Saturday, April 2, 2011
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Home Security Tips
Thinking about home security isn't exciting, is it? Still, if someone breaks into your house and takes off with your belongings, you'll be regretting your lapse later. Even worse, if someone in your family is home when the burglar strikes, it could get ugly.
Why take chances when it comes to the safety of your home and family? It doesn't require much money or effort to keep burglars away from your home. And I'm sure you'd rather rest peacefully, knowing you've done what you can to protect those things in life that are most dear to you. So, let's take a look at some smart and easy home security tips:
-- Keep the exterior doors (including the door to the garage) locked at all times, even if you think you live in a "safe" neighborhood (just because your neighbors won't rob you, doesn't mean random burglars won't prowling through looking for victims).
-- If your front door doesn't have a "peep hole" or other door viewing device, install one so you can see who's outside before opening the door.
-- Don't hide extra house keys outside, such as under pots, rocks, mats, etc. (trust me: burglars know all the good spots... it's their job). If you have problems with losing your keys, consider a thumbprint door lock or a keypad door lock.
-- Install a chain on your exterior doors. This way you can sign for packages and talk to strangers without putting yourself at risk.
-- If you have a burglar alarm or home security system, test it regularly. Also make sure all family members know how to work it.
-- Pay attention to your landscaping by keeping shrubs trimmed back from walkways, windows, and doors. Overgrown foliage can shield intruders, abductors, etc. so they can ply their vile trade in peace.
-- If you have a big dog, it may deter burglars, but don't rely on your "guard dog" as your only home security defense. There are many cases where homeowners thought their dog would guard the house and instead it let burglars waltz right in and steal the proverbial china. If a burglar doesn't show fear, chances are Fido won't react much to him, especially once he's in the house.
-- If you go on a vacation, have someone you trust collect your mail and pick up newspapers. Otherwise, would-be thieves will have no problem figuring out that nobody's home (which is, of course, the best time for them to risk breaking in and stealing all your stuff).
-- Don't have your name or anything beyond your house number on your mailbox.
As you can see from this list, most of these home security tips are just a matter of common sense. You may need to invest in burglar alarms or high-tech video surveillance systems to be more safe . Just make a habit of applying these simple but smart home security tips, and you and your family will be much safer in the long run
Clarksville Licensed Electrician
Clarksville Tn
931-362-1000
http://www.clarksvillelicensedelectrician.net
Why take chances when it comes to the safety of your home and family? It doesn't require much money or effort to keep burglars away from your home. And I'm sure you'd rather rest peacefully, knowing you've done what you can to protect those things in life that are most dear to you. So, let's take a look at some smart and easy home security tips:
-- Keep the exterior doors (including the door to the garage) locked at all times, even if you think you live in a "safe" neighborhood (just because your neighbors won't rob you, doesn't mean random burglars won't prowling through looking for victims).
-- If your front door doesn't have a "peep hole" or other door viewing device, install one so you can see who's outside before opening the door.
-- Don't hide extra house keys outside, such as under pots, rocks, mats, etc. (trust me: burglars know all the good spots... it's their job). If you have problems with losing your keys, consider a thumbprint door lock or a keypad door lock.
-- Install a chain on your exterior doors. This way you can sign for packages and talk to strangers without putting yourself at risk.
-- If you have a burglar alarm or home security system, test it regularly. Also make sure all family members know how to work it.
-- Pay attention to your landscaping by keeping shrubs trimmed back from walkways, windows, and doors. Overgrown foliage can shield intruders, abductors, etc. so they can ply their vile trade in peace.
-- If you have a big dog, it may deter burglars, but don't rely on your "guard dog" as your only home security defense. There are many cases where homeowners thought their dog would guard the house and instead it let burglars waltz right in and steal the proverbial china. If a burglar doesn't show fear, chances are Fido won't react much to him, especially once he's in the house.
-- If you go on a vacation, have someone you trust collect your mail and pick up newspapers. Otherwise, would-be thieves will have no problem figuring out that nobody's home (which is, of course, the best time for them to risk breaking in and stealing all your stuff).
-- Don't have your name or anything beyond your house number on your mailbox.
