How many Volts is This Double Breaker
7 years ago
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Electric Fence: circuit breaker trips when ground is connected
Comments (7)Plenty of if's, and's, and but's, but you can be creative on your grounding, but I wouldn't try it with an AC charger. If lightning strikes your fence and the charger isn't grounded, your house wiring will take the hit. I use solar and battery operated chargers with the 1 ft ground stake but my fences are no more than 600 meters long and the ground is moist. Lightning strikes ruin only the charger (if the lightning kits don't work). For me, AC chargers aren't worth the hassel of installing them to a standard that will keep your insurance rates reasonable and damages fixed by the insurance company if something happens. Dave...See More110 volts vs 220 volts
Comments (40)Wow.....what a strange thread. A motor rated to run on 120 VAC will draw double the amperage it does when run on 240 VAC. On that issue, I agree. The real issue here is the extension cord and the resulting voltage drop at 100 feet from the power source. The higher the amperage of the device at the end of that cord, the greater the problem. Fourteen guage wire is adequate at 100 feet if you are pulling about ten amps. Yes, I know that 14 ga. is rated for 15 amps but in this instance we are talking about a motor that has fluctuating loads while splitting logs. I have a portable 120 VAC hotdog tanked air compressor with a 1.5 hp cap start motor. That unit hates being on an extension cord unless it's at least 12 ga. or even better, 10 guage wire. So, if the OP intends to use his existing cord, he has to think about a few things here. What is the guage of wire in this cord? If it's 16 gauge, it's useless for this application at any voltage. If it's 14 guage, it's likely too light to run that motor efficiently on 120 VAC. If it's 12 guage or 10 guage, it's likely fine for the application at 120 VAC. HOWEVER, it will have the WRONG plug and receptacle on it for 240 VAC. The OP will have to buy the correct plugs and receptacles to wire everything properly (safely) or someone is going to be in for a big surprise. Items that are designed to run on 240VAC use plugs and receptacles that are RATED for the amperage of the application and each one has a different blade configuration to prevent accidental damage/overload/fires/etc. 240 VAC plugs and receptacles come in ratings of 15, 20, 25, 30, 40 and 50 amps. The plug on the 240 VAC log splitter will set the standard for the blade configuration. I agree that buying a 240 VAC unit is the way to go but not for some of the reasons stated so far. My reason has to do with the extension cord needed. A 14 guage extension cord will easily deliver 20 amps at the end of 100 feet. That motor will snap to life a tad quicker and it will recover from heavy loading a tad quicker too. Induction motors run coolest when they are spinning at their rated RPM. If you slow them down, the current rises quickly and so does the internal temps of that motor. Overload that motor too long and it will begin to smoke. From there, it's all downhill for that motor. The simplest solution is to buy the 120vac unit along with a 100 foot ten guage extension cord. You will have good power at the end of that cord and you may find other uses for it. If you go with the 240 vac unit, you will need to either convert your existing cord or another one, plus putting in the correct outlet in your garage. You will also have to make sure that the circuit breaker for that 240vac outlet is sized correctly to protect the extension cord and motor....See MoreTesting Amps on double pole breaker
Comments (25)DavidR, Phases are nothing more than comparing multiple electrical waves with respect to time. So assuming two waves, if they both peak at the same time, they're said to be "in" phase, or 0 degrees "out of phase". When the power company creates power, they do exactly what you suggest, and put the windings 120 degrees apart, and deliver 3 phases of power. That's why if you look at overhead transmission lines, they're always in groups of three. However, that's not the only way to create a phase difference. As Brickeyee pointed out, single phase motors use capacitors to start (and sometimes run) the motors. What they're doing with the capacitors is creating a second phase. Residential US power comes from a single phase which is delivered to the house via a center-tap transformer. By definition, the two hot legs are 180 degrees out of phase with each other. By convention, though, we don't call this 2-phase, because at one time, power was delivered as 90-degree out of phase, and was called 2-phase. (I'm not sure if this still exists anywhere). One thing that you might find interesting is that the fans on many computers and audio equipment are 3-phase to both prolong their lives, and to make them quieter. All it takes is a little bit of electronics to transform single phase into multiphase power....See MoreInstalling new breakers
Comments (12)I know it is wrong to not use AFCI breakers now days, but just putting afci on the 3 new circuits without changing out the whole panel isn't any better than playing Russian Roulette, IMO. Especially, since you would be putting the AFCI on the new wires instead of the potentially old ones that may actually need it. If you have smaller than a 40 circuit panel, no AFCI breakers at present, and may have plans in the future for more electrical such as a hot tub or landscape lighting, then now would be a good time to at least think about the bigger picture, and either change to a larger panel or add a subpanel. BECAUSE, by the time you change all the breakers to AFCI, the time and money spent won't warrant not spending the extra $200 on the new panel. Otherwise, 210.12(B) Branch Circuit Extensions or Modifications -- Dwelling Units. In any of the areas specified in 210.12(A), where branch-circuit wiring is modified, replaced, or extended, the branch circuit shall be protected by one of the following: (1) A listed combination-type AFCI located at the origin of the branch circuit (2) A listed outlet branch-circuit type AFCI located at the first receptacle outlet of the existing branch circuit Exception: AFCI protection shall not be required where the extension of the existing conductors is not more than 1.8 m (6 ft) and does not include any additional outlets or devices. ... 210.12(B)(2) Would be more in line with the actual benefit of an AFCI in this situation, since protecting one cable all the way back to the panel while the other ten old cables that it is run next to are not protected is a bit futile. I would also add a blank face AFCI at the beginning of the lighting, or other circuits that don't start with a receptacle. You could also put the old circuits on the quad breaker, and then put the new circuits on a full-spaced AFCI breaker if you want to please the inspector with a code run-around ;D...See MoreRelated Professionals
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