping the wire
around each screw post
from left to right. As the
screw is turned, the wire is
tightened. When you have
made these connections,
pull the wire from the
bottom of the lamp base
until the receptacle is
seated snugly; then slip the

cover over the base, and
press it into place. Cement
a new pad onto the
felt
lamp base, and install a

new plug on the cord.
Caring for an iron

An electric iron is a simple
and well-constructed piece
of household equipment.
Electrically, about the only
repair you'll ever have to
make is to replace the
power cord. Irons require a
special cord insulated with
asbestos. You can buy the
cord complete with plug
and wires formed into
loops and ready to connect
to the iron. You will find
an access plate near the
back of the iron, held in
place by a screw. Remove
the screw, and take the
plate off to see how the
power cord connects to the
iron. Remove the two
screws holding the power
cord wires. Next, take off
the two small fiber glass
sleeves that protect the
cord wires, and set them
aside. (You will reinstall
them the cord
later.) Pull
out a few inches to expose a
metal washer clamped to
it. The washer prevents
pulling pressure on the

electrical connections. Use
remove
pliers to this
washer, and put it aside for
reinstallation.

Attach a string to the old
cord before pulling it out
completely. The string
makes it easy to pull the
new cord back through the
protective housing.
,'
N
s Tie the
string,
new cord to the
and
through the iron.
pull it back
Far left:
Replace the screws that

connect the cord wires; use
a screwdriver with spring-
clip fingers to hold the
screw firmly while you
turn it.
Left:
To make the new power
cord connection, slip the
fiber-glass sleeves onto the
power cord wires, and
hold the wire in place with
needlenose pliers while
you insert and tighten each
screw. Reinstall the metal
washer on the power cord,
using pliers, and replace
the cover plate.

Caring for a toaster
Right:
NEVER WORK ON A
TOASTER WHEN IT IS
PLUGGED IN. If toast gets
stuck in the toaster, DON'T
try to dig it out with a knife
or fork, especially when
the toaster is plugged in.
You may get a serious
shock and do serious
damage to the heating
elements. Unplug the
toaster, then carefully
work out the stuck item,
being sure you don't
contact heating elements.
These consist of fine wires
that are easily broken.
Clean out the crumbs
which accumulate in the
toaster tray. The tray is a
trap door which is easily
opened.
Far right:
Not all of the crumbs fall
into the tray. Some collect
on the working parts,
causing your toaster to
work improperly. Use a
soft brush, but don't brush
vigorously, or you may
damage parts.
The heart of your toaster's

controls is a small bimetal
switch, which is very
delicate and should be
cleaned carefully with a
small, artist's brush. One
crumb lodged in this
switch can put your toaster
out of commission.

Caring for a can opener
Electriccan openers are
usually trouble free. The
only problems you are
likely to encounter are the
need to replace the power
cord and to clean the
contact points on the main
switch inside. UNPLUG
THE UNIT before
removing the outside shell.
Sometimes the screws that

hold an appliance together
are easy to see and taking it
apart is no problem. At
other times these screws
are cleverly hidden. On
this can opener, one of the
screws is inside a rubber
foot. Another favorite
hiding place is behind the
metal identification plate;
you must take the plate off
to find the screw.

To replace the power cord
loosen the solderless
connectors, take off the old
cord, and use the same
connectors to connect the
new cord.
Every can opener model

has a slightly different type
of contact switch, but the
contact principle is always
the same: when you press
down on the operating
handle, two points inside
the can opener are forced
to make contact. The can
opener works as long as
this contact is made, but if
dirt or grease interfere, the
unit won't work. To clean
these contact points, slide a
piece of rough paper
between them a few times.
It acts like a very fine
sandpaper. After cleaning,
depress the outside lever,
and watch to see that the
two points make contact. If
they don't, you may have

to bend the movable arm
on which one of the points
is located. A slight bend is
usually all that is required

and can be done with
needlenose pliers.

