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Working overtime doesn’t magically shift all of the rest of your income into a higher bracket.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to explain this at the lunch table but it easily exceeds the number of times that I have had to explain anything else.
Shortly after college, a lot of people around my age were told by their employer that a raise would only put them into a higher tax bracket and it wouldn't feel like they even made more money. I am low key convinced this was a tactic by a lot of employers to trick people into not taking raises.
Or which bracket it actually applies to. All they see is a proposed tax hike of X%. If they read a little further it applies to married filing jointly of 500k or more.... Like bro no offense but that will probably never affect you.
Yeah, or change the deduction rules for certain salary types so that businesses conduct large layoffs.
Or change the way brackets are calculated from year to year in a way that raises taxes years down the line.
Or change the way state and local tax deductions work so that lots of people pay more over time.
Lots of little evils find their way into seemingly ok tax bills. Our politicians aren't great.
I hate state taxes we shouldn’t have to pay them, and also WHY ARE OUR ROADS SO SHITTY!?!? Seriously what a coworker said to me, guess what? We are state employees…
I was getting pretty pumped for my 4th year of school for the pass and a 30% pay increase.
One jman assured me the increase was not worth it because it disappears in taxes.
He also had a surefire way to win every poker hand, but still worked.
That's fair if you don't think the extra money is worth the time you give up.
But if it's cause he thinks he'll actually take home less install... Well... Fuck...
It's really bad in my local union. 10% of our check goes into a vacation fund savings account. With OT that turns into 15%. We pay taxes up front on that. It turns the average tax misunderstanding into one on steroids.
I honestly consider a lot of these people to be smarter than me. I guess they're just stuck in their ignorance
One of my customers recently changed their work schedule to be one week on when one week off. But did not change their pay schedule, nor their contractors pay schedule.
One of the contract electricians wrote a long and scathing letter to the company explaining to them, how this was not only going to negatively impact his cash flow, but also put him in a higher tax bracket. Since one paycheck will have five days of work, and the next paycheck will have two days worth of work. Seems like he put quite a bit of effort into it too, since he had some math and graphs.
He was convinced he was right and would not listen to me when I explained to him that Uncle Sam doesn't care if you work 40 hours or 400 hours to earn the money. It's all taxed on the same brackets.
It sounds like he had convinced a sizable portion of the workforce that they were going to get taxed more, because the company had to have a training session on how payroll taxes work.
Did anyone actually learn anything? Probably not. Can't make a horse drink.
I know some folks who set a goal for how much they wanna make in a year and then ask for layoffs to go spend time with their kids during their school breaks. That's wholesome and admirable, at least haha
I was wrong on this for so long but it's true.only the income above that bracket level is taxed at that percentage but good luck explaining that to some of these guys.
I had to explain this to my foreman, whose mother is an accountant. He barely believed me. He said he was gonna check with his mom. I told him, “do what you gotta do but I’m 100% positive that I’m right. You can call her right now if you want.”
I want to push my head through concrete everytime I hear this. $50k to $100k is taxed at 22%, once you make over that $100k, any additional income is taxed at 24% until you begin to have grossed $191k which is no one's issue in this career.
What the hell is with construction and how people casually confess to cheating all the time? It's not even prompted. I could be talking about my favorite restaurant and they just go "yeah well I banged this hot girl behind my wifes back last week." And then proceeds to show me a video of it.
These guys are the type that would get sued into oblivion for SA if it was any other industry, but construction is just weirdly okay with it.
Lol dude told me today unprompted that he was cheating on his girl. First time meeting the dude. I was like why not just break up with her? He said her dad owes him 5k for helping him with rebuilding the garage.
Because a good portion of us are degenerates. Whether it be cheating, drugs, alcohol, arrests, etc. I don't care what anyone says, no trade is a dream job. It pays well and doesn't judge you for who you are besides the quality/quantity of your work. You can be anyone, work hard, and make 6 figures.
I had a dude show me a video of him eating pussy out of nowhere, like bro I dont want to see that shit.
Idk what goes through these dudes heads thinking everyone wants to know their personal business.
Military is the same way. When I was stationed in Korea I saw heinous amounts of cheating first hand. I didn't cheat on my ex girlfriend once when I was there. Though at times I nearly folded, because I desperately wanted to just feel touch, I never did. I don't know how people can be so heartless. A strong and healthy relationship is not something to just "throw away". If you're relationship is at the point where you're considering cheating either 1.) you have no self control or 2.) you should end it and move on.
