Electrical question

If you have an electric dryer, check your 240V breaker you may have a lot left on it. When I needed more juice I found out I had a 10.8A dryer on a 30A breaker.

dbz said:

Yeah they aren't even very expensive, although, personally i wouldnt have run extremely high draws on both circuits in the same tandem.

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Well I have loaded the fuck out of those 6 space 100A subs and ran them all at pretty high capacity with 120v circuits using tandems so I think that unless the panel is in a really hot summer garage environment he can get up around the 80%. I have to put a fan on my main panel in the summer to cool it because it gets so hot in the garage lol. Otherwise breakers for circuits running portable AC's in living space start tripping when you turn on the PC or turn on the stereo. lol It gets hot as hades here in the summer. So 80% derates to like 70% lol

Renfro said:

Yes but permitted "new work" would be required that it meet the local code cycle at the time of work. Thing is you need to see what NEC / IBC code cycle the local building department would accept (often several cycles old). So for resale purposes the addition could be deleted prior to listing the home. Now if he wants to pull a homeowners permit and do inspected work making it all legit then he needs to get with the local building dept.

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No plans to ever sell this home (well maybe 30+ years), but I'm more concerned about permitted work in case of an issue. Insurance wouldn't cover damage caused by unpermitted work.

Renfro said:

Yes but permitted "new work" would be required that it meet the local code cycle at the time of work. Thing is you need to see what NEC / IBC code cycle the local building department would accept (often several cycles old). So for resale purposes the addition could be deleted prior to listing the home. Now if he wants to pull a homeowners permit and do inspected work making it all legit then he needs to get with the local building dept.

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Heh Ren. Long time. No code if not requesting a permit for electrical. Is it that strict there? Can't change a switch without paying for permission.

7CardBud said:

If you have an electric dryer, check your 240V breaker you may have a lot left on it. When I needed more juice I found out I had a 10.8A dryer on a 30A breaker.

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Splitting, "piggybacking" was a bit more complicated. But correct indeed. I have tapped under utilized circuits in rentals.

Well I have loaded the fuck out of those 6 space 100A subs and ran them all at pretty high capacity with 120v circuits using tandems so I think that unless the panel is in a really hot summer garage environment he can get up around the 80%. I have to put a fan on my main panel in the summer to cool it because it gets so hot in the garage lol. Otherwise breakers for circuits running portable AC's in living space start tripping when you turn on the PC or turn on the stereo. lol It gets hot as hades here in the summer. So 80% derates to like 70% lol
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You're right. I just am a little paranoid with wiring perhaps due to work obsessions with redundancies and backups. They wouldn't sell them otherwise without lots of liability.

I'm fine now until the 8 A Timber light gets fired up. So what is my best option going forward? Looking for safe, cheap, and legal. Isn't everyone looking for all that lol. Are tandem breakers not allowed by code at all? Did our home inspector miss that?

I would be most concerned with load balancing the legs, at least throw an amp clamp on the mains legs to see whats up and if things are already out of whack. In which case we may want do something about that with our added load on the opposite phase.

MICHI-CAN said:

Heh Ren. Long time. No code if not requesting a permit for electrical. Is it that strict there? Can't change a switch without paying for permission.

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Well if you do "permanent work" adding circuits and are ever wanting to sell the home... I only went there because it seemed like folks were getting all "codey" with AFCI and stuff lol.

Renfro said:

because it seemed like folks were getting all "codey" with AFCI and stuff

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Right, whats next, make sure you have your mask on while your doing it?

JoeBlow5823 said:

Right, whats next, make sure you have your mask on while your doing it?

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face shield lol thats what they are doing. like andy reid during a chiefs game lol

twentyeight.threefive said:

I'm fine now until the 8 A Timber light gets fired up. So what is my best option going forward? Looking for safe, cheap, and legal. Isn't everyone looking for all that lol. Are tandem breakers not allowed by code at all? Did our home inspector miss that?
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Find slimlines. 20amp. replace outlets. Split the existing circuit. Balance your load between them. Cheapest safe fix I have. Not sure where this went high tech.

MICHI-CAN said:

Not sure where this went

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nobody knows

Renfro said:

Well if you do "permanent work" adding circuits and are ever wanting to sell the home... I only went there because it seemed like folks were getting all "codey" with AFCI and stuff lol.

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Justed standard lingo. And added security for the user. No code issues. Bought new outlets and breakers are allowed to be replaced as needed. Romex for circuits may bite you if you don't use old school white insulated as opposed to new color coded. Just match existing wiring if not decrepit cloth wrapped. LOL.

MICHI-CAN said:

Just match existing wiring if not decrepit cloth wrapped. LOL.

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Now I know why they print the date of production on the sheathing LoL

Get er dun, match up some knob and tube, even with the patina of the crumbled away insulation and broken insulators. Fuck it, carter ize it with some switched neutrals. lol

MICHI-CAN said:

Justed standard lingo. And added security for the user. No code issues. Bought new outlets and breakers are allowed to be replaced as needed. Romex for circuits may bite you if you don't use old school white insulated as opposed to new color coded. Just match existing wiring if not decrepit cloth wrapped. LOL.

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Could always add panel outlets and run extension cords. That isnt exactly a new circuit.

Renfro said:

Now I know why they print the date of production on the sheathing LoL

Get er dun, match up some knob and tube, even with the patina of the crumbled away insulation and broken insulators. Fuck it, carter ize it with some switched neutrals. lol

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Too many years as a laborer. My last house had cloth wiring. Overhead to garage light shorted on in quite a flashy show. Ran a single Romex to code and buried to new light and a couple outlets I never had. Pre sale inspection forced me to replace and upgrade the entire property because of one Romex on a 20 amp circuit. Had it not been there I would not have paid close to $6000 for my electrician friends to get me approved for sale. Hoping to avoid it for all other people.

What's with all the 2 pull breakers?

Corso312 said:

What's with all the 2 pull breakers?

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Usually that is from electric heating in a residence. Like baseboard heaters and such.

Renfro said:

Usually that is from electric heating in a residence. Like baseboard heaters and such.

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I usually see 2, three at most double pulls in a 200 amp panel... One to two on a 100 amp service.. I'm on my phone but it looks like he has 9.