Electrical help please!

[Txjourneyman]

So one more question. Will having a 120amp double pull breaker be any different than having two 60 amp breakers placed on top of each other?

Yes! This is very different! a 120 amp 2 pole breaker will not trip at overcurrent until at least 100 amps passes through it. probably more like 130 amps with todays breakers. 60 amp breakers will trip at close to 60 amps. To much overcurrent can cause bad things like fires!
BTW, for what its worth there are no 120 amp breakers. They go from 100 amp to 125 amp as standard overcurrent device sizes.
Really, its OK to call me, I bet I can walk you through this.

[Txjourneyman]

Ok good so then there should be no need for me to go spend $100 on a 120 amp breaker then. I guess maybe my breakers may just be in the wrong places and both are pulling from the same phase only allowing 120 volts or at least that is what I am hoping.

If you do end up needing a breaker and you can wait a day or two I'll send you one if I have a good used spare laying around. Don't pay a penny. I also want you to tie the two 60 amp breakers together. Check and see if there is a hole through each of the "levers" used to turn the breaker on and off. If so take a piece of solid wire and run it through the hole on both breakers and then bend the ends over, Kinda like a cotter pin tieing the 2 together. That way if one leg trips it will turn off both legs. This will help protect you and your equipment.

[Blast-n-cast]

You may also want to look at your range wire. Reading through all of this it seems like you had run 10-3. If that is the case I would bet that is too small a gage wire. I am no electrician but over the years building and remodeling I have wired many a houses with my buddy who is and we have never run that small a wire for the range. Water heaters yes but not ranges.

[RaginCagin]

I just wanted to give everyone a big thanks for all the suggestions and help. I went back t the camp Friday afternoon to look things over for the 100th time and I went outside to the meter box and decided to move the breaker like many on here suggested. I moved the breaker from 60 amp breaker from the right side of the beaker box directly under the 60 amp on the left side. I was not expecting it to actually work but when i went inside the A/C and stove both came on. Needless to say I was excited. Soon after the wife and kids decided they wanted to come so we cooked burgers and rode out to the soybean fields to look at some deer. We hung around the camp till about midnight and headed back to the house as it is still no completely ready to sleep in.

[MNSparky]

Having been a master electrician for more than 20 years, I cringe at reading these posts. I see so much bad and DANGEROUS information put out as fact!! The 30a A/C should not be on the same circuit as a 50a range it will trip the circiut. A #10 wire is rated for 30a in a residential situation, to have a 50a range connected to it makes the #10 wire the fuse, not the 60a breaker! The wire will melt before the breaker trips,your cabin and anyone in it could be history. As someone tried to suggest, breakers do NOT trip at 80% of there rating, if they do not trip at something very near there rating, they are bad and should be replaced.
If you have not studied Electricity and don't understand it, is it worth a couple of hundred dollars to get a licensed electrician in, how would you feel if somone got hurt or Killed?

[Longstick]

I llove these shade tree thingys ...I agree with sparky..seperate 220 for each appliance..I fix a lot of messes that others thought they knew what they were doing. CHECK TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE 220 first if so then you'll be able to operate IF NOT its not going to happen..0n a 10/2 w grnd black and white go to the breaker and uninsulated bare to the ground or neutral. A 10/3 w grnd the black and red go to th breaker and the white and uninsulated go to the ground <neutral> bar
termials on the plugs are
copper or brass are hots
silver or cad plate neutral
green is ground

Like Sparky says get a qualified electrician deer camp or nor

[Mike D]

He changed and put a new 50 amp double poll breaker today. He told me this was the reason I did not have 240v before but I still dont now. He wired to the first receptical then pig tailed to the next one. It is only getting 120v. I dont know if he is licensed or not. He is pretty popular around town and is just kind of a home repair man.

