DirectWire: Relevant Conversation for the OneStopBuy Customer Community

Our New Resource for Wallplate Sizes

Improved Navigation for Leviton Wallplate Pages

It all started with a tip we received from a customer several weeks ago, that it was difficult for them to find an 81040 Brass Wallplate just by using the categories we already had. So our administrators here decided to jump on it. Since then, we've been working diligently to make our pages easier to sift through. If you want to find a specifically Brass or Nylon switch plate, you can now do it much easier. Or do you have a color preference? It's covered. Just go to your choice and we narrow it down by your preferred material and application needs.

Reliable Occupancy Sensing for Bathroom Settings

Going back again to bathroom remodeling, I wanted to mention the use of a wall switch occupancy sensor like the Leviton ODS10-ID. This one is mainly designed as a commercial sensor but actually works well in a residence too. Now, you can use the PR180-1L sensor, which is more of a residential sensor and about half the price. But the "commercial" label has to do with both performance and appearance. These devices have slightly larger capacities in wattage. And arguably, the commercial sensor looks a lot nicer.

So You Want to Remodel Your Bathroom?

When it comes to redesigning the look and feel of a bathroom, oftentimes, it just takes a little rethinking on a homeowner's part. It's best to start by looking at two aspects - appearance and performance. You can instantly spruce up the appearance of any room, especially a bathroom, by using designer switches like Leviton's Acenti or Decora lines. Acenti has defined a new standard for premium grade lighting control with a return-to-neutral design that provides the ultimate in visual and touch appeal.

help

Its my first time using the acenti line. Installed 22 dimmers and switches. Im stuck on one. There is 1 set of wires coming into the box. 1 ground, 1white, 1 black. No matter what i do i cant get it to work. Can anyone help. email me direct i you can. thank you so much

Turn Your Establishment Into a "Green" Showcase

For Leviton Manufacturing, the bold step toward building an entirely sustinable construction has proven successful. You can read more about it here. Just a few of the features include: 90% of all equipment, appliances, and fixtures are Energy-Star compliant. Low-emission paints, carpets, and related materials. 70% usage of building materials that are recycled or recyclable. Something else that's particularly interesting is Leviton's use of its own lighting control products - dimmers, designer switches, occupancy sensing, and daylighting systems.

Read Even More From Us On Twitter

OneStopBuy is now sending tweets on Twitter. If you want to follow us, our username is simply OneStopBuy: http://twitter.com/onestopbuy We'll see you there!

Purchasing the Right Dimmers for Your Application

Here's a good question concerning Leviton Cat. No. VPI06-1LX. The description on this type of item says it's "Single Pole OR 3-way." So what does this actually mean? How does this work? Put simply, these newer "digital" dimmers function differently than electro-mechanical dimmers. If a dimmer is a single pole, it is fed like normal, and then you use either one of the traveler wires and cap off the remaining one. In a 3-way setup, you would use 1 dimmer and a remote (like VP00R-1LX). You could also add an additional remote and that would give you a 4-way setup.

Surge Protection for the Storm Season

You've probably noticed, with the storm and monsoon season rapidly approaching, that lightning strikes are happening a lot more often. Many of you are looking for home protection if you don't already have it. Others, too, might want to look at updating what they do already have. Microprocessors are what will nearly always be affected once lightning strikes. In most homes these days, people are relying more and more on faster and smaller microprocessor-based equipment; there are over 50 microprocessors in an average modern home.

Bussmann's Low-Peak Fuse Advantage

There's always been a concern in the electrical industry over safety and reliability of devices in high-energy environments. Just look at the injuries caused by arc faults, which can and will happen in a fraction of a second: Deep burns and even death to workers because of clothing catching fire.* Seriously broken bones like fractured ribs, collapsed lungs, and any other conceivable injury that would be caused by being hurled a great distance.* These blasts are also known to hurl equipment shrapnel at ridiculously high velocities (we're talking in excess of around 700 m.

OneStopBuy.com Now Carrying Bussman Fuses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OneStopBuy.com Now Carrying Bussmann Fuses Independence, KS � May 14, 2009 -- OneStopBuy.com, Inc. today announced that they have begun offering complete access to over 6,000 Cooper Bussmann fuses. With a more than 90-year history, Cooper Bussmann remains one of the finest manufacturers of North American and European-styled fuses for the electrical, electronics and transportation industries, plus inductors and transformers for power quality in electronic applications. As an authorized Bussmann distributor, OneStopBuy offers Toll-Free and Live Chat access to qualified technical and customer support assistants who can answer any questions you have about fuse products.

