Home Depot Workers make me shake my head

[Peter Aeschliman]

HD, Lowes, Menards: you love to hate them, but in reality, we go there because they often have a better selection and pricing than whatever else is close to us, which is a lot less than it used to be as they have driven a lot of smaller retailers out of business including my favorite hardware store, they lasted less than 2 years after HD moved in.

But, and I will kick myself later for saying this, there was one lady in the plumbing section that knew her stuff and made my heart skip a beat every time she waited on me . OK that is my story, what is yours?

Good post. It's important for us to remember that HD is the way it is because of consumer demand for low prices.

There's a small regional hardware store in my area with a home depot really close by. I though for sure HD would put them out of business in short order, but I'm glad to say I was wrong. The parking lot at this place is packed. They seem to hire a lot of former tradespeople who know their stuff. Their prices are noticeably higher, but apparently people are willing to make that trade off. Pretty cool to see in your this day and age.

[mike mcilroy]

But, and I will kick myself later for saying this, there was one lady in the plumbing section that knew her stuff and made my heart skip a beat every time she waited on me . OK that is my story, what is yours?

You mean you got "flushed" when you saw her!

[Mike Henderson]

The people in the local HD that I go to are nice people. I generally don't ask for advice but they usually can tell me where something is located - and they're just nice, polite, helpful people.

Mike

[Dan Hintz]

You mean you got "flushed" when you saw her!

I wondered how long it would take before this thread went down the drain...

[Jason Roehl]

I wondered how long it would take before this thread went down the drain...

Puns are the #2 reason for that to happen.

[Richard Alty]

.... He asks how many amps does the saw use and I tell him its wired for 220v and the motor pulls 10 amps. He says, I'm no electrician but you can't do that. You'll trip the breaker or worse, burn up your motor. I look at him puzzled and then I said, with your way of thinking, if I have a 20 amp receptacle in my house and I plug a lamp into it rated for less than 1 amp, I'll trip the breaker or burn up my lamp?

The risk of burning up the motor (or lamp, in your example) is very real. The wiring in the device is designed to handle a certain draw. If the motor seizes, or shorts, it can try to draw well over that. When the current reaches the amount of the breaker, the breaker should trip. In your situation, though, the breaker will not trip until the current draw reaches three times the amount that the saw is designed for. That could potentially be enough to melt some insulation and start a fire.

Short out a 1A table lamp and allow it to draw 20A before the breaker trips and it will almost certainly melt the wiring and very likely start a fire.

The saw motor only uses 10 amps. I have 30 amps available but I won't be using 30 amps of power. He says, well here's the right plug but just be careful. You don't want to start a fire. I took the plug and left. When I got home, I wired it up and the saw works fine.

Actually, you won't be drawing 30A "as long as everything is working right" is more accurate. Of course, if everything always worked right, we wouldn't need breakers at all, would we?

Over-fusing is a very common cause of house fires. In your situation, the wiring in the wall is designed for a 30A circuit, and 10-3 wire is adequate for it as well, so the weak point is the motor itself. My advice - if you wanted to be strictly and technically correct in your installation - would be to open your panel, remove the 30A breakers for the 240V receptacle, and replace with 15A.

Richard

[Mike Henderson]

In my opinion, if you want to fuse a tool that plugs into an outlet you should do that between the plug and the tool. You should not try to fuse a plug in tool with the panel breaker.

For hard wired tools it's appropriate to use the panel breaker.

Mike

[Richard Alty]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with connecting a 240V tool that draws 10A to a circuit that can supply 30A.

As I mentioned above, that is exactly how most of the world does things.

Sure, and in home shops especially we often do things that are, strictly speaking, "not kosher".

I have several of my static machines plugged in through an 'octopus'. If I turned them all on at once - and that is "supposed" to be the situation that the wiring is meant to be able to handle - the draw would be WAY over what the circuit, and breaker, is rated at. In the real world, however, I work on my own. I'm never going to run table saw, planer, jointer and band saw all at once.

