The DIY thread - DIYourself

Poulan Pro and Home Depot FTW! Chainsaw 2.0 works like a charm (when I remember to fill the gas tank that is), two maples down and one to go!

Now on to fix the work of the demented monkey our GC hired as a plumber. I did not realize that before getting him fired he performed one more screw up in the crawl space, with plenty of room to run the washer drain he decided to drop it right where one of the A/C duct joints is, pushing it sideways just the amount necessary to dislodge the opposite side of the duct. This on the main duct, right out of the A/C unit.

Also found out the front yard light runs off the oil furnace breaker (!?!) and removed about 20' of ancient armored wire powering...well, nothing! My crawlspace looks like a spiderweb of armored cable that only reaches to random boxes abandoned on the dirt...and new wires that have been pulled so tight you can shoot arrows with them...I think you'll see a lot of me on this thread from now on...
 
serviceguy said:
Poulan Pro and Home Depot FTW! Chainsaw 2.0 works like a charm (when I remember to fill the gas tank that is), two maples down and one to go!

Now on to fix the work of the demented monkey our GC hired as a plumber. I did not realize that before getting him fired he performed one more screw up in the crawl space, with plenty of room to run the washer drain he decided to drop it right where one of the A/C duct joints is, pushing it sideways just the amount necessary to dislodge the opposite side of the duct. This on the main duct, right out of the A/C unit.

Also found out the front yard light runs off the oil furnace breaker (!?!) and removed about 20' of ancient armored wire powering...well, nothing! My crawlspace looks like a spiderweb of armored cable that only reaches to random boxes abandoned on the dirt...and new wires that have been pulled so tight you can shoot arrows with them...I think you'll see a lot of me on this thread from now on...
Click to expand...
why you pull us in but show no pictures?

tenor.gif
 
I haven't restored proper lighting yet, so I have to work using a flashlight. I am going down there again tonight to box / fix the thermostat connections (previous owner used two separate thermostats for hot and cool, not cool!!) , will try to take a few pics. I tend not to get pictures because I get aggravated every time I see what my hard earned money went to pay for...
 
rlb said:
This is why I'm such a fan of DIY! Hopefully my offspring will learn from me as I learned from my dad. Saved me some coin in my 36 years.
Click to expand...
I'm with you there! I am a late developer when it comes to DIY but my 51 years of age gave me time to catch up...I would have loved to tackle the kitchen renovation myself but it was impossible due to the extent of the work and my regularly extended working hours. So I dumped all of my savings in it instead...the rest of the house will have to do!
 
  • Like
Reactions: rlb
serviceguy said:
I haven't restored proper lighting yet, so I have to work using a flashlight. I am going down there again tonight to box / fix the thermostat connections (previous owner used two separate thermostats for hot and cool, not cool!!) , will try to take a few pics. I tend not to get pictures because I get aggravated every time I see what my hard earned money went to pay for...
Click to expand...

run at least 5 wires for the modern thermostats.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rlb
Ended up having yet another very painful kidney colic so the crawlspace was the last of my concern, but yes I was going to run a 5 wires.

Actually, I did not think the 5 wires would be enough if you wan to run both A/C (Rc, G, W and C) and Heat (R/RH, W and C). I guess you run the C only from the one source (it still makes for a total of 6 wires) ? Say my setup gets the C signal from the A/C, if the A/C is down would the thermostat work? How are you supposed to wire a smart thermostat so that it stays on regardless of the systems being controlled being on?

I was planning to run a 3 wire from the heat and a 5 wire from the A/C for 'future developments', then I checked the furnace and it turns out it doesn't have a C signal at all (Oil). I guess I will just run new wires in preparation for the new gas unit coming in the future and recycle one of the old thermostats for the time being.
 
serviceguy said:
Ended up having yet another very painful kidney colic so the crawlspace was the last of my concern, but yes I was going to run a 5 wires.

Actually, I did not think the 5 wires would be enough if you wan to run both A/C (Rc, G, W and C) and Heat (R/RH, W and C). I guess you run the C only from the one source (it still makes for a total of 6 wires) ? Say my setup gets the C signal from the A/C, if the A/C is down would the thermostat work? How are you supposed to wire a smart thermostat so that it stays on regardless of the systems being controlled being on?

I was planning to run a 3 wire from the heat and a 5 wire from the A/C for 'future developments', then I checked the furnace and it turns out it doesn't have a C signal at all (Oil). I guess I will just run new wires in preparation for the new gas unit coming in the future and recycle one of the old thermostats for the time being.
Click to expand...

