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Amp Circuits

 
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thebluecanary
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Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 123
Location: St. Louis, MO

PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:27 am    Post subject: Amp Circuits Reply with quote

OK, reading things over, I see that a 30 amp circuit is recomended for the oven and the vac. Well, my work group is set up on two different circuits. One is 15, the other 20. The Lights all run off the 20, but one, and all the outlets are off the 15. Do you think if I ran the oven off the 20, and the vac off the 15 I would be ok? I have at least 3 30 amp breakers in my switch box, but no idea where they are. I just see them in the breaker box.
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jegner
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Joined: 30 May 2003
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Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello!

My initial tests were on a 20amp garage circuit. Seemed to work fine. I did not however run much else on that circuit, and if I tried to run the shop vac, it would trip the breaker.

30amp gives plenty of extra 'room' so if your oven is drawing over the 20.8amps as per the book, you don't have an issue with the breakers tripping all the time.

You will want to plug your vacuum into another circuit for sure. The oven and the vac together on the same circuit will for sure blow the breaker.

Also, if you find the breaker tripping after a long stint with the oven on, you will need to upgrade.

Jim
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thebluecanary
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Location: St. Louis, MO

PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cool thanks! Do they sell a standard 30 amp power outlet? I'm pritty sure I can get a 20 amp one. I poked over my braker box, I have 15,20,25, and 30 amp breakers. So one way or another, I will find away. =P

Thanks for the info.

jegner wrote:
Hello!

My initial tests were on a 20amp garage circuit. Seemed to work fine. I did not however run much else on that circuit, and if I tried to run the shop vac, it would trip the breaker.

30amp gives plenty of extra 'room' so if your oven is drawing over the 20.8amps as per the book, you don't have an issue with the breakers tripping all the time.

You will want to plug your vacuum into another circuit for sure. The oven and the vac together on the same circuit will for sure blow the breaker.

Also, if you find the breaker tripping after a long stint with the oven on, you will need to upgrade.

Jim
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jegner
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Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hmm. Replacing a 15 or 20 amp circuit with a 30 amp will require an electrician. Not sure the house wire can handle the extra load.
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thebluecanary
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Location: St. Louis, MO

PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jegner wrote:
Hmm. Replacing a 15 or 20 amp circuit with a 30 amp will require an electrician. Not sure the house wire can handle the extra load.


No I mean they are already installed in my breaker box, I just need to figure out where they come out on the otherside. =)
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crashmann
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Joined: 27 Sep 2005
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your 30 amp breakers are for the heavy duty appliances - stove / oven, laundry dryer, and water heater. The 30 amp sockets are very different looking, and will not take a normal electrical plug:


I heard of one person putting a 30 amp plug on his oven power cord, then running it out the window from his laundry room (he did his forming outside the house). Then run the shop vac on a separate regular outlet.

If you choose to follow this route, be sure to verify the shape of the outlet. There is the style above, and a twist and lock. You can find the plugs in the electrical section or with the dryer accessories.

You will need very heavy gauge wire for your power cord! 10 gauge is probably the minimum, and don't stretch too far. The more length, the more resistance you introduce that is not heating your plastic.

I am using a dedicated 20 amp circuit for my oven, and tweaked the heater coils so they are just under the tripping point of the breaker (around 21 amps), but I can not run anything else on the circuit. The oven heats 0.90 HIPS in about 4 minutes. So, if you turn off your lights, then you should be able to connect your oven to the 20 amp circuit.

If you are not a trained electrician (like me Smile) do not attempt to rewire your outlets! It takes less than one amp to stop your heart, and anything more will throw you across the room! Please, check with an electrician before doing anything that you are nervous about.

Good luck!

Charlie
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thebluecanary
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 6:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

crashmann wrote:
I am using a dedicated 20 amp circuit for my oven, and tweaked the heater coils so they are just under the tripping point of the breaker (around 21 amps), but I can not run anything else on the circuit. The oven heats 0.90 HIPS in about 4 minutes. So, if you turn off your lights, then you should be able to connect your oven to the 20 amp circuit.

If you are not a trained electrician (like me Smile) do not attempt to rewire your outlets! It takes less than one amp to stop your heart, and anything more will throw you across the room! Please, check with an electrician before doing anything that you are nervous about.

Good luck!

Charlie


So how did you 'tweek' it? And I will have to find some stand lights I guess. =P And I was actually trained as an electriction, at least to run cable, install them in a breaker box, but that was back in 97. So I can wire just about anything, but I know when I don't know enough. I guess I'll have to see about the lights. I'm going to have to find a way to bypass the light switch then. Ooo fun with power! But thanks for the help!
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jegner
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

twealing the heating coils is all about stretching the coils to the right length to get the right resistance. The ideal is 20.8 amps. By changing the length, you increase or decrease the resistance [as you already know]

And a lot of the 30 amp circuits are for larger appliances. Ovens and dryers are usually on a 220v, 50amp breaker.

My gas generator has a 30 amp 110v twist lock connector. Since my vac table is set up in a tool shed with no electricity, I run my oven off the genny.
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Mattax
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Joined: 09 Mar 2006
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Location: Virginia

PostPosted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I set up my shed with a full 100 AMP service panel. I have a 60 AMP breaker wired to an outlet specifically for the vac table oven and a seperate 20 amp circuit for the two shop vacs.

I am using an oven for the heating element and all other controls from the oven and bought an oven cord to plug into the outlet and then will wire it into the oven.

If you do not have space in your current panel, you can get "piggy back breakers" to allow for more space to add additional breakers.

Piggy back breakers are dual 15 amp or dual 20 amp breakers that fit in one slot.

220 set up is cheaper than a 120 set up as far as electricity. The higher voltage means you pull less amps. I x E = P (Amps x Voltage = Wattage) I = E/R (Amps = Voltage/ Resistance) Obviously, you do not want to run a long power cable from the outlet to the oven as you will get a lot of resistance as stated in the above post.

Your local electrical supplier should be able to tell you the size wire and circuit you will require. Typically, you want to size the breaker at 80% load.

As always, if you are not sure, definitely recommend getting an electrician to do it for you.
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Mattax
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Location: Virginia

PostPosted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just found the earlier post with the Ohm's Law wheel. Great resource for electrical applications.
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thebluecanary
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I moved my workbench, well the one that came with the house, to make room for my new workbench, and I found another outlet. It was bolted to the table, so I needed to take it apart. Becasue I don't trust my memory sometimes, stuck a lap in the outlet, and hit the breaker box.

Went though all the breakers I THOUGHT it should be, ( All the ones fro the rest of the workroom). And this one turned out to be a 20 Amp! So now I don't need to run a cable from the one 20 amp on the otherside of my basement to my workroom.

No idea why this one was hidden under the workbench, he must have had something plugged in there. OR it was original to the basement, and the others where added by the 2nd owner. (I'm the 3rd).

So by the end of this month I will get my new table saw, and start construction on the table, and tool storage I SO need.

I'm hoping to have my first REAL pull done by Holloween. =) I'm starting with AT-AT Comandor (General Veres) Armor.

I'll keep you upto date!
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Mattax
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 12:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Make sure that the one outlet is the only thing on that breaker. After that you should be good to go.
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Mattax
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thebluecanary
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mattax wrote:
Make sure that the one outlet is the only thing on that breaker. After that you should be good to go.


Its the only thing I can find on that breaker.
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