Here are some pictures – before and after (click for full size)

The fallen tree, still on the damaged overhead power line from Xcel

The mast was ripped from the house along with the gutter, fascia and stand-offs that were installed with nails, not lag bolts.

The mast hub that was burned due to the live power line cutting into the metal

The electrical service after being repaired with new wire and roof stand-offs. We even did our best reattaching the gutter!

Why Choose Electric Doctor for Emergency Repairs?

You Get an Honest Evaluation

Electric Doctor will take time to give you an honest evaluation of the electrical problem. If it is safe and does not require an expensive replacement, we will let you know.

Always Prompt Service

Emergency service repairs always get priority. In the situation above, we responded within 2 hours and had the repair ready to be reconnected by Xcel within 5 hours.

The Best Pricing Available

We will give you the best price and safest option possible.

303.973.2551

When you need an electrician, you have options. However going through those options and making the right decision about finding a good, quality electrician can be a daunting task. To become a licensed and experienced electrician takes a lot more work than most people understand and it’s not just about ‘knowing some electrical’…

• Have you ever thought about the service a good Electrician can provide?
• What does the make-up of a good Electrician look like?

If you’re like most people the thought has never even crossed your mind, however if you ever have experienced flickering lights, electrical outages or the smell of an electrical burning odor you know that a professional electrician should be enlisted for help.

I need an electrician, now what?

For insurance and quality reasons, you should be hiring an Electrical Contractor who employs licensed electricians. First and foremost a good electrician will be licensed within the state and/or the local jurisdiction in which you reside or where your business is located. Also, go online or call your local Better Business Bureau and check for ANY complaints and resolutions.

So how does that electrician who works for a quality Electrical Contractor earn his license?

There are different electrical licensing levels that can be achieved by an electrician:

An Apprentice Electrician is the entry level into the trade. The apprentice is required to be registered as an apprentice with the state and/or local authorities. The apprenticeship requires two or four years of a solid employed electrical experience with a licensed electrical contractor, along with some classroom electrical apprenticeship schooling programs.

A 2 year Residential Wireman’s license can be obtained by demonstrating two years of continuous experience as an apprentice wiring houses, condominiums, apartments etc. This type of license permits the wireman to wire residential units unsupervised. It is often skipped over by most apprentices in favor of,

A 4 year Journeyman Electrician license. This license requires four years of progressive experience as an apprentice electrician, in a combination of residential and commercial wiring experience. The testing examinations for this license are extremely difficult and require a great deal of study and preparation on the part of the apprentice seeking this level of licensing. It is not uncommon for the apprentice to take the exam several times before obtaining success. Once the Journeyman’s Electrician license is obtained the “new” professional is entitled to perform any and all electrical wiring in all types of buildings for both residential and commercial applications. Both the Residential Wireman and the Journeyman Electrician licenses are required by statute to be employed under the supervision of the “Master Electrician”.

The final level of licensing is the “Master” Electrician and requires an additional year of experience in the areas of planning and layout. The exam for this license is far more difficult than the Journeyman Electrician exam and requires a higher degree of study and experience. This level of license entitles the Master Electrician to legally own and operate a legitimate electrical contracting company.

Now we know that a good electrician is a locally licensed professional that has completed the required apprenticeships and areas of study to obtain a specific electrical license. That is what a good electrician looks like.

Now what about an excellent electrician? An excellent electrician can provide professional electrical services on a variety of levels. An excellent electrician has experience that goes well beyond the installation of new electrical wiring in a newly built structure. An excellent electrician has been exposed to a variety of complex electrical problems or issues that have developed within facilities and residences. They have developed the skill sets necessary to analyze, troubleshoot and affect repairs in a timely manner. Handymen and multi-service contractors often only train as an apprentice electrician, if they have any certified electrical training at all.

An excellent electrician knows and recommends the correct product or solution for any given electrical situation, whether it is repairing an electrical issue, proposing lighting solutions or assisting with energy saving measures.

