Ek's Home   |   Forum   |   Chat   |   Electrical Links   |
	Subject - upgrade or not to upgrade...need advise pl complianceguy We are getting a hot tub which requires a new 50A feed. I am trying to decide if I should upgrade to 200 Amp service. I consulted a friend who works for a contractor. He was frank with me and said that the upgrade is not absolutely necessary. Even after I pointed out that there a 4 tandems in there. When I consulted the electrical inspector about the hot tub permit and mentioned the tandems, he did not say it would prevent passing. 100 amp Q0 SqD panel (20 pos) 50A 220 Range 50A 220 Hot tub 30A 220 Dryer (subpanel dryer and outside shed) 30A 220 AC 30A 220 Well 20A 120 times 12 15A 120 times 2 24 ckts in a 20 position panel. 4 tandems in there now. The upgrade is an easy job, as my existing panel is on the opposite side of the house from the feed and so would become a sub panel. Only need is new meter pan and 200A panel, the drop is OK as is. Just tie in old panel, and hot tub into nrewe panel. Probably move range over as well. I appreceiate your comments. If I upgrade, I fully intend to have a contractor do the work. kbsparky Even though your existing service may be able to handle the additional load, operating a residential service at or near full capacity can cause it to fail during peak use. Something like a loose internal connection in the mains, or corrosion on the bus bars can burn up in a hurry under adverse or heavy load conditions. I would recommend your upgrade as stipulated, with the new panel providing a source for a couple of your heaviest loads, and a sub-feed to the existing panel being an acceptable alternative. You might even want to consider using a meter/service combination panel if your local utility will accept it. Here is a good one available on eBay for a reasonable price.