If by yourself, and don’t want to buy the test equipment they used, plug a radio into the outlet turned up to where you can hear it from the panel. Flip breakers till it turns off.
I have the tool shown in the video and used it to identify breakers in a 1951 house that has been added onto three times and has both a main and a subpanel. I purchased some 10 color garage sale stickers and a bag of outlet covers that are used to protect toddlers. Circuits were identied by color and labeled with a prefix of M or S to identify the panel followed by a number to identify the breaker. This was very helpful during the remodel because several rooms were serviced by multiple breakers and some breakers needed to be changed to bring the wiring up to code when recepacles were upgraded from two prong to three prong. A color coded sticker on the panel is also much easier to read that the stamped circuit. A color coded sticker on the inside of a junction box makes it easy to identify the circuits if it needs servicing. One situation I ran into is circuits from different panels going to the same junction box. A single gang junction box for kitchen counter circuit was changed to a two gang box to accomodate wiring for a patio receptacle and additional lighting. With this situation, it is important that the neutral wire and ground wires for each circuit remain separated in the junction box. Color coded stickers for each circuit inside the box make it easy for an electrician to understand what is going on.
Don't forget one of the most important things, don't write so-and-so's bedroom, write master bedroom, southeast bedroom, etcetera, so that when someone else not you comes through they know what's what
if the label doesn't fit like me, I just laminated it and used the command velco strips to attach it to the inside of door. And I left space on my template, so if something changes, I can sharpie it in there until i can print a fresh copy.
I've done this with my mom's breaker panel. The electrical contractor that used the included label sheet for the panel, had a very limited amount of line space and had to write tiny, abbreviated, and illegible. So I've had to go through the entire house to figure out what's what and where. Typed up and printed out a new label/table and placed it on the inside of the breaker panel door.
Appreciate that people have various ways to handle their electrical labeling, but it is an essential item to address sooner or later for all structures. Thanks!
I made drawings of my house (in Vizio) with all of AC and low voltage devices on it. Every AC device has a breaker number on it. That way you know what will all go off when you flip any breaker. I keep printed copies of all the layers by the panel. I love my house. 😊
I too used labels in my electrical panel. I put number on each breaker, space next to the braker, and on a piece of scrap cardboard. The numbers on the breakers help me identify each one even when the panel cover is off. The cardboard contains a list of breakers, their numbers, and clear list of the functions of each circuit.
😂😂love to see him to try and label my breaker,my kitchen has 7 for 8 outlets, technically 8 but the breaker marked kitchen GFCI doesn't work for anything including the GFCI outlet in kitchen, meanwhile the upstairs has 2 breakers for 3 rooms and 1 shared GFCI breaker with all 3bathrooms , outside outlets and low voltage and city passed in it in 1990
Very good. I’m a kind of organized person too. Now I will be gutting and re wiring my home. I can run the wire and then have an electrician do the rest HOWEVER, i don’t know the proper way about setting up wiring room to room. I am embarking on the first floor first. I may have to wait till later this year or next year to do the upstairs. Do you have a video on this approach? Just curious. Thanks
Ive had to do both of my panels my last few houses. Pain in the butt, but 2 people and a label maker and done forever. Usually thats when you find weird circuits that you would never think are linked
Funnily enough, I just went through the panel of the home my Mom bought 3 years ago. Panel had a "new" label made of a strip of loose leaf paper with duct tape at both ends covering the old faded labels. Was a funny thing to see, but hey it worked... (or maybe not, because some of the labels were still wrong/unlabeled).
I made a chart in google docs and then made a qr code to the url and put the qr code on the inside panel door. That way I can make changes to the chart without printing out a new one every time.
Imagine sometime in the not so distant future. Google has shut down Docs (they kill every product habitually). Someone bought your house and they sold it. All your work has been lost to the digital ether. Print out a paper copy, man. Even if it’s not 100% up to date, someone will really, really appreciate it.
The provided sheet that comes on the door is like the old cassette tapes. How was I supposed to fit "Hot love songs of the 90's that were definitely legally purchased!" Same issue with the panel doors.
Old retired electrician here. Before all these devices, I used to plug in a pistol drill, lock the switch in the "on" position so the drill would keep running. Go to the breaker panel and turn breakers off until the drill stopped. Need to have a quiet place but it usually works. The adapters will allow lights to be checked this way too. Actually, a cord could get the drill close enough to hear it much better if needed.
Anyone know what the term/abbrevaition "OSBO" might be? There is a mystery 240V 30A double-pole breaker in my panel labeled "OSBO RECEP" and I have no idea where it leads.
please for the love of god electricians grab a sharpie and label the backs of light switches and outlets as to what breaker they are! low voltage techs been doing this for years. time to learn some new tricks.
@@ALAN-gn4ud some will some won't so instead you play breaker roulette haha. Labels are like Plug 29-35 West wing. But none of the plugs are numbered without getting out the electrical blueprint.