An excellent electrician understands the importance of customer service and therefore trains and educates the apprentice and licensed electricians within their employ to the “Excellent Electrician” level of professionalism.

An excellent electrical company recognizes and utilizes ethical business practices and employs excellent electricians to serve their customers.

Electric Doctor/Sparky’s USA takes pride in hiring and training professionals who have dedicated themselves to being quality electricians. Our team exemplifies what it means to be an Excellent Electrical Company specializing in Electrical Service and Repair of all electrical issues both big and small, commercial and residential.

When it comes to pigtailing aluminum wiring to copper wire, there are still several options available to use. For this particular blog I am focusing on the easily available solutions which are Purple Wirenuts (Model 65) and AlumiConn Lugs. This means I’m leaving out the CopAlum Crimp because it’s not easily available.

For many, many years the style of pigtailing involved pouring some No-Lox liquid into whichever wirenut you needed to install. Purple wirenuts then became the accepted UL solution for Aluminum/Copper connections having antioxidant liquid pre-installed and a flap-style system at the base to prevent run-out. AlumiConn Lugs are now become the standard solution for Aluminum/Copper connections.

The U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission only recognize CopAlum and AlumiConn as meeting the agency’s standards regarding preventing fire hazards as of March 15, 2011.

AlumiConn vs. Purple Wirenuts : Specs

Max Voltage – 300v AlumiConn : 600v Purples

Wire Size Range – Minimum #18/Maximum #10 for both

Temperature Rating – 105 degrees C for both

UL Listed – Both

Flammability Rating : V-2 for both

Maximum Wires per Connector – 3 for both

AlumiConn vs Purple Wirenuts Pros and Cons – Installer

Manufacturing Location:

King Innovation AlumiConn Lugs and Ideal Purple Wirenuts are Made in the USA

Installation Time:

Purple Wirenuts twist on quick and installation is easy. AlumiConn Lugs are a bit more time consuming with having to unscrew each port and then tighten each port. Plan on spending up-front time prepping the lugs, it will speed up installation.

Size:

Both Wirenuts and Lugs take up considerable space. Purple wirenuts take up slightly less than AlumiConn Lugs. Considering that most homes with aluminum wire also have smaller metal boxes, this can become an issue. Standard switches and outlets aren’t usually an issue but GFCI outlets and dimmers will often not fit when using aluminum/copper connectors. Plan on installing a GFCI breaker for bathrooms/kitchens or removing the old metal boxes and installing a new plastic remodel box for space when bringing those areas up to code.

Quality:

Purple wirenuts will occasionally not grab your wires but for the most part are reliable. AlumiConn lugs are solid and the only complaint is the occasional lug port is pre-set just a bit too tight.

Application:

A main reason for using AlumiConn lugs over Purple Wirenuts AND CopAlum Crimps is the fact that the copper and aluminum wires DO NOT make direct contact. AlumiConn keeps the dissimilar metals from ever directly contacting one another.

Installation:

We prep AlumiConn lugs up-front with a variety of leads and loosening the ports for improved installation time. As with any installation, make sure not to strip the wire too much or have any exposed metal remaining on connections. Wirenuts can be stripped longer for wirenut installation, AlumiConn lugs have a smaller strip size to keep leads from being exposed. Keep in mind your amp rating and sizing for aluminum and copper to help your installation time.

