Electrician Help

[romdog11]

Hey guys im Running a 600 hps 400 MH 250 HPS floros a 6 inch fan and a 8 inch fan. I turned on the AC recently bc the temps called for it and it shorted out my panel. The house is 25-30 years old.

The electrician did this repair blown 15 amp and 50 A2(?)P GFI Breaker. Now this has helped but after he left it did trip again and we had to re set the breakers. Now i have plugged in one of the fans into another room and it hasnt happened since.

He recommends replacing the 15 amp breaker 50 amp GFI breaker 789 bucks
Also 100 AZP 2 20 AIP twing 5/8 replace 1134 bucks.

We paid 200 got it going. What should i tell him i need set up so i wont run into any fires or shortages and be able to add a 1k light and take away the 250.

Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers

 

[yamaha_1fan]

The electrician did this repair blown 15 amp and 50 A2(?)P GFI Breaker. Now this has helped but after he left it did trip again and we had to re set the breakers. Now i have plugged in one of the fans into another room and it hasnt happened since.

He recommends replacing the 15 amp breaker 50 amp GFI breaker 789 bucks
Also 100 AZP 2 20 AIP twing 5/8 replace 1134 bucks.


A2P
AZP
AIP
Twing

I have no idea what those are. Are you in the USA?


I would tell him you need a 30 amp 240 volt outlet at the spot. From that you can run all your lights on 240 assuming they are 240 capable.


Remember, running at 240 wont save you any money to operate, but will allow you to basically run more lights on a given wire. Hope I explained that right

 

[romdog11]

The electrician did this repair blown 15 amp and 50 A2(?)P GFI Breaker. Now this has helped but after he left it did trip again and we had to re set the breakers. Now i have plugged in one of the fans into another room and it hasnt happened since.

He recommends replacing the 15 amp breaker 50 amp GFI breaker 789 bucks
Also 100 AZP 2 20 AIP twing 5/8 replace 1134 bucks.


A2P
AZP
AIP
Twing

I have no idea what those are. Are you in the USA?


I would tell him you need a 30 amp 240 volt outlet at the spot. From that you can run all your lights on 240 assuming they are 240 capable.


Remember, running at 240 wont save you any money to operate, but will allow you to basically run more lights on a given wire. Hope I explained that right

Sorry i cant really make out what he wrote bc he wrote all this info on a estimate sheet that is see thru.

 

[madpenguin]

Hey guys im Running a 600 hps 400 MH 250 HPS floros a 6 inch fan and a 8 inch fan. I turned on the AC recently bc the temps called for it and it shorted out my panel. The house is 25-30 years old.

The electrician did this repair blown 15 amp and 50 A2(?)P GFI Breaker. Now this has helped but after he left it did trip again and we had to re set the breakers. Now i have plugged in one of the fans into another room and it hasnt happened since.

He recommends replacing the 15 amp breaker 50 amp GFI breaker 789 bucks
Also 100 AZP 2 20 AIP twing 5/8 replace 1134 bucks.

We paid 200 got it going. What should i tell him i need set up so i wont run into any fires or shortages and be able to add a 1k light and take away the 250.

Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers

That's a really hard read man... From what I can decipher, which is very little, the guy is taking you for a ride.

The electrician did this repair blown 15 amp and 50 A2(?)P GFI Breaker
<snip>
He recommends replacing the 15 amp breaker 50 amp GFI breaker 789 bucks

Wait... He wants to do the same exact fix that he did before when it didn't work?

50 A2(?)P GFI Breaker = I'll asume that's a 50A DP GFCI breaker.

First of all, replacing breakers will do nothing for an overload situation unless he plans on replacing the wire as well. Secondly, 15A breaker= $5.00 and a 50A GFCI is around $100.00.. Why you even have a 50A breaker in the first place is beyond me and why you would need it GFCI protected is even more out there. The only thing I can think off of hand that would require a 50A GFCI breaker is a hottub.

Also 100 AZP 2 20 AIP twing 5/8 replace 1134 bucks.

You got me on that one. I'll stab at it tho.

100 AZP = 100A DP (100 amp double pole breaker) The "Z" is probably a "2" = 2 pole
2 20 AIP twing 5/8 = WTF?

Sounds like the guy wants to replace your freaking service panel. That's around what I would charge to do a 100A service upgrade.

All this over an overloaded circuit huh? You already gave him $200 too much. Look, if someone doesn't even know how to properly write, then you certainly shouldn't trust him with electrical work.

Further more, anytime someone does some work and it doesn't fix the problem, please don't give him anymore money.

Lastly, anytime someone want's to charge you 2 thousand dollars because of one overloaded branch circuit, you might want to consider that suspicious.

 

[madpenguin]

I have no idea what those are. Are you in the USA?

That is a very good question. No offence, but the way you write could possibly imply that english isn't your native language. If it is, then I'm very, very sorry. Again, no offense intended.

 

[romdog11]

That's a really hard read man... From what I can decipher, which is very little, the guy is taking you for a ride.

Wait... He wants to do the same exact fix that he did before when it didn't work?

50 A2(?)P GFI Breaker = I'll asume that's a 50A DP GFCI breaker.

First of all, replacing breakers will do nothing for an overload situation unless he plans on replacing the wire as well. Secondly, 15A breaker= $5.00 and a 50A GFCI is around $100.00.. Why you even have a 50A breaker in the first place is beyond me and why you would need it GFCI protected is even more out there. The only thing I can think off of hand that would require a 50A GFCI breaker is a hottub.

You got me on that one. I'll stab at it tho.

