Fan motors are easy. Everything is either unplugging wire terminals or turning some nuts on some threaded screws built into the fan. With disconnects, it's demo work and fitting work, which is always the longest part of installs, from new systems down to the electrical whip...
I went on a service call for a movie theater located at a mall yrs ago. There most have been over 75 RTU on the Mall's roof. I find my unit ( the theater had 8 units) I looked and the friggin condenser motor was gone, just the MTR the blade and mounting brackets were still there instead the condenser compartment. I got a good chuckle out of that one.
Use a 1/8 drill bit and drill out the connection points for the size you want. This will give you a clean brake every time. Thanks for making great content!
A couple of my friends used to huff Freon back in high school, it made their voices really deep for a few seconds. They tried to get me to try it, I refused. I can’t imagine how dangerous that was.
@CA-lk6fd that's why I never understood the locking caps on the service ports,if your dumb enough to huff refrigerant that's just natural selection at work to me
That knock out problem happens to me almost every disconnect that style, know i try to save the washers from the whipps i buy.i always end up knocking out the whole hole instead of the 1/2 in electric. Good video
I've had it happen on big expensive electrical panels and little boxes too. Enough that I've taken to eyeballing how punched or not the knockouts are and keeping a cordless dremel style tool and metal cut discs and scoring the breaks so I don't need to get the knockout reducers. Some mfrs just have really bad punches
Yea i just get a pack of reducers and go ahead and knock out the big ones because they’re always easier to get out and reducers makes it easier to run the wire in. Customer pays for the reducers but saves from labor.. win win in my opinion..
On my experience, working in apartment complex, that's the norm with disgruntled Tennant. They fill they have to damage something to stick it to the man...
Years ago I worked as apartment maint. man. One tenant who got evicted left a mattress and box spring behind. A few hours after they moved out the smoke alarm in the apartment went off. I went in and the place was full of smoke. They had set a smoldering fire between the mattress and box spring. If the smoke alarm hadn't gone off the whole place would have been on fire.
I had a call years ago at a lawyers home. The company i was with had installed a change out 2 days earlier. He informed how low life and incopmptent we were and preparing paper work to demand a refund. So after I informed him an unkown criminal had vandalized his disconnect and smashed it in the drive way. And he refused new electrical with change out. And since disconnect authority was a grey area he should call his electrician. And i got in my truck and drove away.
In the UK we have isolator switches with lockable handles. Turn it off and use a padlock to prevent others turning it back on because you have the key. No fiddly disconnect parts to lose.
I imagine that it may have taken him longer to go get one in labor, than to replace the panel with one on the truck. Maybe he also charges more per hour on the weekend, maybe his parts place was closed on the weekend. I am sure there could be many reasons.
Those bars don't always interchange. Besides I have never tried to buy just the bar. The entire disconnect is 17.00. If he can't buy the bar itself and that one would work. That would make the new disconnect useless. He would have to charge for the complete disconnect anyway.
@@deddie4645 I think he did the right thing to install a breaker. just replacing the disconnect might end up with a return visit beacause someone mischievous might steal it again.
I cannot tell you how many times I have found this same scenario. I wish they sold just the pull out shorting blocks, because i have had to replace almost brand new disconnects just because of the missing pull out.
I did a unit before for a breakup. He took shower head and tub spout. Then they said the A/C has not worked since he left, I was like I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but no pull out was missing. I feel your pain.
2:16 - As Eric O. from South Main Auto would say, "There's your problem, lady!" Having "Edge of Seventeen" stuck in your head isn't that bad. There are at least a dozen songs I can think of that would drive me absolutely nuts if they were stuck in my head. Donovan's "First There is a Mountain," Maria Muldaur's "Midnight at the Oasis," Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5," Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians' "I Do," just to name a few. I definitely felt your pain on those multi-size knockouts. I don't trust my luck, so I always buy a reducing adapter ahead of time. 😉
Maybe some local feral primates stole it just to cause trouble, or it might have been someone who had a beef with the prior tenants; who knows? Fleetwood Mac is definitely one of the better earworms to have. I've got another one for you, a particularly fitting one: Georgia Rhythm, by Atlanta Rhythm Section. Play that one cranked a few times, and you'll have a new earworm.
