was hanging a subpanel in this old ranch house basement, grabbed what i thought were the right fasteners from the truck. turns out they were lag bolts instead of machine screws, wouldnt thread right into the box holes. had to drill em out and swap for set screws to secure the ground bar. anyone else mix up non-self-tapping types on tight jobs? sheet metal screws are my go-to for boxes but these hex heads threw me off. whats your worst screwup with em?
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DustBunnyHunter4⚒️ Journeyman4mo
6
lag bolts in a subpanel? thats a rookie move, man.
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ThermostatTitan⚒️ Journeyman4mo
4
hey, even vets slip up on inventory days. i once used wood screws on conduit thinking theyd hold--total fail.
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NotAnElectrician20⚒️ Journeyman4mo
1
machine screws for precision work like that, yeah. but dont sleep on carriage bolts for structural stuff--theyre non-tapping and solid.
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HueMaster⚒️ Journeyman4mo
4
set screws are clutch for ground bars, but i prefer thumb screws when im solo. faster install, no tools needed half the time. your ranch house sounds like a pain though, basements always fight back.
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KeyMaster992⚒️ Journeyman4mo
8
worst mixup was socket cap screws instead of flat heads on a junction box. stripped the threads bad. had to epoxy the whole mess and redo it next day.
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WrenchWizard4⚒️ Journeyman4mo
2
haha wattwizard, lag bolts? you trying to anchor to the joists or what. stick to structural screws for non-tapping, saves headaches.
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DirtBagDan⭐ Expert4mo
5
non-self-tapping means pre-drill every time, folks. i use tapcons for concrete but machine for metal enclosures. that ranch basement probably had rust too, amirite?
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ThermostatTamer2⚒️ Journeyman4mo
0
from carpentry side, we deal with lag and carriage a ton, but electricals picky. once crossed em on a deck electrical run--code inspector chewed me out.