Rh Rc W G C -

this is heat, cool, return, fan, common

you can tie the wires together from different units because the potential is across the X side of the transformer (low voltage side) have no common connection.
the unit with the C wire (only need one) will power the thermostat. it isn't intuitive, but the call for heat will not trigger cooling, even if they have the white wires tied.
the c wire is tied to the opposite side of the transformer than the white wire (there will be another wire there, nbd)

many don't have a fan wire, and it is locally controlled (runs after heat shutdown, or delayed start, or air circulation)
is the oil unit hot water baseboard or steam or forced air?

other wires are for second and third stage heat if a heat pump is used (electric second stage for geothermal, then ??) - i have a hot water heat frame in an a/c system as a second stage to a radiant floor.
 
Last edited:
serviceguy said:
Ended up having yet another very painful kidney colic so the crawlspace was the last of my concern, but yes I was going to run a 5 wires.

Actually, I did not think the 5 wires would be enough if you wan to run both A/C (Rc, G, W and C) and Heat (R/RH, W and C). I guess you run the C only from the one source (it still makes for a total of 6 wires) ? Say my setup gets the C signal from the A/C, if the A/C is down would the thermostat work? How are you supposed to wire a smart thermostat so that it stays on regardless of the systems being controlled being on?

I was planning to run a 3 wire from the heat and a 5 wire from the A/C for 'future developments', then I checked the furnace and it turns out it doesn't have a C signal at all (Oil). I guess I will just run new wires in preparation for the new gas unit coming in the future and recycle one of the old thermostats for the time being.
Click to expand...
Which stat are you looking to use?
Have the Lennox iComfort setup with a furnace and heat pump which is fairly unique around here. There are modules inside and out to balance the units. My stat wire was a bit short and caused some setup issues. Pull some extra wire and coil it to avoid future headaches
 
fidodie said:
Rh Rc W G C -

this is heat, cool, return, fan, common

you can tie the wires together from different units because the potential is across the X side of the transformer (low voltage side) have no common connection.
the unit with the C wire (only need one) will power the thermostat. it isn't intuitive, but the call for heat will not trigger cooling, even if they have the white wires tied.
the c wire is tied to the opposite side of the transformer than the white wire (there will be another wire there, nbd)

many don't have a fan wire, and it is locally controlled (runs after heat shutdown, or delayed start, or air circulation)
is the oil unit hot water baseboard or steam or forced air?

other wires are for second and third stage heat if a heat pump is used (electric second stage for geothermal, then ??) - i have a hot water heat frame in an a/c system as a second stage to a radiant floor.
Click to expand...

Not sure about that signal mapping always applies in case of a smart thermostat powered by R/Rc/Rh, it would on my 2 wire oil unit and 3 wires A/C since they were originally powered by batteries. I am aware of some smart thermostat powered by batteries so that could be an option.
 
serviceguy said:
Not sure about that signal mapping always applies in case of a smart thermostat powered by R/Rc/Rh, it would on my 2 wire oil unit and 3 wires A/C since they were originally powered by batteries. I am aware of some smart thermostat powered by batteries so that could be an option.
Click to expand...

it will work - check that the oil unit has 24vac across its terminals - just tie the two white wires together, and remove the red jumper is there is one.
if it is impossible to fish new wires, re-purpose one of the old white wires as the common.

IMG_7835.JPG
 
02camaro said:
I'm a self taught you tube welder. Bought the welder, went to the local Monroe muffler asked for some scraps, watched some videos and got to work teaching myself. Trial and error.

Added some paint and stickers View attachment 58828
Click to expand...

This is friggen awesome!

I’ve thought about trying to weld ... something nothing major. Maybe fix a broken bracket. Do you have any particular YouTube channels you’d recommend for an all thumbs Luddite like myself to get started?
 
Juggernaut said:
This is friggen awesome!

I’ve thought about trying to weld ... something nothing major. Maybe fix a broken bracket. Do you have any particular YouTube channels you’d recommend for an all thumbs Luddite like myself to get started?
Click to expand...

I am also a self taught welder.. :) look on you tube for how to weld videos from Miller.. those are really pretty well done. I think i need to make one of those bike stands (nice job @02camaro )! This is my biggest project to date... also.. if you are in northern nj there is a pretty good place for metal called Metal Supermarket in Fairfield.

54658-bd222120ddc88afcc05662864f4b8958.jpg
 

Attachments

  • firepit.jpg
    firepit.jpg
    146.7 KB · Views: 14
dmkalemba said:
I am also a self taught welder.. :) look on you tube for how to weld videos from Miller.. those are really pretty well done. I think i need to make one of those bike stands (nice job @02camaro )! This is my biggest project to date... also.. if you are in northern nj there is a pretty good place for metal called Metal Supermarket in Fairfield.

54658-bd222120ddc88afcc05662864f4b8958.jpg
Click to expand...


Oh wow! I better not let my wife see this or my honey do list will never get sorted.

Miller, got it. My aspirations are more in line with metal macaroni art.o_O
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom