Your Resident Electrician for all your electrical questions!

[Paul B]

The main reason why I was planning on doing the upgrade is for more space.

The easiest, cheapest way to get more space is to install mini breakers, sometimes called Piggy back breakers. They are normal breakers but 2 of them fit in the space of one of your breakers.

You are only allowed to use a certain number of them depending on where you live and your panel.
But I am an electrician and I got a million of them.
It is still your Main breaker that determines how much power you can draw no matter how many breakers you install.

They sell them in Home depot.

That you could do yourself for under $10.00
If you need a lot more space you can install a sub panel. I also have one of those in my house.
You can get a 12 circuit panel and connect it to your existing panel through like a 60 amp breaker.

Being an electrician for fifty years I don't ever recall anyone tripping their main breaker from normal use, not something weird or a short.
100 amps would make your house glow.
All of the lights in a normal house use less than one amp and with LEDs, they don't use anything to even think about.

If I were you, and I am not,I would install 4 mini breakers and call it a day. Go out to dinner and try the baked scrod.

 

[block134]

If I were you, and I am not,I would install 4 mini breakers and call it a day. Go out to dinner and try the baked scrod.

Sounds like a good idea to me other then I don't know what baked scrod is.

 

[Brew12]

Sounds like a good idea to me other then I don't know what baked scrod is.

Most of us just call it Cod

Two other things to keep in mind.... one is that if you have an electrician install a new 200A panel, they will be required to bring the entire house up to current electrical codes. Depending on how old your house is, that could be very expensive.

The other thing to remember is that you are not allowed to use the slimline or single pole tandem breakers in every panel. If you have a 30 slot panel rated for 30 circuits the tandem breakers are not allowed by code. If you have a 20 slot panel rated for 40 circuits, you can use up to 10 of the tandem breakers. Personally, I wouldn't worry about this but I would keep the old breakers just in case you ever decide to sell the place. A good inspector won't pass you with that modification so you may need to remove the extra circuits.

 

[block134]

I am kind of OCD with the wiring in my house and it is driving me nuts. I would love to bring it up to code but I would do it myself and have someone inspect after me. If I have it correctly the built in microwave in the kitchen should be on ita own circuit. It is not. I tripped a breaker for an outlet in my theater and it took half the kitchen with it. They are in differnt floors, one under the other.

 

[alton]

Sounds like you an electrical contractor. You can not share the two dedicated kitchen circuits except for pantry, breakfast, dinning rooms or something similar . Theater room is not something similar.

 

[Paul B]

Personally, I wouldn't worry about this but I would keep the old breakers just in case you ever decide to sell the place. A good inspector won't pass you with that modification so you may need to remove the extra circuits.

I don't think you will find to many houses that don't have slimline/piggyback/mini breakers, whatever you want to call them installed.

As I said, I got a million of them and so far, in 70 years, no inspector has come knocking on my door and my house never burnt down nor did the 500 or how many buildings I either built or worked on.
I also never got a violation on my house or one of those buildings and I worked on every one on the Manhattan skyline.
I sold my last house and there were nothing but mini breakers in the panel. ;Bucktooth

As a matter of fact, for the 50 years I built buildings in Manhattan, I have only seen an inspector a handful of times. They are more interested in how many sub panels you have
the size of your main breaker and what you had for dinner. Like scrod, which like Brew said, is small codfish.

I am sure the inspector also has 6 or 7 mini breakers in his house that he paid his dog walker to install.

Mini breakers are not any more dangerous as your normal breakers and are used everywhere. You don't have to bring any building up to code if it was built with the last code. If that were the case, we would have to demolish almost all the buildings that are a few years old as the codes constantly change.
If you want to be safe, don't worry about breakers, worry about plugging 15 things into a power strip or extension cord.

As I said, if you only need a few extra circuits, add some mini breakers. If you need 10 extra circuits, add a 12 circuit sub panel as that would be your cheapest solution.

If you want your house totally up to the new code, depending on where you live because in some places you won't be able to install a 200 amp panel, then you will have to change your entire service. You may be looking at $5,000.00 or more for that.

I haven't done one for a while and I didn't normally wire houses (although I did plenty) so I am guessing on the price but it is about a day in a half's work depending on the house.

You should also know that up grading your service also means that the inspector now can find all sorts of things in your houses electric that he wants you to upgrade so you could be opening up a can of worms, and I don't mean tube worms.

(Very good looking Master Electrician 50 years )

 

[Brew12]

I don't think you will find to many houses that don't have slimline/piggyback/mini breakers, whatever you want to call them installed.

As I said, I got a million of them and so far, in 70 years, no inspector has come knocking on my door and my house never burnt down nor did the 500 or how many buildings I either built or worked on.
I also never got a violation on my house or one of those buildings and I worked on every one on the Manhattan skyline.
I sold my last house and there were nothing but mini breakers in the panel. ;Bucktooth

As a matter of fact, for the 50 years I built buildings in Manhattan, I have only seen an inspector a handful of times. They are more interested in how many sub panels you have
the size of your main breaker and what you had for dinner. Like scrod, which like Brew said, is small codfish.

