Electricians or Handyman?

eidillitih

eidillitih

Premium Member
I'm want to have a curcuit breaker only for my aquarium. Anyone knows the a,b,c's to this?

I know a few this things of course or I wouldn't even try it. But I'm trying to make sure. So here's the steps I think are right.

1. Kill power to house
2. Make sure I have empty slot ( I have two for a double, maybe 30 or 40 amp breaker. Will that be okay?
3. put breaker in connect the wire and run the line to the outlet.

Is their something I missing? anyone have a link. I've tried search but won't let me right now.

Thanks in advance for your help
 
Thats basically it, but I recommend going to Home Depot electrical aisle near the wiring nuts you will find a book thats only like $5 and it is awesome. It in a platic bag hanging from a peg.... With it I have wired my entire basement, 220 volt hot tub, outside underground lighting, and hooked up a barn... I pretty much knew what I was doing, but having the book handy gave me 100% confidence ( ok maybe 99%). Well worth the $5.
 
You want to use a 20amp breaker and run 12 guage romex from the panel to the tank. you can use a gfci breaker or just put a gfi in where you would put the receptacle. The gfi recep is much cheaper than using a GFCI breaker. GFI $10 GFI breaker $30-$70. Good luck.

You shouldn't have to kill power to the whole house. The breaker is a stabin and can be installed while the house is live. unless it makes you feel better to kill the whole house. As long as the new breaker is off, you can tie in the new wire without getting shocked.
 
I was reading that the two double slot that I have available are for 240 volt.

Can I still use those and use 120v equipment. I think I know the answer but nothing wrong with asking.
 
Just replace the empty 240v breaker you have with a single pole 20amp breaker. you don't want to ever run 120v equipment on one leg of a 2 pole breaker.
 
Yes, you should be able to pull the 2pole 240v breaker out. And put in its place, two single pole 120v 20amp breakers. Use one breaker for your tank and the other for a spare.
 
I normally would not help a Dallas Cowboy fan, I am a Redskin fan, but I do not want to read about you in the newspaper. Installing a breaker is not that easy. For instance is the neutral/ground bar full? Is it a pushmatic panel that would involve screwing the breaker to the bus bar? Some panels are a nightmare to work on. If you are not absolutely certain of all the connections I would not do it. Remember wiring is not a hobby it is a profession. Good luck.
 
That's why the guy is asking questions and getting answers. If it's a residential panel, most likely it's a stab-in breaker.
 
doh! push-matic I hate em!

eidillitih... not to be rude (we all have to learn someplace) but your first foray into electrical work should not be in a main service panel. If you really want to do it yourself, get a good book and enlist the help of a knowledgeable friend. You really need to have a grasp of what is going on before you go playing around in a service panel.


I am a dallas fany myself...
 
Look at your distribution panel. If you have an older version that uses a 240 breaker for the main and it feeds 120 breakers, you will only be able to kill the 120 legs and the 240 will still be alive. If your main is at the top and horizontal, wile the rest of the breakers are vertical, you should be able to turn the main off. This will kill both 240 VAC and 120 VAC breakers in the panel. This is a safer situation. These are general applications, there are different panels. The first box mentioned can be worked on live. Even with the second panel, there are two large cables that get their power from the meter and can not be turned off, unless you pull the meter. I must advise caution, if you are asking this type of question you may not be the right person for this job.
 
Like I stated I have a little experience. Just like to get some reassurance. I've circuits before but not added a new one. I have been reading the DIY books and believe I have a good idea. I'm usually a very handy person but just wanted to hear personal experiences. Hears a picture of what mine panel looks like. This may be out of my league. Can't see the difference in neutral bar and ground bar. What ya think?

powerpanelcs1.jpg
 
i see in your country you dont like to use ground bars?the neutral bar is where all the white coloured wires tie into.i think your panel is a general electric.im surprised that they allow to pass wiring through the main breaker compartment.if you are not sure of what you are doing dont do it itll cost your life.
 
That is a stab-in panel. You can de-energize the bus by flipping the main up top. It's a G/E panel. The neutral bar and ground bar are the same on a residential service. you can see that all the grounds are tied together and then taken to the ground/neutral bar via a number 6 or number 8 wire.
 
x-link that is an old panel... we use ground bars here as well, however because the ground and neutral are bonded on the main panel, they are one in the same. I prefer to keep the grounds on one side of the box and the neutrals on the other just to keep things neat.

Most modern residential panels have a main breaker. There is no "external" breaker in most cases. The service drop directly feeds the meter socket, which directly feeds the main breaker in the main panel.

The CEC and NEC are pretty much the same. There are some subtle differences... but for the most part they are the same. So you are saying in Canada, the main breaker must be in a seperate box? That is kind of silly.

Bean
 
You can place both the neutral and ground on the NEUTRAL BUS... if you look, you will see that that bundle of grounds is tied (bonded) to the neutral bus.

That is a somewhat messy panel. I would still invite a person with some electrical experience over to help you. As a nove, you will want to work with only one hand in the box, keep the other in your pocket.

Throwing the main breaker in that panel will keep you fairly safe, but you still have to be aware that the service entrance cable is hot. You should be able to fit a 20A single pole breaker in that lower slot.

Again... get a friend over to help. You do not want your first time in a service panel to be your last.
 
no im saying that they alow wiring to com from the top of the panel where the main breaker is.and tieing in the ground at the neutral is a no no.the neutral only gets grouned once to the body of the panel wich is tie to the water main of the house.grounds only go to the body of the panel the person who did that job should have his liscence removed.
 
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