70 amp service

[fractal]

I concur with all the advice you have been given. Get the largest service the utility company will provide at residential rates. Most utility companies will allow a maximum of a 200 amp service at residential rates. It was not too long ago that the maximum they would allow at residential rates was 100 amps. A 200 amp pannel will cost maybe 50 dollars more than a 100 amp pannel and will have a lot more expansion capabilities. Last time I looked, going above 200 amps got very expensive very fast but that was a few years ago and things may have changed.

And do beware of the utility company undersizing your feeder. I upgraded my old house from a 60 amp service to a 125 amp service. The utility company (pg&e) came out and moved the #2 aluminum feeder from the old box to the new box. I told him it was too small and he said "tough, that's how we do it". When I complained that the electric dryer (on its own dedicated circuit, 10 ft from the service panel) caused the lights to noticably dim on the other end of the house, pg&e claimed "it is in the panel". I gave up arguing with the fools who should have known that 00 copper or 0000 aluminum was required for that feeder.

It sounds like the electrician you contacted is giving you good advice so I would stick with it.

 

[bgott]

They can run a voltage drop test and find out exactly where the problem is. You might have to have them come out and check it two or three times to get the point across. That works as long as you have two or three days to shoot in the butt waiting for them. If you're not standing right there to bulldog them when they finally show they'll get the stupids and you won't get anything but an obvious problem taken care of.