Breaker Box

[GenesisGuy70]

Hey all,

Just moved into a new apartment and was looking at the breaker box and don't understand what these clips are for.

 

[SnowDrifter]

They link the breakers together. Essentially summing them into one larger circuit

 

[StevieC]

Both breakers need to be switched on/off at the same time because one breaker feeds the one side of the 220v circuit and the other feeds the other side of the 220v circuit using 2x 110v feeds added together to come up to the required 220v.

 

[bdcardinal]

Is your phone tilted sideways or are the breakers actually mounted horizontal? That has been against code for a while now.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted by StevieC
Both breakers need to be switched on/off at the same time because one breaker feeds the one side of the 220v circuit and the other feeds the other side of the 220v circuit using 2x 110v feeds added together to come up to the required 220v.

I have some that are hooked together with coat hanger wire!

 

[mk378]

Those are dual 240 volt circuits to cram more circuits into the box. With electric heat they should have installed a larger box to begin with.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted by Chris142
Originally Posted by StevieC
Both breakers need to be switched on/off at the same time because one breaker feeds the one side of the 220v circuit and the other feeds the other side of the 220v circuit using 2x 110v feeds added together to come up to the required 220v.

I have some that are hooked together with coat hanger wire!


There is an offical bar you can buy to do that on the breakers that have the hole in the "throw" part of the breaker but I have seen coat hanger before.

 

[bullwinkle]

^Yes-and the three half size breakers are a dead giveaway that there's a need for more amperage & a bigger box. Any idea on the main breaker amperage? I hope it's 200 amps for that much 220V running off of it.

 

[StevieC]

I have 100amp service and "had" all sorts of 220v stuff installed and would trip the main breaker all the time. I then switched to all gas appliances and gas hot water heater and that went away. I wanted to upgrade to 200amp service but I'm on overhead power and it would have been really expensive to replace the wiring to the pole on the street due to the length involved and not to mention the cost of changing the panel and have the utility come out and disconnect / re-connect. Besides my power bills have never been cheaper. I'm killing the planet with all the cheap natural gas I'm burning though.

 

[WobblyElvis]

Originally Posted by bdcardinal
Is your phone tilted sideways or are the breakers actually mounted horizontal? That has been against code for a while now.


Anyone know why this would be the case? I'm sure it is legal in Ontario.

 

[StevieC]

It's legal in Ontario as far as I know. Mine and my dad's are both mounted sideways, and I have seen new home construction the same way here/there.

 

[bdcardinal]

From my research in the US it violates NEC with that orientation. You can have a horizontal mount however all the breakers must be oriented so that they are "on" in the "up" position. When we had the main replaced in my house last month they had to put it vertical to be up to code.

 

[Donald]

Typically it would be for 220V circuits like water heater, electric range, dryer. When you shut power to one of the appliances you really want to shut off power to both legs of the 220V.