20amp Circuit = #10 Aluminum and #12 Copper THHN

15amp Circuit = #12 Aluminum and #14 Copper THHN

Wire Charts : Allowable Connections and Sizes

AlumiConn Lugs

One wire per port/three total

#12-#10 Solid Aluminum

#18-#10 Solid or Stranded Copper

Purple Wirenuts

1 #10 AL sol. w/1 or 2 #10 CU sol.
1 #10 AL w/1 or 2 #12 CU
1 #10 AL w/1 or 2 #14 CU
1 #10 AL w/1 or 2 #16 CU
2 #10 AL sol. w/1 #12 CU
2 #10 AL sol. w/1 #14 CU
2 #12 AL sol. w/1 #10 CU sol.
2 #12 AL sol. w/1 #10 CU str.
1 #12 AL sol. w/1 or 2 #10 CU sol or str
1 #12 AL str. w/1 or 2 #10 CU sol.
1 #12 AL w/1 or 2 #12 CU
2 #12 AL sol. w/1 #12 CU
1 #12 AL w/1 or 2 #14 CU
2 #12 AL sol. w/1 #14 CU
1 #10 AL w/1 or 2 #18 CU
2 #10 AL sol. w/1 #16 CU
2 #10 AL sol. w/1 #18 CU
1 #12 AL w/1 or 2 #16 CU
1 #12 AL w/1 or 2 #18 CU
2 #12 AL sol. w/1 #16 CU
2 #12 AL sol. w/1 #18 CU

Visit our Aluminum Wire Repair Page for more pictures

Here at Electric Doctor/Sparky’s, one of our most common jobs is answering questions about the dangers of having an older breaker panel (electrical service). Generally, we always recommend replacing breaker panels that are more than 20-30 years old.  The most common panels which are mentioned in home and electrical inspections are Federal Pacific Panels (also known as FPE) and Zinsco Panels.

So, how do you know which type of breaker panel is powering your home?

Federal Pacific (FPE) Panels generally have orange breakers but also come in black and brown:

Zinsco Panels are generally multi-colored including blue, red, green and black:

Newer breaker panels are generally labeled better than older services, making it much easier to identify.

Common Breaker Panel Manufacturer’s for Newer & Older Panels:

Cutler Hammer

General Electric (GE)

Siemens (ITE)

Square-D – Homeline

Square-D – QO

Common Breaker Panel Manufacturer’s for Older Panels:

Bulldog (Pushmatic)

Challenger

Federal Pacific (FPE)

Wadsworth

Westinghouse

Zinsco

If you ever have any trouble identifying your breaker panel, feel free to call and ask us. We offer panel maintenance services to help keep your electrical service running at its best for many years. We also offer free estimates on all service replacements, upgrades and repairs.

303.973.2551

This marks the 8th consecutive year that Electric Doctor has earned this award. Providing residential and commercial electrical and audio/video services throughout the Denver Metro Area, Electric Doctor continues to exemplify the groundwork ideas that the company was founded upon in 1996. To provide the best electricians and services to our customers along with great customer service and fair prices.  We continue to be grateful for our loyal customers and amazing amount of referral work that we receive from all of you.

Electric Doctor will continue to strive for this award and will continue to provide our best each and every day.

Our Sincere Thanks,

The Team at Electric Doctor

The ‘R’ Project was a full basement finish in Highlands Ranch, CO. The project was designed by the homeowner and the theater room (which actually turned into theater area), electrical wiring and lighting were designed by EDI/Rush! This project was a residential construction project, but used metal studs for the framing. This required us to install a bit of reinforcement for the HDTV mount (sometimes, we’re framers too!). The cabinet area was not 100% designed during the rough in phase of the project, so flexible conduit was installed to guarantee we could have multiple wires pulled into the HDTV location. The surround sound system utilized performance in-wall enclosures from Polk Audio. When installing in-wall/in-ceiling speakers, we often install these enclosures to bring a dynamic level of audio quality from the speakers.

The lighting in the basement was controlled by URC Dimmers by Lutron so the entire lighting in the theater area was able to be set to custom scenes and control from the URC universal remote. The lighting included low voltage mini-can halogens as well as LED step lighting accent lighting.

The main wall of the theater room, including in-wall Polk Performance Enclosures and a Peerless in-wall HDTV mounting box with conduit

After drywall which we needed to cutout the center speaker which ended buried (sometimes, we’re drywallers too!)

Taken during the programming of the Universal Remote MX-880 and waiting for the special order slide out rack system from Middle Atlantic

A few looks at the pool table HDTV which was wired to the theater rack

LED Steplights and Mini-Can Lights

The cabinets and custom woodworking was completed by one of our builders local to the area. If you are interested in having a basement finished, please let us know.

