portable fan

Honeywell TurboForce HT-900
This portable fan is approximately 10.5"Wx11"Hx6"D

I had been all over town over the past several weeks looking for this fan. I bought the first one at Target and brought it home to see how well it worked and how loud it is. I was quite happy with it. It is not too loud, has a carry handle, easy-access/easy operate three-speed control, and yes I could feel the air. The head swivels up and down but no oscillating option. All for the very palatable price of $16.

I wanted another one. So the following week I returned to the Target where I got it but they didn't have any more; they only had them in white. Same story with the next Target I visited. The next two Target stores didn't have them at all. (The nice thing about working so far away from home is that I can try another store location if the one by my house doesn't have in stock the items I'm looking for. It's like trying another town for your supplies.) The two Wal-Marts I visited didn't carry them. A Home Depot I visited on the way back from a hair appointment was out of them. Finally, I tried the Home Depot by the house and lo and behold, they had a whole stack of these fans. So now I have the second one. Thinking of getting two more...

electrical outlets and switches

I am slowly changing out the outlets and switches in my house. It is taking longer than I thought it would. I tackle one room maybe once per month if not longer. Even worse is that some of my first attempts resulted in the switches being installed upside down. It works, but it's backwards as far as the on/off operation. (Right, I didn't read the instructions.) At some point I will back track and fix them right side up.

Today I tackled the kitchen. I learned that the kitchen electricals are on three separate breakers: one for the lights, one for the outlets by the stove, one for the outlet by the sink, and one for the garbage disposer & dishwasher switches.

Changing out the light switch was easy enough. Changing out the outlets were a huge pain. The wires were extraordinarily tough to manuever, plus I am having to reach across a counter. I changed out three outlets when I had a realization: except for the lights, all the other breakers involved were 20 Amp breakers. Every switch and outlet I purchased were rated 15A. Arrrgghh! The safety margins are probably sufficient to leave it alone, but I prefer the margins provided by 20A outlets and switches. With the wires being so difficult to work with, I'm guessing that they are larger wires and therefore have been sized to handle 20A.

So I will be undoing my work in the future. Fortunately, we're not using those outlets much right now. A toaster on one, a night light and under counter light on another. I don't have transportation today, so I can't just run out and get my replacements. I think the local store has the gray outlets I want. I'll probably stick with the toggle switches for the diswasher and garbage disposer, though I'll change to gray ones.

So... The breakers for your kitchen are probably the 20A ones. And if you're changing out the outlets and switches, check to see if they should be rated for 20A (matching the breaker), even if your current ones are not. No need to risk an electrical fire. And of course, turn off the breakers, verify no power to your outlets and switches before you begin work on them.