Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with electric

Help me find the hottest electric large wok possible for (US) home use.

inquisitrix — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:13:43 -0800

My husband and I moved back to the States almost year ago from Australia and have yet to find an electric wok that will get hot enough for our gastronomic needs. We cook a lot of yummy Thai & Malay food, and have an electric stove that sucks (and no, we can't switch to gas, unfortunately). So I would like to find an electric wok that will kick ass, which is proving to be a bit difficult. I have researched many, many outlets with no luck. Cuisinart made a large wok that was 1800W but it is discontinued. I would be willing to pay mucho dinero for the right tool. Any help/ideas would be most appreciated.

Why is my cooktop shocking me?

condour75 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:51:03 -0800

My cooktop is shocking me. What's wrong? Two weeks ago water was spilled on our electric cooktop, leading to a popped circuit breaker and some smoke. I turned it on a few hours later, and the circuit stayed on, but the switch that was spilled on didn't work, and ALL the switches carried an electric shock. A multimeter showed 90-110 volts to ground from any of the switches, OR the entire metal casing underneath the cooktop.

The cooktop repair guys came, ordered a new switch to replace the one that was damaged. It worked, and the repairman couldn't feel the shock, probably due to wearing rubber soles, but I noticed it a few hours later. I called them back, they looked at the stove again, and said the problem had to be at the circuit, and to call an electrician.

The electrician came and said the wire back to the circuit breaker didn't include a ground, and that that would fix the problem. I agree that that's important for safety, but I spoke to an electrical engineer and he said that the stove still shouldn't be putting out that kind of voltage to the stove body. He suggested that I check with an ohmmeter between the unplugged stove's hot wire and the stove body to see if there was resistance. Indeed, there is 1400 ohms of resistance. So am I right to have the stove guys come back and look? Is there something wrong inside the stove?

Why don't electric companies take credit cards?

OTA — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 06:10:21 -0800

Why do electric utilities either not take credit cards for payment or charge ridiculously large surcharges ($5) to do so? I've gotten into the habit of paying most of my bills via credit cards due to the cash back/skymiles. Every single company (phone/cable/etc) gladly take them, EXCEPT the power company. They send you over to some 3rd party who wants to charge $5 for the privilege of paying your bill with plastic. I did a quick check of the major power companies I'm aware of in Florida and all of them have similar services, although most charge $3-$4 instead of the $5 my local power company wants.

I'm fully aware of merchant fees & such, but find it odd that only power companies in this state seem to do this.

A grand for two circuit breakers?

Rendus — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:45:26 -0800

Electrical Estimate Filter: Short version is, is $1100 USD a proper estimate for simply replacing a 125 amp breaker and a 60 amp breaker in a standard residential breaker box? I live in Las Vegas, in a house I rent. Last year, the 125 amp breaker would trip seemingly at random during the summer. The only consistent pattern was that the air conditioner was running, which is almost always the case. This year, the same thing has begun already, despite a decrease in household load. While all of the appliances are electric, we don't run them during the day, so peak load is AC compressor and refrigerator compressor coming on at the same time while 2 computers are running.

The AC unit was inspected by the company that installed it 3 years ago, and they found no problems. The electrician that was hired to come out says the 60 amp breaker for the AC unit will not trip, and the 125 amp breaker also needs to be replaced. However, he then went on to blame the AC unit for tripping things anyway. He seemed reluctant to discuss details with me (as I rent), but the quote he left behind states they will charge $420 to replace the 60 amp breaker, and $680 to replace the 125.

This pricing seems excessive to me, especially if it's done on one service call. I'm hoping for advice on how to continue. It's not my money, in the end, as the landlord should be covering any expenses, but I want to save the landlord any unnecessary expense if possible.

Horray for electric scooters!

TomMelee — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:07:44 -0800

I want to charge this scooter w/o buying another bunch of crap. Can you help me? Ok, so...I bought this scooter today reaaaalllly cheap off craigslist. It's been modified with a newer, bigger controller and newer, bigger batteries.

In its current configuration it's 36v, instead of the stock 20v. It's got an extra battery to be run at 48v, which is what I *want* to do, and yes the controller is rated for that kind of power.

This is the plug: here. I've got a 36v charger for it.