Project Includes:

Samsung 63″ 3D HDTV Plasma

Samsung 3D Blu-Ray Player

Samsung 3D Starter Kit and 2 Additional Glasses

Polk In-Wall Performance Enclosures

Polk In-Wall Speakers

Velodyne Subwoofer

Peerless In-Wall Mounting Box with Articulating Mount

Middle Atlantic Slide Out Rack

Onkyo Receiver

Power Conditioning by Panamax

Universal Remote Control MX-880 and MRF-260

Universal Remote Control Dimmers by Lutron

HDMI Cables from Tributaries

Terminations from Planet Waves

Wall Plates and Connectors from Mid-Lite and On-Q

Conduit System from Carlon

Colorado vNet prepares to surge with a new iPad app!

This is what numerous clients have been wanting (including myself). I will post pictures as soon as they have the app available!

Click HERE for the iPad App Demo Video

Here at EDI/Rush!, we get calls from clients every week from clients saying – “I already have equipment for a surround sound but need it hooked up, can you do that?”

Those go along with the “I connected my surround sound but nothing works, can you fix it?”

The answer is always absolutely, often times though, their is more detail involved with getting a good surround sound up and running. The ‘C’ Project is a great example of having almost everything they needed, they were just missing the expert.

There are many clients who don’t require pre-wire or full design and installation services. This installation in Castle Rock, CO is a prime example of a client who moved from out of state and brought their existing equipment but didn’t have setup the way they always wanted. Their new home was prewired for surround sound but it had never been utilized. This particular project already had most of the equipment they wanted for a surround sound system but they didn’t know how to get it to work. Rush! came in for an initial consultation on the project and took time to look at the equipment and wiring they already had and then filled in the blanks with the proper equipment to bring it to life.

The ‘C’ project already had a newer HDTV, a setup with Comcast and a Bose surround sound system that was moved from their old home but never connected. The new home had a surround sound system prewired in the ceiling and just needed a little help to get it going in time for Christmas (and all the company). The owner expressed that they felt the existing setup didn’t really fit in the home and they wanted to get rid of their old TV stand. Rush! came in and took their existing TV and wall mounted it in the nook, installed new wiring for HDTV and a new center speaker location as well as having new outlets installed for the HDTV and rack by Electric Doctor. The new equipment was to be rack mounted in the nook while the Bose system had the front and rear speakers ceiling mounted on new brackets as the existing Bose brackets were for wall mounting.  Rush! added in the rack, a new surround sound receiver, power conditioning which included power conditioning for the HDTV and a universal remote control system with RF capability.

Take a look at some before, during and after shots of this project.

A before shot of the living room media setup, owner equipment installed.

The nook before starting the new installation

Behind the TV before removing the existing setup

A shot of the new power and low voltage in the nook

Checking how the rack sits in the nook while fishing the Bose cable and HDMI cable and installing the new outlet for the mounted HDTV

Plates are on, cables are fished and power is ready – time to mount the TV

The finished setup

Project Includes:

Onkyo Receiver

Omnimount Rack

Power Conditioning by Panamax

Universal Remote Control MX-450 and MRF-260

Mount by Omnimount

HDMI Cables from Tributaries

Terminations from Planet Waves

Wall Plates and Connectors from Mid-Lite and On-Q

Buying new technology can certainly be a trying experience for homeowners, especially when it involves more than one room in the house. Technology is changing constantly and these days, when you buy new electronics one year, something later and greater is out within the next year (sometimes sooner). New ‘buy back’ programs for electronics are popping up to offer an incentive to buy through a particular retailer but be sure to check the value of the program. Most times, even reclaiming 50% of your purchase is a stretch. Instead of buying back, think about other areas of the home that might benefit from your existing equipment as you upgrade. Here at Rush! we find ourselves moving technology from one home to another and relocating electronics as clients want to upgrade. It is a far more cost effective solution from your initial investment, to find uses for ‘dated’ electronics in lieu of taking them back for (often) less than 50% of your initial purchase price. No room in the home is off limits where technology is concerned, places you may not have traditionally thought to have an HDTV or speakers are now some of the most popular places to include them. Digital distributed audio systems are now easier than ever to install and bringing your digital music collection from your computer or iTunes to your home’s audio system can now be done in a click! You may even be holding your new home entertainment’s controller in your hand right now and not even know it. Chances are, your smartphone has an app for a system that custom installers install everyday!

