Anyone Know Anything About Re-Wiring Electrical Outlets?

[Lee]

Right now in my office i only have 2 outlets in the wall and im plugging in about 10 different devices using a bunch of extension cords.

What id like to do, is enlarge the space where i have these 2 outlets in to 2x 4 outlet boxes but i wasnt sure if i had to add extra line through from the mains to carry the extra usage or if i could just replace the existing outlet box with a 4 outlet box and splash face?

Anyone around here ever given themselves more outlets before and if so,, do you remember if you just enlarged the hole and swapped out the box and cover or if you had to run new wiring through to the outlet?

The only reason i want to change it is because i now have so many cords laying around the place im starting to catch myself on them as is the dog when she tries to lay down under my desk.

Regards,

Lee

[Bec]

Since those 2 outlets are handling all the power extension units, you're probably fine in adding more physical outlets. Basically you're expanding the opening, getting an "old work" style box, and where the line feeds off one end to the next outlet in the room, you'll undo those, add wires over to the new outlet and then feed off the new one to the next in line.

If you don't want to tear up the walls ... there are systems that have a "starter" box and then you run these flat plastic wire holders with covers around to wherever you want another box.

[A_DeAngelo]

hire an electrician - they cost about $250/hr here in Beverly Hills and they tend to know what they're doing....

save you the call to the fire department later....

[Lee]

hire an electrician - they cost about $250/hr here in Beverly Hills and they tend to know what they're doing....

Well if i did that, id never learn how to do it myself

Regards,

Lee

[A_DeAngelo]

Well if i did that, id never learn how to do it myself

Regards,

Lee

not really - I didn't learn anything about re-wiring a circuit box last year when our contractor came over - but, I did learn that electricians CAN know everything about how to PLUG things into the right places....

you can ask Cam for the details... HOT!

[nickbaer]

The first thing to do is make sure your equipment is where you want it to be, then run extension cords (short in length and as heavy duty as possible).

At that point, you have a good roadmap for an electrician to work from. Although heavy duty outdoor type extension cords, in the 10-foot range, might do you as much good as an inside wiring job.

Most household circuits are 20 amps, so depending on what type of equipment you have, you should stay under 18 amps.

Some equipment, like older TVs/Monitors or things with big motors, canse a surge when turned on, so allow for some "headroom" between 18 and 20 amps.

You can count amps by looking at the label on the gear. You can count amps, or you can count Watts (20 amps can be 2000 watts in rough calculations).

Remember that a transformer is always 'on', even if you don't have the other end of the transformer plugged into the device that it powers. if you want to save monthly bucks, put your transformers on a switched plug strip, and turn it off - all of them off - when you're not using the devices attached. A $5 plug strip can save you $5/month!

[gaybucks_chip]

Nick's got it basically correct. The first step is to calculate the capacity you need, based on the load you anticipate.

You may be able to add additional receptacles to the existing circuit, it will depend on what else is already on that circuit, and figuring that out is a trial-and-error process. Plug a lamp into each receptacle in that room and adjacent rooms, next to and above/below the room you're concerned with, then find the breaker that controls the receptacle in question and see what else goes off when that breaker is turned off.

It's been a long time since I looked at the code, but when I rewired my early 1920s house years ago, there was a code-imposed limit on the number of receptacles or light fixtures you could have on a given circuit, regardless of the actual load (probably so you won't grossly overtax the circuit by plugging stuff into all of the receptacles.) I think it was, at the time, about 8 duplex receptacles per 15 amp circuit.

If you have the load available, you can just replace the existing junction box with a larger one. They have 3 and 4 gang boxes that are designed to free-mount in the wall without being attached to a stud, so you might just poke a hole next to the existing junction box, attach a piece of Romex cable of the correct gauge (14 gauge = 15 amp, 12 gauge = 20 amp) on the spare terminals on the existing receptacle, and bring it into the new box and attach to the first receptacle in the new box. Then, daisy chain the wire between receptacles in the box.

It's the same deal if you run a new line, except you have to, of course, fish the new cable down to the breaker box and install a new breaker. That's actually pretty simple, provided there's a master breaker where you can disconnect all power to the breaker box. Some older boxes don't have a master breaker.

Home Depot should have a book on basic home electrical work, and if you get one with illustrations, it really isn't rocket science. I would advise reading (either in the book or online) about the local electrical code so whatever you do is, in fact, done to code. Otherwise, as Tony said... you may be getting an unexpected visit from the fire department.

