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	Subject - Cause and effect kbsparky We change a service panel every now and then, replacing that old fuse box loaded with 30 Amp fuses on the general use lighting and receptacle circuits. Of course, we use the proper sized breaker for each circuit, limiting the Amps to 15 or 20 as the case may be. Here comes Mrs. Homeowner, and brews her coffee at the same time as she is microwaving bacon as she always did before. But this time, since the fridge is also on that circuit, and possibly the water pump under the house, the breaker trips out. Frustrated that the circuit now easily "blows' whereas before she did not have that kind of trouble, the complaint call comes in. We return to the scene, and have her repeat the scenerio, this time with an Amp-Probe connected to the circuit, and lo and behold, it is drawing 27 Amps! Seems that the water pump was short-cycling, and all that starting and stopping while the microwave was running was too much for the 20 Amp breaker we installed the previous week. Further investigation revealed that the water pump was cord-and-plug connected to a keyless pull-chain fixture in the crawl space under the house We also discovered that the tank was compromised, and leaking, but that is a different issue So, we installed a separate circuit and receptacle for that water pump, and referred them to call a plumber to replace that tank. At least this customer was understanding that their wiring was inadequate, and needed some new circuits installed. I have had customers turn hostile after a service upgrade, thinking that "now I have 200 Amps, so I can crank things up" not realizing that the branch circuits have not changed, only the aggregate is larger. lctrc789 Kbsparky I know what you are going through, Back in 1987 , we cam out with a letter of explanantion for all service changes we did, and gave them to all of our customers, and had each service guy explain to them as well. What the letter stated basically was that even though you have a new service we did not re wire your home or any existing branch circuits. What we did is to give you the expansion for additional circuits to be added and sized each branch circuit on a proper size breaker as well. There was a paragraph in this letter that expalined when homes were built back in the XXXX they did not have all the major appliances we do today and that should you trip a breaker it is because now you are protected by the proper size breaker and you may need additional circuits, and we even went in to expalin some of the major things today that pulls XXXX watts and amps. When we installed services and gave estimates we went through all the same thing to expalin what could happen and what you can do. It did stop a lot of call backs and we sold many other circuits and have many repeat customers because we took the time to explain the situation. All though many people do not understand electricity I use the plumbing terminology to explain what we are doing and that seems to work quite well. Coop I just had a similar problem, I changed a fuse panel to circut breakers. the owners said since i change the fuse box their electric bill was $500. I asked if they were doing the same thing that they normally did when they had fuses, and ofcourse they said no they had eveything on in the house at once. Wirenutz a 'letter of explanation' for service upgrades sounds like a grand idea lctrc789 lord knows, i'm tired of hearing myself repeat the same old tired stuff year after year... ~W~ lctrc789 Wirenutz, I don't know how many you do or if you even do them, But trust me these letters saved a lot of phone calls and head aches. I also gave them to realtors, insurance comapanies and the like to hand out. We try to explain to customers the best way we can and what we are doing, of course you hear the OLD well they are trying to run up the bill thing. But for the most part it does serve a great purpose. It may take a few minutes to type up or print out then make you copies but well worth the headaches we have had. Good luck to you. Wirenutz Well Pat; I had an 'about lighting fixtures' ditty a while ago, being that i chose to let customers get thier own fixtures... i did help the process along ~W~