Electrical problems in woodworking

[Aqusime]

Hi all, I have a small hybrid shop in an old as hell house I'm living in. We've had problems with the breakers tripping and power going off here and there before there before even set up shop. It's gone beyond annoying and is now straight up keeping me from turning on any tool without everything going dark. I have the funds to hire an electrician but I'm also curious if any other woodworkers took it upon themselves to do it themselves. My instinct is to get my shop it's own breaker box. I have another hobby to play at the casinos, I found the website https://mobilecasino-ca.com/mobile-casino-bonus/ where you can get I great mobile casino bonus and win a lot of money. Thoughts, opinions?

[JPG]

It sounds as if your OAH house has some issues that CANNOT simply be overcome by a sub panel in the workshop. That sub panel will be sourced from the existing main breaker panel. If problems exist with the main breaker panel already, adding a sub panel will likely exacerbate those problems.

Yes get advice from a good electrician!

[dusty]

The median home cost in Santa Clara is in excess of $1,000,000. I am surprised that there are homes there that could have this sort of issue. Maybe you are victim of a rolling blackout.

[JPG]

The median home cost in Santa Clara is in excess of $1,000,000. I am surprised that there are homes there that could have this sort of issue. Maybe you are victim of a rolling blackout.

Now I wondered how an OAH house would have a breaker panel.

Now I think one's OAH is not the same as my OAH.

[RFGuy]

Well, a $1M house in the bay area is likely a shack sitting on some very expensive land, so don't assume that just because the median home price is high that those homes are all nice and don't need any work.

I'd recommend getting a licensed electrician to investigate why you are have breakers tripping, etc. in the house first. If the house is really old, probably the main service panel is too small and outdated to support modern electrical loads. Adding a subpanel in your shop won't solve this problem. IF this is the case, you would need a licensed electrician to replace the main panel anyway. When it comes to house/shop rewiring, adding new circuits in your shop, adding a sub-panel, if you are comfortable doing your own wiring, you can always do this yourself. I believe it is still legal in most states for a homeowner to do their own electrical wiring & repairs, but of course permitting varies by locality so don't forget to consider this if they are needed for your project. IF you are not comfortable doing your own wiring, then I highly recommend hiring a licensed electrician - it is cheaper in the long run than repairing damage due to an electrical fire from a bad installation.

[garys]

I don't know what your defintion of OAH might be. My house was built in 1952. A previous owner replaced the original fuse panel with a 150 amp breaker panel. Since then, there was a 100 amp sub panel added so I have capacity for around 50 breakers. With that many circuits, I never trip a breaker since none of the circuits are overloaded.

As stated, start with having an electrician look at your main panel and the feed to it. If it is inadequate, replace it. If it is adequate, you are lucky and need only to add additional circuits where you need heavy use.

[dusty]

Well, a $1M house in the bay area is likely a shack sitting on some very expensive land, so don't assume that just because the median home price is high that those homes are all nice and don't need any work.

I'd recommend getting a licensed electrician to investigate why you are have breakers tripping, etc. in the house first. If the house is really old, probably the main service panel is too small and outdated to support modern electrical loads. Adding a subpanel in your shop won't solve this problem. IF this is the case, you would need a licensed electrician to replace the main panel anyway. When it comes to house/shop rewiring, adding new circuits in your shop, adding a sub-panel, if you are comfortable doing your own wiring, you can always do this yourself. I believe it is still legal in most states for a homeowner to do their own electrical wiring & repairs, but of course permitting varies by locality so don't forget to consider this if they are needed for your project. IF you are not comfortable doing your own wiring, then I highly recommend hiring a licensed electrician - it is cheaper in the long run than repairing damage due to an electrical fire from a bad installation.

I guess I have never seen a $1,000,000 "shack" in Santa Clara or anywhere else. A "shack" sitting on a million dollar lot is one thing but I doubt that even that exists in Santa Clara,

Now the OP can always post a picture of said OAH house in Santa Clara and I'll reconsider.

[RFGuy]

I guess I have never seen a $1,000,000 "shack" in Santa Clara or anywhere else. A "shack" sitting on a million dollar lot is one thing but I doubt that even that exists in Santa Clara,

Now the OP can always post a picture of said OAH house in Santa Clara and I'll reconsider.

Have you ever visited the bay area? If not, then all this is moot.

[RFGuy]

I guess I have never seen a $1,000,000 "shack" in Santa Clara or anywhere else. A "shack" sitting on a million dollar lot is one thing but I doubt that even that exists in Santa Clara,

Now the OP can always post a picture of said OAH house in Santa Clara and I'll reconsider.

Have you ever visited the bay area? If not, then all this is moot. Trust me there are lots of multi-million dollar houses in that part of the country that need A LOT of work.

[JPG]

I don't know what your defintion of OAH might be. My house was built in 1952. A previous owner replaced the original fuse panel with a 150 amp breaker panel. Since then, there was a 100 amp sub panel added so I have capacity for around 50 breakers. With that many circuits, I never trip a breaker since none of the circuits are overloaded.

As stated, start with having an electrician look at your main panel and the feed to it. If it is inadequate, replace it. If it is adequate, you are lucky and need only to add additional circuits where you need heavy use.

Keep adding sub panels and breakers and you will eventually test the main breaker.