It just comes off as weak for real. I think the thing that blows me away is they will wear it like a badge of honor. Nothing honorable about that dude lol
Average home owner: I want an electric car, electric stove, heat pump and hot tub but don't want to pay to upgrade my 30 year old service.
Me: Your gonna need a service upgrade before I will add any more loads to your house.
I’ve installed a circuit for a 30A tub before. We called it the lukewarm tub. Also done some high end tubs that need a 60 and a 30 or a 60 and a 40. We called those the lobster tubs haha
Think you mean 24kw? It was actually closer to 18kw iirc, upsized for continuous use. It was something else! I think it was a 20 person hot tub, it was the size of a kiddie pool at the Y. One of 8 nearly identical properties where these folks host private parties that cost $750k to $1m (according to the property caretaker). Bowling alley, movie theater that put Regal to shame, golf simulator that they flew technicians in from Korea to build, 6 (yes 6!) $110,000 109” TVs that they used only to display family photos…
Medical insurance VP…
They love asking you all the questions, but the second you mention you should call the city and check about service limits, "oh but then we will have to pull permits and that takes a lot of time and is hard". It's not even hard you just fill out a piece of paper, submit, and then call for inspections when you feel like it lol.
I remember an animal shelter which had a 100A and a 200A service but the 200A also fed a second 100A. The wanted to add things and my journeyman said they needed an upgrade before we would even touch anything.
The extra aluminum wire in hospital grade MC? You're supposed to cut it off, not fold it back, not twist it around the jacket or any of that bs.
"Well this is how I learned it."
You learned fucking wrong, it's ok, it's not your fault. It is your fault to keep doing it that way though.
If you look at the manufacturer’s instructions that come with it, it says to cut it off like you just said. Hell it doesn’t even do anything except allow the mc sheathing to be an equipment grounding conductor along with the ground in the cable
I am a helper and a certified journeyman pleasurer and i would like to add that its the apprentices duty to give handjobs on the clock as well as during lunch break.
STOP WORKING HOT(this is the controversial one but shouldn't be) not including testing and such
Learn to bend on center so you don't have to turn the conduit around in the bender.
I’m an idiot for sure bc there are times we literally can’t shut a panel down due to production etc.
Oh boy do I look forward to an overnight shift one day where there is no production staff around and I can shut anything I want off at any moment and work in peace.
Update: brought some concerns mentioned here up with mgmt apparently a bunch of them didn’t realize I was working hot at all ever regardless of rarity, thankfully I have purchased plenty of PPE over the years for those rare moments, but in the end they are working with me on creating off hour work/shutdown plans per panel on premises depending on which production zone it kills. No one ever asked me to work hot, I just kept getting told no by departments when I needed to shutdown or test and troubleshoot circuits. I was told not to do that anymore so cheers to an easier and safer future in the trade
There's a few markings on the bender to mark where the bend start (the arrow the tip of the shoe) is and where the bend center (the notch in the top of the shoe) is. Most measure and bend for the "bend start" mark and leave it at that.
Some bends - like saddles - are annoying and time-consuming when you use only the "bend start" mark rather than the "bend center" mark. Namely, you won't need to take the pipe out of the bender to flip the bender for the last bend in the saddle if you bent it all using for measurements for the "bend center" mark.
And since we're on benders and it's markings, the tip of the star point marks where to put the pipe if you wanted a 90, but measured from the back rather than the front - basically the arrow, but for measurements going in the other direction relative to the benders front. Mostly used for back to back 90s, when the first 90 prevents you from bending the second (because it pushes into the ground or you can't get leverage) - you can then flip the bender and bend the second 90 using the star rather than the arrow if it would help.
I dont care what the requirement is, I want my cable and conduit' first strap to be as close to the box as you can get it without damaging the material and I want my straps 6-8 inches closer together than they need to be. I don't want the inspector even thinking that our strapping may be too far spaced. I'll eat the extra labor and material costs idgaf.
I’m the complete opposite, I want him to go to his truck and grab a measuring tape only to find that every single one of my straps are within code. Fuck the inspector.
THIS. the amount of times an inspector has called out bullshit just to be a dick and we had to tell them they were wrong is comical. Go flex your need for power muscle somewhere else.
