New and Learning member.

[Ravinmad]

Hi,

New diamond and jewelry enthusist here. I have been shopping for an engagement ring about 3 months now and became very interested in diamonds and the 4C's and such. I am a H&A fanatic I'm come to realize, and are currently leaning towards a BGD stone in the .5ct G-I color range and have it set thru a local jeweler here in a ring my other half is in love with. Our total budget is about $2200 for things and thats stretched. The local ring is about 400-550 depending on the actual setting she picks, she's stuck between two at this jeweler and the artcarved bridals Whitney setting.

I am a tradesmen of the electrical nature in an industrial setting if anyone has some question about things with wires, I may be able to help.

Thanks,

Doug aka Ravinmad (the online name dates to 1997 and the beginnings of online )

 

[WishfulThinkingOne]

Hi,

New diamond and jewelry enthusist here. I have been shopping for an engagement ring about 3 months now and became very interested in diamonds and the 4C's and such. I am a H&A fanatic I'm come to realize, and are currently leaning towards a BGD stone in the .5ct G-I color range and have it set thru a local jeweler here in a ring my other half is in love with. Our total budget is about $2200 for things and thats stretched. The local ring is about 400-550 depending on the actual setting she picks, she's stuck between two at this jeweler and the artcarved bridals Whitney setting.

I am a tradesmen of the electrical nature in an industrial setting if anyone has some question about things with wires, I may be able to help.

Thanks,

Doug aka Ravinmad (the online name dates to 1997 and the beginnings of online )

Hi Doug,

I hope to help you and maybe you can help me
If your budget is only $1800 for the stone I'd try to get as much size as you can and not pay a premium for HA, at that size you will barely be able to see individual facets, a near HA with great proportions will get you the most bang for your buck.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Premium-Cut-Round-Diamond-1411424.asp

But the BGD stone like this will only be a little smaller.

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...ls/0.528-i-vs2-round-diamond-ags-104054379008

As slg said it might save you some money if you can find a setting from BGD she likes.

Now I hope you can help me with my problem:

I need to replace my humidifier currently I have a model that works on a 20Amp circuit breaker in the basement, the actual unit is in the 3rd floor.

I need a higher capacity humidifier which would require a 40amp breaker. I'm hoping an electrian doesn't have to replace the wire which would require running a wire up 3 stories through walls blindly.

Right now I have a big fat red wire feeding the humidifier and the circuit breaker box I am not sure of the number of wires or the Gauge of the wire but red color might mean something to those in the trade. The basement breaker box has plenty of empty slots but I don't have any 40 Amp breakers in that box.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[slg47]

what does the local ring look like? if BGD has something similar you would avoid mounting fees.

 

[slg47]

The best bet for you will be looking for Vendors who carry Virtual Diamond as they will give you better pricing. There are many listed on Pricescope. Check https://www.pricescope.com/featured-sponsors/

You can also use the search to compare price for the same diamond

I would not recommend 'virtual' stones because there are no images to evaluate them. you can call in stones from the virtual inventory for evaluation but there may be fees associated if you do not keep the diamond because the vendor will incur shipping fees.

 

[Ravinmad]

alright, as for the electrical issue. Odds are you wont be able to run a 40A humidifier on the existing wires, The distance that you are speaking of and the ampacity of the wire is to low

A 40-amp circuit is usually used for stoves or heat pumps. Because of the high power requirements of these appliances, choosing the correct wire gauge is very important. Choosing too small a gauge will result in excessive heating of the electrical wires, which could cause a fire. Choosing too large a wire will result in excessive cost.

The National Electric Code (NEC) requires that the gauge wire used for a circuit must be able to handle 125 percent of the load's continuous current plus the load's noncontinuous current. A 40-amp circuit means that the maximum continuous current plus the noncontinuous current cannot be more than 40 amps. The NEC recommends 8-gauge copper wire, depending on the length of the circuit.

Length

The length of the circuit will affect the voltage drop at the load. As the length increases, so will the voltage drop. The National Electric Code states that the voltage drop should not exceed 5 percent. For a 120-volt circuit, this equates to 6 volts. This means that the minimum voltage at the load is 120 volts minus 6 volts or 114 volts. To address this problem, the wire size is increased when the voltage drop becomes too high. This reduces the wire resistance per foot. An 8-gauge copper wire can carry 40 amps a maximum of 96 feet. After that, a 6-gauge copper wire is needed due to excessive voltage drop. A 6-gauge copper wire will carry 40 amps a maximum of 184 feet before another gauge change is needed.