I think the point though is that the OP was condemning the HD worker as "confused" when his concern was totally valid. Running a 10A machine on a 30A circuit DOES increase the risk of burning out the motor if something goes wrong, because the breaker WILL allow it to draw too much current before popping. Had the OP's response been "The risk is minimal because it's a bandsaw and I'm always going to be standing in front of it when it's on, and if it seizes I can turn it off", I'd have no issue with that. Instead the guys valid concern just "made him shake his head".

The most dangerous person isn't the one who doesn't know what he's doing. It's the one who thinks that he does.

Richard

[Richard Alty]

Anybody remember the scene from "Airplane!" where the characters were walking through the terminal fighting off solicitations from the Moonies, Hare Krishnas, Scientologists, Mormons, and every other sect/cult under the sun?

That's exactly how I feel in my local HD and Lowes as hordes of Orange or Blue polo shirts surround me to have me get a new kitchen designed, solar panels installed on my roof, or apply for an HD/Lowes Visa card. The guys in the aprons, however, who might be able to tell me what aisle nylon tubing is on, are conspicuous by their absence.

Richard

[Garth Almgren]

Mike,

I have found a sure fire way to get someone to help you at the orange box store. Find one of those big rolling ladder things and start walking up the stairs being sure to make a little noise. The employees have apparently been trained to stop customers from being on them ( most likely for liability reasons) and they will be at your side in seconds telling you that you cannot climb them. I acknowledge their presence and then ask them to help me find the item I am looking for!

Another good way to get some help quickly is to wander slowly around the power tool aisle with your hands in your hoodie pocket and looking over your shoulder frequently. This is more effective the younger you look.

[Kent A Bathurst]

That's exactly how I feel in my local HD and Lowes as hordes of Orange or Blue polo shirts surround me to have me get a new kitchen designed, solar panels installed on my roof, or apply for an HD/Lowes Visa card.

Very unlikely those are store employees. They most likely are employed by the 3d party service providers contracted to do the installs, etc. The voice of experience...I was never one of those guy, but I headed up a program like that as a supplier to HD, and we had our sales guys in there on a regularly scheduled basis.

So - they know doodly-squat about what/where in the store. But they are more than happy to sign you up for a free quote on replacement windows, cabinet refacing, etc.

[Chris Padilla]

I don't head into any of the borgs with questions about how to do something. I come to SMC for that...plenty of know-it-alls here!

The borg workers are usually very good for one thing only: "Where can I find the ....?"

[Gary Yoder]

Finally, some good advice.

+1

In my opinion, if you want to fuse a tool that plugs into an outlet you should do that between the plug and the tool. You should not try to fuse a plug in tool with the panel breaker.

For hard wired tools it's appropriate to use the panel breaker.

Mike

[Julie Moriarty]

I was walking through HD last week, heading for the lumber department. On the way there, 3 guys said hello and 2 asked if I needed any help finding something. I said no and kept walking. Once in the lumber department, I grabbed a cart and rolled it over to the rack where the 2x12x10' boards are. As I picked through them, one HD worker walked by, looked at me and kept walking. After I found a decent board, I picked up one end to slide on the cart. I looked up as another HD worker had just passed by.

I guess you could call that a "Home Depot Workers make me shake my head" experience.

As for the tool fusing debate, most stationery tools have overcurrent protection on their motors. That will most likely trip before any fire hazard is created. Smaller tools, like drill motors, will probably burn out the motor before it catches fire. Even if the tool caught fire, the cure is to immediately unplug it and douse the fire. You're there, using the tool. It's not going to catch fire if you're not using it.

As far as the wiring within your home, if the breakers are sized properly, to protect the wire they serve, there should be no issue with fires unless the breaker fails. If you are concerned that will happen, remove your breaker panel and install a fuse panel. Fuses are more reliable than breakers. But changing out the breakers to a reduced size to match the connected load is unnecessary and a waste of time and money. This fusing debate has gone orbital.

[Deb Clarkson]

Daughter in law's brother and his grandpa were checking out at Lowes. Her brother asks for the military discount since he's in National Guard. Gal at checkout asks Grandpa Ralph if he's in military as well. Grandpa Ralph responds "No, I'm retired"

Gal at checkout says "You're retarded?"

Grandpa Ralph fires back "No, re--tired. If I was retarded I'd have your job"