This is what the battery connections look like: here.

I'm assuming that if I install the 4th battery and charge w/ the 36v charger, it just won't charge the last battery?

What if I do two at a time, will that overpower the batteries?

I've also got a 12v "smart" car charger that can operate as low as 2A. Is there any way I can use it to charge the batteries? Should I use it just to charge the single battery and use the 36v to charge the 3? Will that even work?

Basically I don't want to spend another $40 on a cheap import charger if I've already got what I need.

Lend me your electrical knowledge!

Should I give up on gas?

Enroute — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:28:04 -0800

My new gas range is breaking my heart. WTF is wrong with it? And if it is a goner, should I bother trying to replace it with another gas range, or give up and switch to electric? After 15 years of longing for a gas range, I finally got this GE Profile dual fuel slide-in range 3 years ago. It has been a disaster. It fills the kitchen with mercaptan smell, puts out a tremendous amount of carbon monoxide (I forget the exact reading, but it was WAY over the safe limit), and the burners "roar" to a ridiculous degree. It makes me sick to cook with it.

We have had appliance repair guys and gas company guys out repeatedly to look at it, and they can't figure it out. We replaced two parts (and I'm sorry, I can't remember the exact names and my husband's out of cell range right now)--the little round dial thing on the underside of the range that regulates the amount of gas flow, and the thing on the individual burners that regulates the amount of gas they get. No difference. The pressure of the gas coming to the house is normal. The repair guys agree there is a problem but don't know how to fix it.

So here are my questions:

1) Any idea what the problem could be?
2) Do you think it would be crazy to buy another gas range? I'm worried that the problem is with the gas feed to our house and the problem would just repeat with a new range. They say the feed is fine, but of course they obviously don't know everything or they would have fixed it by now.
3) If I do get another gas range, what is a RELIABLE brand?
4) One of the main things I wanted from a gas range was super high heat for stir-frying and such. Is it possible to get this from an electric range? What should I look for?

I'd like to learn about electronics!

DMan — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 16:33:42 -0800

I'm trying to get into building electronics and I need some advice. What would be a good place to start? I recently decided to change my college major to Computer Engineering, which means I'll be taking a lot of Electrical Engineering classes, some of which will involve building electric circuits. While I haven't done much of this, it's something that's very interesting to me, and I'd like to get a head-start on some of the stuff I'll be learning in class, and also go a bit beyond what I'll do in a classroom environment--that is, I want to actually build some stuff.

What I need is recommendations on specific books or whatever to start with. I'd like something that's sort of project-based, so I can build something and in the process learn the concepts behind it--I learn better when I actually do something, and really enjoy making things.

I'm a patient person and I can handle menial tasks if it's helping me build a foundation for further use, but I'd really like to jump into making things. I'll be getting plenty of theoretical instruction in my upcoming classes, so please consider that in your recommendations.

So, in short, are there any books or kits or whatever that you guys can recommend to me to learn more about electronics, and hopefully build a few things in the process?

Need some electrical advice and setup help ??

hboogz — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:53:51 -0800

How is this lantern/hanging lamp setup installed ? I really don't have any idea what to do electrically, but will be hiring an experienced electrician to do some electrical work. I want to replicate this same setup in my bedroom, but wouldn't know how to explain how to get this done and what to do buy ?? Where and How could i get this done ? My electrician is an older gentleman that may not be too familiar with newer electrical techniques.

For that matter, i'm highly technical ( when it comes to networks/computers) and am wondering what other electrical devices/considerations should i be making for this new project? type of dimmers, switches, outlets, new electric tech ideas ?

looking forward to hearing from everyone.

I need a new cast iron electric bbq

phirleh — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 07:26:30 -0800

Can anyone recommend an indoor electric bbq grill with cast iron or stainless steel grill? I'm looking for a stand alone model without a teflon coating, the only one I've really seen is this type . Does the hive mind have any experience with any other types that they are happy with? I'm looking to spend under $200.

