As an electrician, it's not often that we get to see an electrical engineer actually do electrician things. It was quite refreshing to see an engineer feel our pain...well done tho :)
As a german electrician my whole body clenched because all Our ruleing is so damn strict, i feel like He has broken at least a hand full of laws and defiled the entire DIN
@@raffaelflugge5271 I believe he has broken multiple California electrical codes also. But at least in California, to do this work you have to have it inspected, no exceptions. If anything, I think that this video was a bit inappropriate as presented to have on youtube.
@@Mentaculus42 It's perfectly legal for a homeowner in Ontario to do their own electrical work in their home, however they do need to have it inspected afterwards while the wires are still exposed and accessible. I assume he left that part out of the video, because why include it? Regulations are different in every jurisdiction, even within the same country, let alone across the world.
@@MaverickBlue42 AND it is perfectly legal in California, providing it is inspected, so we agree, AND the video should mention that to be complete and responsible to people’s safety.
Yeah, North Americans are kinda fascinated with how Japanese toilets have 10k buttons. Tourists have many names for them, but it sums up as Heaven's Luxury at the Base Model.
I dunno about where he lives, but in my state it's illegal unless you are a certified electrician. So basically you have to pretend any outlet or switch you alter was done that way already.
@@RindosRides I document exactly what I install for that very reason, with a lot of detail. If a house burns down because of some home brewed shit and the owner says "the electrician did it", I can point to the documentation and say "no I didn't"
Technically it should have been inspected by a governmental inspector and had a building permit. If something bad happens, your insurance company could have some difficulty questions for you. Personally I have seen too much crap installed by people who don’t know what they are doing or are purposely being cheap. I have seen new construction that in theory was inspected that is crap.
@@RindosRides Mehdi lives somewhere in canada ik that cuz of the Linus collab in the past and he also has mentioned it somewhere, he has a master's degree in Applied Sciences, and also has worked as a professional till few years ago
Just installed one of those non-electric bidet seats at my place. It's a simpler version than others but feels more reliable. No electricity needed - it hooks right up to the hot/cold water from the basin. Only cost me 30€ and it's perfect for a rental. Depending on your setup, you might not even need to do major work, just attach the hoses. Got it ready in just a few minutes. Super straightforward and efficient.
Next do an in-line 220V electric heater next to the shower head! It’s those extra tingles with the warm water that really get you moving in the morning.
You inspired me to go into the electrical trade. Went to school and everything. You still teach me new things and i love it. Your videos are fun and educational while being a clear example of what not to do at many times. I love your content and hope you have fun making these videos
Mehdi not only showed that a) projects like this are possible, and b) that they are, indeed, awkward and difficult, but he showed you can do most of it with ONE HAND! 🤯
@@Görkem-x5h yes, Germans call it Beton. Looking up “beton” in Turkish on wiktionary, it seems we both borrowed it from French béton, from Latin bitūmen.
ITS Not...i Had IT in nearly every Rent flat.....you ass fuses to the Bowl...NoNo ITS Like a Lifetime McDonald's for free...Sounds great,but in the end you get cancer
Electrician comment here! Next time, as you pointed out, use a box that clamps on the dry wall instead. The lower example is the one I like. For the cut out on those it's best to just use a credit card as the template and you'll get the perfect size.
Yep. Usually they are in the same aisle, except in a section that is labeled for "old construction". This is not just limited to receptacle boxes as well.
Rack-a-tiers makes a template with a built in level that let's you trace the perfect hole for both plastic or metal old work boxes. It's cheap and saves so much time if you're constantly cutting in pop in boxes like me
this man is the most funniest teacher I have ever seen. This man has to fricking turn off the full power of his room, get third degree burns, almost dying, almost losing his vision, almost demolishing his house, LIKE THERE IS SO MUCH MORE. You are the main reason I have an inspiration to use ELECTRICITY and hopefully not get eviscerated by the cables. Thank you...
I'm studying electrical right now and I love watching you explain everything as if you have no idea whats going on, then doing safely dangerous things to teach. I wish my teachers could do funny stuff like this in the shop but I'm sure insurance would kill them before the electricity.
Other than grounding the boxes properly you should have used an "anti-short" on both ends of the cable. It's red and made of plastic that protects the wires from the metal sheathing. Other wise good job.
it shows he is not an expert. Experts would not make that mistake twice. O wait, even experts can make the same mistake twice. I guess he is human? Nah, that can't be it. Wait, he is the Crazy Iranian Hacker. Brother of the Crazy Russian Hacker.
Once you have one, it feels primitive/backwards when you get stuck using a legacy toilet elsewhere. Got a bidet toilet seat a year before covid; it was also a life-save during the great toilet paper shortage.
@@vhfgamer There is a t-junction at the water supply to your toilet, so it's fresh water that wasn't even in the tank. The water is heated on demand to the temperature you like, and it only happens when you press a button (ie, when you'd normally be reaching for some toilet paper). There is a blower to dry off your backside, also user controllable temperature. But I understand, back in the day, there were probably people who couldn't understand why somebody would replace their perfectly good out-house with indoor plumbing and a flush toilet.
Im an electrician (actually just south of Electroboom across the border ;) )and we do a lot of residential remodels. Medhi came up with a lot of methods that we use all the time like how he fished the metal sheilded cable into the box with a piece of metal. Btw, an "outlet" is anywhere where line voltage is available, as in constant power, not switched power. So technically all boxes where switches are located in your house (unless they are 3 or 4 way switched) are outlets, as well as every receptacle (what everyone calls an outlet) location. Atleast thats what my boss tells me.
I once watched a cable installer use super strong magnets to fish wires within the walls. Personally I use those fiberglass rods that can be extended, but it is a pain.
Here in Australia, we call our standard 10A outlets GPO's (general purpose outlet). It does 240V/10A. There are also identical looking ones, but with a wider earth plug, that do 240V/15A for higher current use cases, like caravans, and some ovens. For more industrial/commercial uses, 5 pin 3 phase is also very common. All of our circuits are on RCD switches, usually at the main pannel/distribution board. There are some instances where individual GPO's have their own RCD on them at the outlet, but that's not very common.
@@macaddct1984 I mean he got the general ideas right but all his methods were still a bit crude. The fact that he has rough-in photos of his house does sorta imply that he had some hand in the building process, either in helping plan/design with the contractors and subs or he actually helped build it.
really should have an insulator at the ends of the armor flex so it wont potentially cut into something and become live (they sell these little red plastic / rubber plugs just for that) to be 100%
@@SomeGuysGaragehe forgot those on the garage heater install to and ended up doing a follow up video where he installed them. Surprised he forgot again.
i was watching the struggle at 10:10 but i had to pause a video when i saw a smoking car outside, what a hal hour LIVE show outside. Noone got hurt and air smells nice after that car combusted. What a lovely monday we have today.
This is a man who used a 10k ohm resistor, voltmeter, and light bulb to check the GFCI instead of the outlet tester he most definitely has. He will not use the mini tripod if he thinks it will make life easier.
Hey Electroboom, I just want to thank you because your videos have actually helped me in physics class. Your explanation of diodes, capacitors and resistors and such. It actually helped me alot. Thank you Electroboom!
Tip: 10:12 - Put the curved side of the bracket into a pair of lineman's pliers* and "bite" down just enough to hold it. Slip the bracket over the wire sheath, and bite down hard enough to bend the bracket a little, but not enough to bend the sheath. Then the bracket will hold on to the sheath nicely while you drive the screw in. I did a lot of wiring in my attic, and this saved me a lot of time. (*Lineman's pliers worked best for me, but I suspect it will work fine with any pliers that have serrated jaws)
this reminds me of my grandmas house that was built in like the late 70s and there was an outlet right next to the sink ON THE COUNTER. for "convenience" but thankfully she had someone remove it a few years back
You should pick up a meter that has the Loz setting. It tests for voltage while applying a small load. You can use it to test GFCIs and you can also use it to get a true reading without any ghost voltage. Sometimes there can be a very loose connection or wires just traveling next to each other for a long period of time and a voltage will show on a wire that does not have any power. This Loz setting eliminates the ghost voltages.
Just like Mehdi I took pictures of my house before the sheetrock went up. It is so handy to have later on for repairs or additions! I was worried for him that the hole he planned to use was meant for the sink drain line. I guess either it wasn't or he worked around it without telling us.
They should keep construction photos and include the house when you buy it. Renovating a home is like opening a mystery box only instead of finding a rare png you find a 4 inch void above the door frame hidden by base boards and a pile of rusted exacto blades.