Caring for a coffee maker
If your coffee maker isn't
working or isn't making
good coffee, look for
several causes. Begin by
cleaning the percolator
tube thoroughly. Very
often deposits in the tube
narrow it down so that too
little water is pumped
through it. This produces

weak coffee and eventually
stops the coffee-making
action entirely. Boiling a
mixture of water and
baking soda in the pot will
sweeten it and get rid of
old coffee oils, or you can
buy a commercial product
to do the same thing. A
strong vinegar solution
also will help get rid of
deposits in the percolator
tube. The next place to look
for a problem is inside the
base of the pot. If the base
ofyour coffee maker can be
removed, you will find
screws in the bottom. Some
pots are made so that the
base cannot be removed,
m* these cannot be repaired.
A possible problem is that

the coffee pot may not be
getting electrical current.
Buy a simple circuit tester,
which can be a help with
all appliance and electrical
work. The tester is battery
powered and can be used
when the appliance is
unplugged. In this picture,
the alligator clip of the
tester is attached to one
prong of the pot's plug-in
unit. The probe of the tester
is then touched to contact
points in the circuit. A bulb
in the tester handle lights
to tell you when a circuit is
closed so that current can

pass through it. If the wire
between the plug prong
and the switch is broken,
the circuit tester bulb will
not light.

A coffee maker usually
depends on one or more
bimetal switches to turn its
heating elements on and
off and to control the
temperature of the coffee. If
these are burned or dirty,
they won't work properly.
A strip of paper, cut from a
grocery bag, pulled back
and forth between the
contact points of the
switches will clean them.
Caring for an electric mixer

Right:
Like other appliances in
your kitchen, the electric
mixer is fairly simple and
consists of a motor
controlled by a switch.
Depending on the model
you have, the switch may
be constant speed, two- or
three-speed, or adjustable
over a wide range of
speeds. Barring
complicated motor
problems, the only repairs
you may have to make are
cleaning the switch and
replacing the power cord.
The first task, after
unplugging the mixer, is to
take off the outer shell.
Far right:
Inside the shell, you can see
where the power cord is
connected to the motor.
Replacing the power cord
is simply a matter of
removing the solderless

connectors, disconnecting
the old power cord,
connecting the new wires,
and replacing the new
connectors.

The switch elements in this
mixer are located inside
the handle. The switch
consists of a movable arm
and four copper contact
£> points. Use a piece of
coarse paper to clean any
dirt or carbon from these
points. If any part of the
switch is broken, you can
usually get replacement
parts by writing to the
manufacturer. Be sure to
include all information —
model number, year, etc.
Caring for a portable electric oven

There are two types of
portable electric ovens: one
type is similar in design to
a toaster but is larger and

has better controls; the
other type is designed for
use as a broiler.
The most common repair

in either type oven is the
installation of a new power
cord. The first step, with the
unit unplugged, is to gain
access to the interior
electrical connections.
Every make and model has
a different type of access.
The end panels on this
model must be removed by
taking out two bolt-headed
screws.

With the end panel off, you
can see how the power
cord is attached. Use a
circuit tester to find out
whether or not the
problem is in the power
cord. Attach the alligator
clip toone prong of the
plug, and touch the probe
to thepower cord contacts
The light
inside the unit.
should come on when you
touch one of the contacts.
Repeat this test with the
other prong. If the light
doesn't come on, the power
cord is faulty and should be
replaced.
Caring for an electric frying pan

Electric frying pans are
sturdy and not subject to
many problems. The pans
are of two types: the kind
you can put into water and
the kind you cannot. The
type shown here, with the
detachable heating
element, can be totally
submersed in water. The
other type must be washed
carefully so that no water
gets into the electrical
parts. If you should
accidentally dunk a
nonsubmersible pan,
DON'T USE IT
AGAIN UNTIL IT IS
THOROUGHLY DRY.
Take off the bottom plate,
exposing the electrical
parts,and use a fan or a
hair dryer to blow warm
airover the wet parts. Be
sure they are bone dry
before putting the pan
away.