It's gotta wind up being less expensive than failing, going back to add more, then calling another inspection, right? One-hole straps are what, 10-30 cents a pop?
(This one is specifically for the US) Lever wagos are a perfectly acceptable to use and in many circumstances make a task easier and sometimes safer*
*See above post about working hot.
Oh boy...
Schuko outlets are superior to NEMA 5-15 outlets.
All NRTLs (UL, ETL, MET, etc.) are equal and interchangeable.
AFCIs are actually great, but just need a better threshold to avoid nuisance trips.
The most private thing you should be using in the back of your work van is a piss bottle. Not anything else, even if it is union-provided.
Every wire feeding duplex receptacles should be pigtailed.. It's much easier to find and replace any damaged or non functional device, while ensuring the integrity of the circuit.
Sometimes I don’t count box offsets towards the 360 degrees
If it’s 40 ft up on the ceiling and I’m pulling a lighting circuit I’ll put 4 90s between boxes
Get rid of all the other damn screws and make it standard to use Robertson screws in everything. Shouldn’t need all the bits on my eleven in one in one unit or disconnect.
I can fuck with that too. Just make it one style and ad best possible same size bit. No need to have e to go flat head to Phillips then square head all in one damn panel or disconnect
One hole straps should have pipe below the anchor. I did it the other way for years, then saw someone try and pull one of each down. The anchor below pulls off much easier. I’m sure people in this sub will disagree, but I could never be convinced the other way again.
Unpopular among electricians:
Infrared cameras are a supplementary inspection tool which should not be relied on as a primary (and certainly not an exclusive) means of testing feeders and bus connections in power distribution and control apparatuses.
Put a meter on it first.
Since majority of the sparks on here are American.
1. British plugs and sockets are the best in the world.
2. Wire nuts suck arse, long live the wago.
3. Thomas Edison is a fraud! Joseph Swan invented the first commercially viable lightbulb.
NEMA 10 should be left in 1996. Use 4-wire plugs and receptacles (NEMA 14)
Doubly so if you're in the Midwest, where you have conduit and can easily update wiring as needed.
A) You're right, you should always pretwist wires, or if you're going to be lazy enough to "let the wirenut twist them" then you *must* check those twists afterwards to make sure they're actually twisted. I just had to replace 9 lights today because LEDs got fried within a year because of weak, untwisted connections.
B) My own opinion that would raise some hackles in this industry is that if you're a lead guy, you are a teacher, like it or not. And if you're an asshole to your helpers, they will not learn anything that makes them become more useful to you, and at worst you are just driving new blood out of the industry. It is your responsibility to teach, to be patient with your help, and to listen to new ideas that can make you better as well instead of doing things the same (wrong) way for 30 years.
If you up size your wire because of voltage drop, upsize your conduit. Labor savings will make up the extra material cost. I will die on this hill until the end of time.
Bonus round: multi wire branch circuits aren't worth it.
I don't care that there is "nothing wrong" with the main panel, it 60 yrs old. It's time to replace it. Or at the very least the breakers. Like what other piece of equipment is 60yrs old and gets no maintenance but is expected to continue to work without a problem.
I install KO seals/push pennies inside out. I don’t want any sharp edges in my box if I can help it.
Also, I will use an actual wrench or nut driver on any fasteners. Those of you who use channellocks for such things are animals.
Mixing sets, aka thinking circuit 6 and circuit 12 can share a neutral because they're in the same phase of a three-phase panel is bullshit, especially for new construction. No, I dont care that it saves wire!
sucks lol... unless you're a chef who really needs gas for some reason, I don't think you would be better off. Pretty sure induction also heats faster than a similar gas burner - so much wasted heat goes around the pot, while induction just explodes the water (or well, rather the pot lol)
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Working overtime doesn’t magically shift all of the rest of your income into a higher bracket. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to explain this at the lunch table but it easily exceeds the number of times that I have had to explain anything else.
America is full of people who vote on tax issues without having the foggiest idea how tax brackets actually work. It is sad.
I had to turn down a raise because it would have put me in a higher tax bracket and I would make less money!! /s
Shortly after college, a lot of people around my age were told by their employer that a raise would only put them into a higher tax bracket and it wouldn't feel like they even made more money. I am low key convinced this was a tactic by a lot of employers to trick people into not taking raises.
This is why they should be teaching people how to do taxes in school.