8:12 that’s why newer gfci works by monitoring the power between live and neutral and cut power when there is a difference You should make a video on types of gfci to educate us
When using a metal box, you should consider making a bonding pigtail to your ground and have it wrapped around a grounding screw which is mounted to the frame of your box. You also want to make sure you put your stud hole about 6 inches above your receptacle, and clamp the conduit down against the stud. This will give you extra protection and it's code in some places. It's also a good idea to wrap your exposed receptacle screws with electrical tape as well. This way you don't short something out and your box has a path to ground to prevent you from energizing the box and shocking yourself. (I like to use antiox on my copper conductors in wet areas to protect against moisture and oxidation of the conductors.) Leviton makes a WAGO style receptacle connector, which makes installing these much easier, you just push the wire in and snap it closed. Consider using Wagos instead of wirenuts, they will give you more space to work with in your box. (I wrap those in color coded tape to prevent the levers from coming back up) I would have bought a plastic box for the bathroom. Metal boxes are a headache imo, but they hold up well to heat in-case there is a lose connection or potential fire situation.
We heard it a little differently in Britain, so it's common to find three *egg* shells in some peoples bathrooms over here... 🥚🚽🙃 (It's probable they misheard the dialogue about the seashells...Or it might just be because ground-up eggshell is a good light abrasive and excellent for tackling limescale... 😇)
09:34 add a string. It doesn't do anything, but is there if you ever need to pull another wire through the same channel. Rinse and repeat. But always leave a pull in place.
Coming from Europe I'm always surprised to see all electrical cabling in metal (now I know why thanks) the metallic plug boxes and the exposed live and neutral screws... It's all plastic and covered here, and it feels so much safer. But maybe it's just because I'm used to it?
In US past 60 some years, it's pretty rare to see metallic clad cables installed in residential constructions. Said that, this guy's application is a perfectly sound example reasoning that some part of the drawer mechanism could fail and pinch against the cable. Exactly right about the hazards of exposed screw terminals and non shielded connector pins. For electrical safety, The US is seriously lacking in many regards.
Metal electrical boxes are required to be bonded to ground for the precise reason of having a return path should the box become energized. Also, while not a requirement by code, it's highly encouraged to wrap the screw terminals of a receptacle in a metal box in electrical tape. Typically, electrical conductors are not wrapped in metal. They're usually wrapped in a plastic sheath. A popular brand is "Romex". Also, not excusing our serious lack of electrical safety, we use 120v for everyday residential use while Europe mostly uses 240v. So I believe that plays a part in why Europe has more requirements for electrical safety than the US. We also use 240v, but only for large appliances such as clothes dryers that don't typically get disconnected from power on a regular basis.
@@benjurqunov Highly dependent on the age of the house. Before "Romex", i.e. non-metallic cable became popular in the 60s, and definitely in the 70s, BX wire with metal cladding (originally steel, now AL) was generally used. My house was built in 24, and it's a mix of BX and Romex.
@@ghostali8351 There' nothing unsafe about wirenuts. In some ways they're slightly better since the resistance is a little lower. Code should be based on experience in the field, not irrational fears. We've been using them here for 60+ years, and they just aren't a problem if you use them right. All you have to do is give them a slight pull to make sure they're in properly. Wagos sometimes approach $1 a piece or so in smallish numbers of 30 or so. I'd rather just buy the wirenuts once and be done with it.
Nice. No drywall patching. That hole in the stud worked out really well. It would have been a pain to have had to cut the wall to get a drill in there in that space. Trying to get things through people's walls can be a nightmare. Especially in older houses. A lot of older houses have horizontal or angled cross members between studs. A lot of electricians also used to box their electrical boxes in with would and they would usually block off the entire stud space. Trying to get anything up a wall in a house like that usually means cutting drywall and cutting or drilling behind the wall. There was one customer where we were trying to get a thermostat wire up from a crawl space. The fish tape just wouldn't go through, turns out whoever drywalled the house crammed all the drywall offcuts into the walls. The entire wall was full of broken chunks of drywall. We ended up having to dig a bunch of it out of the wall to get the wire up.
Pretty good job. Only thing I'd add is, when working with metal flexible conduit (what we used to call BX), use a red head at the end to protect against the metal cable cutting the conductors. I thought it was required by code, but apparently it's just a "best practice".
@@snakeinthegrass7443 All the electrical forums I've found seem to indicate red heads aren't required, but highly recommended. If you disagree, can you provide the relevant section in the NEC code? I can't prove a negative, but you can provide code references to show they're required.
@@stevesether I'm shocked! When I started in the biz, all there was available was BX cable. Then when MC came out, the manufacturers still attached a bag to the roll so I hadn't realized anything had changed. I should've known something was up when they started sending bags with 5 bushings in it and then it stopped completely. Every electrician I know still uses them, but after a very quick search just now, I see you are correct - they are not required. It's my belief that this was done not because there is a ground wire inside now, but rather the armor is no longer steel - it's aluminum. I don't know how either of those situations would eliminate the need for a redhead, anti-short, bushing - however we say it. Thank you for forcing me to correct myself. I will always continue to use them because it seems crazy not to. And the way he unraveled the outer jacket was insane!! I would've loved to see the actual cut he made in the armor when he was done. That is the sharpest part and if it's not done carefully, there will be a very small razor in there just waiting for the next guy to get it. One of the saddest part is that he didn't have to use MC at all. He could've just used Romex because it is not subject to damage inside the cabinet. And that would've eliminated two violations because (1), you can not shove armored cable into the clasp of a plastic box that's designed for Romex. And (2), the metal box he bought that he had no idea how to use, was in fact the wrong box. That too was designed for NM cable. The screw-down clamps inside that box were absolutely the wrong ones to use. Using those type will def lead to increased risk of being cut by the armor because the proper clamps are designed so the the wire can't bend at the armor - it bends at an extended portion of the clamp. It's not there! I know he goofs around and plays dumb a lot, that's what makes his channel unique. But this one wasn't an experiment in his lab. It's a permanent part of the electrical system in his home where his family lives, and that's nothing to play around with. Sorry for ranting but this has been my life for almost 40 years and this was truly hard to watch. Thanks again for teaching me something new that I will NOT be passing along to my colleagues. 🤣🤣 God bless and stay safe!
@@snakeinthegrass7443 Honestly I thought the red-heads were required as well. I like to check my assumptions, so I did some quick googling and was surprised to learn they're not required. With that said, I'd never not install them, and I've put a good many of them in my own house. I'm not an electrician, only a DIYer that generally knows what I'm doing. My house sadly didn't have this luxury of having someone who knows what they're doing work on the electrical. I've replaced quite a lot of the hack work over the years, so I'm familiar with how people REALLY screw things up. Just finally got all my ground wires working everywhere, which someone, 30 years ago, forgot to hook up a ground, in some unknown spot.
In my limited understanding, this sort of setup would never be allowed in the UK due to 'splash zone' exclusion rules for outlets. I believe that if you wanted to do something like this and have the socket within 5 feet of a water source (Particularly a sink or toilet tank that can flood the room if the normal overflow control measures fail) is if you use a completely plastic and waterproof in-wall access box which you run a cable directly into without a plug, just a lot of waterproofing before it's connected directly to the mains AC through a fuse. Good ones have watertight but removable fuses as I very vaguely recall. They're also used a lot for electric radiators as it's far safer to have such a high current device directly wired in much like an oven or the like, especially when it may contain conductive fluids or be around water itself.
I have never seen GFCIs at the point of use in a british home. I have seen GFCI outlets available, but they don't seem to be nearly as common as they are in the states. Codes aside, I still find it a bit odd that bathrooms in the USA have regular outlets in them, even if they are GFCI. Plenty of outlets in my home were wired incorrectly. I've also had electricians come in and do a bad job of wiring outlets (they had to get redone). So, it's a good idea to get an outlet tester when you buy a new home, and test all of your outlets and make sure they are grounded and the hot is wired to hot etc. Oh, did I say that I found a switch where someone had cut the ground? The wire had to be rerun............ That turned into a bit of rant.........
Toilets are not zoned, only showers and bathtubs. But there's another rule that an outlet can't be closer than 2.5m horizontally of a shower or bathroom splash zone. So realistically that you can't fit it inside unless your bathroom is very large. But these regulations are not law, so if you are confident and your circuit has residual current protected you might as well ignore them and do what rest of the world does.
@@hallsofvalhalla1749 UK and Europe don't usually do ground fault protection in outlets, they do it in breakers. Either as separate RCD units that trip on ground fault, or combined RCCB that trip on ground fault and overload/short circuit condition.
@@MikeRI170 Yeah. I'm aware. I find it odd that USA allows outlets in bathrooms, even if they are GFCI. Probably because I come from Europe, so it might be more what I'm used to, than an actual safety concern. Regarding your comments on splash zones. I'll take your word for it. I don't know/remember the specific code for bathrooms. I have seen plenty of GFCIs in the states around splash zones around sinks. It's doubtful that they're an actual risk though, assuming you don't plug high powered devices into them etc.
@@hallsofvalhalla1749 sinks don't count it seems, otherwise you wouldn't be able to put sockets even in a kitchen. IMO these rules are antiquated now that RCD/CBs are commonly used. Regarding GFCI outlet practice, I guess it was deemed safe enough with plug contact point and downstream protected by the outlet. What's inside the wall is much less exposed to water after all. But AFAIK now in the US they also place GFCI and AFCI breakers in the panels, much like Europe and the UK.
