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Current
(Electrical) Events
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The
electrical systems in many older
homes are dated and
cannot properly accommodate
present day living standards. Home builders and electricians
in the 1940’s had no idea of the present array
of electrical appliances and equipment used on a daily basis.
So what’s the difference? Most importantly:
1.
Newer systems have more
power. Most new
homes have 150 or 200 amperes of power
available, while old homes may have
as little as one-eighth this amount.
2. Circuitry is
distributed better in newer homes.
Most homes built in
the 60’s or later have a
separate circuit for the disposal, the
dishwasher, the boiler and other major appliances.
3. The spacing of
receptacles is more convenient.
Many older systems
have only one dangling
overhead light and one
convenience receptacle.
Convenience outlets really
live up to their name when
they are no more than 12
feet apart so there isn’t a need for extension
cords. 4. Newer
homes have safer and more protective
receptacle devices. If
a system was installed
after 1962, utilized polarized
plugs with a ground hole to
accommodate grounded appliance plugs
were used. Systems installed after
1978 are better still, incorporating especially
sensitive breakers (known as
ground fault interrupt devices) to
provide extra protection against shock
or electrocution.
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Okay,
so new systems are better. What should
a homeowner do if he has an older
system in his house? Here’s some suggestions
to cope with an out-of-date but
still functioning system:
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Very old "knob and
tube" systems –
unfortunately, these
should be replaced in
their entirety. The existing system has
no provision for grounding and may have
many poor connections where additional
branch circuitry has been spliced
into the original wiring. Best
advice: find an electrician who is
capable of "fishing" wires. This could
save money in labor costs.
• Inadequate power –
This is a common problem,
in which the electrical needs or
demands of a household have outgrown the
capacity of the entrance cable or
the distribution panel. A heavy up to
bring in more power and allow for increased
circuitry distribution is a good solution
here. A homeowner may also need
to run additional circuits to high volume areas,
such as the kitchen, air conditioners
and bathrooms.
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From The Desk of Arthur S. Lazerow
Pinhole Leaks
During a
home inspection last month in New Market,
Maryland, something really strange caught
my eye. Along a length of about seven feet
of one water pipe, there were nine pinhole leaks,
all of which had self-sealed. The calcium salts
in the water had dried and, over several months
for each leak, had become sufficiently large
to stop the leak.
The irony is that a week later I attended a lecture by
ACE DURAFLOW, a Waldorf Maryland based company
specializing in pressure spraying epoxy lining
material on the interior of water pipes that prevents
the development of corrosion, pitting and
pinhole leaks.
Let’s go back to the New Market home. The only exposed
pipe in the entire home was that one pipe
and a small portion of the main water service entrance
pipe. Otherwise, all pipes were hidden inside
walls. To re-plumb that home would do
significant damage to walls and painted surfaces and
would spread drywall dust everywhere. The
plumber would charge $4-5,000 and leave a mess
for the drywall and paint contractors, probably doubling
the cost.
Now comes the epoxy system. ACE stands for Air
Drying, Cleaning and Epoxy Coating. Water service
is disconnected for about a day and a half.
The service origination of each pipe and the
termination at the fixtures, tubs and showers are
connected with ACE hoses. The pipes are dried
with heated air. They are then sandblasted to
clear interior surfaces of corrosion, so this process
works well for both copper and galvanized materials.
Once completed, a two-part epoxy
fluid is applied under pressure onto all of the
interior surfaces of all water pipes. This seals and
protects the pipes. The cost is normally in the
same range of the plumber’s fee, but there is no
mess. I’m convinced.
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