Any electrical experts here? Need your opinion

[edro]

Short answer your a moron.

quoted for posterity

 

[ussfletcher]

Looks completely legit to me, whatever works. Though it should bar him from collecting on the insurance after his home burns down (and the fire department should refuse to help due to stupidity).

 

[Marinski]

That guy sounds like major nerd but what a poor excuse for a wiring job. It might work but that doesnt make it right. Shit like that is hazardous.

 

[bruceb]

Many violations here.

Too small wires / Overloaded outlet / Romex not allowed for outdoor
Improper splicing / Wires subject to damage by the door
The only thing semi legit is the extension cords from the openers to
the surge strip and normally you would mount an outlet on the ceiling
by the openers (much safer)

 

[DrPizza]

Tacky: Yes

Dangerous: No

I watched the video again. I can't see anywhere that unbothered, there's any significant electrical danger. A garage door opener is typically under 500 watts. That crappy extension cord segment should be able to handle that, particularly since that 500 watts is going to be very intermittent. Looking at the video frame by frame, the outside wiring may very well be UF-B which is okay for damp locations. (Not 100% certain though.)

Problems: insufficiently stapled, no electrical box, etc. are hazards to people grabbing and pulling on the wires, tree limbs falling and pulling wires loose, etc. But, left alone, it's "fine" - though VERY against electrical code. If you could isolate that from humans, falling tree limbs, etc., and use some sort of robot to turn on the garage door opener once per hour, the entire setup would likely go for decades without any trouble. The reasons it doesn't meet code relate more to the likelihood of damage to that line, and the possibility that in the future, its capacity will be exceeded. i.e. some sort of fault in the garage door opener which draws 14 amps of current is not going to trip the breaker, but could result in that extension cord section overheating. i.e. the line is rated lower than the breaker. But, as is, the line isn't being used beyond its capacity.

 

[edro]

I was more concerned with the crappy splice job, that you can't see under the electrical tape.
bad splice = arc = fire = sad owner

Also, I think it's a 2008 NEC revision that your garage door outlet must be GFCI protected.
Not that that installation needs to comply with NEC 2008, but I just thought it should be mentioned.

 

[olds]

LOL. "wall cord".

 

[Rubycon]

I watched the video again. I can't see anywhere that unbothered, there's any significant electrical danger. A garage door opener is typically under 500 watts. That crappy extension cord segment should be able to handle that, particularly since that 500 watts is going to be very intermittent. Looking at the video frame by frame, the outside wiring may very well be UF-B which is okay for damp locations. (Not 100% certain though.)

Problems: insufficiently stapled, no electrical box, etc. are hazards to people grabbing and pulling on the wires, tree limbs falling and pulling wires loose, etc. But, left alone, it's "fine" - though VERY against electrical code. If you could isolate that from humans, falling tree limbs, etc., and use some sort of robot to turn on the garage door opener once per hour, the entire setup would likely go for decades without any trouble. The reasons it doesn't meet code relate more to the likelihood of damage to that line, and the possibility that in the future, its capacity will be exceeded. i.e. some sort of fault in the garage door opener which draws 14 amps of current is not going to trip the breaker, but could result in that extension cord section overheating. i.e. the line is rated lower than the breaker. But, as is, the line isn't being used beyond its capacity.

Hard to tell without seeing numbers on the cable. Some UF is gray some is nearly white. The only way to tell is strip it. UF is MUCH harder to rip open than NM-B.

Long runs supplied by a smaller piece of ST cord (the brown extension cord) can produce sufficient resistance that a big draw on the far end would heat it up enough to melt or ignite without opening a fuse or CB.

Also the thing everyone missed! Grounding! Ack! ST cord being only two conductors has no ground and if wired incorrectly could actually make the chassis hot! Talk about a shock hazard! Look Ma, let's hold on while Tommy turns on the light so we can all light up like a Christmas tree. Santa will love that but remember coffins don't have chimneys...

