Today, we’re tackling the ins and outs of installing a GFCI outlet. Why? Because my buddy’s bathroom had zero power, and I needed to install a fancy bidet. No juice, no spritz – so let’s fix that.

What’s a GFCI and Why Do You Need One?

GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. Fancy name, simple job: it shuts off power if it detects an imbalance in the electrical current, which could mean water and electricity are getting a little too friendly. That’s why GFCIs are required in bathrooms, kitchens, and other moisture-prone areas.

Step 1: Find a Power Source

Since running a whole new circuit from the panel isn’t an easy task (unless you love breaking through walls like the Kool-Aid Man), we’re looking for an existing power source. In this case, I had two options:

1. Tap into the light switches inside the bathroom.
2. Use the power from a closet light switch on the other side of the wall.

I chose the closet switch because I felt like it kept things cleaner.

Step 2: Cutting and Fishing the Wire

First, I popped off the cover plate of the switch to check if I had the holy trinity of wiring: hot, neutral, and ground. Luckily, all three were present. Next, I punched out one of the knockouts in the switch box and fed a new wire down the wall to where I wanted my GFCI outlet. I used an old work box, which is great for retrofit jobs because it clamps onto the drywall instead of needing nails or screws. Just cut a hole in the wall, fish the wire through, and boom – progress.

However, life isn’t always that easy. I hit a fire block in the wall, which meant the wire wasn’t dropping as expected. Instead of tearing up the bathroom wall, I cut into the closet side, removed a small section of drywall, notched out the fire block, and fished the wire through. Minimal mess, maximum success.

Step 3: Wiring the GFCI Outlet

Now for the fun part – wiring up the outlet. GFCIs have three main screws:

• Brass/Black – Connects to the hot wire (black) *black touches brass, save your ass!
• Silver – Connects to the neutral wire (white)
• Green – Connects to the ground (bare copper wire)

Many GFCIs also have load terminals (covered with yellow tape), which allow you to protect additional outlets downstream. In this case, we’re just installing one GFCI, so we’re keeping it simple.

I stripped back the sheathing on the wires, connected black to brass, white to silver, and ground to green. After carefully stuffing the wires back into the box (without looking like I was forcing a sleeping bag back into its pouch), I secured the outlet and put on the cover plate.

Step 4: Connecting to the Power Source

Back at the switch, I turned off the power (because I prefer to be stimulated by coffee), removed the switch, and identified the line wire (the one bringing power from the panel). You can use either:

1. A voltage detector pen (quick but not always foolproof)
2. A voltmeter (more accurate & professional – look for ~120V between hot and neutral)

Once I confirmed the correct wires, I used a wire nut to pigtail a short black wire from the hot wire bundle and connected it back to the switch. This way, both the switch and the new GFCI outlet would get constant power.

Step 5: Testing and Buttoning Up

Before closing everything up, I flipped the breaker back on and tested the GFCI outlet. The light came on, the reset/test buttons worked, and the outlet was ready to supply power to my buddy’s high-tech bidet.

With everything confirmed, I buttoned up the switch, reinstalled the cover plates, and patched up the drywall in the closet. (Well, mostly – my buddy needed a paint sample, so I left a chunk out for him. DIY teamwork at its finest.)

Final Thoughts

Installing a GFCI might sound intimidating, but with a little patience (and maybe some drywall touch-ups), it’s totally doable. Plus, it adds an essential layer of electrical safety – no one wants a shocking experience on the toilet.

Now that the power is flowing, it’s time for the real mission: installing that bidet. Stay tuned for the next video where we bring the bathroom into the 21st century.

Happy wiring – and as always, don’t cross the streams (or wires).

It’s no secret that gas prices have been through the roof lately. That has motivated a lot more people to consider transitioning to an electric vehicle. My wife and I have had a Tesla Model 3 for a few years now and I personally love the car. Today I’m going to show you how to install an electric vehicle (Tesla) charger in your home in the event you decide to go electric. 

Disclaimer:

As with every video I do that involves electricity, I want to warn you that working with your electrical panel carries risk of injury or death and that I am not a licensed electrician. However, I have a lot of experience working with residential electricity and am comfortable in my abilities to operate with it safely. I’m merely showing you what is involved, and if at any time you are not comfortable doing anything I’m demonstrating in this video, please call a professional. There’s no sense in you injuring yourself or others just to save a few bucks. With that being said, let’s dive in. 

