Electrician U

Many up-and-coming electricians have trouble understanding how to use the various electrical testers out on the market. All of the dials, characters, and options can get a bit confusing if you don’t have experience using a multi-meter. In this episode, I talk about how to use a commonly used tester, the Fluke T5-600. Technically the fluke T5 is not a “multi-meter.”  Fluke’s website lists it as a “...

Someone recently asked me if there’s a way to bend PVC conduit or if someone makes a bender or a tool to get a proper bend. In this episode we’re going to cover how I do it. When working with PVC conduit electricians do one of two things when bends are involved. Either: 1) we will buy “manufactured bends” like pre-bent “90’s, 45’s, and 30’s” 2) we will use a heat gun to manually bend the conduit t...

My dudes, I really need help figuring out what to do with my storage situtation. I keep losing terrabytes of data everytime my RAID 5 crashes, and it happens often. Any of you tech gurus out there PLEASE HELP! Please check out the Electrician U Facebook page and subscribe to the YouTube Channel if you like these videos! Also check out the Electrician U Instagram page. LISTEN TO AUDIO: http://elect...

This is, no-doubt, my most asked for topic to do an episode. “Do an episode on bending conduit” they say….”It’ll be fun” they say… Well my friends, strap in, here we go…. First off there are some things to understand about different types of conduits. For example today we’re going to be bending EMT (Electrical Metallic Tubing). This type of conduit is relatively easy to bend using a bender if you’...

In my house we have an issue with some people leaving lights on, specifically in the garage. After hounding on the issue, I decided to get a cheap occupancy sensor and install it in the garage to take care of the problem. What is an occupancy sensor? As the term indicates, an occupancy sensor is a devices that “senses occupancy” or movement. It is able to, through using forward facing infrared tec...

In this episode I talk about the various fault detecting devices on the market in use in most modern residences. Chiefly Arc Fault and Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters.  GFCI – Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters GFCI’s are devices meant to detect and clear a ground fault .  Ground Fault’s are exactly as they sound – faults to ground.  A fault means a “wrong-doing” or “responsibility for an acciden...

Electrical power is often expressed in two units, Watts and VA.  Wattage and Volt-Amps rather, get misused because many people do not understand the differences in them and when they should be used.  In this episode I break down the differences in the two terms and how they relate to one-another in the electrical industry. Wattage (Watts) Most people use the word wattage or watts on a pretty regul...

Resistance is one of the most crucial aspects of an electrical circuit.  Along with Voltage and Amperes, Resistance plays a major role in how a circuit operates. In this episode talk about how electrical current travels through a resistive load, and how changing voltage or resistance can effect the amount of current flowing through a circuit. Resistance is a very important element of an electrical...

A lot of green apprentice electricians ask about how panels work, and more specifically what the roll of the circuit breaker is.  Some guys think that breakers “put out” electricity, or that they “send” a certain amount of amperage to a load from the panel.  This is not how it works. To start out, an electrical panel is simply a place where all of the many loads throughout the house meet up with t...

Electric current is one of the hardest things to wrap your head around when you’re first getting into the electrical trade.  Many apprentice electricians get confused with the difference between current and amps.  Well, that’s because people talk about electrons and charges and interchange the terms without really knowing what the difference is. Electric current can be thought of like water curren...

Automatic circuits work on the philosophy that some external/automatic switch turns power on and off to a circuit.  This can be a photocell or timeclock that controls a set of relays or contactors which allow or disallow current to flow in a circuit. A photocell takes in light from a photovoltaic eye, and opens/closes a coil inside the photocell.  It does this completely independently of human int...

Voltage is an electromotive force created by a difference of potential.  Therefore the terms voltage and difference of potential can be interchangeably used. The term “difference of potential” is often used in describing the ability of an electric circuit to create movement.  Just like in Physics you have potential energy and kinetic energy, in electricity you can describe the phenomena the same....

