Office Blues
Now that winter is in full swing, my basement office has been feeling the bite of the cold temperatures. It's not uncommon to find me at my drawing table wearing two layers of t-shirts and a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up. My hands and fingers get so cold that, when I touch her, my wife thinks I've been outside.
My beloved wife, being the angel that she is, brought home a small, 1500 watt electric heater for my office. It works very well, but for some reason it keeps tripping a breaker. My first thought was that I had too many things plugged into one outlet, so I moved it to another outlet in my office. Still, the breaker would trip. So I gave up on the heater and went back to layering up.
Well, it's six degrees outside today, and my office was FREEZING this morning. So I pulled out the heater, plugged it in, and began cruising the net as the heater did its "thang". The second I thought the heater would work without interruption - *CLICK* - the breaker trips plunging the basement into darkness.
I was frustrated and cold. I couldn't find the flashlight so I used my cell phone backlight to find the breaker, pressed it (we've got one of those old "Pop-o-Matic" fuse boxes), and the lights came back on filling the basement with the hum of electricity.
The battle was not over. Not this time.
Trish dug out an extension cord, and we plugged the heater into an outlet in the adjacent room where the dog sleeps. Apparently this did the trick because I've been sitting in my cozily warm office for a couple hours now.
That's it. This story has no climax. Deal with it.
- Wes
My beloved wife, being the angel that she is, brought home a small, 1500 watt electric heater for my office. It works very well, but for some reason it keeps tripping a breaker. My first thought was that I had too many things plugged into one outlet, so I moved it to another outlet in my office. Still, the breaker would trip. So I gave up on the heater and went back to layering up.
Well, it's six degrees outside today, and my office was FREEZING this morning. So I pulled out the heater, plugged it in, and began cruising the net as the heater did its "thang". The second I thought the heater would work without interruption - *CLICK* - the breaker trips plunging the basement into darkness.
I was frustrated and cold. I couldn't find the flashlight so I used my cell phone backlight to find the breaker, pressed it (we've got one of those old "Pop-o-Matic" fuse boxes), and the lights came back on filling the basement with the hum of electricity.
The battle was not over. Not this time.
Trish dug out an extension cord, and we plugged the heater into an outlet in the adjacent room where the dog sleeps. Apparently this did the trick because I've been sitting in my cozily warm office for a couple hours now.
That's it. This story has no climax. Deal with it.
- Wes
Labels: Randomness
posted by Wes at 2:38 PM
6 Comments:
The problem with the heater is probably not just too many things on one outlet but rather too many things on that entire circuit.
7:55 PMYour heater on high using all its 1500 watts pulls a bit over 13.6amps. Now the entire circuit is probably only 15 or 20 amps and there are most likely some overhead lights and other outlets on it, so it wouldn't take much to overload the circuit.
Be careful using an extension cord with the heater. The average indoor cord is good to 15 amps and can get pretty darn hot running a 1500w appliance for any length of time. Invest in a cord that is suitable for a major appliance (such as refrigerator or air conditioner. These are usually rated to at least 20 amps and should be considerably safer.
That and pray for spring.
Also recommend grabbing (at least) a cheap UPS to put the PC (or new Mac) on. Nothing more frustrating than losing work because you didn't want to lose feeling in your fingers. I've found that those heaters on high can trip a circuit all on their own. And echo the idea of getting a heavy-duty extension cord, you don't want anyone (or pets) getting burned or shocked from the stretched out cord.
8:07 AMThanks for the pro-tips, guys. I appreciate it!
10:46 AM- Wes
You should probably call an electrician and get a quote for having the size of your breaker bumped up to handle a bit more juice. Or, if your wife still has the receipt, consider taking back the space heater you bought and getting an oil circulator instead. These dont blow hot air directly, rather they work more like radiators. Just turn it on a few hours before you know you'll be working and it should get the room warm. They dont draw a lot of energy all at once like the space heaters do.
10:52 AMI had the exact same problem last winter. One look at my circuit board, and I figured out where the 20amp and 15's were. I had mine plugged into a 15 when it was tripping the breaker. I made sure to only plug it into 20amp outlets, and it was fine after that.
1:59 PMEven better...get one of those heaters that looks like the old radiator style ones. They don't have a blower and just get warm & cozy. I have one in my basement and me & my wife's cats (I don't claim the beasts) love them.
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