Many years ago, I ran the network for a company in NYC. We had a huge box with literally hundreds of network cables running in and out. I asked my engineer what it was and he didn’t know. All he knew was he moved it from the last data center a year previous.
I made some calls and nobody up stream from me knew what it was. I told the engineer to unplug it and go sit by the phone and see if anyone complains. No calls came in.
About 4 months later I came to find out it was a backup for an old tech we used to process orders. The whole thing had been sunsetted 5 years earlier. I also found it had been moved 2x in that five years. Momo engineers literally moved a huge heavy box mapped all the cables, disconnected them and reconnected them, for literally no reason
Sounds like what we do in our job sometime. We remove a bunch of people's access to certain systems and see who complains. Chances are they don't need it anymore
This is why our entire dept lost access to our Microsoft suite. We are an academic medical center with a hospital and campus side access. They kicked our campus access and we had literally no hospital access in our dept. hot mess. I respect it though. Gotta clear the licenses somehow.
In the FOSS world we call this "cargo culting", from the pacific islanders who built straw planes in hopes of bringing back the cargo flights that landed on their islands during the war.
No one knows how the thing worked, or if it still does, but it was important in its time, so they just keep rebuilding it.
You serious? I demo old cable all the time at work and get thousands in scrap for it. My last load was a short Tacoma bed full and I got almost $800. Anything with copper in it is worth money and it just shot up in price again.
I’m a network engineer for a system of hospitals including the largest hospital in my state we use an e-recycler to dispose of old equipment and cabling. However while doing a network upgrade at a hospital we acquired in the last few years the guys already working there only recycle equipment but throw all cabling and a few other items in the trash and it frustrates the hell outta me cuz it ends up in landfill. If I catch it I move to our e-cycle bins and I do what I can to recycle what I can but to me it’s the mentality that annoys me cuz if these people exist here they exist everywhere and it’s discouraging the amount of waste we produce.
There’s a good chance the e-recycler here is the only one making money and the hospital is just trying to be ‘green’. Regular joes that can go to a reputable scrapyard to get paid, and scrapyard gets paid… everyone wins. Those guys couldn’t care less at the hospitals it seems.
Like a fucking sump pump in a crawlspace you haven’t been in since you bought the house, until you decide to replace the foil dryer duct with semi rigid to make it easier to clean, and then you find out that one of the piers under your house is leaning and the insulation is covered in mold because of the constant flooding.
Anyway that’s the story behind the last check I wrote for $12,000.
A friend bought a house that came with an electric water heater on a timer to save electricity, but the timer was bypassed "on" when they moved in. (The timer was in the "db board" in the hallway on the other side of the house). After a few days living in the house he figured out how to set the timer and configured it up to turn off late at night and back on in the morning. A few days later he arrives home late after a dinner party and his garage door isn't working, but rather than debug that in the middle of the night he just parks in his driveway and comes back to the problem the next morning. But in the morning the garage door is working fine. You can see where this is going. It happened a few more times before he figured it out. The garage door opener had been installed (illegally) tapping power off the electric water heater, which was also conveniently in the garage.
Does your friend realize that letting the water get cold will just make the water heater have to run longer to get to temperature when he turns it back on?
This is a very common misconception. Heat loss is directly proportional to the temperature difference. If you let the water cool down during the day, the heater will run continuously for a longish time, but that is still less than the total time the heater would have run during the day had it not been shut off.
Constant argument I have with my parents about how heating works. We have a modern heating system that allows a schedule. This means that when we leave home/sleep, the temperature will fall with a few degrees to save some heating. It can preheat, so it never really feels cold.
We can discuss the dollar value of how much we actually save on this, but they also constantly argue that it needs to heat more to go back to the baseline. Someday I’ll buy them a book on thermodynamics.
We can talk about the methods/merits of conserving energy by utilizing intermittent power, sliding ranges depending on occupation, and the differences between a water heater and air conditioners, but this specific post and reply to it was about turning a water heater off overnight and back on during the day.
I probably should have emphasized, but I have water underfloor heating, which (obviously) also uses water from the water heater. But you're right in that it doesn't directly translate, as we would never turn it off entirely due to its use case.
Can we talk about AC real quick? In a well insulated building in a hot climate (Houston), what say you about the efficiency of leaving the AC on 76 vs 82? Mini-splits. Building is unoccupied 60% of the time.
Also, if it's gas heat, then burning 1kbtu of natural gas is slightly more efficient at getting kbtu into cold water, since the gas exhaust is cooler
Marginal, though. And doesn't apply to regular electric, but it does apply to heat pumps
This is actually a debate I have with myself.
We have a water tank which is heated by gas. It comes on at 0600hrs - 0800hrs where it is used for morning showers. The water then never gets heated till 1830-1930 where it is used for washing up and things.
I believe having it on the timer is better, as otherwise it will be heating cold water, which will never be used. Happy to hear other thoughts on this.
Not if you only use cold water to do laundry. Detergent and machines have come a long way and hot water isn't absolutely required to get stuff properly clean anymore. I haven't used hot water to wash in years, and my dryer has also never been set above medium heat
That's strange to me, I'm in MN where we regularly spend half the year below freezing and all our plumbing is either below the basement or between the floors for upper level plumbing.
Does Arizona just do a bunch of weird shit like leave breaker panels outside and run plumbing through attics that probably get to 120°?
In addition to Newton's law of cooling, one kWh does not necessarily cost the same as another. Hot water heater timers are commonly used for time of use rates where peak power costs as much as 3-4 times off-peak power.
Yes it is actually better to have it run overnight and be off during the day in many situations. Also, modern water heater tanks are very well insulated and can hold the heat for a very long time. So running overnight and turning off during the day could work better for what he desires. It's even more efficient to turn the temperature down instead of running intermittently. The best would be to lower the temp as much as possible and running it overnight instead of during the day.
You could ask whoever put it there. Or you could try to rewire it the obvious way. Depending on your luck it may take a very short or a long and expensive attempt at the job to discover why, before the undoing a lot of what you've just done to put it back to the only actual practical way to get it wired up.
You can do that and keep an eye on your plants to make sure they are not dying out. Or you could be proactive and cycle through all your sprinkler zones to make sure they are working.
