evu80
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the whole reason why we got the extra panel was because we could not fit all of the breakers we needed. I wish I knew this info before we got started cause it wouldve saved me tons of money.
well now I know.
ok so whats my quickest fix? is it better to buy these breakers and wire everything to the existing panel? or to do what HB says.
I just want to be safe and up and running at 100% capacity asap
You can use that double pole breaker for everything if its at the right amperage. Its not wise to trim down wires to fit but it most likely wont do anything.always appreciate the advice guys.
I'll post better pictures in a few days.
the bottom panel is the existing panel that supplies 60 amps to the unit. I realized what you mean now by connecting the new sub panel via a 50 amp breaker. Power is supplied directly existing panel and the sub is piggy backing through a breaker. I get a clean connection as you said and I dont have to worry about copper and aluminum interacting together.
Is it wise to use a 60 amp breaker to match the supply since most of my usage is from the sub panel itself?
now to the aluminum and copper wire in the lug nuts. They were sliced a bit in order to get them fit together in the lugs. Should I cut the tip off and restrip them?
there is two older breakers in the existing panel one double pole and one single pole. The double pole is not connected to anything and the single pole lights up the rest of the unit's light fixtures.
On the sub panel it has one double 30 amp breaker for my titan lighting controller and 40 double pole for my DCP 7500. Also is two single pole breakers for misc outlets my friend wired for me.
In total, I got 2 (1k) for veg and 4 (1k) lights along with misc fans pump etcs.
One thing I dont follow is punching a hole through the dry wall and wiring a seal tite connector or the jumper cables?
yes i have twins a boy and a girl 10 months old so you know what im doing all night... all night,,,, all night long ... all night.whats up hiboy? my ac is still doin well after mesina alil last year, i still hafta do a few things like anbody else tho, i was trying to remember if you had the grey 55 chevy redone or a baby maybe ? lol or someone else here maybe? cool car regardless, my bro had a 54 in hi school,,,
yes i have twins a boy and a girl 10 months old so you know what im doing all night... all night,,,, all night long ... all night.
Dont got any ol school cars, would like one though
hb
yes i have twins a boy and a girl 10 months old so you know what im doing all night... all night,,,, all night long ... all night.
Dont got any ol school cars, would like one though
hb
You could be right about an old breaker, i would def. replace it, new is always better. I was going to say maybe u have an unbalanced load but since ur stove is 240v and most of your lights are also thats prob. not the problem. Then i thought maybe a surge upon start up but you said the room was already on for an hour. I hate the smell of burned electric whatever it might be, scarry stuff.Quoted this because I take my family's safety seriously as my first priority, and you know what's that's about. So what just happened has me pissed and a lil worried:
Hiboy, or anyone knowlegable, I had a weird situation happen to me tonight. I have 100amp service to my house, and I took care to wire everything to the 80% rule; 'don't pull more than 80% of the rated max load through any given breaker.' Middle of the evening, the 100 amp main breaker at the meter popped; smelled hot when I went out there, and it wouldn't immediately reset.
I grabbed a flashlight and went through my whole crib with a hairy eyeball and followed my nose; I found... nothing. All my gear was within normal limits, main breaker warm but fine, wires cool to touch, ballasts warm but not hot, no evidence of arcing or shorting anywhere, everything was 5x5 in and out. This was AFTER my bloomroom had been on for an hour, and an hour AFTER we'd cooked dinner on the electric stove and used the oven simultaneously...
After 15 minutes, I reset the breaker and everything is up and running like nothing happened. I double-checked everything in the house with a plug, and still no suspects. o_O
So... WTF happened?? Any ideas? I worked hard to make damned sure I didn't do anything stupid or risky with my power, followed the advice of the pros here, and... well? My best guess is the 100amp breaker is 35 years old, just like the rest of the house, and decided it wasn't happy running at 80-85% of maximum. Wanted a coffee break, lol
You could be right about an old breaker, i would def. replace it, new is always better. I was going to say maybe u have an unbalanced load but since ur stove is 240v and most of your lights are also thats prob. not the problem. Then i thought maybe a surge upon start up but you said the room was already on for an hour. I hate the smell of burned electric whatever it might be, scarry stuff.
Def. replace breaker, it would be nice to read the amps going out of the main to see what ur at. Those testers are only a bill or so and def. worth having. Check ur buss bars when u pull out the main, make sure they look clean and not screwed up.
hb
Yep for the main breaker change the meter has to be pulled. This is normal for most panels. The leads from the breaker go straight to the ouput of the meter. If it doesnt have a lock you could cut the clip on the meter ring which i normally do and just pull it out. Then ur safe to change the main. If you dont want to go that route you can call up your service provider, they will come and take off the clip, but most likely wont wait for you, so youll have no power till they return if you dont want to pop the meter back in. Its pretty easy to do though.The only things not on 240 are pumps, fans and timers. The breaker box outside next to the meter didn't smell 'burned', just hot and ionized.