As you can see from this list, most of these home security tips are just a matter of common sense. You may need to invest in burglar alarms or high-tech video surveillance systems to be more safe . Just make a habit of applying these simple but smart home security tips, and you and your family will be much safer in the long run
Clarksville Licensed Electrician
Clarksville Tn
931-362-1000
http://www.clarksvillelicensedelectrician.net
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Local Electricians - Clarksville Tn
Give credit where credit is due... a licensed electrician has expertise way beyond a typical homeowner's. He is a master at determining the wiring needs of a particular home or business. He makes sure all wiring and fixtures comply with applicable electrical codes. His job, in short, is to provide your home with adequate power in the safest way possible.
However, a home handyman with common sense, good tool skills, and a comprehensive book on electrical repair shouldnt do many electrical repairs safely and efficiently.
It is important to be aware of your local laws regarding electrical repairs.
In many towns, there are limitations on the work an unlicensed person may do... even the homeowner! There are also distinctions made between what an unlicensed homeowner can do and what an unlicensed tradesman can do. For example, a homeowner (with the proper permits) may be allowed to wire an addition to his or her home. If she wanted to hire someone to do the work, though, she might be required to hire a licensed electrician for this work.
There are also distinctions made within types of electrical work. Appliance installation, for example, is often not considered restricted electrical work if the original wiring and connection was made by a licensed electrician.
Local codes exist because of and are often based on local concerns. Densely populated areas, such as large cities, tend to have electrical codes severely limiting homeowner electrical work because errors can endanger hundreds or thousands of people! Rural codes are often less stringent, allowing more owner flexibility and involvement in the work. Local environmental conditions such as the possibility of earthquakes, tornados or hurricanes, the level of the water table, amount of rainfall and general humidity, soil conditions, and the types of building materials available also influence the local electrical code.
Of all the repairs that you may do around your home, the most potentially devastating mistakes are in faulty electrical wiring! Countless house fires are caused by poor wiring techniques, substandard materials, faulty extension cords, or defective electrical appliances. The trouble and the trap lies in the apparent simplicity of electrical work. Small mistakes can cause quick and severe consequences. Poor wiring techniques can cause shock hazards that may not be evident till the accident happens.
I am often asked "What is the most dangerous type of electrical repair?" My answer is simple...
Electrical work is most dangerous when the prior work was done by an amateur!!
Quality electrical work depends on consistency and uniformity. That is why there is an electrical code, so everyone is clear on the correct and incorrect way to perform an electrical repair or installation! If every home was wired according to a random standard, how could anyone without x-ray vision figure out how to troubleshoot a circuit?
I am not going to discourage you from learning and increasing your skills. I wouldn't have a snowflake's chance in hell of doing it, anyway. But I am not stepping lightly on this issue, either. You should know by now that I am a strong advocate of independence and self-reliance. But if one person burnt his home down because he thought that he could do that electrical repair, and was not sufficiently knowledgeable to do the job right... well, that is not what I had in mind when I started this project. I have seen some electrical wiring horrors in my travels, and most were done by homeowners who thought that doing electrical work was no more worthy of care than sweeping the garage!
So finally, enough lecturing. JUST THIS RULE:
NO ONE WHO HAS READ THIS PAGE MUST EVER CUT A CORNER WHEN IT COMES TO ELECTRICAL REPAIR. PERIOD!!
There are no exceptions allowed here. Always meet or, preferably exceed, any code standards for the type of work you are doing. Educate yourself... read, get advise from your local building inspector, or hire a licensed electrician if you are not totally clear as to what you need to do. But please... PLEASE don't put your life and your family's at risk to save a few bucks. It's just not worth it! Thank you.
Clarksville Licensed Electricians
2011 Fort Campbell Blvd
PO Box 20955
Clarksville Tn 37042
931-362-1000
Also Visit Our Partner Company:
www.airservicenow.net
However, a home handyman with common sense, good tool skills, and a comprehensive book on electrical repair shouldnt do many electrical repairs safely and efficiently.
It is important to be aware of your local laws regarding electrical repairs.
In many towns, there are limitations on the work an unlicensed person may do... even the homeowner! There are also distinctions made between what an unlicensed homeowner can do and what an unlicensed tradesman can do. For example, a homeowner (with the proper permits) may be allowed to wire an addition to his or her home. If she wanted to hire someone to do the work, though, she might be required to hire a licensed electrician for this work.