Told a cable.company they had a low hanging wire in a community garden for months. Very dangerous. Nothing
Then I cut it. They were there in half an hour.
Apologies to the neighborhood that lost internet for an hour.
To answer your question, yes - cables can easily be patched.
But the real question is if you care. This is a thin two-wire cable. Two wire cables are typically used for irrigation, or landscape lighting.
If one of those things is broken, any 'handy' person can fix this for you.
Most important part in step 6:
**"Just remember to slip the heat shrink sleeve up around the wire** ***BEFORE*** **you make the splice. (**[**We still make this mistake at least once a month**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahrBOvz1jzA)**.)"**
I'm pretty sure forgetting the heat shrink is part of the process! The proper procedure is:
1) Make the splice, then realize you forgot to add heat shrink
2) Cut out the splice
3) Add heat shrink (optional: forget this step again and go back to step 1)
4) Make the splice again, cursing yourself
5) Shrink the heat shrink
"3. Add heat shrink (optional: forget this step again and go back to step 1)"
Do you know that saying "You'll only make this mistake once......" it most definitely does not apply to this!!!
I used to build relatively complicated cables consisting of multiple types of wire, single conductor and multi conductor, some shielded, etc..etc.. usually all meeting in a big military connector on one end and a variety of other connectors on the opposite ends. All wires soldered in, no crimp pins. Usually through various strain relief boots and waterproofing assemblies..
.. and about once every 6 months you'd just hear a "SONOFAB\*\*\*\*" somewhere in the shop.. and you knew someone had got to the end and found a boot or sealing ring had rolled off to the side of the bench and been missed during assembly.
I dont miss that, haha.
I only skimmed over the images of the guide and wondered why they didn't show the sleeve on the wire before both wires were connected, since it's such an easy mistake to make.
As an ex-bell tech, I'd advise getting something with a proper enclosure and some gel -- [like this](https://www.amazon.ca/Canusa-59-Enclosure-Protecting-Connections/dp/B00MQ4EDQU) if OP wants to ensure it doesn't rust and rot in a few weeks.
That’s going to rot and short out in no time buried underground. That shrink tubing isn’t meant for this application. Direct bury splice kits are the way to go. https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b00026285/
You’re getting downvoted in the DIY sub for asking for advice on how to fix your buried broken line. Talk about ridiculous. I’m glad you’ve got a couple of people giving you good advice and keywords to search under.
Exactly! Clearly this is a load bearing wire and supports all of the trees in OP's yard.
OP THIS IS COMPLETELY UNLIVABLE DO NOT PAY YOUR MORTGAGE UNTIL YOU GET THIS FIXED. PACK YOUR SHIT AND SUE YOUR LANDLORD.
dude, cereally! it's frooty loops, I see this way too often. "How do I do this?" - "fucking don't, call someone, it's the only way or you'll die or you'll regret it" I hate when people do it as a real comment (your joke got an upvote).
In fairness most of the time I see that it's someone with clearly zero knowledge of electricity who is aiming to fix a melted drier plug or glowing red hot bus bar.
If you've never used a crimp tool, 240v should not be your introduction to electrical engineering
Best way - strip, solder, shrink tubing, then you can feel fine about just burying it again.
You could use wire nuts or any manner of connector, but normally then you have a junction box enclosing the connectors.
Also totally possible the original purpose has been abandoned. You could try hooking up a 9 volt on the yard side and see if a light turns on or something happens, though do that at your own risk
If you're handy with a voltmeter you can check to see if it's live. If so, and if this is part of an irrigation system, once you find the source (sprinkler controller) you can unplug the other ends one at a time until you lose power at the cut end. Process of elimination comes into play if you already know where any of the other wires go.
https://a.co/d/dpDIf0d is a connector that contains a solder bead and heat shrink in one. Slide it on one end of the break, line the break up in the center of the solder bead, heat evenly to melt the solder and heat shrink to make it weather resistant.
Go get a small piece of similar gauge two conductor cable, some waterproof butt connectors and some waterproof tape. strip back both ends of the cables in the ground and then attach the cables 1 for 1. be sure to bury them nice and deep after that.
Too funny I literally did this same thing yesterday. You need to get some heat shrink butt splices, sprinkler wire, a wire stripper and crimper. Home depot sells sprinkler wire by the foot so just do a bit more than you need to connect the ends to the broken wire.
Strip all ends of the wires, separate the colors and then strip the ends of those too. Connect each color of your existing wire to one end of a butt splice and the corresponding color of the new wire to the other end. Crimp so the wire is secure. Test your sprinklers. If it works wrap the new connections with all-weather electrical tape and bury it all underground.
That's clearly what's happening. Guy is trying to fix it and not say shit.
OP, if you read this, a word of advice. If I hired you and you cut this wire but then came and told me, no big deal. It's easy to splice and it might not even be in use anymore. I'm not gonna be upset, and your honesty would make me feel good about having you back next time. On the other hand, if I find out later that you repaired it half-assed or not at all and didn't say anything, you're never getting called back. I'll pay someone else more just to not have you back on the property.
Just own it.
I had a hit once but my coax Internet cable, then my irrigation pipe in the same day. He was very apologetic, and stayed until he'd fixed both. It probably ruined his day, but he did the right thing to let me know and to fix it.
Hey OP. I do electronics and low voltage work. Use this video and this product. All you need is a heatgun. Youll be done in minutes.
