Replacing Old Romex

I want to run Romex from a j-box, that is in the ceiling of my basement, to the main panel.  I know that I can run Romex from the box along the face of the joist (not the bottom), but what are my options once the Romex gets to the wall?  The joist I am using, conveniently enough, meets the wall ideally for where the panel is.  However, I've read that I need to run the Romex through EMT, or some form of conduit.



If you look at the picture I've attached, the panel is mounted on a piece of plywood that extends out underneath the joist.  Can I just staple the Romex to the plywood and then run it into the panel without using any conduit?  The cast iron pipe makes using any conduit quite a problem.



The cable you see is MC Lite, but I want to replace it with Romex.  There are going to be up to 9 more lines coming into the panel this very way.
      

Hi everyone,



I'm pretty new to the whole homeowning/do it yourself lifestyle, and have a question about the light fixture in my kitchen.  Recently 2 twisted cfl bulbs went out, probably within 1-2 days of each other, and I am having a hard time figuring out how to replace the bulb.  I believe the lights in my kitchen are considered recessed lighting.



So when the first light went out, I hastily grabbed my step ladder and tried to twist the bulb out.  I should have looked more closely at the fixture because when I started to twist, the bulb popped in my hand.  No big deal, just a bunch of debris all over the place.  I looked at the fixture and it said I should pull straight down to remove.  Doh!  The second light went out a day or two later and this time I pulled straight down on the bulb to remove.  To my surprise the bulb came out, but at the ends of the bulb were 2 bare wires.  I had never seen this bulb in stores before.



Anyways here are some pictures I took of my fixture.  Can anyone tell me how I am to replace my busted bulbs?  Thanks!












      

Hi,



I would like to wire a switch to be able to cut the power to the ceiling mounted outlets that feed our garage door openers. Running new wiring to them will be a bit cumbersome, so I am hoping to avoid that. The ceiling outlets are powered by light fixtures in the garage (one near by each outlet). There is a 3 wire romex cable running from the light switch to the first light and another one between the lights, and then regular 2 wire romex cables from the light fixtures to the outlets. The red wires in the 3 wire cables to the lights are switchable, the black wires are always hot.



I mainly want to be able to cut the power to the doors when we are away on vacation, and the reason for that is that one night both doors somehow opened up - I have no idea why. I'd hate for that to happen when we're away. Unplugging and plugging in the openers is a bit of a hassle due to the high ceiling.



I thought about wiring in a switched outlet so that I could just reach up with a long handle of some sort and switch off the power to the outlet. It would not be ideal, but definitely easier than getting the ladder out and unplugging the door openers.  However, there is possibly another option that I'd like some input on if anyone cares to comment. I believe I could wire in a switch on the wall next to the light switch that would allow me to cut the power to the black wires in the 3 wire cables. This would cut the power to the ceiling outlets and anything downstream from there (possibly an outside light, I would need to check on that).



My question is, are there any potential issues with this sort of wiring? Is there perhaps any code violation if both hot wires in a 3 wire cable can be switched off separately?



Thoughts?
      

I have an older home and i wanted to add a new 15 amp breaker for a circuit for the outlets for my upstairs. I noticed that the existing old black romex runs from the circuit breaker in electrical conduit in my walls. There is no way i can get more romex through that conduit. Can i add the romex outside the electrical conduit? i am not really sure why they ran through the conduit to begin with.
      

Hi, I have a fluorescent light I'd like to remove and add a tracklight.



Luckily it's in the basement with an unfinished ceiling.



here's the circuit map as is now:



1. breaker to fluorescent light.... connections inside

2. fluorescent light to switch at the top of the stairs

3. switch to the light in the stairwell. This terminates the circuit.



The wiring is all 14/2



I'd like to replace the the fluorescent light with a track light, but I'm not sure how to continue the circuit to the switch in the stairwell.



Is it safe to...



1. bring the cable from the breaker to the junction box.

2. connect the black wire with the black wire on the light AND the black wire leaving the box to the switch in the stairwell using a marette.

3. connect the white wire with the white wire on the light AND the white wire leaving the box to the switch in the stairwell using a marette

4. connecting a 6 inch bare 14 gauge wire to the box ground screw, then using a marette, connecting it with the ground wire from the cable entering the box as well as the one leaving and also the ground wire from the light.



Will this work and is it safe?
      

In my older home i just founf out that all the upstairs ( 2 bedrooms) outlets are installed on the same 20 amp circuit breaker for my kitchen. which might be a reason that when too many things are running this breaker trips. My question is I want to add a 15 amp breaker and isolate all the upstairs on this breaker so the kitchen stays seperate. i Found the romex that is installed to a downstairs outlet that is connected to all the other outlets upstairs but since it is hidden in the walls and i narrowed it down to 3 possiblities upstairs, but i am not sure. How can i test to see which one of the romex wires it could be so i can attach my new romex from the new breaker and just abandon the old wire all together.

PS. when i disconnnect the romex from the outlet downstairs in the kitchen all the outlets upstairs stop working, that is how i know that is the one that brings the electriity upstairs.
      

Is it permissible to run a single bare wire from an ungrounded receptacle to the panel if the bare wire is not part of the Romex cable?



May a bare wire be ran to a j-box that has a ground while being outside the Romex jacket?



I don't want to run a new cable, as I have plenty more #14/#12 bares than I do full cable.



Thanks
      

how do you remove a wire from push-in connectors
      

I have an older home (100 yrs) and I would like to upgrade the 100 amp service to 200. My question is when it comes time for the inspector to visit and inspect the new work, could the original wiring of the house be part of the inspection and result in a "fail" of the inspection.

To elaberate, the old wiring is romex and BX yet in the basement it is not run very neat and I see many places where I would add a staple or three. Some of the junction boxes don't have covers etc. Basicly fairly messy.
      

Now I have a 20 amp breaker at the circuit box that has older two wire, ie black and white no ground.  This cable looks to be in good shape.  This services several overhead lights in bedrooms.  I need to tie into this to create overhead lights in the bathroom and hallway.  Can I replace the 20 amp breaker with a 15 amp breaker, and then use 14-2 cable to connect the bathroom and hall lighting?  I do not know if the present older cable is 12 or 14.  I assume it is 12 since it has been tied into this 20 amp breaker before I bought the house.   



  Thank you to all who help.