I am sure the inspector also has 6 or 7 mini breakers in his house that he paid his dog walker to install.

Mini breakers are not any more dangerous as your normal breakers and are used everywhere. You don't have to bring any building up to code if it was built with the last code. If that were the case, we would have to demolish almost all the buildings that are a few years old as the codes constantly change.
If you want to be safe, don't worry about breakers, worry about plugging 15 things into a power strip or extension cord.

As I said, if you only need a few extra circuits, add some mini breakers. If you need 10 extra circuits, add a 12 circuit sub panel as that would be your cheapest solution.

If you want your house totally up to the new code, depending on where you live because in some places you won't be able to install a 200 amp panel, then you will have to change your entire service. You may be looking at $5,000.00 or more for that.

I haven't done one for a while and I didn't normally wire houses (although I did plenty) so I am guessing on the price but it is about a day in a half's work depending on the house.

You should also know that up grading your service also means that the inspector now can find all sorts of things in your houses electric that he wants you to upgrade so you could be opening up a can of worms, and I don't mean tube worms.

(Very good looking Master Electrician 50 years )

I completely agree that the mini breakers are a great solution. Maybe I've just run into inspectors that are grumpy from not eating enough cod. A friend of mine used white PVC to connect his main panel to a sub panel that was 4 ft away. An inspector made him change it to grey PVC. I thought that was pretty ridiculous because I doubt too many people would confuse it for a water line between two adjacent electrical panels. I think some inspectors want to prove how much they know. A few of the ones in my area are electrical engineers that couldn't cut it in industry and have a chip on their shoulders.

 

[Paul B]

I have met some inspectors that just had a bad day, but remember electrical inspectors are generally "Not" electricians and learned all they know in a class room. Classrooms have pictures of circuit breakers, diagrams, codes etc and not really electrical work. I have used white PVC here on Long Island (illegally) but in the city limits no PVC is legal. Maybe it is now I retired 13 years ago but when I started in 1973 we had to use rigid threaded pipe in the city and tape all the connections.

Then we went to EMT (electrical metallic tubing), Now I think you can use BX but maybe not in Manhattan. I don't know but I could never use it there much less Romex.

When we built a building in Manhattan we had to bend all the galvanized pipe for new construction to put in the deck
(cement pour as the building was going up)

Up until a few years ago Rockefeller Center in Manhattan (where the big Christmas Tree was) had their own code and we had to use rigid galvanized pipe even in renovation work inside the walls which there are mostly brick.

I also worked on the construction of the "World Trade Center" and they also had their own code. We had to use this weird wire insulation that was a horror to work with and very hard to strip. I forgot what it was called.

 

[siggy]

To do work in Detroit you only need a city license with Jimmy Hoffa's picture, Kwame could have changed it.
But in MI all Service feeds require rigid and PVC is not allowed indoors due to noxious fumes produced during fires.
Chicago requires All conductors in conduit, Very strict (great Chicago fire)That may have changed since I did work for them 20yo.
UV romex is a bugger to strip

 

[somechinesereefer]

So the spot the new tank is in, it will be about 2-3 inches from the wall, meaning that plugs will only be able to fit if i force them into the outlet, with a kink on the cord. Obviously I can't do this, so I'm wondering what people's opinions were on how to fix this, without moving the tank out further(tank position is set in stone, figuratively). I've found some right angle plugs that will allow cords to plug into its sides, as well as some that have a cover and extension cord, but I'm not sure which options are best. I have 2 power bars and a power strip I need to plug in(both power bars are plugged into the power strip at the moment, since it has a built in right angle style plug.)

Additionally, I didn't have time nor did i want to put a gfci on this specific outlet because once the tank is there, it will be extremely difficult to move, meaning I couldn't service the gfci outlet if it went bad, so I plan to put a gfci breaker instead. Are there any other precautions I should take? Maybe cut a piece of acrylic to shield the outlet from potential splashes? I can't install anything onto the receptable itself since the tank is already in place, poor advance planning on my part.

Also how safe is it to have everything under the tank in the sump as far as electrical goes? I'm nervous about having the radion ballasts, plugs, and power bars down there with all the water, even if it's not in a splash zone...

Thanks!

 

[siggy]

Home depot sells these, good brand and price.

 

[Paul B]

That is a good solution. Remember although you can plug 6 things into that strip, your breaker and wiring is only rated for 15 or 20 amps. The breaker will protect you from overloading the circuit. But the breaker will not save you from plugging in too many things into that strip which may cause it to melt. (probably not so don't worry to much about it.)

That strip may only have #18 wire feeding it which is smaller than the wiring in your walls and not capable of carrying 15 amps. So while it is legal and safe to use a strip, and we all use them. Just be aware as to how much you are plugging into it. It probably has a rating listed on it someplace.

 

[somechinesereefer]

That is a good solution. Remember although you can plug 6 things into that strip, your breaker and wiring is only rated for 15 or 20 amps. The breaker will protect you from overloading the circuit. But the breaker will not save you from plugging in too many things into that strip which may cause it to melt. (probably not so don't worry to much about it.)

