Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [testing]

82 questions
12
votes
7 answers

Is there a good way to test water quality in your house?

What are the best ways to test for water quality in your house? The water is from a well, not town water. Are there any products that can continuously test the water coming in (versus manually sampling the water every so often)?
caseyboardman
  • 347
  • 3
  • 6
  • 11
9
votes
1 answer

How can I test network and coax jacks?

We bought new house and I need to test network (RJ45) and coax jacks to see which ones are working. How can I do that without actually connecting computers/cable boxes?
sergeb
  • 289
  • 1
  • 4
  • 7
6
votes
5 answers

What is a good tutorial on the use of a multimeter?

I am ashamed to admit, that despite my many electrical (mis?)adventures.. I have no idea how to use a multimeter. I have installed automobile sound systems, central air air-conditioners, and every kind of lighting, computer, telephone, etc. blah…
alex gray
  • 161
  • 4
5
votes
2 answers

Is there a cheap way to test for mold spores?

We had toxic mold during the wintertime, which has been removed, by replacing the affected Sheetrock. However, my wife has often still the same symptoms she had at the time. Getting a contractor with the proper equipment out is very expensive. Are…
txwikinger
  • 898
  • 1
  • 10
  • 14
5
votes
3 answers

What happens when using a GFCI Tester on a non-GFCI outlet?

I have an outdoor power outlet of which I'm not sure if it's GFCI or not (House was built in 1978). The outlet does not have Test/Reset buttons, but I don't know if outdoor outlets even have them. There's no labeling for GFCI anywhere,. So I'm…
Michael Stum
  • 153
  • 1
  • 1
  • 6
5
votes
2 answers

How should I test my home's humidity?

We have recently replaced the windows in our home and insulated the basement, making the house much more airtight. This combined with the fact that our dryer currently vents into the basement, we have no bathroom fans or a range hood fan makes me…
Heather
  • 125
  • 2
  • 3
  • 8
4
votes
1 answer

What DIY tests are available for the quality of stainless steel?

How can I test a stainless steel product such as a sink to see if it is truly 18g?
zundarz
  • 1,037
  • 5
  • 16
  • 23
4
votes
3 answers

Does a gas pressure test lose pressure without leaks?

Context I am adding one branch with two sub-branches to my gas line to supply a fireplace and a range stove. I am testing the branch for leaks. I have a cap on one side of the branch, a valve shut off at the fire place, and placed a gauge at the…
Max
  • 595
  • 13
4
votes
2 answers

Unexpected voltage with switch turned off

I am doing some work on a ceiling light and I notice that, even though the light-switch is off, my voltage tester shows voltage present. Answers to other questions (below) explain about phantom voltages but how exactly do I test for these and know…
RedGrittyBrick
  • 24,033
  • 11
  • 46
  • 88
4
votes
1 answer

When, if at all, are Insulation Resistance (or Megger) tests on an electrical system useful?

I had some close (though not direct) lightning strikes that fried some electronics and appliances (computer, TV, AC, modem, router, spread across several circuits) over several years / storms. I had some electricians out to to give quotes to…
mmathis
  • 8,754
  • 12
  • 41
  • 60
3
votes
2 answers

How to test existing ethernet cable outlets?

I moved into this 15 year old house about a year ago and there's a RJ45 wall jack in my office (2nd floor) and there's another one in the living room near TV. I'd assume there's planned in for TV to use Internet. I have not seen any other RJ45 jack…
L l
  • 33
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
3
votes
1 answer

How to test if a dishwasher's below the floor heating element is faulty?

My dishwasher uses a Bauknecht 2040W heating element: Can you test if it's faulty using a continuity test? If so, is the continuity test between: ground and the positive, ground and the negative, or the positive and the negative? Testing…
Alex
  • 193
  • 7
3
votes
2 answers

How do I test a 5V doorbell transformer?

In this post, both the OP and responder discuss testing a transformer. I'd like to know exactly how the user tested the transformer. I have a 5V doorbell transformer which I would like to test. Is an ohmmeter all I need? If so, how do I do it?
zundarz
  • 1,037
  • 5
  • 16
  • 23
3
votes
1 answer

What is wrong with this GFCI outlet?

I have a GFCI outlet which is testing wierdly. On one of the plugs, one prong tests hot and the other does not (using a Voltaware). On the other plug, both prongs test hot. The other outlets on the same circuit test fine. I reversed the black…
Don
  • 31
  • 1
3
votes
2 answers

How to test two-prong retrofit outlets downstream of GFCI

Given old two-prong (ungrounded) wiring where a GFCI is installed nearest the panel and other two-prong outlets are attached to the load side of that GFCI, how does one confirm that all the outlets are properly protected? As far as I understand…
sh1
  • 165
  • 8
1
2 3 4 5 6