For those of us that are more visual learners, I’ve made this show one that can be followed visually.  In this episode I draw out on the white-board how switch loops work, and how to wire them. The part that confuses most people when wiring a switch loop is that you’re twisting together a black and a white wire.  They don’t think about each wire as a conductor, they think of them as a hot and a ne...

This episode is something a lot of green apprentices need to watch.  Switch-loops are very difficult to grasp when you’re new to the trade, and in this show I break down how to install and wire for these bad boys. First of all the reasons why you would do a switch loop are plentiful.  Most of the time there is a specific reason why you’d need to do one of these, but all of them revolve around ther...

In this episode I take apart a 3-way and 4-way switch and talk about how they work on the inside. A typical 3-way switch works by allowing current 2 pathways to take through the device.  If the switch is in one position it allows current to take one path.  If the switch is flipped into a different position current will take a separate path. 4way switches operate virtually the same way, by offering...

This episode is all about breakers, from the outside-in.  I cover the differences between single-pole, two-pole, and 3-pole breakers. I talk about how a breaker is a simple spring-held mechanical switch that operates by an internal electromagnet. Finally I take a Square D single-pole breaker apart and show you how a breaker trips, and how the mechanics of the inside of a breaker works. If you foun...

In this video I talk about how to wire for and install 4-way switches.  4-ways are very similar to 3-ways, and in fact you use (2) 3-way switches in a 4-way setup. First you have to think about the reason why you need a 4way.  4way setups are needed when you have 3 or more locations that need to be able to switch the same light or lights.  Say you have a room with 3 entrances/exits.  You will need...

Well everyone….the time is here! I’m in New York City for this year’s #THDProSpective tool event and I’m about to find out what tool manufacturers will be sending me over the next year to test, review, and give away! I’ve never been to New York City before and holy shit is it a big change from my small little piece of the Texas Hill Country.  I’m used to seeing rolling green hills with trees and w...

In this episode I talk about how to wire and install 3 way switches and California (illegal or dead-end) 3ways. I start out by talking about in what situations you’d need a 3-way switch setup. A go step by step and wire two three way switches together and talk about the difference between the hot side and the switch leg side. The first half of the video is dedicated to wiring and installing a stan...

In this episode I rip open a standard receptacle and a decor single-pole switch to reveal how each of these electrical devices works. The insides of electrical outlets and switches are made up of very simple mechanical parts.  A receptacle is just a few pieces of metal that allows a cord to be plugged into them while pinching them in place.  There are 3 slots on the top of the device and 3 slots o...

In this episode I talk about how to install an electrical plug-in receptacle.  Plugs are pretty day one helper stuff, but I talk about some methods of twisting joints, using strippers, cutting sheathing, and mounting the devices that maybe some teachers out there don’t use.  As an apprentice, getting used to how your tools work and practicing with them over and over will get you better faster.  It...

This episode covers the basics of installing an electrical switch.  I cover mounting boxes, drilling holes, running 12/2 romex from a power source to a new switch box.  From that switch box I install another piece of 12/2 romex to a light above.  After wiring and rough-in I install a decor single-pole 15a switch and a keyless fixture with a lightbulb. I talk briefly about how to rip out wires and...

If you’re about to start your career as an electrician but don’t have a clue what tools you need, feel free to consult this list.  In this video I talk about all of the tools that I deem necessary to start your career with.  There will be endless tools that you will buy through the years but these are the basics that every apprentice electrician needs. In order as they appear, I also time-stamped...

Electrical testing equipment that ELECTRICIANS use. Welcome friends!  In this episode we talk about the many different types of electrical testing equipment that electricians use daily.  This is a list of the multi-meters and electrical testers that I use, as an electrician, most often.  We cover, plug testers, non contact voltage testers, toners, multi-meters, amp clamp and ammeters, continuity,...

Welcome to Electrician U!  Electrical Wizardry taught by an electrician, to electricians!  No more having to suffer through engineering and physics lectures to try to gain insight on how electricity works, and which components do what.    Electrician U is straight forward, to the point, and from the mouth of a Master Electrician. Please check out the podcast coming soon to iTunes and Stitcher! Als...