What You’ll Need

For this install we are going to be using some electrical conduit, some 8ga stranded wire, a 40amp dual pole breaker, a 4” electrical box, some screws or toggle bolts, some electrical tools including a fish tape and wire strippers/cutters, and a NEMA 50amp 220v plug.  

The Tesla Model 3 can handle up to a 50amp circuit to charge the vehicle. However, I am using a 40amp breaker with 8 ga wire because 8 ga wire is easier to pull through conduit than 6ga wire. The lower the gauge of the wire, the thicker it is and the more amperage it can accommodate. Here’s a basic amperage rating for the various thicknesses of wiring you’ll typically find in your home. 

I’ve also done this in the past using a 30 amp circuit and 10 ga wire. The car will charge either way. However, the larger the circuit, the faster it will charge. 

The first thing we’re going to do is turn the power off at the panel. Keep in mind that will kill all the power in the house and all the circuits. However, it doesn’t stop the power from coming in to the panel. Make sure you still work carefully and avoid the main leads coming into the panel. 

Checking Your Breaker Panel

You’ll need to make sure your panel has space to accommodate the breaker for the charger. I happen to know I have a few unused breakers in the panel from previously installed things. So I am going to repurpose a breaker that was previously used for an old electric oven. When selecting a breaker, you need to make sure that your new breaker matches the breaker style for your panel. I used a Square D panel which is usually written somewhere on the panel itself. 

Running Electrical Conduit

Next we’re going to install our box where we want it to be by screwing it to the wall on a stud or using toggle bolt anchors. From there we can start to install our conduit. I’m using schedule 40 PVC conduit because it’s easier to work with. However, I wanted to use 1” diameter conduit but it wasn’t in stock at the time so I went with ¾”. I’d recommend using the 1” conduit so that it’s easier to pull the wiring through. 

Installing the conduit will depend on your location. In this case I’m going up the wall, through a dividing wall into different portion of the garage, and then connecting to the panel. Using a pair of PVC cutters and a tape measure makes this part pretty simple. When you get to a corner, you can use one of these 90° junctions. Once you have the majority of the conduit run, connect it to your panel box by removing one of the panel knockouts and connecting it with a connection and nut. I recommend dry fitting all the pieces and making sure everything looks good before going back and gluing up your connections. 

Pulling Your Wiring

Now comes the fun part of pulling your wiring. The thicker your wiring, the more twists and turns you have, and the smaller your conduit, the harder it will be to pull. That’s why I recommend using the 1” conduit and the 8ga stranded wire. Stranded wire is essential to be able to pull. I’ll be pulling 4 wires. A red and a black, which will be the hot wires, (110v’s each which add up to 220v) a neutral wire, and a ground wire. Feed the wire fish tape through the conduit until it pops out the other side. It doesn’t necessarily matter which direction you pull from. I opted to pull away from the panel towards the end box. Once your fish tape is popped out the other end, you have to attach your wire to it. It involves stripping back a bunch of the wiring, twisting it together, and making everything as small as possible. You also don’t want to be shy about taping the hell out of it. You’re going to be wrenching on it pretty good and you don’t want to have it come apart halfway through your conduit run. 

I screwed up in this case because I tried to pull the whole lengthall at once. If you have a 90° junction anywhere in your run, this is going to be really hard to do. I should’ve started pulling from the 90°, got the wire to this point, and then unhooked everything and started over for the rest of the way. I ended up doing anyway but it was more difficult than it should have been. 

Once I pulled it all the way through to the box, I made sure I had about 8” sticking out of the box after cutting off the waste from the fish tape.

Connecting to the Panel

Back at the panel you need to make sure to give yourself plenty of length in the wiring to keep it tidy around the outside edges of the panel box. I happened to notice someone previously installed some wiring in this box where the ground crosses over in front of some of the breakers because they didn’t leave enough length. That’s a big no no and something I’ll have to fix. 