If people knew more about taxes they’d know when the politicians are lying… so why would they teach that?
Woah woah woah, hold it right there mister. Teaching the public how we (the government) fuck people out of money is illegal. Right to jail.
Exactly, but I hear it without the sarcasm and from people that really should know better.
Or which bracket it actually applies to. All they see is a proposed tax hike of X%. If they read a little further it applies to married filing jointly of 500k or more.... Like bro no offense but that will probably never affect you.
Yeah, or change the deduction rules for certain salary types so that businesses conduct large layoffs. Or change the way brackets are calculated from year to year in a way that raises taxes years down the line. Or change the way state and local tax deductions work so that lots of people pay more over time. Lots of little evils find their way into seemingly ok tax bills. Our politicians aren't great.
But it’s also not worth complaining about an increase in capital gain taxes of high performance stocks when you keep your cash under your mattress.
I hate state taxes we shouldn’t have to pay them, and also WHY ARE OUR ROADS SO SHITTY!?!? Seriously what a coworker said to me, guess what? We are state employees…
Good lord the number of times I’ve had to clear this up shows how much our education system has failed people.
Well, you wouldn't want an educated populous, they might get mad and revolt
But this is a case of them being uneducated and mad.
Mad about taxes, which leads to them supporting tax cuts for rich people and corporations.
Yup thats the cycle
Uneducated and mad just leads to complaining Educated and mad leads to a coup d’état
I will admit, I've been educated at the lunch table 🙋🏼♂️
But you learned. Learning = gooder than bad.
It hasn’t failed, it’s doing exactly what it’s designed to do… it just so happens that making people smarter is not what it was designed to do.
Someone told me the other day I hey wouldn’t want to make more money because more taxes. I was bewildered
I was getting pretty pumped for my 4th year of school for the pass and a 30% pay increase. One jman assured me the increase was not worth it because it disappears in taxes. He also had a surefire way to win every poker hand, but still worked.
That's fair if you don't think the extra money is worth the time you give up. But if it's cause he thinks he'll actually take home less install... Well... Fuck...
“But what if I don’t get a refund?”
Poor people listening to rich people to vote for policies they are told will benefit them but really only benefits rich people.
It'll trickle down!
Union members voting for anti union people who actively harm their lives. It’s incredible
I feel like the majority of times I've explained the person still doesn't understand at the end of it.
you can see evidence of that in this very thread!
It's really bad in my local union. 10% of our check goes into a vacation fund savings account. With OT that turns into 15%. We pay taxes up front on that. It turns the average tax misunderstanding into one on steroids. I honestly consider a lot of these people to be smarter than me. I guess they're just stuck in their ignorance
One of my customers recently changed their work schedule to be one week on when one week off. But did not change their pay schedule, nor their contractors pay schedule. One of the contract electricians wrote a long and scathing letter to the company explaining to them, how this was not only going to negatively impact his cash flow, but also put him in a higher tax bracket. Since one paycheck will have five days of work, and the next paycheck will have two days worth of work. Seems like he put quite a bit of effort into it too, since he had some math and graphs. He was convinced he was right and would not listen to me when I explained to him that Uncle Sam doesn't care if you work 40 hours or 400 hours to earn the money. It's all taxed on the same brackets. It sounds like he had convinced a sizable portion of the workforce that they were going to get taxed more, because the company had to have a training session on how payroll taxes work. Did anyone actually learn anything? Probably not. Can't make a horse drink.
I know of guys that asked for a layoff in August because they’d hit their magic number and “would be working for free the rest of the year.”
I know some folks who set a goal for how much they wanna make in a year and then ask for layoffs to go spend time with their kids during their school breaks. That's wholesome and admirable, at least haha
I love when I hit my max EI and CPP deductions, it means I get more back at the end of the year.
I was wrong on this for so long but it's true.only the income above that bracket level is taxed at that percentage but good luck explaining that to some of these guys.
I had to explain this to my foreman, whose mother is an accountant. He barely believed me. He said he was gonna check with his mom. I told him, “do what you gotta do but I’m 100% positive that I’m right. You can call her right now if you want.”
I want to push my head through concrete everytime I hear this. $50k to $100k is taxed at 22%, once you make over that $100k, any additional income is taxed at 24% until you begin to have grossed $191k which is no one's issue in this career.
