How do you explain to a lay person that appliance circs should be installed

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kwired

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
StarCat said:
The question for cheapskates is, do you want it to work or would you rather breakers tripping all the time?
Window AC - Dedicated line if I was running it.....I always avoid putting more than one refrigeration load on a single 20A 115v line even if they are small compressors.
Microwave [why would any sane person use one] dedicated line if I was running it....
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There are many dwellings with only two SABC's that seldom have breakers trip. All really depends on how the kitchen is commonly used. People that have lots of cooking appliances and have a tendency to use them a lot, or like to cook for parties or other events, maybe have a need for more available power in the kitchen, where others eat a lot of foods that only need to be put in a microwave or toaster for a few minutes and they are done cooking for several hours again. There is becoming more and more of the latter all the time.
 
J

JDBrown

Senior Member
Location
California
Occupation
Electrical Engineer
kwired said:
There are many dwellings with only two SABC's that seldom have breakers trip. All really depends on how the kitchen is commonly used. People that have lots of cooking appliances and have a tendency to use them a lot, or like to cook for parties or other events, maybe have a need for more available power in the kitchen, where others eat a lot of foods that only need to be put in a microwave or toaster for a few minutes and they are done cooking for several hours again. There is becoming more and more of the latter all the time.
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The trouble is, the designer and installer rarely have any idea how the kitchen will be used. For that matter, often the customer has no idea how the kitchen will end up being used.

There are days when I'd like to smack the genius who decided my kitchen only needed 2 circuits -- one for the refrigerator, microwave, lights, and half of the countertop; and the other for the rest of the counter, the dining room lights and receptacles, the back porch light, and the backyard receptacles. :rant: It's usually okay, as long as I don't use any other cooking appliances on the same circuit as the microwave. But it's a pain. Unfortunately, it would be more of a pain to provide a new branch circuit for just the microwave (which it ought to have anyway, given that its rated input power is 1650W). Maybe someday... but probably not.
 
kwired

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
JDBrown said:
The trouble is, the designer and installer rarely have any idea how the kitchen will be used. For that matter, often the customer has no idea how the kitchen will end up being used.

There are days when I'd like to smack the genius who decided my kitchen only needed 2 circuits -- one for the refrigerator, microwave, lights, and half of the countertop; and the other for the rest of the counter, the dining room lights and receptacles, the back porch light, and the backyard receptacles. :rant: It's usually okay, as long as I don't use any other cooking appliances on the same circuit as the microwave. But it's a pain. Unfortunately, it would be more of a pain to provide a new branch circuit for just the microwave (which it ought to have anyway, given that its rated input power is 1650W). Maybe someday... but probably not.
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You probably know, but items I highlighted in bold are not permitted on the SABC's. Just removing those items from the SABC's may solve most of your issues. A high power microwave sometimes is a problem. Otherwise two circuits is often enough in most places.
 
G

GoldDigger

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Placerville, CA, USA
Occupation
Retired PV System Designer
kwired said:
You probably know, but items I highlighted in bold are not permitted on the SABC's. Just removing those items from the SABC's may solve most of your issues. A high power microwave sometimes is a problem. Otherwise two circuits is often enough in most places.
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I suspect that when the place was wired, the concept of SABC did not exist. I would be grateful for two circuits at all in many cases. :)
 
Besoeker

Besoeker

Senior Member
Location
UK
Going back to the original question, which seems to have got lost, about explaining to a lay person......
It reminds me of a quotation attributed to Mark Twin:

Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.
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My point, to the OP, is that trying to explain something technical, even if just a little technical, might be an uphill struggle.
I think the what rather than the why might be a good approach.
 
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