New Appliance Installation

Major Appliance Receptacle Installation: Be Aware of the Dangers Before You Begin

Often,  people suffer from electrocution in the United States from the installation of large appliances.   Many other deaths are caused by installing household wiring. What this information should tell you is this; there are many factors to address when adding a large appliance to your home, and the receptacle should definitely be installed by a qualified professional electrician.

Why? Because the chance of accidental electrocution is very high with any type of electrical job. As a matter of fact, even with the hundreds of thousands of  ”How To” articles floating around the Internet, when you Google “how to install a major appliance,” here are some examples of the links that come up:

• Appliances, find a local appliance installer
• Appliance-find local appliance installers near you

Even Google seems to be suggesting you not attempt to handle this one yourself.

There are very real dangers which need to be addressed before beginning to install anything that requires electricity. So, if you’re looking into installing a major appliance, please consider the following factors before taking on the dangerous task of installing the necessary receptacle.

For one new major appliance, such as a hot tub, you need at least a 240 volt, 20 amp circuit.   That is required by code. There are other details required by code that you are advised to educate yourself on.

For any appliances that have a rating of 300 or more volts, which is true of almost all of the 220 appliances, it’s required by law that you have a way to disconnect the appliance, either at the appliance or through a breaker lock, so that anyone servicing the appliance can turn it off quickly. It’s also required that the switch have a clearly marked “OFF” position. These requirements are only a small part of what is involved in the installation of an electrical appliance.

There are many other factors to be considered if it is a gas appliance, even from an electrical standpoint. Gas appliances require even more amps, and this requirement varies depending on the size of the appliance. Each area of the country has it’s own codes along with national requirements as well, all in place for safety reasons. All the requirements must be met, and the fact that these requirements exist is yet another testament to the dangerous nature of electrical job.

Even though we all know that the power must be disconnected before any work is done, many do not know that breaker boxes and fuse boxes can still be hot after you’ve turned off the main breaker, or have taken out the main fuse.

If electrical work isn’t performed by a professional, there’s a very real risk of injury or death by electric shock. Even if you do manage to get the job done without killing anyone, one minor mistake in figuring how many amps you needed, or which wires to use, where to place the receptacle, etc, can result in a fire, damage to the property, injury and even death.

That’s why, in most jurisdictions, it’s illegal for anyone who’s not a qualified professional to install anything that requires electrical wiring or do any kind of serious electrical work. For this reason, most insurance companies usually have a clause that voids insurance benefits should you decide to do your electrical wiring and installations.

So, if you’re considering having a major appliance installed you really should consider hiring a professional electrician who can do the job safely and effectively.

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