I've come across customer's panels that are labeled nice & neat in the legend on the door, but there's no numbers by the breakers. I assume the same layout, but it's hit & miss. I do have one of those breaker locators, & they work alright...not foolproof, though.
In basically all commercial applications, they stick a label code on the plate of the plug or switch, then you know exactly what breaker it is. I recommend any home owner do this ( not the sticking a label on your plates). Also make sure you have a flashlight, like one where you can plug in to a plug so it's always charged, by your electrical panel. So if there's an emergency and you have to trip the main breaker, then you got a flashlight ready.
I like the idea of the rechargeable flashlight as that is what I did. There is a receptacle right below the electrical panel and I plugged in a night light that also has a flashlight, it turns on when there is motion or the power goes out.
Great ideas ... but I would laminate my diy label on paper and then it doesnt get dirty either. (instead of printing on sticky blank paper - use normal printer paper and laminate)
Many residential lines on the west coast are 20A, and all of them are without the T receptacles. The idea is that each one shouldn’t go above 15A but multiple at the same time can handle the extra load.
If there are "multiple" outlets on the circuit, the 15 amp receptacles are fine. If the outlet is a "dedicated" (only one outlet on the 20 amp circuit, then it should be the 20 amp device you are describing since that one outlet can be tasked with the entire 20 amp rating of the breaker/wiring.
If by yourself, and don’t want to buy the test equipment they used, plug a radio into the outlet turned up to where you can hear it from the panel. Flip breakers till it turns off.
I use a vacuum but same principle
Good idea! Better than my thought (plug in something to trip the breaker). :)
@@davidalearmonth😂
That was the first thing they said.
Yep. Radio is the way. Do at dusk for lights to make it easier
I have the tool shown in the video and used it to identify breakers in a 1951 house that has been added onto three times and has both a main and a subpanel. I purchased some 10 color garage sale stickers and a bag of outlet covers that are used to protect toddlers. Circuits were identied by color and labeled with a prefix of M or S to identify the panel followed by a number to identify the breaker. This was very helpful during the remodel because several rooms were serviced by multiple breakers and some breakers needed to be changed to bring the wiring up to code when recepacles were upgraded from two prong to three prong. A color coded sticker on the panel is also much easier to read that the stamped circuit. A color coded sticker on the inside of a junction box makes it easy to identify the circuits if it needs servicing.
One situation I ran into is circuits from different panels going to the same junction box. A single gang junction box for kitchen counter circuit was changed to a two gang box to accomodate wiring for a patio receptacle and additional lighting. With this situation, it is important that the neutral wire and ground wires for each circuit remain separated in the junction box. Color coded stickers for each circuit inside the box make it easy for an electrician to understand what is going on.
Don't forget one of the most important things, don't write so-and-so's bedroom, write master bedroom, southeast bedroom, etcetera, so that when someone else not you comes through they know what's what
if the label doesn't fit like me, I just laminated it and used the command velco strips to attach it to the inside of door. And I left space on my template, so if something changes, I can sharpie it in there until i can print a fresh copy.
How will I know if the label doesn't fit like you ?!?
I've done this with my mom's breaker panel.
The electrical contractor that used the included label sheet for the panel, had a very limited amount of line space and had to write tiny, abbreviated, and illegible.
So I've had to go through the entire house to figure out what's what and where. Typed up and printed out a new label/table and placed it on the inside of the breaker panel door.
Appreciate that people have various ways to handle their electrical labeling, but it is an essential item to address sooner or later for all structures. Thanks!
I made drawings of my house (in Vizio) with all of AC and low voltage devices on it. Every AC device has a breaker number on it. That way you know what will all go off when you flip any breaker. I keep printed copies of all the layers by the panel. I love my house. 😊
I too used labels in my electrical panel. I put number on each breaker, space next to the braker, and on a piece of scrap cardboard. The numbers on the breakers help me identify each one even when the panel cover is off. The cardboard contains a list of breakers, their numbers, and clear list of the functions of each circuit.
Also label the inside of the switch/receptacle wall plate with the breaker number. That way you have a second way of knowing which breaker it is on.
😂😂love to see him to try and label my breaker,my kitchen has 7 for 8 outlets, technically 8 but the breaker marked kitchen GFCI doesn't work for anything including the GFCI outlet in kitchen, meanwhile the upstairs has 2 breakers for 3 rooms and 1 shared GFCI breaker with all 3bathrooms , outside outlets and low voltage and city passed in it in 1990
Very good. I’m a kind of organized person too. Now I will be gutting and re wiring my home. I can run the wire and then have an electrician do the rest HOWEVER, i don’t know the proper way about setting up wiring room to room. I am embarking on the first floor first. I may have to wait till later this year or next year to do the upstairs. Do you have a video on this approach? Just curious. Thanks
Ive had to do both of my panels my last few houses. Pain in the butt, but 2 people and a label maker and done forever. Usually thats when you find weird circuits that you would never think are linked
Funnily enough, I just went through the panel of the home my Mom bought 3 years ago. Panel had a "new" label made of a strip of loose leaf paper with duct tape at both ends covering the old faded labels.
