My home was built in 1948 and has non-grounded cloth romex. The electricity
works ok. I do have 5 main breakers]

1. Bedrooms
2. Ceiling lights
3. Laundry Room, Dining Room, Living Room, Kitchen
4. Garage
5. A/C

The panel was upgraded when the a/c came, so I'm sure the wiring has been
upgraded. I never have overloaded a circuit and had the breaker snap.


The problem I have is my computer reboots infrequently when the refrigerator
cycles, washer hits spin, or when I turn on the dryer. Not often, but enough
to know it's an issue. Maybe once every few months.

I'm thinking of added a new circuit for my computers. I was quoted about
$500.00 for one line and 3 receptacles. However, I don't want to go cheap
and regret later.

I've had 2 electricians say the house wiring is ok, 2 say I should replace
everything. One quote was $4,500 for the whole house, the other $6,800. It's
a 2BR/ 1 BA 1200 square foot one story house.

Is there any rule of thumb on this type of wiring regarding replacing or
does it depend on the wear and tear of the actual wiring itself ? Outside of
frying a junction box when my pipes were being done, I haven't had any other
issues.

"Me" wrote in message
...
My home was built in 1948 and has non-grounded cloth romex. The
electricity
works ok. I do have 5 main breakers]

You mean you have 5 breakers; you should have one main breaker.

1. Bedrooms
2. Ceiling lights
3. Laundry Room, Dining Room, Living Room, Kitchen
4. Garage
5. A/C

The panel was upgraded when the a/c came, so I'm sure the wiring has been
upgraded. I never have overloaded a circuit and had the breaker snap.


The problem I have is my computer reboots infrequently when the
refrigerator
cycles, washer hits spin, or when I turn on the dryer. Not often, but
enough
to know it's an issue. Maybe once every few months.

Is the computer on the same circuit as your appliances? If so, you should
be tripping the breaker daily. If not, new wiring won't help; though a new
circuit might. Services have two legs; is the computer on the same leg as
the appliance that are making it reboot? If so, then a new circuit on the
other leg will solve your problem. If not (and with only 5 circuits, it
can't be on same leg as all the appliance) then your problem is over my
head; it shouldn't be happening. I will look forward to seeing what others
have to say.

I'm thinking of added a new circuit for my computers. I was quoted about
$500.00 for one line and 3 receptacles. However, I don't want to go cheap
and regret later.

It depends on what he has to go through to get the circuit in. I have put
in one where I would have been glad to have paid someone $500 instead of
doing myself; but others that took very little time. A UPS would be
cheaper.

I've had 2 electricians say the house wiring is ok, 2 say I should
replace
everything. One quote was $4,500 for the whole house, the other $6,800.
It's
a 2BR/ 1 BA 1200 square foot one story house.

Odds are a competent electrician (was it a real electrician, or a handyman?)
won't tell you are okay unless you are.

Is there any rule of thumb on this type of wiring regarding replacing or
does it depend on the wear and tear of the actual wiring itself ? Outside
of
frying a junction box when my pipes were being done, I haven't had any
other
issues.

Old wiring is really ugly, but unless it has deteriorated, it is sound.
Since you have no ground, a bunch of GFCI outlets would be a good idea.

Me wrote:
My home was built in 1948 and has non-grounded cloth romex. The electricity
works ok. I do have 5 main breakers]

1. Bedrooms
2. Ceiling lights
3. Laundry Room, Dining Room, Living Room, Kitchen
4. Garage
5. A/C

The panel was upgraded when the a/c came, so I'm sure the wiring has been
upgraded. I never have overloaded a circuit and had the breaker snap.


The problem I have is my computer reboots infrequently when the refrigerator
cycles, washer hits spin, or when I turn on the dryer. Not often, but enough
to know it's an issue. Maybe once every few months.

I'm thinking of added a new circuit for my computers. I was quoted about
$500.00 for one line and 3 receptacles. However, I don't want to go cheap
and regret later.

I've had 2 electricians say the house wiring is ok, 2 say I should replace
everything. One quote was $4,500 for the whole house, the other $6,800. It's
a 2BR/ 1 BA 1200 square foot one story house.

Is there any rule of thumb on this type of wiring regarding replacing or
does it depend on the wear and tear of the actual wiring itself ? Outside of
frying a junction box when my pipes were being done, I haven't had any other
issues.



There isn't any wear and tear on wires. However, insulation
can deteriorate over time. If that hasn't happened, it's
still safe, just not up to current code. The cheap solution
for your computer is to get a back up and when the voltage
drops as your other appliances come on, the battery will
take over. Since it is momentary, you don't need much
capacity so you should be able to get a pretty cheap unit.