There are also distinctions made within types of electrical work. Appliance installation, for example, is often not considered restricted electrical work if the original wiring and connection was made by a licensed electrician.
Local codes exist because of and are often based on local concerns. Densely populated areas, such as large cities, tend to have electrical codes severely limiting homeowner electrical work because errors can endanger hundreds or thousands of people! Rural codes are often less stringent, allowing more owner flexibility and involvement in the work. Local environmental conditions such as the possibility of earthquakes, tornados or hurricanes, the level of the water table, amount of rainfall and general humidity, soil conditions, and the types of building materials available also influence the local electrical code.
Of all the repairs that you may do around your home, the most potentially devastating mistakes are in faulty electrical wiring! Countless house fires are caused by poor wiring techniques, substandard materials, faulty extension cords, or defective electrical appliances. The trouble and the trap lies in the apparent simplicity of electrical work. Small mistakes can cause quick and severe consequences. Poor wiring techniques can cause shock hazards that may not be evident till the accident happens.
I am often asked "What is the most dangerous type of electrical repair?" My answer is simple...
Electrical work is most dangerous when the prior work was done by an amateur!!
Quality electrical work depends on consistency and uniformity. That is why there is an electrical code, so everyone is clear on the correct and incorrect way to perform an electrical repair or installation! If every home was wired according to a random standard, how could anyone without x-ray vision figure out how to troubleshoot a circuit?
I am not going to discourage you from learning and increasing your skills. I wouldn't have a snowflake's chance in hell of doing it, anyway. But I am not stepping lightly on this issue, either. You should know by now that I am a strong advocate of independence and self-reliance. But if one person burnt his home down because he thought that he could do that electrical repair, and was not sufficiently knowledgeable to do the job right... well, that is not what I had in mind when I started this project. I have seen some electrical wiring horrors in my travels, and most were done by homeowners who thought that doing electrical work was no more worthy of care than sweeping the garage!
So finally, enough lecturing. JUST THIS RULE:
NO ONE WHO HAS READ THIS PAGE MUST EVER CUT A CORNER WHEN IT COMES TO ELECTRICAL REPAIR. PERIOD!!
There are no exceptions allowed here. Always meet or, preferably exceed, any code standards for the type of work you are doing. Educate yourself... read, get advise from your local building inspector, or hire a licensed electrician if you are not totally clear as to what you need to do. But please... PLEASE don't put your life and your family's at risk to save a few bucks. It's just not worth it! Thank you.
Clarksville Licensed Electricians
2011 Fort Campbell Blvd
PO Box 20955
Clarksville Tn 37042
931-362-1000
Also Visit Our Partner Company:
www.airservicenow.net
Monday, September 27, 2010
Clarksville Electrical Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok Equipment
Supposing the circuits in your home were fed by a fuse box, with screw-in fuses. You may have seen these in some homes. You may also know about the common (but unsafe) practices of over-fusing (installing a higher-amperage fuse) or putting a penny in the fuse socket behind the fuse itself. These actions were taken to deal with the nuisance of fuses frequently blowing on overloaded circuits, or to deal with the lack of a spare fuse.
Now, let's assume that an inspector notes some over-fusing and pennies behind some fuses, and waves the warning flag that it is a hazardous condition - a "safety defect". Inspectors, electrical contractors, and even realtors would agree that these conditions constitute a hazardous condition and should be corrected immediately. Red-flagging the Federal Pacific Electric ("FPE") Stab-Lok® panel is essentially the identical warning; it is the exact equivalent of having more than 1/3 of the circuits over-fused and/or with pennies behind the fuses.
Failure to trip properly under overload and/or short circuit is the basic safety defect of the FPE breakers. For example, if an overload or short circuit occurs in the clothes dryer or the circuit feeding it, the breaker is expected to trip open to minimize the resulting fire hazard. But, if it is an FPE Stab-Lok® two-pole breaker, extensive testing (by FPE, CPSC, UL, and others) has demonstrated that it cannot be depended on to trip properly. In the CPSC tests, a substantial portion of the FPE two-pole Stab-Lok® breakers, the type that would feed the dryer circuit, failed to operate properly. A significant portion of them jammed and would not trip at all, no matter what overload current was applied. Additional test data shows that there are also problems with the FPE Stab-Lok® single-pole breakers and combination breaker/GFI units.