I will definitely agree with that! Sometimes you have to use the screws to push an overly stuffed box back together. Hate having to do that as it can cause wires to slip out of wire nuts. Many times I find wire nuts that are too small for the number of wires or someone added an extra wire to the outside of old bundle without first straightening the old bundle out first and re-twisting them together and then using the proper sized nut. Then you have to push this all back in without a wire slipping inside of the wire nut. Personally I always wrap some electrical tape around the insulation next to the wire bundle before applying the wire nut.
@@Mentaculus42 I work as an electrician in a power plant. People are against taping wire nuts, but I’m not. It’s an extra level of security to hold your wires together with the nut. & if the nut does come loose, at least you don’t have to worry about exposed conductors
@@rhouser1280 That is interesting, why are they against, is it because it might be harder to tell if there is arcking or less cooling. I didn’t explicitly say that I first put some tape to hold the bundle even, twist on the nut and then apply more tape to hold the nut from loosing up during the “pushing everything back in” phase. I have pulled boxes apart that are old and sometimes the wire nuts can be uncomfortably loose. Maybe I am just too paranoid, but the more I see of other people’s work that was not done at least half-@ʴsed , the more I shake my head and think bad words.
In Germany more or less all outlets have a common (sometimes split per floor) GFCI protection. And these GFCI "breakers" are installed at the same place as all other breakers, so you do not need to search the whole house. But be aware, that in older buildings, this might not be the case.
@@LiquidPortalDigital Almost all municipalities now require combo breakers for almost all circuits. These are both AFCI and GFCI, combination breakers. Exceptions are now for permanently wired devices such as ovens and cooktops. Strangely, Air Conditioner units are forced to comply. Soon all circuits will be required to have combo protectors
I'm an german electrician and these american outlets and how the wires are connected just scars me. German outets and the whole connections of the wires is so much safer. I don't understand why your cable has a metal sheathing. In Germany it's just PVC and even the tubes lying in concreat and behind plaster are made out of some sort of plastic. But I really like your videos so keep it up :)
Not an electrician but from UK and it amazes me that the modules have the power feeds exposed. Makes me appreciate our sockets and wiring a bit more feels safer.
Watching this from france and oh man these breakers/gfci/outlets and those weird things to tie wires together really look medieval to me. Looks like things you could find in a french house from 1980 or 1990 max.
Electrician here. A cut-in box is what you have. You cut the drywall so that everything passes through, but the top and bottom tabs. You then use f-clips to secure it to the drywall. With the stud there, you could have taken them off. You also need to ground the box. Everything you did was great though. It is safe, but not code or manufacturers inteanded purpose.
I had to do the same in my bathroom. I just went ahead and cut small holes in my sheetrock, making sure to keep the pieces I cut out and not let them fall into the wall. That way the wiring is in the walls and I was able to use regular romex. Sheetrock repair is pretty easy to do The way you did it, if someone ever decides to change out the bathroom cabinet they are really going to curse you for running the wire through the cabinet. 😁
@@jonc4403 Uh... I wouldn't say "anyone" can do it. If I tried putting in an outlet I wouldn't even know where to _start_ . Even if I did I'd probably set my house on fire from improper wiring lmao
@@VeeTHis With acquiring the necessary information, of course! You start by looking up electrical codes in your municipality. Then you identify which circuit breaker controls the circuit you need to work on. Turn that breaker off. Solve each problem along the way until you have an outlet installed according to the codes you researched :) Anyone really can do this, it's not quantum mechanics ;)
In Europe we use RCBs, in my country we also call them FID (don't know what it stands for and is it in english anyway) instead of GFCI, and it can protect your whole house if you want to. I put mine in front of all circuits so all outlets and machines, water heaters and so on are protected.
13:26 That's one reason I prefer to use the plastic boxes - no need to ground the box. There's also the advantage that if the outlet ever gets loose, it can't short the side terminals against the box accidentally - and as there's a limit to how many connections you should put in each size box, having one less pigtail makes the job easier. 👍
@@jeevana.6391 I am pretty sure that only grounding the boxes is against what the Canadian and American electrical codes say. I also think the reason we ground our devices as well (in Canada we don't ground light switches, which is fine, but some would disagree) is for redundancy sake. I am not an electrician but I came across a set of lights in our basement that had a few problems: There weren't strain reliefs on the non metallic (Americans refer to it as Romex) cable running to each octagon box, so I pulled those boxes and put in the strain reliefs required, the connections where Marettes (wire nuts to those in the US) were supposed to be used were twisted together and only electrical taped so of course I put Marettes on those connections and also had to make new pig tails at each box so they were grounded. I couldn't use the lights so in their place I put electrical outlets as I wanted to put shelves against that wall and maybe plug some lights into those for each shelf. That job, working in awkward positions is definitely relateable to Mehdi putting those clamps in to hold the wire, I had to work above my head for those.
@@WJCTechyman Grounding the box only is code compliant as long as whatever connected has a path to ground. They're called self-grounding devices. Outlets have their ground connected to the same strip of metal as the screws do and you can usually see a bit of brass on the mounting ears specifically for this. Most lights are the same. If installing something that doesn't have that path, say a type of light fixture, then it needs to be grounded via wire. Also I don't know how applicable it would have I'm your case, but learning how to drywall has been the best thing when doing any projects involving running wire. It's so much easier to work while not cramped and hoping you can poke something through a hole a metre away.
Fun fact: plastic electrical boxes in Canada have metal straps, so you still need to ground them. It was surprising when I learned this. Also btw I don't believe ground wires count towards box fill.
Fun video, thank you. Coming from an outdoorsy person, may I ask your suggestion for going outdoors where there is no water? You should never wash off poop into a creek or other waterway. Frankly, as adults here, let's all agree that wiping or bidet is a personal choice, and, it is an unfortunate fact that if you're "smearing" feces around when you wipe, you aren't wiping correctly. Lastly, would you shake hands with someone who got poop on their hands and merely sprayed water on them to "clean" them? My outdoors go-to is mullein leaves for wiping, as they are antimicrobial and softer than TP. And being a common weed you can harvest all you want without hurting nature. Thanks for the vid, looking forward to the bidet install!
Hay, I do electrical, and would’ve probably used yellow romex even, but it would’ve turned out the same with the path being hidden behind the wall and in the cabinet. The MC flex is a nice upgrade to romex. Is also a good little sit-thru for anyone not understanding what post-construction electrical is like. Great job Mehdi. TMI on the need for the Bidet though. Some Americans just want to fight over TP when it’s out, that’s all, they’ll never learn.
"where exposed to damage" or something iirc. Behind the drawers should qualify as protected. You aren't doing things behind there 99.9% of forever. NM would probably suffice!
When I ran wires for 120/240 residential in California over a decade ago, it was allowed. My mentor/boss did advise that you try to keep the two live line on the same leg so as not to accidentally get 240V in a box meant for 120.
@@wigglesfourthree3390 Reason why it's not allowed here is two fold. One, expectation, you should always be able to disconnect a complete branch / appliance with a single action. And two, if two wires from the same leg that are fused for their rating touch or get connected by somebody who doesn't pay attention you're now able to draw to much current because the breakers are now in parallel.
I gotta say, I have no business watching these videos as I have no interest in electrical engineering/funny-business, but all of his reactions are so entertaining - I will subscribe.
There was a time when legal sockets allowed you to insert the end of the stripped wire which in theory could have dealt with this issue, but they caused other safety issues, so back to exposed screws. Personally I always wrap some electrical tape around the exposed screws to deal with this and other issues.
Most likely it was Thomas Edison. He had over 1000 patents on all sorts of electrical components. Many electrical things here in the US are still somewhat similar to when they were invented. I can install a brand new switch or receptacle in a box that's almost 100 years old and the screw holes are the same distance apart and use the exact same screws to install.
For a DIY project, this was really pretty good, IMHO. It is kinda confusing because people use the different terms wrong all the time, but: "outlet" = one set of holes (and contacts, etc) used for plugging in one power cord. "receptacle" = the whole unit (usually with two outlets) which you install into the box and connect to the wiring. Oh, and you really don't need armored cable for that application (at least in the US). You could just use NMC cable (AKA "exterior grade" Romex). You can't use regular NM (Romex) cable, because a bathroom is a damp/wet location, but NMC cable (typically gray, and rated for use in wet, outdoor, or corrosive locations) should be fine as long as it's secured up inside cabinets and such (i.e. protected from potential damage). Of course the armored cable is also fine, just more of a pain to work with... Those wire nuts are also not really twisted enough, BTW. I highly recommend DIYers use something like the Wago 221 "lever nut" connectors instead of wire nuts, because it's much easier to make sure you're actually using them correctly. Wire nuts are very easy to do wrong, which can be bad. (also, the Wagos are smaller, so they're easier to fit back in the box, too)
Best channel about electricity, he knows exactly what he's doing and makes "Dumb" errors that harms him but at the same time teaches the viewer what NOT to do and common errors that could easily go south.