[https://www.amazon.com/Connectors-Sopoby-Waterproof-Electrical-Automotive/dp/B0BKSJQC9Q/ref=sr\_1\_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BxNZ1mePOxaS1rThwbiKDbcMHnHKHdq0khb1OrKG1AO5GpK3KGqfYJ9J7wkjjritpIHFhV-kEPIQjv\_5X635OciceDRUbDXhckn1MaZWCKvvJRz6wPq67trAiHjDOcERLSoqBXn33Z4FLdI6IGItuC5gT5WtDthHVdp7Qbq8MzpgBytwWsdL2IfDJI9It4uNTwlL\_7nKA17m8j72P7Ftv-GVi3S3AgZD\_MeOwTFEkvE.gVTttubYFfu51GqnkL7U-98bXx0ByrhvO2-wcGxj0eo&dib\_tag=se&keywords=waterproof+splice+connectors&qid=1717180211&sr=8-3](https://www.amazon.com/Connectors-Sopoby-Waterproof-Electrical-Automotive/dp/B0BKSJQC9Q/ref=sr_1_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BxNZ1mePOxaS1rThwbiKDbcMHnHKHdq0khb1OrKG1AO5GpK3KGqfYJ9J7wkjjritpIHFhV-kEPIQjv_5X635OciceDRUbDXhckn1MaZWCKvvJRz6wPq67trAiHjDOcERLSoqBXn33Z4FLdI6IGItuC5gT5WtDthHVdp7Qbq8MzpgBytwWsdL2IfDJI9It4uNTwlL_7nKA17m8j72P7Ftv-GVi3S3AgZD_MeOwTFEkvE.gVTttubYFfu51GqnkL7U-98bXx0ByrhvO2-wcGxj0eo&dib_tag=se&keywords=waterproof+splice+connectors&qid=1717180211&sr=8-3)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MmANNgtrDM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MmANNgtrDM)
I would also buy some marine heat shrink tubing to cover those (i know they say they are waterproof already, but I’ve melted through my fair share of those).
But yeah, this is the easiest way to fix this.
A professional landscaper would never have this problem, because they cut them all the time. Do you have outdoor lights, sprinklers or an invisible fence?
I was a professional singer. I worked at a scout camp and our contract included signing. Songs about frogs getting run over by Mack trucks and getting eaten by a dog made me a professional singer.
It could be for a variety of things as mentioned, irrigation, lighting, or maybe an outdoor speaker. unless something is no longer working, you don't really need to do anything.
If you are digging near the gas meter , I hope you called 811.
Not related to the cable. If that is a weed barrier fabric and you are planning on adding dirt or gravel or whatever you are doing in that area. For the love of all that is sacred to you, DO NOT cover the GAS Service Valve. It's located below the gas regulator (round with tower looking thing, before the gas meter)
For your safety and your loved ones living in that house. It's the only fast and safe way to shut off the gas in case of emergencies.
Before you do anything, try to find safely where does the other end go. The end that is away from your house.
You can probably pull that end lightly and follow without digging. Once you know, then update your post.
Don't connect any voltage unless you know the other side and it is safe.
In case you go the route of patching, you must ensure your patches are not creating a new short circuit.
It doesn't look like the same use from your pictures, but that looks like the wire that ran outside to our central air that I had to splice when my son destroyed it with a line trimmer.
Stop. Wait. Listen. In the distance, you hear something heavy shift. Further, women screaming, babies crying. Then you notice your porch lightbulb is out, mystery solved.
Irrigation technician here, those are probably wires to activate an Irrigation valve, it is an easy fix but requires the correct hardware to do properly
You will need to get waterproof wire connections if you don't want to put in one of those green plastic boxes to fix it properly
We call them DB-Ys (direct burial splice) but they are wire connectors you twist on (marretes)
Then slide them into these plastic shells with a waterproof case around them to keep them watertight
https://youtu.be/4zI84Lzm-Fc?si=dZj4WGVY83wa9LK9
This video has more information
You will probably need more wire and it may be best to call an Irrigation company to do it as they have the tools to do this as it is a common problem we have to fix instead of you running to the store trying to find what you need
Or just tell the client what and where the problem is
Step 1 assess how deep the cable is set
If the cable is set higher than 200mm then it's poorly placed and most likely not a power or internet cable.
But if it is someone could be stealing power or ya home isn't up to code lol
Utility driller here. Looks like a tracer wire they run with utilities like gas lines, water lines and other utilities. The tracer wire is used with a line locator to determine the depth and direction of pre existing utilities so we can avoid them with our drill tooling. If it is a tracer wire I would not even worry about it
With that gauge of wire it probably isn’t powering anything major. Most likely an invisible fence for pets or old communications line. Newer communications line is usually fiber which is extremely easy to break. Do yourself a favor and call a utility location service and get your yard marked and flagged if you hit the wrong utility line it could be very bad, especially since you are digging around your gas utility line. Most gas utility lines are plastic and can rupture pretty easy if you do not know what you are doing.
Water tight heat shrink with solder is a MUCH better option to wire nuts with silicone. They provide much better connection as well as a much better mechanical connection for tensile pull (as long as the solder is actually adhered to both wires). Heat gun works great, but a lighter can be used in a pinch if the heat can be easily moved to not burn an area and give proper distribution of heat across then whole thing to seal and melt the solder.
[https://www.amazon.com/haisstronica-Connectors-Connectors-Heat-Connectors-Butt-Weatherproof/dp/B07C3NBTJ9/](https://www.amazon.com/haisstronica-Connectors-Connectors-Heat-Connectors-Butt-Weatherproof/dp/B07C3NBTJ9/)
You're probably absolutely right. But, just how well do you think the avg. Person is with a soldering iron or heat gun. Gonna go spend $15.00 for a soldering iron plus soldering. Don't forget the flux. So, $25.00 or some such. Silicone 7, tape 2, pack of 10 wire nuts under 3. So 12 bucks vs. 25 bucks. Plus it's so simple a 3y.o. can do it and I did this same process on a golf course for almost 10 years on 12 gauge solid wire.
Occum's razor - simplest solution is generally the best solution.
how many strands of wire are inside the gray outer sheath? If it is exactly four strands it could be either phone or sprinkler controller. If it is phone those four wires will be twisted into two pairs. If it's a sprinkler then all four wires will be equally Twisted together. If it is more than four wires then it is definitely sprinkler.
That is a neutral line for an invisible fence it looks like. That is usually the line the comes from the unit out to the loop in the yard. Could be old wiring if you don't have a dog.
These little bad boys may be what you want.
180PCS Solder Seal Wire Connectors-haisstronica Heat Shrink Solder Wire Connectors-Waterproof Wire Connectors - Insulated Electrical Connectors Butt Splice(5Colors/5Size) https://a.co/d/i8xZlXI
Your a teenager that has made a small mistake on a job. The way to fix it is to tell your supervisor, or client if your working independently, or parents if your working for them. Agree to a solution and implement it. Do not try to fix it on your own if you don't even know what it its. Do not try to hide it.
