Nifty Tricks Can Pave Way on Electrical Jobs

Here are tips to make it easier to handle some minor do-it-yourself electrical projects around the house:

* Low-voltage telephone or doorbell wiring can be quickly and easily secured to walls and ceilings with a hot melt glue gun.

Run a bead of glue an inch long and one-eighth to three-sixteenths-inch wide. While the glue is still soft, press the wire into the bead and hold it in place a few seconds until the glue sets up. Repeat this process every few feet. Using glue eliminates the need for staples on wood surfaces and makes it easy to run wiring on concrete or masonry walls.

* When installing an outlet, use an ordinary 25-foot metal tape measure to fish a wire or cable inside a wall. It remains rigid for a long distance, and you can attach the wire in the hole in the end hook. The tape also tells at a glance how far the wire reaches inside the wall.

* To remove insulation from the end of a wire without nicking or cutting it, heat the insulation with a match about where you want it to break away. Pull the softened plastic covering off with pliers.

* To create a mini trouble light to provide light for small jobs in cramped spaces, plug a small, hooded incandescent night light into a household extension cord.

* To figure out which fuse or circuit breaker controls an electrical outlet, plug a radio into the outlet and turn its volume on high. When the music stops, you’ll know that you have switched off the right breaker or taken out the right fuse.

* To ensure that you shut off the right circuit when you need to do electrical work, mark the number of the fuse or circuit breaker on the back of each switch plate or outlet cover.

* To avoid overcharging battery-operated tools, plug the charger into an ordinary light timer and set it to shut off after the recharging time.

* Removing a burned-out lightbulb from a recessed fixture can be difficult because there isn’t room for your fingers. Make a light bulb “handle” with a 15-inch strip of duct tape. Center the tape on the bulb. Fold the two ends back to the middle, then fold each end over again on itself to form the handle.

* To protect a hedge-clipper cord from being cut by the blades, put a length of garden hose, split lengthwise and wrapped snugly with electrical tape, over the segment nearest to the blades. The blade teeth don’t separate far enough to damage the hose.

* Keep small extension cords organized and untangled by tucking them inside the paper tubes that once held toilet tissue or paper towels.

* Protect electronic devices by plugging them into a surge protector rather than an outlet strip. Although many such strips have built-in fuses that protect against strong currents, a true surge protector also stops voltage spikes. Check the response time on the packaging; the quicker the better.

* Wires hanging behind your TV, VCR, or stereo can look like a jungle. Organize them into a neat cable with inexpensive coiled telephone cord, which is available in many lengths and colors. Clip off the snap-in plug ends and wrap the coils around the wires.