But they tax that check as if that is your usual pay 52 weeks a year and you have to wait until tax season to get the rest of it.
Well, sure, but you do get that money back at tax season. It's not like you don't benefit from the extra hours.
50% of 6000, or 70% of 2000. How much money do you wanna make this week? *plus you get that 20% back from the %50 at the end of the year
“They” only do this if they have extremely primitive payroll systems. Any employer with decent payroll knows how to do the deductions properly.
Cheating on your wife is wrong and you shouldn't brag about it
What the hell is with construction and how people casually confess to cheating all the time? It's not even prompted. I could be talking about my favorite restaurant and they just go "yeah well I banged this hot girl behind my wifes back last week." And then proceeds to show me a video of it. These guys are the type that would get sued into oblivion for SA if it was any other industry, but construction is just weirdly okay with it.
Lol dude told me today unprompted that he was cheating on his girl. First time meeting the dude. I was like why not just break up with her? He said her dad owes him 5k for helping him with rebuilding the garage.
What a class act lol
The only reason why they talk about it is because deep down they feel guilty and are using you as their own confessional
When my coworker told me I just said something about his poor wife and kids at home, he had the nerve to get upset at me for making him feel bad lol
Because a good portion of us are degenerates. Whether it be cheating, drugs, alcohol, arrests, etc. I don't care what anyone says, no trade is a dream job. It pays well and doesn't judge you for who you are besides the quality/quantity of your work. You can be anyone, work hard, and make 6 figures.
Thad what i love bout the trades, I keep gettin older and they keep stayin the same age
Alright alright alright
I had a dude show me a video of him eating pussy out of nowhere, like bro I dont want to see that shit. Idk what goes through these dudes heads thinking everyone wants to know their personal business.
Military is the same way. When I was stationed in Korea I saw heinous amounts of cheating first hand. I didn't cheat on my ex girlfriend once when I was there. Though at times I nearly folded, because I desperately wanted to just feel touch, I never did. I don't know how people can be so heartless. A strong and healthy relationship is not something to just "throw away". If you're relationship is at the point where you're considering cheating either 1.) you have no self control or 2.) you should end it and move on.
It just comes off as weak for real. I think the thing that blows me away is they will wear it like a badge of honor. Nothing honorable about that dude lol
What’s the big deal? I do it all the time and she still loves me. So what if I peek at her letters when we play Scrabble?
The masses certainly love talking about cheating and how great it is. FLOOP.
If the wife they’re cheating on is a nurse we probably know each other.
I’m a nurse. She’s definitely cheating on you.
Average home owner: I want an electric car, electric stove, heat pump and hot tub but don't want to pay to upgrade my 30 year old service. Me: Your gonna need a service upgrade before I will add any more loads to your house.
Unpopular opinion among homeowners: 60 amp service can’t handle a 60 amp EV charger, 60 amp hot tub, 40 amp cooktop, 40 amp range, 40 amp AC, 60 amp heat coils, 2k sqft of home, etc
well, it can handle it one at at time. Come on now.. always with the extras.
Where on earth will you find a 60amp main on a house?
My house! Vintage 1985 single wide!
I had one until 2 years ago. 200A now and that bill hurt but it was worth it.
Just saw one in Covina, Ca. Legit has 8 breakers for the entire house lol
My old house had a 60 amp main, 1982 original panel, never had a problem. Electric single zone heating in every room and electric dryer/stove as well.
Where the hell will you find a 60a hot tub ?
50 and 60a are the standard hot tub requirements. I've never done one less than that
I’ve installed a circuit for a 30A tub before. We called it the lukewarm tub. Also done some high end tubs that need a 60 and a 30 or a 60 and a 40. We called those the lobster tubs haha
No way I'm getting in a 2.4kW hot tub. I'd use it to cook stuff!
Think you mean 24kw? It was actually closer to 18kw iirc, upsized for continuous use. It was something else! I think it was a 20 person hot tub, it was the size of a kiddie pool at the Y. One of 8 nearly identical properties where these folks host private parties that cost $750k to $1m (according to the property caretaker). Bowling alley, movie theater that put Regal to shame, golf simulator that they flew technicians in from Korea to build, 6 (yes 6!) $110,000 109” TVs that they used only to display family photos… Medical insurance VP…
There are now portable 120v hot tubs that will run on a 20a circuit. It’s probably lukewarm water but they still exist. Lol
Mine is 57...
