Each multi-way switch has one. I'm guessing that it has to do with the symbols used in blue prints. IE: Circled X is a pendant, circled RX is a recessed ceiling lt, circled J is a J-box, etc. What the hell could circled K mean?
are they installing a relay bank anywhere? K is the symbol for a relay, for example, on my house i have on all 11 corners, there are 2 - double 250w floods, so 4 bulbs, 1000w on each corner pointing in different directions.
they all work through a 4 way system in the entire house, from any room we can light up the exterior like an airport. so due to the amount of wattage everything goes through contactors (relays).
now i would not expect to see the K in a switch box, and if so only on one end, so the last on the circuit.
just a thought.
I think this may be correct. It looks like a "K" to me, but X is a circle makes more sense - and, as others have pointed out, they are can lights. So, this must be the load leg headed to the fixture?
I have some actual sabbath mode wiring in my house. Or rather, sabbath mode switches. Some of the smart switches control lights. They turn themselves on before sundown, and turn off (or dim to a low level) at our usual bedtime.
Never really thought of it that way, before. I bet we could get a Rabbi to bless the switches for a few bucks each. We could probably sell a lot of that stuff in the Jewish communities around here.
I was thinking that as well, but this one is an entry light. No 2nd or 3rd switch near the kitchen. The wiring was done by a well respected old-school electrician, so I'm assuming it's a symbol. He's went to the big CB panel in the sky a few years ago, so now I'm scouring the books for a symbol that has a circled k.
If it’s on wires associated with three-way switching, I would assume it’s some sort of identifier that that person used to label travelers. Maybe it stands for something specific from their plans, or maybe just something from their own head that they adapted to remember which was which.
If you're looking for electrical symbols, the closest thing you're going to get to that is a transistor, which makes absolutely no sense on a high voltage line.
A pretty common standard for labeling uses a k as a prefix for relays, which also doesn't make much sense, unless that power line is being controlled by a relay possibly?
Or maybe it stands for kitchen.? You said it is for a light, is the light switch in the kitchen?
Is the power off? If yes tie hot / ground together grab your meter and check the other locations for where it rings out with continuity setting. Draw out or list out the locations you figure out so you have your own as-built plan. Rinse and repeat as needed. If you don't have a meter, go directly to jail, Do not pass go, do not collect $200. (A cheap pos meter will do continuity check just fine, just check the leads ring out properly before every test to make sure everything is working. Good luck.
Well that's a 4way and only 1 set of travelers is marked with a k. I'm guessing it's identifying one side of the 4way that's coming from the load or the line sidebut there's no way of knowing without toning it out
If it's on every 3 or 4 way, I've always been taught to mark the incoming feed or "constant" hot some way, and the outgoing 'leg' is usually left unmarked.
probably wrong, but.... Some houses have breakers listed by letter. Connected off of breaker K?
But the cross of the letter is right on a wire, bending the penstroke. Its an X, used in electrical drawings to represent a light.
A circled x is the symbol for lamp in electronic schematics, one would assume that this would be indicating the load switch leg heading directly to the fixture or fixtures on that specific branch circuit. This would identify the travelers as well.
Kitchen 4 way, if it’s in a box close to a door entry, and the door entry is close to the kitchen and close to a hallway or a foyer, so they know that’s for the kitchen, the other two switches should be on the opposite wall to the kitchen, or on the other entry, I guess we need to see the layout or the blueprint to have a better understanding
I use a plus sign with a circle to signify a light fixture. I think it's what I'm thinking just angled a bit. Makes sense in a 3 way situation. The wire with the "k" is the wire from the fixture in the circuit
If there's multiple 4 ways in a single box, they could be marked to differentiate between the multiple sets of travelers. Or they could be just a weird way to mark travelers in travelers out seeing as they're both marked entry. Just a guess though, hard to provide more without pictures of the other end of the travelers.
I suspect the X indicates the 4 way feed. The other "entry 4 way" likely goes to the fixture. I put an F on my feeds to eliminate confusion when returning to device the rooms.
CircleK had the 44oz thirst buster and little Cohiba cigars that resembled a cat turd in taste and appearance. When I wired houses in Arizona, I would mark the Romex that is a home run with an x. That's the power coming into the box. The switch leg was had one mark. The second switch had 2 marks and so on. So the X could just be the hot leg.
