Electrical outlets

[Craftylady]

I am working in the garage that is attached to my house. I am using tanked propane. And 2 Oxy cons. This is where my problem comes in. I cannot use My oxy cons, Kiln, fan, and my lights all at the same time. Also my deep freeze is on this outlet. Do I just get an eletrician have him fix it or is there another solution. It is so hard to find people around here that is willing to work. Even if you pay them good money. I just dont know how everyone does it. Works with all the same things I am and it not affect there electric outlets.

Thanks for the help.

Laurie

[MikeAurelius]

Garage outlets are usually one one circuit. This is your problem.

Here's an approximation of what you will need:

1 - 120 volt 20 amp circuit for your kiln (assuming that your kiln is a 120 volt kiln, if it is 220, then you'll need a 220 volt circuit for that). I strongly recommend the use of a dedicated circuit for kilns.

1 - 120 volt 20 amp circuit for your oxygen concentrators. This may be overkill, I don't know what they draw, but a 20 amp circuit should be able to handle two of them.

1 - 120 volt 15 amp circuit for your lights, radio, and ventilation. This should be sufficient for most everything else.

Your deep freezer and kiln are competing for power, which is why you are having problems, add to that the concentrators, and its a recipie for blown circuit breakers and/or fuses.

You usually don't need an electrician for this kind of work, unless you or your DH are not handy or don't have experience with wiring electrical power.

You need to run 3 additional circuits, using 12 guage wire, plus three circuit breakers for the breaker box. Outlet boxes and outlets. All these things can usually be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes, or your local hardware store.

[Craftylady]

Mike thanks for such an informed answer. I will show this to hubby tonight when he gets home from work. Yes all this plugged into one results in a blown fuse.

Laurie

[Roseanne]

I'm so glad I found this! I have an electrician coming over today for a quote:)
Thanks Mike!!

[Emily]

Most small kilns draw at least 12 to 14 amps, so a kiln plus anything else on a regular household circuit (15 amp) is asking for a blown fuse.

Oxygen concentrators don't draw all that much power, but I think Mike's wise in recommending at least two more lines for the concentrators plus all the other stuff that you have going on in there. Better safe than sorry, after all.

I think everyone has faced the same issue that you're facing, although possibly without the deep freeze. I have my kiln in the next room plugged into the 20 amp line for the washer/dryer. Sooner or later I'll get around to having a line installed near my torch. It would be nice to be able to garage beads without having to walk into the next room.

[i09172]

Garage outlets are usually one one circuit. This is your problem.

Here's an approximation of what you will need:

1 - 120 volt 20 amp circuit for your kiln (assuming that your kiln is a 120 volt kiln, if it is 220, then you'll need a 220 volt circuit for that). I strongly recommend the use of a dedicated circuit for kilns.

1 - 120 volt 20 amp circuit for your oxygen concentrators. This may be overkill, I don't know what they draw, but a 20 amp circuit should be able to handle two of them.

1 - 120 volt 15 amp circuit for your lights, radio, and ventilation. This should be sufficient for most everything else.

Your deep freezer and kiln are competing for power, which is why you are having problems, add to that the concentrators, and its a recipie for blown circuit breakers and/or fuses.

You usually don't need an electrician for this kind of work, unless you or your DH are not handy or don't have experience with wiring electrical power.

You need to run 3 additional circuits, using 12 guage wire, plus three circuit breakers for the breaker box. Outlet boxes and outlets. All these things can usually be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes, or your local hardware store.

Good advice. I'd probably recommend 20 amp for all three circuits. I doubt the cost would be changed much and the extra capacity certainly isn't going to hurt anything.

Kevin W. Miller
Blue Moon GemWorks
http://www.bluemoongemworks.com

[Roseanne]

Hokey PETE!! The electrician just left and left me flabbergasted... He told me it would cost $450 to have the above mentioned installed. Can this be right???? Should I try a couple of other electricians?

[MikeAurelius]

That's a fairly decent price. That's several hours of labor plus supplies. The price of copper wire has skyrocketed lately, as have other house wiring suppliers. I'd say that was a pretty good deal.

[Roseanne]

A friend's Dad said it was excessive and that I should shop around. Two things that bugged me about this guy, 1. he smelled like alcohol & 2. he mentioned "what a nice house I have & a really nice neighborhood". Sounds to me like he was just uping the price cuz he figured he could.

[Beadbug]

Roseanne, Always trust your gut feeling when it comes to people you are inviting into your home. I think looking for another guy would be best.