This one comes up from time to time. I am in the anti-finger group. Funny to see this today, because I used my finger in a photo this morning but disliked it so much, that I took a second photo sans finger to add an arrow to the photo, later, for the report.
1 Like
You guys don’t like your own fingers, strange. Finger phobia? Is there a word for it?
1 Like
I am not a big fan of hand modeling 
Furthermore, the hand in the foreground and the subject in the background is odd to me.
4 Likes
Squishing the cyclist? It’s on my bucket list… for pics only of course.
3 Likes
Out where I live, squishing a cyclist is tempting. Lucky for them I hate trying to clean them off the bumper and grill.
4 Likes
Have you used any other software? If so, what are your thoughts? Do you have issues with Spectora not importing photos correctly after a while? I will need to exit to the dashboard and then go back into the report to get it to work right again. I click and drag my photos into my notes out of explorer. After a while it imports it with a resize box around it. I find it pretty frustrating. And again, thanks for the help.
No.
Not at all. I do the same thing on desktop. I have file explorer open on one monitor and the desktop writer open on the other. I drag and drop from file explorer into the report.
Do you have a screenshot of this? I can’t say I’ve ever gotten that.
I will try and remember to get you one next time it happens.
1 Like
First of all, you all distinguished HIs
My take about the FINGER, simple! Is a finger, period!
Home Inspecting is not about A) The Software nor B) the Tools that we use… is about the INSPECTOR in himself…! “The knowledge”
Let’s concentrate in the QUESTION?
Pretty pictures and pointers do not make “the meat” of the HI job…!
Disappointed Emoji
Funny Face Emoji
2 Likes
I found this:
How many amps can 2/0 AWG wire handle?
2/0 AWG cable can comfortably handle 200 amps at a cable length of 15 feet. The outside diameter of the cable is approximately 0.605 inches.
…and:
Can I use 2 AWG wire for 200 amp service?
This is known as NEC 80% requirement for wire sizing. In the case of 200 amps breakers, this means you will need a wire with at least 250A ampacity to connect a 200 amp service. Looking at the AWG wire chart, you will need an even bigger than #0000 AWG wire for 200 amps.
Using my BSEE brain and not my HI brain, I conclude that your AWG 2/0 could be perfectly okay for that application if the electrical engineer Luda calculations for the design of that dwelling’s panel was done right.
Side comment:
A cable’s cross section (diameter) is like a highway tunnel, it will let transit of a certain number of calculated electrons (emulating vehicles) in a determined amount of time. If you push at a specific time interval more vehicles than the maximum allowed, the tunnel will overheat, cause the electrons are packed to clise together, subsequently generating exceed heat that will create a fusion of cable and fire 
. I always assume that the electrical engineers and electricians involved in the original design if that dwelling’s electrical system knew their stuff and calculated accordingly. Those wires are always oversized for the actual max load of the house. The rating of the main breaker it is not an indication of the actual current that is circulating through the wire. Usually the maximum load (with all the demand activated inside the dwelling) should never reach 80% of the material tolerance of the cable nor the circuit breaker. When it does!! It will be momentarily and the circuit breaker will JUMP OPEN and interrupt the flow thereof impending the elevation of the wire circulating temperature and thereof a possible fire.
As a HI, I always look out for add-on loads that the residents may have addition and that intend to operate simultaneously. If this additional loads were not part of the original (80%) electrical engineering calculations, I note that in my report. An example of this is the addition of a dedicated ceramic-oven for handcrafts, or a power bench saw in the basement or garage. Electrical engineers design for ‘average’ demands inside a dwelling. The residents may have never been interviewed by the design engineer and their life style and habits may create an unbalanced electrical load down the road, subsequently creating an electrical fire hazardous living condition under that roof.
Nobody does it! But just as ‘energy audits’, people should routinely, every 5 years or as the dwelling ages and the demands of the residents change, should hire a fresh electrical energy balancing audit to readjust the original design to the needs of the time. I usually include this general recommendation in my reports in all inspections of houses older that 5 years. i. e. My home is 75 years old. My down drop electrical service is 100 Amps. I audited the current max load 4 years ago and is under 60 Amps 
1 Like
Were I inspect a load calculation is usually provide and usually rubber stamped. (Residential). I have yet to see an accurate electrical plan/print. Makes it fun to inspect without an approved plan from the electrical plans examiner. Luckily I can do resy plan review.
1 Like
Most of this information is incorrect. #2/0 Aluminum, the conductors in this thread, are not rated for 200 amps and cannot be used for ungrounded conductors in a 200 amp service. The bold is completely wrong. A 200 amp dwelling service only requires that the conductors have an ampacity of 83% of the service OCPD rating. That means that for a 200 amp service the conductors only need to be rated for 166 amps.
2 Likes
You are totally right, Mike!
As Home Inspectors very seldom we will encounter a situation where the electrical blueprints are available to us. And most dwellings have suffered numerous undocumented alterations. That is the reason why I never Home Inspect as an Electrical Inspector. I refrain myself from trying to be an Electrician on the job. I specifically tell my clients in my contract, “this inspection is not conclusive”, they may need to hire a Licensed Master Electrician to further explore or audit the current condition of the electrical distribution/load balance of the house.
1 Like
LOL. This should be fun. EE vs Code. This is what happens when you go from a home inspection to wanting to determine compliance with a standard.
There should be little, if any, need to perform a load calculation after construction, let alone every 5 years. It would be prudent if an addition is planned or if large loads like a heat pump with electric backup or a hot tub is added.
1 Like
(B) Adequacy. This Code contains provisions that are considered
necessary for safety. Compliance therewith and proper
maintenance result in an installation that is essentially free
from hazard but not necessarily efficient, convenient, or
adequate for good service or future expansion of electrical use.
A breaker does not automatically trip as soon as its rating is reached. It depends on the trip curve and the amount of overcurrent vs time. The ampacity limits on conductors are based on the safe operating temperatures of the insulation to prevent damage. A breaker can hold 125% for quite a long time. I would expect and EE to know this.
Why are you citing code?
2 Likes
To make a point. That the ‘code’ is not always the answer. I see to many people worried about what the code is when inspecting instead of using their experience. Just state the facts - you don’t need to justify where you got the answer. Aren’t most of the posts about code?