How do you upgrade the service from a 120V 100A circuit breaker to 240V 30A for appliances like ovens and dryers?
If you plan to finish the basement of a 50 year old house do you need to upgrade the electricity from 100A service so that you can add 6 new outlets and dedicated circuits for appliances?
One thing to keep in mind when you talk of upgrading an electrical service. That is that a permit will have to be taken out, inspection made and the whole house will have to be brought up to current standards of the code. This could run into a large amount of money on a 50 year old house. Contact an… electrical contractor for an estimate. A good contractor will not charge for this service. If there is a fee for this service move on to someone else as this guy will try to do things on the cheap and end up usually costing you more money. Consider a small 6 circuit sub panel if there are two spare circuit holes in the existing panel. This installation would be far less costly that a new service change. A new 200 amp service should be in the neighbourhood of $2000. That depends on what kind of appliance you plan on placing. 100 Amps sounds ample for 6 normal sockets if they are in parallel. For an item like a wasjher, dryer, oven etc.. you would need an independent circuit. ( Full Answer )
Can a 240V 15A outlet used for a washer be converted to a 240V 30A outlet for a dryer?
s for USA, Canada and countries using similar 60Hz mains supplies Conversion Dangerous and NOT Recommended Ummm no. If you did try to do it, you'd have a pretty good chance of burning your house down. More Information: I want to say "no" you can't do this based on what you've told me. What mat…ters here is the size of the wire, 240V is 240V and that part of it doesn't matter. A dryer uses #10 wire for 30 amps and a washer uses either #14, or #12 for Canada vs US. If you were to just switch out the receptacle you would run the risk of burning up the 15 amp wire as it's not designed to carry that kind of load continuously. If you have a wire stripper that has the awg wire gauges on it and it measures out to #10, then you can swap out the receptacle and breaker and convert this to suit yourself. If in doubt, always consult a licensed electrician. IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. If you do this work yourself, always turn off the power at the breaker box/fuse panel BEFORE you attempt to do any work AND always use a meter or voltage indicator to insure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized. ( Full Answer )
How can you tell if the electric service is 120V or 240V?
I think the only sure way is to put a high-impedance volt meter and measure the voltage across live and neutral. Don't forget that it's AC. You could look at the bulbs in the lighting to see if the say 120v or 240v.
How do you get 120V from a single circuit breaker box that has a 240V line coming into the box that has one black one white and one bare line?
The s given below are ONLY for USA, Canada and countries using similar 120/240 Volt, 60 Hz mains power supply systems. If the box has 3 wires at 220V you can't get 110V. The reason is you have the two hots and the ground, but not the neutral. If you pull a neutral through the conduit or re-run the …*-2 wire with *-3 you can get 110V at this panel. However, if you no longer want 220V at this fixture you can derate it to 110V. The key here is the current capacity of the old wire. You cannot exceede the current capacity of the wire as that is a fire hazard. Also the fixture must be on a dedicated circuit. You cannot mix 110 and 220, you have to derate the whole circuit. To derate: .
Get a 110V fixture of equal or lesser current to the old one that you want to use. .
Get a 110V appropriately sized for your fixture. .
Remove the 220V breaker and replace it with the 110V breaker. The white wire that went to the breaker now goes to your neutral bus. .
Replace the 220V fixture with the 120V. Always, if you are not 100% sure of what you are doing, buy a book. It will answer your questions and serve as a handy reference during the job. Do it right or hire a professional. Negligence is fatal with electricity. IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. If you do this work yourself, always turn off the power at the breaker box/fuse panel BEFORE you attempt to do any work AND always use an electrician's test meter having metal-tipped probes (not a simple proximity voltage indicator) to insure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized. ( Full Answer )
How can you run a 240V supply into your home when the circuit breaker is 120V?
