70 amp service

bgott · Jun 18, 2003

I had heavy duty flickering and light bulbs blowing for years. It turned out to be the neutral in the power company drop that had the insulation blown off every foot of the entire length.

dummy · Jun 18, 2003

Guess as long as no one complains everything is AOK. Appears that there isn't a standard interval for wiring checks/ replacement.

Gary_in_Indiana · Jun 18, 2003

Snowridge,

I have a question on your 400 amp setup. You said you have 200 for the house and 200 for the shop and I'm curious as to what method you used to do that. Do you get two electric bills every month for two separate meters or is everything run from the pole to the house then house to shop (or pole to shop to house)? If that's the case, don't you need 400 amp service at the first box off the pole (be that house or shop) and then run 200 amps off of it to the second box for the 200 amp service there?

grainger12002 · Jun 18, 2003

My vote is also for the 200 amp upgrade, the cost is very minimal as compared to the 100 amp,do it once and be done with it,maybe even leave some room for future expansion-good luck. 70 amps is too small.

Boondox · Jun 18, 2003

I've noticed more fluctuation in storms as well, and in a breezy rain I get knocked offline every 4-5 minutes. Might be something else to look into...

Boondox · Jun 18, 2003

( I would also consider dual distributions unless your situation prevents it )

Ummm, freely professing my ignorance here...what is a dual distribution? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif Pete

Anonymous Poster · Jun 18, 2003

( I have a question on your 400 amp setup. You said you have 200 for the house and 200 for the shop and I'm curious as to what method you used to do that. )

The shop and house are completely independent and have separate transformers and meters. Yes, we get two bills and pay twice the monthly meter charge because of it.

The utility's overhead power line crosses the front of our property. In the case of the house, the transformer is located on the closest pole. The feed then goes underground to the house.

The shop is different. High voltage is taken directly from that same pole, runs under ground to a dedicated pole near to the shop. It goes to a transformer at the top of the pole. From there it runs back down under ground, crosses under the pasture road, and goes to the panel on the side of the shop. There is a power company owned security light on top of the pole. That particular pole serves no other purpose, and looks really strange sittling out there all by itself with no overhead wires connected to it.

Power from a breaker in the shop's 200 amp panel then runs underground to the garage (which is next to the house) and feeds a 60 amp sub-panel.

This setup was here when we bought the place. We have no idea why it was done this way, and frankly it doesn't make a lot of sense, other than the building sequence was house, shop, garage.

Having separate services on separate transformers has two distinct drawbacks.

1. We pay the base meter charge twice, which is an extra $10 a month, thereabouts.

2. We can't use a wireless intercom between the house and the shop because the signal that they superimpose on the AC won't pass through a power transformer.

If both buildings had their 200 amp services supplied from the same transformer, then we could have used a wireless intercom.

Why the previous owner chose to run power to the garage from the shop is beyond me. The shop is about a 200 foot run. The house would have been around 50.

Of course having separate services means my shop acitivities don't impact the house, but I don't know that they would have anyway.

SnowRidge

Gary_in_Indiana · Jun 18, 2003

I'd go with 200 amp service, too. I ran new service to a freestanding barn recently and went that way. I don't remember the exact cost difference but I'm sure it was under $100 and may well have even been closer to $50. I can't imagine ever needing the 200 amp service in the barn, but for the few dollars difference I liked the idea of never having to wish I'd done it when I had the chance.

The cost of upgrading from 100 to 200 amp service at the time I did this was $600 to $1,200. I figured that was only going to go up so I invested the small money now to ensure I wouldn't have to spend the big money later if I ever did need 200 amps there.

Good luck with whatever you decide. I hope this helps. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

uhmgawa · Jun 18, 2003

( Our 165 year old home was wired in the 1950s with 70 amp service. After a fire we replaced the old coke bottle fuses with a modern circuit breaker box, but still have some concerns about the anemic power. My wife complains that the air cleaner and reading lights in the house vary in speed/intensity whenever I'm using my MIG welder or woodworking tools.

70 amps is low, but how much is enough? I know we're responsible for the connection from the pole to the house, but how can I tell if there's enough juice on the town's end to give me more? We're the last house on a long dirt road, and while the rich woman in the mansion 1/4 mile down the road has 400 amp service , the town did no improvements on our end.

Pete )

You may want to talk to your utility company and explain
the situation. Your transformer/lateral may be undersized
or shared with another service.

Utility companies seem not to be bound by NEC. Such that
they can run lighter gauge service laterals from the
transformer to your meter than you are allowed to run from
the meter into the service entrance.

Anonymous Poster · Jun 18, 2003

Most electrical contractors do "heavy ups" to 200 amp services regularly. I agree, go with the 200 amp service. The power company will have to be involved anyway, as they will have to cut power for the change over (unless its done hot), and they will have to put a new lock on the new meter.
Good luck,
DaveL