Plan B

[kevin_standlee]

After one too many frustrations with NV Energy and the electrical contractor, Lisa (who is the one footing the bill from her inheritance money, which is something the contractor seemed to not understand while patronizing her) pulled the plug on the project. (Pun intentional.) The power line to our property is supposedly good for up to 125A, and the main box is also rated for 125A. This means we should be able to replace the master breaker (currently 100A) with a 125A breaker, and there's enough room in the box to add the additional 30A circuit that we want to run a small electric hot water heater. The only challenge is that it's an old box design, so the circuit breakers are not off the shelf parts. However, the parts are available, and we've ordered the 30A breaker and will look for a 125A master breaker when we have a chance.

We went to Big R in Fallon last night (the Fernley Big R continues to be "two weeks away" as it has for the past two years) to buy 50 feet of cord, flexible conduit, a cut-off box, and sundry other parts with which Lisa plans to run a line herself from the main box under the house to where we want the hot water heater. She's done this sort of home electrical work in the past and is confident that she can do it herself with me there to hold tools and do as I'm told.

Comments

[timill]

Just hope you don't get to Plan 9...

[yourbob.livejournal.com]

I understand they're expensive ($200-$300), but you might consider looking at "whole house surge protectors". They sound like a terrific investment for a tech household in a snowy windy dusty area.

[solarbird]

Excellent.

If you don't have one, a Kill-A-Watt meter is awfully useful for calculating actual loads.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

We have one. And we also know that the total load isn't the sum of the individual circuits. For example, the circuit to the travel trailer is nominally 50A, but it can't exceed 30A because the travel trailer can only draw that much through its own connection. (Theoretically there are ways we could get the other 20A, but we don't use them.) Similarly, although Lisa intends on running a 30A/220V circuit to the hot-water heater, the heating element we'll be specifying for it should never draw more than 20A. And the cutoff box by the water heater has a 60A switch.

Oh, if we turned on and plugged in everything we have here on the property, we doubtless could pop the main breaker, but there's only two of us here and it would be difficult for us to get that many things going at once.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

If Lisa can put it back together again, we have something like that: the inverter/battery set she originally got for her father's ham shack and that she was allowed to take with her after her father died. This amounts to a honkin' big surge suppressor/line conditioner, inasmuch as the line in from outside in goes to a series of car batteries, while the batteries are used to generate AC through the inverter. It's currently sitting in an enclosure on the "dog run" concrete slab awaiting Lisa having the time to put it all back together again.

[howeird]

Currently. :-)

[howeird]

Interesting about the box rating. I had the state inspector out today (manufactured homes are regulated by Sacto, not the city), and he said he knew I had a gas stove because if I'd had electric, the air conditioner installation he was inspecting would have violated code for the box's max amps.

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

I liked Lisa's story of the Los Alamos spinning drum surge protector, but I doubt it would be practical for household use.

[delosharriman]

I've actually considered building a motor-generator surge protector. I might consider it harder, if the Energy Futures Holdings situation here in North Texas continues to fester. (As part of "deregulation", a private equity fund was allowed to buy Luminant, the former TXU generation unit ; ONCOR, the former TXU distribution unit ; and TXU retail, all with money they borrowed at the top of the market in 2007. Bankruptcy proceedings are now underway.)