Make sure you have enough slack in the wiring to make the connections at the neutral and ground bar, and to your new breaker for the hot wires. Once you know you have enough length, cut off the excess. 

Connect the white neutral wire to the neutral bar in the panel. Then connect the ground wire to the ground bar. Next connect each of the hot wires to each of the connections on the bottom of the breaker itself. It doesn’t matter which one goes to which. Make sure they’re stripped to the right length and tighten them down securely. Then place the breaker into its location in the panel and snap it into place. 

Connecting the Receptacle

From there we’ll go back to the other end and make the connections on the receptacle. I’m using the 50amp receptacle but you can use different receptacles and Tesla adapters depending on your setup. The 2 hot wires (the red and black) get mounted to each of the brass terminals on the receptacle while the white gets connected to the silver terminal screw and the ground connects to the green terminal. Make sure everything is tightened securely and fold the wires back into the box and screw the receptacle in place. 

Next, I’m going to close up the electrical panel and turn the power back on at the main breaker. Then I’ll turn on my newly installed breaker to test out the circuit before I put the cover on the box. 

Once I plug everything in, it looks like everything is working as it should. Lastly I’m going to just add a cover to the box and install this little charger mount and cable management rack I found on Amazon. 

Finished Charger

And that’s it! I now have an electrical vehicle charger set up in the garage. You can charge the car off a normal 110v outlet but it takes a really long time to charge. If you drive a lot, it might not be sufficient for you. This way the car charges relatively quickly and you can top off anytime you’re at home. 

Thanks very much for checking out this video and I hope you learned something about installing a 220-240v circuit. This process can be used for more than just electrical vehicles. The install is pretty similar for other 220v circuits like large electric appliances, heaters, welders, shop tools, etc. Once you get used to understanding circuit and wiring sizes, etc you’re not really limited to what you can do. 

Thanks for checking out this project! Check out some of my other DIY Home electrical projects.

Top 5 DIY Electrical Tools Every Homeowner Should Own

Garage Heater Installation | A DIY Guide

In this project I’m going to show you how to monitor your home’s energy usage by installing a Sense Home Energy Monitoring Device that you can monitor right from your phone or tablet. This device allows you to view your home’s energy usage in real-time on your phone. With that information you can determine which areas of your home to focus on improving.

Disclosure: This video and article contains an unpaid product integration by Sense. All views and opinions expressed herein are my own.

One of the things I’m very passionate about is finding ways to make my home more energy efficient. A few months ago I learned about a product called Sense. Sense is an energy monitoring device that installs into your breaker panel and allows you to see how much power each device in your home uses. You can use that information to make more energy efficient improvements to your home. 

Disclaimer:

I’d like to remind you that I am not a licensed electrician. If at any point you are not comfortable tackling this project on your own, please reach out to an electrician that can help you with the installation. This is designed to be a guide to show you how it can be done, but does not replace the expertise or knowledge of a licensed electrician. 

Installing the Device:

The first step to installing this device is unpacking the box and taking a look at all the components. The package contains with a device monitor, an antenna, 2 sensor clips, a power cable, and an optional mounting bracket.

Next you’ll have to get access to your main breaker panel, and shut the power off. Remove the cover panel and have a look at your breaker setup. This device requires that it be wired into a dual pole 220v breaker which is not included in the kit so if you don’t have one available that you can tap into, you’ll have to buy one that matches your panel. If you do need to purchase a breaker, you’ll also have to verify that your breaker panel has space available to install it.

Installing the Antenna

Once you’ve verified you have space available for the install, remove a knock out from the panel box and install the antenna into the hole. From there you can connect the antenna to the device monitor itself. If you don’t have room inside the panel, you can use the optional monitor bracket to install it outside the panel.

Wiring the Device

Install your new breaker if you need to or connect the wiring to your existing breaker. The black and red wires connect to the breaker itself, and the white wire attaches to the neutral bar in your panel.

Connecting the Service Clips

Now this is where things get dangerous if you’re not familiar with your panel box. You’ll need to connect the current sensor clips around the service legs coming into your panel. These 2 wires ARE ALWAYS LIVE even if your panel box is shut off. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TOUCH THEM. In my case, these wires are hidden underneath the meter on the panel which is secured by the power company with a lock which I didn’t have a key for. So I called my local power company and asked them to come out and shut off the power and remove the lock so that I could access those wires. Since they shut the power service off to the house, there was no danger of me being shocked when I connected the clips. Once I had them installed, they replaced the meter and turned the power back on.

