On Sat, 17 Mar 2007 05:37:53 -0400, Nate Nagel
wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 16 Mar 2007 22:39:09 -0400, "MiamiCuse"
wrote:


I had an electrican inspect an old house I bought and he said the wirings
and everything are fine and great. But many of the outlets and switches are
getting flaky and sometimes the switches don't work. We decided to replace
all outlets and switches. He told me to be on the safe side I should get 20
amps switches and outlets.

I went to Home Depot and found the normal 15 amp switches are $0.89 a piece,
the 20 amp switches are $5.89 a piece. Big difference. I counted that I
need about 70 outlets and 45 switches so this adds up. Plus 3 way 20 amp
switches are even more expensive!

I called him and he said if I have outlets I might plug in a saw or vaccum
cleaner than I should get 20 amps if it's a desk lamp 15 amp is enough. So
what is the basis for determining this if I have these switches:

For activating garage door openers.
For plugging in a central vac system.
For high hat lights (10 of them with one switch)
For high hat lights (a single one)
For outdoor dusk light
For a series of 5 florescent tube lights
For ceiling fan that has a light attachment
For a hallway a set of two high hat light

Can I use some 15 amps and some 20 amps, would really like to avoid the
expensive one if not really necessary.

Thanks,

MC



You're being robbed......
If you have a few outlets where the plugs seem loose and fall out,
replace THOSE. If you have swithces that make the light flicker and
pop internally when turned on, replace them. Leave the others until
they are needed. You only need 20A ones on 20A circuits for large
appliances, such as the kitchen.


It might be possible that ALL old outlets and switches are due for
replacement. that is the case in my house.


How do you know they ALL need replacement?

If you are talking about visual appearance, they might need
replacement for cosmetic reasons. If you are talking wear and tear,
there is no way they all need replacement, because there are outlets
in every home that never or seldom get used. Why replace what is not
broke? If for some reason the outlets are all bad, possibly because
they were installed 100 years ago, then the wiring also needs to be
replaced. The only time I can see where it would be needed to replace
ALL outlets is when a home is completely rewired, or when it's done
for cosmetic reasons such as during a complete house remodel job.
Otherwise, replace the ones that are used regularly, such as the
kitchen counter, bathroom outlet where the shaver, hair dryer, etc are
always plugged and unplugged, and maybe a few others where things are
regularly plugged and unplugged such as the ones used for the vacuum
cleaner, and those used for a workshop. Outlets dont wear out just
because a lamp is plugged in a couple times a year when cleaning the
house. Switches on the other hand take more abuse and wear out more
than outlets. But there too, they wear at different rates. The
bathroom, bedrooms, and kitchen lights are likely used often, but the
switch for the seldom used walkin closet or attic are probably fine.

I think this electrician is just trying to generate work for himself.
The OP would be better off having the kitchen and bathroom outlets
changed ONLY, or to really save some money, change them himself, one
room at a time, starting with the kitchen and bathroom. Personally I
dont understand why anyone would do any of this. Change them one at a
time when they get bad. In other words, dont fix what isn't broke.
He should replace all those that are worn now, and deal with the
others as needed in the future.

I'd use "spec grade" devices wherever I could. Yes, it will be several
times more expensive than standard.

nate