Electrician Urbandale, IA

A breaker trips when the circuit is drawing more current than it's rated for, or when there's a current leak somewhere. One trip after a space heater and a hair dryer had both been running at the same time? The breaker did its job. Repeated trips are indicative of an overloaded circuit, a short, or a ground fault.

Older Urbandale homes often have 15-amp kitchen circuits where today's code calls for 20 amps, so a coffee maker and a microwave together can push them over. The fix is usually a new dedicated circuit, not a bigger breaker. (Putting a 20-amp breaker on 15-amp wire is a fire hazard.) We also check the panel itself. Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels both have a track record of breakers that don't trip when they should, and we still find them in Urbandale basements.

Pro tip: if the breaker trips the moment you reset it, leave it off and call us. That's a short/ground fault, not an overload.

Call us right away if you see any of these:

• A burning smell near an outlet or the panel
• Sparks
• Buzzing from a switch
• Wiring exposed after a storm
• A main breaker that won't stay on

If you can reach it safely, then turn off the affected breaker. Don't open the panel cover if the smell is coming from there.

Partial power loss is a distinct category. If half the house is working and half isn't, then the issue is typically at the meter or the service line, and that's where MidAmerican Energy needs to look first. We'll help you work out which call you need to make.

A dead outlet, a fixture that has quit, or a fan install can all wait for a normal appointment. As an emergency electrician in Urbandale, we'd rather you call us and ask than you try and work it out yourself.

Maybe, but a load calculation answers that, not a guess. A Level 2 EV charger needs a dedicated 240-volt circuit, usually 40 or 50 amps. Add central air, an electric dryer, and a range to an older 100-amp panel, and there's often no room left. That's when a 200-amp upgrade makes sense.

Not every house needs a main panel. A subpanel or a load center can sometimes be the answer, and we'll be up front about that. If an upgrade is the right thing to do, we'll get the City of Urbandale permit and swap the panel in one day. You'll be without power for 4 to 6 hours. We'll add the AFCI and GFCI where required by code, label all the circuits, and of course meet the inspector.

Run a 50amp circuit even if your charger only requires 40. The extra cost at the time of installation is negligible and avoids the need for rewiring should you ever decide to upgrade to a higher amp charger.

We size each generator to your actual load. The majority of the Urbandale homes we work on are in the 16 to 22kW range, which will cover heat, the fridge, the sump pump, the lights, and a few outlets. Homes that have a well pump, medical equipment, or electric heat will require more.

A standby unit runs on natural gas or propane and will start on its own within seconds of an outage. We'd prefer to run on natural gas if you have it, as it won't run dry over the course of a 3-day ice storm. The job includes a pad, an automatic transfer switch, a dedicated circuit, a city permit, and coordination with MidAmerican Energy as required. Most installs take one to two days. We then provide annual electrical maintenance checks so that the generator will actually start when you need it.

For the majority of homes predating the 1990s, yes. A loose connection or a double-tapped breaker can generate heat for years before anyone ever realizes. An inspection will pick it up whilst it's still very inexpensive to rectify.

We open the panel and look for double taps, corrosion, scorched bus bars, and mismatched breakers. We test every GFCI outlet and check the grounding. We also look out for two fairly common problems in older homes:

• Aluminum branch wiring, common in homes built between roughly 1965 and 1974.
• Backstabbed outlets, where the wire is pushed into a hole in the back instead of wrapped around a screw. These cause a lot of the dead outlets we see in 1980s and 1990s Urbandale homes.

You get a written report that separates out the code issues from the suggestions, and it's a flat rate for each repair. If you're buying or selling, book it before closing. If you find the aluminum wiring after you've signed, then it costs a lot more than if you'd found it prior to signing.

Typically yes. The caveat is the ceiling box. A standard light box isn't rated to take a spinning fan, so we use a fan-rated brace box which mounts to the joists. If you want the fan and light on separate wall switches, then we'll need to run a new wire from the switch to the ceiling. That's straightforward in a ranch with attic access and a bit more involved if you're under a finished second floor. Most single fan installs are a couple of hours. We'll balance the blades prior to leaving so it won't wobble on high.

We do all three of them regularly.

• Hot tubs and spas need a dedicated GFCI-protected circuit and a disconnect within sight of the tub, mounted at least 5 feet from the water
• Saunas generally require their own 240 volt circuit sized to the heater
• Sheds and detached garages get power underground or overhead, depending on the distance and your yard

For underground runs, the depth of burial is going to be dependent on the method of wiring. A GFCI-protected 20-amp residential circuit can go 12" down; direct-buried cable requires 24". We call Iowa One Call every time we dig.

While we're outside, a lot of the homeowners will add LED pathway and security lighting as part of the same job.

Call Mr. Electric of Central Iowa any time, day or night, or book online and pick a slot that works for you. Tell us what's happening, whether that's a dead outlet, a tripping breaker, or a charger you just ordered. We'll schedule a licensed electrician contractor in the Des Moines metro with a 2-hour arrival window, and you'll get a flat-rate price before any work starts. We serve Urbandale, Johnston, Grimes, West Des Moines, Ankeny, Altoona, and the rest of Central Iowa. Read our reviews to see what your neighbors say, then give us a call.