@@softwarephil1709 So, you are saying the exact same thing I said, but in different words.. Yep :) Maybe you missed the "with a breaker" part. I didn't say anything about finding a matching pull plug.
I'm partial to the "Rumors" album, myself. Even have it on 8-track. 🤣 If you're interested in cover versions, an album titled "Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumors" is a pretty good listen. Irish pop group The Corrs does an amazing version of "Dreams."
I think I would spray some type of bug juice all around them outside boxes before attempting to work/remove on it first.. maybe before I even open the lid, or maybe have some gloves on:-).. just saying love your work, sort of how things go for me never as simple as I would like at times, especially when you follow up on a past bubba install/fix…
If your wires are to short, code allows wire nuts in the box..put you a little extension and good to go. Also the knockout, I lift with screw driver and use some good nippers.
You are *always* supposed to use knockout bushings inside and outside the box. You may never rely on the remaining knockout rings for a connection. But if you didn’t have the part, you could have just swapped out the internals from the new box and kept the old box which was obviously rated for at least 30A and in good physical condition.
Seems like youd call the owner and ask if they took the disconnect for some reason before youd go through installing a new one.. but i guess easy money if you just put one on in.. way of the game..
I hate knockouts, seeing a professional having the same problems that I have trying to get the right size knockout is actually relieving knowing that it's not me.
I had a buddy that did maintenance in a trailer park and a disgruntled tenant filled the duct work with raw chicken, in the summer. All the duct work had to be replaced to the the smell out .
I must admit, when I was younger and my neighbor was a complete jerk, I would frequently flip their breaker on their AC unit.. I have since grown up...😂😂
Might have been the previous tenant, but it could have been ANYONE. That disconnect box is wide open and there are teens around who think this kind of vandalism is fun. (I remember being almost that silly when I was 15...)
There is a possibility that the previous tenants pulled the disconnect to prevent others in the house from using the AC and simply forgot to put it back when they moved out. Here in California I have never seen a breaker AC disconnect, it has always been fuses. Is a breaker up to code???
Sabotage is possible, but it was probably something stupid. May have been pulled by the landlord or maintenance man, and put in a stupid place. May have fallen on the ground and the grass cutters got it, or kids, Lord knows. A plain shame though. Nice job changing it, you just barely had enough wire.
Damn are those straps hideous why not just pour a little pad there or buy a pad and set the unit on that? If one trailer gets pulled out the next is just getting parked in the same place, wouldnt affect the unit any. People do some weird stuff.
Maybe the landlord pulled the disconnect to get non-paying Tennent's to move out. Might have been several months till summer heat set in and disconnect was lost in the mean time.
Love these types of channels, THANKS !! curious, in these situations, and maybe I missed it in video, do you call landlord and say, I can put an entire new component in now, or I can order you a replacement pull out, or they can look around for it and see if they find it?
When you give the Landlord the bill, You'll probably get the sabatoge answer. Let us know if you find out. Difficult if not impossible to prove though. They could loose their deposit, or possibly they did. Have a great weekend!
Tenant didn’t get all deposit back. I doubt landlord would call if he knew where it was. Old tenants were spiteful and was like I’ll make you pay the 1k somehow.
I'm 4 minutes into the video and the first thing my mind is doing is asking if someone has swapped a ground and a power wire going into this A/C unit to see if I will damage it by plugging a disconnect pull out into the system.
Edited: At least you don't use all 3 terms of "Jake Leg, Hack Job and Sabotage" in every single one of your video titles just to get people to click on it. Appreciate that.
I hate those knock outs. If you knock the 1/2" from the outside of box in that works best. If you look close enough it is designed that way but still is not fool proof. Like everything else they get made thinner and thinner.
Was it a foreclosure? Thoes bank contractors that (winterise foreclosure properties at least up in New York ) remove yankout disconnects, and then the realtor throws them out when cleaning out the property.
IF disgruntled previous tenant did do this then the next trade to visit will probably be a plumber...