Conductor Material

The type of material the conductors are made of also affects the wire gauge. Different materials, such as copper, gold and aluminum, all have different resistances per foot. This affects their ability to carry current. As previously stated, an 8-gauge copper wire can carry 40 amps a maximum of 96 feet. An 8-gauge aluminum wire can only carry 40 amps a maximum of 49 feet before needing a gauge change.

Temperature

Temperature can also affect the gauge of wire used. The National Electric Code lowers the allowable current flowing through a wire when the wire is in a high-temperature environment. The objective is to keep the wire from overheating.

The Load



The type of load used on a 40-amp circuit will affect the gauge cable used. This is a big factor when dealing with electric motors and their excessive start-up current. The motor may have a steady state or continuous current of 33 amps, which is well within the limits of an 8-gauge copper wire. However, if the motor's start-up current is 60 amps, then this exceeds the limits of an 8-gauge copper wire. A 6-gauge copper wire should be used because a 6-gauge can handle the start-up current without overloading the wire.



Credit for this is given as I went and found this versus doing all the particular lookup in the code book :
Read more: What Gauge Wire Is Required for a 40 Amp Circuit? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6588235_gauge-required-40-amp-circuit_.html#ixzz1gSAH14sD

The one option you do have and can consider is getting a 240volt replacement unit, as by doubling the voltage you can still use the 20A rated circuit but effectively increasing your available wattage.

The local jeweler is actually more of a consultant and she has alot of great stuff and prices that are really amazing and has credentials and such to back it up. Give you an idea, I priced the same ring thru a B&M store, setting was 1150 at the store and she can get the identical ring for me at $700 bucks and that will include mounting. This is the artcarved ring, quoted prices from both in the past 10 days,

 

[Ravinmad]

for the record wishful, that BGD I VS2 stone is actually one of the very ones I have had my eye on!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

My observation is that PS vendors are great for the diamonds, but the settings aren't priced significantly better than elsewhere. Regular jewelers just don't have the selection of well cut diamonds that certain PS vendors do.

Here is a .60 H SI1 H&A stone for $1900:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2724652.htm

 

[WishfulThinkingOne]

alright, as for the electrical issue. Odds are you wont be able to run a 40A humidifier on the existing wires, The distance that you are speaking of and the ampacity of the wire is to low.

Its a maximum of 70 ft of wire could be as little as 40 - 50.

A 40-amp circuit is usually used for stoves or heat pumps.

The heat pump is beside it and I think its on a different circuit breaker box.

Because of the high power requirements of these appliances, choosing the correct wire gauge is very important. Choosing too small a gauge will result in excessive heating of the electrical wires, which could cause a fire. Choosing too large a wire will result in excessive cost.

I think red is 4 wire copper 8 gauge does that make sense?

The National Electric Code (NEC) requires that the gauge wire used for a circuit must be able to handle 125 percent of the load's continuous current plus the load's noncontinuous current. A 40-amp circuit means that the maximum continuous current plus the noncontinuous current cannot be more than 40 amps.

Humidifier needs 29Amps and 6.75kw of power

Conductor Material
The one option you do have and can consider is getting a 240volt replacement unit, as by doubling the voltage you can still use the 20A rated circuit but effectively increasing your available wattage.

But would I still need to replace the wire?

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Ravinmad]

No, you dont need to replace the wire, typically its rated at 600volts, if you can look at any section of it, it should be printed right on the outer jacket, if it is, then you are doing OK. If you arent 100% of what your doing, contact a licensed electrician in your area be it a friend or someone in the yellow pages.

You also need to consider the overall amp draw on your panel and possibly the load balance on that panel as well!!!

 

[WishfulThinkingOne]

No, you dont need to replace the wire, typically its rated at 600volts, if you can look at any section of it, it should be printed right on the outer jacket, if it is, then you are doing OK. If you arent 100% of what your doing, contact a licensed electrician in your area be it a friend or someone in the yellow pages.

You also need to consider the overall amp draw on your panel and possibly the load balance on that panel as well!!!

I am definitely going to get a licensed electrician just want to make sure I don't get charged for something I may not need.
The printing on the wire says LL 90458 0 CSA AWG 12 Copper 2 Core.

I hope that doesn't mean 12 Gauge wire and that I likely have to replace it.

 

[Ravinmad]

I'm afraid that is 12GA wire, but talk with your local electrician if you can run the 240V unit and still stay at the 20amp range, which is squeaking by for this wire.