To get building permits to allow us to do the things that we needed to do to modernize the cabin we needed to bring everything up to current code. The wiring without a ground wire would have to be replaced. The plumbing would need to be replaced. The cabin would have to lifted and new stem wall 18" above grade would have to be built. The stairs would have to go as they were much too steep and didn't have the required number of ballisters. Nothing could be attached to the ouside walls as they were ponderosa pine which in the eyes in the county is a non structeral wood. We could no longer rely on our pellet stove for heat in the winter, we would need electric or gas main heating system. We figured out work arounds for everything except the stairs up to the loft. To bring it up to code would cut into the living space so much that there would not be room for a couch and chair in the "great room".
After much weeping and gnashing of teeth we made the decision to demo the cabin, and build new on the same site. Slightly bigger foot print. We are now up to 1000 sq ft.
The new cabin is recently finished, and the county building code has bit us in the butt again.
The county requires arc fault circuit breakers on all circuits. We just had a lighting strike near us and all the lights went out. I kept waiting for the backup generator to start and power up the house. It never started. It was raining so hard that I waited until the frogs were not getting strangled. First thing I did was to trip the main circuit breaker to see if I could get the generator to come on. It did, so I went back in the house, still no electricity. So back out in the rain and shut off every circuit breaker and then back on. Every one of the arc faults had tripped.
Now my question is since we sometimes have power outages that last more than a day and I have a generator that comes on in a power outage and keeps the elk meat in the freezer from thawing. Why am I keeping these arc fault circuit breakers that trip in lighting storms. I think I can replace them with the old fashioned kind that only trip with a short. All the plugs are GFI protected. Can some one please talk me out of going back to something that has worked just fine for the last 50 years in the old cabin.
Aren't Government mandates wonderful.
Terry
My understanding of electricity is that an Arc Fault is completely different than a Ground Fault (GFCI). The Arc Fault plugs were adopted for dusty locations (bedrooms as opposed to living rooms as the latter is cleaned more often). When a plug is removed from the outlet, an Arc Fault does not let that tiny spark to occur (similar to static shock except a whole lot stronger) which could potentially cause dust to explode, setting off a catastrophic chain of events.
Seeing as Arizona is extremely dry, and dusty, that analogy would make sense to me.
Now, with that said, also take into consideration that 60% of the time, I'm right all the time.
If yes, could lead to a problem should a fire take the cabin.........
No................replace the breakers.
From what I've seen, the AF/GFI breakers are 3 to 4 times the cost of regular breakers. But an employee at Lowes told me they will eventually phase out the old breakers because of the new codes, anyway.