Once I had the wiring all connected, I removed the necessary knockouts on the cover of my breaker panel, reinstalled it, and turned the main power back on at the breaker. From there, the device fires up and starts it’s process.

Download and Set Up the App

Next I downloaded the Sense App on my phone, and began the setup process. It connects via WiFi and prompts you to setup your device. Once logged in, it takes a couple days to calibrate and then it starts the process of identifying devices around your home.

Identifying Devices

The device shows exact energy usage in real-time and starts to identify different devices around your home automatically. It has a smart learning algorithm that can determine which devices are which and starts to label them around your home. You can verify or change the name of the device right in the app. As more homes connect to the app, it continues to learn and define new devices.

You can go around and flip devices on and off and see the effect on your energy usage in real-time. And you can set goals with notifications to keep your energy consumption down, see which devices are using the highest percentage of power, get pretty accurate estimates on your energy bills by inputting your typical costs. They also offer a solar option which will tell you how much energy your solar panels are producing and how much they are offsetting your energy bill if you have solar panels.

Review

Overall, this is a really cool device. It’s helped me realize how inefficient my home is when it comes to heating and air conditioning. I didn’t realize how many hours those devices run on a daily basis which drastically affects my utility bill. Moving forward I’ll be taking that information to continue to invest in ways to offset that energy usage.

I think a device like this can definitely be useful for someone like myself who owns an older, fixer upper that is looking to improve its efficiency. The Sense device can help tell you where your energy and thus where your money is going. This can help you prioritize where you focus your remodel efforts. And over time, this could save you a lot of money. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this project. I’d like to thank the Sense team for sending over this device and allowing me to test it out. 

Check out some of my other home energy & electrical tutorials:

10 DIY Ways to Warm Your Home and Lower Your Heat Bill

How to Install a Post Lamp

DIY home electrical work is one of those things many homeowners shy away from and it can be a little bit dangerous if you don’t have a little bit of knowledge, but I’m here to show you the 5 tools I think every homeowner should own that can tackle many common electrical issues around the home and save you from making expensive calls to an electrician. If you’re new to home electrical projects, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with some basic tutorials here.

Before I get started I just want to say that any time you’re working on any electrical project in your home. make sure to turn the power off at the breaker to the area or room you’re working in to make sure that you are working safely and that you or someone else will not get hurt.

So with that said, let’s dive into our list.

#5.) Screwdrivers (flat & phillips)

I’m sure most homeowners already have at least A screwdriver lying around the house, and if not, you should definitely get yourself a set. For electrical projects, you’ll need at least a screwdriver with an interchangeable tip, or both a Phillips head and flat head. Many old receptacles have strictly flat head screws; while newer fixtures typically have Phillips or a combination. Having both types on hand ensures that you’re prepared for any situation.

#4.) Razor Blade and Electrical Tape

I know they’re technically two tools but I hardly classify tape as a tool by itself so I figured I’d lump it together with another smaller tool. These two tools are a constant when working on any electrical project. A razor blade is great for cutting the casing on modern Romex wiring and electrical tape is good for a few reasons. #1) I like to use it to wrap terminal heads to protect from a shock in the event someone tries to pull out a receptacle with the power on. #2) It can also be used to indicate a hot wire in an instance where the wire’s coloring may indicate otherwise.

#3.) Receptacle Circuit Tester

This plug in tool is an easy way to diagnose wiring mistakes when it comes to receptacles. The lights on the tool show you if an error is present and tell you what the problem is so you can fix it. It also tells you when a receptacle is wired correctly.

#2.) Wire Strippers

These are cheap and very handy tools to have on hand for any DIY wiring project. They have cutouts for the various gauge wiring you’re working with. Most residential wiring is either 12 gauge or 14 gauge wiring. I use a pair of these on ever single electrical project I tackle so they’re essential to have in your tool pouch.