The (electric) pipes are calling

No Mutant Enemy — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:25:12 -0800

Please help me identify this musician. A while ago - two years? - I saw, on my local TV news, a female piper from the north-east of England. Her instrument was an amplified pipe set, almost certainly Northumbrian small-pipes, played through a guitar effects unit. Her musical style was, as may be expected, traditional folk-influenced heavyish rock (to the extent that it's possible to categorise musical styles). She fronted a typical rock band rhythm section (bass, drums, possibly guitar). She was, as also may be expected, almost universally despised by the traditional piping mafia. I recall that her personal style was rocker/metal (lots of black, tattoos and studs - and I apologise in advance for superficial characterisation) but not overly so.

My Gooogle-fu has failed spectacularly (though I have discovered other interesting musicians), so I turn to the mighty hive-mind.

Please note that she was definitely British (Geordie, I think) and female - so not Candice Night, Jean-Pierre Rasle or Jose Angel Hevia - and that these were amplified real pipes, not a synthesized version.

Copper pans and electric heat, do they mix?

aussicht — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:42:04 -0800

Can I use my three-ply (out-middle-inner) copper-aluminum-stainless steel pots and pans on an electric range? Will it mess them up?

I need a Magnetic and Photbeam Sensor!

kaozity — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:11:07 -0800

Can you show me a photo beam sensor or a magnetic sensor that is close to the size of my pinky? My partner and I are designing a cage that is meant to hold a helper monkey. The monkey too smart for a simple lock, so we need to build a system that will ensure that the door is locked when the monkey is in the cage. We decided to use both magnetic and photo beam sensors in specific places of the cage. We need a sensor that is small enough to fit is various spots of the cage. Since I do not know much about sensors, I am not terribly sure what specifics I am looking for. I do know that it needs to be programmable with the rabbit core microprocessor modules (http://www.rabbitsemiconductor.com/products/CoreModules/index.shtml) Any Ideas?

Trying to find replacement knobs.

Pockets — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 10:36:32 -0800

I am trying to find replacement knobs for a stove, but cannot find a model number anywhere on the stove. I moved into a rental house a few months ago. The knobs on the stove were generic replacement knobs like you can find at the hardware store. Unfortunately, they aren't even close to the original knobs.

I put a thermometer in the oven and I have to adjust the knob back and forth for awhile before I can get it to the right temperature. The range is hottest when the burners are set to low. It's not a problem to just reverse them, but they can also turn too far, and then I have no idea what temperature it is.

The "on" light is shared between the 4 burners as well. Earlier this morning I lost track of clicks and had to spend 20 minutes with pots of water on each burner until I eventually got them all turned off again.

Judging by the other appliances, it's about 20 years old. It's an electric stove and the only model information I can get is "Hotpoint" very faintly on the panel.

I informed my landlord about the problem both when I moved in, and then again in writing last month. I figured I would try and solve the problem on my own one last time before I head off the tenant union.

I need an amp for my violin

sully75 — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 13:15:57 -0800

What kind of cheap but good amp should I get for my electric violin? Ok so I have a relatively long history as a musician but have been playing acoustic (Irish) music on the violin for most of the last 10 years. I haven't dealt with amps for quite a while, and only upright bass amps (i.e. I don't really know anything about guitar amps).

I just got an electric violin. It is very sweet. Perhaps the sweetest thing ever. It sounds very good. Currently I'm playing it through the massive glory of a Marshall Stack. The kind with the 9 volt battery.

It is not loud enough.

I would like to start playing with other people with this violin, perhaps some paying gigs in small to medium sized clubs. I need to buy an amp. The other problem: I'm quite poor at the moment, having moved to a new city recently.

I don't really know what I'm looking for but basically something that sounds generally warm. The option to distort or overdrive a bit would be nice but definitely not essential. Something that's very cheap initially but is useable would be great, and perhaps a suggestion for something to get down the line a little further, once all the electric violin dollars start rolling in.

Ok so cheap=<$200
Down the line=$~800?

I was thinking a Fender Twin down the line, something like that. But really I need something cheap and now.

Oh and I'm happy to hunt around on ebay if there is something good to look for used. My friend has a Roland Cube (it's orange, that's all I know) I might be able to get him to sell me.