This type of safety defect becomes important if and when there is a short circuit or substantial overload in the downstream circuit. Most breakers in a home are never called upon to trip, and the homeowner's perception is that "the breakers work fine". The same observation could generally be made if there were no breakers (or fuses) at all, just a hardwired system. In the event of an electrical malfunction, however, our safety may depend on proper operation of the circuit breakers.
In my own home, only two of the breakers have ever tripped during more than a quarter-century of our occupancy. I know nothing about the ability of any of the others to function properly, except that they are a brand and type that has not been identified as having any significant performance problems. There is no data suggesting that I should be concerned about their ability to function properly. With FPE breakers, however, there is a significant amount of test data and other information available that indicates a serious problem.
Additionally, there are safety problems in many of the FPE panelboards (panels), in which the breakers are installed. Some of the most common FPE Stab-Lok panels are failure-prone due to marginal interconnections between the current-carrying components. The failing interconnections overheat at high current loading, and, in the worst case, fire ignites within the panel.1
Details regarding both the FPE Stab-Lok circuit breaker and FPE panel performance problems are provided in the following sections.� The bottom line is this: based on the information that is available and the testing that has been performed, there is no question but that homeowners need to be alerted to this safety defect and advised to have it corrected. Unless the occupant is willing to live with the risk, the FPE Stab-Lok panels should be replaced.
Visit our Partner Company
www.airservicenow.net
Now, let's assume that an inspector notes some over-fusing and pennies behind some fuses, and waves the warning flag that it is a hazardous condition - a "safety defect". Inspectors, electrical contractors, and even realtors would agree that these conditions constitute a hazardous condition and should be corrected immediately. Red-flagging the Federal Pacific Electric ("FPE") Stab-Lok® panel is essentially the identical warning; it is the exact equivalent of having more than 1/3 of the circuits over-fused and/or with pennies behind the fuses.
Failure to trip properly under overload and/or short circuit is the basic safety defect of the FPE breakers. For example, if an overload or short circuit occurs in the clothes dryer or the circuit feeding it, the breaker is expected to trip open to minimize the resulting fire hazard. But, if it is an FPE Stab-Lok® two-pole breaker, extensive testing (by FPE, CPSC, UL, and others) has demonstrated that it cannot be depended on to trip properly. In the CPSC tests, a substantial portion of the FPE two-pole Stab-Lok® breakers, the type that would feed the dryer circuit, failed to operate properly. A significant portion of them jammed and would not trip at all, no matter what overload current was applied. Additional test data shows that there are also problems with the FPE Stab-Lok® single-pole breakers and combination breaker/GFI units.
This type of safety defect becomes important if and when there is a short circuit or substantial overload in the downstream circuit. Most breakers in a home are never called upon to trip, and the homeowner's perception is that "the breakers work fine". The same observation could generally be made if there were no breakers (or fuses) at all, just a hardwired system. In the event of an electrical malfunction, however, our safety may depend on proper operation of the circuit breakers.
In my own home, only two of the breakers have ever tripped during more than a quarter-century of our occupancy. I know nothing about the ability of any of the others to function properly, except that they are a brand and type that has not been identified as having any significant performance problems. There is no data suggesting that I should be concerned about their ability to function properly. With FPE breakers, however, there is a significant amount of test data and other information available that indicates a serious problem.
Additionally, there are safety problems in many of the FPE panelboards (panels), in which the breakers are installed. Some of the most common FPE Stab-Lok panels are failure-prone due to marginal interconnections between the current-carrying components. The failing interconnections overheat at high current loading, and, in the worst case, fire ignites within the panel.1
Details regarding both the FPE Stab-Lok circuit breaker and FPE panel performance problems are provided in the following sections.� The bottom line is this: based on the information that is available and the testing that has been performed, there is no question but that homeowners need to be alerted to this safety defect and advised to have it corrected. Unless the occupant is willing to live with the risk, the FPE Stab-Lok panels should be replaced.
Visit our Partner Company
www.airservicenow.net
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