SwampNut Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 I just installed two more independent 20 amp circuits in the garage. It reminded me of something I know, but sometimes stupidly ignore; tools can seriously under-perform when a circuit is overloaded. And overload happens before the circuit breaker trips. You can lose a lot of voltage near the limits. A tool running on low voltage is working much harder, getting much hotter, and could even fry its motor. My compressor is a great example. I noticed it was unable to keep up with my sander, though it should. Now with the new circuit it not only keeps up, but you can hear it start up much better (used to sound like it was trying hard to start up), and it runs much less since it's more efficient. Adding a dedicated garage circuit is pretty easy in most houses unless they're really old. This is one area I know pretty well; feel free to ask questions. Basically all you need is the following: 20 amp circuit breaker 20 amp outlets (they have the odd "T" blade on one side) Outlet box (many types available for all sorts of intall types) Electrical cable nails suitable for your wire size Suitable length of 12/2 NMB with ground (for internal installations, anything external is a different story) Tools: Hammer Flat screwdriver Wire cutter Wire stripper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 A 20 amp circuit should be able to handle up to 25 amps continuous for extended periods of time. If you were having problems with common power tools, chances are you have a few bad connections in your wiring, I would suggest checking them at the outlets. Eventually they will burn clear/open. Now if you just having a problem with you air compressor and it was on a short 15 amp circuit, you might not have any additional problems. But if it was on a 20 amp that was lightly loaded and the motor didn't get up to speed(which means it no doubt tripped the breaker-hopefully) You still have problems in your existing wiring. Swampnut if you need further explanation PM me with your phone # and a time to call. I know this stuff because I was a Licensed Master Electrician 6 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsanders Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 A 20 amp circuit should be able to handle up to 25 amps continuous for extended periods of time. If you were having problems with common power tools, chances are you have a few bad connections in your wiring, I would suggest checking them at the outlets. Eventually they will burn clear/open. Now if you just having a problem with you air compressor and it was on a short 15 amp circuit, you might not have any additional problems. But if it was on a 20 amp that was lightly loaded and the motor didn't get up to speed(which means it no doubt tripped the breaker-hopefully) You still have problems in your existing wiring. Swampnut if you need further explanation PM me with your phone # and a time to call. I know this stuff because I was a Licensed Master Electrician 6 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted January 4, 2004 Author Share Posted January 4, 2004 Now if you just having a problem with you air compressor and it was on a short 15 amp circuit Originally the garage was on a GFI-protected circuit that was shared between both baths, the rear patio, front patio, and garage. :shock: The rear patio has the beer fridge. So I'd put the compressor on in the garage, which is a power hog, not a little one, the fridge would kick in, add in a work light... You can see where this is going. Here's an electrician question... Is it safe to use a dual circuit breaker to power two 110 circuits, or should I get two seperate single breakers? IE, I used an existing 220 breaker that's no longer needed, and wired the outlets so some are on one phase and some are on the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r3ckl3ss Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 I don't have a copy of the NEC with me, I can check tomorrow morning to be sure... but saving any code or legality issue... That sounds fine from a technical standpoint. The two-pole breaker should have an identical time-current characteristic as the single pole of the same type/manufacturer. All you have essentially done is tied the two together such that the trip operation of one will also trip the other. Just because I am anal, I would make a run to Home Depot and grab two single pole breakers. Not sure what kind of panel you have, but 2 20A single pole breakers is prolly between 12 and 30 bucks.... Although not a licensed electrician, I do have my Professional Engineering license in Electrical Engineering... -John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted January 5, 2004 Author Share Posted January 5, 2004 I will probably do that next time I'm at Lowe's. Hell, I only need one, already have one. And it was only $6. At the time of the install though, it was either use the double or go without until I could make another trip. Have I mentioned how much better my power tools run on a good electrical circuit?? :grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vetteman Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 this should make the electricians cringe. 