At Home In The Woods

[srs]

There will be at least 1 foot of dirt above the big piece of concrete. I hope that's enough for any scrubs we might put there.
Obed

I don't think so! I'd dig it up now before the ground settles around it. Sorry!

 

[firefighter9208]

I don't think so! I'd dig it up now before the ground settles around it. Sorry!

I have to agree. I have added nearly 4 feet of soil on top of our septic tank over the past 12 years and still can't get anything to grow there. When it's wet it's o.k., but as soon as it gets a little dry there's a big brown spot in the yard.

Chris

 

[shane]

I have to agree. I have added nearly 4 feet of soil on top of our septic tank over the past 12 years and still can't get anything to grow there. When it's wet it's o.k., but as soon as it gets a little dry there's a big brown spot in the yard.

Chris

I know the feeling. And, it's frustrating.

 

[radioman]

I have to agree. I have added nearly 4 feet of soil on top of our septic tank over the past 12 years and still can't get anything to grow there. When it's wet it's o.k., but as soon as it gets a little dry there's a big brown spot in the yard.

Chris

same here- my grass grows poorly right over the tank, all around it is fine. At least I know where it is. :laughing:

 

[Diamondpilot]

My property had a house on it 100 years ago. When it gets real dry out I can still see the outline of the old footers and construction debris buried under the soil a foot or so. I just will not hold the water like it should and drys up. I can also see the septic tank and the sewer distribution box.

I would move that chunk.

By the way Obed. You just need one more post till the big 1000. Congrats.

Chris

 

[Obed]

Let There Be Light!

It sure is nice having lights in the house! We had the electrician put up keyless lights temporarilly until we get the final fixtures installed. Then the keyless lights will get installed in the attic and closets. We had the option to get flourescent fixtures in the garage that have either 2 or 4 bulbs. I initially was going to get the 2 bulb fixtures but my wife talked me into getting the 4 bulb fixtures. The garage lights up like day light with three 4 bulb flourscent light fixtures.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Congrats on the lights, thats a big step getting the electrical going.

You also got 1,000 post....

Chris

 

[Obed]

Phantom Voltage

I got some night lights like Pete has. I installed one in the master bath and one in the main hallway. They have daylight sensors so they only turn on when it is dark. The night light in the hallway is on 3-way switches on each end of the hall. I love having these night lights. It was neat being able to work on something "nice to have".

I spent several hours working on the hall night light. While I was wiring the switches, I checked the voltage with a voltmeter. With the light on, one terminal on the 3-way switch read 120V to ground which I expected. When I checked the other terminal, I expected it to read zero volts but instead it showed 35V. That didn't seem right to me. I checked the voltages on the other switch and got the same behavior. I got concerned and wondered if I had some frayed insulation causing a partial short somewhere in my wires. I spent forever unwiring things trying to find the issue to no avail.

Finally I decided to touch a finger across the 35V circuit figuring I should feel 35V but it wouldn't kill me. When I put my finger across the circuit I felt nothing. So I repeated the process while simultaneously reading the voltage. When I put my finger across the circuit the voltage dropped from 35V to zero volts. When I observed this behavior I came to the conclusion that I was seeing some sort of phantom voltage created by and inductive magnetic field caused by the alternating current. Last night I measured the voltage of a 3-way switch at my inlaws' house and observed the same behavior. The observation confirmed my assumption that I did not have an electrical problem.

Tonight I found some other people on the internet who encountered this same scenario.

 

[dstig1]

Yep. It's essentially crosstalk, but I see you went out and found that out yourself...

Drove me nuts the first time I encountered it until someone explained it to me.

 

[dex3361]

Phantom Voltage

I got some night lights like Pete has. I installed one in the master bath and one in the main hallway. They have daylight sensors so they only turn on when it is dark. The night light in the hallway is on 3-way switches on each end of the hall. I love having these night lights. It was neat being able to work on something "nice to have".

I spent several hours working on the hall night light. While I was wiring the switches, I checked the voltage with a voltmeter. With the light on, one terminal on the 3-way switch read 120V to ground which I expected. When I checked the other terminal, I expected it to read zero volts but instead it showed 35V. That didn't seem right to me. I checked the voltages on the other switch and got the same behavior. I got concerned and wondered if I had some frayed insulation causing a partial short somewhere in my wires. I spent forever unwiring things trying to find the issue to no avail.

Finally I decided to touch a finger across the 35V circuit figuring I should feel 35V but it wouldn't kill me. When I put my finger across the circuit I felt nothing. So I repeated the process while simultaneously reading the voltage. When I put my finger across the circuit the voltage dropped from 35V to zero volts. When I observed this behavior I came to the conclusion that I was seeing some sort of phantom voltage created by and inductive magnetic field caused by the alternating current. Last night I measured the voltage of a 3-way switch at my inlaws' house and observed the same behavior. The observation confirmed my assumption that I did not have an electrical problem.

Tonight I found some other people on the internet who encountered this same scenario.

Pretty common to run into and its referred to as Induced Voltage. Its caused by the wires running close together for a long distance. Just like a transformer.