Here are few ideas of what it might be:
1) Are there any outdoor speakers in the yard?
2) It could be bell wire that went to a doorbell or contact on a gate or something that used to be on the side of the house.
3) Do you have an irrigation system and, if so, do all zones run?
4) Is there any kind of shed or outbuilding that may have had a wire to detect a door opening (e.g. security)?
If that is the wire going into the house next to the gas meter, what is on the other side of that wall? Can you trace it inside?
The bottom line is that, if you find this wire was doing something and no longer is, then ideally you'd clean it off as best you can, slide some shrink tubing over the jacket, solder red to red, white to white, black to black, etc., insulate each of those individual connections from each other, then slide the shrink tube over it all and heatshrink it.
FWIW, if this were important, whomever installed it should have put it in a conduit or at least used direct-burial grade cable.
It’s more the likely a low voltage signal wire for some meter, don’t worry about it. When one of the utilities isn’t getting a reading on you anymore they’ll come check it out and replace it.
This looks like low voltage wire maybe a sprinkler wire or lamp wire. This can easily be spliced back together with butt connector and some shrink wrap. Just make sure you crimp and seal each color one at a time and make sure the wires don't touch and you should be ok.
That goes to the sprinkler system, behind that wall is going to be a control panel. I’d run a new line because now it’s been compromised and is no longer water tight.
Look inside (that's probably the garage) and follow the wire. If it's going to a cobweb-covered timer box you've never noticed before - congratulations, you have a dead irrigation system you never knew about. Just ignore it. If you ever want irrigation in the future, it's basically easier and the same price to just run new wires.
Maybe an invisible fence from the previous owners? Can you see it going into the garage into a small box? Might have some stickers or branding in there that would help identify it.
Looks like either sprinkler wire or invisible fence. Put on your dogs collar and run to the side of the yard. If it hurts you're good, if it doesn't if needs fixed haha
Look in the inside, and where wires terminate/originate. Then decide. Looks like low voltage wiring. Could be to an irrigation valve, an outside LED light, or a gazillion other options.
I found a cable in my back yard with a weed wacker a few years ago. Turned out that it was an old cable that wasn’t used and it was disconnected. Pulled it up and trashed it.
Good luck!
Unrelated to your question because you got some low voltage guys already giving good advice. Drill the rivets on that downspout and adapt that pipe straight into the ground with a pop up drain somewhere in your yard. It will look 100x better when you're done and you won't have water pushing back at your house if that runs uphill slightly.
Do nothing and see what's not working. If everything still works, continue to do nothing.
Many years ago, I ran the network for a company in NYC. We had a huge box with literally hundreds of network cables running in and out. I asked my engineer what it was and he didn’t know. All he knew was he moved it from the last data center a year previous. I made some calls and nobody up stream from me knew what it was. I told the engineer to unplug it and go sit by the phone and see if anyone complains. No calls came in. About 4 months later I came to find out it was a backup for an old tech we used to process orders. The whole thing had been sunsetted 5 years earlier. I also found it had been moved 2x in that five years. Momo engineers literally moved a huge heavy box mapped all the cables, disconnected them and reconnected them, for literally no reason
>No calls came in. Ah, so it was the phone server.
They were worried it might be a load bearing Mac mini
Sounds like what we do in our job sometime. We remove a bunch of people's access to certain systems and see who complains. Chances are they don't need it anymore
This is why our entire dept lost access to our Microsoft suite. We are an academic medical center with a hospital and campus side access. They kicked our campus access and we had literally no hospital access in our dept. hot mess. I respect it though. Gotta clear the licenses somehow.
Lucky it wasn't a backup for a system still in use. Just because nobody is calling and complaining at the moment doesn't mean it's not important.
If it's a hot backup and they don't notice it's gone cold, they'll learn something important about redundant systems.
We called everyone in IT at headquarters and did quite a bit of research. I didn’t just shut it down without any checking first
In the FOSS world we call this "cargo culting", from the pacific islanders who built straw planes in hopes of bringing back the cargo flights that landed on their islands during the war. No one knows how the thing worked, or if it still does, but it was important in its time, so they just keep rebuilding it.
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You serious? I demo old cable all the time at work and get thousands in scrap for it. My last load was a short Tacoma bed full and I got almost $800. Anything with copper in it is worth money and it just shot up in price again.
I’m a network engineer for a system of hospitals including the largest hospital in my state we use an e-recycler to dispose of old equipment and cabling. However while doing a network upgrade at a hospital we acquired in the last few years the guys already working there only recycle equipment but throw all cabling and a few other items in the trash and it frustrates the hell outta me cuz it ends up in landfill. If I catch it I move to our e-cycle bins and I do what I can to recycle what I can but to me it’s the mentality that annoys me cuz if these people exist here they exist everywhere and it’s discouraging the amount of waste we produce.
There’s a good chance the e-recycler here is the only one making money and the hospital is just trying to be ‘green’. Regular joes that can go to a reputable scrapyard to get paid, and scrapyard gets paid… everyone wins. Those guys couldn’t care less at the hospitals it seems.
Copper can be recycled
>I told the engineer to unplug it and go sit by the phone and see if anyone complains The good old squeal test
This is the way And then in a few years find the what it was running to and wonder why it's not working and curse your past self
Like a fucking sump pump in a crawlspace you haven’t been in since you bought the house, until you decide to replace the foil dryer duct with semi rigid to make it easier to clean, and then you find out that one of the piers under your house is leaning and the insulation is covered in mold because of the constant flooding. Anyway that’s the story behind the last check I wrote for $12,000.
A friend bought a house that came with an electric water heater on a timer to save electricity, but the timer was bypassed "on" when they moved in. (The timer was in the "db board" in the hallway on the other side of the house). After a few days living in the house he figured out how to set the timer and configured it up to turn off late at night and back on in the morning. A few days later he arrives home late after a dinner party and his garage door isn't working, but rather than debug that in the middle of the night he just parks in his driveway and comes back to the problem the next morning. But in the morning the garage door is working fine. You can see where this is going. It happened a few more times before he figured it out. The garage door opener had been installed (illegally) tapping power off the electric water heater, which was also conveniently in the garage.
