Noticed what appeared to be some brownish weeds in the grass in the middle of a flooded low point in my back yard after several days of rain.
I took a closer look and . . .
Fire Ants!
This is one of the many reasons flood waters can be so dangerous. All the worker ants, the queen, and the brood (eggs, larvae, pupae) escaping to the 'high rise" grass blades above the water.
They can float across the water en masse by locking mandibles like a chain. The ones below the water can survive off of pockets of air until they reach ground or something floating--In this case the grass blades.
This post explains how I was able to resolve the issue of my old washer tripping my new GFCI. This is just a possible solution. There are other reasons your washer may be tripping a GFCI and some could be dangerous. Consult a professional electrician if you are unsure of any of this.
One of my summer projects has been updating our electrical outlets with GFCIs where it is required by electrical code (outdoor, garage, kitchen, bath, within 6ft of a sink, etc.,). This brought me to the GFCI electrical code vs. washing machine dilemma.
Old washing machines will tend to trip a GFCI during regular operation because the GFCIs are so sensitive. For this reason many homeowners and landlords have their old washing machines powered by a non-GFCI protected circuit. Of course, in most cases that is violation of electrical code.
I went ahead and installed a new GFCI into the outlet that powers our washing machine, hoping for the best.
(Not pictured here, but I placed electrical tape over the side terminals before placing the GFCI into the box to prevent any shorts because of the tight spacing.)
Sure enough, our old washer tripped the GFCI twice during just the first load after the GFCI had been installed.
Before giving in and removing the GFCI or buying a new washer, I decided to attempt some cleaning. An old washing machine is likely to be caked with detergent, dust, and detergent-soaked dust. This material will conduct electricity and can really build up in and around the control panel and knobs. Add to that the likelihood that the washer is in a very warm, humid, lint-filled area and there is bound to be some current leaking here or there.
I did a thorough cleaning with a damp cloth on and under the control panel and knobs (with the washer unplugged). I also used a can of compressed air meant for cleaning electronics to flush the gobs of dust from behind the knobs and wash setting dial. I let it dry fully (with the aid of a hairdryer, replaced the control panel, plugged it back in ran a new load of laundry. Ten loads later and it has yet to trip the GFCI again. It is also likely that I will need to do this as a maintenance routine every 6 months to a year.
This simple direct current electric motor is built from the following materials:
14 gauge insulated copper wire (~3ft)
1 nickel-plated neodymium hard drive magnet or large ceramic magnet (fridge magnet is too weak)
2 large wood screws
2 small wood screws
2 tie wraps or twist ties
Nail polish (just a few dabs)
1 D battery
1 block of scrap wood for the base
The coil is made from 2ft of 14 gauge insulated copper wire which came from a 14-2 romex spool. Using the D battery, wrap the insulated wire around the battery in tight loops leaving a about two inch tail on each side. In our case we wrapped the wire around the battery 4.5 times as shown.
Make the tails on each side of the coil as straight and parallel as possible. The tails should form an imaginary continuous line (or axle) which will be the axis of rotation about which the circular coil will turn. Use tie wraps or twist ties to wrap the coil in place on each side where the tail starts. Clip each tail to about 1.5in.
Strip about 3/4in of the insulation off of each end of tail and give the end a an angled bend up on the left side and down on the right as shown here (this will help keep the coil from sliding off the bracket when rotating).
Now use the nail polish to carefully paint just the top side of the right (or left) stripped wire tail.
Next is the task of creating the brackets out of stripped copper wire. They are made from two approximately 6in lengths of 14 gauge stripped copper wire which is screwed into the wood base with two large round-head wood screws. This wire is stiff enough that it will make contact with the battery terminals adequately without having to add a rubber band etc., and it is also stiff enough to keep its shape went bent in a particular way.
Carefully shape each bracket side so that the tails of the coil can be rested into an S-shape cradle and will form an axis of rotation that is parallel to the wood base.
Next is the magnet placement. The neodymium magnet should be arranged to produce maximum rotation of the coil. You may have to experiment with this for a few minutes before securing the magnet to the wood base. (If the magnet is not secured, the magnetic field resulting from the current flowing through the coil will push the magnet out of position and end the motor's rotation.)
The coil is placed about 1/16in above the magnet center on the magnet as shown.
Here is a simplified diagram of the magnetic field (B) in red produced by the magnet and the current (I) produced through the coil by the battery and bracket assembly.
Using Fleming's Left Hand Rule for motors, the associated force produced upon a particular portion of the coil is orthogonal to both the field (B) and current (I)
With the coil oriented vertically, you only need to give the coil a rotational push in either direction to produce sustained rotation. Each side of the coil will "feel" a force which points in opposite directions resulting in continued rotation. (Again here the magnetic field is red, current is turquoise, and force is green)
The nail polish is necessary to block current from flowing for the portion of the rotation which would produce opposing forces and stop continued rotation.
