Zinsco or GTE-Sylvania panels were incredibly popular during the 70s. Despite Zinsco no longer being around today, many homes still have these panels inside. The circuit breaker in these panels can melt to the main bus bar, hindering the breaker’s ability to trip when it needs to. If there is a short circuit, the wires can melt and cause a fire. Not all Zinsco panels are at risk, so have an electrician look at yours if your home has one.

Federal Pacific Electric panels are extremely unsafe, despite being installed into millions of homes throughout the 50s to 80s. These panels’ circuit breakers fail to trip when there is a circuit overload or short circuit. If a panel’s circuit breaker doesn’t trip when it’s supposed to, it can lead to an electrical fire in your home. If your breaker box has “Federal Pacific Electric” written on the front and “Stab-Lok” branded on the inside of the panel, your home could be at risk.

Fuses boxes are not inherently dangerous. In fact, many homes have fuse boxes and are not at risk. The risk with fuses comes from using them in an unsafe way to serve today’s energy demands. By placing too many things on a single circuit, replacing a fuse with a bigger fuse, or replacing the fuse with something metal creates a potential fire hazard.

Again, these kinds of panels are not dangerous by themselves. What makes them dangerous is the fact that they haven’t been used for over 40 years. If your home has a split-bus electrical panel, it could be past its expected lifespan. The circuit breakers may not trip as they are designed to.

There are so many things to love about the coming holiday season. Great food, great company, family, festive decorations; we couldn’t be more excited! But there’s a not so great factor attached to it all, too. That hefty electric bill you’ll be seeing. Looking for ways to keep your costs at a minimum this holiday? The expert electricians at Hoffman Electrical can provide some easy fixes!

Our professionals have been proudly serving Tampa and Clearwater, Florida for years now. When it comes to quality and top-tier service, we’re the name to know in electrical! And as  apart of our great service, we’re always looking for ways to help out. If you want to reduce your energy costs this season, we’ve got the solutions you’ll be happy to know.

One of the reasons that boilers continue to stay popular as a method for home heating is that they can last for many years without needing major repair work, and their lifespans are longer than most other home heating systems. A well-cared for boiler can keep a whole generation of people in a home cozy.

FB Electrical Services offers boiler maintenance in Somerville, MA. Whatever services you need to keep your boiler working for you, you can trust to our talented team to provide it for you. We offer 24-hour emergency service for your convenience and peace of mind.

RGB LED strip lights are a great way to add a pop of color to your above-ground pool. These low-voltage LED lights can be applied to the inside rim of your pool or around your pool deck. With RGB LED strip lights, you can choose from a ton of dynamic color-changing and single-color modes with adjustable brightness and speed control. They’re great for parties or late-night swims and can be easily installed. We’ve included installation instructions for our waterproof LED strip lights. Some cities require above-ground pool lighting to meet National Electrical Code (NEC) Article 680 standards, which would limit possible pool lighting installation locations. Before you purchase LED pool lights, check your city’s code requirements. We also recommend that you have a certified electrician install your lights.

1) Before ordering your LED strip lights, measure the diameter of your pool and multiply by 3.14 to find its circumference; this number indicates the total length of strip that you will need. The 21-foot pool used for these installation instructions has a circumference of 65.94 feet and requires 4 runs of 16-foot LED strips.

You will also need to measure the distance between where your power supply will be and both sides of your pool where the amplifiers will be installed (see the setup and wiring illustration below). These distances will tell you how much 18-gauge wire you’ll need for connecting the amplifiers to power. Make sure to account for the distance of any dips or turns that the wires may take along their paths.

Lastly, measure the approximate distance that will be between your controller and where your strip lights begin. This distance will tell you how much 22-gauge wire you’ll need for connecting the controller to your strips. You will also need two small sections of this wire for connecting your first and second strip lights to the amplifiers.

2) Before you’re ready to install your LED strip lights, be sure to drain your pool. Begin by creating or locating a dry area away from your pool for the power supply. The power supply should be contained in a weatherproof box. Power supplies should be installed between a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protected circuit and the pool’s junction box. It’s crucial to use a GFCI protected circuit as it shuts off if current flows where it’s not supposed to.

Wire the included plug to the power supply, but do not connect to power until the installation is complete.

3) Connect your RGB LED controller to the power supply. Cut the barrel off of the controller wiring. Strip back the remaining wires, and connect its wires to the power supply.

4) Cut the LC2 connector off of the remaining end of the controller, and strip back the wires. Run 22-gauge four-conductor wire to connect the controller to your low-voltage pool lights; use dolphin connectors to join like-colored wires. Connect your first two LED strip lights to the controller by joining each set of like-colored wire with a dolphin connector. You should be connecting four wires of each color (red, blue, green, and black) together. For added protection, cover all wire connections in this installation with electrical tape.

5) You will apply strip 1 clockwise around your pool rim and strip 2 counterclockwise. If you have a flat surface, use mounting clips to secure the strips in place as you go. If you want to mount the strips under your pool rim, drill small holes in the trusses approximately every 2 feet. Use cable ties to anchor the strip to the truss. You can also use speed nuts or cotter pins for strip anchoring to avoid drilling holes.

Solder a small section of 22-gauge four-conductor wire onto the strip’s end terminals. To reseal the LED pool light strip, slide wires through the holes of a 10-mm end cap, fill the cap with silicone, and slide it into place on the end of the strip. Be sure to cover all of the exposed conductive traces to ensure water resistance. Allow a minimum of two to three hours for the sealant to cure.

7) Once the new end wires are attached to the strip, you will mount the amplifier. Use the double-sided 3M foam pad to mount the amplifier in the middle of strip 1 and strip 3. For best results and added security, apply 3M adhesion promoter to the amplifier and its installation location on the pool wall.

8) Using a dolphin connector, join each like-colored wire on strip 1 to the same color on one end of the amplifier. Do the same when connecting strip 3 to the other side of the amplifier. You should be connecting three wires in each color (red, blue, and green) together on each side of the amplifier. The black strip wire will be joined with white amplifier wire. Note that the separate group of just black and red wires are meant to be connected to the power supply. Follow the same instructions for connecting strips 2 and 4 to the amplifier on the other side of the pool.

9) Use 18-gauge wire and dolphin connectors to connect the amplifiers to your power supply.

10) Plug the power supply’s attached cord into an outlet, and enjoy your LED pool lighting system! Refill your pool with water, but make sure to leave space between the water line and the lights.

For more LED pool lighting options, see our entire selection of waterproof color-changing LED strip lights.

For technical questions, don’t hesitate to call us toll free at 866-590-3533. Our customer service and technical support teams are available from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. CDT Monday-Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT on Friday.