I'll go first. Ballast quick connects! I get why they exist but I have a hard time participating

Is there somewhere that sells all the tools and electrician would need, almost like a starter tool kit for electricians — if so, where, and what should it include?

I’m a 22 year old electrician and trying to do some side jobs. What are some trouble shooting issues I can do for the power/breaker tripping

I'd love to see another pinned post on this sub breaking down electrical myths and common idioms that are incorrect. They all show a lack of understanding of how the things we work on every day actually work, and could potentially lead to dangerous situations if taken at face value.

I've been a member of this sub for 8 years or so and all the time I see allegedly qualified electricians spouting absolute nonsense, common electrical myths, and demonstrating an obvious deficit in understanding of basic electrical theory.

Stuff like:

Current takes the path of least resistance

No, current takes all available paths inversely proportional to their resistance.

Current goes to ground

No, current goes back to its source, it will use the ground as an additional path when available because we bond the source to ground at the source.

Its the current that kills you, not the voltage

Kind of, except the current will always be a function of your bodies resistance, the source voltage, and the nature of the fault. The voltage of the system is the primary factor in determining how dangerous a system is to touch. Basic math shows that its safer to touch a circuit that operates at 12 volts carrying 1000 amps than it is to touch a circuit operating at 600v carrying 1 amp.

When you touch a neutral your body takes the full current of the load

This one really gets me. So many electricians seem to go blind and forget that ohms law still applies regardless of the color of the wire. I've been in mutiple discussions with folks that INSIST that if a circuit is carrying 15amps and you touch that neutral or bridge the neutral in series with your hands then the load will push that same 15amps through your body regardless of the fact that your body is now a part of that circuit and brings its own resistance into the equation.

touching phase to phase is more dangerous than phase to neutral because each phase pushes current in opposite directions and they cross at your heart.

Yeah, I've genuinely had this discussion with someone IRL. It makes zero sense because if each phase pushed current in opposite directions then obviously you could never have a current flowing through a load since they'll push against each other.

What other myths and common misunderstandings do you all see?

Please feel free to start discussions. I'm happy to elaborate and discuss these topics with anyone who wants to learn.

Had a board meeting with local 124 last night. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I definitely wasn’t expecting 10 people to sit around a table. As a very socially awkward person I don’t think I’ve ever been more uncomfortable. Anyways, I have my evaluation for them June 10.

Hey everyone. This is going to be a long post- but bear with me.

Background- 7th year teacher in the US. 30 y/o, married, 1 kid. Salary- mid 70's with 5% raise each year.

Teaching is net zero at this point. Good paycheck every two weeks, pay over the summer, there are daily wins and losses. Could stay with it, could go without it.

I want to get out of the classroom and get into a trade, and the journey of learning how to be an electrician is what interests me.

I'm looking at the local unions information. In order to receive something comparable to what I am earning now, I would need to be at my 5th-6th period.

Question 1: Will I be laughed away/ taken as disrespectful if I would ask for slightly more at each level of the program than what is listed? I have a mortgage, wife, and child to take care of. My wife does not work. Taking a 40-45% pay cut is difficult.

Question 2: Is 30 too old to start? I am in shape, and take care of my body- but I imagine 20 years from a 18 year old start is different than 20 years from a 30 year old start.

Question 3: My wife is foreign- born. Each summer we leave the country to visit her family for the month of July. For the hours (1000 at each period)- will I be able to condense them into 11 months vs 12 months?

Question 4: Do the principles that I learn in the US as an electrician translate to foreign countries? For example, as a teacher, my US certification reigns supreme in most of the other countries in the world. If I move to my wife's birth country, are the principles and practices basically the same?

Hopefully this does not sound too snowflake- esque.
I know i'm not special. I know i'm not unique. I'm just trying to figure out if being an adult apprentice would be feasible at this stage of my life.

is there a good list somewhere

I put an LED light in and it works just fine then customer wanted a dimming light switch added so I added a line voltage dimmer that was recommended by the manufacturer of the light. Now the light flashes at max brightness however it dims down just fine to its lowest possible output, I’ve never seen one flash at only ever low brightness due to low voltage

I’m thinking about doing low voltage working as a data center technician and I was wondering if I should get my journeymen’s license first before I start

So I am brand new to the field; I’m 24 and I’m starting my first day this week as an electrical apprentice. I took a job offer for a rather large commercial company in the Houston area. They offered me +4 an hour per diem, and they paid for the hotel. I was quite desperate for work, and I’ve been struggling to break into this field. I just learned today that I will be sharing a room with another helper for a non-disclosed amount of time. I never even considered this when taking the opportunity, as I assumed it was general practice to at least have private rooms after work. To say the least, I am extremely discouraged. I am a pretty particular and introverted person. I don’t mind working, but I like to relax and be alone at the end of the day, preferably not sharing a small space with another man I’ve never met. I’m just wondering if this is normal in this field. I don’t want to be an ingrate, as they took a chance on someone with no experience, and it seems to be a company with nice people, but they don’t really pay for fuel for travel or a separate room, and where I’m working is about 4-5 hours away from where I live. I’m willing to leave the comfort of my home and make sacrifices for the opportunity, but I feel pretty uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a small room and bathroom with another person for months. They did explain that eventually a shared apartment would be provided but gave no indication of when, and by the sound of it, it’s not any time soon. What are your thoughts and advice? Am I expecting too much?

Trying to secure an apprentiship at 19 atm cause I could never see myself in an office but I still have concerns. I'd compare myself to someone who could take a joke and laugh about it but idk if I'd be the guy to be able to talk all day long if you get what I mean.

I managed to get a few trial days before but got dropped and I kinda just felt like it was awkward on our first day with each other, the dude I was with was someone who liked fishing and landscaping both of which I really don't have a clue about lol.