for USA, Canada and countries running a 60 Hz power service. A service drop to a home is done with wire that is called triplex. This means that there are three wires twisted together that go from the service pole to the mast head on your home. This is called a three wire system. There are 2 hot le…gs and a neutral. The voltage between the hot leg (one) and the neutral is 120 Volts. The voltage between the hot leg (two) and the neutral is 120 Volts. The voltage between hot leg (one) and hot leg (two) is 240 volts. The single pole breaker is a safety device that connects to the (load, at 120 volts) and returns from the load back to the neutral. The load in most cases will be lights, plugs small appliances. The two pole breaker is a safety device that connects hot leg (one) to the (load, at 240 volts) and returns from the load back to the hot leg (two) at the two pole breaker. The loads in this case will be oven, range tops, hot water tank, clothes dryer, and in many homes baseboard heaters. In USA 240V comes into your home even though most of your equipment is 120V. I say most because your clothes dryer for one, if you have an electrically-heated one, most likely runs on 240V. The answer to your question is that 2 legs (power lines) come into your house. One leg is colored Black, the other is Red. Each leg is 120V to common (ground). The voltage is AC (Alternating Current) so it is always going from +120V to -120V on each leg. But at opposite times, so that at some point in the cycle one leg is +120V while the other leg is -120V. And if you measure the voltage difference between +120V and -120V you get 240V. The US wiring system works like this: to turn on your lights you switch into one leg, the current goes through your wiring to your lights and back to common. But your dryer switches into one leg and returns the current to the other leg. If you look in your breaker box you see breakers on both sides. Looking straight across, these breakers are on the same leg (L1). The next set down the panel are on the opposite leg (L2). Adjacent breakers all the way down the panel are on opposite legs. A two pole breaker spans these adjacent legs and that is how you arrive at 240 volts. Your dryer is connected to a two pole breaker that taps into both Black and Red legs. To accurately specify a voltage, you have to specify two points to measure, and the voltage is the difference between the two. If only one point is given it is usually implied that the second point is a grounded or 0 volt point. In the U.S., the three wires that enter most homes can be thought of as at +120V, -120V and 0V relative to ground. The 0V line is the "grounded" conductor, sometimes also called "neutral" and must be well connected to the earth where the wires enter the building (and no where else!) The +120 and -120 are actually different phases of an AC voltage wave. So by choosing which two points to connect to, a load can receive 120V or 240 V. Since there are two ways to get 120V, the breaker panel is usually set up to distribute the load between the two 120V phases. As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed. Before you do any work yourself, on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances, always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized. IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. . ( Full Answer )
If the service panel you have 100A service can you install a 100A circuit breaker in the original panel to feed another 100A add-on panel?
DO NOT FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW! According to this logic, one could chain an infinite number or sub-panels off of a single one hundred amp feed. The second law of thermodynamics prevents this. An hundred amp service is not capable of powering another hundred amp service unless you are trying… to move your panel and all of the circuits it feeds as well, without adding another hundred amp load. NEC (National Electrcial Code NFPA Book 72) states that certain loads can be derated but not to this extent. As far as the voltage drop is concerned, you need only worry about this with runs of about two hundred and twenty five feet or more for a 200 Amp Service running 2/0 2/0 4/0 URD direct burial aluminum. What you need is a new 200 Amp service to feed your original 100A panel and another hundred amps to feed your new load. for USA, Canada and countries running a 60 Hertz supply service. Yes you can as long as the feeder to the other 100 amp panel is equal to the ampacity of the breaker. In this case you would need to use a #3 wire rated at 90 degrees C if the distance to the other panel is under 50 feet. If the distance is longer that this a voltage drop calculation would have to be added to increase the wire size. My experience would lead me to believe that you could not install a breaker that was greater to or equal to the rating of the main breaker. To add a sub-panel, you will need to install a breaker that is half or lower than the main breaker. In your case, you have a 100A service; you will need to install a 50A or smaller breaker to service the sub panel. Consult an electrician if in doubt. If you have any doubts about an answer that you get, check the answerer's bio by clicking on their name to check their qualifications. Before you do any work yourself, on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances, always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized IF YOU ARE NOT REALLY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. ( Full Answer )
Can you convert a 240V circuit on your service panel to two 120V circuits?
A 240 volt breaker can be removed and replaced with 2 - 120 volt breakers. The existing 240 volt breaker should not be used to supply 2 separate circuits.