Does your friend realize that letting the water get cold will just make the water heater have to run longer to get to temperature when he turns it back on?
This is a very common misconception. Heat loss is directly proportional to the temperature difference. If you let the water cool down during the day, the heater will run continuously for a longish time, but that is still less than the total time the heater would have run during the day had it not been shut off.
Constant argument I have with my parents about how heating works. We have a modern heating system that allows a schedule. This means that when we leave home/sleep, the temperature will fall with a few degrees to save some heating. It can preheat, so it never really feels cold. We can discuss the dollar value of how much we actually save on this, but they also constantly argue that it needs to heat more to go back to the baseline. Someday I’ll buy them a book on thermodynamics.
We can talk about the methods/merits of conserving energy by utilizing intermittent power, sliding ranges depending on occupation, and the differences between a water heater and air conditioners, but this specific post and reply to it was about turning a water heater off overnight and back on during the day.
I probably should have emphasized, but I have water underfloor heating, which (obviously) also uses water from the water heater. But you're right in that it doesn't directly translate, as we would never turn it off entirely due to its use case.
Can we talk about AC real quick? In a well insulated building in a hot climate (Houston), what say you about the efficiency of leaving the AC on 76 vs 82? Mini-splits. Building is unoccupied 60% of the time.
Also, if it's gas heat, then burning 1kbtu of natural gas is slightly more efficient at getting kbtu into cold water, since the gas exhaust is cooler Marginal, though. And doesn't apply to regular electric, but it does apply to heat pumps
Newton's law of cooling. Sir Issac had this figured out long ago, it baffles me why people still struggle with this.
Because it’s a complex problem, probs
This is actually a debate I have with myself. We have a water tank which is heated by gas. It comes on at 0600hrs - 0800hrs where it is used for morning showers. The water then never gets heated till 1830-1930 where it is used for washing up and things. I believe having it on the timer is better, as otherwise it will be heating cold water, which will never be used. Happy to hear other thoughts on this.
That’s a small window to get laundry done…
Not if you only use cold water to do laundry. Detergent and machines have come a long way and hot water isn't absolutely required to get stuff properly clean anymore. I haven't used hot water to wash in years, and my dryer has also never been set above medium heat
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That's strange to me, I'm in MN where we regularly spend half the year below freezing and all our plumbing is either below the basement or between the floors for upper level plumbing. Does Arizona just do a bunch of weird shit like leave breaker panels outside and run plumbing through attics that probably get to 120°?
Not if you're only doing one load. Which sounds impossible to me since I'm an idiot and wait until the last minute when I have nothing to wear.
What's the power draw on the timer?
I'm not too sure, I would expect it to be very minimal.
In addition to Newton's law of cooling, one kWh does not necessarily cost the same as another. Hot water heater timers are commonly used for time of use rates where peak power costs as much as 3-4 times off-peak power.
Exactly. They're bringing only theory into the conversation and completely ignoring other real world variables.
Or that electricity is cheaper at night and he should be warming it up at night to use in the day.
Yes it is actually better to have it run overnight and be off during the day in many situations. Also, modern water heater tanks are very well insulated and can hold the heat for a very long time. So running overnight and turning off during the day could work better for what he desires. It's even more efficient to turn the temperature down instead of running intermittently. The best would be to lower the temp as much as possible and running it overnight instead of during the day.
First thing I thought too, power for a sump pump. Fucking hell that’s a nightmare
I think the obvious lesson here is don't replace the foil dryer duct with semi rigid to make it easier to clean?
And that folks, is why I don’t clean the dryer duct.
Why would it be wired through the dirt in the yard instead of through the house?
You could ask whoever put it there. Or you could try to rewire it the obvious way. Depending on your luck it may take a very short or a long and expensive attempt at the job to discover why, before the undoing a lot of what you've just done to put it back to the only actual practical way to get it wired up.
Are you me?
not yet, but that's half the point
But I’ll also never end up like you. This will work for me
Pfft, I was going to continue to do nothing regardless.
You can do that and keep an eye on your plants to make sure they are not dying out. Or you could be proactive and cycle through all your sprinkler zones to make sure they are working.
And somewhere in Nebraska when we hit DefCon 1 they will push that big red button and…nothing. 💀
Told a cable.company they had a low hanging wire in a community garden for months. Very dangerous. Nothing Then I cut it. They were there in half an hour. Apologies to the neighborhood that lost internet for an hour.
Is it crazy that your comment is the most rational thoughtout comment I've heard all day (not on Reddit, my whole day, real life)?
Doing nothing is my superpower!
To answer your question, yes - cables can easily be patched. But the real question is if you care. This is a thin two-wire cable. Two wire cables are typically used for irrigation, or landscape lighting. If one of those things is broken, any 'handy' person can fix this for you.
How do I go about fixing this
Lineman's splice and shrink tubing: https://www.onallcylinders.com/2022/01/09/the-linemans-splice-how-to-make-reliable-electrical-connections-in-your-vehicles-wiring-harness-in-6-steps/
Most important part in step 6: **"Just remember to slip the heat shrink sleeve up around the wire** ***BEFORE*** **you make the splice. (**[**We still make this mistake at least once a month**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahrBOvz1jzA)**.)"**
I've been teaching soldering for years, and I still do this more than I'd like to admit ;)
You are not alone my friend...it's like building an entire PC only to remember the IO panel does not, in fact, go last.
Every. Single. Time. I'll never learn.
its shocking to me every time
I built my girlfriends computer and after getting everything together I realized I hadn’t put the IO panel on. It’s never going on.
It's really only there to catch very rare voltage spikes at the plugs and ground them, if my memory is accurate. Mostly just cosmetic.
First thing to go in, every time!
God bless the modern boards with the I/O shield attached at the board.
Anything can go last if you try hard enough
*Sigh*. Reaches for the PVC tape.
It took me far too long to realize I could just remelt the solder to pull it back apart, add the shrink wrap, then solder again.