4:38 mehdi lemme blow your mind - now there are GFCI receptacles on the market that have AUDIBLE ALARMS! I've been in the process of putting them at the head of every branch circuit lately, they're amazing, and also super useful for any non-technical people who may be in your home!
@@3nertianotifies you when it trips. It's helpful if you have a sump pump, radon system, deep freeze, etc on a GFCI protected circuit in a basement or garage, for instance.
@@ematt622 not *just* that either. It's common for people to have no clue what is wired downstream of a GFCI. A neighbor had several outlets that hadn't worked in years and had no idea why... Turns out that a GFCI in a half bathroom used as a closet was in the tripped state, and it fed outlets all the way across the house
@@3nertia apartments sometimes have really questionable wiring! When I was little I had weird issues with gfcis in my apartment, and had no idea what the deal was other than something was tripped somewhere! An alarm makes it obvious.
11:00 you could have also used the terminals on the receptacle- the two brass screws are connected together and the two silver screws are also connected together. This method is generally better if the box is already pretty full or if space is too constrained for your method. Your method of pigtailing also works and some say is the superior method, as if the receptacle next to the switch fails, it would not affect the receptacle by the toilet. But it does use more space in the box for the wire nut and extra length of wire, so it may not always be the ideal way to complete the job. Overall, a 9/10 job. You forgot the anti-shorts, which would prevent the steel armor of the cable from cutting into the wire when you clamp down on them. But seeing how it didnt explode... well... i wont tell if you dont tell.
We got a bidet last year and it has literally changed my life. It doesn't need power though, it has a knob to twist that lowers the nozzle and lets the water spray, purely mechanical. Of course there's no butt warmer either.
Great job!! Home DIY projects are always so fun to do. In my country it is illegal to have a plug outlet in the bathroom, even if it is GFCI protected. You truly inspire me! Have a nice day Mehdi :)
@@jeffspaulding9834 UK only permits safety ELV (12V, basically) that close to a toilet. You can have a 'shaver socket' a certain distance away from water, anything else must be even further away - thus outside the bathroom, unless you have a really large one. It's basically to ensure it's impracticable to drop a toaster in the sink or the bath.
Can't use AC/MC with plastic boxes like that. You could mount a junction box in the cabinet that takes the MC, and NM-B from the back-side that feeds up wall and into plastic box properly. Also those are the wrong size one-hole straps, need 3/8" MC straps. 13:05 you bought the right box, but yeah hole a lil too big, but what you need to use there are two "madison straps", which are flat metal straps that you insert and then bend, which then rigidly holds the old-work-box in place against the drywall. no need for screws or extra ears.
Technically intel processor sense at least 2008 have had back door processor at hardware level, inless you buy your own wafers, then at least intel and would not be surprised if industry standard by now ..... *Intel Management Engine* it has access to all raw information from processor level ..... even VPN are technically useless...
as a professional dumbass myself, I think you did a great job. having the space behind the walls to do stuff like this makes me envious (I live in a country with mortar and brick homes, so no drywall for us)
Huh. I should have taken a picture of my workshop before I wired everything and finished the walls for future reference. That's a very smart tip I never thought of!
The brace falling out of position over and over was the most real mood I've had watching one of these.
Gotta put 'me and the birds - duster' in the background
10:13
I would have used some blu tack or masking tape to hold it in place.
10:10
i have lost my sole in this online world
As an electrician, it's not often that we get to see an electrical engineer actually do electrician things. It was quite refreshing to see an engineer feel our pain...well done tho :)
As a german electrician my whole body clenched because all Our ruleing is so damn strict, i feel like He has broken at least a hand full of laws and defiled the entire DIN
@@raffaelflugge5271
I believe he has broken multiple California electrical codes also. But at least in California, to do this work you have to have it inspected, no exceptions. If anything, I think that this video was a bit inappropriate as presented to have on youtube.
@@Mentaculus42 It's perfectly legal for a homeowner in Ontario to do their own electrical work in their home, however they do need to have it inspected afterwards while the wires are still exposed and accessible. I assume he left that part out of the video, because why include it? Regulations are different in every jurisdiction, even within the same country, let alone across the world.
@@MaverickBlue42
AND it is perfectly legal in California, providing it is inspected, so we agree, AND the video should mention that to be complete and responsible to people’s safety.
@@Mentaculus42 That's fair.
Y’all complain about studs but we have solid concrete walls 💀
1 year laser hi today i will show you how to make a toilet seat Warmer and sprayer
Same
😢
in my home, I have solid bricks that are full so it's even worse and also the walls are really thick because my house is ancient like from the 1800s
never heard of it
As one of Japanese ElectroBoom watchers, I appreciate your accurate compliment towards our toilet shower (washlet) system. I'm glad you like it
lol camellia
camellia is a electroboom enjoyer too lets go
seeing camellia here is so crazy 😂
Ay yo Camellia?!
Yeah, North Americans are kinda fascinated with how Japanese toilets have 10k buttons. Tourists have many names for them, but it sums up as Heaven's Luxury at the Base Model.
it's amazing that if you're an electrical engineer you can just spawn power sockets for your convenience.
I dunno about where he lives, but in my state it's illegal unless you are a certified electrician. So basically you have to pretend any outlet or switch you alter was done that way already.
@@RindosRides I document exactly what I install for that very reason, with a lot of detail. If a house burns down because of some home brewed shit and the owner says "the electrician did it", I can point to the documentation and say "no I didn't"
You sure your state doesn't have "owner/builder" provisions? It's hard to imagine any state having more restrictive building code than California
Technically it should have been inspected by a governmental inspector and had a building permit. If something bad happens, your insurance company could have some difficulty questions for you. Personally I have seen too much crap installed by people who don’t know what they are doing or are purposely being cheap. I have seen new construction that in theory was inspected that is crap.
@@RindosRides Mehdi lives somewhere in canada ik that cuz of the Linus collab in the past and he also has mentioned it somewhere, he has a master's degree in Applied Sciences, and also has worked as a professional till few years ago
Just installed one of those non-electric bidet seats at my place. It's a simpler version than others but feels more reliable. No electricity needed - it hooks right up to the hot/cold water from the basin. Only cost me 30€ and it's perfect for a rental. Depending on your setup, you might not even need to do major work, just attach the hoses. Got it ready in just a few minutes. Super straightforward and efficient.
Next do an in-line 220V electric heater next to the shower head! It’s those extra tingles with the warm water that really get you moving in the morning.
😂😂😂
When I was in Manila, I experienced those tingles.. then I decided to use a different shower
Industrial 500v service, I want the shower head hot enough to forge steel.
The bigclive showed one of these deathtraps, the perfect place for an outlet is right next to said shower head, ungrounded of course.
th-cam.com/video/06w3-l1AzFk/w-d-xo.html
8:17 this has to be the most Mehdi method there is of testing if it's safe to touch or not
Lol😂
It cracked me up so much when he did that.
😂😂😂😂
The "Mehdi Method"....I like that. lol
Touch touch
You inspired me to go into the electrical trade. Went to school and everything. You still teach me new things and i love it. Your videos are fun and educational while being a clear example of what not to do at many times. I love your content and hope you have fun making these videos
Mehdi not only showed that a) projects like this are possible, and b) that they are, indeed, awkward and difficult, but he showed you can do most of it with ONE HAND! 🤯
what was his other hand doing
@@davejones542 holding the camera, as he stated in the video.
@@davejones542 holding the camera 😆
@RepentandbelieveinJesusChrist5
Chutiya hai jesus
@@davejones542You could see how happy and excited this made him........He was holding his "camera" 🍆😉😂
I think that ElectroBoom did a pretty good job. Reto-fitting electrical wiring can be a pain in the ars.
ask us in germany..solid walls or even beton^^
@@bosanaz2010 wait do Germans call it beton as well? We call it beton in Turkiye too.
@@Görkem-x5h yes, Germans call it Beton. Looking up “beton” in Turkish on wiktionary, it seems we both borrowed it from French béton, from Latin bitūmen.
Being from England we just stole the word, removed the unnecessary line above the u and called it bitumen.
@@puellanivissame here in croatia
6:06 average technician's reaction when they realize their job just became 10x harder to do
That's my dad's reaction
Having an outlet right next to the toilet would be a dream. Imagine the new possibilities! Watching Mehdi while charging your phone!
Oh yeah totally what I was thinking too!... And nothing else
I put one in for the bidet - and now I'm about to wall mount a laptop by the toilet.
Probably gonna be your last day tho@@jonc4403
ITS Not...i Had IT in nearly every Rent flat.....you ass fuses to the Bowl...NoNo ITS Like a Lifetime McDonald's for free...Sounds great,but in the end you get cancer
Pull yer wire!
Electrician comment here! Next time, as you pointed out, use a box that clamps on the dry wall instead. The lower example is the one I like. For the cut out on those it's best to just use a credit card as the template and you'll get the perfect size.
