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Posted by on August 25, 2005, 10:56 am
I wonder if some kind soul could check my understanding of how to
evaluate whether I need to "heavy up" my electrical service box.
I currently have a box identified as 160A, with thirty circuits.
The home inspector I used when I bought the place said "you're going to
want to heavy up to 200A".
I'm not so sure.
The breaker for the kitchen appliances trips every so often, but that's
likely because the entire basement is also on that circuit, and there's
a dehumidifier down there. By chance, it occasionally kicks in when
the microwave and toaster are on and overloads the circuit.
Since I have five unused circuits, I figure I can split the basement
and the kitchen on to separate circuits, and add an extra kitchen
appliance circuit for good measure, and one for the basement workshop
tools.
The A/C circuit trips, too, but I believe that's because the A/C is
dying.
The way I see it, and this is my question, as long as the load on no
individual circuit exceeds it's rated amperage, and the load on all
circuits collectively does not exceed 160A, which is the size of the
box, I don't need to "heavy up".
Is that correct?
Thanks for any comments.
ccs>ikyr
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Posted by SQLit on August 25, 2005, 1:19 pm
> I wonder if some kind soul could check my understanding of how to
> evaluate whether I need to "heavy up" my electrical service box.
>
> I currently have a box identified as 160A, with thirty circuits.
>
> The home inspector I used when I bought the place said "you're going to
> want to heavy up to 200A".
>
> I'm not so sure.
>
> The breaker for the kitchen appliances trips every so often, but that's
> likely because the entire basement is also on that circuit, and there's
> a dehumidifier down there. By chance, it occasionally kicks in when
> the microwave and toaster are on and overloads the circuit.
>
> Since I have five unused circuits, I figure I can split the basement
> and the kitchen on to separate circuits, and add an extra kitchen
> appliance circuit for good measure, and one for the basement workshop
> tools.
>
> The A/C circuit trips, too, but I believe that's because the A/C is
> dying.
>
> The way I see it, and this is my question, as long as the load on no
> individual circuit exceeds it's rated amperage, and the load on all
> circuits collectively does not exceed 160A, which is the size of the
> box, I don't need to "heavy up".
>
> Is that correct?
>
> Thanks for any comments.
>
> ccs>ikyr
Not my intention to slam you
Unless your service was custom made there is no such thing as a 160 amp
service.
Unless your adding a new electrical load(s) chances are you do not need a
new service. What you do need is to fix the screw ups from the previous
owner or you as the case may be. A load calculation would be required to
know if you need a new service. If you just bought this place then it
might be time to use the contract to get the previous owner to pay for the
"not to code wiring". Which would need to be disclosed by law at least here
it would.
As others said if you change the service and do not fix the circuitry then
you have not fixed the problem.
Home infectors that use "heavy up" should be shown to the property line with
a double barreled shotgun. Home infectors in general should be shown to the
property line.
Call some licensed, insured and bonded pros and ask for bids to straighten
out the mess.
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Posted by ccs>ikyr on August 25, 2005, 6:05 pm
Well, the owner wrote "160A" on the service panel, or someone did. I
imagine they meant 150. In fact, on closer inspection, it says "200
Amp Mains", but the 200 is scratched out and 160 is written above it.
Don't know what to make of that.
Previous owner was a real piece of work. As I noted previously, the
basement (excluding the washer/drier and furnace) is run off the
kitchen circuit. What's more, because there's only one outlet in the
basement, this clown had brown appliance wire extension cords running
all over the basement, tacked to the underside of the floor joists, and
plugged into the light sockets. I ripped that garbage out on the first
day. Lucky for me, he didn't make many of these "improvements" or I
would be lying awake at night wondering if the house would burn down by
morning.
Yes, I intend to have a professional take a look around.
Thank you all for your guidance.
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Posted by SQLit on August 26, 2005, 9:30 am
> Well, the owner wrote "160A" on the service panel, or someone did. I
> imagine they meant 150. In fact, on closer inspection, it says "200
> Amp Mains", but the 200 is scratched out and 160 is written above it.
> Don't know what to make of that.
I would be checking it out, ASAP. What does the main breaker say? ( on the
handle there should be a number )
They might have added up the breakers inside the panel, ignorant mistake.
> Previous owner was a real piece of work. As I noted previously, the
> basement (excluding the washer/drier and furnace) is run off the
> kitchen circuit. What's more, because there's only one outlet in the
> basement, this clown had brown appliance wire extension cords running
> all over the basement, tacked to the underside of the floor joists, and
> plugged into the light sockets. I ripped that garbage out on the first
> day. Lucky for me, he didn't make many of these "improvements" or I
> would be lying awake at night wondering if the house would burn down by
> morning.
>
> Yes, I intend to have a professional take a look around.
>
> Thank you all for your guidance.
>
>
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Posted by zxcvbob on August 25, 2005, 1:26 pm
ccs.ikyr@gmail.com wrote:
> I wonder if some kind soul could check my understanding of how to
> evaluate whether I need to "heavy up" my electrical service box.
>
> I currently have a box identified as 160A, with thirty circuits.
>
> The home inspector I used when I bought the place said "you're going to
> want to heavy up to 200A".
>
> I'm not so sure.
>
> The breaker for the kitchen appliances trips every so often, but that's
> likely because the entire basement is also on that circuit, and there's
> a dehumidifier down there. By chance, it occasionally kicks in when
> the microwave and toaster are on and overloads the circuit.
>
> Since I have five unused circuits, I figure I can split the basement
> and the kitchen on to separate circuits, and add an extra kitchen
> appliance circuit for good measure, and one for the basement workshop
> tools.
>
> The A/C circuit trips, too, but I believe that's because the A/C is
> dying.
>
> The way I see it, and this is my question, as long as the load on no
> individual circuit exceeds it's rated amperage, and the load on all
> circuits collectively does not exceed 160A, which is the size of the
> box, I don't need to "heavy up".
>
> Is that correct?
>
> Thanks for any comments.
>
> ccs>ikyr
>
There's not a lot of difference between a 150A and a 200A service. If
you have anything over 100A, it's probably plenty unless you have a
*huge* house and have electric heating, electric water heater, and
electric stove. I've neve seen a 160A service (is is fuses?) but
there's not a lot to gain by going to 200A, and there probably would be
a lot of expense.
It sounds like someone finished the basement after the house was wired
and they just tapped into the kitchen circuit -- that's very bad. The
kitchen should have 2 *dedicated* 20A circuits, although an older house
might just have one. Nothing else should be on the kitchen circuit
except perhaps a convenience outlet in the dining room. If you split
the basement wiring from the kitchen circuit and put in a new breaker
for the basement, I think it will solve all your problems. If you
replace the 160A panel with a 200A but do not fix the kitchen wiring
problem, it's not going to help.
There are other reasons to replace an electric panel, like maybe if it's
an old Federal Pacific panel with StabLok breakers, or if you just ran
out of spaces. But you wouldn't necessarily have to go with a 200A main
breaker.
Best regards,
Bob
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