100 AZP = 100A DP (100 amp double pole breaker) The "Z" is probably a "2" = 2 pole
2 20 AIP twing 5/8 = WTF?

Sounds like the guy wants to replace your freaking service panel. That's around what I would charge to do a 100A service upgrade.

All this over an overloaded circuit huh? You already gave him $200 too much. Look, if someone doesn't even know how to properly write, then you certainly shouldn't trust him with electrical work.

Further more, anytime someone does some work and it doesn't fix the problem, please don't give him anymore money.

Lastly, anytime someone want's to charge you 2 thousand dollars because of one overloaded branch circuit, you might want to consider that suspicious.

We do have a spa as well. We've had electricians come in the past before i started growing and they all said we have too much power in the back of the house. When i would have band practice with amps and PA's plugged in it would also blow. He was talking about re doing the whole panal as well. Could the problem not even be in the panel?????

 

[Elite]

I've installed literally hundreds of panels, worked on hundreds that were existing. I've never heard of a panel "going out". Breakers either work or don't, rarely do they "go out" however it happens.

What kind of panel do you have?? If its "Federal Pacific" use that money to do a panel upgrade (replacement).

The 50A GFI is most likely for a hot tub or jacuzzi. You don't need to replace that breaker now if you can do without whatever thats powering. That is if the breaker is bad, but I for some reason I have my doubts...

Elite

 

[sparkjumper]

You guys are killer at deciphering the undecipherable lol I just want to say the last thing you want to power your grow with is a GFCI breaker.If you do you better be around often to reset that puppy.

 

[Elite]

Are you running them on 120 or 240?? Regardless that GFI Breaker has nothing to do with fixing you problem.

Give us more info...Help us help you...What kind of panel do you have??

Elite

 

[Elite]

Sorry madpenguin you beat me too the punch AGAIN

I just tried to answer the question then I re-read the thread. I'll just let you handle these for now on...you do it so WELL!!

Elite

 

[madpenguin]

We do have a spa as well. We've had electricians come in the past before i started growing and they all said we have too much power in the back of the house. When i would have band practice with amps and PA's plugged in it would also blow. He was talking about re doing the whole panal as well. Could the problem not even be in the panel?????

This is really best left for an on-site electrician to determine. Sorry, but no one can do it over the internet. It sounds like you may indeed need a service upgrade. It really depends on whether your tripping your main breaker or not.

If your just throwing individual branch circuit breakers, and that's all you've ever tripped, then you have a simple problem of overloading one circuit.

So, it sounds like he was quoting you for a service upgrade. In that case, more than likely, you need all new breakers for the new manufactures panel, thus the 50A GFCI part. But still, your going to want to get a different quote man. Always get atleast 3 before agreeing to any kind of work.

I'll be honest, times are really hard right now for electricians and the construction industry as a whole. You'll have 2 types of bidders out there right now.

One is someone who will overbid to try and get the extra cash. This person is probably getting by with commercial/industrial work and will probably try to make a killing on a residential service upgrade.

The other type of person, (which is what I choose to do), will try to low ball the bid in hopes of getting it. In a good economy, I can walk away with atleast 600 in my pocket on a 100A service upgrade. That's about 4 hours worth of work. My eyes light up with the prospect of a service upgrade. A 200A upgrade and I can get 1k in my pocket for a days worth of work.

I'd be happy to get 3 or 4 hundred right now due to the housing market.

Anyway... Watch out for the low bidders because they might plan on cutting corners. You need to get several different quotes and understand what each electrician wants to do before you can make an informed decision.

All quotes should include permit fees. If someone isn't planning on getting this inspected then don't use them. If he claims a permit isn't required, then double check with your building inspectors office to make sure.

 

[walkndude]

Are the Federal Pacific panels really that notorious for starting house fires? I'm in the trades and have had a guy or two wince when they see the 200A FP panel in my basement, yet whenever I try to nail someone down to the specifics of their defects I never get anything except vague stories of fires on the east coast...

I've been relegated to medicate in the basement, so for the first couple of years after moving into this house that thing was on my mind constantly -to the point I pop the cover once a year and check each breaker. Now I can't even cruise IC without someone having a say about Federal Pacific.

Any input from madpenguin or elite?

 

[10k]

walkindude, I'd google federal+pacific+defective (or words to that effect) and get to an answer if elite or madpenguin don't reply to your question.

Sure sounds like elite knows his trade and knows something about federal pacific not being worthy.

 

[walkndude]

Been there done that 10k but thanks for the suggestion. You have to realize that in the building industry a rumor can be a gold mine for many willing to take advantage of the situation. In the 80's it was asbestos removal, from the late 90's to present it's been radon and mold. It's impossible to do a google search on any of these subjects without a slanted outcome. Same goes true for Federal Pacific, any site that hammers on them also is selling either inspection or electrical services, or a lawyer willing to render counsel. It's the nature of the beast with google now.

I've had more well experienced guys say it's all bunk about these panels and they are no better or worse than any other but once the seed of doubt is planted... I'd rather be safe than sorry. More interested in first hand knowledge than anecdotal.

Now I feel like "that guy", sorry for the hijack rom.

 

[10k]

My guess in laymans terms is that these kinds of electrical "dingfods" must meet certain testing criteria in order to be able to handle the job they're designed for. In other words they must be underwritten certified capable of the load they claim.

In many areas including the construction industry they need to show the "UL" label if they're to be trusted. And I do know that underwriters lab is NOT something that can be bought with bribes from the industry. They do put the product thru severe tests to make sure it exceeds the specifications or it don't pass muster.

If that federal pacific panel isn't certified to handle the claimed load with a specific "UL" label and a stamped into the metal ansi spec, then I'd start worrying about it. Otherwise..."punt"

hth,
10k