| Author | Message | ||
     Mikej |
Everything else is talked about on here so why not this too.  We're about to get a house, a very old house, and need to have the wiring updated/upgraded. It still has fuses, not curcuit breakers. Going through it tonight with an electrician to get some quotes. Initially going with a 100amp+ box to allow for future upgrades and additions and will probably have the whole basement rewired. The previous owner ran some woodworking powertools down there and added some extra lighting with extension cords which will get replaced with outlets and light sockets. Also have some other stuff going on elsewhere inside the house, so the electrical contactor will be crawling all over the place anyway. In the detached garage there is basically one line running back from the house, no circuit breaker box nor fuses in there just routed random wiring to a garage door opener and a few outlets. I'm thinking of having the garage rewired as well, maybe adding a panel in there, and hopefully adding in a 220v outlet or two for eventually running a welder box of some sort. I'll also probably eventually be running some power tools and want to add outlets for these as well. Nothing super heavy duty and no 3-phase stuff like my dad had in his garage (for a big Bridgeport mill and a large Clausing lathe he had at the time). Is there anything I should be aware of, or anything any of you would recommend at this time while the gettin' is good? I don't work with electrical stuff much so as long as I'm not getting zapped I pretty much just plug and play. Looking for input and advice and suggestions and such. Thanks. We're also going to bring in another contractor next week for a second quote, so if I miss something tonight I can add it in later for the next guy, and can have the first guy update his quote if we go with him instead. | ||
| Csg_inc |
Too Small on your entry service. Increase size on house to minimum 200 amp main breaker (note box will be rated higher). Then put 100 amp sub panel (125 amp panel with 100 amp main breaker) in garage/shop. This is the minimum sizes you could always go bigger. Say 400 on house and 200 shop but that might get a little on the pricey size. But them I live in the desert so it takes a lot of juice to cool things off out here. | ||
| Mikej |
Thanks, I thought it might be a little light when I started thinking of running stuff in the garage. | ||
| Csg_inc |
While you are getting prices. Ask about two separate service entries. One for the house and a second for the shop. That way two meters but you could get 200 amp at both locations with out the expense of 400 amp service entry, sub panel, conduit, feeders, etc. Just a thought. | ||
| Mikej |
Thanks, will do. Good idea. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Mike, What Dave said. 100 amp is way low. They don't build anything wwith less than 200 these days. If you go with a 200 main, you will most likely have to upgrade the feed from the pole/street also. Kind of $$$ but worth it in the long run. I'm helping a coworker do the same thing very soon. Old wiring is spooky, make it disappear where you can. Romex is your friend  Brad | ||
| Bomber |
Not sure about Milwaukee, but in the Chicago suburbs, Romex is often out of code (Chicago electrical code is widely known as a PITA) . . . . . | ||
| Mikej |
Yep, this house has an assortment of wiring in it, from newer-looking insulated stuff to some of the older spooky stuff. The building inspector and the realtor both mentioned the possibility of having to upgrade the main feed from the street. I don't want to be welding something in the garage or have a saw running while a turkey is cooking in the oven and have someone hit the garage door opener just as the washing machine hits the spin cycle and the dryer goes to the cool down cycle and someone turns on the tv in the living room. Right now if all that happened I'm afraid the next sounds to be heard would be the firetrucks heading down the street. bzzzzzzzzzZAPsizzlepoof All I know really about electricity is that it hurts when it bites you and it's bad if you see smoke. Although popping capacitors in an electronics lab can be lots of fun. | ||
| Mikej |
er, what's Romex, and why's it good up there and bad down over there, and why when I do a search on the web for romex do I get taken to a Bridge game of cards strategy page? | ||
| Mikej |
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/electrical-wiring/part2/section-5.html
Ah hah. edited by mikej on July 24, 2003 | ||
| Bomber |
Mike I cannot comment on why Romex is accepted up there but not here without grossly offending some of our more sensitive union members (Chicago was the first city to outlaw leaded gasoline, btw . . . .guess what code demands water feeds be made of? . . . . . ) suffice to say that, in my house search, lack of Chicago Electrical Code was one of my sortation criteria . . . . . . | ||
| Henrik |
NYC code requires conduit and armored cable as well. Just did a bit of wiring this weekend - both conduit and armored cable sucks In addition, the conduit and armoring functions as the ground, so you need to make sure that all connections are solid. Henrik | ||
| Mikej |
I'm learning all sorts of good stuff. http://www.homewiringandmore.com/switchoutlet/index.html  (image from the link'd site) | ||
| Bomber |
Mike . . . as one who has performed the dance of the happy electron (creating much merriment amungst the on-lookers), go slow, make sure you know what you're doing, and go slow . . . . armored cable in the garage makes a great deal of sense . . . what with the chances of bits 'o' metal flying around a high rates of speed, it's good insurance | ||
| Court |
>>>NYC code requires conduit and armored cable as well. Just did a bit of wiring this weekend - both conduit and armored cable sucks True. For reasons more related to politics than anything electrical. Reau Macques was a famous French electrician and the gay lover of Voltaire. More rumors abound about the origins of the word "narrow backs" (Englishmen crawling under the eves) and "Sparkys" (a term still used in London England Great Britain United Kingdom today). Frankly, you could break down and beg MikeyP for ACCURATE answers! Be careful and ASK A QUALIFIED Electroficaciator! Court (Electrical Safety Dude at a Power Plant) | ||
| Pilot |
Guys please do it right and do not take short cuts just to save some dollars.I in my new job only on Monday ,Laid to Rest a 37 year old fellow business owner. Electricity can not be seen,heard or smelt but it sure can be felt, but then it may be to late. Take Care.I only have sketchy details of what happened,they will come out later at the inquest. | ||
| Mikej |
Well, there are issues in the house, but they will be resolved. Kind of interesting to watch how someone's mind works as they begin to analyze a situation and start noticing new stuff formerly distracted from observation by other stuff. We're probably going to have the electrician redo the entire wiring in the basement first, and then go from there on an hourly basis. Still not sure if we're going with 100 or 200 amp service in the house. There are issues and concerns beyond the math of electrons. Anybody know where I can get a non-conductive crowbar? | ||
| Bomber |
yes |