Should mean kitchen lighting. A circle is a symbol for a lighting box. K for kitchen. Then again no telling who make the marks so I suppose it could mean anything.
Maybe it’s just their symbol for a 3-way switch or N-way switch. If you look at an old toggle style switch from its left side the toggle could be 1 “leg” of the K so 2 switches, in a powered on state, would be one leg up and one leg down and from the side would make the K presuming the spine of the K represents the wall plate.
It's probably the "traveller" leg. It's the one that brings power to the other switch and it changes. 3 ways and 4 ways use a special wire they have to specify for proper wiring.
In my world that would be a keypad for an automation system but in that house, probably kitchen. I mean it's easy to find out...
My mind went to kitchen automatically so 👆
Well, then make me a sandwich, my kind is going to sit and watch tv.
"Bill, strange things are afoot at the Circle K..."
I drive by that actual store every day on my way to work, funny enough it's not a Circle K anymore though.
Is it actually in San Dimas? Lol
Tempe AZ
He really doesn't age
r/Angryupvote
I came here to say this
No, I did!
Maybe there's another box with the circle K to help identify where the conductors go in the house.
Each multi-way switch has one. I'm guessing that it has to do with the symbols used in blue prints. IE: Circled X is a pendant, circled RX is a recessed ceiling lt, circled J is a J-box, etc. What the hell could circled K mean?
If each multiway switch has one.. it must mean multiway switch? Maybe not officially but in your house..
are they installing a relay bank anywhere? K is the symbol for a relay, for example, on my house i have on all 11 corners, there are 2 - double 250w floods, so 4 bulbs, 1000w on each corner pointing in different directions. they all work through a 4 way system in the entire house, from any room we can light up the exterior like an airport. so due to the amount of wattage everything goes through contactors (relays). now i would not expect to see the K in a switch box, and if so only on one end, so the last on the circuit. just a thought.
To me, it looks kinda like a circled "X" in the picture. If its unpowered maybe try a tone tester to see if you can track it?
Zoom in, and look at it again. It was made with I< , not \ /.
Junk Food and gas
Maybe, residential doesn't usually have extensive prints though
Nah definitely intended to write K. Who makes an x with a single line and a curve ?
Looks like an X to me. Was probably in a hurry and didn't care about penmanship.
Yeah I was thinking it stands for kitchen, but this makes sense probably the fixture type tags on the plans like you mentioned.
Potassium
potassium wiring is not up to code in my area, but should be ok in not wet areas.
K
lol nice
Konstant 🤣
It’s the symbol for lights we use on blue prints. A circle with an “x” In it. We use a circle with two slashes for receptacles.
I think this may be correct. It looks like a "K" to me, but X is a circle makes more sense - and, as others have pointed out, they are can lights. So, this must be the load leg headed to the fixture?
Are there more? Do they all look the same? That would make the most sense but man if that is an X it’s a really bad one 😂
Second this. My first thought as well.
It's this.
Kosher?
This is the correct answer. It indicates it was prepared in accordance to the laws of the Torah and is ok for observant Jews to consume.
Safe for Passover. Just like Coke.
Coke, OK, but what about crack?
Just don’t whip it up on sabbath
So sabbath mode wiring? Interesting.
I have some actual sabbath mode wiring in my house. Or rather, sabbath mode switches. Some of the smart switches control lights. They turn themselves on before sundown, and turn off (or dim to a low level) at our usual bedtime. Never really thought of it that way, before. I bet we could get a Rabbi to bless the switches for a few bucks each. We could probably sell a lot of that stuff in the Jewish communities around here.
Rabbi here - Yes, however, you cannot eat the wire if you’ve eaten any pipe in the last 6 hours…
What if the pipe was circumcised though?
Was it carrying hot or cold water?
Blessed pareve
Kitchen maybe? Edit: NM, I jumped the comments thinking this was a panel not a box.
I was thinking that as well, but this one is an entry light. No 2nd or 3rd switch near the kitchen. The wiring was done by a well respected old-school electrician, so I'm assuming it's a symbol. He's went to the big CB panel in the sky a few years ago, so now I'm scouring the books for a symbol that has a circled k.
If it’s on wires associated with three-way switching, I would assume it’s some sort of identifier that that person used to label travelers. Maybe it stands for something specific from their plans, or maybe just something from their own head that they adapted to remember which was which.
I think that might be an x or a cross. To indicate a light possibly
"K" sometimes refers to the color Black? Could be it since both wires are black.
