Moving into a house... electric/gas questions

W

wherzwaldo

1,000+ Posts
Getting ready to move into a house (one-story) and want to plan out our expenses for the next couple of months so there are no surprises.

1. Both the range and dryer use gas connections. However, we already have an electric dryer and would like to replace the existing old range with an electric. I know an electric dryer uses a 220V (or whatever) circuit, and I'm assuming a new electric range/oven would as well.

How much should I expect to pay to have an electrician install these circuits? The distance back to the breaker box is not far (about 25 feet for the range, much shorter for the dryer). I have not looked at the breaker box to see if there is enough room for two more breakers.

2. Is there anything I need to do to the gas hookups before I disconnect them? I'm assuming I can just turn the valve off and forget about it, but with gas I'd like to make sure.

3. There are two bedrooms with a total of about six 2-prong outlets (house was built in '55). For installing 3-prong outlets, is it as simple as replacing the outlets themselves, or will they have to get new wiring?
 
This doesn't answer your question, but I would hate to have to go back to cooking with an electric range. Gas is so much better, I think.
 
you could just put in the 3 prongs without hooking up the ground (this is what most people tend to do I imagine). But I'm sure this doesn't meet code.

Don't kill yourself. Check the voltage with a volt meter even after you cut off the breaker at the box.
 
What he said.

You can certainly replace your old receptacles with ones that have a modern ground plug. Unless (unlikely) your old construction used metal boxes and metal conduit, it won't really be grounded according to modern specs, but the notion that you have to be in total compliance with all modern codes is total ********. Realtors and realty inspectors will tell you otherwise, but they are completely full of ****. Sounds like you bought your house without it being up to modern codes and you can sell it that way. Putting modern receptacles in may make someone THINK it is modern, but you can easily explain that it isn't and almost no one will care.
 
We didn't buy the house... It belongs to extended family and they are letting us live there rent free in exchange for us making a few upgrades.

Ditching the electric dryer would suck, since we only bought it 6 months ago (before we knew we would be moving). Don't really care to get into the gas vs. electric debate either, since I've been cooking on electric my whole life.
 
i moved in my house march 07. built in '40, it has old as **** wiring. i wouldn't lose the gas stove. talk to some realtors, i'd be surprised if that isn't more desirable.

i had around 15 old 2 prong outlets replaced in my house and had around 8 grounded outlets installed. if you don't need the grounded everywhere, i'd just have the old outlets replaced. when they get lose, they create heat in the wires that could cause a fire. of the grounded i had installed, only one replaced a 2 prong and i'm not 100% sure how they did it. pretty sure they ran new wire. the other grounded i had installed in weird places for computers and tv's (closets and cabinets).

if you're in austin and need an electrician, i have a great one that does things for really good prices. (i got a quote from a different one before i found this one. they wouldn't do half of what i wanted and were going to charge double for 1/4 of the products)
 
9 years ago I had a couple electricians quote me $500 plus parts (~$100) to install a 220 outlet directly inside of the breaker box from a new breaker. I ended up doing it myself. I used about 8 inches of wire. I suspect you would pay $1000 each including running the wire. If you have to expand your service to make room that may be another $1500+. Given the age of the place it may need it anyway.

A licensed electrician shouldn't install a three prong outlet in a room with no ground, so expect to drop another grand or so per room to redo the wiring at the same time.

You can probably do it yourself (ungrounded) for $20 in parts and a couple hours work. Get the push in type wiring they go a lot faster.
 
We had an electrician come out to add a new 220 for an HVAC heater wiring, and he charged $75 per hour for two or three hours, wasn't too bad. But I was told recently that most charge a minimum of 1/2 day to come out, so just doing one small job might not be too economical.
 
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Assuming extra space in the breaker box...which would need to be four open spaces...and accessible space to route the wiring, you should be looking at around $500.00 to add both circuits. If space and access aren't available, the cost would go up...and it could be drastic, or it could be minimal. It is hard to say without seeing the circumstances.

As to the two prong outlets, they may not be legally replaced with three prongs unless proper grounding is provided...this is a life safety issue. When people see three prong outlets they automatically think they are grounded. There is a code provision that allows you to install a GFCI breaker or receptacle ahead of the outlets you wish to convert from two prong to three prong, without adding a ground to the circuit. Even though it will not test out properly with a standard GFI probe, the breaker/device will trip out when necessary. The explanation for this could take a couple of days so I'll stop now. My personal recommendation would be to stay with two prong outlets where you can, as most items in your home do not require grounding, ie. lamps, clocks, radios, personal item battery chargers. Kitchens, bathrooms, media centers(need surge protectors,as well), irons and most vacuum cleaners should have properly grounded three prong outlets.

Basically what I am recommending is to weigh your overall situation, possibly hire someone to come out for a consultation, then go from there.

A side note on the post telling you to put three prongs in wherever you want to, and safety be damned...if you did this and there was some event that caused a fire, it is quite possible your insurance company would have an investigation carried out. If they discovered ANY improper installation that could have had cause or affect in the matter, they will deny your claim, and probably cancel your policy.












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Why dont you just buy new gas appliances as the "upgrade" to pay for living there rent free and keep your electric appliances for when you move? But then you will realize how much better gas is and not want to go back.
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"A side note on the post telling you to put three prongs in wherever you want to, and safety be damned...if you did this and there was some event that caused a fire, it is quite possible your insurance company would have an investigation carried out. If they discovered ANY improper installation that could have had cause or affect in the matter, they will deny your claim, and probably cancel your policy."

No. They won't.
 
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OrangeHair...that is basically correct...if there is more than a 5 mille-amp variance from the hot to the return/neutral conductor the GFCI will trip. If an individual somehow comes in contact with the hot wire and is grounded, the GFCI will trip in a fraction of a second...without the GFCI, probably electrocution or severe pain and injury.












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Roll your eyes all you want.

As a homeowner, you can leave a bucket of gasoline next to your gas heater and it won't be cause to deny a claim unless you did it to purposely start a fire. The only way your carrier can cancel your policy is if they find out about the bucket, tell you to move it, and you refuse to move the bucket. There is no exclusion for accidentally setting fires no matter how stupidly you act.
 
wow...i thought that the earlier poster was full of **** when he said there are more electric than gas dryers.

Turns out it's 80-20 electric. WOW. I had no idea.
 
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Nick...performing work that goes against local, state and national codes is cause for refusing a claim, and ignorance is not an excuse. I'm not saying that all insurance companies would, but some have denied claims in the past due to improper workmanship.

















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Ok, so based on the responses here, my dad and I are going to tackle this ourselves... we may not do everything, but at least one 220V outlet for the dryer.

Is there an easy way to know if we need to expand service to the house, or does that require an electrician's house call? Also, chances are this may have already been done in the past, since the garage was converted into a master bedroom suite and a second HVAC unit was added.
 
LITNIN. I'm an attorney who spent 20 years litigating the Texas Homeowner's claim. It is NOT a valid excuse for denying a claim.
 
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