So true! I had a tenant that flushed dish towels down both toilets before moving out. Cost them a $300 plumber bill (took it out of their deposit).
now that could be a shitty mess
Well, that's a lot better than somebody foaming the sewer line.... With big gap filler foam
Be lucky someone didn't steal the outside unit
Yes
Nice work Curtis. I have run into that situation several times throughout the years. I chalked it up to disgruntled tenants.
Curtis, I think you spent more time changing that disconnect than changing a fan motor 😂
For real 😂 🤣
Fan motors are easy. Everything is either unplugging wire terminals or turning some nuts on some threaded screws built into the fan. With disconnects, it's demo work and fitting work, which is always the longest part of installs, from new systems down to the electrical whip...
@@nuc2726 you are faded lol
@@jeffreys1554 You must be a poor technician if you can't whip a fan motor in and out in 30 minutes.
@@nuc2726 I can do a disconnect box in 10 minutes
I went on a service call for a movie theater located at a mall yrs ago. There most have been over 75 RTU on the Mall's roof. I find my unit ( the theater had 8 units) I looked and the friggin condenser motor was gone, just the MTR the blade and mounting brackets were still there instead the condenser compartment. I got a good chuckle out of that one.
Use a 1/8 drill bit and drill out the connection points for the size you want. This will give you a clean brake every time. Thanks for making great content!
*Break
I always found that a step bit did a good job for this.
I just use a greenlee knock out set.
I have a container full of different style pullouts for disconnects just for that reason. Not a common thing but they have came in handy.
he has so much to learn.that is a lot of work,for the same pay.
Where do you get them? Salvage from replacements or can you buy them separate in bulk?
@@Mo4Honesty You buy different ones,and pull the guts out,90% of the time ,you just change the guts.
@@Mo4Honesty Where do you think the missing disconnects go? haha just kidding
@@drozcompany4132 that may not be far from the reality 😱
Great job Curtis thanks for the video
You bet
Great job!
We had 3 pull out disconnects stolen from one of our offices. Just pure mischief. No other real use for them.
Kids probably. There was a group of young boys in my GF's neighborhood doing this and huffing the Freon.
A couple of my friends used to huff Freon back in high school, it made their voices really deep for a few seconds. They tried to get me to try it, I refused. I can’t imagine how dangerous that was.
@@CA-lk6fdIt literally kills some of your braincells so
Better to have disconnect missing then condenser.
@CA-lk6fd that's why I never understood the locking caps on the service ports,if your dumb enough to huff refrigerant that's just natural selection at work to me
That knock out problem happens to me almost every disconnect that style, know i try to save the washers from the whipps i buy.i always end up knocking out the whole hole instead of the 1/2 in electric. Good video
That is a pain.
@@hinspect Sounds like an idea, he had a video a while back using a step bit.
@@jthonn Just use dikes. Knock it out a little with a flat head then clip the welds with your dikes trust me it works every time
I've had it happen on big expensive electrical panels and little boxes too. Enough that I've taken to eyeballing how punched or not the knockouts are and keeping a cordless dremel style tool and metal cut discs and scoring the breaks so I don't need to get the knockout reducers. Some mfrs just have really bad punches
Squirrels. They are building a community with electric.🤣
Beavers, lol
great vid. I feel your pain with the tough knockouts. thank goodness for doughnuts
You should use a holesaw to drill out the bottom of the disconnect ! Makes it so easy !
The knock out struggle is real!
Too many size options for one hole.
Thanks for the vid!
You bet!
i like how the newer boxes,the knockouts never seperate like they`re supposed to,,,,it always knocks out the whole section🙄
Might as well use a uni bit a save the aggravation...
Glad I'm not the only one,those can definitely be a pain sometimes
Use a flat head screwdriver to lift the knockout slightly then clip the welds with dikes. It works perfectly and way faster than using a step bit
Yea i just get a pack of reducers and go ahead and knock out the big ones because they’re always easier to get out and reducers makes it easier to run the wire in. Customer pays for the reducers but saves from labor.. win win in my opinion..
Welcome to the world where everything is made in China.
On my experience, working in apartment complex, that's the norm with disgruntled Tennant. They fill they have to damage something to stick it to the man...