That is what I would assume too. Are there colorblind electricians?
My guess would be can lights.
If you're looking for electrical symbols, the closest thing you're going to get to that is a transistor, which makes absolutely no sense on a high voltage line. A pretty common standard for labeling uses a k as a prefix for relays, which also doesn't make much sense, unless that power line is being controlled by a relay possibly? Or maybe it stands for kitchen.? You said it is for a light, is the light switch in the kitchen?
connected to relay? K1
Maybe it's an R?
I think he’s just saying these are the travelers and they cross, like how they do in the old four ways.
Is the power off? If yes tie hot / ground together grab your meter and check the other locations for where it rings out with continuity setting. Draw out or list out the locations you figure out so you have your own as-built plan. Rinse and repeat as needed. If you don't have a meter, go directly to jail, Do not pass go, do not collect $200. (A cheap pos meter will do continuity check just fine, just check the leads ring out properly before every test to make sure everything is working. Good luck.
Well that's a 4way and only 1 set of travelers is marked with a k. I'm guessing it's identifying one side of the 4way that's coming from the load or the line sidebut there's no way of knowing without toning it out
Poorly drawn "light" symbol indicating the switch leg?
It means Kevin did the wiring.
Disconnect it and find out.
Keyless?
It means ok
Kevin wired those up.
R for recessed lights
To be honest it looks like my sloppy R in a circle which is exactly what I use to mark recessed lights.
If it's on every 3 or 4 way, I've always been taught to mark the incoming feed or "constant" hot some way, and the outgoing 'leg' is usually left unmarked.
Lucky you look how well labelled that all is!
Can we ignore the writing and praise the use of Wago lever nuts instead?
Be right back boss, gotta grab an icee at the Circle K.
Pareve
It's clearly a mosfet guys
On several things I do, my initials with a circle around it. The next guy that has a problem knows it was me to answer questions about problems.
It's kosher
Is it the home run from the panel?
Entry
Kitchen
Only who did it knows
Possibly it’s not a letter at all but indicating an outlet by drawing the circle and two lines. You must have a switched outlet somewhere.
Always open, except in that "bad neighborhood"
IC It's the entry cans
Kitchen?
My first look told me “X”. Much closer examination of the marker stroke tells me “K”
Gotta be the constant power/leg/“kommon”?
probably wrong, but.... Some houses have breakers listed by letter. Connected off of breaker K? But the cross of the letter is right on a wire, bending the penstroke. Its an X, used in electrical drawings to represent a light.
“Konstant” hot??
Maybe just a lazy attempt at a transistor symbol? https://pixabay.com/vectors/transistor-symbol-circuit-146813/
Maybe it’s where they bought the wire?
Kosher
Entry Kitchen 🤷♂️
Switch leg.
Strange things are afoot...
Kosher power, obviously /s
A circled x is the symbol for lamp in electronic schematics, one would assume that this would be indicating the load switch leg heading directly to the fixture or fixtures on that specific branch circuit. This would identify the travelers as well.
Kill zone, do not touch
Konstant
Signature,?
Kaboom
Power side? Or switch leg side?
Maybe it's just me, but shouldn't the charred red wire be a warning for something higher on the alarm scale than the marking?
Kitchen
Isn't that just to Identify the wire as a light? It's supposed to be an illuminated bulb ?
Something is afoot
probably another three-way in the Kitchen ?
Kitchen?
K
Those are the runner wires. Marked for easier installation
Kommon
It looks like it's either an x, for a light fixture, or maybe it's supposed to be a receptacle symbol, a circle with two vertical lines through it.
kay?
A circle with a cross through it? That's the symbol on a wiring diagram for a light fixture. My guess would be entry lighting.
I'm not supposed to tell you but I think Kingsman. You didn't hear it from me *looking to my left* O hey Arthur.
If the Circle K is wrapped around the other conductors, it could be their way of labeling the switch lag or feeder.
“Konfuse future homeowner…”
Ok 👌 good to go.
There’s a Circle K right up the road from me…
Kitchen
Constant spelled wrong?
Kitchen 4 way, if it’s in a box close to a door entry, and the door entry is close to the kitchen and close to a hallway or a foyer, so they know that’s for the kitchen, the other two switches should be on the opposite wall to the kitchen, or on the other entry, I guess we need to see the layout or the blueprint to have a better understanding
I believe that’s supposed to be a x with a circle like a light symbol. As in “Entry Lights.”
