Service Panel Question

mpking

19 years ago

I've been given a gift that just keeps spending my money.

We've been given a spa by a relative. (It's a few years old, but in good working condition)

It's plate on the inside says 240Volts, 40amps. I assume from it's age (approx 5-7 years) that it's Neutral-less.

I just realized, I only have a 100amp breaker. Eeek.

My question is, how bad is this going to be for me to get to 200amps?

Some specfics. New England is the location, House is a Single Family, 900 sqft home. Electric oven, Oil heat, electric dryer, two 900W AC's, and normal house stuff.

Based on the above, I'm probably very close on my 100amp panel.

I just bought the house, and the previous owner stated he had just had the electric panel replaced. I'm assuming he just had a fuse box changed into a Circuit panel.

The SE wire is 2 gauge. The meter on the side of house has no numbers that scream 100A or to the like. (What's pissing me off is the wire to the meter is dated 1998, and post meter is dated 2001, that doesn't sound like "recently" to me. It sounds like a while ago)

It's about 10 feet or less from the meter to the electric panel.

Second question. Due to the wife wanting kid(s) in the near future, we might put a second floor, or addition onto the house. This however would problably only double the Sqft of our house, to approx 1800-2000 sqft. Is it worth the added expense of a 400amp service, or should I just worry about that when we decide to do the addition.

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Comments (8)

jason1083
19 years ago
get an electrician to do a load calc.
here is an example: http://www.cityofhenderson.com/buildsafe/pdf/Handouts%20and%20Standard%20Designs/Permit%20Applications/Building/Printable_Applications_and_Forms/Residential%20Electrical%20Load%20Calcs%20Worksheet.pdf

to go up to 200 amps from 100 (I don't see this needing 400): you will need AT MINIMUM new meter can, new wiring from meter to panel, new panel.
Also you may be required to correct any code issues (if the code has changed since the po's upgrade) that may arise.
rtscoach
19 years ago
As far as wiring goes, 2001, and even 1998 is recent. Instalations from that time could be expected to serve for decades to come. No reason to be pissed off over that. I can't imigine a 900 sq/foot home needing 400A service.
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joed
19 years ago
If you don't have any other major loads like dryer, stove, water heater, then you probably don't need to upgrade your service.
Go to one of the load calculation sites and put in the figures for your house to see for sure.
mpking
Original Author
19 years ago
Well, the Pissed Off comment has to do with alot of the Previous Owner's "Upgrades". Example, I just finished replacing a "Brand New" 10 year old roof that had the shingles disintegrating. Brand new was his description. Inspector caught that, so I knew it the day I bought the house. (Improper installation was the roofing companies comment, no ventilation, baked the shingles off the roof)

So is this in the ballpark of over 1k, or under 1k? I know local market, deterines alot of this, but I figure an estimate can't be too far off per region.
mpking
Original Author
19 years ago
Ok,

I'm trying to use the city of henderson load calc sheet. Anyone have a copy of NEC table 220-19?
Ron Natalie
19 years ago
NEC is here:

http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=860&itemID=21227&URL=Publications/necdigest/Review%20the%20NEC%AE%20online&cookie%5Ftest=1
DavidR
19 years ago
So is this in the ballpark of over 1k, or under 1k?

I'd say over. I had a new 100a panel installed in one of my rental houses (1200 sq ft) a couple of years ago. This was not an upgrade, just a replacement of an old, rusty, and questionable 100a panel. They also replaced the meter pan and mast. The electrician charged about $850. Then I had to pay the POCO to come out and fit "permanent" splices, which I think was another $100 or so.
bus_driver
19 years ago
Since you have oil heat and minimal AC, my bet, based on experience, is that the spa can be added to the existing service without problems arising. If that turns out to be true, you have gained that much. If not true, the service upgrade can be done at the same cost as if done before the Spa installation. Some gifts turn out to be very costly.