Electrical – Microwave Sparking and several outlets not working

This seems to be relatively common especially with older homes.

If your basement is not finished then this might not be that large of a job. If the basement is finished it makes this a lot harder and you will definitely be making holes in walls/ceilings.

The first thing you need to figure out is what exactly you are going to split. Most locations requires dedicated 20amp circuits to each recepticle in the kitchen, so instead of trying to break up a number of other circuits, it'd probably be easiest just to run new dedicated circuits for the kitchen. You do need to be aware that it is not always permissible to have multiple circuits running in the same electrical box, so you could probably make it even easier by running brand new outlets instead of trying to change existing ones.

Installing a new breaker and outlet is not that difficult, but safety always comes to mind with electrical, so if you are not sure you could opt to have an electrician do the whole thing, or if you just want peice of mind, you could get them to inspect your work upon completion.

As always, make sure to turn the power off when working in your electrical panel. I know a lot of people will pop in breakers with the power on, but I prefer to have my hands nowhere near live electricity.

Good luck!

If you are the landlord I would have another electrician come out to check it. It be something like a factory defect in the subpanel or main panel. Every lug could be tightened and torqued to factory specs but the lug might be stripped out.

If you are the renter then I would make it clear to your landlord that this is a serious problem and you want if fixed now.

Which ever you are I would have every lug on the ground, neutral and hot sides torqued down to factory specs. Get the electrician to do a thermal reading while the panel is hot and having the problem. This would surely cause extra heat where ever it is happening. If the electrician does that and nothing changes have PGE torque everything on their end and do the thermal reading.

I had the same problem and when they removed the meter and left I removed the Edison side covers and one of the lugs was never tightened on their end but it was a factory connection that was the problem.

Edit On questions on what to use to torque a circuit breaker, see this. Each breaker has a label on it with the torque rating on it. At one time there was talk of inspectors carrying torque wrenches with them to spot check circuit breakers, but I know of no electricians own a torque wrench. When I ask they say just tighten them down as hard as you can and they will pass any test. My guess is that most residential breakers use about 20 to 25 foot inch lbs per square inch.

Most of the time torquing happens is in industrial plants where they want to get the maximum life out of everything, including breakers. This is also why thermal cameras are sold to electricians. Heat spots are bad and most of the time it is a loose connection.

In the OP's case I would definitely use the phrase Torque to specifications, especially if he puts any thing in writing. His problem can wreak havoc on electronics and motors.