quick background in an effort to answer all questions.

I live in anchorage alaska for code purposes
we are buying a hot tub requiring 50 amp service
my house has 100 amp service, mostly gas with with the main breaker outside next to meter.... no ability to add breakers to the box
sub pannel is pretty much full and would be hard to pull out of it anyways


Problem is to pull a 50 amp circuit to a box with the Ground fault breaker for tub disconnect
the distance from meter box to tub is 55 feet
Electrician said would have to tap the box and could only go 25 feet on a tap before it had to go to subpanel with breaker
said would be in the 1000 dollar range to install

Question is
what does he mean by tapping
is 55 feet going to be an issue from the subpanel installed just under main box
is 1000 bucks kind of expensive
he said he would just arrive 1-2 hours prior to the tub and install and would make the run at the house after visiting the site for measurments

want to do this right but do not want to overspend either

thanks

 

If you will post the make and model the pros will tell you if you can use tandems to free up space. A picture with the cover off will also help. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/li...-pictures.html If you can't use tandems you can add a subpanel. Give us another picture further back showing the area around the panel. A subpanel if needed can be a DIY job.

As too tapping I can only guess from his distance description he may be a talking about an unfused feed to the subpanel because of no open breaker spaces but that isn't how it should be done. You transfer as many loads in the main as needed to free up space for a breaker to the subpanel and power the subpanel from a breaker.

 

This sounds like a single 100 amp breaker disconnect at the meter, not a panel that will accept additional breakers, is that correct? Tap rules would apply here, but I am curious how the electrician would tap the load side of the 100 amp breaker, options are limited. Here is a full explanation of tap rules.

Understanding the Rules for Feeder Taps | Code Basics content from Electrical Construction & Maintenance (EC&M) Magazine

Tapping the 100 amp feeder may work, but I think what I would recommend is to replace the 100 amp breaker disconnect with a small 100 amp main breaker NEMA 3R loadcenter with 6 to 8 spaces for additional breakers. I'd install a 100A 2P breaker to feed the existing subpanel and a 50A 2P breaker to feed the hot tub circuit. This is all, of course, dependent on the existing loads being low enough to allow the additional load of the hot tub.

 

casual Joe

you are correct i used wrong terminology. The outside panel is a 100 amp disconnect and the easisest way to run the circuit is to come from there. inside box would be difficult at best.

he is coming to bid the job final bid that is today already said it would be in the 800 - 1000 range. any ideas if that is excessive.

thanks all for the help. this seems like something i can do but if it is not to code then they will not hook up

 

It's almost impossible to evaluate a price without knowing the local labor rates and exactly what he will be doing. My guess is that 800-1000 was a little high because he threw that number over the phone. I'd think the actual number would be closer to 800 than the higher figure.