If you have 240V going to a panel can you wire two 120V breakers for a 240V appliance?
Overcurrent devices cannot be doubled up for higher voltages. You need breaker designed for 220V. While you are technically correct, you need the 220V breaker because it is designed so that you always get 220V from the two phases (as opposed to 0V from one phase) and so both "breakers," so to speak,… always trip together. Don't just use two 110V breakers you have lying around, it is not safe. The approved method is to obtain a 2 pole breaker of the right amperage to run your 240 volt appliance. Also approved but not used as much is a common tie bar that incorporates the two breaker toggle handles into one. The reason for this is safety, if just one breaker trips there will still be 120 volts to ground on the un- tripped breaker. Anyone working on the appliance thinking that the power was off could get a severe shock. This holds true also with switches to turn off 240 volt loads, don't just use a single pole (SPST) switch which just shuts off one leg, use a double pole single throw (DPST) switch which isolates the load completely. ( Full Answer )
How should you upgrade 100A 240V service in a 4-bedroom home to put in a work shop which will have 45A 35A and 20A tools?
I would recommend at least a 200 amp service. and a subpanel in the workshop. This is not a DIY project. Contact a qualified electrician. Well, I guess it depends how many arms you have ... I can only usually run one power tool at once, so it depends on if you have help or not. You could power New …York City on a 100 amp service if you only light one 60 watt bulb at a time ... ( Full Answer )
How do you change from 120V to 240V wiring on a stackable washer and dryer?
Hire an electrician to install for you a 240 line. I agree with Tim. You need a dedicated circuit for a dryer. The wiring is larger and you cannot use the 12/2 wiring that is already there. You need a home run from the dryer to the electricl panel. You need an electrican.
If you install a 30A 240V GFI breaker will this be ok or will the cycles the dryer has prematurely fail the breaker?
I suspect you mean GFIC breaker. The dryer will not cause the breaker to fail.
If a home has 100A service and the main's fused at 100A each can the total of the circuit breakers inside the service panel exceed 100A?
Yes. Five 20 amp breakers would be 100 amps. It doesn't work that way. The load placed on this box at any given time cannot exceed 100 amps. You can put as many breakers as it will hold.
How can you convert a 240V clothes dryer to 120V?
You really cant do it because a 220 has a heating element in it to dry the clothes unlike gas that uses fire to dry the clothes and the 120 is to turn the drum.Your drier will keep poppin breakers which isn't good at all. Outlets and Power (110V outlets and 120V outlets are practically the same f…or this discussion. I will refer to them as 120V. Same with 220V/240V outlets.) By 110V outlet I'm assuming you mean a standard US 120V 15A outlet. This outlet can provide a maximum of 15A at 120V. This means the outlet can provide 1,800W of power. ( Volts x Amps = Watts ) This is the maximum amount of power this outlet can provide, no more. Also, this is assuming nothing else is drawing power off the circuit this outlet is on. If you try to pull 1800W from an outlet and plug anything else into this circuit, the breaker will blow. Your dryer is designed to run off a 30A 240V circuit. Let's say, for argument, it draws 24A at 240V. This means your appliance requires 5,760W of power to run correctly. This is 3.2 times the absolute maximum amount of power your 120V outlet can provide. There is no way you can run this appliance off this outlet. You have a larger problem here than the voltage difference. %REPLIES% You can't, you need both a and b phases. You need to install an 240v receptacle. And don't upgrade to 240V by using the same wires!! Some complete idiots will try this and burn the neighborhood down. ( Full Answer )
Can you upgrade a 100A main circuit breaker to a higher amp?
Answer .
\nIt depends on a number of factors. The size of the service wires, the meter rating, the main breaker panel rating, etc. will have to be rated for the amperage you want to go up to.
Can you take an existing 120V wiring in your kitchen and use it to create a 240V circuit for a wall oven where it would be prohibitively expensive to run a new cable for 240V service from the panel?
Answer .
No. You will be one wire short..
Answer .
If you managed to wire an extra wire, the current would also be to high and you will risk fire. Like a bread toaster coil that turns red..
