Disclaimer: I'm not looking for "how-to" advice with my post, just an educated opinion (or two, or three...) which pertain to my particular situation. I will *not* be doing any electrical work on my house.
Short story long (sorry!), I bought a new hot tub recently for a bargain price - about half price actually. I called a few places around here (Portland, Oregon) for the install, and after saying, "It's HOW much?!" about a dozen times, I started to think that I'm in the wrong business.
I did some research on the Internet to see what the average cost is for the hook up since my quotes were all over, and I discovered that this is going to cost me a lot of money. That's not a jab at electricians - I know it's an expensive procedure - but when you leave the hot tub showroom floor with one figure ($350) and then discover it will cost 3 to 4 times that, it's a little "shocking" (pun intended). In fact, it might cost me so much that I'll sell the hot tub before I have it installed. Read on, it makes more sense down below...
Question 1:
My first question has to do with my main 200 amp service - will they need to replace it? One of the places I called said they "might need to replace my main panel." To me, that's like my mechanic telling me he "might need to replace my engine." They told me over the phone to open the panel, read off the amp ratings, and count extra spaces for breakers. One place said, "yes, we need to replace that," another place said "no,
it's adequate." Since the amp ratings on all the breakers totalled wayyyy over 200, I have no idea which place is right. I understand that there's some freakishly complex math involved (not just "20 + 20 + 30 + 15...") but I haven't got a clue. I want the place to be safe, but I don't like paying for things that I may or may not need...? The setup is like so:
200 amp Siemens (there are no extra spaces for breakers). My house is 1350 sq ft with gas heat and gas water heater and electric A/C.
LEFT SIDE:
Range - 40 amp (takes 2 spots)
Dish Washer - 20 amp
Kitchen Line - 20 amp
Kitchen Line 2 - 20 amp
Gas Furnace - 20 amp
Disposal - 15 amp
Bathroom 1 - 15 amp
Bedroom 1 and parking light - 2 x 15 amp ("piggy backed")
RIGHT SIDE:
Dryer - 30 amp (takes 2 spots)
Washing Mach - 20 amp
A/C - 30 amp (takes 2 spots)
Outside recep. - 15 amp
Liv. room - 15 amp
Bedroom 2 - 15 amp
Bedroom 3 - 15 amp
Is that sufficient?
Question 2:
I read that I'll have to pay for a 50 amp, GFI shutoff outside, and another 50 amp breaker inside at the main box - but I'm out of spaces. Will they "piggy back" other breakers to make room? Isn't that unsafe?
Question 3:
We had planned on putting the hot tub below our deck on the patio. There's a 115v outlet less than 5 feet away, so does that mean we can't put it there? I know the shutoff would have to be 5-10 feet away, but I'd have to put half the hot tub in the lawn to get it 5 feet from the outlet.
I appreciate any advice ya'll can give me. The quotes were up to ~$2000 to have the new panel put in, about half that to use the current one. That's a lot of money to spend on a new panel if I don't have to!
Thanks!
Pete
Short story long (sorry!), I bought a new hot tub recently for a bargain price - about half price actually. I called a few places around here (Portland, Oregon) for the install, and after saying, "It's HOW much?!" about a dozen times, I started to think that I'm in the wrong business.
I did some research on the Internet to see what the average cost is for the hook up since my quotes were all over, and I discovered that this is going to cost me a lot of money. That's not a jab at electricians - I know it's an expensive procedure - but when you leave the hot tub showroom floor with one figure ($350) and then discover it will cost 3 to 4 times that, it's a little "shocking" (pun intended). In fact, it might cost me so much that I'll sell the hot tub before I have it installed. Read on, it makes more sense down below...
Question 1:
My first question has to do with my main 200 amp service - will they need to replace it? One of the places I called said they "might need to replace my main panel." To me, that's like my mechanic telling me he "might need to replace my engine." They told me over the phone to open the panel, read off the amp ratings, and count extra spaces for breakers. One place said, "yes, we need to replace that," another place said "no,
it's adequate." Since the amp ratings on all the breakers totalled wayyyy over 200, I have no idea which place is right. I understand that there's some freakishly complex math involved (not just "20 + 20 + 30 + 15...") but I haven't got a clue. I want the place to be safe, but I don't like paying for things that I may or may not need...? The setup is like so:
200 amp Siemens (there are no extra spaces for breakers). My house is 1350 sq ft with gas heat and gas water heater and electric A/C.
LEFT SIDE:
Range - 40 amp (takes 2 spots)
Dish Washer - 20 amp
Kitchen Line - 20 amp
Kitchen Line 2 - 20 amp
Gas Furnace - 20 amp
Disposal - 15 amp
Bathroom 1 - 15 amp
Bedroom 1 and parking light - 2 x 15 amp ("piggy backed")
RIGHT SIDE:
Dryer - 30 amp (takes 2 spots)
Washing Mach - 20 amp
A/C - 30 amp (takes 2 spots)
Outside recep. - 15 amp
Liv. room - 15 amp
Bedroom 2 - 15 amp
Bedroom 3 - 15 amp
Is that sufficient?
Question 2:
I read that I'll have to pay for a 50 amp, GFI shutoff outside, and another 50 amp breaker inside at the main box - but I'm out of spaces. Will they "piggy back" other breakers to make room? Isn't that unsafe?
Question 3:
We had planned on putting the hot tub below our deck on the patio. There's a 115v outlet less than 5 feet away, so does that mean we can't put it there? I know the shutoff would have to be 5-10 feet away, but I'd have to put half the hot tub in the lawn to get it 5 feet from the outlet.
I appreciate any advice ya'll can give me. The quotes were up to ~$2000 to have the new panel put in, about half that to use the current one. That's a lot of money to spend on a new panel if I don't have to!
Thanks!
Pete