Years ago I worked as apartment maint. man. One tenant who got evicted left a mattress and box spring behind. A few hours after they moved out the smoke alarm in the apartment went off. I went in and the place was full of smoke. They had set a smoldering fire between the mattress and box spring. If the smoke alarm hadn't gone off the whole place would have been on fire.
What exactly is it that they fill?
I had a call years ago at a lawyers home. The company i was with had installed a change out 2 days earlier. He informed how low life and incopmptent we were and preparing paper work to demand a refund. So after I informed him an unkown criminal had vandalized his disconnect and smashed it in the drive way. And he refused new electrical with change out. And since disconnect authority was a grey area he should call his electrician. And i got in my truck and drove away.
In the UK we have isolator switches with lockable handles. Turn it off and use a padlock to prevent others turning it back on because you have the key. No fiddly disconnect parts to lose.
great work curtis
Glad you enjoyed it
Add neighborhood kids to the mix. Going around in the wee hours pulling those pesky disconnects. Just to add to their collection.
Or the former tenant was a Karen that annoyed the nieghborhood kids, one to many times!
Nice work,Curtis!
Thanks!
Wow not to tought put in a new bar. You carried this project to extreme I think.
I imagine that it may have taken him longer to go get one in labor, than to replace the panel with one on the truck. Maybe he also charges more per hour on the weekend, maybe his parts place was closed on the weekend. I am sure there could be many reasons.
The bar could be a different style also
Those bars don't always interchange. Besides I have never tried to buy just the bar. The entire disconnect is 17.00. If he can't buy the bar itself and that one would work. That would make the new disconnect useless. He would have to charge for the complete disconnect anyway.
You can always keep the disconnect from a few old boxes for emergencies but that’s not going to make you any money 🤷♂️🤣
Yeah, why didn't you just go pull a old disconnect out of the back of the service truck....
@@deddie4645 I think he did the right thing to install a breaker. just replacing the disconnect might end up with a return visit beacause someone mischievous might steal it again.
There isn't any thing wrong with Fleetwood Mac, Good job and thanks for the video.
I cannot tell you how many times I have found this same scenario. I wish they sold just the pull out shorting blocks, because i have had to replace almost brand new disconnects just because of the missing pull out.
I did a unit before for a breakup. He took shower head and tub spout. Then they said the A/C has not worked since he left, I was like I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but no pull out was missing. I feel your pain.
If it wasn't the "pullout" missing, what was it?
2:16 - As Eric O. from South Main Auto would say, "There's your problem, lady!"
Having "Edge of Seventeen" stuck in your head isn't that bad. There are at least a dozen songs I can think of that would drive me absolutely nuts if they were stuck in my head. Donovan's "First There is a Mountain," Maria Muldaur's "Midnight at the Oasis," Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5," Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians' "I Do," just to name a few.
I definitely felt your pain on those multi-size knockouts. I don't trust my luck, so I always buy a reducing adapter ahead of time. 😉
9:57 Yeah, that's never good.
The Washer that you cut was a Very smart solution to the problem though.
Maybe some local feral primates stole it just to cause trouble, or it might have been someone who had a beef with the prior tenants; who knows?
Fleetwood Mac is definitely one of the better earworms to have. I've got another one for you, a particularly fitting one: Georgia Rhythm, by Atlanta Rhythm Section. Play that one cranked a few times, and you'll have a new earworm.
Have to watch the copywrite, it could defund the video.
feral primates 🤣
Love your vids Day 2!!!!
Thanks
Well done Curtis, another good job. May be young kids ? 🤔 Au
Should invest In a step bit or “Christmas tree” bit in your drill for those disconnect knock outs, way quicker
That trailer park tribal warfare
I love this channel it shows you how to do stuff and the same way every DIY'r would do it# it's great!
So you can't just buy a spare disconnect pull out, you have to replace the whole box?
Disconnect boxes are cheap. Travel time to find the right plug is very expensive.
@@softwarephil1709 Cheap? Not a disconnect box with a breaker!