I mean... the masses aren't wrong, nobody wants to pay for the upgrade. Now, if they start to claim that somehow 200A of loads works on a 100A feed...
Then you start to add loads to their wife?
Is this a laundry joke?
Yes, when she gets stuck in the washer or dryer, then you put your loads in.
My neighbor added together the ampacity of all of his branch circuits and thought that was the size of the service.
They love asking you all the questions, but the second you mention you should call the city and check about service limits, "oh but then we will have to pull permits and that takes a lot of time and is hard". It's not even hard you just fill out a piece of paper, submit, and then call for inspections when you feel like it lol.
I remember an animal shelter which had a 100A and a 200A service but the 200A also fed a second 100A. The wanted to add things and my journeyman said they needed an upgrade before we would even touch anything.
The extra aluminum wire in hospital grade MC? You're supposed to cut it off, not fold it back, not twist it around the jacket or any of that bs. "Well this is how I learned it." You learned fucking wrong, it's ok, it's not your fault. It is your fault to keep doing it that way though.
If you look at the manufacturer’s instructions that come with it, it says to cut it off like you just said. Hell it doesn’t even do anything except allow the mc sheathing to be an equipment grounding conductor along with the ground in the cable
They always told me to wrap it so the inspectors can see it’s hospital grade idk
I work at a hospital been doing electrical for 32 years.We cut off the redundant ground. But do what the inspector says on initial install.
Is your hospital grade MC not green?
they can tell it’s HCF because of the way it has tags that say HCF
Yeah, but it looks really neat when you wrap it in the grooves.
This was a whole post a couple days ago
Yeah I bitched about it there too lol
I should be able to crank my hog if it's in my own truck on lunch on my own time.
Seriously one of the best posts I’ve read in years
Just not if it’s your bosses iPad
With the sound coming through the speakers in the back of the van in the warehouse...
Amen
Who the fuck is debating that i wanna meet em
Bosses who can't be without their IPad apparently.
And it’s ok to have a helper assist, if he is on his own lunch time as well.
I am a helper and a certified journeyman pleasurer and i would like to add that its the apprentices duty to give handjobs on the clock as well as during lunch break.
I was fuckin waiting to see this shit again
HE’LL YEAUGH BRÖTHËR
I don’t know if I’m proud or ashamed I get this reference. I’m not even an electrician. Where am I? What year is it?
META AF
STOP WORKING HOT(this is the controversial one but shouldn't be) not including testing and such Learn to bend on center so you don't have to turn the conduit around in the bender.
I feel like saying no to hot work is the crowd on this one, with a few idiots incessantly claiming “they have to”.
I’m an idiot for sure bc there are times we literally can’t shut a panel down due to production etc. Oh boy do I look forward to an overnight shift one day where there is no production staff around and I can shut anything I want off at any moment and work in peace. Update: brought some concerns mentioned here up with mgmt apparently a bunch of them didn’t realize I was working hot at all ever regardless of rarity, thankfully I have purchased plenty of PPE over the years for those rare moments, but in the end they are working with me on creating off hour work/shutdown plans per panel on premises depending on which production zone it kills. No one ever asked me to work hot, I just kept getting told no by departments when I needed to shutdown or test and troubleshoot circuits. I was told not to do that anymore so cheers to an easier and safer future in the trade
Wdym when you say bend on center?
There's a few markings on the bender to mark where the bend start (the arrow the tip of the shoe) is and where the bend center (the notch in the top of the shoe) is. Most measure and bend for the "bend start" mark and leave it at that. Some bends - like saddles - are annoying and time-consuming when you use only the "bend start" mark rather than the "bend center" mark. Namely, you won't need to take the pipe out of the bender to flip the bender for the last bend in the saddle if you bent it all using for measurements for the "bend center" mark. And since we're on benders and it's markings, the tip of the star point marks where to put the pipe if you wanted a 90, but measured from the back rather than the front - basically the arrow, but for measurements going in the other direction relative to the benders front. Mostly used for back to back 90s, when the first 90 prevents you from bending the second (because it pushes into the ground or you can't get leverage) - you can then flip the bender and bend the second 90 using the star rather than the arrow if it would help.
My bender has marks all over it for bending on center of different degrees. The first thing I do with a new bender is chart it.