 

[olds]

Short answer your a moron.

quoted for posterity

:awe:

 

[DougoMan]

Give me a break your average Christmas light display is 100x more dangerous than this.

The highest gauge wire I saw was 16, which is good for a continuous 1500 watts. The wiring in question will only draw half of that for all of 10 seconds a couple of times per day.

It looks like he used those standard twisty wire caps under the electrical tape which is very safe and standard.

Yeah it's ghetto but I maintain it is not at all dangerous.


Have you ever seen the electrical cord on a 50 year old appliance? It's like 24 gauge (tiny!) and didn't cause too much trouble. All wiring these days is really overkill.

 

[grohl]

awful. do it right the first time.

 

[DrPizza]

Hard to tell without seeing numbers on the cable. Some UF is gray some is nearly white. The only way to tell is strip it. UF is MUCH harder to rip open than NM-B.

Long runs supplied by a smaller piece of ST cord (the brown extension cord) can produce sufficient resistance that a big draw on the far end would heat it up enough to melt or ignite without opening a fuse or CB.

Also the thing everyone missed! Grounding! Ack! ST cord being only two conductors has no ground and if wired incorrectly could actually make the chassis hot! Talk about a shock hazard! Look Ma, let's hold on while Tommy turns on the light so we can all light up like a Christmas tree. Santa will love that but remember coffins don't have chimneys...

The point I made though is that there isn't a big draw on the other end. It's just a garage door opener.

 

[Rubycon]

The point I made though is that there isn't a big draw on the other end. It's just a garage door opener.

Yes as pictured but the surge supressor [sic] has four open outlets and since this is the only supply to the garage visible someone may plug something in that draws more. The voltage drop would be excessive as well. This can cause the motors to stall which results in a much higher draw scenario as well.

Completely ignoring the code/physical shortcomings if one were to test voltage drop with a proper instrument they would definitely find it out of specification.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Even IF the wire was UF (which I HIGHLY doubt given the the number of other violations lol) UF cable is not rated for use in direct sunlight like that.

That is a really, really bad hack job.

 

[DrPizza]

Good point. I thought about that power strip, but ignored it for the most part. Lacking anyone doing anything, other than operating the garage door, that ghetto rigged wiring is probably safer than, as DougoMan put it, many people's Christmas displays. But it has too much potential for other problems as people start doing things with it.

 

[Rubycon]

Even IF the wire was UF (which I HIGHLY doubt given the the number of other violations lol) UF cable is not rated for use in direct sunlight like that.

That is a really, really bad hack job.

I believe the gray colored UF is labeled "sunlight resistant".

Whoever rigged it should be slapped with a piece of liquidtite.

(or smacked in the back of their head with a decent sized piece of Kindorf)

Good point. I thought about that power strip, but ignored it for the most part. Lacking anyone doing anything, other than operating the garage door, that ghetto rigged wiring is probably safer than, as DougoMan put it, many people's Christmas displays. But it has too much potential for other problems as people start doing things with it.

Christmas displays are temporary though. Most people that do stuff like the OP wind up leaving it that way for years.

 

[DrPizza]

Even IF the wire was UF (which I HIGHLY doubt given the the number of other violations lol) UF cable is not rated for use in direct sunlight like that.

That is a really, really bad hack job.

You'd love the wiring from my house to the barn - 2 strands of 12 gauge copper. They don't even have the romex or UF coating on them. They stretch through the air about 40-50 feet. I couldn't tell you how long it's been like that. Once I get a trencher, they'll be replaced with something a little more robust (and underground.)

 

[sdifox]

You'd love the wiring from my house to the barn - 2 strands of 12 gauge copper. They don't even have the romex or UF coating on them. They stretch through the air about 40-50 feet. I couldn't tell you how long it's been like that. Once I get a trencher, they'll be replaced with something a little more robust (and underground.)

yeah, get the metal jacketed wires that are rated for underground.