#1.) Voltage Detector

The #1 tool on my list is both a safety tool and a diagnostic tool and is the 1^st tool I reach for in any electrical project and that is a Voltage detector. This little pen-like tool is a must have for any homeowner because it alerts you when any voltage is present. After I turn the power off at the breaker before I start a project, I always follow that up by verifying that the power is off with this tool. Any voltage that is present will make the tool light up and beep so you know if the power is in fact off.

Also, this tool can be really helpful for diagnosing old or mislabeled wiring as you can move it around to find out which wire is hot and which is neutral. The power needs to be on at the breaker for this to work so if you’re troubleshooting wiring, be extra careful.

So that’s it for this Top 5 DIY list. You can grab all these tools for less than $100 which is less than you’d pay an electrician to come out for a single visit and with them you can tackle a tremendous amount of household electrical issues.

If you liked this content, check out more like it here:

Top 5 DIY Plumbing Tools

How to Increase the Value of Your Home

I’ll be installing the Maximus Floodlight Camera  by Kuna in this tutorial. I prefer the look and functionality of the Maximus lights compared to other camera lights on the market. The one thing I would suggest when installing smarter home products is that you try to stick to one or a few specific brands so as to not inundate yourself with smart home apps.

Step #1: Removing the Existing Light

First, make sure the power to the breaker is shut off that powers the motion light you are working on.

Next, remove the screw holding the light to the junction box. You can now pull the light from the box to expose the wiring. I recommend using a voltage tester to make sure the power is off to the light before touching the wiring. If there is voltage present, the voltage tester will beep.

Now you can disconnect the wiring. You should see a black hot wire, a white neutral, and a green ground wire. Depending on how old you home is, the coloring could differ. Finally, unscrew the mounting bracket for the light from the box.

Step #2: Unpack the New Light

Now, unpack your new light from its box and look through your components. This light comes with a mounting bracket, a mounting plate, the lamp head, and hardware.

Detach the mounting plate from the head lamp on the new light by releasing the locking switch on the mounting plate.

Step #3: Attach the Mounting Bracket and Wiring

To begin installing the new light, screw in the new mounting bracket to the junction box.

With the mounting bracket fastened, secure the wiring from the mounting plate to the wires in the junction box using the included wire nuts. Make sure to connect them black to black, white to white.For this light, there is no visible ground wire. The ground screw mounts through the center of the mounting plate and grounds the fixture to the grounded box.

Step #4: Fasten the Mounting Plate and Head Lamp

Next mount the mounting plate to the mounting bracket with the screw in the center paying close attention to the area marker “up” on the mounting plate. In this case I’m mounting the light under an eave so “up” faces out towards me.

Once the plate is installed, attach the lamp head to the plate my inserting the metal nubs into the slots and turning the lamp. And then lock the locking switch.

Finally, turn the breaker power back on at the breaker.

Step #5: Connect and Customize Your Light

From here, download the Kuna app for your light and connect it to your wifi account. You can add a bunch of different cameras, adjust the sensitivity of the motion detector, adjust the brightness of the light and when it turns on and off. You can even add or adjust the sound that plays when motion is detected.

The footage automatically records to your phone when it detects motion and alerts you with a notification if you want it to.

Being able to monitor your home from anywhere really gives you a lot of peace of mind. Adding a little security that you can monitor from your phone has never been easier or more affordable.

If you liked this project, check out some of these other smart home improvement projects:

Installing a Keyless Entry Lock System

Installing a Smart Thermostat

I hope you enjoyed this, and I hope you learned something new! If you did like this guide or find it helpful, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/mrfixit.

It’s been pretty cold in my shop of late so this week I’m showing you how I plan to keep the shop warm by installing an electric garage heater! This requires the installation of a 220v circuit so I’ll show you all the steps to install a dedicated 220v circuit to run this heater. Watch the video for step-by-step instruction and  make sure to stick around for a 20% Discount code on the purchase an electric garage heater from New Air. Please note that working with 220v power can be dangerous. If at any time you are not 100% comfortable installing this heater or cannot perform the steps safely, contact an electrician to run the necessary power supply for you. 

Follow along with all the tools and materials you’ll need to tackle this project.(affiliates) http://bit.ly/InstallingAGarageHeater

Disclosure: This post contains an unpaid product integration by New Air. All views and opinions herein are my own.

