On Nov 10, 11:58*am, bob haller wrote:
On Nov 10, 11:48*am, Evan wrote:
On Nov 10, 11:44*am, bob haller wrote:
On Nov 10, 11:36*am, Evan wrote:
On Nov 8, 9:25*pm, bob haller wrote:
On Nov 8, 7:31*pm, Evan wrote:
On Nov 8, 2:48*pm, bob haller wrote:
Chances are replacing the fuse box with a circuit breaker could reduce
your home owner’s insurance policy markedly. Because fuses are
outdated, insurance companies look at a house with a fuse box and see
an electrical fire waiting to happen. Right there, your rates go up,
and homeowners have a big incentive to toss out the fuse box.
The one situation that will really leave you with little in the way of
options is if the wiring in your home is so old as to be so dangerous
that no insurance company will touch it with a 20 foot pole. In the
earliest days of electrical wiring, bare conductor was looped around
insulating knobs hammered into beams. This configuration, known as
knob-and-tube wiring, was so unsafe it was rapidly replaced by wires
sheathed in metal and cellulose; and yet there are still homes in the
oldest parts of Washington DC and its suburbs where electricians may
find it still in use today. If in the process of buying a home, a home
inspector finds that knob-and-tube wiring, it is unlikely you will be
able to find an insurance company willing to provide coverage for the
house
Umm... *Bob, I hate to rain on your parade, but fuses are actually
much safer as overcurrent devices than circuit breakers, as fuses
can not fail in the "circuit closed" position like circuit breakers
tend
to do...
Fuses are frequently used down stream of a circuit breaker in a panel
to provide the protection to the DEVICE being used rather than to
protect the wiring like a circuit breaker...
~~ Evan- Hide quoted text -
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insurance companies dont look at it this way, far too many people
overfuse, so as to prevent blown fuses.
so based on this insurance does not like fuses.
apparently few people change breakers to higher current ones..........
That's bull**** if I have ever heard it...
Just amongst the friends and family I know personally I have
seen too small a size wire used with too big a circuit breaker
because most people don't know what they are doing with
electrical wiring...
I.E.:
A #14 wire run to power a single outlet but it has a 20-amp breaker
(The total length of the run of the wire is important in determining
wire size but so is the rating of the overcurrent protection)
Also, you might have a point about over fusing, however, used
properly you can't screw the wrong type of fuse into a socket
which has one of those reducer rings inside it to restrict it for
a higher rated fuse... *That is why the idea for tamper proof
fuses came about...
But in reality there isn't much from stopping a homeowner from
pulling the fuse block and screwing in a penny behind the fuse,
is there ?
Just like there are only 4 to 6 cover plate screws which serve
as a warning to most homeowners not to tamper with their
load centers if they don't know what they are doing...
Hey, why should they buy that other bundle of wire which
costs more but is the correct one to be used when this one
here is cheaper ? *Because they don't know any better...
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thats pretty easy to catch on inspection, either replace wire with 12
gauge, or put in 15 amp breaker and 15 amp outlet.
The whole point Bob, is that homeowners doing a project on
their own don't pull permits and the installation never gets
inspected again by someone who knows what they are doing
until an electricians pulls a permit to do a job that would be
inspected -- most small and minor jobs where a permit is
allowed to be pulled after the fact never get inspected at all...
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but at home resale time home inspectors and insurance inspectors check
things out to one degree or another.
lots of issues are caught some totally bogus
replacing a breaker if the wire is undersized is cheap fix.
now try to sell home thats not today elegible for homeowners
insurance....
the buyer either walks away, and the defect must be added to the homes
disclosure form. that kills future sales
or the buyer requires a licensed pro fix whatever, with receipts
before home is put on market owner is free to do what they
want .........
as long as it passes inspection by home inspector / insurance inspector
@Bob:
I have never seen a home inspector strip wires or pull apart
functioning
electrical equipment BECAUSE a home inspector is NOT a licensed
electrician... Nor have I ever seen a home inspector measure wire
size ever...
A home inspector is looking for things that are clearly and openly
wrong, like wiring being run improperly in basements which could
be used by idiots to hang stuff from... Or junction boxes without
cover plates... Or load panels that have no markings to indicate
which breakers serve which areas of the home...
They open up the cover on a panel and judge it visually...
If it looks like a mess, they document...
If things look loose or improperly attached, they document...
The home inspection company will send out an actual licensed
electrician in that jurisdiction who will have the final word on any
sort of "deficiencies" noted by the home inspector who isn't
licensed in that trade...
~~ Evan