Me wrote:
My home was built in 1948 and has non-grounded cloth romex. The electricity
works ok. I do have 5 main breakers]

1. Bedrooms
2. Ceiling lights
3. Laundry Room, Dining Room, Living Room, Kitchen
4. Garage
5. A/C

The panel was upgraded when the a/c came, so I'm sure the wiring has been
upgraded. I never have overloaded a circuit and had the breaker snap.


The problem I have is my computer reboots infrequently when the refrigerator
cycles, washer hits spin, or when I turn on the dryer. Not often, but enough
to know it's an issue. Maybe once every few months.

I'm thinking of added a new circuit for my computers. I was quoted about
$500.00 for one line and 3 receptacles. However, I don't want to go cheap
and regret later.

I've had 2 electricians say the house wiring is ok, 2 say I should replace
everything. One quote was $4,500 for the whole house, the other $6,800. It's
a 2BR/ 1 BA 1200 square foot one story house.

Is there any rule of thumb on this type of wiring regarding replacing or
does it depend on the wear and tear of the actual wiring itself ? Outside of
frying a junction box when my pipes were being done, I haven't had any other
issues.



You can get a pretty nice laptop computer for less than $1000. They are
pretty much immune to power problems as long as the battery has a little
life to it.


My house was built about the same time period, and all the original
wiring except the bathroom was ungrounded. The bathroom was grounded to
a water pipe. I replaced the service entrance, upgrading it from a 60A
fuse box and #6 wires to a 150A breaker panel and #1 wires, but I kept
all the original house wiring because it was in good shape. A bedroom
or dining room outlet doesn't really need a ground. I did have to tear
out and replace some wiring that was added on by a previous owner who
did a bad job of it. I put GFCI's in in the kitchen but left them
ungrounded (too hard to run a ground wire in the exterior walls without
tearing out the cabinets), ran a new grounded circuit for the bathroom,
and ran a couple of new 20A circuits here and there, and a new dedicated
circuit for an air conditioner. I did run separate ground wires from
the main panel to a few of the old outlets so I would have places to
plug in grounded vaccuum cleaners, etc.

I'm avoiding answering your questions directly because I don't know how
difficult adding wiring to *your* house would be. $500 might be a
bargain, or it might be a ripoff. But there is no need to tear out and
replace perfectly good old wiring just because it is not grounded except
in a few places where there are real shock hazards (laundry room,
bathroom, kitchen, unfinished basement, garage.)

Best regards,
Bob

When the PC reboots, it's on the same circuit as the appliances. Again, it
reboots very infrequently. Once every few months. I try and not run the
washer and dryer when it's on (but do once a week or so), but I can't
control when the refrigerator cycles. Sometimes my pc is not on that circuit
and it will never reboot.

I have had one licensed electrician tell me it's ok, another licensed tell
me to replace it. The one that told me it's ok was a guy who mainly does
commercial that didn't really need the business, the one that told me to
replace it looked to be it was his job to sucker in people like me. I need
to get some more evals but thought I'd check here for some recommendations.

I may have the verbage wrong, I'm not an electrician. I have one main
breaker, and 5 circuits, each addressed below.

I would think if I put a new circuit in running a line into each location I
move my computer might be enough for me. It's a desktop pc with a 350 watt
power supply.

Hopefully I've made sense!

Craig


"toller" wrote in message
...

"Me" wrote in message
...
My home was built in 1948 and has non-grounded cloth romex. The
electricity
works ok. I do have 5 main breakers]

You mean you have 5 breakers; you should have one main breaker.

1. Bedrooms
2. Ceiling lights
3. Laundry Room, Dining Room, Living Room, Kitchen
4. Garage
5. A/C

The panel was upgraded when the a/c came, so I'm sure the wiring has
been
upgraded. I never have overloaded a circuit and had the breaker snap.


The problem I have is my computer reboots infrequently when the
refrigerator
cycles, washer hits spin, or when I turn on the dryer. Not often, but
enough
to know it's an issue. Maybe once every few months.

Is the computer on the same circuit as your appliances? If so, you should
be tripping the breaker daily. If not, new wiring won't help; though a
new
circuit might. Services have two legs; is the computer on the same leg as
the appliance that are making it reboot? If so, then a new circuit on the
other leg will solve your problem. If not (and with only 5 circuits, it
can't be on same leg as all the appliance) then your problem is over my
head; it shouldn't be happening. I will look forward to seeing what
others
have to say.

I'm thinking of added a new circuit for my computers. I was quoted about
$500.00 for one line and 3 receptacles. However, I don't want to go
cheap
and regret later.

It depends on what he has to go through to get the circuit in. I have put
in one where I would have been glad to have paid someone $500 instead of
doing myself; but others that took very little time. A UPS would be
cheaper.

