Does this dedicated circuit quote sound reasonable?

[SSpiro]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12069912#post12069912 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 0 Agios
That is a very reasonable quote (I am an electrical estimator), and your comments........the reason we started charging $ 50.00 for residential estimates

And that would be why I wouldn't use you guys. 95% of the "other guys" don't charge for residential estimates. There is nothing wrong with recommending the guy to get more than one quote. Same reason you have more than one doctor, more than one mechanic, etc. It's called being an intelligent consumer.

Also why I do my own work.

 

[SSpiro]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12068721#post12068721 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Icefire
That's some BX cable, used in old appartement bulding and most commercial application.
Most have a ground in it too.

Word.. BX = MC = Type AC

Not sure I've seen a metal clad without a ground before..

Still would like to know how old this dwelling is..

 

[PDX-PLT]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12070185#post12070185 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LostinTime
Dont know who told you that. Been doing electrical work for more than 35 years. Usually when they trip means you have a problem somewhere but it isnt necessarily the breaker. (And usually it isnt )

I thought the same thing when I read that. 'can't find anything in the UL White Book, or my SquareD tech bulletins, that say anything like that. Does that mean, if you ever push the TEST button, you must replace the breaker(?). 'don't think so.

 

[patel]

You could install a 20 A circuit instead of the 15 A. The wire and circuit breaker will be different but the labor is the same.

 

[Qwiv]

PM Me your info and I can see if I can get an electrician friend to take a look as a side job.
Everyone is busy in the area so this could be the rate. My friend has hooked up a few other reefers in the bay area.

 

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12064674#post12064674 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Quinster
Also if all GFCI are being hooked to the same breaker, you don't need all GFCI.

You just need the first plug in the line to be GFCI, then feed the other plugs from the first one, then it will protect all 4 from the one GFCI.

Unless you are worried about the one tripping then all shutting off, but that would be the only drawback.

HTH

Yeah... not a good idea for an aquarium setup. It would be much better to put four parallel GFCIs on the same circuit and segregate the critical equipment between those 4 GFCIs.

 

[LostinTime]

PDX-PLT

I agree 100 percent.

I definitely wouldnt have them either work or do work for me.

 

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12067366#post12067366 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LostinTime
Why use multiple GFCIs only one is needed. I personally would use a gfci breaker rather than a outlet. They are better made. Not much price difference either.

For a kitchen, that is great. It is not a good idea for a fish tank though

Also, code requires two small appliance circuits at the kitchen counter. Many (most?) times this is done with a 12/3 shared neutral circuit and a GFCI breaker is therefore not suitable.

Powering all of your tanks life support from a single GFCI is asking for a crash. A single faulting piece of equipment or nuisance trip will bring down the whole tank. Running multiple GFCI receptacles in parallel is a much better idea.

 

[overflowin]

"GFI breakers are supposed to be replaced after they trip ONCE."

that is said for all breakers, not just the gfci's... its a manufacturer's c.y.a. thing. each time they trip they are slightly less reliable than they were just before they tripped, so it is recommended that they be replaced after a single overcurrent incident, but in reality its not crucial. that also means overcurrent trip, not ground fault. ground fault means you have current leaking out of the circuit, i.e. into a person. overcurrent is a short circuit going phase to phase or phase to neutral... different scenarios entirely.

as far as putting a gfci in each location it may be a labor saver if they already have a ground there, you'd have to run wire from box to box to daisy chain them... if they are already run that way then you can hang them off the first one like was said. however bean is right, you should have them protected as close as possible to protect yourself and your livestock. and you should never share neutrals on gfci's, it will cause nuiscance tripping because they work based on a differential of +/- 5ma from phase to neutral, and if you share neutrals it can backfeed to the recep and cause a trip, especially with your pumps and mag ballasts on startup.

if i was in cali i'd pick up the side work alot cheaper, as in, will work for frags...but im not... bummer.

make sure you use a reputable electrician, not just a handyman... and cheaper or faster does not mean better...

donnie

 

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12070217#post12070217 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SSpiro
Word.. BX = MC = Type AC

Not sure I've seen a metal clad without a ground before..