I'm thinking that this is as much an indicator that I have things pretty well dialed in, powerwise, as anything else. If the oldest breaker in the house is the only thing that popped, then you're right- replacement is likely due.
Since it's the main outside service breaker, how do I isolate it to work on it? Is this when I call the utility and ask for them to do something? Is there another shutoff somewhere? How do I know exactly what brand and model of breaker to buy without opening that panel up while it's hot/connected?
I've also given some thought to going with 200 amp service, but I fear that may raise some eyebrows. Therefore, if/when I expand it will be via the 'flipbox' method; run another room out of phase with the one I have.
What I would like to do with this sort of setup is have some kind of delay relay built in, so that when it 'flips', I can have and control a scheduled delay, allowing me to run two rooms' lighting from 12 hours on down, in case I want to run longer nights. So for example, the timing might look like this: room A on for 11.5 hours, then 'flip'; but room B doesn't actually come on for 30 minutes. When Room B has run for 11.5 hours, it would 'flip' again, but the delay would then hold Room A off for 30 minutes. This adds up to 24 hours, gives the ballasts and such time to cool a bit- and saves me about 10% on my power bill. I would appreciate any ideas you have to help me set this up.
As always, your time and advice are much appreciated, hiboy- I look forward to the chance to return the favor sometime!
Yep for the main breaker change the meter has to be pulled. This is normal for most panels. The leads from the breaker go straight to the ouput of the meter. If it doesnt have a lock you could cut the clip on the meter ring which i normally do and just pull it out. Then ur safe to change the main. If you dont want to go that route you can call up your service provider, they will come and take off the clip, but most likely wont wait for you, so youll have no power till they return if you dont want to pop the meter back in. Its pretty easy to do though.
Glad i can help u out, i have good karma coming to me one day. About the delay thing, on a flip, let me put some thought into it, see if i can think of something with timers
hb
Ive never had an issue with it, of course others will say hell no dont do it . I would do it, its only a clip, and u can kinda put it back on. Your not stealing power so what can they say if anything. Only a meter reader will be looking at your panel in the future, and they dont know jack. And if you dont like them coming on your property where ur panel is you can request a meter that they can read from the street. You can tell them ur putting a dog run in or something. They normally just say ok no problemAs always, I appreciate the knowlege you share, brother. I confess to a healthy fear of getting the shit zapped outta me, so I take all the precautions. I've seen the videos where the high tension linemen are hanging off the side of a chopper, working on hot lines, and the thought makes my skin crawl! Those guys got balls of cold rolled 'insulated material', no way I could do that.
Will the utility get pissed at me if I cut the sealing clip and then notify them after I've swapped out the breaker? I'm not stealing power of course, just playin' it safe.
Ive never had an issue with it, of course others will say hell no dont do it . I would do it, its only a clip, and u can kinda put it back on. Your not stealing power so what can they say if anything. Only a meter reader will be looking at your panel in the future, and they dont know jack. And if you dont like them coming on your property where ur panel is you can request a meter that they can read from the street. You can tell them ur putting a dog run in or something. They normally just say ok no problem
hb
what's up brother.. it's been a while. hope you and the family are doing well.
i've got a place now that was just wired up with 200 amps today. everything went smooth except at the meter. the service wire was so large compared to the wire that was in there (60 amp main panel originally), that we had to drill a larger hole in the meter, and then the wire wouldn't fit into the legs, so we had to unravel some of the wire to screw it in, then tried to tie it off at the top.
all is well thanks,
twins keep u busy... specially running a company
I have a thread for electrical questions but i'll answer ya here best i can
if u installed a new 200 amp panel code is for 2/0 wire, not # 2 but 2/0 and that wire is about the size of your thumb almost. Are u sure a 200 amp panel was installed, meters just plug into the open slots of the ring of the panel , the wire goes to the lug bolts that are factory built into the panel, and they are large lugs
hb
Live long and prosper
my guy says he's going to buy some proper electrical clamps or some shit, and that i should probably go to edison to get a larger meter box, assuming they'd give me one. what do you think bro? thanks.
cheech, Today at
Ive never had an issue with it, of course others will say hell no dont do it . I would do it, its only a clip, and u can kinda put it back on. Your not stealing power so what can they say if anything. Only a meter reader will be looking at your panel in the future, and they dont know jack. And if you dont like them coming on your property where ur panel is you can request a meter that they can read from the street. You can tell them ur putting a dog run in or something. They normally just say ok no problem
hb
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