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Did Ben Franklin “discover” electricity? No. Want to elaborate on that a little? Okay, fine. Scientists were working with electrical forces for over a thousand years before Benjamin Franklin supposedly flew his famous kite. What Franklin’s experiment did demonstrate was the connection between lightning and electricity. Franklin attached a wire to a kite. Then, he […]

Your Electrical System Is Complex Your electrical system doesn’t have a complex, but with all those wires and components, it is complex. That doesn’t mean you can’t hope to get to know or even understand it, however. We’re going to do our best to break things down as simply as possible. In part one, you […]

Fix the Thermostat, STAT! If you’ve ever watched one of those doctor shows, you’ve probably heard the phrase “Dr. So-And-So needed in ER–STAT!” STAT means the good doctor is needed immediately. And if your thermostat doesn’t work, you want it fixed immediately. You learned a little about thermostats and how they work in part one. […]

Put Another Log On The Fire That’s more than a line from a clever song with lyrics by Shel Silverstein. Come on baby you can fill my pipe and then go fetch my slippers And boil me up another pot of tea Then put another log on the fire babe And come and tell me […]

It’s time to replace your two-prong outlets with three-prong outlets. Two-prong outlets are unsafe and outdated. So outdated, in fact, that since 1962 building code has stated that all new houses must install three-prong outlets. Three-prong outlets protect your home against: Electric shock Electrical fires Damage to your electronics/appliances So: what makes the two-prong outlets […]

Kids Who Scamper In Pampers Shouldn’t Tamper Kids love to explore, and that’s a good thing–it’s basically their job to learn, after all. Unfortunately, all that curiosity occasionally gets kids in trouble. They do something dangerous like playing with electrical outlets and they get hurt. Around 2,400 children shock themselves on electrical outlets every year […]

Imagine: you’re in the middle of a nice, hot morning shower. Then, without any warning at all, your shower is neither hot nor nice. Your water is freezing. After leaping out of the shower, you’re probably only thinking one thing (well, one blog-appropriate thing): why did that just happen?! ‌ So: Why Did That Happen? […]

In part one of the electric water heater blog, you learned how a water heater works, and how to troubleshoot some common problems. At the end of part 1, we promised we’d tell you how to replace the heating elements in your water heater. It’s a bigger job, but it’s also simple, straightforward, uncomplicated, quite […]

If you think about it, Christmas decorations are odd. We bring a tree inside, put up lights outside. All those lights are festive and pretty and everything, but they can also be dangerous. When you combine a dead, dry tree with electricity or expose strings of electric lights to snow and cold, things could easily […]

The song tells us Christmas is “The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year,” but it can also be a surprisingly dangerous time of year. Fire hazards and electrical problems are both very common problems during the holidays. We’re not just talking about the candles or the fireplace, either. All those holiday decorations can put your […]