Wait really? Those are the same dimensions? I've always just traced the box. Thanks for that info.
Dude... That stud is no longer a stud... The hole was so big that the sides looked like toothpicks.
Yep. Usually they are in the same aisle, except in a section that is labeled for "old construction". This is not just limited to receptacle boxes as well.
Rack-a-tiers makes a template with a built in level that let's you trace the perfect hole for both plastic or metal old work boxes. It's cheap and saves so much time if you're constantly cutting in pop in boxes like me
You forgot to mention he forgot the anti short bushings 😂
this man is the most funniest teacher I have ever seen. This man has to fricking turn off the full power of his room, get third degree burns, almost dying, almost losing his vision, almost demolishing his house, LIKE THERE IS SO MUCH MORE. You are the main reason I have an inspiration to use ELECTRICITY and hopefully not get eviscerated by the cables. Thank you...
I'm studying electrical right now and I love watching you explain everything as if you have no idea whats going on, then doing safely dangerous things to teach. I wish my teachers could do funny stuff like this in the shop but I'm sure insurance would kill them before the electricity.
Heh. Band of assassin insurance brokers. I like it.
@@miinyooyour mom
@@miinyoo Boeing would like to know your location.
Other than grounding the boxes properly you should have used an "anti-short" on both ends of the cable. It's red and made of plastic that protects the wires from the metal sheathing.
Other wise good job.
He did that in his patio heater video but forgot in this one
I don't know how he could forget the redhats a 2nd time around. He made a whole follow up video about it the last time he was called out for it!
@@sgath92 He was clearly just distracted by needing to poop the entire time
it shows he is not an expert.
Experts would not make that mistake twice.
O wait, even experts can make the same mistake twice.
I guess he is human?
Nah, that can't be it.
Wait, he is the Crazy Iranian Hacker. Brother of the Crazy Russian Hacker.
Once you have one, it feels primitive/backwards when you get stuck using a legacy toilet elsewhere.
Got a bidet toilet seat a year before covid; it was also a life-save during the great toilet paper shortage.
As someone yet to use a bidet, I find it hilarious that you refer to bidet-less toilets as a "legacy toilet" lol, must be life changing
Can't think of anything more unpleasant than having nasty toilet water shot at me while I'm trying to go to the bathroom.
Its like the difference between using an out-house versus a flush-toilet with indoor plumbing.
@@vhfgamer There is a t-junction at the water supply to your toilet, so it's fresh water that wasn't even in the tank. The water is heated on demand to the temperature you like, and it only happens when you press a button (ie, when you'd normally be reaching for some toilet paper). There is a blower to dry off your backside, also user controllable temperature. But I understand, back in the day, there were probably people who couldn't understand why somebody would replace their perfectly good out-house with indoor plumbing and a flush toilet.
@@ericthecyclist Yeah. The bidet is like the outhouse.
Im an electrician (actually just south of Electroboom across the border ;) )and we do a lot of residential remodels. Medhi came up with a lot of methods that we use all the time like how he fished the metal sheilded cable into the box with a piece of metal.
Btw, an "outlet" is anywhere where line voltage is available, as in constant power, not switched power. So technically all boxes where switches are located in your house (unless they are 3 or 4 way switched) are outlets, as well as every receptacle (what everyone calls an outlet) location. Atleast thats what my boss tells me.
I don’t think any of these methods were new to Medhi. 😉 He plays the part well though!
I once watched a cable installer use super strong magnets to fish wires within the walls. Personally I use those fiberglass rods that can be extended, but it is a pain.
Here in Australia, we call our standard 10A outlets GPO's (general purpose outlet). It does 240V/10A. There are also identical looking ones, but with a wider earth plug, that do 240V/15A for higher current use cases, like caravans, and some ovens.
For more industrial/commercial uses, 5 pin 3 phase is also very common.
All of our circuits are on RCD switches, usually at the main pannel/distribution board. There are some instances where individual GPO's have their own RCD on them at the outlet, but that's not very common.
@@macaddct1984 yep it's pretty amazing how many people don't get that, even 10 years later.. he's acting.
@@macaddct1984 I mean he got the general ideas right but all his methods were still a bit crude. The fact that he has rough-in photos of his house does sorta imply that he had some hand in the building process, either in helping plan/design with the contractors and subs or he actually helped build it.
You are one very patient guy. I would have cut the box out and rewired everything before trying that. Patched and painted drywall. Very nicely done
really should have an insulator at the ends of the armor flex so it wont potentially cut into something and become live (they sell these little red plastic / rubber plugs just for that) to be 100%
As is required by code here, they're called anti-short bushings.
He might've installed them off camera, as in a separate vid about his back porch infrared heater, he showed just that
@@SomeGuysGaragehe forgot those on the garage heater install to and ended up doing a follow up video where he installed them. Surprised he forgot again.
those are not required on MC/greenfield cable here in the USA. not sure about canada though.
If it does become live, the gfci will pop. That's what it does.
Stumbling across this channel while dealing with college is the best thing that happened to me for a long time thank you electro boom you're great
Welcome
Welcome!
You've gotta check out the episode where he tests the outlets in his hotel room in Hawaii. You'll thank me later 😂
i was watching the struggle at 10:10 but i had to pause a video when i saw a smoking car outside, what a hal hour LIVE show outside. Noone got hurt and air smells nice after that car combusted. What a lovely monday we have today.
Seeing Mehdi try to screw in the conduit brace, I now know that I need to gift him a mini tripod for Christmas.
This is a man who used a 10k ohm resistor, voltmeter, and light bulb to check the GFCI instead of the outlet tester he most definitely has. He will not use the mini tripod if he thinks it will make life easier.
And he will shoot while holding the tripod 😅😅😅
A GoPro would do the work 😅
2:38 POP IT AGAIN!!! HERE WE GO!!!!
Hey Electroboom, I just want to thank you because your videos have actually helped me in physics class. Your explanation of diodes, capacitors and resistors and such. It actually helped me alot. Thank you Electroboom!
Putting the light bulb where he poops. I guess thats what you call a butt lamp 13:47
2:43 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 mehdi is something else
8:19 finally i found the best practical way to know if my breaker was off, thanks mehdi
Very nice! But good luck to anyone that ever tries to remove that cabinet in the future, you've now permanently bonded it to the wall 😂
@@Science-Vlog😵
@@Science-Vlog😂😂
That's if it ever gets removed
It's only where he passed through the wood once doubt that be a problem for a saw 😂😂😂
Tip: 10:12 - Put the curved side of the bracket into a pair of lineman's pliers* and "bite" down just enough to hold it. Slip the bracket over the wire sheath, and bite down hard enough to bend the bracket a little, but not enough to bend the sheath. Then the bracket will hold on to the sheath nicely while you drive the screw in. I did a lot of wiring in my attic, and this saved me a lot of time.
(*Lineman's pliers worked best for me, but I suspect it will work fine with any pliers that have serrated jaws)
this reminds me of my grandmas house that was built in like the late 70s and there was an outlet right next to the sink ON THE COUNTER. for "convenience" but thankfully she had someone remove it a few years back
You should pick up a meter that has the Loz setting. It tests for voltage while applying a small load. You can use it to test GFCIs and you can also use it to get a true reading without any ghost voltage. Sometimes there can be a very loose connection or wires just traveling next to each other for a long period of time and a voltage will show on a wire that does not have any power. This Loz setting eliminates the ghost voltages.
Would it also require you to place a 10K resistor between live and earth or would it eliminate that need?
It has already built in somehow so u don't need anything else
Legend of Zelda setting
Just like Mehdi I took pictures of my house before the sheetrock went up. It is so handy to have later on for repairs or additions! I was worried for him that the hole he planned to use was meant for the sink drain line. I guess either it wasn't or he worked around it without telling us.
Imagine if it was meant for the sink, and he managed to bust the pipe. OOOF.
You can see the sink drain line in the picture he took.
They should keep construction photos and include the house when you buy it. Renovating a home is like opening a mystery box only instead of finding a rare png you find a 4 inch void above the door frame hidden by base boards and a pile of rusted exacto blades.
@@UserOfTheName how would that work with houses built pre-WWI? There's still tons of those in big cities.
@@joseherrera8489 It wouldn't but It doesn't mean new homes shouldn't
8:12 that’s why newer gfci works by monitoring the power between live and neutral and cut power when there is a difference
You should make a video on types of gfci to educate us
When using a metal box, you should consider making a bonding pigtail to your ground and have it wrapped around a grounding screw which is mounted to the frame of your box. You also want to make sure you put your stud hole about 6 inches above your receptacle, and clamp the conduit down against the stud.
This will give you extra protection and it's code in some places. It's also a good idea to wrap your exposed receptacle screws with electrical tape as well. This way you don't short something out and your box has a path to ground to prevent you from energizing the box and shocking yourself. (I like to use antiox on my copper conductors in wet areas to protect against moisture and oxidation of the conductors.)