I also have ADHD which kinda does fuck with my focusing skills a bit but when I do a job I'll do it well.

Would you say electrical is a good path for me or am gonna I stick out badly?

I'm in the UK btw if that matters

I was just wondering if yall ever ran across this before

4160 reduced voltage auto xmfr starter blowing B phases on the primary of a 13.8kv to 4160kv step-down xmfr feeding it. Relay is tripping on multiple faults. Weird part is the motor isn't even reaching full speed. We did a basic pi test on the xmfr and it didn't show any signs of insulation breakdown. Customer did not want an impulse test done

In ontario, canada. Ive applied and tried finding work as a labourer as a start but nobody wants to take me on. Im looking at a 12 week pre-apprenticeship course but its gunna cost 13k which is fucking ridiculous, but i feel like i have no options since nobody even wants to interview me. Idk what to do anymore

It is enough to make a young electrician weep that one cannot have them all in one package. The weight, grips and lineage of the Klein. The precision, durability, and quality of the knipex. And of course the size, color, and teeth of the engineer(vampire).

If you are going to get a conduit bender what size should you start with? 1/2, 3/4? And what is the difference between a iron or aluminum head?

I’m not opening anything…I don’t want to know what’s sealed. Not part of my scope…not part of my scope…

Supposed to be a lethal voltage. My life flashed before my eyes. My thought was “I just killed myself”. Through sheer force of will I was able to pull myself off. Anyone else ride the lightning?

Edit for those who don’t understand electricity

In a corner-grounded delta system, one of the phases in a three-phase delta configuration is intentionally grounded. This system is less common but can be found in certain industrial and commercial applications. Here’s how it works:

• In a corner-grounded delta system, the voltage from each ungrounded phase to the grounded phase is 480 volts.
• The voltage between the two ungrounded phases is also 480 volts.
• The grounded phase (corner) has 0 volts to ground.

Got a big hole, want a smaller one (giggity), could use chinese coins, but would prefer something easier/cheaper. Is the ol "put a plate on it with self-tappers and drill a hole in the plate" up to code?

If not, I have never used reducing washers before, how would I get them to stay in place when using a bunch of them and then fastening EMT?

Could I use a KO filler plate and drill a hole in that?

Hello,

I'm an immigrant with an engineering degree from outside the US. I have general notions of electrical engineering but far from being an an actual electrical engineer. I've recently started a business and required the help from a licensed electrical engineer, but I was disappointed by the time I had to wait to get him to show up and then the work they performed, when I asked the GC about that they told me electricians are in high demand and they often can't keep up with the workload.

I'm planing to open several locations more in the future so since this took several months to get a hold of this technical person and get the job done to somewhat disappointing results I'm considering the option to become a licensed electrician myself since this was the most impactful bottleneck.

I'm very appreciative of people who know their trade, and I hope I don't come across as if I'm trying to belittle this one, but from what I've read the path to become one you have to go through an apprenticeship period instead of a course (see https://www.buildforce.com/blog/how-to-become-a-commercial-electrician-in-texas) I'd like to know if there's another route I can go like attend a class either online or personally to be able to get licensed in Texas, I don't plan to make it a business I'm just trying to eliminate this bottleneck for the my current business.

So I left my last company 2 weeks ago to go to a different company because I absolutely did not want to go back another day due to having no help in the situation I was in and this was a repeated habit in that company. I started with that company and worked there for almost 3 years. Now here I am 2 weeks into the new company, and im feeling lost. It’s crazy how I’m doing pretty much the exact same things as the last company but it feels so different. This new company promised to put me in their commercial program in 8months- a year and a half. Which sets me back a lot because I’m a residential journeyman with 1500 commercial hours and with the new law that passed here in Washington I need to get 2500 hours of commercial before July 1st 2026 or else I have to be in an approved apprenticeship. And here I am doing resi for possibly a year and a half. Atleast the last company I was in was giving me commercial hours and now I can’t find any company near me hiring for commercial because it’s so slow here im guessing. I feel like I made a huge mistake leaving the last company which paid me more, gave me a company vehicle, gave me commercial hours and I like the way they did everything better except I was miserable there. This place is fine for the time being except I’m not getting the hours I need so I’m just stuck in place just paying the bills. Also tried to go back to my last company but they said they aren’t busy enough to take me back. Anyone else ever been in this situation?

This was last week and the guy is okay, just really sore and out of commission for now.

I’m a first year apprentice and this was my first time seeing anyone get shocked on a job. Commercial building: me and the journeyman were about a ohm out an unlabeled box above a grid ceiling. The journeyman was up on a ladder getting ready to strip the wire (not wearing gloves). He used his thumb to push off the insulation, and as soon as his thumb touched his strippers the connection was made. I don’t know if this guy kicked his ladder out intentionally, or if he’s just lucky. Either way, he fell hard off that ladder onto his back, taking a chunk of the grid down with him. He laid there for a bit moaning and groaning in pain while workers started pouring in.

He came to after a few minutes and our foreman drove him to the hospital. I saw him today and he was in rough shape. Ended up getting sent home out of concern. The job has been super tense ever since and we’ve had now three different safety meetings.

Kind of a crazy and eye opening experience I wanted to share. Stay safe out there!

Found some Romex covered in Aluminum foil in a section of drop ceiling. Anyone else use this hack?

I was recently told that in WA State you need to have an 06 license to do ANY work with low voltage items, including connecting speakers to an amplifier, terminating category or Coax, or in some cases even plugging in pre-terminated cabling. Is this correct? I'm aware of some limits on the running of cabling itself, but doing basic terminations and connections seems crazy! As an aside, does this mean to imply that EVERY install technician for a place like Comcast is an 06? I can't quite believe thats true.