You can buy a disconnect box with pull plug from Home Depot for $18. That’s far cheaper than the travel time to find a matching pull plug replacement.
@@softwarephil1709good to know 🫡
@@softwarephil1709 So, you are saying the exact same thing I said, but in different words.. Yep :) Maybe you missed the "with a breaker" part. I didn't say anything about finding a matching pull plug.
Maybe neighbor borrowed it.. good to have them conduit reducing washers
Yes it was my aunt rented out a house when the. People move out they took everything the light bulbs, etc she was mad
The neighb stole the pullout
I bet if you had extended that disconnect search, you would have found it yeeted across the way behind the trailer.
The roof?
I've been listening to Fleetwood Mac a lot lately!
I'm partial to the "Rumors" album, myself. Even have it on 8-track. 🤣
If you're interested in cover versions, an album titled "Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumors" is a pretty good listen. Irish pop group The Corrs does an amazing version of "Dreams."
I recently heard a trap is now required on all new electrical sealtights😂
Nothing wrong with Fleetwood Mac, good group.
Could have been a neighbor that pulled the disconnect.
Ive got two that look like breakers out there (even though theyre not) . Nothing to steal
What is a theyre?
@@jimwhite9483 it's a contraction without an apostrophe. Good old voice typing.
They are combined = they're. Better?? Or bet'ter
I think I would spray some type of bug juice all around them outside boxes before attempting to work/remove on it first.. maybe before I even open the lid, or maybe have some gloves on:-).. just saying love your work, sort of how things go for me never as simple as I would like at times, especially when you follow up on a past bubba install/fix…
That's very common for schools, i padlock them closed.
If your wires are to short, code allows wire nuts in the box..put you a little extension and good to go. Also the knockout, I lift with screw driver and use some good nippers.
You are *always* supposed to use knockout bushings inside and outside the box.
You may never rely on the remaining knockout rings for a connection.
But if you didn’t have the part, you could have just swapped out the internals from the new box and kept the old box which was obviously rated for at least 30A and in good physical condition.
Seems like youd call the owner and ask if they took the disconnect for some reason before youd go through installing a new one.. but i guess easy money if you just put one on in.. way of the game..
Those disconnects have a place to put a padlock on them for a reason. :)
I think that’s for locking out when power is off. Usually it’s dangerous to lock something on in the event of emergency.
11:11 @@RainmanRaysRepairs has a t-shirt that says "Everything is a hammer"
I think you should get one...😂
In a condo complex(Chicago burbs) there were apparently 20 pullouts were stolen.
How many were were?
As I recall about 20
Carry a couple of Reducer washers just for this
good idea
I hate knockouts, seeing a professional having the same problems that I have trying to get the right size knockout is actually relieving knowing that it's not me.
Yes, it is you. You aren’t following the NEC. You are being dangerous. Use two knockout bushings like you’re supposed to.
I think a neighbor had a problem with theirs, knew this place was vacant, and took the pull-out.
I've had to do that so many times. I keep the washers that cone with the whips just in case the knockout comes all the way out like it did there.
Or somebody needed it to fix one. I keep a few used ones on hand when I can. OMG those crappy knockouts.
When I was on call I use to hope I'd get calls like those!
Boa troca de chave para disjuntor é mais fácil de ligar e religar dá mais segurança para o ar central. Um bom dia 🔨🛠️🏠☀️🇧🇷❄️
had teenagers doing this at my bosses park..started trying some tstat wire on them and it stopped
How was trying thermostat wire effective?
Have people put a small padlock on disconnect box
I had a buddy that did maintenance in a trailer park and a disgruntled tenant filled the duct work with raw chicken, in the summer. All the duct work had to be replaced to the the smell out .
Heard of a guy once filled his ex-wife's curtain rods with fish when she got the house.
I must admit, when I was younger and my neighbor was a complete jerk, I would frequently flip their breaker on their AC unit.. I have since grown up...😂😂
Might have been the previous tenant, but it could have been ANYONE. That disconnect box is wide open and there are teens around who think this kind of vandalism is fun. (I remember being almost that silly when I was 15...)
