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I wnt to install a tandem breaker but my panel box won't let me. Why?
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∙ 8y ago
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Electrician said that he would add 2 new circuits so that the breakers wouldn't trip. How do I know he actually did that if there wasn't any new circuit breakers installed in the panel?
He may have installed Tandem breakers. Tandem breakers allow you to fit 2 breakers into one standard breaker slot. They are slimmer in design to allow for this.
Is it possible to overload a panel with too many duplex breakers?
YES.By duplex breaker, you mean 'tandem breaker', a special breaker designed to allow you to get more circuits into a panel that is full or almost full.You most likely have a 'CTL' type panel in your home.You MUST use 'CTL' breakers, or CTL tandem breakers in that panel. By design, if you look at the bus bars that your breakers snap onto, the upper 60 percent or so is different than the lower 40 percent.The lower bus bars are designed differently so that you cannot install tandem breakers in a certain number of spaces. This prevents you from overloading the panel.Most people at Lowe's and Home Depot do not know this and will give you anything to put into your panel. DON'T! If the CTL tandem doesn't fit, it's not supposed to. Do NOT go back to the store to get a different breaker because that one didn't fit.Call an electrician to install a larger service and panel with more capacity. Installing non-CTL breakers to cirvumvent the safety feature can cause your house to burn down.It costs more to rebuild your home due to electrical fire, than it would have cost to have the job done right by a professional electrician.The above answer is correct, but I would like to add there are some States that do not allow tandem breakers.
Any problems with shared neutral for for 4 15 amp breakers each on dedicated circuits?
Yes. If it a residential home then you can only have two breakers per neutral and they need to be on opposite legs of your panel. If it is a commercial 3phase panel then you can only put 3 breakers on a shared neutral. Here's why. In your panel assuming its residential you have two power wires and one neutral and these power wires are called legs. If you attach two breakers on the same leg that is across from each other on opposite sides of the panel or skipping a space between breakers on the same side at 15A apiece you return on the neutral will not be balanced and you will have the possibility of 30A coming back to your panel on the neutral which will fry a 14 Awg or even 12 Awg for that matter and cause a fire. Now if the breakers are in tandem that is they have the breaker tie that connects two breakers together they will be on separate legs and then only will your breakers/circuits be balanced and it will be safe to share a neutral on. If two tandem breakers are connected to a single neutral and they are all 15A breakers your return would be 30A again because although your tandem breakers are balanced now you have two tandem breakers returning a potential 15A per two breakers and that adds up to 30A. The next problem you have is when you share a neutral as per the National Electric Code if one breaker trips the other breaker also sharing that neutral must trip so that when the power is off any current that could possibly return through the neutral wire will be cut off. So now this creates another problem with 4 breakers sharing the same neutral is now there is no way to get all four to trip at the same time if there was a ground fault (a short) or an overload. and someone could get nailed by any current coming back on the shared neutral. All the same applies for 3phase except there are 3 power wires and you can use 3 breakers with a 3 breaker tie instead of just two. You either need to run one neutral per tandem breaker or four neutrals for four circuits/breakers. Tandem breakers controlling two separate circuits are a pain because when one breaker trips they trip the other circuit also. Tandems are mostly used for two circuits going to the same appliance so that no power on either leg reaches the appliance when it needs to be off.
Can you put in piggy back circuit breakers in a circuit panel?
The electrical terminology for this type of breaker is a tandem breaker. It is where two breakers circuits can be in the same one breaker slot in a distribution panel. On this type of breaker there will be two output for a circuit value of what ever the breaker is rated for.
Name of the legend identifying the breakers inside an electrical panel?
The panel schedule.
Electrician said that he would add 2 new circuits so that the breakers wouldn't trip. How do I know he actually did that if there wasn't any new circuit breakers installed in the panel?
He may have installed Tandem breakers. Tandem breakers allow you to fit 2 breakers into one standard breaker slot. They are slimmer in design to allow for this.
How do you add circuit breakers to a 200 amp panel that is already full?
You can buy what are called Tandem circuit breakers. These only take up one space but allow you to connect 2 individual circuits to it. For example, say you had 4 - Single pole 20 amp breakers taking up 4 spaces. You could buy 2 - 20 amp Tandem circuit breakers and that would give you 2 additional spaces in your electrical panel. Just add up all your amps that your circuits will be pulling at one time to make sure you won't be overloading your electrical panel. One drawback to these Tandem breakers is that they are rough on your wallet. They are pretty expensive compared to regular breakers. Hope this helps
Is it possible to overload a panel with too many duplex breakers?
YES.By duplex breaker, you mean 'tandem breaker', a special breaker designed to allow you to get more circuits into a panel that is full or almost full.You most likely have a 'CTL' type panel in your home.You MUST use 'CTL' breakers, or CTL tandem breakers in that panel. By design, if you look at the bus bars that your breakers snap onto, the upper 60 percent or so is different than the lower 40 percent.The lower bus bars are designed differently so that you cannot install tandem breakers in a certain number of spaces. This prevents you from overloading the panel.Most people at Lowe's and Home Depot do not know this and will give you anything to put into your panel. DON'T! If the CTL tandem doesn't fit, it's not supposed to. Do NOT go back to the store to get a different breaker because that one didn't fit.Call an electrician to install a larger service and panel with more capacity. Installing non-CTL breakers to cirvumvent the safety feature can cause your house to burn down.It costs more to rebuild your home due to electrical fire, than it would have cost to have the job done right by a professional electrician.The above answer is correct, but I would like to add there are some States that do not allow tandem breakers.