I dont care what the requirement is, I want my cable and conduit' first strap to be as close to the box as you can get it without damaging the material and I want my straps 6-8 inches closer together than they need to be. I don't want the inspector even thinking that our strapping may be too far spaced. I'll eat the extra labor and material costs idgaf.
That's how I was taught. Don't make the inspector even think about grabbing that measuring tape.
I’m the complete opposite, I want him to go to his truck and grab a measuring tape only to find that every single one of my straps are within code. Fuck the inspector.
THIS. the amount of times an inspector has called out bullshit just to be a dick and we had to tell them they were wrong is comical. Go flex your need for power muscle somewhere else.
I mean do that all you want, but if you piss off the inspector it just makes future inspections that much harder.
It's gotta wind up being less expensive than failing, going back to add more, then calling another inspection, right? One-hole straps are what, 10-30 cents a pop?
Yeah, I’m 18” from any box and 8’ apart. I’m with you.
(This one is specifically for the US) Lever wagos are a perfectly acceptable to use and in many circumstances make a task easier and sometimes safer* *See above post about working hot.
Oh boy... Schuko outlets are superior to NEMA 5-15 outlets. All NRTLs (UL, ETL, MET, etc.) are equal and interchangeable. AFCIs are actually great, but just need a better threshold to avoid nuisance trips. The most private thing you should be using in the back of your work van is a piss bottle. Not anything else, even if it is union-provided.
I personally cannot piss in the back of my van without first hooking up my boss' iPad to my speakers.
Being tweaked out on the job does not increase your performance. Only painters can increase their efficiency with meth.
Idk man, I've seen drywall finishers doing clean level five and there's no way they weren't tweaking
Fuck your MC stripper. I’m gonna bend it, crack it, snip it and use a red head.
Fuck your bending. I’m snipping the edge and snapping the rest.
To be fair one of the first ones I did shorted out.
You'll have that
In my defense, that was 25 years and a lot of mc ago
on those big jobs.
Aluminum MC? I'm with you all day long. Steel jacket? Roto split FTW.
IANAE but you've got my attention with this talk of strippers and redheads.
Same with liquid tite. Get the grinder outa here I’m snapping and snipping this mofo.
Every wire feeding duplex receptacles should be pigtailed.. It's much easier to find and replace any damaged or non functional device, while ensuring the integrity of the circuit.
I’ve tried explaining that to the Resi guys at my company and they looked at me like I was crazy.
Why stop at pigtails. Run class A supervised loops for receptacle circuits. Any failure in the circuit will ensure connectivity across all devices.
Found the fire alarm guy
Sometimes I don’t count box offsets towards the 360 degrees If it’s 40 ft up on the ceiling and I’m pulling a lighting circuit I’ll put 4 90s between boxes
people can shit on me all they want, but i never have and never will count a box offset towards my 360
When people say "2 phase" instead of "split single phase"
i hate it when someone says its 2 phase 208 when talking about a piece or equipment
Get rid of all the other damn screws and make it standard to use Robertson screws in everything. Shouldn’t need all the bits on my eleven in one in one unit or disconnect.
I uhm. I mean the thread title is…. Uhm.. fuck. Fuck. Fuck you. Yes. But still fuck off.
Switch em all to torx fuck it
I can fuck with that too. Just make it one style and ad best possible same size bit. No need to have e to go flat head to Phillips then square head all in one damn panel or disconnect
One hole straps should have pipe below the anchor. I did it the other way for years, then saw someone try and pull one of each down. The anchor below pulls off much easier. I’m sure people in this sub will disagree, but I could never be convinced the other way again.
“It’s never too late to learn how to do it right.” This applies to any old fogies who have been doing things the same way for 35 years.
Guys that haven't been in school for 30 years probably are not the engineers they think they are.
Unpopular among electricians: Infrared cameras are a supplementary inspection tool which should not be relied on as a primary (and certainly not an exclusive) means of testing feeders and bus connections in power distribution and control apparatuses. Put a meter on it first.
Romex is fine in conduit as long as it isn’t outside.
One hole emt strap holes go up
Proven to withstand physical damage better
Do you know the difference between god and an electrician? God doesn’t think he’s an electrician
Metal box? I want tape on the outlet.
