Point 2 is prohibited by the NEC. YOU CAN NOT PUT A 20A receptacle on a 20A branch circuit!!!!! Again this is 210(b) Your an electrician, you know this
(since when?its done every day.)
Well the 20A branch was a typo. In any case you said that a 20A receptacle can be put on a 15A branch circuit. That is patently false and prohibited by the NEC. That is why my comment was in regards to. (Your point #1)
Point 3 What can I say.. but I disagree. You can run 12/3 and use (2) non handle tied breakers. If you use a double pole breaker, then a faulting device on one leg will bring the entire tank down!!!!
[/i](who said use a double pole breaker.he would need two 20A single pole breakers)[/i]
I addressed that point! You could use an internally tied double pole or two single poles. I addressed why you would not want a double pole AND addressed in the next paragraph why I did not recomend single breakers on a shared neutral circuit. Honestly... the post was short and to the point.
I don't think you read any of the posts here, including my last one. I think you made some comments and have not thought them through or looked at the context!
I opted not to tell the OP to use non tied breakers because we would then have to get into the discussion of ensuring that both breakers were not on the same leg. If he puts them on the same leg, then he overloads the neutral.
(they cannot be on the same leg using 12/3 so im not sure where your going with this.one is one the A phase and one would be put on the B phase.)
Didn't I just say that?
Lastly, DO NOT USE GFCI breakers. If a device faults it will bring everything on that GFCI down. YOU DON'T WANT THIS!!!!
The best thing to do is use multiple GFCIs on each branch. That way each device is isolted from the next. A faulint device will only trip its own GFCI outlet and leave the rest of the tank running.
(the last two statements contradict themselves so im not sure where your going with this either.)
Your joking right? I don't think the statements could be any more clear. I am not sure if it is a lack of reading comprehension or electrical knowledge that is at play here.... but I am baffled by a lot of your statements.
Let me try again.
1) You said it was OK to put a 20A breaker on a 15A branch circuit. The NEC prohibits this.
2) You said the best way to do this would be to use 12/3 (a shared neutral circuit). I said that in order to do that, the OP would have to either:
A) use a double pole breaker which would cause everything in the tank to shut off if a device on EITHER LEG of the breaker faulted. This is not a good idea for an aquarium that has living things in it.
B) use single pole breakers. The problem here is that the OP would have to ensure that those breakers were NOT ON THE SAME service leg. This is not something you want a first time DIY guy messing with. If he did put them on the same leg, the neutral would become overloaded, as the currents sum instead of canceling.
3) You said to use a GFCI on EACH branch circuit and tie multiple outlets to those GFCIs. I said that a better plan would be to use MULTIPLE GFCIs on EACH branch circuit instead of a SINGLE GFCI on each branch circuit. I also added reasoning as to why NOT TO USE GFCI breakers.
I said it would be good to use MORE THAN ONE GFCI on a SINGLE BRANCH CIRCUIT to isolate each pice of vital equipment. In other words a GFCI receptacle for the RETURN PUMP, another GFCI receptacle for the HEATER, another GFCI receptacle for the Skimmer, another GFCI receptacle for the Closed Loop Pump, another GFCI receptacle FOR EACH lighting ballast.
The reasoning is VERY simple. If everything is plugged into a single GFCI protected outlet, a single faulting device will cause the GFCI to trip and therefore de-energize ALL of the equipment on the tank. Again this is a VERY BAD thing with regards to living critters. Instead with multiple GFCIs per circuit, a single faulting device will have no effect on the other devices on that branch circuit.
Bean
