Yes, good info. Install a pull-chain light fixture in front of the panel and a 120-volt wired smoke detector. Keep the space clear in front of the panel too. Also, readily accessible just means you don’t need “special” tools or methods to access. A pull down ladder is fine. Plenty of panels are located on mezzanines, in attics, locked closets, etc…I would highly recommend a subpanel if you follow the NEC. An electrician should assist with this for sure. My suggetions to you (or anyone here) are not intended to be all inclusive, but rather helpful guidance. YMMV and other disclamers YADDA, yadda.
Oh. And as far as code violations go…
Some time after we moved in, several things in the kitchen went out. I found no breakers tripped. I kept going back to the panel, thinking “I must be losing my mind”
At some point the thought of a sub panel popped into my head.
Sure enough, in the lower cabinet, to the right of the sink, behind a mess of pots and pans, there it was. And indeed still is. In all its 50s Murray glory. My kitchen sub.
Yup, seen that before. Illegal as heck, but often times installed as “the handyman special”.
I’ve really enjoyed this thread!
I was thinking this sounded a bit scary, and then I remembered where the panel was located in my college apartment – in the little locked utility closet that was only accessible via the patio.
May I make a suggestion. Put each bathroom outlets on a separate 20 amp breaker. And don’t just install one outlet for the sink counter top. In my last house I put in multiple double outlets on both sides of the counter top. There can neve to many outlets in a space and bathroom often get over looked with only a single outlet. so outlet multipliers get installed to plug in the hair dryer, more than one electric tooth brush, a lighted mirror, an electric heater.
WE are going to redo our master bathroom this year. I have already installed a separate 20 amp double outlet for now. But when I get done my wife will have 4 places where she can plug things in on both sides of the sink.
I kinda’ like this guy. When his most recent video came up in my YouTube feed, I thought of y’all.
If only for the estimable SDMB Knowledge Base …
A bit over six minutes.
Also, when his upper screw (that secures the receptacle into the box) wouldn’t bite, a longer but similar screw was one option, but I also recently learned about, and used, these:
FYI.
I like the video but I am not following one part of it.
At the 3:00 mark, the guy touches one probe to the left lower white wire and the other to the right upper black wire and gets a reading of 0 volts. He then clicks the dial on the meter to a different setting, repeats the same probe/wire combo, and gets a reading of 50 volts.
At this point he says “If you’re getting 50 volts on a non-loading meter that means that those two do not go together.”
Can anyone explain what is going on here? Why would you get 50 volts? What does he mean by “those two do not go together”?
Thanks,
mmm
That’s a great question.
So, I studied Electrical Engineering in college … decades ago … but I never used it – went a different way.
Meaning: I’m pretty sure I know what he’s talking about, but rather than me take a ham-fisted shot at explaining it … let me point out this web page:
I think the relevant section headings are:
- The best of both worlds, and
- What are ghost voltages and where are they encountered?
I think the combination of those two sections explains what he’s making reference to. Basically, the ghost voltage, if present, can lead you astray, particularly if you have a high impedance only multimeter.
Another good take on it:
It’s also akin to why a multimeter isn’t generally as good a battery tester as is a proper battery tester, which puts the battery under a precise load (or resistance, or impedance, roughly).
ETA: one more analogy…
The low-impedance (no load) reading might tell you if there’s standing water remaining in the garden hose. The high-impedance (load) reading would tell you if that water is under pressure.
ETA2: and the “don’t go together” is his way of saying that the second common he tested – where it read 50VAC – is NOT the common that provides the return path for the hot that he tested (the upper black wire in the video).
This is a pretty good video on the issue of of ghost voltage and detecting it with a dual impedance multimeter.
It’s content until about 3:30, after which it’s marketing for his affiliate links:
Yea, the high input impedance of the meter (when measuring voltage) will form a voltage divider with leakage resistance in the wiring, causing “ghost voltages.” To solve this problems, some meters have a “Lo Z” feature that allows the user to select a low input impedance.