That strip may only have #18 wire feeding it which is smaller than the wiring in your walls and not capable of carrying 15 amps. So while it is legal and safe to use a strip, and we all use them. Just be aware as to how much you are plugging into it. It probably has a rating listed on it someplace.

do you think plugging one eb4 power bar into each strip would be better than both eb4's into one strip? should i place a piece of acrylic in front of the receptacle to protect it from even remotely splashing?

 

[siggy]

I agree with paul, don't use cheap junk, the unit pictured is a leviton and I have been using them for 12 years and still do. I just checked and the cord is #14 awg. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-6-Outlet-Surge-Strip-with-Audible-Alarm-S1000-PS/202212947
I forgot these have an audible

 

[Tastee]

Hi all, I’m setting up a new tank and need to connect the Neptune PMUP to it from a remote RODI reservoir. The FMM will be in the sump of the new tank with the PMUP in the remote reservoir. I have a run of about 13m/43’ and are planning to cut the cable and extend it myself. My question is what gauge of wire should I use for the extension?

Neptune only recommend 20’ maximum length using their extension cable (10’ standard cable + 1 10’ extension cable). That is what I have done with my existing tank but the new one is further away. The standard approach is to upsize the cable for longer runs. Do you think 2.5mm gauge wire be sufficient?

 

[Sayn3ver]

This is not true for my local ahj. Typically a service replacement/upgrade with a new panel is not required to bring anything inside the home up to code per say (no arc fault breakers needed, etc if they were not required initially).

updated grounding is needed to be brought up to recent code (sizing, number of grounding electrodes, low voltage bonding bridge, flexible gas line bonding, gas meter bonding if required by ahj).

Adding any new branch circuits during the service change will trigger the need to bring things up to code here.

Ymmv.

Most of us just call it Cod

Two other things to keep in mind.... one is that if you have an electrician install a new 200A panel, they will be required to bring the entire house up to current electrical codes. Depending on how old your house is, that could be very expensive.

The other thing to remember is that you are not allowed to use the slimline or single pole tandem breakers in every panel. If you have a 30 slot panel rated for 30 circuits the tandem breakers are not allowed by code. If you have a 20 slot panel rated for 40 circuits, you can use up to 10 of the tandem breakers. Personally, I wouldn't worry about this but I would keep the old breakers just in case you ever decide to sell the place. A good inspector won't pass you with that modification so you may need to remove the extra circuits.

 

[siggy]

Hi all, I’m setting up a new tank and need to connect the Neptune PMUP to it from a remote RODI reservoir. The FMM will be in the sump of the new tank with the PMUP in the remote reservoir. I have a run of about 13m/43’ and are planning to cut the cable and extend it myself. My question is what gauge of wire should I use for the extension?

Neptune only recommend 20’ maximum length using their extension cable (10’ standard cable + 1 10’ extension cable). That is what I have done with my existing tank but the new one is further away. The standard approach is to upsize the cable for longer runs. Do you think 2.5mm gauge wire be sufficient?

DC's voltage will drop over distance, your correct in thinking about upsizing wire, but if distance is excessive than you may need to upsize your power supply.
I recently tried to use my tunze 12v pump supply voltage to drive a small 12v relay in the basement that powered a 120v
dosing pump, total distance was +/- 30' and it failed to work. I placed the relay in the display cabinet and it works.
The atk is 24v so you may not see the same difficulties at 30'

 

[Metalreefer]

hello.
I would like to make a LED lamp but im not sure if I calculated everything right.

https://futureeden.co.uk/collection...ed-epiled-520-530nm-without-star-pcb-heatsink

https://futureeden.co.uk/collection...ed-epiled-520-530nm-without-star-pcb-heatsink

https://futureeden.co.uk/collection...ts/copy-of-1w-bright-red-led-epiled-620-630nm

1 of each led

ohm resistor for uv 26.35ohm

green 27.02ohm

red 54.87ohm heatsink (3C/W) https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/Cosel/F-CBS-F6?qs=sGAEpiMZZMttgyDkZ5Wiuq5o%252BCaiUm6fubI4OMY%252BtgA= Noiseblocker BlackSilent Fan ITR-XS-2-50mm 12V 0.48W my questions are: if the resistor values are correct what i calculated for each led if the power supply is correct for the leds and fan (not enough or overkill) if the heatsink is big enough with the fan for the leds to keep them cool. if I should get the greater value OHM resistor for the leds, than less. Thank you

 

[Jenuvio]

All,

Purchased a Hydor Seltz 1600.. they say it is AC instead of DC.. i have a basic idea but not sure why i am having this issue. Plugged it all over the house and it keeps popping the breaker.

AC 115V /50-60hz

I’m at a loss. Please help!!

Thank you

 

[siggy]

Sounds like a bad pump.
Try this, just plug the controller in, then plug the pump into the controller. Does the impeller spin?
Regardless, you cannot trust that unit on your tank, call service or return. You may have received a returned/faulty unit.