Engineering

Whenever you splice wires together while installing residential circuitry, the electrical code requires you to enclose the connections in a junction box. This safety measure prevents fires that can occur when the wires overheat and also protects people from getting shocked by live wires. You don’t often have to install a dedicated junction box, however, because switches, lights and receptacles are all installed in electrical boxes that can serve double-duty as enclosures for spliced wires. Here at Emergencybrisbaneelectrician.com.au our electrician Brisbane 24 hours can service any electrical need, just call us to discuss your issue.

Safety Requirement

The electrical code requires wire connections to be enclosed primarily because loose connections present a fire hazard. Even if you securely twist the wires together, screw on a wire cap and wrap the ends with electrical tape, there is still a possibility that current surges can overheat the wires. Over time, this may degrade the tape and wire caps, and insulation or framing may ignite. This degradation can also result in exposed wires, and even if they aren’t accessible enough to touch, you can still be electrocuted by driving a nail or a screw into the wall.

Electrical Boxes and Junction Boxes

Installing an electrical box is a precursor to adding any device, like a switch or receptacle, to a circuit. Boxes can be made of metal or plastic, and you usually screw or nail them to a stud or rafter, although you can anchor remodeling boxes directly to the surface of drywall. The only difference between a box for a circuit device and a junction box, or J-box, is that the latter serves no other purpose than to enclose spliced wires. Its opening is covered, not by a circuit device, but by a flat metal cover.

The Need for a Junction Box

Electricians usually minimize the number of junction boxes needed for wiring. They plan the circuitry so that they can make connections for branch circuits inside a switch or receptacle box, using a box big enough to accommodate all the wires. Careful planning usually eliminates the need for a separate J-box when wiring a room from scratch, but one or more may be necessary when adding to existing wiring. A J-box may also become necessary in other circumstances, such as when a miscalculation results in the need for splicing because of a cable that is too short to reach its destination.

Installing Junction Boxes

When upgrading the wiring for a room, you may find it necessary to tap into a wire to add a branch circuit for a light or outlet. You’ll need a junction box if you can’t make the connections inside an existing electrical box. You should install the box with the opening facing out from the wall so all the wires inside are accessible. Like any electrical box, it should be installed so that the edge of the opening is flush with the wall. Screw the cover on with machine screws so you can remove it easily.

How to Connect AWG8 Wire in Junction Box

Electrical junction boxes aren’t used just to provide convenient ways to mount receptacles, switches and light fixtures. They’re actually required by the National Electrical Code when making a wire connection. When you repair a cut in an electrical cable or splice electrical wires together, you need a junction box to protect the connections. Using a junction box also protects you from electrical shock and your home from electrical fires. Following the proper steps when making wiring connections can keep you and your family safe.

Position a screwdriver against a 3/4-inch knockout on the side of a 4-inch square metal junction box. Strike the screwdriver with a hammer to remove the knockout. Grab the knockout with pliers and twist it off the box if the screwdriver does not remove the knockout completely. Repeat the steps to remove the knockout on the opposite side of the box.

Fasten 3/4-inch clamp connectors to the 4-inch square junction box through the knockouts. The connectors thread from the outside of the box with the threads of the connectors inside. Screw the locknuts provided with the connectors onto the threads to secure the clamps to the box.

Verify there is no power present by touching the wires with a non-contact voltage tester. Push the American wire gauge 8 (AWG 8) inside the 4-inch square junction box through the 3/4-inch clamp connectors. In normal wiring applications, a circuit with AWG 8 wire includes three or four wires as a parts of 8/2 or 8/3 nonmetallic (NM) cable.

Cut the black exterior sheath off the electrical cables with a utility knife to expose the AWG 8 wires inside. Remove 3/4 inch of insulation from the wires with a pocket knife. AWG 8 wire is too large for a wire cutter/stripper.

Cut a 6-to-8-inch piece of 10 gauge solid bare copper wire to create a pigtail ground wire. The ground wire size for AWG 8 is one gauge smaller than the insulated wires. Wrap the wire clockwise around a 10/32 green ground screw inside the junction box. Tighten the screw to hold the wire inside the box, creating a ground to the junction box.

Twist the blue wire connector onto the two white AWG 8 wires inside the junction box to join them. Do not twist the two wires together before installing the wire connector. Instead, let the motion of the connector twist the wires. This makes a better wire connection and avoids a loose wire connector.

Twist another blue wire connector onto the two bare copper wires and the bare copper pigtail ground wire attached to the junction box. Twist another blue connector to the two AWG 8 black wires. If you’re working with a 240-volt circuit, use another blue connector to join the two red AWG 8 wires. Having some issues with your electrical lines? Click here!

Your home’s plumbing and electrical systems may seem as different as any two things could be. But there are significant parallels. Water enters your home through a pipe under pressure, and, when you turn on a tap, the water flows at a certain rate (gallons per minute). Electricity enters your home through wires, also under pressure (called voltage, measured in volts). When you turn on an electrical device, the electricity flows at a certain rate (current, measured in amperes, or amps). With electrician Brisbane Southside being one of the fastest growth electrician company in the areas in South East Queensland we understand the importance of having a professional and reliable electrician turn up and fixed all your electrical issues.

Unlike water, which is used as it comes from the tap, electricity is meant to do work: It is converted from energy to power, measured in watts. Since household electrical consumption is relatively high, the unit of measure most often used is the kilowatt, which is equal to 1,000 watts. The total amount of electrical energy you use in any period is measured in terms of kilowatt-hours (kwh).

