Some help needed on wiring up a new 110VAC electrical outlet for relocating my ham shack.

Discussion in 'General Technical Questions and Answers' started by KC0BUS, Oct 6, 2019.

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  1. N3HGB

    N3HGB Ham Member QRZ Page

    I have had extension cords short out and catch fire. They are not always up to continuous use for years and years.
  2. K6LPM

    K6LPM Ham Member QRZ Page

    The hypothetical entity in my story likely is very familiar with and/or has a relationship with any insurance adjuster and probably would have had worked out the details of what he wanted to claim prior to executing the event and proceeding with the claim.
    :eek: I have a wild imagination and surely have a unrealistic and perhaps unflattering impression of the character that is a relative of my friends, neighbors, coworkers ex brother in law! I dunno about first impressions but I only honestly met the guy once or twice and probably only been to his house less than a dozen times where I waited out in the driveway. I often drove his brother in law over in my truck, so he could borrow his gas chromatograph machine or use the mass spectrometer.
    Yeah we would all get together and get a little crazy on a friday night after work. Good times! I realize now that it just isnt like that anymore,,, Its not like everyday that friends can get together with access to analytical lab equipment and just hang out.:p
  3. WD0BCT

    WD0BCT Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Don't ever listen to a contractor who tells you he is going to save you money by not pulling a contract. The contractor will not reimburse you for the permit (he is supposed to pay for the permit...not you). You essentially save him money and assure yourself that a licensed electrician won't do the work.
    The permit process is there to protect you.
    K6LPM likes this.
  4. VK5KKS

    VK5KKS Ham Member QRZ Page

    There's been a few people killed in my town over the last few years because people get somebody 'who knows about electrical wiring' to do a job that a qualified electrician should have done. And I'm sure a few house fires have occurred for the same reason. One of the best examples I have seen was a shed where the power was supplied using speaker cable!!!
  5. W5LZ

    W5LZ Ham Member QRZ Page

    Then I'd have to say that those who "know about it"... didn't. Wouldn't you? I know several people who aren't professional electricians but who can 'wire up' almost anything short of an atomic reactor. I'm not a professional electrician either, but I do know when to get someone who knows what they are doing better than I do. I assume others do to. That's probably my mistake.
  6. WA9SVD

    WA9SVD Ham Member QRZ Page

    It may well be your mistake; even some "licensed" electricians shouldn't be allowed with anything more than speaker wires, if that.:(:mad: But showing 120/240 AC wiring was installed (or at least approved) by a licensed person can mean a gazillion times more than a "kludge" by a D-I-Y know-it-all. YMMV.
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2019
  7. WA9SVD

    WA9SVD Ham Member QRZ Page

    And had there been a "problem," such as a fire, the insurance company could either refuse to pay, or cancel the policy if they did pay. Getting insurance elsewhere would most likely be problematic (and co$tly) at the least, or impossible, given the circumstances. (and do NOT even think insurance companies don't talk o_Oto each other about claims:(.)

    If you file even a simple claim with Company XYZ, there are at least two dozen insurance companies (both large and small) that know about it.
    WA8FOZ likes this.
  8. W5GX

    W5GX Ham Member QRZ Page

    I've heard of a semi-famous musician did some of his own work - speaker wire for 120V circuits. :eek:
    K0UO likes this.
  9. AI5DH

    AI5DH Ham Member QRZ Page

    Back to the OP questions. OK assuming you take the advice of hiring an EC aka sparky, which I concur, leaves you an excellent opportunity to do things right. That would be power quality aka PQ. For your sensitive electronics like radio equipment you want to use a Dedicated Circuit. Means exactly what it sounds like. A new breaker installed, 1 single dedicated run of wire to a single piece of equipment or outlet. The run should have no splices, one continuous run from breaker panel to outlet.

    In any home built in the last 20 years already has a few Dedicated Ciruits as required by code. Examples are fridge, dishwasher, appliance cabinet for microwave, washer, and dryer to name a few. Reason should be obvious, all are large power users, and if you shared would likely over load the circuit. But that is a safety reason. The rest of your outlets are daisy chained and you may have as many as 4 outlets and a few lights on a single breaker. When you start daisy chaining loads, you start injecting noise into the equipment ground and neutral circuit conductors, and alter phase angles with non linear loads. Most of your electronic gadgets inject 60 cycle current into the ground conductor which is the last place you want to dump noise. Manufactures install FCC filtering between L-G and N-G. Those filters dumps 60 Hz line current via filters and capacitive coupling with its associated phase conductor. All the PQ issues go away with a Dedicated Circuit. It is a clean isolated Ground and Neutral all the way back to the source.

    So if you are going to hire an EC the instructions are pretty easy. At a minimum run a 20-Amp Dedicated Circuit using NM-B 10/3 cable to a quad outlet receptacle. The reason for 10 AWG is to minimize voltage loss and keep the Neutral to Ground voltage as low as possible. If you want to run legal limit someday in the future, have the EC also run a 30-Amp Dryer Circuit to a NEMA 6-30 receptacle.
    N3AB and WD0BCT like this.
  10. WD0BCT

    WD0BCT Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Age and experience have led me to do the things I think are important in an optimal manner. And either of these suggestions is the optimal!
    N3AB likes this.

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