Kloset duh....
Maybe it’s the group of arrays under that feed.
"Cells, hotlinks and Bang Energy Drink, 2 for $5 only at Circle K - interlinked."
Knob and tube splice behind drywall
Sometimes we label letters to switches designated to certain areas in a building. Just a hunch tho.
Maybe it means that wire is OK as in live.
Is that the wattage listed on the wire? Oh, probably 4-way…
It’s for a convenience store
It's an R, not a K. That is exactly how I identify my recessed lights. R with a circle around it.
I use a plus sign with a circle to signify a light fixture. I think it's what I'm thinking just angled a bit. Makes sense in a 3 way situation. The wire with the "k" is the wire from the fixture in the circuit
OK
kneutral
Is there 3 of them?
Kommon?
Kosher
Possibly slipped with the marker, 2 vertical lines in a circle means outlet
The letter K sometimes means black. It's used to differentiate it from Blue. That being said maybe they are marking that black is the common.
Means those wires are kosher /s
Kevin
Could be an X on a circle meaning a light fixture.
Key switch maybe?
Probably marking wires to the kitchen?
Kitchen? I’m so used to my own system, working with 2 rookies is destroying my well built OCD methods. Kinda just given up. Or I’d lose my mind.
Kommon
Yeah, lick it! If it tastes good, it’s kitchen. If it tastes bad, bathroom.
R either a circle is recessed lights.
It's OK 👍
Mrs White, in the Kitchen with the Rope.
Does the breaker panel have any similar markings if you take off the cover ? Maybe they used the alphabet in the panel.
Kitchen or other room designation?
It’s a mess is what it is 😂😂🤷♂️
My rabbi would say it’s kosher but not for Passover.
It's short for "circuit".
Came here for all the Excellent 🎸 comments.
Kosher
Kosher.
Black? To differentiate from blue?
Strange things are afoot at the circle K
Kitchen
In my world (graphic arts), K is short for blacK.
Kosher? Also, Bill and Ted.
This is bad work
Must be kosher, so you can use it on shabas 🤡
Potassium dispenser
The electronic symbol for a lamp is a circle with a x in it. I wonder if that’s what they were trying to mark?
They're telling you which gas station to get coffee at
If there's multiple 4 ways in a single box, they could be marked to differentiate between the multiple sets of travelers. Or they could be just a weird way to mark travelers in travelers out seeing as they're both marked entry. Just a guess though, hard to provide more without pictures of the other end of the travelers.
Kitchen?
A circled K can mean OK. Big O with a k in it Or not. YMMV
Kilroy was here
Kosher wire
I suspect the X indicates the 4 way feed. The other "entry 4 way" likely goes to the fixture. I put an F on my feeds to eliminate confusion when returning to device the rooms.
It’s kosher. You can eat it if you’re Jewish.
It's a circled "R" and it means recessed cans
It’s kosher?
CircleK had the 44oz thirst buster and little Cohiba cigars that resembled a cat turd in taste and appearance. When I wired houses in Arizona, I would mark the Romex that is a home run with an x. That's the power coming into the box. The switch leg was had one mark. The second switch had 2 marks and so on. So the X could just be the hot leg.
That’s when they got thirsty and had to go for a slurpie
entry kitchen 4 way
Should mean kitchen lighting. A circle is a symbol for a lighting box. K for kitchen. Then again no telling who make the marks so I suppose it could mean anything.
No idea what they are trying to mark. If someone had taught them a system they wouldn't need any marks.
Recess can
That wiring is kosher. Passes code.
That’s the “Kill Wire”. Don’t touch.
Potassium
Maybe it’s Kosher
OK?
It's a k for kopper, what the wire is made out of.
lol bruh it’s a circled “R” lol
Maybe it’s just their symbol for a 3-way switch or N-way switch. If you look at an old toggle style switch from its left side the toggle could be 1 “leg” of the K so 2 switches, in a powered on state, would be one leg up and one leg down and from the side would make the K presuming the spine of the K represents the wall plate.
Damn I just joined this sub and although I like jokes, damn.
Kround
Labels. You need their "key" to decrypt specifics. Or figure out and document yourself /create your own
Hug and Kiss
It's probably the "traveller" leg. It's the one that brings power to the other switch and it changes. 3 ways and 4 ways use a special wire they have to specify for proper wiring.
Ok