Build a bike battery container

diode — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:33:56 -0800

I'm working on an electric recumbent bicycle using a Bike-E as the bike part. I want to hang my batteries below the seat by building two containers to hang on the sides of the Bike-E's alloy beam body. What's the best way to build the container? The batteries are a pair of 10 lb. rectangle shapes, 3"x5" by 7" long. I've got some sheet metal, a zip tool cutter, and a brazing torch. If I build open topped boxes for the batteries, I can hang one on each side of the alloy beam body, puts bolts through the body connecting the containers and put the batteries inside. The bike side of the container would be taller to facilitate putting it on the bike.
While that might be effective, manufacturing a container this way will be a lot of sparks flying and hot metal while using the zip tool to cut the metal. I'm thinking there must be easier ways to build shapes and forms. Using carbon fiber seems like a lot of toxic waste to work with. I'm coming up against this problem often as I contemplate bike projects I want to do that need some unique shape or form to do.

Electric Scooters...pick a winner?

TomMelee — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 10:32:39 -0800

Electric scooters---no, not rascals. Help me pick one! So I've got some money saved up, and I'm intrigued by projects like this one, but I'm having a difficult time finding QUALITY scooters for ~$1500. I've got a 750cc motorcycle, and a car, but I only live about 2.5 miles from work. Unfortunately, it's seriously 2.5 miles downhill, probably a drop of about a thousand feet, which is basically steep hills separated by plateus. The hills are quite steep.

I'm a 180Lb male, and yes it does get snowy here, so I realize riding it every day may not work out. Does anyone have any recommendations for a high quality, powerful scooter and /or a place to get it?

I found a place online one day, but I can't find it again. Let me know your experiences, things to avoid, etc.

Power strip and surge protection for tons of gear

4midori — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 09:26:04 -0800

I need a power strip/surge protector that in to which I can plug 15 components. After being warned against plugging one power strip in to another, I decided I need a proper power set up for my home studio/office.

I have approximately 15, possibly more, things I need plugged in and surge protected, including a PC with external components, keyboard, mixing board, monitors, etc.

Does anyone make a product with this many inputs, including space for wall warts, and adequate surge protection w/a gear replacement guarantee? Battery backup would be nice, but I'm mainly concerned with power surges or fluctuations in power that could damage my gear.

Thanks.

electric bikes?

cowmix — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 13:36:29 -0800

Experiences with an electric bike? I have been considering on buying an electric bike for my daily commute to work but, amazingly, I have not been able to find a lot of feedback about them on the web. Does anyone here have positive or negative stories to share about electric assisted bicycles?

This bike from Mongoose on Target.com is the type of bike I am referring to.

I (don't) have the power!

designbot — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:12:11 -0800

2 outlets & a ceiling light stopped working at the same time. None of the circuit breakers were flipped. What would cause this, and how can I troubleshoot it? I left the house in the morning, and everything was working fine. When I came back a couple of hours later, two of the outlets (well, four outlets in two wallplates) weren't working, and I couldn't turn on the track lighting on my ceiling, which is controlled by a wall switch.

The other outlets in the room work fine. It seems like a circuit was blown or something, but none of the circuit breakers were flipped. I tried flipping them all off and on again for good measure, but it had no effect.

Where else can I look to track this down without involving an expensive electrician? I have some basic equipment, like an LED tester (which confirms there's no power). Changing the lightbulbs didn't help.

Help stop the burn!

crewshell — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:36:04 -0800

Which Electric razor is the best for sensitive skin? I just landed a job were I will have to shave daily. I want to switch from a manual to an electric razor for ease and speed of use. I've tried my dads cheap one but my face always burns afterwards. I assume this is because his is old. I am willing to spend up to 200 dollars so I assume there has to be one out there that will work for me.

Also I would like one I could use in the shower if possible. Many people suggest it reduces irritation to shave with the steam and such. I've seen the Norelco one with the lotion that comes out... any thoughts on if this actually works to reduce irritation?

I've read almost all of the posts here on askme so please, no need to mention those. I ask again because this is a very specific question and the last thread was almost 8 months old.

If it makes any difference I currently use a Mach 3 Turbo. My hair is medium in terms of thickness and medium to light in terms of density.

If I was a wealthy man I would simply go out and buy several until I found the right shaver, but it would be great if the hive mind could help me nail it on my first purchase, since I am indeed not a wealthy man!