Leviton makes a WAGO style receptacle connector, which makes installing these much easier, you just push the wire in and snap it closed. Consider using Wagos instead of wirenuts, they will give you more space to work with in your box. (I wrap those in color coded tape to prevent the levers from coming back up)
I would have bought a plastic box for the bathroom. Metal boxes are a headache imo, but they hold up well to heat in-case there is a lose connection or potential fire situation.
No one uses plastic boxes in Canada. There's only Plastic Nutek boxes that we use on rough in new construction for exterior walls.
Out of all the cleaning methods you mentioned at the start, you forgot to mention the best one - the three seashells
There really is no better way
We heard it a little differently in Britain, so it's common to find three *egg* shells in some peoples bathrooms over here... 🥚🚽🙃
(It's probable they misheard the dialogue about the seashells...Or it might just be because ground-up eggshell is a good light abrasive and excellent for tackling limescale... 😇)
@@dieseldragon6756 Brit here. Never heard egg shells, only sea shells. It was the Pizza Hut dub.
(Psst! He doesn't know about the three seashells! _giggle_ )
Careful - you don't want to become just another "murder death kill" statistic. lol
That eyeborow wiggle @14:17 is epic! 😀
Wiggly
09:34 add a string. It doesn't do anything, but is there if you ever need to pull another wire through the same channel. Rinse and repeat. But always leave a pull in place.
Coming from Europe I'm always surprised to see all electrical cabling in metal (now I know why thanks) the metallic plug boxes and the exposed live and neutral screws... It's all plastic and covered here, and it feels so much safer. But maybe it's just because I'm used to it?
In US past 60 some years, it's pretty rare to see metallic clad cables installed in residential constructions.
Said that, this guy's application is a perfectly sound example reasoning that some part of the drawer mechanism could fail and pinch against the cable.
Exactly right about the hazards of exposed screw terminals and non shielded connector pins.
For electrical safety, The US is seriously lacking in many regards.
Metal electrical boxes are required to be bonded to ground for the precise reason of having a return path should the box become energized. Also, while not a requirement by code, it's highly encouraged to wrap the screw terminals of a receptacle in a metal box in electrical tape.
Typically, electrical conductors are not wrapped in metal. They're usually wrapped in a plastic sheath. A popular brand is "Romex".
Also, not excusing our serious lack of electrical safety, we use 120v for everyday residential use while Europe mostly uses 240v. So I believe that plays a part in why Europe has more requirements for electrical safety than the US. We also use 240v, but only for large appliances such as clothes dryers that don't typically get disconnected from power on a regular basis.
@@benjurqunov Highly dependent on the age of the house. Before "Romex", i.e. non-metallic cable became popular in the 60s, and definitely in the 70s, BX wire with metal cladding (originally steel, now AL) was generally used. My house was built in 24, and it's a mix of BX and Romex.
And I'm amazed that Wagos isn't a requirement in the US
@@ghostali8351 There' nothing unsafe about wirenuts. In some ways they're slightly better since the resistance is a little lower. Code should be based on experience in the field, not irrational fears.
We've been using them here for 60+ years, and they just aren't a problem if you use them right. All you have to do is give them a slight pull to make sure they're in properly.
Wagos sometimes approach $1 a piece or so in smallish numbers of 30 or so. I'd rather just buy the wirenuts once and be done with it.
Mehdi installing an outlet to wash @ss 25 seconds ago... so educative
but its a video about butt
2:16 Well who didn't see that coming?
me
It was faked. If you stop at 2:18 you can see that the probes are not plugged into the multimeter.
probe was not connected to Multimeter, probably there was capacitor on the other end
probe was not connected to Multimeter, probably there was capacitor on the other end
2:17 BOOM
Nice. No drywall patching. That hole in the stud worked out really well. It would have been a pain to have had to cut the wall to get a drill in there in that space. Trying to get things through people's walls can be a nightmare. Especially in older houses.
A lot of older houses have horizontal or angled cross members between studs. A lot of electricians also used to box their electrical boxes in with would and they would usually block off the entire stud space. Trying to get anything up a wall in a house like that usually means cutting drywall and cutting or drilling behind the wall.
There was one customer where we were trying to get a thermostat wire up from a crawl space. The fish tape just wouldn't go through, turns out whoever drywalled the house crammed all the drywall offcuts into the walls. The entire wall was full of broken chunks of drywall. We ended up having to dig a bunch of it out of the wall to get the wire up.
Pretty good job.
Only thing I'd add is, when working with metal flexible conduit (what we used to call BX), use a red head at the end to protect against the metal cable cutting the conductors.
I thought it was required by code, but apparently it's just a "best practice".
You're correct - it's required. The list of violations in this vid is long.
@@snakeinthegrass7443 But just look at the boost to engagement he's gotten by editing out all the footage of him doing those things ;)
@@snakeinthegrass7443 All the electrical forums I've found seem to indicate red heads aren't required, but highly recommended.
If you disagree, can you provide the relevant section in the NEC code? I can't prove a negative, but you can provide code references to show they're required.
@@stevesether I'm shocked! When I started in the biz, all there was available was BX cable. Then when MC came out, the manufacturers still attached a bag to the roll so I hadn't realized anything had changed. I should've known something was up when they started sending bags with 5 bushings in it and then it stopped completely. Every electrician I know still uses them, but after a very quick search just now, I see you are correct - they are not required. It's my belief that this was done not because there is a ground wire inside now, but rather the armor is no longer steel - it's aluminum. I don't know how either of those situations would eliminate the need for a redhead, anti-short, bushing - however we say it.
Thank you for forcing me to correct myself. I will always continue to use them because it seems crazy not to. And the way he unraveled the outer jacket was insane!! I would've loved to see the actual cut he made in the armor when he was done. That is the sharpest part and if it's not done carefully, there will be a very small razor in there just waiting for the next guy to get it. One of the saddest part is that he didn't have to use MC at all. He could've just used Romex because it is not subject to damage inside the cabinet. And that would've eliminated two violations because (1), you can not shove armored cable into the clasp of a plastic box that's designed for Romex. And (2), the metal box he bought that he had no idea how to use, was in fact the wrong box. That too was designed for NM cable. The screw-down clamps inside that box were absolutely the wrong ones to use. Using those type will def lead to increased risk of being cut by the armor because the proper clamps are designed so the the wire can't bend at the armor - it bends at an extended portion of the clamp. It's not there!
I know he goofs around and plays dumb a lot, that's what makes his channel unique. But this one wasn't an experiment in his lab. It's a permanent part of the electrical system in his home where his family lives, and that's nothing to play around with. Sorry for ranting but this has been my life for almost 40 years and this was truly hard to watch.
Thanks again for teaching me something new that I will NOT be passing along to my colleagues. 🤣🤣 God bless and stay safe!
@@snakeinthegrass7443 Honestly I thought the red-heads were required as well. I like to check my assumptions, so I did some quick googling and was surprised to learn they're not required.
With that said, I'd never not install them, and I've put a good many of them in my own house. I'm not an electrician, only a DIYer that generally knows what I'm doing.
My house sadly didn't have this luxury of having someone who knows what they're doing work on the electrical. I've replaced quite a lot of the hack work over the years, so I'm familiar with how people REALLY screw things up. Just finally got all my ground wires working everywhere, which someone, 30 years ago, forgot to hook up a ground, in some unknown spot.
In my limited understanding, this sort of setup would never be allowed in the UK due to 'splash zone' exclusion rules for outlets. I believe that if you wanted to do something like this and have the socket within 5 feet of a water source (Particularly a sink or toilet tank that can flood the room if the normal overflow control measures fail) is if you use a completely plastic and waterproof in-wall access box which you run a cable directly into without a plug, just a lot of waterproofing before it's connected directly to the mains AC through a fuse. Good ones have watertight but removable fuses as I very vaguely recall. They're also used a lot for electric radiators as it's far safer to have such a high current device directly wired in much like an oven or the like, especially when it may contain conductive fluids or be around water itself.
I have never seen GFCIs at the point of use in a british home. I have seen GFCI outlets available, but they don't seem to be nearly as common as they are in the states.
Codes aside, I still find it a bit odd that bathrooms in the USA have regular outlets in them, even if they are GFCI. Plenty of outlets in my home were wired incorrectly. I've also had electricians come in and do a bad job of wiring outlets (they had to get redone).
So, it's a good idea to get an outlet tester when you buy a new home, and test all of your outlets and make sure they are grounded and the hot is wired to hot etc.
Oh, did I say that I found a switch where someone had cut the ground? The wire had to be rerun............
That turned into a bit of rant.........
Toilets are not zoned, only showers and bathtubs. But there's another rule that an outlet can't be closer than 2.5m horizontally of a shower or bathroom splash zone. So realistically that you can't fit it inside unless your bathroom is very large.
But these regulations are not law, so if you are confident and your circuit has residual current protected you might as well ignore them and do what rest of the world does.
