Judas Maccabeus wrote:Could you take a look in your box and see if the breaker for your stove is twice as wide as the rest of them?
Double width. Doesn't mean it's hooked up right.
Well, my theory does not apply. Perhaps the guy who hooked it up did not arrive in a clown car after all. He must have been busy doing my brother’s house.
Wade wrote:A picture might help as there are lots of different kinds of breakers now-a-days.
If you haven't had help from a professional yet, I'd be happy to.
Wade,
FSR/Master Electrician
I had no idea you were a master electrician!
My wife is convinced I will be instantly electrocuted if I take this on myself, so I think I am going to have to go with a real electrician. Any idea what the order-of-magnitude cost for this should be? I just called one electrician who wants $175 just to look at it and tell me what it would cost to fix it, and he wouldn't apply the fee to the repair. Is this likely to be fairly expensive?
Is there anything true I can say to my wife that would calm her? We both know that I am no electrician. I'm likely to think she is wise to be concerned.
Josh wrote:You can probably diagnose the problem yourself, assuming you have a decent voltmeter.
No need to assume; it's in the OP.
I think I have two problems:
1. I have a 30 amp circuit, all I needed for the old cooktop, but the new cooktop needs a 40 amp circuit. I probably need 8 gauge wire too, I have 10 gauge.
2. It's likely that the old circuit was not correctly wired anyway, the reading between the two hot wires is near zero when it should read 240
I think that means I need to replace both the 10 gauge wiring and the 30 amp circuit breaker. I have read things that say I should leave that up to a real electrician. More to the point, so has my wife. So I would want to be sure that I can handle this and convince my wife of the same before I attempt it.
You could get the #8 wire and run it from the cooktop to the panel; no special expertise needed for that. You'd save the labor cost on that part of it, and make it easier for the electrician to price the rest.
ohio jones wrote:You could get the #8 wire and run it from the cooktop to the panel; no special expertise needed for that. You'd save the labor cost on that part of it, and make it easier for the electrician to price the rest.
ohio jones wrote:You could get the #8 wire and run it from the cooktop to the panel; no special expertise needed for that. You'd save the labor cost on that part of it, and make it easier for the electrician to price the rest.
But be sure you get 8-3 rather than 8-2
J.M.
I think this advice sounds good after reading the rest of the posts here as I don't want to encourage you Boot, if you are unsure and could get hurt.
However, typically cooktops are straight forward to wire in. And wiring in a couple wires onto your new 40A double pole breaker is also fairly straight forward - especially if you shut off the main breaker. It will shut off the power to your entire house but the busbars should not be live - only the incoming cables would be. You could test for voltage with your meter before touching anything after the main breaker is off but if all your lights are out then it is very likely you don't have live voltage present anyway at your breakers and where they plug into. And make sure you hook up all your bare wires properly and away from where they could contact live parts. As long as your bare wires are clear, your hot wires and common white wire are all connected properly with insulation integrity looking good everywhere else then you shouldn't have any problems when you turn power back on.
I think $175 to look at the job is expensive but maybe there is so much work the contractor he doesn't really care and so he gave a big number making it worth his while if you go for it.
First, I am also not an electrician, but I have done a good bit of wiring. I think that with what the others here have said, you are on the right tract with installing 8 gauge wire from the appliance to the box. Then check in your congregation for anyone doing electrical work. My brother-in-law is a certified electrician, but he works in the business his dad started decades ago. So there may be a trained electrician there who you just know as a carpenter/builder.
I'm sure you have seen deals like this already too, but here's a calculator:
And now the conclusion to this dramatic narrative.
Electrician shows up. Waylon, about 30 years old, smells like cigarettes, huge smile, engaging, strong twang, smart guy. Knows a LOT about fishing and how to catch various kinds of catfish and where to find them locally, happy to tell you all about it as he works. Looks at the circuit box. Walks over to the stove box, pulls out the manual, reads it slowly. Looks up at me and says, you know, you can also run this on a 30 amp circuit ...
So I didn't have to pay for a new circuit. I didn't get electrocuted. I didn't burn the house down. I'll have the cooktop installed soon after I finish work today.
