[TheForge] shop power

[Rob Fertner]

He may have an overloaded circuit. Before I got my kitchen remodeled, I
would do my grinding, cutting in the garage and every so often I would trip
the breaker. The power would go out in the garage, kitchen, dining room, and
living room. During the remodel, the electrician put in a new breaker box
and put in new circuit line for the kitchen and dining room. Now I don't
trip the breaker working in the garage. His shop may be sharing a breaker
with room(s) in his house and that's too much of a load, especially if he
his wiring is not big enough. 
Just a thought.

Rob 

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Bob Ehrenberger
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2012 8:44 AM
To: theforge
Subject: Re: [TheForge] shop power

Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2012 07:47:58 -0400
From: "Ron Childers" <ron at munlaw.net>
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Light bulbs and shop power
To: "Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net> Back
on topic: The shop lights go very dim every time a friend turns on a grinder
in his shop which is over 100 feet from the house. The wiring to the shop is
fed from the house and there is no drop box. My guess is the wire is too
small to carry the load that far. If someone honks down on the abrasive
cut-off saw it trips a breaker in the house. It is an electrician's
nightmare that was there when he bought the house and so far is only
annoying, but does anyone know of this kind of situation causing a fire? I
think it needs heavier copper wire and a drop box.
Also, I don't know the amperage of the breaker. I used #6 and don't have
that situation.  I feel a bit uneasy about this but need to justify my
concerns before beating him up about it. Does anyone have some words of
wisdom? Thanx, Ron

----Reply----

It kind of depends on what he uses his shop for.  If it is just a hobby and
he just spends time out there on occasion, he could probably put up with it.

If he wants his shop to support a business, he should put the money into
providing good power. When I built my shop I had them put in a drop/meter
for it.  This not only protects the house from surges in the shop, it also
makes it easy to claim the power used in the shop on my taxes.

On a similar note, we just got our first power bill since putting an AC unit
in the house. It only added about $20 to cool the house during one of the
worst heat waves ever (20 days in July over 100).  I was concerned, to say
the least.

Robert Ehrenberger
Shelbyville, Mo.
eforge at centurytel.net

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