@@hallsofvalhalla1749 UK and Europe don't usually do ground fault protection in outlets, they do it in breakers. Either as separate RCD units that trip on ground fault, or combined RCCB that trip on ground fault and overload/short circuit condition.
@@MikeRI170 Yeah. I'm aware. I find it odd that USA allows outlets in bathrooms, even if they are GFCI. Probably because I come from Europe, so it might be more what I'm used to, than an actual safety concern.
Regarding your comments on splash zones. I'll take your word for it. I don't know/remember the specific code for bathrooms. I have seen plenty of GFCIs in the states around splash zones around sinks. It's doubtful that they're an actual risk though, assuming you don't plug high powered devices into them etc.
@@hallsofvalhalla1749 sinks don't count it seems, otherwise you wouldn't be able to put sockets even in a kitchen. IMO these rules are antiquated now that RCD/CBs are commonly used.
Regarding GFCI outlet practice, I guess it was deemed safe enough with plug contact point and downstream protected by the outlet. What's inside the wall is much less exposed to water after all. But AFAIK now in the US they also place GFCI and AFCI breakers in the panels, much like Europe and the UK.
7:31 that's what he said
Sometimes getting it all to fit back in the outlet is the hardest part
I will definitely agree with that! Sometimes you have to use the screws to push an overly stuffed box back together. Hate having to do that as it can cause wires to slip out of wire nuts. Many times I find wire nuts that are too small for the number of wires or someone added an extra wire to the outside of old bundle without first straightening the old bundle out first and re-twisting them together and then using the proper sized nut. Then you have to push this all back in without a wire slipping inside of the wire nut. Personally I always wrap some electrical tape around the insulation next to the wire bundle before applying the wire nut.
Especially with a lower gauge wiring. Lower than 12 can be a real pain.
@@Mentaculus42 I work as an electrician in a power plant. People are against taping wire nuts, but I’m not. It’s an extra level of security to hold your wires together with the nut. & if the nut does come loose, at least you don’t have to worry about exposed conductors
@@rhouser1280
That is interesting, why are they against, is it because it might be harder to tell if there is arcking or less cooling. I didn’t explicitly say that I first put some tape to hold the bundle even, twist on the nut and then apply more tape to hold the nut from loosing up during the “pushing everything back in” phase. I have pulled boxes apart that are old and sometimes the wire nuts can be uncomfortably loose. Maybe I am just too paranoid, but the more I see of other people’s work that was not done at least half-@ʴsed , the more I shake my head and think bad words.
@@rhouser1280 Why would anyone be against taping wire nuts?
In Germany more or less all outlets have a common (sometimes split per floor) GFCI protection.
And these GFCI "breakers" are installed at the same place as all other breakers, so you do not need to search the whole house.
But be aware, that in older buildings, this might not be the case.
We have GFCI breakers as an option here in the US as well, they're becoming more common.
@@LiquidPortalDigital Almost all municipalities now require combo breakers for almost all circuits. These are both AFCI and GFCI, combination breakers. Exceptions are now for permanently wired devices such as ovens and cooktops. Strangely, Air Conditioner units are forced to comply. Soon all circuits will be required to have combo protectors
14:05 I agree with you Mehdi! Thx 👋☺
I'm an german electrician and these american outlets and how the wires are connected just scars me. German outets and the whole connections of the wires is so much safer.
I don't understand why your cable has a metal sheathing. In Germany it's just PVC and even the tubes lying in concreat and behind plaster are made out of some sort of plastic.
But I really like your videos so keep it up :)
0:46 Japan is a butt haven - ElectroBOOM 2023 😂😂😂😂😂
Hey Mehdi! Thanks for another diy type video, I like them because you have a tendency to show a realistic experience.
Man, he makes the sponsor advertisement amusing enough I want to watch it through, that's skill
A Canadian posting a toilet-based video on America's thanksgiving is honestly perfect timing.
10:13 the struggle is real. I feel your pain...
Sisyphus's struggles
Thank you for this video. My bathroom layout is very similar to yours so this helped me so much!
Not an electrician but from UK and it amazes me that the modules have the power feeds exposed. Makes me appreciate our sockets and wiring a bit more feels safer.
Watching this from france and oh man these breakers/gfci/outlets and those weird things to tie wires together really look medieval to me.
Looks like things you could find in a french house from 1980 or 1990 max.
Your sockets are better than our outlets but in terms of wiring: do you know what a "ring main" is?
Safety is for the cowards.
13:26 do you even need to tie the earth wire to the box? IIRC, unless it’s an isolated ground receptacle, the green screw is shorted to the metal box
Well you probably wouldn't need it, it's just for more safety. As always when grounding things.
Some outlets are rated for grounding that way, others aren't.
Electrician here. A cut-in box is what you have. You cut the drywall so that everything passes through, but the top and bottom tabs. You then use f-clips to secure it to the drywall. With the stud there, you could have taken them off. You also need to ground the box. Everything you did was great though. It is safe, but not code or manufacturers inteanded purpose.
As always. Entertaining and informative. Love watching these videos!
Growse shit.
Really enjoy your work here, glad you're not afraid to get lit up. Lotta fun, thanks.
I had to do the same in my bathroom. I just went ahead and cut small holes in my sheetrock, making sure to keep the pieces I cut out and not let them fall into the wall. That way the wiring is in the walls and I was able to use regular romex. Sheetrock repair is pretty easy to do The way you did it, if someone ever decides to change out the bathroom cabinet they are really going to curse you for running the wire through the cabinet. 😁
8:23 Duplex receptacle, or outlet. "Plug" is for the cord side.
He’s an electrical engineer, that’s why he was able to pull it off alive
I put in outlets when I was a 10 year old kid. Anybody can do it.
@@jonc4403 Uh... I wouldn't say "anyone" can do it. If I tried putting in an outlet I wouldn't even know where to _start_ . Even if I did I'd probably set my house on fire from improper wiring lmao
@@VeeTHis With acquiring the necessary information, of course! You start by looking up electrical codes in your municipality. Then you identify which circuit breaker controls the circuit you need to work on. Turn that breaker off. Solve each problem along the way until you have an outlet installed according to the codes you researched :)
Anyone really can do this, it's not quantum mechanics ;)
In Europe we use RCBs, in my country we also call them FID (don't know what it stands for and is it in english anyway) instead of GFCI, and it can protect your whole house if you want to. I put mine in front of all circuits so all outlets and machines, water heaters and so on are protected.
5:48 is that purple thing what I think it is?
Maximus dildoleus? 😮
To clean the toilet when get dirty by "resiudes"
@@himankanborkakati8731Everything's a dildo if you're brave enough too
Being able to record with one hand and do that wiring in those tight places with other, is an art. Kudos Mehdi
This guy makes you laugh but he also makes you learn. It's really fun to watch his educational videos while also having lots of laughs.
fax
10:35 As an electrical apprentice who has placed thousands of straps, I feel your pain.
13:26 That's one reason I prefer to use the plastic boxes - no need to ground the box. There's also the advantage that if the outlet ever gets loose, it can't short the side terminals against the box accidentally - and as there's a limit to how many connections you should put in each size box, having one less pigtail makes the job easier. 👍
Benefit of the metal box, if the electrical ever starts to burn, the box won't be harmed, and possibly even stop the fire.
I prefer metal boxes. You just ground them and there's no need to ground devices individually. Plus they don't flex or anything.
@@jeevana.6391 I am pretty sure that only grounding the boxes is against what the Canadian and American electrical codes say. I also think the reason we ground our devices as well (in Canada we don't ground light switches, which is fine, but some would disagree) is for redundancy sake. I am not an electrician but I came across a set of lights in our basement that had a few problems: There weren't strain reliefs on the non metallic (Americans refer to it as Romex) cable running to each octagon box, so I pulled those boxes and put in the strain reliefs required, the connections where Marettes (wire nuts to those in the US) were supposed to be used were twisted together and only electrical taped so of course I put Marettes on those connections and also had to make new pig tails at each box so they were grounded. I couldn't use the lights so in their place I put electrical outlets as I wanted to put shelves against that wall and maybe plug some lights into those for each shelf.
That job, working in awkward positions is definitely relateable to Mehdi putting those clamps in to hold the wire, I had to work above my head for those.
@@WJCTechyman Grounding the box only is code compliant as long as whatever connected has a path to ground. They're called self-grounding devices. Outlets have their ground connected to the same strip of metal as the screws do and you can usually see a bit of brass on the mounting ears specifically for this. Most lights are the same. If installing something that doesn't have that path, say a type of light fixture, then it needs to be grounded via wire.
Also I don't know how applicable it would have I'm your case, but learning how to drywall has been the best thing when doing any projects involving running wire. It's so much easier to work while not cramped and hoping you can poke something through a hole a metre away.
Fun fact: plastic electrical boxes in Canada have metal straps, so you still need to ground them. It was surprising when I learned this. Also btw I don't believe ground wires count towards box fill.