As others have said, have him test and make sure you have 240V at the panel. Also, make sure he bought a true double pole breaker and not a tandem breaker. A double pole breaker will pull 120V from 2 different phases. A tandem breaker will connect to the same phase there fore only giving 120V out of it.

And, I hope he replaced the #10 wire with at least a #8 wire and possibly a #6 if he pulled more romex.

Like Sparky said, BAD idea to share the 2 different loads off 1 breaker.

[Bill]

If you have not studied Electricity and don't understand it, is it worth a couple of hundred dollars to get a licensed electrician in, how would you feel if somone got hurt or Killed?

See my post #42. And I'm not a master electrician.

[Fightinaggies]

I would definatly up your wire size, that is a serious fire hazard having #10's for that load

[RaginCagin]

As others have said, have him test and make sure you have 240V at the panel. Also, make sure he bought a true double pole breaker and not a tandem breaker. A double pole breaker will pull 120V from 2 different phases. A tandem breaker will connect to the same phase there fore only giving 120V out of it.

And, I hope he replaced the #10 wire with at least a #8 wire and possibly a #6 if he pulled more romex.

Like Sparky said, BAD idea to share the 2 different loads off 1 breaker.

He put a double pull and I now have 240v. The ac and range both work now but he used 10/2 wire. i originally had grey romex here which I believe was 8/2 and he switched to the 10/2. I questioned him about it but he said this is what was needed. Now I am worried I need to switch it back which I can do myself but it is just agrivating that I paid someone good money to do this and it does not seem to be done right. He has both the Range and the ac running off of this same breaker.

[Fightinaggies]

He put a double pull and I now have 240v. The ac and range both work now but he used 10/2 wire. i originally had grey romex here which I believe was 8/2 and he switched to the 10/2. I questioned him about it but he said this is what was needed. Now I am worried I need to switch it back which I can do myself but it is just agrivating that I paid someone good money to do this and it does not seem to be done right. He has both the Range and the ac running off of this same breaker.

They can both be run off the same 60 amp breaker as long as your pull load amps don't go above 48 amps. You need to have him pull out that #10 and put in at minimum #8 but preferably #6's

[RaginCagin]

They can both be run off the same 60 amp breaker as long as your pull load amps don't go above 48 amps. You need to have him pull out that #10 and put in at minimum #8 but preferably #6's

I'm not calling that guy back. If he did not even know what size wire to use then I dont trust him doing anything else. I am just going to buy some #6 to be safe.

[Gringo23]

I am a Master Electrician and I'm in the middle of putting a panel together for another member for his camp. I'm giving him used stuff I have laying around. I don't mind a bit trying to help. where is your camp located? I hunt in NE Texas, (Marion Co.), and I'll be up there this weekend. If you are close I'll come by and take care of it for you. There won't be any charge if you are close enough. I am not licensed in La. but am still willing to check it out. Feel free to call my cell. Greg 903-292-7014

Nice

[Fightinaggies]

Allowable ampacities of conductors (wires) in conduit, raceway, cable or directly buried, based on ambient temperature of 86� F (30� C). NEC allows rounding up cable ampacity to the next size standard fuse or breaker.

Maximum Ampacity for Copper
and Aluminum Wire

Wire Size Copper Aluminum
167� F (75� C) 194� F (90� C) 167� F (75� C) 194� F (90� C)
*14- 20 25 .
*12- 25 30 20 25
*10- 35 40 30 35
8- 50 55 40 45
6- 65 75 50 60
4- 85 95 65 75
2- 115 130 90 100
1- 130 150 100 115
1/0- 150 170 120 135
2/0- 175 195 135 150
3/0- 200 225 155 175
4/0- 230 260 180 205

* The national electric code (NEC) specifies that the overcurrent protection device not exceed 30A for 10 AGW wire, 20A for 12 AGW wire and 15A for 14 AWG wire.


Just for reference, sounds like you got it all figured out now.

[Lippy]

Go to the line side and test the other lug. sounds like only one lug is hot.