Southard Electric was proud to volunteer our time and skills to help build a home for the Hill family. On August 20th and 22nd we helped wire a training facility for Tim Hill to continue coaching and teaching boxing to underprivileged kids.
The house is located at 148 William St. Geneva, NY. It was a rewarding experience that we are most proud of. The show featuring the project will air on ABC on November 2nd 2008 at 8:00pm. For more information about the house please visit www.mahoneygives.com
Lately I have been answering a lot of questions from customers about the use of emergency generators. Mostly our customers want to run more then two circuits, and the questioning comes to back feeding their panel unit from a generator. I don’t suggest this way for safety reasons (link here for details).
We suggest installing a transfer switched panel to prevent back feeding the main breakers, and providing protection to your generator, your home, and any linesman who may be working on the power lines.
If your currently looking to see what size generator you would need to meet your needs the following link is a great resource. (link here for details)
Another important detail to look for, when deciding what kind of generator you’d like to use, would be a generator that provides Computer Friendly Power. This new technology provides safe and stable power for computers and other sensitive electronics (such as newer furnaces).
The following is a quick reference in choosing what size generator you would need according to the amps the generator produces.
3000 watt = approx 20 amps
5500 watt = approx 40 amps
7200 watt = approx 60 amps
11000 watt = approx 90 amps
18000 watt = approx 150 amps
Customer feed back is vital for not only our company but to potential and current customers. To view customer feed back or too add your own comments you can by clicking on the blue underlined “Comment” link under neith any blog post. Or if you want to e-mail us your comment, we will be sure to post it for you.
Thanks again…
The past month Southard Electric has been involved with installing heat tape on 5 different buildings to reduce the amount of ice damming which causes ice damage when it melts. As a note to our customers I would like to state that the heat tape is a band aid for the under lying problem of heat lost to the house. Ice forms on roofs when there isn’t proper circulation and insulation. The heat gets trapped between the ceiling of the top room and the roof line itself. The trapped heat then melts the layer of ice that is on the shingles which then freezes again causing the ice damming. For many customers heat tape is a more cost efficient way of handling the situation, but it will never 100% take care of the problem.
The heat tape melts the ice near the tape and provides a heated avenue for the melted water to flow off your roof and through the gutter. The heat tape is plugged in to a thermostat that usually turns on when the temperature falls below 34, and then turns off when the temperature reaches 50.
To many this is a great alternative to re insulating and properly venting a roof line, which could cost in to the tens of thousands of dollars.
For the convince of our customers, we now have integrated PayPal in with our billing. Since as a company Southard Electric is trying to conserve paper as much as possible, now on our e-mailed invoices we have the option to pay online through PayPal, securely, effectively, and speedily. If you have a major credit card (or debit card), an e-mail address, and internet access you may want to utilize this new service.
PayPal is a third party company that is the leader in online payment systems. Your card information is confidential, and protected against fraud.
This blog is dedicated to the customers of Southard Electric and their opinions of the company. If you were a customer please feel free to respond to this post.
The following are some testimonials from our clients:
————————————————————————————————
Testimonial:
I was very please with the quality of workmanship Tim displayed in the installation of our ceiling fan. With the hopes of trying to install the fan myself, I soon realized that I was not going to be able to find the time. Tim was able to give me timely service at a very affordable priced. It was such a relief to know that when I came home from work, the job would be finished. I very much look forward to using Southard Electric in the near future for the many other electric jobs I will never have time for.
Glenn & Susan –
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this note regarding a recent problem my wife and I had with our electric wiring. I contacted Tim Southard about this matter and was pleased in his quickness to get me back on line. I also noticed his neatness, patience, concern and knowledge of the problem. In addition as he was working, he found another problem and repaired it too.
I will recommend Southard Electric, to all persons I know with electrical problems. I thought you should know this and again:
Good work;
Norman – Gates, NY
Testimonial:
Southard Electric came out to our town in our desperate time of need during the “Surprise October Storm!” The day I called for information, I received a phone call to set up a time for someone to come out to our house that same day. Tim was very professional and advised my husband and I of critical considerations regarding our electric that we needed to attend to in the near future. With our previous experience and complete satisfaction, my husband and I decided to have Southard Electric complete the advised work. After an appointment was promptly made, Southard Electric completed the job and arranged for all inspections and follow-up that was necessary.
Tim was professional, efficient, respectful of property, and a true pleasure to work with. Financial estimates and receipts were sent via email which was extremely convenient for our records. In the future, we will be calling Southard Electric for any of our electrical needs.
Cassandra and Harold
Clarence,
————————————————
Recently we have had a hand full of service calls that have had a common issue. The service panels are the old Federal Pacific panels. (In case you are wondering they usually have the red labels on the breakers.)
I have been told by many electricians that they are a fire hazard and that they are just a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. Now I am not a “doom sayer”, and my logic tells me that these particular panels have lasted this long (They stopped producing them in 1983), what makes them an issue here 23 years later. So I did some quick research and found that many of the breakers (1 million) have been found to be faulty, allowing current to continue to flow through a circuit when the device should have tripped and stopped power. Now that is 1 million out of the 28 million that where produced.
However they never officially recalled any of the breakers or load centers (the main panel boxes), so no one has a legal responsibility to change them.
My official recommendation to my customers (and non-customers) is to change the panels for three reasons.
1 - There is a 1 in 28 chance that a breaker will be faulty.
2 - The new panels have more space to work in, making them safer for whom ever services it in the future.
3 - if you wanted to add circuits in the future it would be beneficial to you to. Replacement Federal Pacific breakers run between $25 - $150 where the newer breakers run between $5 and $45 (depending on amps, and type of breakers)
Tim
Southard Electric
The following are 2 sites that discuss the issue. The first warns about Federal Pacific, while the second defends them.
Tim Southard upgraded our electrical service and relocated our electric utility meter outside. We are very satisfied customers. Tim arranged to do the work on a weekend that we were out-of-town, so we were never inconvenienced by the power outage during the change over. Upon returning, we found a well organized electrical panel, where previously there had been several panels and a jumble of wire. The work was done professionally and looks great. We noticed the increased amperage immediately. No more brownouts when doing laundary! I would recommend Southard Electric to anyone.
Tim Southard installed our first ceiling fan in January this year. We chose him because his estimate seemed quite fair. In addition to that, his professionalism, courtesy and friendliness prompted us to hire him for two more installations in March. For all three ceiling fans, he took care to make as little of a mess as possible. The next project will definitely include Tim.
Tim Southard came to our home in Cheektowaga, NY, to put in electric for the stove and dryer in place of the gas hookups we had previously. He did an excellent job, and was very professional. He is very knowledgeable and courteous, and he made sure he cleaned up any mess he made. We will definitely hire him again with any future electical work.
We had Southard Electric come to our house in Rochester to do some wiring projects on multiple occasions. Tim has always been prompt with his appointments, and also has given accurate price estimates before starting the job. We are extremely pleased with his work, and will continue recommending him to anyone who needs work done. I will have him come for all of my future jobs!
We have had a number of different jobs done by Southard Electric and we have always been very satisfied. Tim is prompt in his replies and his work. His work is always well done and neat. I highly recommend Tim as an honest, hard working, dependable electrician and will continue to call him for future needs.
After our rewiring was finished, we wished that we had some names of people needing wiring to refer to Southard Electric. We are extremely pleased with all aspects of the service received. There was a sensitivity to being in our home, professionalism yet friendliness, reasonable pricing, along with the excellent job they performed. We would highly recommend Southard Electric and will definitely use their services in the future. Great job!
Beth
Brockport, NY