Still would like to know how old this dwelling is..

Not really! True "BX" has not been sold for almost 50 years! In most cases it did not have a dedicted ground conductor and instead the outer armer was used as the equipment ground. Poor connections and poor cutting techniques have result in many fires.

Google BX and MC if you want to read more

 

[MrSandman]

Seems high. I live in CA and just had this done recently for my new tank. I had the electrician run 2 separate circuits from the breaker. Each circuit had 4 outlets and its own GFCI. The house has a raised foundation so the guy had to crawl under the house to run the wires (something i absolutely hate doing). He also put up a motion detecting floodlight on an outside wall. All of this for 500 bucks. HTH. I used www.servicemagic.com to find this guy. I've had some pretty good luck using that service because they are very responsive and give decent prices because they know that they are competing with 2 other bids off the bat.

 

[SSpiro]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12075648#post12075648 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BeanAnimal
Not really! True "BX" has not been sold for almost 50 years! In most cases it did not have a dedicted ground conductor and instead the outer armer was used as the equipment ground. Poor connections and poor cutting techniques have result in many fires.

Google BX and MC if you want to read more

You are right, I understand this.. I should have written that BX was replaced by MC.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Just wanted to make sure that the average Joe understands that all Armored Cable was not created equal and that if you do have BX cable then you need to be on the lookout for potential problems.

 

[hyolee]

Sorry for the late reply. My house was built in the 50's, so it is pretty old. I'm just going for the dedicated circuit for now. I asked him about the 2 to 3 prong upgrades, because I would have done it if it were cheap. I called another place and they quoted me $550 but without patching up the stucco exterior afterwards (where the box is).

This new guy also mentioned that my box looked a bit loaded (a couple of slots are doubled up) and that he recommends upgrading to a 200 amp box, for a total installed cost of nearly 3k. Ouch, never knew that electrical costs so much. Is doubling up on a slot a real hazard?

 

[lark]

I just had a 20a breaker installed running a dedicated line to a 4-gang -- 2 separate GFI -- outlet. About 50 foot run. Block construction -- much of the conduit had to be external, though.

I probably could have gotten away with 15a, but with a chiller I'll be using close to 1100 watts -- extra cost for 20a was worth it. Gives me some room to grow. The separate GFI was important to me -- I have some stuff on one and some on the other. I also don't want it daisy chained with other stuff in the room. I don't want a device upstream from my tank to trip and shut down my tank.

$485 for parts and labor. Doesn't include cost of city permit.

 

[8BALL_99]

Hyolee,, Your crazy if you dont get atleast 3 estimates. Even more so if your going to have him replace your main panel.. Not saying he is high. Its just good idea to get estimates.. I build and lease commercial property and there is no way I'd get any major work done with out getting atleast a couple estimates\opinions.

I had my Service at my house upgraded to 400amp. I replaced one panel and had another 200 amp panel installed at my house. It cost me 2,300.00. Remember this was for two 200 amp panels. One was a new install the other was replacing a old panel.. I was told prices from 1800-4600 lol.. always get estimates and go with who you like and feel will do a good job. Most of the time for me that seems to be the guy in the middle of the estimates..

 

[MrSandman]

Doubling up on a slot is not hazardous, otherwise they wouldn't sell those breakers. You've probably got a 100amp box in there now, right? Just make sure that you don't exceed 100amps and you'll be ok. If you do, you'll trip the main circuit breaker.

If you have a small house, and a small family and don't have any high current drawing electronics hooked up, then you'll be fine. However, if you have 3 reef tanks, plasma TV's in each room, 2 refrigerators, 2 air-conditioning units, 2 microwaves, and 5 computers, then maybe you 'll want to upgrade.

This guy is just trying to make an extra buck off you. I would proceed with the 100 amp box and see how things go. If you end up tripping the main later down the line, then at that point i would consider upgrading. Don't do it now if you don't have to.

