Electical Question

[alaskabear99687]

Hello, this is a great site. I have already purchased two of the manuals one in B&W which I sent to my mother who just bought a MH and the online color version for myself because I like ot look at the pictures .

Anyway on to my question; we are beginning our search for MH to purchase as a "home" this for all intensive purposes will be our home indefinatily. My question revolves around the electrical service. How can I tell what kind of service I am getting from the trailer court, how can I tell what size the breaker box is and how do I tell what kind of wiring I am looking at (old aluminum/new). I have already contacted a couple insurance companies and they said that the wiring would need to be upgraded to a certain level and certified by an electrician before coverage.

Finally any recomendations on roofing. We live in Valdez Alaska, annual snow fall is 300+ inches (no joke) the average temp in the winter is 25-30 with an occasional drop to 0-15. Summers are around 70-80. Baring instalation of a peaked metal roof what would be another option. Keep in mind that someone will have to get on the roof for snow removal.

[Yanita]

Hi,

Sorry this has gone unanswered.

The homes you will be looking at, are they new or used. A new one will have the proper wiring inside the home. As for the service entrance you will need to do as the insurance company request, getting an electrician to "certify" what is there, or needs to be upgraded.

As for looking at wiring, if it is copper or aluminum, I am assuming that you know what the difference looks like. Aluminum is silver/gray and copper is just that. We give minimal advice on electrical. This is not to insult the poster, but rather prevent them from personal injury.

Your roof, mobiles are sold according to zones. Somewhere in the home will be a sticker that shows the zoning for that home. I would guess that regardless what home you have/get shoveling the roof off is a must with 300".

For your living conditions I think I would go with a metal roof with a overhang, much easier to keep cleaned off. We always recommend using a snow/roof rake to clean off your MH roof. I don't think I would get a home with skylights either.

If you are purchasing a used home please read the article I put together in the "stickies" on the main page of the repair forum. Some of the info could also be used as general things to look at when looking for a new home.

I am sorry if I have not clearly answered any of your questions. Hopefully others will come along and post some more. LOL, they might be nervous about answering any post that has "electrical" in the title.

Good luck with your search of a new home.

Merry Christmas,

Yanita

[Greg]

Check the main breaker, the breaker is labeled as to what size they are. What is important is the parks' service. If the park's main is only 60 amps (many old parks still have them) and the home's is 100 amp you are still only going to have 60 available.

As for the type of wire, all you would need to do is pull the cover off of the breaker panel, Copper wire is copper in color, Aluminum is grey/silver. Aluminum cable coming in to feed the box is normal, these will be the large wires.

Steel roofing is the only way to go when you have that much snow, it helps make it slide off. We average 160-200" around here (lots More north of me) So I do know what you are talking about, keep it shoveled after every snow fall. Greg

[alaskabear99687]

Thank you, this confirms what I was thinking but was nice to hear from people that know what their talking about. I have printed off the "buying used" sticky and it is on a clipboard ready to go with me along with screwdrivers, flashlight and digital camera. The trailers (I can afford) in my area are in the 1970-1980 range. For the roof I do like the idea of metal with a slope so that I don't have to worry about snow removal. Thanks again for your help and hope to have a picture of somekind of MH to put on the site within the next couple months.

[Yanita]

Hi,

Great, glad we could be of help to you!

Since you are buying an older home to check the wiring type you can remove an outlet cover and check to see what is there, make sure the power is off first though.

Glad that someone is getting use of my list...please make sure to pull out appliances and or furniture when looking at your home. Alot of damage is hidden.

A few years back Hubby and I bought a early 70's model doublewide. After some upgrades,doors,windows,heat and air condition we settled into renos. It has been an experience but well worth it. I much prefer the construction of this older home to the 97 unit I bought new in 97.

Oh, and since you are buying older you may not find the zoning tag. It could/would/might of been removed through the years or painted over.

Good luck and please make sure to visit us often, and certainly post us a pic of the home you choose.

When you get ready to do upgrades or redo the inside if that becomes your choice, make sure to separate your post into the appropriate forums.

Again, Welcome to MHR.com
Merry Christmas,

Yanita

[Greg]

The Zone sticker that Yanita is refering to is usuallt by the breaker box or in a closet if it is still there. It gives you the information of the area (or zone) that the home was built for, it will have wind & roof load ratings listed. Greg

[Brenda OH reregister]

There is one other type of wiring that you may find in 1970s models, it is copper clad aluminum. it is aluminum inside, copper outside. you have to look at the wire end on, to see if it is aluminum colored in the center.

for the work my electrician was doing, it seemed more fragile than copper wiring.

ex: one circuit was out, we fixed it, and it the process, another circuit (ie half the outlets in the home) stopped working. the electrician had been working at the junction box, and the other circuit had gotten jostled a bit, he thought.

he fixed it, and an outlet we had been in, another wire snapped off when he pushed the wires back in the outlet box to put the cover on.

he did not consider the copper clad aluminum wire unsafe, just a pain in the backside, and required more expensive, alumimum wire rated switches, outlets etc.

so, if you end up with a choice between a home with copper wire only service or one with either type of aluminum wiring you may want to add more potential cost to you estimate for getting aluminum or aluminum clad wiring up to snuff for the insurance company.

also, homes after 1976 had more stringent manufacturing standards, and it may be worth paying a little more for a home that is post 1975, it may have more insulation in it than an older one. and, if you found one where someone replaced the mobile style windows with double pane house windows, that might be a big advantage, in your area! or even if the original windows are there, if they have good storm windows installed, it is great. or even so so storm windows, you can add removable caulk to fill some gaps, and get more benefit out of the window.

Brenda (OH)