The instrument that records how much electricity you use is called an electric meter. This meter tells the power company how much electricity they need to charge you for. There are two types of electric meters in general use. One type displays a row of small dials on its face with individual indicators. Each meter dial registers the kilowatt-hours of electrical energy. For example, if you leave a 100-watt bulb burning for 10 hours, the meter will register 1 kilowatt-hour (10×100 = 1,000 watt-hours, or 1 kwh). Each dial registers a certain number of kilowatt-hours of electrical energy. From right to left on most meter faces, the far right is the one that counts individual kilowatt-hours from 1 to 10; the next one counts the electricity from 10 to 100 kilowatt-hours; the third dial counts up to 1,000; the fourth counts up to 10,000; and the dial at the extreme left counts kilowatt-hours up to 100,000. If the arrow on a dial is between two numbers, the lower number should always be read.

The second type of electric meter performs the same function, but, instead of having individual dials, it has numerals in slots on the meter face, much like an odometer in a car. This meter is read from left to right, and the numbers indicate total electrical consumption. Some meters also use a multiplying factor — the number that appears must be multiplied by ten, for instance, for a true figure in kilowatt-hours. Once you know how to read your meter, you can verify the charges on your electric bill and become a better watchdog of electrical energy consumption in your home.

Three main lines (older houses may have two) are responsible for supplying 110-120/220-240 volts AC (alternating current) to your home. The exact voltage varies depending on several external factors. This three-wire system provides you with 110-120-volt power for lighting, receptacles, and small appliances as well as 220-240-volt power for air conditioning, an electric range, a clothes dryer, a water heater, and, in some homes, electric heating.

Electricity enters your home through the power company’s service equipment, which is simply a disconnect device mounted in an approved enclosure. It’s used to disconnect the service from the interior wiring system. Usually called a main fuse, main breaker, main disconnect, or often just “the main,” this disconnect might be a set of pull-out fuses, a circuit breaker, or a large switch.

Although main disconnects can be mounted outdoors in a weatherproof box, they are nearly always inside the house in a large enclosure that also contains the fuses or circuit breakers, which handle the distribution of power throughout the building. This is called a main entrance panel, a main box, or an entrance box. The three wires from the meter enter this box. Two of them — the heavily insulated black and red lines — are attached to the tops of a parallel pair of exposed heavy copper bars, called buses, at the center of the box. These two lines are the “live,” or “hot,” wires. The third wire, generally bare, is the “neutral.” It is attached to a separate grounding bar, or bus, that is a silver-color strip in the main box. In most homes this ground bus is actually connected to the ground — the earth — by a heavy solid copper wire clamped to a cold water pipe or to an underground bar or plate. Click here to get a best 24 hour electrician.

When choosing a contractor to head up your bathroom remodel, a few simple steps can mean the difference between complete confidence and sleepless nights. Bathroom renovators are usually focus on building your own bathroom with quality of course that will last long. If you want to change your glass in your bathroom there is a good quality of tempered glass cut to size according to the dimension.

Ask for Referrals
Word of mouth — hands down, it’s the best way to find a qualified professional to tackle the job. Ask relatives, friends and neighbors whom they have had good experiences with. Also ask what made it a positive experience, how the contractor handled problems and whether he or she would use the same contractor again.

Look at Credentials
With recommendations in hand, do some preliminary research, whether that’s with a phone call or a visit to the contractor’s website. Find out whether he or she holds all the required licenses from the state and local municipalities, as well as designations from any professional associations like the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) or the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). Look for contractors who have invested in coursework and passed rigorous tests in order to earn a particular certification. Be aware, however, that all certifications are not created equal. “I would find out what the certification is and what it took to get it,” says Sara Ann Busby, NKBA president-elect and owner of Sara Busby Designs in Elk Rapids, Mich.

Interview Candidates
Narrow down the list of contenders, and set up meetings. What is the magic number of contractors to interview? “Ultimately, the right amount could be one,” says Al Pattison, past president of NKBA, but he recommends talking with no more than three. “With too many quotes, it gets too confusing trying to make a decision.” NARI offers a list of questions to ask potential contractors on its website.

How a contractor answers questions is extremely important, but communication goes both ways. “One of the most important things [a homeowner] can find in a designer and a builder is somebody who listens to them,” Sara Ann says. “One of the things that’s made us successful is we don’t do all the talking.”

Chemistry also weighs heavily into the selection of a contractor. “This is a longstanding relationship. You have to trust the person you’re working with,” Al says.

Check References
Once rapport has been established, ask to see some of the contractor’s projects. If they meet with approval, request references and then actually call the contractor’s former customers to check up on them. Ask how the contractor did at executing the project. Was it on-time and on-budget? Were they pleased with the outcome? Was there anything that could have been done differently?

Get it in Writing
After zeroing in on one contractor who seems right for the job, take a look at the documents he or she has prepared. Do they look professional? Scrutinize the contract. Does it seem fair and balanced? Also, make sure the legal agreement includes the following:
– a bid price and payment schedule
– the scope of work
– a site plan
– a sequential schedule of primary construction tasks
– a change-order clause
– a written procedural list for close-out
– an express limited warranty
– a clause about dispute resolution
– a waiver of lien, which would prevent subcontractors and suppliers from putting a lien on a house should their invoices go unpaid by the contractor

If everything check out, you can sign on the dotted line with confidence.