Charged up

To follow up David’s blog of last week, I’m also addressing electricity this time around. However, my electric story has a happier ending.

I have wanted a 30-amp line for my shop for a long time. My shop, as regular readers know, is in my converted two-car garage, and while there are plenty of outlets (far more than I’ve ever seen in a garage, to tell the truth), everything is 20 amps. All my machines run just fine on 20-amp circuits – once they’re running. However, a couple machines kick the breaker off with their startup surge with a frequency that drives me nuts.

Now, I’ve done some minor wiring work but I’d be less than honest if I didn’t admit that I hate working with electricity. Frankly, it’s just not my thing and I’d rather not touch it if at all possible, so I hired a local electrician to do the deed. What I got was a new 30-amp line installed from the breaker box, which is located in the corner of the garage, and runs the length of that wall. A couple new outlets accommodate my two most power-hungry tools, leaving the regular garage outlets for other things.

I’ve only had the line a week now, but I can already tell the difference in shop efficiency. Not only haven’t I had a single breaker kick off, but I no longer have to do the plug-and-unplug dance before using equipment.

Needless to say, I’m extremely happy. Now that the line is in and working so well, I have to wonder why I didn’t do it years earlier.

A.J.