The ‘G’ Project in Denver, CO is a great example of expanding your technology throughout your home as you upgrade in another. Rush! installed a home theater for the ‘G’ family in a home less than 2 years ago which included a brand new Sharp LCD HDTV and surround sound by Polk Audio. As it turned out, they found a new home and decided to buy that new home. A consultation was set at the new home and it was decided to remove the theater equipment (and leave all the wiring) and install it over at the new home. The new home was larger and offered more areas for viewing tv and listening to audio. The new theater area was to be located in the basement where a great area was designed for a theater with a nice viewing area from a built-in full bar. The Polk Audio speakers were setup using the home’s prewiring for surround sound speakers and the main speakers and electronics were located at the front in a piece of furniture that the owner already had found. Within the 2 years of installing the old theater with the Sharp LCD, LED HDTV’s had taken over as the new technology. The new theater was a great area to get a larger, newer HDTV so it was decided that the Sharp LCD would be used up in the living room, open to the kitchen, and a new Samsung 55″ LED would be used for the basement theater area. Rush! went to the old home, removed the home theater and carefully relocated all the existing equipment to the new home. The main areas were the basement theater area and the new living room/kitchen area which included sound systems and larger HDTV’s. Numerous other areas had installations of smaller HDTV’s with Comcast digital converter boxes or HDTV’s only with no sound systems. Omnimount TV mounts were supplied by Rush! for all wall mounted TV’s on the project. The new home was prewired, but not done quite to standard wiring that we design in all of our new homes. There was a single cat5e to some locations, single RG6 (coax) to some locations and a combo cat5e/RG6 to TV locations. There was also a structured panel system (see below) however it was slightly undersized and did not include any power for items such as a modem and router. The ‘feature’ TV areas also included a 3/4″ flexible conduit installed from the cat5e/RG6 locations to the TV location, however this size was not capable of installing new HDMI cables, so Cat6 Balun boxes were used to transmit HD where needed. This was a great example of good idea, bad execution but it was helpful in the end. The Polk 5.1 Surround system was installed in the basement theater area while a new 2.1 Channel system including KEF speakers and Parasound Electronics was installed in the living room/kitchen area.

As a great reminder to the evolution of technology, the Sharp LCD was a 42″ size while the Samsung LED was a 55″ size. The Sharp LCD was nearly twice as heavy and more than double the thickness. Pretty impressive how far LED is taking HDTV technology.

Project photos – taken with my on-site Evo cameraphone.

The living room/kitchen area with the new KEF IQ Series Speakers (sound amazing)

A larger view of the same setup

An overall view of the room, including the Parasound equipment and iPod dock

A view of the basement theater area, using owner supplied furniture

The master bedroom TV with a Comcast box

Master bathroom smaller LCD with a hidden Comcast digital converter box

Exercise room using an LCD tv that was never wall mounted in the previous home. Also has a hidden digital converter box

The structured wiring panel (before and after), after rewiring before power and modem was installed.

This project was done as the owners were moving from their old home. Most of the installation was completed and ready in coordination with Comcast so they had TV’s installed and ready before they were 100% moved. Rush! also setup a wired/wireless home network throughout the home. Electric Doctor also installed new outlets for the structured panel and new HDTV locations.

