tripping breakers

[rebekwl]

I'm prob. gonna have issues w/breakers once I set up my system. It seems fairly easy to trip the breakers in the basement, where I'm going to be it setting up. Now I know I could go with a a bigger breaker but, how big can I go w/out burning wires? Seem like the biggest breaker in the panel for downstairs is 15 amps... The prob. IMPO Is That they "daisy chsined" way to many things together on one breaker... The reason I think so is: When you trip the breaker, almost every plug in the basement(except one) goes out.. Any "sparkie's" out there? Let's hear some thought's, suggestions ,answers,whatever you got.

 

Thanks, Will.

[stevearlen]

I'm prob. gonna have issues w/breakers once I set up my system. It seems fairly easy to trip the breakers in the basement, where I'm going to be it setting up. Now I know I could go with a a bigger breaker but, how big can I go w/out burning wires? Seem like the biggest breaker in the panel for downstairs is 15 amps... The prob. IMPO Is That they "daisy chsined" way to many things together on one breaker... The reason I think so is: When you trip the breaker, almost every plug in the basement(except one) goes out.. Any "sparkie's" out there? Let's hear some thought's, suggestions ,answers,whatever you got.

 

Thanks, Will.

 

Hmm.. I had a simialr situation all the outlets in the Den were on the same (too small) circuit. I ran a licensed electrician run a couple of dedicated outlets -- one for the tank and one for the space heater. Steve

[rebekwl]

I was thinking that was a option. I'll just have to change te location of the tank. What do you think will a 30 amp ,and 12-2 wire do or is 12-2 to small?

[YBeNormal]

DIY electrical work is OK if you know what you are doing. Considering the types of questions you are asking though, my suggestion would be to have a licensed electrician do the work or at least give you a hand with it. We have a couple of them in the club that have helped other club members and I understand their rates are very reasonable.

 

That said, I would consider two 15A runs rather than one 30A run for redundancy and yes, #12 is too small for 30A. You would have to go with #10.

[Black Mammoth]

You probably have 14awg wire if you have a 15amp breaker. That isn't always true, but it is the norm. You should (in general) increase the wire gauge if you increase your breaker size. A 12awg wire on a 20amp breaker is probably sufficient for most uses. I'm setting up a 325g in my basement and I ran only 2 12awg 20amp lines. I have a 3rd 12awg 20amp line available and a 14awg 15amp line in case I need them. I had my 90g on one 14awg 15amp line with my home theater drawing a lot of power with no problems. Sometimes I even had my dehumidifier hooked up. Only with all 3 on, I would have a problem when I turned on the vacuum.

 

I would also check out your equipment to make sure that it is all working OK.

[rebekwl]

DIY electrical work is OK if you know what you are doing. Considering the types of questions you are asking though, my suggestion would be to have a licensed electrician do the work or at least give you a hand with it. We have a couple of them in the club that have helped other club members and I understand their rates are very reasonable.

 

That said, I would consider two 15A runs rather than one 30A run for redundancy and yes, #12 is too small for 30A. You would have to go with #10.

 

The only prob. w/running two lines is, there's only one avail. space in the panel.. I'm also gonna get the brother-in-law to help me(he just doesn't know it yet). I'm an HVAC installer so, I have changed out breakers before. But, he's the "Sparkie" That normally gives me info. Now if I ask him , He'll know sumthin's up... But, if I just get the supplies he'll never see it coming...hehe

[flowerseller]

A 30a breaker takes up 2 slots.

If you run a 30A with #10, make it into a sub panel and add a bunch of breakers in it.

[Coral Hind]

The only prob. w/running two lines is, there's only one avail. space in the panel..

 

What type of panel do you have? They make "pancake" breakers which are basically two breakers built together that only take the spot of one standard breaker.

[rebekwl]

A 30a breaker takes up 2 slots.

If you run a 30A with #10, make it into a sub panel and add a bunch of breakers in it.

 

Now that's a thought..

[rebekwl]

What type of panel do you have? They make "pancake" breakers which are basically two breakers built together that only take the spot of one standard breaker.

 

It's a G.E.

[Coral Hind]

It's a G.E.

 

GE does make a 30A breaker that only fits in one slot. However, if your panel is relatively close to the tank then running a subpanel is not cost efficient.

 

GE is a maker of "pancake" or duplex breakers. To get a specific model number you are going to need more info on the panel then just "GE". You will need to know if it is snap-in or bolt-on.

 

GE duplex breaker

[Brian Ward]

A dedicated 20A circuit (1 circuit = 1 breaker) should be sufficent to run your tank unless you're doing something unusual. When I did mine, I ran either a 50A or 60A subpanel and then installed breakers there. I've been running everything on 1 20A GFCI breaker with no problems, so I have a ton of extra capacity. To give you an idea of what I'm running:

2x 400W MH

1x IceCap 660

2x Reeflo Barracuda

1x Eheim 1262 (skimmer)

1x Some smaller pump on the Ca Reactor

1x OM 4-Way

1x 250W Jager heater

1x 1/3hp Chiller

 

So unless you're planning on running something much larger than that, you should be fine with a single 20A dedicated circuit.

Edited March 3, 2009 by Brian Ward

[DJBoy98]

Why waste 2 slots for 1 30A circuit when he can use the slots for 2 20A runs? Split the load on both circuits and it'll lessen

the chance of tripping them. I would split the lights and pumps on both lines.

[rebekwl]

All right, I'm gonna go Dedicated 20 amp. Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

Will.