Outdoor HPWC Install Atlanta (Pictures)

[MikeATL]

Yeah, 125a sucks for that much space.

You’re right - I miscounted. I have 20 physical breakers and with cheaters I have 26 total.. I am supposed to have no more than 24. He got that information off the sticker inside, but I forgot to snap a picture of it.

I don’t know what gauge wire feeds my house - no way for me to tell. The electrician didn’t raise any concerns. I have to assume it’s rated to the beaker they installed. I can have the next expert who comes out look.

You’re right that I’d be perfectly fine with 30A. I’m still going to keep the Wall Connector for the convenience of being able to park the car facing in or out (24 ft cord.)

I don’t have a free breaker slot, so something is still going to Gas. The Hot Water heater is in the same closet with a Gas furnace. I presume it has a vent - can they share the same vent? If there’s no vent there already, then I don’t see any easy way to install one being that I’m in a townhome.

The dryer has the normal dryer vent, of course. Can that be used for the venting required for a gas dryer? Can you vent to the side of the house? If not, we can reach the roof easily from there, but the I might need the HOA involved. There’s no gas at the dryer now, but it’s just above in the attic and the laundry closet is on an interior wall, so it would be an easy plumbing job. The Washers 110V outlet needs to be converted to a dual outlet. Together, the washer and dryer would pull only 12 Amp.

 

[eprosenx]

You’re right - I miscounted. I have 20 physical breakers and with cheaters I have 26 total.. I am supposed to have no more than 24. He got that information off the sticker inside, but I forgot to snap a picture of it.

I don’t know what gauge wire feeds my house - no way for me to tell. The electrician didn’t raise any concerns. I have to assume it’s rated to the beaker they installed. I can have the next expert who comes out look.

You’re right that I’d be perfectly fine with 30A. I’m still going to keep the Wall Connector for the convenience of being able to park the car facing in or out (24 ft cord.)

I don’t have a free breaker slot, so something is still going to Gas. The Hot Water heater is in the same closet with a Gas furnace. I presume it has a vent - can they share the same vent? If there’s no vent there already, then I don’t see any easy way to install one being that I’m in a townhome.

The dryer has the normal dryer vent, of course. Can that be used for the venting required for a gas dryer? Can you vent to the side of the house? If not, we can reach the roof easily from there, but the I might need the HOA involved. There’s no gas at the dryer now, but it’s just above in the attic and the laundry closet is on an interior wall, so it would be an easy plumbing job. The Washers 110V outlet needs to be converted to a dual outlet. Together, the washer and dryer would pull only 12 Amp.

I forgot to mention, I had another idea: I wonder if since your breaker panel seems to be modular (the door panel is setup for more breaker positions than the bus has and it does not have a part # for the breaker panel itself) - maybe you could get new "guts" for the panel that actually had a couple of additional breaker positions (i.e. extended the bus down a bit more). Maybe that is wishful thinking - but worth checking to see if the manufacturer makes one.

I do want to see a picture of that sticker since it should give lots of details like how much power per bus stab you are allowed to pull and which specific bus stabs are allowed to have "cheaters" and which are not. I have seen a lot of smaller panels like yours where *every* bus position is allowed to have a cheater so I am kind of surprised that yours is in theory limited to 24. Also, you can always install a sub-panel if you run out of breaker positions, so basically infinite options.

Gas heaters and water heaters historically always shared vents, though with the new high efficiency and sideways vent setups and such I don't know if the high efficiency ones are allowed to share. I would check with a water heater / HVAC contractor.

You can tell what gauge wire feeds that panel by reading any writing on the big thick wires, or by visually gauging it (I just am not good enough to do it via a picture yet). There are I am sure folks who can do it just by looking.

Gas dryers do vent out the existing dryer vent, so that is good (I have one). Just need gas available at that location. As you state, the washer and dryer can generally share the same 120v circuit (that is how mine is setup).

Good luck! Let us know what you come up with!