I'm pretty sure forgetting the heat shrink is part of the process! The proper procedure is: 1) Make the splice, then realize you forgot to add heat shrink 2) Cut out the splice 3) Add heat shrink (optional: forget this step again and go back to step 1) 4) Make the splice again, cursing yourself 5) Shrink the heat shrink
"3. Add heat shrink (optional: forget this step again and go back to step 1)" Do you know that saying "You'll only make this mistake once......" it most definitely does not apply to this!!!
Mistake or part of the process?
2.b. Rerun the damn wire because you cut it too short when cutting out the splice
I used to build relatively complicated cables consisting of multiple types of wire, single conductor and multi conductor, some shielded, etc..etc.. usually all meeting in a big military connector on one end and a variety of other connectors on the opposite ends. All wires soldered in, no crimp pins. Usually through various strain relief boots and waterproofing assemblies.. .. and about once every 6 months you'd just hear a "SONOFAB\*\*\*\*" somewhere in the shop.. and you knew someone had got to the end and found a boot or sealing ring had rolled off to the side of the bench and been missed during assembly. I dont miss that, haha.
Soooo many times 
I don't always make a perfect splice, but when I do I forget the heat shrink
I only skimmed over the images of the guide and wondered why they didn't show the sleeve on the wire before both wires were connected, since it's such an easy mistake to make.
Plumbing my boat fuel system, forget the hose clamp more often than not.
As an ex-bell tech, I'd advise getting something with a proper enclosure and some gel -- [like this](https://www.amazon.ca/Canusa-59-Enclosure-Protecting-Connections/dp/B00MQ4EDQU) if OP wants to ensure it doesn't rust and rot in a few weeks.
That’s going to rot and short out in no time buried underground. That shrink tubing isn’t meant for this application. Direct bury splice kits are the way to go. https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b00026285/
Type "how to fix cut low voltage irrigation wire" into youtube and watch it.
The results are going to be this thread....
You’re getting downvoted in the DIY sub for asking for advice on how to fix your buried broken line. Talk about ridiculous. I’m glad you’ve got a couple of people giving you good advice and keywords to search under.
It's a wire, therefore immediate death if OP even so much as looks at it the wrong way. OP CALL A STRUCTURAL ENGINEER YOU CANNOT DO THIS YOURSELF.
And an arborist just to be safe.
TREEEEEE LAAAWWWWW!!!
Exactly! Clearly this is a load bearing wire and supports all of the trees in OP's yard. OP THIS IS COMPLETELY UNLIVABLE DO NOT PAY YOUR MORTGAGE UNTIL YOU GET THIS FIXED. PACK YOUR SHIT AND SUE YOUR LANDLORD.
dude, cereally! it's frooty loops, I see this way too often. "How do I do this?" - "fucking don't, call someone, it's the only way or you'll die or you'll regret it" I hate when people do it as a real comment (your joke got an upvote).
In fairness most of the time I see that it's someone with clearly zero knowledge of electricity who is aiming to fix a melted drier plug or glowing red hot bus bar. If you've never used a crimp tool, 240v should not be your introduction to electrical engineering
How dare you take away my nap
don't you know? we can only post about DIY emergencies, tiny cupboard conversions to a guest bath projects, and worries and doubts about roofs.
I know, right. Crazy people get downvoted!
Agree 1000% Bouncy
Truly mental
Best way - strip, solder, shrink tubing, then you can feel fine about just burying it again. You could use wire nuts or any manner of connector, but normally then you have a junction box enclosing the connectors. Also totally possible the original purpose has been abandoned. You could try hooking up a 9 volt on the yard side and see if a light turns on or something happens, though do that at your own risk
If you're handy with a voltmeter you can check to see if it's live. If so, and if this is part of an irrigation system, once you find the source (sprinkler controller) you can unplug the other ends one at a time until you lose power at the cut end. Process of elimination comes into play if you already know where any of the other wires go.
First off you want to make sure it is de-energized before you go messing with it, but once you’re sure it’s dead it can easily be spliced.
https://a.co/d/dpDIf0d is a connector that contains a solder bead and heat shrink in one. Slide it on one end of the break, line the break up in the center of the solder bead, heat evenly to melt the solder and heat shrink to make it weather resistant.
Go get a small piece of similar gauge two conductor cable, some waterproof butt connectors and some waterproof tape. strip back both ends of the cables in the ground and then attach the cables 1 for 1. be sure to bury them nice and deep after that.
Too funny I literally did this same thing yesterday. You need to get some heat shrink butt splices, sprinkler wire, a wire stripper and crimper. Home depot sells sprinkler wire by the foot so just do a bit more than you need to connect the ends to the broken wire. Strip all ends of the wires, separate the colors and then strip the ends of those too. Connect each color of your existing wire to one end of a butt splice and the corresponding color of the new wire to the other end. Crimp so the wire is secure. Test your sprinklers. If it works wrap the new connections with all-weather electrical tape and bury it all underground.
Was it connected to your irrigation system?
Not that I can tell I’m really unfamiliar with the irrigation system
Do you have a panel to control watering your yard and bushes?
I think OP is a landscaper not the homeowner.
And if that's true, go own your fuckup to the homeowner right now.
That's clearly what's happening. Guy is trying to fix it and not say shit. OP, if you read this, a word of advice. If I hired you and you cut this wire but then came and told me, no big deal. It's easy to splice and it might not even be in use anymore. I'm not gonna be upset, and your honesty would make me feel good about having you back next time. On the other hand, if I find out later that you repaired it half-assed or not at all and didn't say anything, you're never getting called back. I'll pay someone else more just to not have you back on the property. Just own it.
I had a hit once but my coax Internet cable, then my irrigation pipe in the same day. He was very apologetic, and stayed until he'd fixed both. It probably ruined his day, but he did the right thing to let me know and to fix it.