The doorbell system
The heart of your doorbell
system is the transformer,
shown here mounted on
the junction box of a
basement light. Locate
your doorbell's
transformer. (If your house
has a basement, it will be
in the ceiling of the
basement.) The trans-
former reduces the
115-volt household current
to the current required for
your doorbell system. If
you have a very old

doorbell system, the
transformer may be of the
you have a
6- volt type. If
more modern system, it is
likely to be of the 16- volt
type. All chime systems,
for example, run on 16
volts. These transformers
are not interchangeable. If
you are installing a new
system or updating an old
one, start with a 16-volt
transformer.

Doorbell systems are wired
Wiring for Two-Button Door Chimes System
with bell wire, which you
can buy in small rolls.
Don't use bell wire for any
Back door
but low voltage systems. Base mount button
Front door
Problems in the doorbell Buzzer back
button Front door chime tube
system usually involve the /
buttons, which wear out or
get rusty. You can test a
button by removing the
wires from it and touching
the two wires together. If
the bell rings, you know
the problem is in the
button, and it should be
replaced. Transformers
seldom need replacement.
The bell or chime units are
sometimes a trouble source.
After checking the buttons
out, examine the chime
unit for loose wires and for
n 16-volt transformer
accumulations of dirt and Run wire up '
Locknut joins
grease (especially if the door casing to box
chime unit is located in the

kitchen). If dirt or lack of
Unswitched 120 Volt Cover on box could bean outlet
lubrication binds the
movement of the plunger, 4" octagon box
it won't strike the chime
tube, even though the rest

of the system is working
properly. After cleaning
the plunger movement,
lubricate the plunger by
spraying it with powdered
graphite; don't use oil.

9
Index D
DC (direct current), 9-12
Doorbell system, repair, 93-94
Electrical codes, 36
AC (alternating current), 9-12 Electrical repairs
Aluminum wire, 43 of home circuits, 63-79
Amperes methods, 48-62
defined, 9 of small appliances, 80-94
minimum service to home, 19-20 tools and materials, 40-41
Appliances Electricity
care and repair, 80-94 conservation of, 27-30
circuits for, 23 how it works, 5-6
cost by annual use (chart), 28 safety with, 18-19, 31-37
getting parts for, 81-82 understanding, 4
heating filaments in, 9 Electrons, in power production, 5,
power used by (chart), 20-21 Energy conservation, 4, 27-30
taking apart, 81 Extension cords (chart), 44
6
Batteries, 10-12 Filaments, heating, 9
Brownout, 7 Fire hazards, electrical, 22
Butt splice, 47 Fish tape, 61-62
Fixtures, ceiling, 75-77
Floor plan, of circuits, 24-26
Frying pan, repair, 92
Fuse box, 14-19
Cable Fuses
BX (or armored), 54-57
rating by amps, 20
plastic-protected, 58
types and resetting, 14
Can opener, repair, 87-88
Circuit breaker, advantage of, 17
Circuits
analyzing capacity of, 26 G
Generators, 27
appliance, 23 5, 7,
general-purpose, 22 Graphite powder, as lubricant, 94