Out of curiosity, why are they going through an exterior stucco wall? Can't they do it by snaking a line through the wall? Is your foundation raised?

 

[george81]

Re: Re: Does this dedicated circuit quote sound reasonable?

Re: Re: Does this dedicated circuit quote sound reasonable?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12066287#post12066287 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pmolan

Other random electrical work
Upgrade 12 2 prong outlets to 3 prong outlets $1200
(My house looks like it was upgraded in the past. They installed a green ground screw in the back of the box, attatched a ground wire to it and grounded the outlet. Supprisingly enough the hole was already there to accept the screw)


Upgrade 5 3 prong outlets to GFCI in kitchen $240
(You only need to upgrade the first one in the series. The outlet is in two parts. LINE and LOAD. LINE is the feed from the panel. LOAD feeds all of the outlets downstream. If you can figure out what wires go where, hooking it up is a breeze)

.

i hope the whoever did it actually ran a BOND not a GROUND wire back to you re service and the service is actually grounded. if all they did was pigtail a bond off the box they have created a bigger hazard than not having a bond up there to begin with.

You have absolutely no idea what would be involved with upgrading a kitchen to gfis..how is it that you can actually sit there and give someone advice like that? how do you know how those recpticles are wired? how do you what circuts those plugs are on or how many are there?

I get a good kick out of reading threads like this i read maybe 3 posts here where people actually gave good advice, the rest of it is just crap...people have 1/10000 of an understanding of what they are talking about and give advice based off of that. leave the electrical advice to the electricians who KNOW what they are doing.


love it! a gfi trips once and you change it! man would i love to do a service call for that guy! or upgrade the guys service who tried to give service advice...cha ching!
a good laugh anyway

 

[george81]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12112713#post12112713 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrSandman
Doubling up on a slot is not hazardous, otherwise they wouldn't sell those breakers. You've probably got a 100amp box in there now, right? Just make sure that you don't exceed 100amps and you'll be ok. If you do, you'll trip the main circuit breaker.

If you have a small house, and a small family and don't have any high current drawing electronics hooked up, then you'll be fine. However, if you have 3 reef tanks, plasma TV's in each room, 2 refrigerators, 2 air-conditioning units, 2 microwaves, and 5 computers, then maybe you 'll want to upgrade.

This guy is just trying to make an extra buck off you. I would proceed with the 100 amp box and see how things go. If you end up tripping the main later down the line, then at that point i would consider upgrading. Don't do it now if you don't have to.

Out of curiosity, why are they going through an exterior stucco wall? Can't they do it by snaking a line through the wall? Is your foundation raised?

you got a 100 amp service a stove fused at 40 amps, a dryer fused a 30 amps, an ac fused at 30 amps, a fridge at 15 amps, at freezer at 15 amps, kitchen recpticles at 20 amps....uh ohhhh....someone must have screwed up the calculations on all those houses...where going to be well over 100 amps by the time were done wiring this house...

 

[jay24k]

I'd personally update to a 200 amp service. You are going to eventually have more power in the future. Trust me .

I'd be leary on grounding it to the box unless you know the boxes is tied to a central ground. Otherwise it is useless. For code here in Florida, (house I flipped this year) I had to remove all 3 receptacle outlets unless I GFI'd the first outlet of every circuit. Then according to code, the homeowner buying the house needs to know in writing or on stickers on the outlets it is not grounded. However, the GFCI does provide a bit better protection. I had a professional wire in a new 200 amp service that had an entrance in another spot which required wiring. He put the new two boxes, all new circuits and made sure everything worked. This ran me 1500.00 and the most of it cost me from the cost of copper for the long run. The rest I did which was tedious but saved a ton.

It passed inspection and insurance codes with zero issues.

I'd personally get a couple people to give you estimates and go down to your local permit office. Ask them "unofficially" who has the least issues and does the best work. Many will give you a top three. I happen to work at a city so I chose the best one. I was quoted from 2500 to 5000 to do the same work. Some just like to rip people off like it is a doctorate degree.