I would love to see some "testing" on some vintage electrical direct current model trains to see how safe they are
14:11 "be calm and poop on" 💀💀
3:32 had me dying
Yup
Fun video, thank you. Coming from an outdoorsy person, may I ask your suggestion for going outdoors where there is no water? You should never wash off poop into a creek or other waterway. Frankly, as adults here, let's all agree that wiping or bidet is a personal choice, and, it is an unfortunate fact that if you're "smearing" feces around when you wipe, you aren't wiping correctly. Lastly, would you shake hands with someone who got poop on their hands and merely sprayed water on them to "clean" them?
My outdoors go-to is mullein leaves for wiping, as they are antimicrobial and softer than TP. And being a common weed you can harvest all you want without hurting nature. Thanks for the vid, looking forward to the bidet install!
Hay, I do electrical, and would’ve probably used yellow romex even, but it would’ve turned out the same with the path being hidden behind the wall and in the cabinet. The MC flex is a nice upgrade to romex.
Is also a good little sit-thru for anyone not understanding what post-construction electrical is like.
Great job Mehdi.
TMI on the need for the Bidet though.
Some Americans just want to fight over TP when it’s out, that’s all, they’ll never learn.
"where exposed to damage" or something iirc. Behind the drawers should qualify as protected. You aren't doing things behind there 99.9% of forever. NM would probably suffice!
@@lukeanderson439 UF romex
11:37 Wait, the light switch is still active.... Are you allowed to have feeds from two breaks into the same box?
Yes, that's completely fine.
When I ran wires for 120/240 residential in California over a decade ago, it was allowed. My mentor/boss did advise that you try to keep the two live line on the same leg so as not to accidentally get 240V in a box meant for 120.
@@wigglesfourthree3390 Reason why it's not allowed here is two fold. One, expectation, you should always be able to disconnect a complete branch / appliance with a single action. And two, if two wires from the same leg that are fused for their rating touch or get connected by somebody who doesn't pay attention you're now able to draw to much current because the breakers are now in parallel.
I gotta say, I have no business watching these videos as I have no interest in electrical engineering/funny-business, but all of his reactions are so entertaining - I will subscribe.
8:05 the breaker tried to save you multiple times, you just ignored it and reset it every time :-)
7:56 Why on earth are those sockets designed like that? Who thought that having the L and N on either side, _exposed_ ,would be a good idea?
Especially as metal boxes are quite common in North America.
There was a time when legal sockets allowed you to insert the end of the stripped wire which in theory could have dealt with this issue, but they caused other safety issues, so back to exposed screws. Personally I always wrap some electrical tape around the exposed screws to deal with this and other issues.
Most likely it was Thomas Edison. He had over 1000 patents on all sorts of electrical components. Many electrical things here in the US are still somewhat similar to when they were invented. I can install a brand new switch or receptacle in a box that's almost 100 years old and the screw holes are the same distance apart and use the exact same screws to install.
The North American outlets are just awful in every way.
You win the power outlet
For a DIY project, this was really pretty good, IMHO.
It is kinda confusing because people use the different terms wrong all the time, but:
"outlet" = one set of holes (and contacts, etc) used for plugging in one power cord.
"receptacle" = the whole unit (usually with two outlets) which you install into the box and connect to the wiring.
Oh, and you really don't need armored cable for that application (at least in the US). You could just use NMC cable (AKA "exterior grade" Romex). You can't use regular NM (Romex) cable, because a bathroom is a damp/wet location, but NMC cable (typically gray, and rated for use in wet, outdoor, or corrosive locations) should be fine as long as it's secured up inside cabinets and such (i.e. protected from potential damage). Of course the armored cable is also fine, just more of a pain to work with...
Those wire nuts are also not really twisted enough, BTW. I highly recommend DIYers use something like the Wago 221 "lever nut" connectors instead of wire nuts, because it's much easier to make sure you're actually using them correctly. Wire nuts are very easy to do wrong, which can be bad. (also, the Wagos are smaller, so they're easier to fit back in the box, too)
Electrician, Teacher, plumber, carpenter....way to go Mr. Mehdi
"Push it in and hope for the best" - words to live by
Best channel about electricity, he knows exactly what he's doing and makes "Dumb" errors that harms him but at the same time teaches the viewer what NOT to do and common errors that could easily go south.
You could have daisy chained the outlet by the sink. Would have saved you the effort to use the wire nuts. Regardless either way is to code
That may have been the only he did to code.
4:38 mehdi lemme blow your mind - now there are GFCI receptacles on the market that have AUDIBLE ALARMS! I've been in the process of putting them at the head of every branch circuit lately, they're amazing, and also super useful for any non-technical people who may be in your home!
What value does that really add though?
@@3nertianotifies you when it trips. It's helpful if you have a sump pump, radon system, deep freeze, etc on a GFCI protected circuit in a basement or garage, for instance.
@@ematt622 not *just* that either. It's common for people to have no clue what is wired downstream of a GFCI. A neighbor had several outlets that hadn't worked in years and had no idea why... Turns out that a GFCI in a half bathroom used as a closet was in the tripped state, and it fed outlets all the way across the house
@@ematt622 I s'pose that's a fair point - I'm stuck in an apartment, without a vehicle or a job so it hadn't occurred to me heh
@@3nertia apartments sometimes have really questionable wiring! When I was little I had weird issues with gfcis in my apartment, and had no idea what the deal was other than something was tripped somewhere! An alarm makes it obvious.
You did it so clean
Nice job
11:00 you could have also used the terminals on the receptacle- the two brass screws are connected together and the two silver screws are also connected together. This method is generally better if the box is already pretty full or if space is too constrained for your method.
Your method of pigtailing also works and some say is the superior method, as if the receptacle next to the switch fails, it would not affect the receptacle by the toilet. But it does use more space in the box for the wire nut and extra length of wire, so it may not always be the ideal way to complete the job.
Overall, a 9/10 job. You forgot the anti-shorts, which would prevent the steel armor of the cable from cutting into the wire when you clamp down on them. But seeing how it didnt explode... well... i wont tell if you dont tell.
7:10 you have to buy an endoscope camera.
We got a bidet last year and it has literally changed my life. It doesn't need power though, it has a knob to twist that lowers the nozzle and lets the water spray, purely mechanical. Of course there's no butt warmer either.
Great job!! Home DIY projects are always so fun to do. In my country it is illegal to have a plug outlet in the bathroom, even if it is GFCI protected. You truly inspire me! Have a nice day Mehdi :)
Just the whole room, may I ask what country ? usually there is a location issue like it must be a certain distance from the shower or taps ?
Yeah also curious here, can you wire *anything* in the bathroom? You said no plug outlet, is there another kind you can do?
@@maxgood42 @Frizzy9000 Might be the UK. They're only allowed a "shaver receptacle" in bathrooms. No light switch except for a pull cord.
@@jeffspaulding9834 No hard switch ? well it makes sense being wet and all.
@@jeffspaulding9834 UK only permits safety ELV (12V, basically) that close to a toilet.
You can have a 'shaver socket' a certain distance away from water, anything else must be even further away - thus outside the bathroom, unless you have a really large one.
It's basically to ensure it's impracticable to drop a toaster in the sink or the bath.
Very impressive fishing abilities. From the cabinet to the existing box was fantastic!
Can't use AC/MC with plastic boxes like that. You could mount a junction box in the cabinet that takes the MC, and NM-B from the back-side that feeds up wall and into plastic box properly. Also those are the wrong size one-hole straps, need 3/8" MC straps. 13:05 you bought the right box, but yeah hole a lil too big, but what you need to use there are two "madison straps", which are flat metal straps that you insert and then bend, which then rigidly holds the old-work-box in place against the drywall. no need for screws or extra ears.
Your supposed to use 12/2 in bathrooms too
3:39 umm, Mehdi… how can you be sure that DeleteMe isn’t just stealing your personal information too?
Technically intel processor sense at least 2008 have had back door processor at hardware level, inless you buy your own wafers, then at least intel and would not be surprised if industry standard by now ..... *Intel Management Engine* it has access to all raw information from processor level ..... even VPN are technically useless...
@@Clearwater420completely unrelated
@@Clearwater420not ExpressVPN.
as a professional dumbass myself, I think you did a great job. having the space behind the walls to do stuff like this makes me envious (I live in a country with mortar and brick homes, so no drywall for us)
Look at that, no plastic wrap, wire cut offs, or any mess for someone else to clean. Sparkys oughta learn from this. Great video Mehdi.
DeleteMe - give me your personal data, so that i can delete it from intenet 😂😂😂😂 @4:15
I've got that same DigiKey ruler at 11:59 It's awesome.
Huh. I should have taken a picture of my workshop before I wired everything and finished the walls for future reference. That's a very smart tip I never thought of!
11:28 mehdiiiiiii you may be electroboom but you're still an engineer! Use a torque screwdriver!!
To harsh for these style screws. Besides that's how you build up muscle strength my friend 💪.
1:07 I laughed at this for far too long and far too loud.😂😂😂😂😂