Answer .
Your best case scenario for the existing wiring will be 12-2. The minimum you need sor a…n electric range is 6-3. You are are 30A down and 1 wire short, and that's if you're lucky. ( Full Answer )
How many circuits can you have with 100A service?
Answer .
\nAs many as you want without exceeding the 100amps. You could have 100 circuits if all you have is a single 100watt light on each circuit.
How do you install a 120v 240v dryer in a 110v 220v home?
\n.
\n Answer \n.
\nIn residential service 110, 115, 117, 120, and 125V are functionally the same. 220, 230, 240, and 250V are also all functionally the same.
How do you calculate the number of breakers and their amp ratings when some are 120V and some are 240V for a given main service of 100A?
Answer .
add the amps from each breaker reguardless of voltage. If the total exceeds 80 amps, it means you cannot use all breakers at full amp. For example: If the total equals 90, then you will have to make sure ten amps are not being used at that time. Yes, you do have 100 amps, however it …is safest to run eighty percent of your total amps., at one time. The number of breakers has noting to do with the amps. You can use one breaker rated at 80 amps, or you can use four twenty amp breakers. ( Full Answer )
Can you take a 240V circuit and run it into another box running 4 120V breakers off it?
Answer .
Yes you can. What you cannot do, is exceed the number of amps. the feed breaker has. For example: Your 220 is rated at 60 amps. The combined amps the four 110 breakers cannot be more than eighty percent of 60 amps. You can even run a 110 as the feed, into a box, and run a 220 from t…hat. It's the amps you must go by. btw the eighty percent of 60 is what is considered safest. It is possible to draw the full 60 amps., but this can cause the breaker or fuse to overheat, and either catch on fire, or kick out. Good luck, and always consult your local codes before doing any electrical work. If unsure, it is best to have a professional do the job. Yes it is expensive, but what is the cost of losing that which means the most, due to a fire, from faulty wiring? ( Full Answer )
Can you change a 120V to 240V without having to involve the circuit breaker?
Answer .
In simple words, NO!!! On the first day of Electricity 101 they tell you if you do not know what you are doing, DON'T DO IT!!!
If you have a 2 pole circuit breaker box and cannot get your 240V electric dryer to work should you place 30A on both sides of the box if you purchased a 30A receptacle that reads 125v250v?
Answer for trained people: .
There is one mistake that a knowledgeable person can make, and wonder why it doesn't work. This happens in some breaker boxes if you place a skinny 240 volt breaker filling an odd location (counting down vertically) and the next even position below that. When this happ…ens, both hot lines are on the same leg. So, instead of 240 volts across the motor, you have no voltage across the winding, but the motor winding is entirely at 120 volts with respect to ground. The upper position of the breaker location must be an even position, and the lower position the next odd position..
Most breaker boxes alternate bus legs in horizontal strips, not vertical rows. The first two horizontal rows are on leg 1 (L!), the next two horizontal rows are on leg 2 (L2), the next two rows are leg 1, etc. This requires placing a double pole breaker where it spans both legs L1 and L2. .
The following condition will occur if you have duplex breakers installed in your panel. This error happens most often when the number of breaker positions already used in the box is a multiple of 4, and you try to use the next available space on one side. The next two spaces on one side both have the same leg, so you can't put a 240 volt breaker there. But some of the boxes let you install it there anyway (mine has plastic bosses that prevent this). .
You can use a voltmeter to check for this. If you measure 120 volts from each hot prong to ground, but no voltage between the hot prongs, this has happened. A neon voltage tester will show no voltage between the hot prongs, even though it shows voltage from hot to ground. .
The cure is to move the breaker down one breaker space in the breaker box. You can put another 120 volt breaker in the empty space where the knockout was removed (since cover is required, and the knockout can't be put back), and reserve it for a future 120 volt circuit. (Since my box has wide knockouts, I had to install two dummy 120 volt breakers, one above the 240 volt breaker, and one below it. But they quickly found uses in extra 120 volt circuits.).
