A couple of questions from HUD 4150.2, App D

[TxArmadillo]

An ampmeter gives no usefull data for your purpose. It only shows the amps being drawn at the time you check it, not the maximum load of the house. You might have a 200 amp breaker panel in the house with a total of 300 amps of total breaker capacity. Only a portion is used at anyone time. If you are only feeding the house with a 50 amp capacity meter base (and line to the meter) you have a problem. This crops up when an old house is updated on the inside, but they did not add correct the entrance feed.

Most meters have a rating plate. Some small amperage units can be identified by shape and appearance. The entrance cable can be identified by size 2, 0, 00, 000, 0000, etc and with experience you can identify gross under capacity of overhead wires by sight.

Sid, God love ya because this is a great response and I love the detail yo provided. But this is WAY over my head to check this. Must be one of those CE courses on home inspection that I haven't taken yet. :icon_mrgreen:

 

[mark hurlock]

Hey, gang, just a couple of questions on some material in 4150.2, App D. Just doing some late night reading and my sponsor isn't available.

1. This question pertains to Electical Systems (page D-5).

"If the appliances present at the time of the inspection do not appear to be reasonable (undersized), determine if there is adequate amperage to run “standard” appliances, as per local code."

How do you determine "adequate amperage"? Use a multimeter of some sort?

2. This question pertains to Plumbing Systems (page D-5).

"Turn on several cold water faucets in the house to check water pressure and flow. Flushing a toilet at the same time will also reveal any weaknesses in water pressure."

I've frequently seen a drop in water pressure (flow rate decreases) in sinks when a toilet is flushed. Is this considered a reportable weakness in water pressure or would it have to be something more than this?

Thanks. ​

TX,



Electrical service loads are a calculation based on The National Electrical Code.

Unless your previous occupation was in the electrical industry, you will not be qualified to determine the necessary service size of any particular dwelling.

It is also too complex for me to explain on a message board.

Also, you are not required to use any testing device. You only need to operate a representative number of lights or lamps plugged into outlets.

As far as the plumbing question. I have never owned or been in a home that did not change pressure when additional outlets were opened. So unless it rises to the level of dysfunctional, it is probably OK.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

There is a simple little tester that you can plug into a 3 prong socket that will tell you if the polarity is correct. I also think the biggest problem to watch for is a large window air conditioner on a 2 prong plug in or on an extension cord. I would flag those.