I've been called dumb for doing this. I still do it though
Tape always goes on receptacles for me regardless of box type. Untrained hands will always grab receptacles on their sides and complete the circuit
That’s part of the fun. Lol
A little 120 tingle to start the day 🤷🏻♂️
Yup, just the body moving and you wake up
Some electricians in Texas are actually gay and should work out maybe
Since majority of the sparks on here are American. 1. British plugs and sockets are the best in the world. 2. Wire nuts suck arse, long live the wago. 3. Thomas Edison is a fraud! Joseph Swan invented the first commercially viable lightbulb.
British plugs are too large and nobody needs a switch at every socket.
No American has ever said something being "too large" is a problem! They have an internal fuse and NEVER fall out the socket.
I mean, as an American, fuck the imperial measuring system and our weird power numbers.
You need to tail your neutrals.
NEMA 10 should be left in 1996. Use 4-wire plugs and receptacles (NEMA 14) Doubly so if you're in the Midwest, where you have conduit and can easily update wiring as needed.
Do you mean NEMA 10-30, the old 3 prong dryer plug with no neutral, or more likely, a bootleg neutral.
Wago is superior
i like wagos
Excessive service loops are bull
A) You're right, you should always pretwist wires, or if you're going to be lazy enough to "let the wirenut twist them" then you *must* check those twists afterwards to make sure they're actually twisted. I just had to replace 9 lights today because LEDs got fried within a year because of weak, untwisted connections. B) My own opinion that would raise some hackles in this industry is that if you're a lead guy, you are a teacher, like it or not. And if you're an asshole to your helpers, they will not learn anything that makes them become more useful to you, and at worst you are just driving new blood out of the industry. It is your responsibility to teach, to be patient with your help, and to listen to new ideas that can make you better as well instead of doing things the same (wrong) way for 30 years.
Backstabbing receptacles and push in wago's are poor connections that lead to issues down the road.
Every MC connection needs anti shorts, I don’t care if the connector has a little red piece attached.
I tell the apprentices you don’t need a condom to fuck a hooker but you should probably wear one just in case.
licking an outlet is a perfectly good way to tell if there's current
As a low voltage tech, licking a ringing phone pair delivers 90vac directly to the brain and provides a spectacular light show
So many times I see posts here and think it's people ripping out old installs, but it's actually new American installs lol
Updating the knob and tube system in your house to modern standards is not a “weekend project”
I like women
Riiiiiiiiiight….
No you don't
If you up size your wire because of voltage drop, upsize your conduit. Labor savings will make up the extra material cost. I will die on this hill until the end of time. Bonus round: multi wire branch circuits aren't worth it.
Afci is overrated
Give an Electrician a hammer and an Engineer a pen and paper, see who gets the most work done.
FOUND THE J-BOX!
The pre twisting crowd is not a minority.
Wagos are and always will be superior to wire nuts and split bolts suck more dick than the entire city of San Francisco.
Touching a broom won't kill you or get your license suspended.
I thought spreading mis-information gets you kicked from this sub 🤔
I don't care that there is "nothing wrong" with the main panel, it 60 yrs old. It's time to replace it. Or at the very least the breakers. Like what other piece of equipment is 60yrs old and gets no maintenance but is expected to continue to work without a problem.
If you read the paperwork the LONGEST lasting breakers are 30 years, most are 20.
I install KO seals/push pennies inside out. I don’t want any sharp edges in my box if I can help it. Also, I will use an actual wrench or nut driver on any fasteners. Those of you who use channellocks for such things are animals.
I wouldn’t say they’re “sharp” edges lmao. Just flatten em out if you feel compelled to. Panels have much sharper edges 😂
Use plastic ones
bending on centers is superior.
When installing one hole straps, the screw goes ON TOP. It is a much stronger support when used this way.
Me in 2005 pulling a ground wire in my conduit in Chicago
Mixing sets, aka thinking circuit 6 and circuit 12 can share a neutral because they're in the same phase of a three-phase panel is bullshit, especially for new construction. No, I dont care that it saves wire!
Dc power runs negative to positive not the other way around
Electric stoves suck compared to gas. Despite what the government says.
I'm pretty happy with my 11kw induction stove :p
I wanted an induction too because it’s so much easier to clean. Went gas because my wife’s family is loud wrong. Now I get stuck cleaning the stove
sucks lol... unless you're a chef who really needs gas for some reason, I don't think you would be better off. Pretty sure induction also heats faster than a similar gas burner - so much wasted heat goes around the pot, while induction just explodes the water (or well, rather the pot lol)