NEVER use two single pole breakers for a 240 volt circuit, unless the handles are common tied together with a special device made for that purpose. ( Full Answer )
If you have a 240V dryer and installed 30A breakers on both sides of the line reads 120 and 120 how do you get 240 and you have a receptacle that reads 30A 125250 and still does not work?
Answer .
you do NOT put two 110v breakers in. you put 1 two pole breaker in. the panel is designed to give you 220v off one side OR the other side if you use a 2 pole breaker on one side or the other side..
Answer .
If you look at both 120V lines on an oscilloscope you will notice that they… are both 120V to the neutral, but they are 180 degrees out of phase. This means that when one hot is at +120V the other is at -120V. So between the two you have 240V.\nIf you put your meter across both hots you should see 240V.\n.
\nIf you do not see 240V across both hots you (or an unlicenced electrician) has wired the outlet without using a proper 220V breaker. You do not see 240V because the hots are in phase, to the voltage differential is 0V, not 240V. 220V breakers cannot do this, unless forcebly installed in the wrong type panel. More than likely someone tried to wire it with 110V breakers. ( Full Answer )
If a circuit breaker is a 30A 240V for a dryer and the dryer calls for a 20A do you need to change your breaker?
No, you're fine..
Answer .
Breakers are mainly used to protect the wires (and people), not the appliance. The appliance should have its own overcurrent protection (a fuse usually). The 30 amp breaker will work in this case..
Answer .
First off, dryer outlets are usually 30A as a standard, …just like normal wall outlets are 15A. Secondly, you want your expected load to be 80% of your breaker size. So, a 20A load would call for a minimum 25A breaker, they just rounded up to the standard 30A breaker. (Which has a maximum expected load, by this rule, of 24A.) Good question though. ( Full Answer )
How do you rewire a 120V circuit to 240V for an oven?
Answer for USA, Canada and countries running a 60 Hz power supply service. .
The plain answer is that you can't! There is no 110 Volt application I can think of that would have a heavy enough [large gauge] wire at the point you want to convert it that would service a 220 Volt oven. Ask a licen…sed electrician to run a new cable of the proper size to new breakers of the proper size! .
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As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed. .
Before you do any work yourself, on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances, always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized. .
IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. . ( Full Answer )
How do you wire an existing 240V circuit line as the feed to a new subpanel with 120V circuit breakers?
Answer for USA, Canada and countries running a 60 Hz power supply service. .
Warning that must be heeded .
Firstly, you MUST have 4 wires run to your sub-panel. If the existing feed was 3 wire (two hots and ground) you cannot get 110 Volts off it safely. If this is in an outbuilding, you may …be able to get away with it. There are many ifs to that (more than I can go into, or even know), so you must talk to a licensed electrician first. No matter what, if your existing circuit only has 3 wires STOP! You must pull new wire or at least talk with someone licensed..
Also, this is a big job. You are adding a whole new breaker panel to your property. Are you comfortable doing this? If not, hire someone. If you botch neutral you can burn up anything plugged into it. If you botch ground you can zap yourself..
Planning, planning, planning .
Now, first things first. What do you plan to power with this? What will you power with this in the future? You must sit down and answer these questions as they determine the size of box and current rating of the feed. Remember the golden rule, you want your expected load to be 80% of the breaker size. So if you plan to draw 24A or less you want a 30A feed. 32A or less on 40A, 40A or less on 50A, etc... Is the existing circuit big enough? If not, you need to run new wire..
Also try to determine how many breakers you want to put in this. That will determine the physical size of the breaker box you buy. Installing something oversized now is easy. Upgrading an undersized sub-panel 5 years from now is not..
How to install .
For the scope of this how-to you only need to buy a new breaker box and a clamp. I strongly recommend going with the same brand as your existing panel (if still available) so the breakers will be interchangeable. For a sub-panel you shouldn't run into current limitations, but check just to be safe. Home Depot and Lowes carry a line of 6 position Square D panels that are inexpensive and good for sub-panels. Also buy a clamp to secure the feed wire to your new panel. If this is in an outbuilding that does not have its own panel already, you will need a ground rod..
Beyond that, it is all downhill from here..
