Every time I read about FP breakers it's a new type of horror:
Dedicated AC Circuits: It's not the noise, it's the upstream problems
I live in a 15 year old home which I’ve been slowly upgrading the AC service as time and energy have permitted. Every single switch has been replaced, many with Kasa brand smart switches. All the 120V breakers have been brought up to modern code, and every single GFCI outlet has been replaced or added where now required.
Outside outlets have been replaced where needed and new in-use covers applied. Of the remaining outlets about 2/3rds have been replaced with commercial / residential (i.e. commercial but tamper resistant) outlets.
After going through this exercise I have to say that one of the biggest reasons to have a dedicated circuit is not the use of 1" thick conductors going to a cryogenic treated, $500 locking outlet. It’s getting rid of all of the upstream crap that happens over time.
I’ve found so many:
- loose connections
- loose outlets
- back stabbed connections
- corrosion
- random items inserted into an outlet
- scorch marks
it’s a wonder this house didn’t actually burn down.
My point is, that for me, putting in a new circuit for the audio gear isn't about exotic materials so much as having a clean, new circuit with 2 sets of connections to worry about: at the breaker and the outlet.
Showing 4 responses by erik_squires
Federal Pacific?? Oh man, those things were notoriously bad.
Well I sure as hell hope you got rid of 100% of the Federal breakers. |
@carlsbad The NEC would agree with you. For as long as I can remember, back to the 1990’s I believe, each bathroom gets it’s own dedicated circuit now, and therefore it’s own GFCI outlet. Before homes were routinely supplied with 200A service there were a lot of buildings with far too few circuits. It’s a little crazy now, my modest 2-bedroom home without a garage has about 24 separate circuits. I remember living in a 3 bedroom in the 1990s, with expanded fuse boxes that started with 6 screw in fuses and had been expanded to 10. The number of times fuses had been re-used/re-appropriated to service multiple circuits was a testament to the need for a lot more in even simple homes. |
@bikeboy52 I was making fun of users attempting to use giant/oversized power cables between the breaker box and their outlet. |