Originally Posted by Tally Kathy
We have a spare bedroom -
I iron in the laundry room - across the house, but the iron in the spare bedroom will make the lights dim if I use it there - don't want to cause an electrical disaster...
Hi Kathy,
You are indeed doing the right thing. So glad you brought up this aspect. This is more of an important issue than many of us know. Harriet Hargrave covers the electrical demands of the most commonly used items in our sewing area and says many of us are probably way under-amped to correctly protect our precious sewing machines and our home. This is especially true for our computerized machines.
For example, the average iron today is rated at 1200 watts. She states that irons with that wattage alone require 10 amps and most bedrooms, living rooms and basements are wired for only 15 amps. Start adding all of your other equipment: sewing machine(s), lights, lamps, often times a computer, printer, maybe a stereo, TV... you get the picture.
Those of you that are sewing at the table in your kitchen are likely doing so more safely than if you were in another room as kitchens are usually wired for 20 amps, giving you a little more available amperage to work with.
Harriet goes on to suggest that we should at least consider setting up our iron in another room of your home on the opposite side of your quilting 'room', as often times adjacent rooms may be on the same circuit. Overloading your circuit can cause your lights to dim, or worse, cause your sewing machine to operate at less power or even worse.
I've been using one of those travel irons in my sewing room as it is only rated at 600 watts, thus keeping my wattage use in a safe range.
For more details, you can hire an electrician, perhaps query your electrical company, or, read all about it in Harriet's "Quilter's Academy Vol. 2 Sophomore Year - A Skill-Building Course in Quiltmaking".