There is a possibility that the previous tenants pulled the disconnect to prevent others in the house from using the AC and simply forgot to put it back when they moved out. Here in California I have never seen a breaker AC disconnect, it has always been fuses. Is a breaker up to code???
Sabotage is possible, but it was probably something stupid. May have been pulled by the landlord or maintenance man, and put in a stupid place. May have fallen on the ground and the grass cutters got it, or kids, Lord knows. A plain shame though. Nice job changing it, you just barely had enough wire.
Great job on the short wires, *_that_* looked like a pain. The original "electrician" did a shitty job! 😉
Damn are those straps hideous why not just pour a little pad there or buy a pad and set the unit on that? If one trailer gets pulled out the next is just getting parked in the same place, wouldnt affect the unit any. People do some weird stuff.
Maybe the landlord pulled the disconnect to get non-paying Tennent's to move out. Might have been several months till summer heat set in and disconnect was lost in the mean time.
Love these types of channels, THANKS !! curious, in these situations, and maybe I missed it in video, do you call landlord and say, I can put an entire new component in now, or I can order you a replacement pull out, or they can look around for it and see if they find it?
Knockouts... I would try using an old socket underneath before knocking out the smaller hole.
Hows the Milwaukee vacuum pump working out after all this months? You still like it?
Love it
why cant they make the pop outs easier :( always givin issues
Size options.
I would have checked the disconnect first to verify power.
Ive stopped trying to figure out people & the games they play.
As my wife says: "Normal is just a setting on your Washing Machine".
I bet that bastard tossed the pull out on the roof of the trailer 🤔
Did you install a lock 🙂
Could have been sabotage, but also one of the neighbors may have lost their pullout and went over and took that one
Why not just go get the proper disconnect instead of changing the entire box out?
Disconnect boxes are cheap. Travel time to find the right plug is expensive.
Wonder why you didn't buy just a cheap disconnect. Put the pull in the old box and charging for a box
It was a Saturday morning. He tried just a pull but his wasn't compatible.
Stay safe, Curtis. Do you have a link for the shears you used to modify the reducing washer?
11:51 pass why I don't carry hammers and screwdrivers for that I use a unit and get the right size it looks like a Christmas tree😊
👍👍👍
Unless I missed it I don't think you tightened the lock washer.
Need better boxes. quality is poor .....
When you give the Landlord the bill, You'll probably get the sabatoge answer.
Let us know if you find out. Difficult if not impossible to prove though. They could loose their deposit, or possibly they did.
Have a great weekend!
I’m hoping the local municipality took it due to the installation of that thing. 😂
Tenant didn’t get all deposit back. I doubt landlord would call if he knew where it was. Old tenants were spiteful and was like I’ll make you pay the 1k somehow.
I'm 4 minutes into the video and the first thing my mind is doing is asking if someone has swapped a ground and a power wire going into this A/C unit to see if I will damage it by plugging a disconnect pull out into the system.
Possibly the landlord does this to get squatters out.
Great point.
Ok but he would put it back in so as not to get a repair bill.
That's wrong, messing with equipment, letting it out on the next person, wrong answer. Call the cops. The law is on the wealthy side.
That screwdriver seems very cumbersome to use ! Lol
Disconnects, who needs em
Edited:
At least you don't use all 3 terms of "Jake Leg, Hack Job and Sabotage" in every single one of your video titles just to get people to click on it. Appreciate that.
I hate those concentric knock outs, you have to hit them perfectly or you end of with a hole that's too big for your fitting.
I have always disliked the "Pull" disconnects. It's trouble waiting for a time to happen.
10 gauge wire foldet on the box so a kid cannot move it
I hate those knock outs. If you knock the 1/2" from the outside of box in that works best. If you look close enough it is designed that way but still is not fool proof. Like everything else they get made thinner and thinner.
Was that a 22 guge wire feeding the condensor. It looked like yellow romex
12 guage
Was it a foreclosure? Thoes bank contractors that (winterise foreclosure properties at least up in New York ) remove yankout disconnects, and then the realtor throws them out when cleaning out the property.
The wires at the disconnect must be very very tight or the electricity will leak out.😱😱😱😱😱😱😱