Electrical woes...breaker box what??

[raceit]

Remember, the job of the breaker is to protect the circuit wires from overload, not to protect the devices plugged into the circuit.
GFCI plugs are cheaper than GFCI breakers.
Here in northern BC, some Insurance companies will no longer cover houses with main services smaller than 100 amps, thus forcing older homes to get a service upgrade.

Burke,
Electrical Contractor

[Myka]

Dan, I think pretty much every panel I have ever looked at has had some 20 amp breakers on it. Our panel has 15, 20, and 30 amp breakers.

Originally Posted by raceit

Here in northern BC, some Insurance companies will no longer cover houses with main services smaller than 100 amps, thus forcing older homes to get a service upgrade.

Burke,
Electrical Contractor

Really? Wow, that's interesting. What type of costs are associated with upgrading to 100 amp service?

[DiverDude]

IMO, the only time you should see a 20A breaker is when you have 12GA or heavier wire on the circuit. Most homes are wired with 14GA which is fine for 15A.

There is no doubt that a 100A entry is a basic minimum these days and the value of your home will improve if you get the upgrade. And yes, they change the wire from the pole to your house to handle the extra current. The whole process involves a fair bit of labour and materials -hence the cost.

In a pinch though what I would do (and this is not necessarily ok by code but...) is to run a second circuit (wire and GFCI outlet) to near your tank and add an extra breaker to your panel.

[mike31154]

You should be able to look inside your panel and tell whether your 20A circuit breakers have a larger gauge wire than the 15s. Unless the wiring is very old, the specs are generally stamped on the insulation. As mentioned, 20A circuits need to be wired with 12 gauge wire to comply with code and keep you safe. If it's 12 gauge at the breaker, then it's probably safe to assume that wire run is all 12 gauge. Should be able to tell the wire gauge at the receptacle as well, by pulling it out. Just make sure the breaker is off before you yank out any receptacle on that circuit.

I'd recommend two 15 amp circuits for your tank (GFCI protected) vice one 20 amp circuit. That will give you 30 total and some redundancy for GFCI nuisance trips. Next time you're in a reno store, look for the book "Electrical Code Simplified". Should be around $12 to $15 and is well worth the money. Lots of great info and pretty understandable for most folks.

Hi was just talking to a electrical inspector and as stated above 80% is right but a 70amp breaker may peek at 2000 watts with out tripping that would be a instantaneous Peck and a return to the 80% load. PB is also right about the wire gage. as far as just swapping out the panel that would all depend on the gage of the feed line into the house. if the line to the house is older it will most likely have to be replaced, have an electrician look at it.
Shell buzzy was on the radio last week and they are changing thing here in BC in the future. where as if a home owner dose any electrical work it has to be inspected or your insurance becomes void. I don't know how accurate what he was saying was as he was kind of being very general about it all. I am thinking it has more to do with the individual circuit that the person installs including electrical outlets. This because there has been instances where a home owner ran the neutral through the breaker and then the hot side became the neutral and houses have burnt down because of it. I've heard about this a couple of times. I have seem it once while a house I was thinking of buying was being inspected. that was a deal breaker right there and then as you have no idea what else was done incorrectly in the house or where it was gizmoed to gather.
I'd just rather a person get the profesinals to look into it.

As far as having a panel upgraded to 100AMP as i said my mom has to get it done but she also has to move her mast she told me they wanted some thing like 3000 to 3800. You get it all back in resale value as a upgraded panel is some thing a new owner does not want to pay for in most instances. On my moms line BC Hydro had already changed the line to the house so it is ready to move over to a new panel and mast, the new mast will be closer to the pole than the old panel. so I don't know if the charge includes that cable or not I am asumming that it does not.

Bill

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by bvlester

Hi was just talking to a electrical inspector and as stated above 80% is right but a 70amp breaker may peek at 2000 watts with out tripping that would be a instantaneous Peck and a return to the 80% load.

where as if a home owner dose any electrical work it has to be inspected or your insurance becomes void. I don't know how accurate what he was saying was as he was kind of being very general about it all.

I am thinking it has more to do with the individual circuit that the person installs including electrical outlets.

Bill

hey Bill you need to get this 2000 watts ouit of your head that is the recomended max contuinuious on a 20 amp breaker not a 15 or a 70

In BC you have needed a home owners permit which includes inspection for over 15 years. I have pulled about 6 of them over the uears and yes it is for replacing, moving or adding stuff. basicly anything except replacing switches and outlets with newer ones as thoes are covered as maintanace which you don't need a permit for. Now the only thing you can't to with a home owners permit is power a main pannel from the meter a real electrition has to do that, but you can install sub pannels.

oh and for shell bussy, take hime with a grain of salt. a lot of stuff he says is wrong.

Steve