Steps to follow.
Shut the outlet off. (If you needed me to tell you this, hire an electrician. :) ) .
Remove the old outlet and box. .
Mount the new panel and secure the wire to the box .
Remove any bonds or screws that connect the neutral to ground. Neutral can only be bonded to ground in the main panel. .
Connect the hot wires to the hot busses of your panel .
Connect the neutral wire to the neutral bus. .
Connect the ground wire to the ground bus. If this panel is not in the same building as the panel feeding it, drive in the ground rod and connect that to the ground bus as well. .
Recheck the torque on the screws connecting the wires you just connected. They must be tight. .
That's it! Your panel is installed. Now it's just a matter of installing branch circuits, which is not within the scope of this how-to..
Website How-to .
http://www.electrical-online.com/howtoarticles/subpanel.htm.
BCLEAR..
Note .
BCLEAR's link seems to be gone. You can still find it in the way-back machine over at archive.org. I found it after 11/6/2005 in their archive. Take a look, it's a good article..
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As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed..
If you do this work yourself, always turn off the power at the breaker box/fuse panel BEFORE you attempt to do any work AND always use an electrician's test meter having metal-tipped probes (not a simple proximity voltage indicator) to insure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized. .
IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. . ( Full Answer )
Can you connect a dryer with a 30A cord and receptacle to a line that has a 50A circuit breaker?
Answer .
Yes and no. You can't put a 30A outlet on a 50A breaker as it will be a fire hazard. You can put a 50A outlet on it safely. Then you can plug the 30A load into it, but this is unwise and can be dangerous if you don't put fuses in your pigtail adapter.\n.
\nThe best solution: Go ahead… and install your 30A outlet but replace the 50A breaker with a 30A breaker. This is the safest and cleanest solution. ( Full Answer )
What happens if you plug a 240V electrical appliance into a 120V circuit?
Answer .
At best, nothing will happen; the appliances won't run. At worst, the appliance will try to run on the lower voltage, fail to do so, and damage some of the mechanical parts.\n.
\nThis is one of the reasons why a 240V appliance has a different plug than a 110V item.
Can you use 120V appliances on a 240V outlet?
Not advised .
Some appliances may work, but I imagine most would either blow a fuse or just burn out. Definately not advised unless you use a transformer. With the right transformer everything should work fine.
How can you convert US 120V or 240V circuit into a single-phase 240V circuit to use on a European appliance?
The voltage isn't a problem, you can run 220 from your house and use that to run a European appliance, the problem is whether the appliance is dependant on line HZ. European is 50HZ and US is 60HZ. If the appliance specifies 220/50HZ, it will probably give you trouble here. If it says 220V/50 or 60H…Z ( Full Answer )
How do you upgrade from 120V 15A to 120V 20A or from 240V 20A to 240V 30A?
Answer .
You have to replace the wire (as you are increasing the current capacity), the outlet, and the breaker. Essentially you have to remove the old circuit and put in a new one. You can't reuse parts of the old circuit as you are increasing the current capacity and they would be underrated…. ( Full Answer )
Can you plug a 240V appliance into a 120V outlet?
No. The device will only have half the voltage it needs and will not operate properly. Follow the ratings on the device. The pin configuration of the 240 volt receptacle is different from a 120 volt pin configuration. This is a safety factor to prevent the wrong voltage being applied to the wrong… devices. ( Full Answer )
How do you upgrade a 30A outlet to a 50A outlet can I just change the outlet and upgrade the circuit breakers?
NO! .
STOP! DO NOT DO THIS! More than likely the wire in the wall is only rated to carry 30 amps. Running fifty amps through it will start a fire! You MUST upgrade the wiring in the wall to upgrade the current rating of the circuit! The wire in the wall must be properly sized..
ANSWER .
…Go out and buy a book. You are on the fast track to a house fire. Buy a book and read up on wire sizes, current ratings, and why they matter. Remember, negligence is fatal with electricity. .
