Electrical Help

Hey gc,

I'm looking for some experienced electricians.

Right now I have a 100a main circuit breaker and I don't think that it can handle another couple of lights. Currently I have about 3000w on it and I don't have much more room for breakers.

So I need some ideas...

I need to know how hard it is to replace a main circuit breaker and install breakers/outlets.

and I would like to do all of this without dying too!

I'm not an electrician, Yet, but i have a lot of knowledge when it comes to electric. 3000W is equivalent to just about 25 amps running at 120V. this is way to much of a load to pull from your standard 15-20 amp breaker. You might be able to replace your current breaker with a 30 amp one so it can handle your current wattage. Another issue i see with this is that because you're running that wattage for more than 3 hours, it is code that the amperage can only handle 80% of the total amperage being drawn. so you'd be at 30A right there :/ On the other hand, replacing your panel can be very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. if you get shocked from a main service wire (100 amps) you wont have a chance my dude

Edited by a J a day, 13 May 2012 - 01:01 AM.

If you do decide to do it yourself however, there is an ON/OFF switch attached to your service box. Usually where the power from the power lines comes into your house. this will kill all the power to your breaker box

Electrician here over 25 years. Take a pic of your panel and send it to me or post it. We will start there.

Beast. I'll get some pics tomorrow night and post them.

It's a 100A main with 90A used in breakers already, if that makes sense. There may be one or two breakers I can turn off to redirect towards the room, which is what I probably need.

At all costs I would like to not HAVE to replace the main with a 200A main but I could.

Do not replace your current breaker with a 30 amp breaker unless you would like a fire. This is very dangerous advise. You're also calculating your load wrong. You can not calculate your electrical load by counting the amount of amps listed on the breakers in the panel. Though, your panel may be full, it doesn't mean that additional breakers cannot be added. The first place to look is at the panel size. If you have a relatively new 100 amp panel you'll have anywhere from 8-20 space depending the size of panel. For instance, if you have a 100 amp panel that has 8-16 space capability and all 8 space are full, you'll need to purchase a "tandem", "twin" or "non-limiting" breaker to procure additional space. If all the spaces are full, you'll more then likely need to look at adding a sub-panel.

Here is a general rule of thumb for breaker sizing for wire in case you didn't know (copper).

15 amp - 14 gauge wire
20 amp - 12 gauge wire
30 amp - 10 gauge wire
40 amp - 8 gauge wire
50 amp - 6 gauge wire

In order to replace the Main Breaker or Increase the size of your electrical service, you'll need to have a Service upgrade performed. This generally means upgrading and/or relocating the exterior meter, panel, riser, feeder from panel to meter, etc. I generally charge anywhere from $2000-$2400 to perform this upgrade in most houses. Hope this helps. Sounds like you simply need to install a twin breaker which can be purchased for around 10 buck pending the type of electrical panel you have.

Oh, and it also sounds like you may need to split that load up. Possibly run another 20 amp (12/2) dedicated circuit to your location and split the circuit in half. Do you have the ability to run your system at 240 volts?

Do not replace your current breaker with a 30 amp breaker unless you would like a fire. This is very dangerous advise. You're also calculating your load wrong. You can not calculate your electrical load by counting the amount of amps listed on the breakers in the panel. Though, your panel may be full, it doesn't mean that additional breakers cannot be added. The first place to look is at the panel size. If you have a relatively new 100 amp panel you'll have anywhere from 8-20 space depending the size of panel. For instance, if you have a 100 amp panel that has 8-16 space capability and all 8 space are full, you'll need to purchase a "tandem", "twin" or "non-limiting" breaker to procure additional space. If all the spaces are full, you'll more then likely need to look at adding a sub-panel.

Here is a general rule of thumb for breaker sizing for wire in case you didn't know (copper).

15 amp - 14 gauge wire
20 amp - 12 gauge wire
30 amp - 10 gauge wire
40 amp - 8 gauge wire
50 amp - 6 gauge wire

In order to replace the Main Breaker or Increase the size of your electrical service, you'll need to have a Service upgrade performed. This generally means upgrading and/or relocating the exterior meter, panel, riser, feeder from panel to meter, etc. I generally charge anywhere from $2000-$2400 to perform this upgrade in most houses. Hope this helps. Sounds like you simply need to install a twin breaker which can be purchased for around 10 buck pending the type of electrical panel you have.

OUCH! That's a bit steep imo. But i guess it depends on what part of the country/world ur in.

For an entire service upgrade? Lol, How is that steep?

For an entire service upgrade? Lol, How is that steep?

Ive bee doing this for over 25 years and where i am located 100's go for $800 and 200's for about $1200-$1400. Permits included. Like i stated before, depends on where you are.

damn! how do you survive? Labor rates change but material probably doesn't have a huge difference...Who installs 100 amp services anymore?

(Back to Back 200 amp approximate)

Permit $150

Material:
Meter Socket $39.99 ($70 if Main, which means you would need to go to a 4/0 SER Feeder $$$$)
Panel $75.00
Breakers $75.00
Ground Rods $20
Acorns $4.00
Waterbond clamp $2.00
Rigid Riser $35.00
Weatherhead $ 10
4/0 riser Feeder (10'stick, hub, straps $50.00
4/0 Feeder (meter to panel) $20 (see meter above $$$)
2" PVC (LB, 10' stick, fittings, straps) $20
4/7 Ground Wire $75.00
Misc. Bull shit material $25.00

Thats almost $600 in permit and Material alone even before putting a tool belt on. you guys working for free where you're at :-) and that is best case scenario, generally my material runs closer to $1000 per most service changes pending the distance from panel to meter, grounding scenarios, etc.

I guess local codes best determine what one costs.

Lol 2grand to replace a 100a breaker with a 200a breaker. If you are able to get those prices for a couple of hours of work, I need to become an electrician.

Problem all figured out, thread closed.

Yes, $2000+ to upgrade to a 200 amp breaker. I'm not sure why thats funny...? What is funny is that you think you can just simply change a 100 amp breaker to a 200 amp Breaker in a couple hours of work... Go for it champ, Why don't your try it out yourself then? You cannot do this without upgrading practically everything on your entire electrical service, grounding, Feeder and Load Center system. I'm sorry for trying to offer assistance though, I guess I was just trying to offer professional advise (what you asked for) as a Master Electrician. I'm finding out that this seems to be the norm on this site though. Too bad the "few" have to ruin it for everybody else that is looking for professional advise. Good luck.

I dont know know why your giving ecompany a hard time. He is giving solid advice here and he knows what he is talking about. Im a journeyman electrican and I think even what he is saying for prices is right. It's not as simple as just popping out a 100 amp breaker and putting a 200 amp breaker unless you want to burn your whole fucking house down and kill your family. You need to make sure that the wire can handle a 200 amp load and in most cases it does not and needs to be upgraded to a larger size and that's just the beginning of things that may need to be changed. You may even need the utility company to upgrade shit on their end.

I didn't mean to come across as arrogant since I have no where near the expertise as ecompany. The amount that he had quoted seemed steep to me, but there were costs he was factoring in that I didn't see.

I've bought the new line and box along with the necessary breakers for around $400. The electrician helping me has the other misc stuff, and I'm going to make sure that it is done right. He has all of the necessary equipment to make sure it is up to specs.

After doing some more research, and reading the replies, there seems to be more to it then what the electrician made it seem. I really don't know if I even want to have it done. It seems like a whole lot of work and money to be able to add a couple more lights to a 100a breaker in a detached garage.

I just read that a 100a breaker can support 24k w, if that's true, this would be totally un-necessary.

Edited by Kushqt, 27 May 2012 - 02:48 AM.