Any problems with shared neutral for for 4 15 amp breakers each on dedicated circuits?
Yes. If it a residential home then you can only have two breakers per neutral and they need to be on opposite legs of your panel. If it is a commercial 3phase panel then you can only put 3 breakers on a shared neutral. Here's why. In your panel assuming its residential you have two power wires and one neutral and these power wires are called legs. If you attach two breakers on the same leg that is across from each other on opposite sides of the panel or skipping a space between breakers on the same side at 15A apiece you return on the neutral will not be balanced and you will have the possibility of 30A coming back to your panel on the neutral which will fry a 14 Awg or even 12 Awg for that matter and cause a fire. Now if the breakers are in tandem that is they have the breaker tie that connects two breakers together they will be on separate legs and then only will your breakers/circuits be balanced and it will be safe to share a neutral on. If two tandem breakers are connected to a single neutral and they are all 15A breakers your return would be 30A again because although your tandem breakers are balanced now you have two tandem breakers returning a potential 15A per two breakers and that adds up to 30A. The next problem you have is when you share a neutral as per the National Electric Code if one breaker trips the other breaker also sharing that neutral must trip so that when the power is off any current that could possibly return through the neutral wire will be cut off. So now this creates another problem with 4 breakers sharing the same neutral is now there is no way to get all four to trip at the same time if there was a ground fault (a short) or an overload. and someone could get nailed by any current coming back on the shared neutral. All the same applies for 3phase except there are 3 power wires and you can use 3 breakers with a 3 breaker tie instead of just two. You either need to run one neutral per tandem breaker or four neutrals for four circuits/breakers. Tandem breakers controlling two separate circuits are a pain because when one breaker trips they trip the other circuit also. Tandems are mostly used for two circuits going to the same appliance so that no power on either leg reaches the appliance when it needs to be off.
Can you put in piggy back circuit breakers in a circuit panel?
The electrical terminology for this type of breaker is a tandem breaker. It is where two breakers circuits can be in the same one breaker slot in a distribution panel. On this type of breaker there will be two output for a circuit value of what ever the breaker is rated for.
Can you run an extra set of wires off a 20 amp breaker?
No, this is stated very clearly in the electrical code. Only one branch circuit is to be allowed connected to each individual circuit breaker no matter what the amperage is. If a new branch circuit is installed and there are no spare breakers then most distribution panels have the ability to let tandem breaker be installed in it. Tandem breakers have two terminals and two handles and have the ability to fit into a single slot in the distribution panel.
What is the maximum number of branch circuit breakers allowed in a 100 amp panel?
I just spoke with an inspector here in NJ today and according to him pending on what panel(squareD)in this case, it is 24 space but can be 48+. Stating that the breakers allow you to place two branch circuits on one breaker. Didn't make sense to me, being that while in school at my union it was 1 circuit for each breaker. Unless, some tandem breakers are used. Check the breaker and see what its rated for. Hope this helps.
Name of the legend identifying the breakers inside an electrical panel?
The panel schedule.
Can you install a tandem breaker?
Tandem breakers, often called split breakers or double breakers, provide two separate circuits in the space of a regular sized breaker opening. Every circuit breaker panel has a limited number of circuit openings available. The problem is that when the openings are all used up and you still need to add another circuit, what do you do? You could change the electrical panel or double up circuits on a breaker, but this could place too much load on a particular circuit. So what then? The answer that many have found is a tandem breaker. This type breaker is the same size as any other breaker, but it has its difference. This breaker sports two smaller breakers built into one regular sized breaker. Each has its own breaker switch and the breaker snaps in just like a regular breaker. With this simple innovation, you can add a circuit and protect the circuit on its own dedicated line.
Will GE breakers fit a Murray panel?
No, they will not work. Use only Murray breakers for safety.
Will siemens breakers pass inspection on gould panel box?
As long as the breakers are made to fit the box, there shouldn't be a problem. you can only use breakers listed for the panel, there should be a label on the panel door. It will list all of the breakers approved for use in that panel. If you don't see the breaker by manufacturer name listed, then it should not be used. Lots of brands will interchange, but they have to be listed to be approved.
How many 20 amp double pole breakers can go into a 100 amp panel?
The provisioning of the breakers in a panel has a physical limitation regarding how many breakers will fit and a load calculation based on what devices the panel has to support. Your question really applies to both types of breakers. There are rules of thumb for sizing and populating the panel. This information is in the National Electric Code. If you have an existing panel and a new application requiring additional breakers for 220 Volt applications, the current draw in panel can be measured by an electrician and you will know what additional load you can support. If breakers fit physically in the panel, but connected devices exceed the total current capacity you will trip the main panel breaker. At this point you would need to get an electrician involved.