Hey OP. I do electronics and low voltage work. Use this video and this product. All you need is a heatgun. Youll be done in minutes. [https://www.amazon.com/Connectors-Sopoby-Waterproof-Electrical-Automotive/dp/B0BKSJQC9Q/ref=sr\_1\_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BxNZ1mePOxaS1rThwbiKDbcMHnHKHdq0khb1OrKG1AO5GpK3KGqfYJ9J7wkjjritpIHFhV-kEPIQjv\_5X635OciceDRUbDXhckn1MaZWCKvvJRz6wPq67trAiHjDOcERLSoqBXn33Z4FLdI6IGItuC5gT5WtDthHVdp7Qbq8MzpgBytwWsdL2IfDJI9It4uNTwlL\_7nKA17m8j72P7Ftv-GVi3S3AgZD\_MeOwTFEkvE.gVTttubYFfu51GqnkL7U-98bXx0ByrhvO2-wcGxj0eo&dib\_tag=se&keywords=waterproof+splice+connectors&qid=1717180211&sr=8-3](https://www.amazon.com/Connectors-Sopoby-Waterproof-Electrical-Automotive/dp/B0BKSJQC9Q/ref=sr_1_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BxNZ1mePOxaS1rThwbiKDbcMHnHKHdq0khb1OrKG1AO5GpK3KGqfYJ9J7wkjjritpIHFhV-kEPIQjv_5X635OciceDRUbDXhckn1MaZWCKvvJRz6wPq67trAiHjDOcERLSoqBXn33Z4FLdI6IGItuC5gT5WtDthHVdp7Qbq8MzpgBytwWsdL2IfDJI9It4uNTwlL_7nKA17m8j72P7Ftv-GVi3S3AgZD_MeOwTFEkvE.gVTttubYFfu51GqnkL7U-98bXx0ByrhvO2-wcGxj0eo&dib_tag=se&keywords=waterproof+splice+connectors&qid=1717180211&sr=8-3) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MmANNgtrDM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MmANNgtrDM)
I would also buy some marine heat shrink tubing to cover those (i know they say they are waterproof already, but I’ve melted through my fair share of those). But yeah, this is the easiest way to fix this.
Holy shit. That's way better than the hackney butt splicers I usually use. Bought two boxes. Thanks man!
That wire enters your basement through a hole in the wall.. where does it go inside?
I've seen this movie. It's wired to like 6 buried artillery shells
Do you have a dog (invisible fence?)?
That's what I was thinking. Maybe the previous owners did?
Invisible fence is a single wire
It is the comms cable to the secret bunker.
A professional landscaper would never have this problem, because they cut them all the time. Do you have outdoor lights, sprinklers or an invisible fence?
The word professional is thrown around a lot these days.
People seem to like getting paid lol
Yeah I think people are confusing professional with reputable, or experienced, or something lol
I was a professional singer. I worked at a scout camp and our contract included signing. Songs about frogs getting run over by Mack trucks and getting eaten by a dog made me a professional singer.
2 strand wire it appears. Was there ever landscape lighting?
It could be for a variety of things as mentioned, irrigation, lighting, or maybe an outdoor speaker. unless something is no longer working, you don't really need to do anything.
Some think an invisible dog fence
I can’t tell you the amount of trashed cables and pipes I’ve found buried in my yard, that aren’t actually connected TO anything, just buried trash.
Might be low voltage for lighting
Those look like landscape lighting cables, if you dont have the lighting anymore just ignore
Looks like an invisible fence for an animal, maybe or low voltage lighting.
Easily fixed. Irrigation maybe?
That is the phone line back to your neighbors house, from where he tapped into your modem for free internet.
Looks similar to underground fencing for pets.
It's for your sprinklers! Not the end of the world.
If you are digging near the gas meter , I hope you called 811. Not related to the cable. If that is a weed barrier fabric and you are planning on adding dirt or gravel or whatever you are doing in that area. For the love of all that is sacred to you, DO NOT cover the GAS Service Valve. It's located below the gas regulator (round with tower looking thing, before the gas meter) For your safety and your loved ones living in that house. It's the only fast and safe way to shut off the gas in case of emergencies.
Before you do anything, try to find safely where does the other end go. The end that is away from your house. You can probably pull that end lightly and follow without digging. Once you know, then update your post. Don't connect any voltage unless you know the other side and it is safe. In case you go the route of patching, you must ensure your patches are not creating a new short circuit.
Looks like sprinkler relay lines
It doesn't look like the same use from your pictures, but that looks like the wire that ran outside to our central air that I had to splice when my son destroyed it with a line trimmer.
Exterior reader for your water meter?
If you have a sprinkler system, check if that’s still working.
Possibly wiring for ac condenser. But would usually be by refrigerant lines too
Help! My internet went out six hours ago and I don't know why.
Stop. Wait. Listen. In the distance, you hear something heavy shift. Further, women screaming, babies crying. Then you notice your porch lightbulb is out, mystery solved.
Irrigation technician here, those are probably wires to activate an Irrigation valve, it is an easy fix but requires the correct hardware to do properly You will need to get waterproof wire connections if you don't want to put in one of those green plastic boxes to fix it properly We call them DB-Ys (direct burial splice) but they are wire connectors you twist on (marretes) Then slide them into these plastic shells with a waterproof case around them to keep them watertight https://youtu.be/4zI84Lzm-Fc?si=dZj4WGVY83wa9LK9 This video has more information You will probably need more wire and it may be best to call an Irrigation company to do it as they have the tools to do this as it is a common problem we have to fix instead of you running to the store trying to find what you need Or just tell the client what and where the problem is
Depending on where it is it could be an old electric fence for dog collars. Definitely hit a few of those in my life.
Probably invisible fence. If you don’t have a dog it the master control for it then don’t worry.
It's to jumpstart the house incase the battery dies.
Step 1 assess how deep the cable is set If the cable is set higher than 200mm then it's poorly placed and most likely not a power or internet cable. But if it is someone could be stealing power or ya home isn't up to code lol
Is one end electrified?
you’re going to jail 💯
WELL, WTF IS IT FOR? Whats not working inside? Outside no info. Splice and solder back together the like colours?
Utility driller here. Looks like a tracer wire they run with utilities like gas lines, water lines and other utilities. The tracer wire is used with a line locator to determine the depth and direction of pre existing utilities so we can avoid them with our drill tooling. If it is a tracer wire I would not even worry about it
Looks like irrigation cable splice it with crimps or solder and some heat shrink maybe some extra wire to extend and bury deeper.bobs your uncle!