mapping of, 24-26 Ground fault interrupter, 34-36
special-purpose, 23-24 Grounding plug, 23
Closed-end splice, 47 Ground wire, 6, 15, 23
Codes, electrical, 36
Coffee maker, repair, 89-90
Conduit
bender, 40, 60
H
Heat, from resistance, 8-9
cutter, 40, 60
Hertz, 10-11
working with, 59-60
Conservation, of energy, 4, 27-30
Home power
minimal amp service, 19-20
Converter, AC/DC, 12
115-230 volt circuits, 14, 20
Converter plugs, 23
service entrance, 13
Copper wire, 43
two- and three-wire service, 13-16
Cost
of electricity (chart), 28
rate code of electric bill, 29-30
Current, 5-6 I
Cycle, 10-11 Iron, repair, 84-85
95
K Solderless connectors, 57
Splicing wires, 48-49
Kilowatt hours, 27
Swag lamp, installation, 77-78
L T
Lamp Tape, electrical, 50
rewiring, 82-84
Testing, for current flow or grounding,
swag lamp installation, 77-78
33-34, 40, 45
Lighting
Toaster, repair, 86
exterior, installation of, 78-79
Tools, electrical, 40-41
saving electricity on, 27
Transformers
Line voltage, 6-8
in doorbell system, 94
in power production, 5-7
M
Main service entrance, 14-19 U
cartridge fuses, 18 Underwriters' Laboratories knot, 53
Main and Range fuses, 14 Underwriters' Laboratories label, 36-37, 79
safety around, 18-19 United States, electric power use, 5, 27
Meter reading, 28-30
Mixer, electric, repair, 90-91
V
N
National Electrical Code, 23, 32, 36, 41
Volt, 5-6
Voltage drop, 44
National Fire Protective Association, 36
W
O
Ohms, of resistance, 8
Wall outlets
adding, 68-73
converting to grounded receptacle, 66-67
Oven, portable, repair, 91-92 replacing, 65-66
Wall switches
adding outlet from, 69-73
P replacing, 63-64
three-way installation, 74
Power
Wattage
failure, 6
available to your home, 20
stations, 5
defined, 9
turn off, 14, 17-18
how to find, 9, 19
Wire
armored cable, 54-57
R butt splice, 47
copper versus aluminum, 43
Rubber gloves, for safety, 18-19
current capacity of,. 43
gauges (chart), 43
joining, 48-49
nonmetalic cable, 58
Safety, 4, 18-19,31-37 taping joints, 50
basement flood, 34 UL electrical knot, 53-54
grounding, 18-19, 32-33 voltage drop due to, 44
insulation of wires, 31 Wire stripper, 40, 46
metal ladders, 34-35 Wiring
Shock, electric, 31 devices, 41-43
Short circuits, 34-36 signs of faulty, 38-39
96 Index
^STfotD
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House
Post Office Box 2463 Birmingham, Alabama 35202

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All rights reserved.No part of this book may be

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 75-32263

Manufactured in the United States of America

First Printing 1976

Easy Electrical Repairs

Editor: Grace Hodges

Oxmoor House believes that the information contained in this

Save Electricity and Conserve Installing a new outlet from

house and do so safely and correctly.

The great majority of the

electric power generated in

**'<%> the United States is

produced by burning fossil

Newer houses will

6 Electricity and How It Works

Electricity and How It Works

the line voltage gets too low

8 Electricity and How It Works

Electricity and How It Works 9

10 Electricity and How It Works

plan to take an appliance to Europe, As for alternating and direct current,

Electricity and How It Works 11

Equipment designed for

plugged into an AC line

12 Electricity and How It Works

The place where electric power enters

This home has three-wire

14 The Power to Your House

Wires form drip loops

Main switch and fuse box inside house

>240-volt circuit to electric range

All white wires connect

TIT—-- Circuits through house

'Cable to additional switch

Four extra fuses-

White wire to common ground' Four circuits

The Power to Your House 15

16 The Power to Your House

Sometimes the main fuse is

located in a separate box

The Power to Your House 17

18 The Power to Your House

Keep a pair of rubber

prevent a serious accident.

The Power to Your House 19

Power Used By Appliances"

Appliance Watts Amps

Air conditioner, window 750 6.5

Fan, attic 400 3.4

Furnace, gas or oil 800 6.9

Hi-fi stereo 300 2.6

20 The Power to Your House

Appliance Watts Amps

Kitchen and Laundry

The Power to Your House 21

The electric power in your house is To determine how many general-

between and 3/2 per hour for warm

Far right: iyi?< >r