[TheForge] shop power

[CGRAF]

This is one of those problems with multiple possible causes.
All of them lead to too little supply for the total load on the circuit.
I think spending a few bucks having a competent electrician, on site to 
diagnose the problem is probably money well spent.

My money is on the supply wire being over loaded.
Breaker is not kicking out (Circuit is not over loaded) and it is only 
the shop lights that dim? (Ample power in the house )
The only difference so far is how far the power needs to travel in 
whatever size wire.  But then again I am a tinner, so take that analysis 
for what it is worth.

An electrician will spot oddball stuff that could also cause the problem.
I had one recently , someone had put too much on a neutral line. The 
electrician came in opened ONE box and went to the circuit breaker. He 
asked me how many wires in the 4X4 and their colors. On my end 1 Black 1 
blue one brown and one white. His response? "I've got 2 whites on this end."

That one "brown wire was the neutral for most of the house and was 
burning up. Problem solved.

On another occasion the upstairs TV in a customers house would shut down 
every time the downstairs furnace came on. (Two separate electric 
circuit boxes) The home owner /handyman had done a rewire of his 
workshop. The neutral servicing the TV room outlet on the second floor 
ended up going to the neutral bar THROUGH the windings of the furnace 
motor. I am just glad that both the TV and furnace were on the same leg.

Again this is not the type of thing that one would expect. Most of us 
haven't the attuned perception to call the problem out.

Mike Graf


On 8/3/2012 9:26 AM, Rob Fertner wrote:
> 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
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> TheForge mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:TheForge at mailman.qth.net
>
> TheForge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoworks.com
> Login: blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> Password: anvil
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> TheForge mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:TheForge at mailman.qth.net
>
> TheForge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoworks.com
> Login: blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> Password: anvil
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>