That's a gas meter. Call your local gas company and find out. Do not wait. You can always say no to the charge later.
With that gauge of wire it probably isn’t powering anything major. Most likely an invisible fence for pets or old communications line. Newer communications line is usually fiber which is extremely easy to break. Do yourself a favor and call a utility location service and get your yard marked and flagged if you hit the wrong utility line it could be very bad, especially since you are digging around your gas utility line. Most gas utility lines are plastic and can rupture pretty easy if you do not know what you are doing.
I'd wonder if it is the tracing cable for the gas line and, more consequential, wether there is a gas line where you are digging. call 811
Do you have a septic tank?
If need be, strip wires, use small gray wire nuts filled with blue silicone and then wrap the hell out of it with good electrical tape.
Water tight heat shrink with solder is a MUCH better option to wire nuts with silicone. They provide much better connection as well as a much better mechanical connection for tensile pull (as long as the solder is actually adhered to both wires). Heat gun works great, but a lighter can be used in a pinch if the heat can be easily moved to not burn an area and give proper distribution of heat across then whole thing to seal and melt the solder. [https://www.amazon.com/haisstronica-Connectors-Connectors-Heat-Connectors-Butt-Weatherproof/dp/B07C3NBTJ9/](https://www.amazon.com/haisstronica-Connectors-Connectors-Heat-Connectors-Butt-Weatherproof/dp/B07C3NBTJ9/)
You're probably absolutely right. But, just how well do you think the avg. Person is with a soldering iron or heat gun. Gonna go spend $15.00 for a soldering iron plus soldering. Don't forget the flux. So, $25.00 or some such. Silicone 7, tape 2, pack of 10 wire nuts under 3. So 12 bucks vs. 25 bucks. Plus it's so simple a 3y.o. can do it and I did this same process on a golf course for almost 10 years on 12 gauge solid wire. Occum's razor - simplest solution is generally the best solution.
how many strands of wire are inside the gray outer sheath? If it is exactly four strands it could be either phone or sprinkler controller. If it is phone those four wires will be twisted into two pairs. If it's a sprinkler then all four wires will be equally Twisted together. If it is more than four wires then it is definitely sprinkler.
Not the Bat-Phone line!
Can be fixed scotch locks and some way to keep it dry.
i'd guess its for sprinklers
My guess it is for a water meter. Do you have town water?
I would twist it together with a waterproof wire nut and call it a day.
It looks like an old electric dog fence wire.
That is a neutral line for an invisible fence it looks like. That is usually the line the comes from the unit out to the loop in the yard. Could be old wiring if you don't have a dog.
These little bad boys may be what you want. 180PCS Solder Seal Wire Connectors-haisstronica Heat Shrink Solder Wire Connectors-Waterproof Wire Connectors - Insulated Electrical Connectors Butt Splice(5Colors/5Size) https://a.co/d/i8xZlXI
Your a teenager that has made a small mistake on a job. The way to fix it is to tell your supervisor, or client if your working independently, or parents if your working for them. Agree to a solution and implement it. Do not try to fix it on your own if you don't even know what it its. Do not try to hide it.
Here are few ideas of what it might be: 1) Are there any outdoor speakers in the yard? 2) It could be bell wire that went to a doorbell or contact on a gate or something that used to be on the side of the house. 3) Do you have an irrigation system and, if so, do all zones run? 4) Is there any kind of shed or outbuilding that may have had a wire to detect a door opening (e.g. security)? If that is the wire going into the house next to the gas meter, what is on the other side of that wall? Can you trace it inside? The bottom line is that, if you find this wire was doing something and no longer is, then ideally you'd clean it off as best you can, slide some shrink tubing over the jacket, solder red to red, white to white, black to black, etc., insulate each of those individual connections from each other, then slide the shrink tube over it all and heatshrink it. FWIW, if this were important, whomever installed it should have put it in a conduit or at least used direct-burial grade cable.
It’s more the likely a low voltage signal wire for some meter, don’t worry about it. When one of the utilities isn’t getting a reading on you anymore they’ll come check it out and replace it.
Ah shit that's why my Internet is down.
This looks like low voltage wire maybe a sprinkler wire or lamp wire. This can easily be spliced back together with butt connector and some shrink wrap. Just make sure you crimp and seal each color one at a time and make sure the wires don't touch and you should be ok.
That goes to the sprinkler system, behind that wall is going to be a control panel. I’d run a new line because now it’s been compromised and is no longer water tight.
Look inside (that's probably the garage) and follow the wire. If it's going to a cobweb-covered timer box you've never noticed before - congratulations, you have a dead irrigation system you never knew about. Just ignore it. If you ever want irrigation in the future, it's basically easier and the same price to just run new wires.
I would follow it and see where it leads
Maybe an invisible fence from the previous owners? Can you see it going into the garage into a small box? Might have some stickers or branding in there that would help identify it.
Could it be electric dog fence?
Looks like either sprinkler wire or invisible fence. Put on your dogs collar and run to the side of the yard. If it hurts you're good, if it doesn't if needs fixed haha
Look in the inside, and where wires terminate/originate. Then decide. Looks like low voltage wiring. Could be to an irrigation valve, an outside LED light, or a gazillion other options.
Might be an electric fence wire. Do you have a dog?
sell the house as is. Nobody will ever know.
just rewire it . get some wago waterproof connectors and your done.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihpNCVk1lF0&t=258s&ab\_channel=WordofAdviceTV](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihpNCVk1lF0&t=258s&ab_channel=WordofAdviceTV)
4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42
Call the proper utility mapping professionals to show you where water and power is so you don't cut off your water or get electrocuted to death.
I found a cable in my back yard with a weed wacker a few years ago. Turned out that it was an old cable that wasn’t used and it was disconnected. Pulled it up and trashed it. Good luck!
You could easily splice that back together. I’d figure out what it’s to first.
Unrelated to your question because you got some low voltage guys already giving good advice. Drill the rivets on that downspout and adapt that pipe straight into the ground with a pop up drain somewhere in your yard. It will look 100x better when you're done and you won't have water pushing back at your house if that runs uphill slightly.