[DouglasSocket]

Hire an electrician. I was a general contractor and electrical :scissors: is one thing you don't want to mess up.. you can hire one for about $70/hour plus materials or they are screwing you over with their Beverly Hills Prices....

Hugs Honey...
Muah...

[BuzzWestChris]

Lee,

Hire a professional. Electricity is the last thing you want to mess around with and do incorrectly. None of us want to hear how you burnt your house to the ground!!!!

[TropixxxStudios]

Electricity kills.

http://web.utk.edu/~ehss/topics/Electricity%20Kills.pdf

[gaybucks_chip]

Man, I don't get why everyone is afraid of electrical work. There's no risk of fire or whatever if you are intelligent about it and follow directions, and the code in most localities allows homeowners to do their own as long as it's inspected and the work is up to code.

I rewired an entire 3 story house myself, having never done it before, had it inspected each step of the way, and at the end, the inspector said that the work was as well done as any he'd seen, but much more conservative in terms of load ratings, and allowed for a lot more growth than most rewires he'd seen. If I'd paid someone else, it would probably have cost about $5000 given all the work that needed to be done, and having done it myself, I knew exactly how it all worked.

[A_DeAngelo]

Man, I don't get why everyone is afraid of electrical work. There's no risk of fire or whatever if you are intelligent about it and follow directions, and the code in most localities allows homeowners to do their own as long as it's inspected and the work is up to code.

I rewired an entire 3 story house myself, having never done it before, had it inspected each step of the way, and at the end, the inspector said that the work was as well done as any he'd seen, but much more conservative in terms of load ratings, and allowed for a lot more growth than most rewires he'd seen. If I'd paid someone else, it would probably have cost about $5000 given all the work that needed to be done, and having done it myself, I knew exactly how it all worked.

I'd rather spend the $$$ than risk blowing the neighborhood (my neighbors surely wouldn't appreciate that) - besides, the expenses can be written off - Cam replaced a reostat in one of the bathrooms a few years ago and fucked up an entire circuit - it ended up by costing us $250 + but the guy WAS very cute...

oh yeah, and Lee - I'm not so sure that I want to read (in the future) about how your insurance company didn't want to pay on a claim because you did the wiring yourself that caused the fire that ..... and "what should I do..."

[Lee]

Man, I don't get why everyone is afraid of electrical work. There's no risk of fire or whatever if you are intelligent about it and follow directions, and the code in most localities allows homeowners to do their own as long as it's inspected and the work is up to code.

I rewired an entire 3 story house myself, having never done it before, had it inspected each step of the way, and at the end, the inspector said that the work was as well done as any he'd seen, but much more conservative in terms of load ratings, and allowed for a lot more growth than most rewires he'd seen. If I'd paid someone else, it would probably have cost about $5000 given all the work that needed to be done, and having done it myself, I knew exactly how it all worked.

Im with you Chip, ive done most of the electrical work on our house in the last 5-6 years myself, the one thing i didnt feel comfortable doing was re-wiring the TV room so i called an electrician in for that.

Everything else though, so long as you have abit of common sense, turn the mains off and test before reconnecting everything, theres nothing to be worried about.

Regards,

Lee

[chadknowslaw]

I decided to add a separate circuit for my computer and its electrical gadgets like printer and UPS, so I had a conduit run on the outside of the house and through the wall where the outlet was placed. I had a 4 gang outlet installed but it is on its own circuit and its own GFI at the main box. From that point I have all important things running and lesser appliances such as photocopier are on the normal room circuit. It was easy since it was an outside wall and directly above the main electrical box -- so if you are not on an outside wall or have a brick house instead of wood frame it would be more difficult.

It is just as easy to run 2 lines as one, so if you are doing it yourself run two separate wires that are rated at least for 20 AMP service. Connect each wire to its own outlet box, and might as well install 4 gang outlets if you run wire. You can run the wires yourself but have an electrician hook them into the box with their own separate circuit breakers -- and I would pop for the GFI breakers if you are running expensive hardware on those circuits. You can save yourself money by doing most of the work yourself but have a licensed electrician make the final hook up to the power in your box.

While you are at it, if you do not already have at least 200 amp service, buy a bigger box.

[gaybucks_chip]

The rumor I keep hearing is that your box is quite big