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[JaimeC]

I SHOULD be picking up the S this Saturday if the stars all align correctly.  HOWEVER I just discovered I have an unexpected expense:  I checked with a trusted electrician and he said that since the bike will draw up to 12 amps during its recharging phase, I should have a dedicated line in the garage.  If I use the existing circuit, I could blow a circuit breaker if the bike is charging and I use the garage door opener.

So... looking at approximately $700.00 to get that done.  Salesman never mentioned anything like that, and I don't recall seeing anything like that online either.  Just "recharges on standard 120V AC house current."  Be warned!

[acacia1731]

I would guess that a majority of Zero owners don't have a dedicated line.

[Fivespeed302]

My circuit breaker's popped a couple of times over the 10 months I've owned mine.  It's no big deal, you just flip it back.  And no, I don't use a dedicated circuit. 

[DPsSRnSD]

Yes and no. It is a good idea to have a dedicated circuit for the bike since it does use more than half of the capacity. But if you have only one garage door opener, check its current use. If it's 2 to 3 amps, circuit breaker trips should be rare. If your opener turns on incandescent bulbs, replace them with LED to buy a little more reassurance. My bike normally draws 10 to 11 amps. Give it a try before spending the money.

[MichaelJohn]

I charge mine on the same circuit as the garage door opener with no problem. If you have at least a 20 amp circuit I think you'll be OK. I would certainly try it frst before spending $700. What's the harm if it trips the breaker?

[JaimeC]

Our door opener does indeed turn on fluorescent lights when it is activated.  What is the problem with a circuit breaker blowing?

Our garage is not attached, it is approximately 40 feet from the house. My wife uses a walker to get around.  If the circuit breaker blows when I'm not home, she'll need to climb back up the deck to the house, take her stairlift down into the basement, and make her way to the opposite end of the basement to throw the switch.  Then back up to the garage to do whatever it is she wanted to go in there for in the first place. 

I don't know about you guys but for me that is a BIG problem.

[Fivespeed302]

I'd get a chimp and train him to flip the breaker.  Only downsides would be the poop flinging and the face ripping, but otherwise, a sound decision. 

[MichaelJohn]

You certainly have good reasons for not wanting to trip the breaker but I would still do the math before spending the money. Do you know the circuit amperage and the current draw of the opener? If it's too close for comfort, then pay your electrician.

[acacia1731]

Not sure if this is reassuring, or if I'll get roasted by some EE's, but...

My garage line is on a GFCI circuit that is shared with the master bathroom.  It has only tripped once in the 5 months I've owned an FX, when my wife was running some high draw hair products.  Otherwise, no problems.

[Kocho]

What else do you have in the garage that uses electricity? The only thing often found in a garage that you do not yourself control and that might compete with the Zero is a sump pump if you have one - these things draw a lot of initial current, but run for only seconds at a time.

You most likely have a dedicated line to the garage. No need for an electrician to tell you if you have or not - just check if you have a fuse (circuit breaker) in your fuse box that only turns off the garage. It should be labeled and you can turn it off to see what it actually controls. And if you can confirm you do have a separate circuit in the garage, and as long as you just use it for the Zero it should be fine. Just make sure on that garage line you do not have a sump pump or anything else connected to it that can turn on automatically (normally you shouldn't). Your A/C and the rest of the house should be on other circuit breakers. Is that not the case?

I SHOULD be picking up the S this Saturday if the stars all align correctly.  HOWEVER I just discovered I have an unexpected expense:  I checked with a trusted electrician and he said that since the bike will draw up to 12 amps during its recharging phase, I should have a dedicated line in the garage.  If I use the existing circuit, I could blow a circuit breaker if the bike is charging and I use the garage door opener.

So... looking at approximately $700.00 to get that done.  Salesman never mentioned anything like that, and I don't recall seeing anything like that online either.  Just "recharges on standard 120V AC house current."  Be warned!

[benswing]

Do you know how much power your garage door and lights pull? 

The charger will draw up to 1.2kW and a 120V, 15Amp plug should be able to handle up to 1.8kW.  There is a good possibility that it will work for you.

If you can figure out whether the garage door and lights use about 500W or less then you may be in good shape.

[gingerjet]

Where do you live that running a new circuit costs $700? 

Try it without it.  I do have mine on a 20amp GFCI outlet that is actually outside my garage.  I've had to reset the outlet today (didn't flip the circuit breaker) but that could be for any number of reasons.   My plan was to add an internal outlet on the same circuit (since the outside outlet rarely gets used) but I was planning on doing that work myself. 

[Chocula]

I use a digital timer on the plug for my bike which only allows charging during the night when I am not going to be opening the garage anyway.  I do this because I am on a time of use plan and the rates are cheaper at night, but this might be a $10 solution rather than a $700 one.

[Electric Terry]

I would be willing to bet you never blow a breaker.  If you are super worried about it, don't have your wife open or close the garage without unplugging the bike first, but when you first get the bike, why don't you try opening and closing the garage a few times with it plugged in.  If nothing happens then you are just worrying for the sake of worrying because there is no problem.  Right?

There is no sense in spending money on something that your electrician friend says is a problem, yet I'll bet almost no one who owns a Zero has run a dedicated line to charge using the onboard charger.  See what I'm saying?  Just try it and see how it goes. I'll bet everything is just fine.

[JaimeC]

You may all be right and I may be worrying about nothing (but it's what I do).  I'll keep everyone posted.

As for where it costs $700 to run a dedicated line?  I live in the most expensive area to live in the United States (according to Forbes Magazine):  Long Island, NY.  I was actually expecting it to be much more expensive.