 

[edro]

You'd love the wiring from my house to the barn - 2 strands of 12 gauge copper. They don't even have the romex or UF coating on them. They stretch through the air about 40-50 feet. I couldn't tell you how long it's been like that. Once I get a trencher, they'll be replaced with something a little more robust (and underground.)

I have a barn that needs power. I was just planning on digging the trench myself with a mattock.
It is about 100', but I don't think you have to go very deep.
I only need 1 or 2 20A circuits for lighting and general light loads.
Maybe a 3 wire, 12g cable for dual circuits and 220, just in case.

Do you know off hand how deep, what type of cable and conduit I would need?

I was mentally planning on using standard sch40 PVC electrical conduit, direct burial UF cable and digging down about 12" deep.
Is UF needed if it's in PVC conduit?
Is 12" deep enough?

I can look all this up in NEC, but I don't know if barns are special.

 

[Rubycon]

You'd love the wiring from my house to the barn - 2 strands of 12 gauge copper. They don't even have the romex or UF coating on them. They stretch through the air about 40-50 feet. I couldn't tell you how long it's been like that. Once I get a trencher, they'll be replaced with something a little more robust (and underground.)

Sounds like typical overhead wiring but runs of copper that long should be insulated, twisted and have a steel messenger.

I have a barn that needs power. I was just planning on digging the trench myself with a mattock.
It is about 100', but I don't think you have to go very deep.
I only need 1 or 2 20A circuits for lighting and general light loads.
Maybe a 3 wire, 12g cable for dual circuits and 220, just in case.

Do you know off hand how deep, what type of cable and conduit I would need?

I was mentally planning on using standard sch40 PVC electrical conduit, direct burial UF cable and digging down about 12" deep.
Is UF needed if it's in PVC conduit?
Is 12" deep enough?

I can look all this up in NEC, but I don't know if barns are special.

Always refer to your local codes, etc. before attempting a project like this. I'm no electrician but from what I've seen a starting place to tackle such a project may look similar to this:

Trench down at least 24" and drop 2" SCH40 Carlon PVC. Pull colored THHN (white, black, red, green) or tape black to mark them correctly. Install a load center 100A in the barn. For 100' 2AWG should be plenty. Install 100A double pole breaker in the (house) service entrance.

Where conduit ends at walls you can use slip long turn radius elbows and bring the pipe up to a LB fitting that can get you safely through the walls on each landing end. This is similar to working with common PVC pipe - no special tools required.

With three wire single phase 100A feeding a load center in your barn you will have plenty of power for lights, air compressor, even a buzz box for welding etc.

 

[bruceb]

Agree, about going down 24 inches or to the frost line, whichever is deeper in your area. And yes, do use conduit. If you use plastic be sure the joints are glued properly. And the load center at the garage is an excellent choice.

 

[Fritzo]

I have a barn that needs power. I was just planning on digging the trench myself with a mattock.

Boy, if you think I'm digging a trench at my age, yer crazy.

 

[DrPizza]

Nope, Rubycon, it's just regular 12 gauge wire from (probably) 12/2 NM-B.
Code: it's fairly shallow (I can't remember the exact depth, but it's certainly not the frost line; at least, not my frost line.) But, I'd also like to run a water line so I don't need to leave the hose running all winter. That'll have to be at least 3 feet down, hence the need for a trencher, hence why I'll do the electric then.

 

[Rubycon]

Nope, Rubycon, it's just regular 12 gauge wire from (probably) 12/2 NM-B.
Code: it's fairly shallow (I can't remember the exact depth, but it's certainly not the frost line; at least, not my frost line.) But, I'd also like to run a water line so I don't need to leave the hose running all winter. That'll have to be at least 3 feet down, hence the need for a trencher, hence why I'll do the electric then.

LOL does not sound right - flying NM cable?

A ditch witch (thing that looks like a big chainsaw on the back of a tractor!) can be used for your water/electric trench no problem.