7 years ago i remodeled the upper part of my house and in the meantime i had forgotten how big of a hack the previous guy was. this past weekend i tore into the addition to remodel it. when i got the drywall down i couldnt believe that my house hadnt burned down already. we use romex around here, not pipe. so in one of the corners he had 2 pieces of romex spliced together, siliconed (yes silicone, no electrical tape(( not that tape would have been any better)) and stuffed under the drywall. not pulled through a hole in the studs. not even notched studs so the drywall would sit flush. just packed into the corner and drywalled over. :shock: on another wall he had spliced some wires with wire nuts, i guess being in the middle of a wall and not in a corner there was room for the nuts :roll: . i tore the garage down and rebuilt 4 years ago and was amazed at the wiring in there too. i'm no electrician. but when i hook up a light i put the power to the switch, the switch interupts the power sending it to the light to turn the light on & off. well, he did just the opposite. he had the power going to the light and the ground would be interupted by the switch. this turned the lights on & off just fine. but if i ever would have broken a bulb (which happens from time to time in a garage) and grabbed the broken part with pliers to remove it from the socket... :bigshock: . i know i should turn off the breaker but who actually does that to remove a light bulb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted January 6, 2004 Author Share Posted January 6, 2004 Call me a pussy, but I always put on heavy work gloves to do anything electrical. I rarely turn off the breaker. I just assume it is live, and work accordingly. Kinda like assuming all guns are loaded. Then again, I've been hit with 27kv once, so it mighta heightened my awareness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pace Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Speaking of electricity, I did something entirely braindead the other day.. My wife reported that all four can lights in the basement living room had gone out. We recently remodelled it, and I put in one of the fancy microprocessor dimmer switches. I immediately suspected the dimmer had gone out, but went to check the breaker as a matter of course (it hadn't tripped). So I fire up the DMM, and start probing at the terminals on the dimmer. No reading. At that point I figure a wire must have come loose in the junction box, so I go get my step stool and pull the junction cover in the center of the celing. DMM check shows nothing, again. So I unscrew the nuts, pull the wires apart, and run a continuity check to figure out which one is the supply, and which goes to the switch, etc. etc. At this point I'm figuring that my bonehead electrician made a connection above the ceiling which has come loose, and I'm envisioning my relatively new ceiling being torn out. So I then move back to the dimmer switch, which is in a double socket that also controls an outside patio light. I figure I'll tap that switch for power and run it straight into the dimmer, and rewire the junction box for the alternate power supply. Anyways; I probe the patio light switch with my DMM, and you guessed it.... nothing. I look down at the meter, and I have the fucking dial turned to DC V. Long story short, I turned the DMM over to AC V, and sure enough EVERYTHING that I had been handling with my bare hands was live. I figure my thick rubber soles and the plastic step stool is probably what saved my ass. Oh well... I figure it probably wouldn't smart as much as the 240V kick I got one time in England. -Pace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pace Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 And as regards suspect electricals; our old house in the UK was a little over a hundred years old. When we moved in in the early '80s, it still had the original wiring which consisted of cloth wrapped around the copper cores, and then sheathed in a lead outer coating. :shock: When we moved into our house here in Colorado (1979 vintage) we had to have all of the outlets rewired in addition to some of the electrical appliances. The waste disposal was hooked up using lamp cord, and every single electrical outlet had the neutral terminal wired to ground. :roll: -Pace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiX Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 as far as the 2 pull 20amp breaker if you use it for 2 single pull 20a take out the bar or plastic cover holding the two breakers together so they will trip seperately. as far as vettes electrician/handyman he should be drug out behind the house and shot. it's all fun and games till the house burns down with someone in it. Next time check his liscence or pay a little more for a reputable electrician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vetteman Posted May 5, 2005 Share Posted May 5, 2005 damn this is an old thread. six, the hack i was talking about was the previous owner of the house. anything he did here was before my time. believe me i wouldnt hire him to change a light bulb. i do all of my own work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.