Foreword | p. ix |
Preface | p. xi |
Acknowledgments | p. xiii |
Introduction | p. 1 |
Structure of the Book | p. 1 |
New Work | p. 2 |
Old Work | p. 2 |
Older Buildings | p. 3 |
Taking This Seriously | p. 3 |
Respecting Your Limits | p. 4 |
Pros | p. 4 |
Learning the Language | p. 5 |
Familiarizing Yourself with Your System | |
Basic Information about Electrical Systems | p. 11 |
Electrical Quantities | p. 12 |
How Electricity Flows | p. 13 |
The Physical System | p. 13 |
What Type of Electrical Service Do You Have? | p. 14 |
System Voltage | p. 14 |
What Type of Electrical Service Feeds Your House? | p. 15 |
Grounding and Bonding | p. 17 |
Checking for Voltage | p. 21 |
Why Should You Learn How to Perform This Specific Test This Early? | p. 21 |
What Do You Need to Know About Testers? | p. 21 |
What Dangers Should You Watch Out for When Testing? | p. 25 |
Evaluating Your Service Entrance | p. 27 |
Why Is This Worth Doing? | p. 27 |
What Constitutes a Service? | p. 27 |
Where Should You First Look for Damage if You Have an Overhead Service? | p. 28 |
What Can You Learn from an Overhead Line? | p. 28 |
Judge Its Point of Attachment | p. 29 |
Examining a Mast | p. 29 |
How Should You Proceed in Examining the Parts of the System That Are Under Your Control? | p. 29 |
What Should You Look For if Your Service Enters in Conduit? | p. 31 |
How Are Your Meter Connections? | p. 32 |
How Healthy Are the Parts of the System That the Utility Doesn't Control? | p. 34 |
Is a Panel with a "Main" Always My Service Panel? | p. 35 |
Where Can I Find My Disconnect? | p. 35 |
Is Your Disconnect or Panel Mounted Properly? | p. 35 |
What Should You Do if Your Setup Is Not Quite as It Should Be? | p. 36 |
What Is Your Service Size (and Why Should You Care)? | p. 36 |
Figuring Out How Much Power Is Coming In | p. 37 |
Safety | p. 39 |
What's the Rush? | p. 39 |
What Are the Basic Threats from Electricity? | p. 39 |
Other Ways to Reduce Your Danger While Working with Electricity | p. 54 |
Emergencies | p. 59 |
Examining Your Panel | p. 61 |
Separate Disconnects | p. 61 |
Evaluate Your Panel's Condition from the Outside | p. 62 |
Does Your Panel Itself Need Repair? | p. 64 |
Looking Inside Your Panel | p. 67 |
The Interior | p. 67 |
How Does Power Get from Busbars to Branch Circuits? | p. 68 |
How Are Neutral Connections Different? | p. 69 |
Is Your Panel Wired the Way It Should Be? | p. 70 |
Should I Also Be Concerned About Grounding the Wires Leaving My Subpanel? | p. 71 |
Circuit Capacity and Overfusing | p. 75 |
Lesson: Shutting It Down | p. 75 |
Dead Circuits, Deadly Busbars | p. 76 |
Protective Devices | p. 79 |
What You Can Expect from Fuses and Breakers | p. 80 |
Characteristics | p. 80 |
What to Read | p. 82 |
Changing Standards and Grandfathering | p. 82 |
Circuit Breakers | p. 82 |
Fuses | p. 92 |
The Walk-Through | p. 99 |
Blueprinting Your System | p. 99 |
The Safety Survey | p. 108 |
Parts-What You Have, How to Choose Them, How to Use Them | |
Tools and Gear | p. 119 |
Tools for Doing Basic Electrical Work | p. 119 |
Tool Safety | p. 120 |
Essential Hand Tools | p. 122 |
Inadvisable Hand Tools | p. 136 |
Power and Light | p. 138 |
Your System's Physical Components | p. 139 |
Cables | p. 139 |
Raceways | p. 143 |
Open Wiring | p. 145 |
Enclosures | p. 145 |
From Cable or Raceway to Enclosure: Clamps and Connectors | p. 155 |
Supporting Cables and Raceways | p. 156 |
Wirenuts | p. 157 |
Choosing Replacement Devices | p. 157 |
Materials, Listing, and Quality | p. 161 |
Listing and Approval | p. 161 |
Useful Products | p. 163 |
Electrical Products | p. 166 |
Miscellany | p. 171 |
Are Your Wires Safe? | p. 172 |
Making Connections | p. 175 |
Preparing Conductors for Connection | p. 175 |
Splicing Conductors | p. 178 |
Connecting Conductors to Terminals | p. 195 |
Evaluation, Repair, and Replacement | |
Mechanical Condition | p. 215 |
What Makes This So Important? | p. 215 |
Replacing Receptacles | p. 239 |
Why Should You Replace a Receptacle? | p. 240 |
Replacing Receptacles | p. 249 |
Replacing Switches | p. 267 |
Switching Patterns | p. 268 |
Safety | p. 269 |
The Basic Procedure for Testing and Replacing Switches | p. 269 |
Modifications to the Basic Procedure for Three-Way and Four-Way Switching | p. 271 |
Alternates to Standard Types of Switch | p. 275 |
Other Less Common Devices and Arrangements | p. 277 |
How to Replace a Light Fixture or Small, Hard-Wired Appliance | p. 281 |
Some Dangers of Ceiling Work | p. 282 |
Types of Lights | p. 282 |
Reasons to Replace a Light | p. 283 |
Replacing the Fixture | p. 285 |
Illegal Fixtures | p. 301 |
Small Hard-Wired Appliances | p. 303 |
Glossary | p. 305 |
Afterword | p. 323 |
Index | p. 325 |
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