I've had 2 electricians say the house wiring is ok, 2 say I should
replace
everything. One quote was $4,500 for the whole house, the other $6,800.
It's
a 2BR/ 1 BA 1200 square foot one story house.

Odds are a competent electrician (was it a real electrician, or a
handyman?)
won't tell you are okay unless you are.

Is there any rule of thumb on this type of wiring regarding replacing or
does it depend on the wear and tear of the actual wiring itself ?
Outside
of
frying a junction box when my pipes were being done, I haven't had any
other
issues.

Old wiring is really ugly, but unless it has deteriorated, it is sound.
Since you have no ground, a bunch of GFCI outlets would be a good idea.

Me wrote:
When the PC reboots, it's on the same circuit as the appliances. Again, it
reboots very infrequently. Once every few months. I try and not run the
washer and dryer when it's on (but do once a week or so), but I can't
control when the refrigerator cycles. Sometimes my pc is not on that circuit
and it will never reboot.

I have had one licensed electrician tell me it's ok, another licensed tell
me to replace it. The one that told me it's ok was a guy who mainly does
commercial that didn't really need the business, the one that told me to
replace it looked to be it was his job to sucker in people like me. I need
to get some more evals but thought I'd check here for some recommendations.

I may have the verbage wrong, I'm not an electrician. I have one main
breaker, and 5 circuits, each addressed below.


What size is the main breaker? At least 100A or 125A? How many empty
spaces are left in your breaker box? What brand is the breaker box, and
do you know when it was put in?

Bob

Me wrote:
My home was built in 1948 and has non-grounded cloth romex. The
electricity
works ok. I do have 5 main breakers]

1. Bedrooms
2. Ceiling lights
3. Laundry Room, Dining Room, Living Room, Kitchen
4. Garage
5. A/C

The panel was upgraded when the a/c came, so I'm sure the wiring has
been
upgraded. I never have overloaded a circuit and had the breaker snap.


The problem I have is my computer reboots infrequently when the
refrigerator
cycles, washer hits spin, or when I turn on the dryer. Not often, but
enough
to know it's an issue. Maybe once every few months.

I'm thinking of added a new circuit for my computers. I was quoted
about
$500.00 for one line and 3 receptacles. However, I don't want to go
cheap
and regret later.

I've had 2 electricians say the house wiring is ok, 2 say I should
replace
everything. One quote was $4,500 for the whole house, the other
$6,800. It's
a 2BR/ 1 BA 1200 square foot one story house.

Is there any rule of thumb on this type of wiring regarding replacing
or
does it depend on the wear and tear of the actual wiring itself ?
Outside of
frying a junction box when my pipes were being done, I haven't had
any other
issues.

I also have ungrounded romex. I had a new 200 amp panel installed and I
put GFCI circuit breakers in the panel to protect the ungrounded
circuits.

A UPS for your computer is the easiest and cheapest solution to the
rebooting problem.

The reason why some electricians are saying that your house wiring is
OK and some are not is that it doesn't meet todays standards and codes
and otherwise non-ideal. However, a 1948 house doesn't have to meet
today's standards! Inspectors and electricians often conveniently
forget that. The ideal situation is a new higher amperage panel with
separate circuits for most appliances, lighting on separate circuits
from receptacles, and a separate circuit for the bathroom.

If your breakers are real old it might be worth upgrading it because
old breakers are not necessarily all that reliable which might explain
why your aren't tripping. My breaker box still has some 1962 breakers
but I load tested all of them to make sure that they trip on
overcurrent and they all did, but the newer ones I put in do trip a
little quicker. If you can get new replacement breakers for your
existing panel cheap enough that might be a real easy and inexpensive
way to make sure that your do trip when they are supposed to.

Another consideration should be the availability and pricing of
homeowners insurance with your old, non grounded electrical stuff.

Me wrote:
The problem I have is my computer reboots infrequently when the
refrigerator cycles, washer hits spin, or when I turn on the dryer.
Not often, but enough to know it's an issue. Maybe once every few
months.

I'm thinking of added a new circuit for my computers. /snip/

Here is a simple, low-cost solution to your problem.
http://www.officedepot.com/ddMain.do...2003_FM_690141

"Me" wrote in message
...
When the PC reboots, it's on the same circuit as the appliances. Again, it
reboots very infrequently. Once every few months. I try and not run the
washer and dryer when it's on (but do once a week or so), but I can't
control when the refrigerator cycles. Sometimes my pc is not on that
circuit
and it will never reboot.

If all that stuff is on one circuit you are lucky to not be having more
problems that just this.

Putting a new circuit in on the leg opposite the appliances should solve
your problem.
Someone suggested a UPS would be the cheapest solution, and he is correct;
but you have way too much on the existing circuit and should add another
rather than looking for the cheapest solution.