Project Includes:

55″ Samsung 6800 Series LED HDTV

KEF IQ20 Speakers

Velodyne Subwoofer

Parasound Electronics

Polk Audio Speakers

HD Baluns by Key Digital

Mounts by Omnimount

HDMI Cables from Tributaries

Terminations from Planet Waves

Wall Plates, Connectors and Structured Panel from Mid-Lite and On-Q

Electric Doctor and Rush! Audio/Video contracts work all over the Denver Metro Area for builders and homeowners handling a variety of projects. The ‘I’ Project, is a recently completed project that involved a complete basement finish project in Parker, CO near the Southlands. This is a new development for the area and an up and coming area with many new homes, offices and retail stores that we both build out and service.

Basement finishing is one of the most popular projects in recent years and many of those basements often go without proper design, wiring or technology integration. Rush! designs media rooms, home networks and dedicated theater rooms for many builders. While builders know of these services, often times homeowners aren’t always aware of what it takes to include low voltage wiring and the associated electronics. The term ‘surround sound’ is most used to describe the wants of these projects, however, surround sound systems can be very minimal or very complex. Technology has given us options for a wide range of systems and deciding the right system for your project usually requires an expert opinion.

The ‘I’ Project was a great example of a project that initially didn’t include everything that the owner wanted. It started as an electrical and lighting wiring project with a few standard cat5e and coax drops for standard phone and tv. During an initial meeting with the homeowner, they expressed  that they wanted to build a nice home theater area for their family and friends. Rush! went to work designing a system that matched the described budget for the project and began working with the homeowner on layouts. Given the layout of the basement, the location of the HDTV could not be 100% certain so conduit was installed to allow us to wire to multiple locations in case they wanted to move things around. Multiple speaker locations were wired for a ‘flipped’ surround in case of the moving scenario. They also had a very nice patio area, located in a forest enclosed lot, that had a hot tub and they wanted some outdoor speakers connected to the new system. There was also a nice exercise room which included a medium sized LCD HDTV and small speakers connected as a separate zone with iPod capability. A woodworking shop was also pre-wired but no speakers were installed. The basement also included electrical wiring to code, including low voltage recessed can lighting for highlighting artwork as an accent including RF dimmers which were controllable via the universal remote control system.

The main wall, custom framed for a horizontal center speaker per design from EDI

The slide out rack wall, including conduit for multiple locations (split box not pictured)

The back wall, including conduit for future proof or room flipping scenarios

The main wall, after drywall and finishing – rack was replaced with shelving per owner. Speaker wires were left behind the wall until needed.

The main wall, including a Samsung 8000 Series LED 3DTV and KEF Ci9000ACE Series Speakers

KEF’s with covers on (black) and covers off (open)

KEF Mini-Speakers, requested by owner to avoid noticeable ceiling clutter (can you spot them?)

The exercise front wall, including small HDTV and Sonance In-Wall Speakers on Zone 2

The back patio wall, including outdoor Sonance Speakers on Zone 3

A few pages from programming the Universal Remote MX-5000. Main theater page and a quick favorite channel icons.

This was a very fun project which included alot of detail, time and patience. The end quality of the project was superb. This project was completed by a general contractor with whom EDI has done work for many years in the Southlands Area. If you have a basement finish and are looking for a good general contractor, please give us a call for a recommendation!

Project Includes:

(1) Samsung 8000 Series LED 3DTV

(1) 7.1 Surround Sound including (3) KEF Ci9000ACE, (4) KEF Mini-Speakers and (1) Velodyne Mini-Vee Subwoofer

(1) Onkyo TX-NR1008

(1) Onkyo iPod Dock

(1) Samsung 3D Blu-Ray Player

(1) Parasound Amp

(1) Nintendo Wii

(1) Xbox360

(2) Dish Network Boxes

(1) Panamax Power Conditioner

(2) Sonance Mariner Series Speakers

(2) Sonance Original Series Speakers

(2) Mounts by Omnimount

(1) Universal Remote Control MX-5000

(1) Universal Remote Control MSC-400

Universal Remote Control Antennas and IR Emitters

HDMI Cables from Tributaries

Pre-Wire Cables and Speaker Wiring from ICE Cable Systems

Terminations from Planet Waves

Wall Plates, Connectors and Structured Panel from Mid-Lite and On-Q