On Aug 4, 6:43*pm, Metspitzer wrote:
On Tue, 4 Aug 2009 04:59:36 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:
On Aug 3, 4:27*pm, Metspitzer wrote:
On Mon, 3 Aug 2009 12:44:49 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:
On Aug 3, 3:53*am, wrote:
The nice electricians that replace the knob and tube in my house
removed all the labels I had on the panel. *
What can I use to identify the circuits for the baseboard heaters and
plugs and light?
I built an Excel spreadsheet detailing the inner workings of my
breaker box since I have rooms/areas that are controlled by more than
one breaker. Putting all the correct info on a little label next a
breaker would be impossible. I have entries such as:
Breaker 9 - Garage receptacles except for Breaker 10. Not garage
lights.
Breaker 10 - Dedicated freezer receptacle in Garage
Breaker 11 - Garage lights, exterior lights for front door and garage
door
Breaker 15 - NW bedroom plus upper landing light
I put the sheet in a plastic document holder and taped it to the
breaker box. Updating the sheet is a breeze when I make a change, add
a receptacle, etc.
North lighting *N Lite
West power * W Pwr
Makes it easy enough to find without getting too detailed.
...except when W Pwr is controlled by 2 or more breakers and/or some W
Pwr is inside the house, some is external.
For example, I've got dedicated circuits that I ran for computers in
bedrooms so the curling iron//lamp/stereo doesn't crash the system. If
I've got 4 outlets on 1 breaker and 1 on another, I have to be
detailed.
Breaker 9 - West Bedroom Power * just won't cut it, but
Breaker 9 - West Bedroom Power except Breaker 10
Breaker 10 - West Bedroom Power, South East corner only
tells me what I need to know about that room.
Yeah.....or
09 *W pwr
10 *Mstr Bed Computer
It is not rocket surgery. *
Feel free to stop over and check out my actual breaker box layout.
You'll see that it is no where as simple as you are trying to make it.
The house was built in 1956 with just a few fuses and some shared
neutral circuits. Over the years, the upgrade to breakers, the
splitting of circuits and the addition of new circuits, overhead
lights, etc. have resulted in rooms with multiple circuits that don't
fit into a simple N-S-E-W, 1st floor, 2nd floor pattern.
There's also a serious hazard associated with your suggestion.
Let's say the Mstr Bed Computer is on the W side. A user, wanting to
kill the power on the W side of the house, reads the Breaker 9 label
(W pwr) and says "That's what I'm looking for" and shuts it off. Now
he thinks the west side is dead because there was no indication on the
*Breaker 9* label that there are other receptacles on the west side of
the house that are not on that breaker. Sure, he could read every
label to make sure he got the entire west side, but is just as easy
(and safer) to point it out on the sheet entry for Breaker 9 so that
there is no question.
Besides, how do I know there will always be a computer plugged into
that outlet? Noting the location is much better than noting the use,
except obviously for cases like "bathroom exhaust fan". The dedicated
GFCI I installed for the fish tank in the living room years ago now
powers the flat screen and sound system. It's always been labeled as
Living Room - North Wall, never as Fish Tank receptacle. It's also
mentioned (by breaker number) on the listing for the breaker that
controls most of the first floor as an "exception". (see listing
examples below)
My simplest entry reads: Garbage Disposal
My most complicated reads: Basement, First Floor, Second Floor Landing
Light, Front House Lights - Exceptions: See Brkrs 1-7, 17-19, 22,
24-26
This cross-referencing takes care of dedicated receptacles for
microwaves, computers, *fish tanks*, etc. when they are on the same
floor/same wall as a number of other receptacles controlled by
different breakers.