ANSWER Before you can know that you only need to change the outlet and the breaker you must make sure that the wire already in the wall is equal to, or heavier than, the size required to carry 50A safely. So calculate the wire size needed to carry 50A for your length of run and check the gage of the wire in the wall. If the wire is lighter, you must run new wire of the correct size..
IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. .
If you do this work yourself, always turn off the power at the breaker box/fuse panel BEFORE you attempt to do any work AND always use a meter or voltage indicator to insure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.. ( Full Answer )
Can you tap into a 240V circuit to get 120V?
Answer .
On a pure 240V circuit, no. There is no neutral. On a 240/120V circuit, yes. You have the needed neutral..
Tapping 120volts off an existing 240volt branch circuit with a neutral is possible but is not a proper method. It does not comply with most electrical codes..
Average Cost of upgrading to 100A service?
Answer .
It can be $600 to $1000 however this can depend on whether your existing wire is in order. Older wiring can be tricky, you may need a new ground tap, junction boxes for wiring that won't reach the new box and a new meter on the outside of the house, and if it is to be inspected it could… be app. $400 more. Some electricians don't and won't pull permits. That savings should be passed on to you. Check their licenses and get references. It's not a big job in the realm of electricians work, so unless there's some strange wiring problem, get several estimates. ( Full Answer )
What happens if you plug a 120V electrical appliance into a 240V circuit?
This scenario can not happen as the two types of plugs have different pin configurations. This is done for safety reasons so that these types of mistakes will not happen.
Can you plug a 120v appliance into a 240v outlet?
Definitely not. The plug would be the wrong type anyway, so thereis physical block to doing what is suggested, but other than thatexcess current would flow, you would hope for the fuse to blow, andif that did not happen the thing could catch fire.
What gauge of wire is needed for a 30A 240V dryer?
10 awg would be required for a 30A circuit. .
As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed. Before you do any work yourself, on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances, always use a t…est meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized. IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. ( Full Answer )
Can you use 240v appliances on a 120v outlet?
There are 110 volts going to recepticles along the walls ect. These are for lamps, vaccuum cleaners, most things besides stoves, dryers, heating and cooling(most). But the only way to use your 110 volt outlet for a 220 is to combine 2 110 volt legs to make it 220 volt. Then you neeed to make sure yo…ur breaaker is capable of the increase. ( Full Answer )
Can you run a 240V appliance on 120V?
In general, no don't try it. The result will either bedamage (e.g. overloaded motor burnout) to the appliance or a severereduction (e.g. an electric heater giving off only 1/4th its ratedheat) in its performance.
How do you get one 240v circuit from a 120v panel?
Answer for USA, Canada and countries running a 60 Hz power supply service. .
The proper terminology for bus bars in an electrical panel are L1,L2,N. N is for neutral and it is this wire that is grounded. The voltage measurement from the L1 to N will give you 120 volts. Also from L2 to N will give y…ou 120 volts and from L1 to L2 will give you 240 volts. Single pole breakers in the panel board starting at the top, alternate between L1 and L2 all the way down to the bottom. These breakers all have 120 volt outputs. If you plug a 2 pole breaker into two slots then you get 240 outputs because L1 and L2 are adjacent to one another. ( Full Answer )
Why are some electrical appliances 120v and others 240v?
Power output of an appliance is the square of the voltage divided by resistance (P=E squared/R). Appliances which must produce large amounts of heat (e.g. stoves, dryers, baseboard heaters) are operated at 240 volts so that doubling the voltage will quadruple the heat produced. Since most homes are… wired with a 3 wire 120/240 volt system, bringing 240 volts to heating appliances can be accomplished by installing 2 pole breakers on a standard 2 wire circuit. ( Full Answer )
What is a 2 pole 30A circuit breaker?
A 2 pole 30A circuit breaker is a device that is used to supply a 240 volt power source for a device that operates on 240 volts and under 30 amps of current draw
Can a 240v 50amp circuit be changed to a 120v 30amp circuit?