Was a funny thing to see, but hey it worked... (or maybe not, because some of the labels were still wrong/unlabeled).
Marking the circuit number on the insides plate of the plugs and switches with a marker is the best way , takes a little time, but that's what I do!
I made a chart in google docs and then made a qr code to the url and put the qr code on the inside panel door. That way I can make changes to the chart without printing out a new one every time.
Imagine sometime in the not so distant future. Google has shut down Docs (they kill every product habitually). Someone bought your house and they sold it. All your work has been lost to the digital ether. Print out a paper copy, man. Even if it’s not 100% up to date, someone will really, really appreciate it.
@@JohnDoe-my5ip let me know when they shut down gmail and i'll take you seriously
Good information and methodology as always!
The provided sheet that comes on the door is like the old cassette tapes. How was I supposed to fit "Hot love songs of the 90's that were definitely legally purchased!" Same issue with the panel doors.
Old retired electrician here. Before all these devices, I used to plug in a pistol drill, lock the switch in the "on" position so the drill would keep running. Go to the breaker panel and turn breakers off until the drill stopped. Need to have a quiet place but it usually works. The adapters will allow lights to be checked this way too. Actually, a cord could get the drill close enough to hear it much better if needed.
Anyone know what the term/abbrevaition "OSBO" might be? There is a mystery 240V 30A double-pole breaker in my panel labeled "OSBO RECEP" and I have no idea where it leads.
please for the love of god electricians grab a sharpie and label the backs of light switches and outlets as to what breaker they are! low voltage techs been doing this for years. time to learn some new tricks.
Commerical stuff they will label the outlets with the panel and breaker.
@@ALAN-gn4ud some will some won't so instead you play breaker roulette haha. Labels are like Plug 29-35 West wing. But none of the plugs are numbered without getting out the electrical blueprint.
I've come across customer's panels that are labeled nice & neat in the legend on the door, but there's no numbers by the breakers. I assume the same layout, but it's hit & miss. I do have one of those breaker locators, & they work alright...not foolproof, though.
In basically all commercial applications, they stick a label code on the plate of the plug or switch, then you know exactly what breaker it is.
I recommend any home owner do this ( not the sticking a label on your plates). Also make sure you have a flashlight, like one where you can plug in to a plug so it's always charged, by your electrical panel. So if there's an emergency and you have to trip the main breaker, then you got a flashlight ready.
I like the idea of the rechargeable flashlight as that is what I did. There is a receptacle right below the electrical panel and I plugged in a night light that also has a flashlight, it turns on when there is motion or the power goes out.
Everyone has a phone flashlight.
Tell me at 00:28 he doesn't sound exactly like Dustin from "Smarter Everyday"
I Have Exact Same Label Maker, Two Of Them Actually, They Are Lifesavver :D
So are you suppose to have corresponding labels above each outlet? Not an option with the other half.
I think that was just for demonstration purposes.
Great ideas ... but I would laminate my diy label on paper and then it doesnt get dirty either. (instead of printing on sticky blank paper - use normal printer paper and laminate)
You don't need to buy the adhesive pad - just size it with your word document and scotch tape it on the door on one side!
Just found out the upstairs outlet (oops, i mean receptacle) is on the first floor panel. In a 2 family home.
Link or at least the make and model of the test equipment?
It’s called a circuit breaker finder. Klein makes a good one. Fifty bucks, 2024.
Brilliant!
Thier prop guy blew it on this segment with that tiny electric panel.
I have Eaton GFCI circuit breakers in the distribution box. Some of them trip again and again. What could be the reason?
I always write the number of the breaker on the back of all the switch and outlet plates as well
@@Kevin-mp5of I paint my own house. 😂
How was that a 20 A outlet? It didn't have the T on the return side prong.
Many residential lines on the west coast are 20A, and all of them are without the T receptacles. The idea is that each one shouldn’t go above 15A but multiple at the same time can handle the extra load.
If there are "multiple" outlets on the circuit, the 15 amp receptacles are fine. If the outlet is a "dedicated" (only one outlet on the 20 amp circuit, then it should be the 20 amp device you are describing since that one outlet can be tasked with the entire 20 amp rating of the breaker/wiring.
My brother in law is an electrician, i hate messing around with electricity, im afraid of getting shocked or electrocuted by accident !! 😢🥴
Where’s “Thin diesel” th-cam.com/video/fGpOwUAJ16c/w-d-xo.htmlsi=q4wuv7fVblCa8PAl
Junk siemens panel