1. Turn the Power Off at the Breaker

First and foremost when working with electrical, you should always turn the power off at the breaker panel for the area you are working. In this case I am working in the main panel so I shut off the power to the house. You’ll also need to verify that you have existing space in the panel available to install a new 220v dual pole breaker.

2. Run Conduit to the Panel

In my case, I was able to drill a hole through the wall from the panel to the workshop since they shared a wall. Depending on the location of the panel and your access to it, you may need to open up a section of the wall around the panel or connect conduit along the outside of the building. Each home is different so understanding your home is important in determining how you are able to run the conduit. If you are working inside the wall, you can use Romex cabling instead of conduit but any electrical that is run on the outside of a wall needs to be encased in conduit of some kind.

I’m using 1/2″ EMT conduit along with a combination of fittings, elbows, and connections which you can find in the electrical aisle of the hardware store. Use a pipe cutter to cut the conduit to the required lengths. You’ll need to find a location in your garage to hang the heater that is out of the way of garage doors, or overhanging obstructions. You’ll also want to make sure that the heater doesn’t directly vent squarely onto a wall or surface that is susceptible to heat to minimize the risk of fire.

In my case, I am running the conduit up the wall and onto the ceiling so that I can hang the heater near the center of my shop but away from the garage door. I’m using 4″ junction boxes to provide easily accessible areas where I can access the wiring should I need to make any changes or adjustments down the road.

3. Running the Wiring

For this project I am using 10 Gauge stranded wire in Red, Black and Green. The Red and Black wires will be the alternate phase hot wires and the Green wire is the ground wire. Because this is a 220v circuit, a white neutral wire is not required.

To install the wiring to the breaker panel, I feed the 3 wires out through the conduit into the panel and then connect the Green ground wire to the ground bar in the panel and the Red and Black wires to the terminal screws on the breaker. This is a 30 amp breaker because the average draw of the heater is 21 amps.

Using a fish tape, I feed it down from the ceiling junction box to the lower junction box and then attach the wiring by bending it around the fish tape and securing it with electrical tape. Using a extra piece of conduit to mount the spools of wire onto allows the spools to free spool as you pull the wires back up through the conduit with the fish tape. In addition to connecting the ground wires to each other and wiring to the breaker ground bar, each junction box will need to have a grounding pigtail attached to it to ground the junction box.

4. Hanging the Heater

Installing the heater in place is a relatively simple task compared to the rest of the project. Choose the location of the bracket and mount it to the ceiling or wall as needed. In my case I located a stud in the ceiling and mounted the bracket in place by pre-drilling and securing it in place with a couple of lag bolts. Once the bracket is installed, mounting the heater is just a matter of using the included carriage bolt and spacer to hang the heater from the bracket and then securing it in place with the included nut.

5. Connecting the Wiring

To connect the wiring from the heater to the junction box in the ceiling I am using a flexible appliance whip that I picked up at the local hardware store. Run the wiring through the hose and then  connect it to the junction box and the heater using the included attachments. The wiring of the heater itself doesn’t match the color scheme of the wiring I am running but the white and black wires are the hot wires, and the yellow wire with the green stripe is the ground wire. Connect the wiring using some wire nuts and then close up the heater. Lastly connect all the wiring in the junction boxes by connecting like colored wiring with wire nuts and putting cover plates on the junction boxes.

6. Turning Power on and Testing Heater

Lastly turn the power back on at the breaker and turn on the heater. Within about 2 minutes of the heater being on my shop had warmed up substantially. It has an adjustable temperature control knob so you can turn it on low if you only need a little bit of heat or you can crank it up to high and really pump out a lot of heat.

Having a heater in my shop is not something I’ll use all the time, but it is going to be a really nice thing to have when I do need it. I hope this video and post were helpful to you in showing what is involved in running your own electric garage heater.

If you’d like to purchase your own New Air electric garage heater, you can use the Discount Code “MRFIXIT” here and get 20% Off your order.

If you enjoyed this project, check out some of my other workshop projects:

DIY Bath Walnut Caddy

DIY Cheese Cutting Board

Thanks so much for watching and good luck!