so i was without power for about 18 hours at my apartment until moments ago. ok, thats not exactly true, i ran an extension cord last night from my neighbors apartment, but, in theory, i was powerless. and, as expected, it was a burnt out fuse. unfortunately, the fuse box is in the basement of the building which is only accessible through the landlords "store" on the ground floor. i dont actually think you can call it a store because noone has bought anything in there since 1955.

so im annoyed for any number of reasons with the landlord. first, the wiring in the building sucks, and he refuses to even consider looking into what could be done. and now it looks like it will end up costing me considerable dollars (in increased rent) to put in a gas line for a stove so i can cook and have the air conditioner running at the same time. (im guessing thats what tripped the fuse.) and, of course, that conversation was precipitated by my complaining about his negligence (always a touchy subject).

meanwhile, at least part of my hardship could have been avoided if he trusted his super with the keys to his store. there is absolutely nothing worth stealing in the store. there is no reason not to have this contigency plan for emergencies. the landlord even said it was a good thing this didnt happen while he was away, but there was a good chance he might not have come in today and he doesnt work on saturdays, so i could potentially have been without power until sunday. needless to say, he has no plans to make any changes except to charge me more.

and then i asked if there was any way to reach him after business hours so he could have come back and dealt with my problem, to which he said that he would not come back at night even though he only lives about 10 minutes away on foot (and it was 7pm when it happened). so basically he doesnt give a fuck. if the laws werent what they were, i would have bludgeoned him on the spot.

and the us cant even beat fucking ghana!!!

we suck.
- dave 6-22-2006 9:39 pm [add a comment]

god damn it, im so pissed off i dont even know what day it is. hed have to be sOme fucking jew to start the sabbath on a thursdAY. the rest of my critique is unaltered.

anybody know what difference a surge protector (or three) woUld could should make?
- dave 6-22-2006 10:05 pm [add a comment]

i dont think any. power strips are good wire managers but only prevent surges of electricity from damaging your equiptment. what you need to figure out is how many circuits are in your apt. and try to spread the heavy use out so as not to stress any single circuit. for instance when you blow a breaker do all your lights and plugs go out? if so your all on one circuit and your fucked. the fridge is a strong draw too. hot plates and ac are heavy users too.
- bill 6-22-2006 10:19 pm [add a comment]

i should add what particularly galls me is when he complains about his costs and expenses. i ask for one hundred less from a three hundred increase in rent, and he tells me he could get four hundred more than hed get from me were he to kick me out. and i am certainly in a gray area as far as having a lease. but if he were strapped he could get six to eight thousand for the two storefront he wastes with his moldy old clothes. or he could sell either building he owns for in excess of two million each. i think an eighty year old man could live quite comforably on the interest from that. that i would get evicted were such a sale to come to pass would certainly pass the irony test with room to spare.
- dave 6-22-2006 10:27 pm [add a comment]

i am fucked. one circuit. what would it take to add more?
- dave 6-22-2006 10:30 pm [add a comment]

a certified electrician and permission from the owner.
- bill 6-22-2006 10:42 pm [add a comment]

that much i knew. i was just curious if anyone could guesstimate costs. would that require new outlets and would i then need someone to come in and redo the walls, etc.
- dave 6-22-2006 11:06 pm [add a comment]

i would say run in a circuit to the kitchen 1-2 outlets. and a dedicated outlet to the ac location. the job cost would depend on how easy it is for them to chase the electrical cable down to the basement and tie it in to your electrical box by the meter. off hand $500 to $1000 at least. redo the whole apt ? forgetaboutit.
- bill 6-22-2006 11:12 pm [add a comment]

also, shout out to the previous tenants who left a key to my apartment in the phantom fuse box in the hallway and neglected to tell me.
- dave 6-23-2006 12:10 am [add a comment]

Bill's right, forget about rewiring the whole place.

We're looking at splitting service at the firehouse into three sections, installation of new service to each or the residences upstairs and leaving the old three-phase system in place for the business downstairs. It's fucking expensive.
We need an electrical contractor to install 200 amp service to our portion of the firehouse. I'll be doing all the wiring myself, the contractor will provide

a meter main
service drop
200 amp panel
and pull the necessary permits

The city will provide the pole and power line.
I figure it's going to cost us at least $5000. The first bid I got was $8000.

100 amps is typical for a household. Your place is probably around 40. My little place on 5th had 100 amp service and it's own panel as it had once been a commercial storefront.

Don't get me started on the process of condominiumization...

or permits...

- steve 6-23-2006 6:43 pm [add a comment]

i could be wrong but there was one fuse and it wasnt more than 25.
- dave 6-23-2006 10:37 pm [add a comment]

Can't he just jam a penny in there?

(Kidding!)
- jim 6-23-2006 10:45 pm [add a comment]

25 ain't much.

A simple equation is:

amps x volts = watts

in your case volts are 120. So a unit which uses 1000 watts pulls around 8 amps.
- steve 6-23-2006 11:20 pm [add a comment]