Where can I find a small electric facial hair shaver for men?

leptin — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 22:03:13 -0800

Searching for the smallest (lightest and size-wise) electric shaver for men. I'm looking for the tiniest electric shaver for men for my father as a gift. The size is a factor because my mom has to carry a lot of things for him due to his illness so a tiny one that doesn't weigh much would be great. It would preferably use standard battery sizes (AA or AAA) too. Thank you so much for your help!

How many nukes would we need to replace oil, coal, natural gas

DarkForest — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:13:32 -0800

Lets just say that the U.S. decided to stop burning hydrocarbons (oil, coal, natural gas) completely for environmental reasons. Lets say that everything went electric. Cars, Power Plants, factories, everything. How many nuclear plants (using current technology) would we need to produce? Would there be one in every moderate sized town? Also, how long would the raw materials last before another energy crisis was imminent (peak uranium, I guess)?

I have a touch lamp. I want to know what it's costing me to run.

Solomon — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 17:13:24 -0800

I have a touch lamp, which I'm finding incredibly useful to turn off when I'm half asleep. However, I'm also a bit of an eco-warrior. I've been looking online, and found that a small amount of energy is supplied to the lamp at all times. Surely that must be costing me something? Using my Kill-a-watt, I've found that while the lamp is "off" (as in unlit), the only energy being registered is 1.0 PF. Nothing else is active on the display. When the lamp is lit at 20w, the PF is 0.70, when lit at 35w the PF fluctuates between 0.86 and 0.94 and when the lamp is fully lit (40w) the PF is 0.99.

What is a PF?
How much is it costing me (per week/month/year/whatever is easiest) to leave the lamp switched on, but unlit? I'm in the UK, on a 240v supply. Better still tell me how I can work it out myself.

I am an electrical-term-n00b, so please keep your answers simple. Please let me know if you need more info. Bonus points if you can point me at a site that explains this stuff in a very basic way, so I can get my head round it.

Country heat for city boy?

saladpants — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 17:01:36 -0800

Househeatingfilter: Saladpants is a city boy from major east coast city, who recently moved to smaller west coast city, Portland, OR. He and Mrs. Saladpants are looking at a house which, while only 15 minutes from downtown, is essentially out in the country. This means that the house has no gas line running to it and no sewer either. In this particular house, the Saladpantses have two potential heating options: Propane or Electric. They have no experience with either, and are uncertain as to which is better. They seek opinions, wisdom and experiences of fellow mefites. OK...so third person narrative aside, this house we're looking at is awesome. But the heating system scares me.

It currently has a propane tank and baseboard heat, which doesn't thrill me. We've received rough estimates for installing ductwork, and for installation of a furnace -- propane or electric heat pump. The fixed costs on these options are more or less equal (and not entirely unreasonable, amazingly), except that the heat pump will include A/C and the propane furnace would not, which is one check in favor of the heat pump.

As far as variable costs go, the person who gave me the estimate said the costs would currently favor the heat pump because gas and propane prices have spiked so much recently. I'm not so sure I believe that, and I'd be curious for anyone's thoughts.

Also, assuming all other factors are equal, I'm curious about performance of these two options. My readings lead me to believe that heat pumps can have trouble keeping the house warm enough in fairly cold weather and cold enough in fairly hot weather. But I've also read that newer heat pumps do a much better job. True? Untrue? I've read a lot that also indicates that propane heats very well. On the other hand, it seems like a real pain the butt to me to have to rely on a propane truck show up every X number of months to refill the tank.

I know in the end, if we get the house, we'll have to weigh all these factors on our own. But I want to get feedback on whether my presumptions are at least sound.

So those of you out there with heat pumps or propane, what have your experiences been? Are there are significant factors that I'm missing?

(Also, as I noted above, I'm in pacific northwest, to the extent that factors in.)

Where to buy an electric door strike?

Sonic_Molson — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 10:45:42 -0800

Where can I buy an electric door strike near Burlington, Ontario? I'm looking for an electric door strike, but I have not had much luck locally. The best I found was at a lock store for $225 CAD.

Online I was able to find these as cheap as $25. I'm willing to pay a lot more than $25, but not quite ready to pay $225. The $100 CAD range would be perfect.

I'd really prefer to find this somewhere in Burlington, or even Hamilton/Oakville. At last resort I would go buy this online if someone was able to recommend to me a site with a good reputation.