Guest Question: OSSMT-MDW Leviton Occupancy Sensor

i have a switch with 4 wires, black, white, green and blue. in my wall i have black white and green, what do i do with the blue wire

Non-Necessity of 20 Amp GFCI in a Kitchen

A lot of customers call our technical support people in need of a 20 Amp GFCI. They're told by the electrician or Inspector that they must install 20 Amp devices in their kitchen. So is this necessary? The only difference between a 20 Amp and 15 Amp GFCI is the external face of the device, which limits the plug that can be inserted into the device. This keeps one from plugging a device that draws more than 15 Amps into a 15 Amp circuit. Leviton's 15 Amp GFCIs, though, are actually rated for 20 Amp feed-thru.

Incredible New Wireless Sensing Technology

Leviton recently jumped on board with EnOcean, a company out of Germany that's innovated a battery-free occupancy sensor technology. Greenbang's blog has a great post, actually, on what EnOcean is all about and why the technology has attracted so much outside investment. Now, Leviton carries a new line called Wireless Sensing. It's already being heralded as a high-performance, commercial-grade product that cuts down on energy consumption, installation time, and expense. Like most other Leviton sensors, these turn lighting on automatically when a space is occupied and turn them off when it isn't.

Better Worker Productivity? Use Lighting Controls!

Leviton's Centura Fluorescent Dimming line is one of the more flexible modern lighting systems on the market today. I believe that it's perfect for offices, where lots of normal hinderances to productivity (i.e. eye fatigue, discomfort, and stress) can be helped. Centura employs something called "daylight harvesting" or "daylighting," which has been growing in popularity recently because it uses natural sunlight to its advantage. Centura is able to measure free natural daylight and figure out how it should use controlled fluorescent lighting in relation to that.

Install Tamper-Resistant Devices for a Safe Home

Out of all the safety changes in the 2008 National Electric Code, one sticks out as enormously important. Article 406.11 requires tamper-resistant receptacles to be installed in all new constructions (as specified in section 210.52). Now, in all seriousness, I would argue that these are a wise choice for even older homes. Tamper-resistant receptacles are simply must-haves for any home that has curious children. The devices contain a shutter mechanism which, in most cases, will prevent anything other than two-prong plugs from touching an outlet's contacts.

Put the Finishing Touch on Your Home Theater

As I've discussed in a previous entry or two, PowerBridge Solution is an incredibly cost-effective way to install wall mounted HDTVs, Flat Screen Plasma, Flat Panel LCD, and Projectors. PowerBridge alone tackles a huge aesthetic concern - TV power cords hanging down in front of the wall. But this probably isn't the only "appearance" problem you want to solve. There's an additional way to make your home theater finally look like a home theater. Leviton Acenti devices, especially Onyx colored, can create a great ambient atmosphere that'll enhance any room.

Crimping BNC Jacks onto RG59 Cable (Videos)

You may know by now that OneStopBuy has taken on another line in addition to Leviton and HD-Products, a supplier called Omni Cable. We're excited about our new distributorship for Omni, and hope that it'll provide you with even more direct and concise access to products. I wanted to start covering some of the more popular wire and cable items that we now sell. One of these, of course, is Coaxial Cable. I've found a trio of quality videos from YouTube on how to crimp a BNC Jack on the end of a RG59 Coax Cable.

We Now Offer Electrical Wire and Cable By the Foot

OneStopBuy.com, Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of Omni Cable, a supplier with broad selections of wire and cable, to the list of product lines available on our website. OneStopBuy.com now provides our customers total access to the entire Omni Cable product catalog. Since Omni Cable Corporation's founding in 1977, they have become a leading supplier of electrical, electronic and other specialty cables to electrical wholesalers. With over $30 million in Omni's inventory, OneStopBuy's aim is to make every purchase an outstanding one with tremendous selection, competitive prices, same day shipping, and their Price Match Guarantee.

Fully Enabling a Modern Home with Modules

Let's say that you have a Leviton media center enclosure box (#47605-140) in your house, and just need a way to set up cable, phone, TV, and/or internet lines. As an example, I'll use a house with 4 phones and 5 televisions where all wiring is coming out of the walls and is installation-ready. The best module for this would be Leviton Cat. No. 47606-BNP, which fits snugly inside an enclosure box like the one I mentioned above. This is your basic home networking module that can handle up to six 4-line telephone connections and can also route video to 6 locations.