Answer for USA, Canada and countries running a 60 Hertz supply service. Yes, a 240v 50amp circuit can be changed to a 120v 30amp circuit. The wire for the 50 amp circuit should be a #6. This is more than ample for a 30 amp circuit. Remove the two pole 60 amp breaker and replace it with a single po…le 30 and a single pole 15 amp breaker. One of the two #6 wires will be terminated on the neutral bus (if there is a white use it) and the other #6 will be terminated on the new 30 amp breaker. This will give you the required 120 volt 30 amp circuit. The new 15 amp breaker that was installed just to fill the hole from the two pole 60 amp breaker will give you a spare 15 amp circuit. I have no idea what you are trying to do, but there is no way you can change 220v 50 amp to 120v 30 amp. You can take 220 volt input in the top of your circuit breaker box. Then half of one side will be 120v and half of the other side will be 120v. You can install a 30 amp fuse. You should hire an electrician. Before you do any work yourself, on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances, always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized IF YOU ARE NOT REALLY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. ( Full Answer )
What amp circuit breaker should be used for a 120v 2.5 amp appliance?
If the appliance is just to be plugged into a circuit with multiple outlets then you just need to make sure that the sum of currents for all devices on the circuit are less than the rated current. A rule of thumb is total current should be no greater than 80% of the rated current. So you might have …a 20 A breaker and several 2.5 A appliances on this circuit. If you have a dedicated circuit for the appliance you would only need to size the breaker for the maximum current being drawn by the appliance. If the appliance contained a motor then there might be a start-up current that might be as high as 15 amps so you would likely go to a 20 amp breaker for a safety margin. As a practical matter a dedicated circuit for an appliance in the 2.5 amp range should have a 15 amp breaker. I always install a 20 amp breaker just for added margin and possible future applications. ( Full Answer )
When going from 1-240v to 2-120v circuits do you need to replace the double pole breaker?
Yes, otherwise your double pole breaker will shut the other circuit off when one of them trips.
Is it possible to simultaneously operate 1300 w hair dryers on the same 120v circuit without tripping 15 a circuit breaker?
A 15 amp circuit at 120 volts has the capacity to handle 1800 watts without tripping. It should handle a 1300 watt hair dryer with no problem whatsoever.
Can you replace a 30A circuit breaker with a 15A circuit breaker?
You could. However, it will trip at 15 amps, so be sure your load is less than that. Continuous draw should be no more than 12 amps.
Considering 100A 240V service has 2 poles at 100A each is the total usable power actually 200A at 120V?
No, amperage is not additive, but a constant. Think of power as water, its always the same temperature, hot (amps). The pressure is variable (volts). The true answer is undoubtedly more complex, but you get the point. If you need to draw 200 amps you would actually need a 400 amp service because cod…e states you cannot have more than an 80% load on a breaker That's an interesting question and I had to run the theory through my brain a few times to confirm my answer. The answer is if you have a 100A 240V service, you could draw what appears to be 200A from that panel at 120V. If you install 100A 120V single pole breakers on each side of the panel (in reality this would be many breakers but let's keep it simple) then both breakers will operate just fine, giving the appearance of 200A. In reality, however, one breaker actually feeds through to the other breaker. The neutral only carries the unbalanced load so in this hypothetical situation the neutral at the panel carries 0A. So the answer to the question is...if you install ONLY 120v single pole breakers, you can run up to 200A on those circuits (or 80% of that as we have discussed.) But you are only running 100A on each leg of the service conductors and breaker. ( Full Answer )
Can GFCI circuit breaker handle a 240V circuit with a 120V circuit sub-paneled off if it?
I don't know if you are trying to ask if you can run a 240V panel off a GFCI or run a 120 V sub panel off of a GFCI. Can you clarify please,,,Thanks
Can you use a 120v appliance with a 240v supply?
It depends on what the appliance is. Some smaller appliances have a dual voltage switch which allows you to adjust the appliance to the supply voltage. Look on the manufacture's nameplate label to see what they recommend as a working voltage. There it will also tell you whether the appliance can be …used on another voltage source. ==== Yes, you can. But it will fail ("burn out") almost immediately. If it's one that accepts either input voltage or if it has a little '120/240' switch on it, and you flip the little switch to the '240' position, then you're no longer talking about a "120v appliance". ( Full Answer )