Your Electrician Here

[FirstContact]

Hello Bean,

I was wondering what the decora switch on the (2) 4 gang boxes is for? Is it supposed to toggle just one receptacle on and off or all of them? What do most hobbyists use it for? The pump return? Lighting? Thanks a bunch!
:rollface:

 

[BeanAnimal]

I am not sure which decora switch and gang boxes you are talking about...

 

[Phillybean]

In the house I'm buying, my panel is full. I want to add 3 or 4 20 Amp circuits for my tank, in the future.

What are my options for this? I'm fairly moronic when it comes to electric work, other then wiring in plugs and plugging stuff in them lol

I'm not sure of the main breakers amperage, however the house has a in-law suite, so had two stoves, so I think it is 200 amps.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I am not very versed on the CEC, though it is pretty much the same as the NEC.

The size of your main breaker does not matter too much, as you are not likely every going to draw that much current.

You will need a sub-panel installed. This will take (2) spots in the main panel to feed the new sub-panel. That means at least 2 circuits (or a double pole circuit) will need to be moved to the new subpanel to make room. Your new fishroom circuits will come out of the sub-panel. This is a project for a Pro in most cases.

 

[Young Frankenstein]

Bean dont forget the load calculation.

 

[jnarowe]

hehehhehehe...he said "sub-panel"...heheheheheee

 

[BeanAnimal]

Yeah... I guess I did add a hypen. I tend to do that more and more often lately to words that I KNOW do not get a hypen. I just go through editing a fail-safe overflow image gallery and must have hypens on the brain. That word does get a hyphen and for years I neglected to spell it correctly.

 

[FirstContact]

I'll try to learn how to resize images and post the image. Can't find it on the net again, but I have a jpeg on my desktop. Tank of the Month for May 2008. Chingchai shows an image of (7) receptacles. Each outlet has a (decora) oversized switch next to it and is labelled. The other example I saw showed a single switch next to (6) receptacles. The receptacles were one above the other or three columns of two. I was wondering if the switch is supposed to control all (6) receptacles next to it or just (1) of the receptacles.
:rollface:

 

[BeanAnimal]

The switch could control any combination of the receptacles. It all depends on what your goals are.

 

[jhildebrand]

Quick ques: Can this be used wired into a bathroom exhaust fan to vent humid air from my fish room to the outside?

http://cgi.ebay.com/RANCO-J10-810-D...VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

If not, any suggestions?

 

[originalozzyo]

I wired a dehumidistat similar to the one you are looking at to a bathroom fan in the room that is going to hold my future tank. It works just like a normal switch with the option of being able to set a limit to how much moisture you want in the air. Works no problem.

 

[robojet]

I have questions about all the stuff we have to power for our aquariums...

I have 2 aquariums, so almost 2 of everything, plugged into 4 powerstrips (that are daisychained) eventually plugged into a single receptacle. I'm losing sleep over this - this can't be safe!

I've seen that some people use American DJ Power Centers , but I would need 3 of these, then would end up plugging them into a powerstrip, which would still be plugged into a single receptacle. Is this any different?

What is the best/safest way to deal with this problem? I'm sure I'm not the only one that struggles with this problem

Thanks!

 

[Young Frankenstein]

Open for qestions in 2009

 

[stugray]

Young frank must have "met his quota" for the year & cannot speak (type) too much ( maybe a union thing ;-).

Funny robojet's post was from Sept.

Stu

 

[Young Frankenstein]

Any Questions ?

 

[uncleof6]

Yeah, you get your journeyman's card yet?

J

 

[jnarowe]

:lol:

 

[stugray]

For one thing, I honestly am glad to see you back.
Even when we disagreed it was more fun than the forum has been lately.

Now.

"Any Questions ?"

Actually yes. A serious one.

Can you explain exactly what it entails to install everything for a "sub-panel" like someone would put on their tank or in a detached garage?

I have a friend at work that has a very old house that has had a couple of sub-panels linked to the main panel, and they look a little fishy to me.

A couple of tips ( assuming a real electrician would perform the final hook up ) for installing one, or inspecting an existing one, would be appreciated.

Stu

 

[BeanAnimal]

Attached or detached to the building with the main panel... it makes a difference

Lets just talk about a sub panel in the same building.

for a 120/240V sub panel you MUST have a (4) wire feed. That is (2) hot legs (1) equipment ground and (1) neutral.

The NEUTRAL bar in the SUB panel MUST not be bonded to the ground, ground bar or the panel box housing. It MUST be isolated on its own bus bar. This is a MUST.

You DO NOT have to have a MAIN breaker in the SUB panel, but it is a nice option.

The breaker feeding the sub panel MUST have both poles handle tied. This is a MUST.

The breaker feeding the sub (this should be obvious) must not exceed the rated ampacity of the service cable feeding the sub.

On the other hand, it is perfectly acceptable to oversize the feeder and still use a small breaker set to feed it.

The sub can be fed with copper or aluminum wire.

The sub panels physical location falls under the same rules as a main panel.

Now for an isolated building... things get a bit more complicated due to the grounding rules. Let me know if you need info on that.

 

[Young Frankenstein]

Glad to be back Stu is my project seson I gues
Could he run a conduit or romex to the new sub panel ? The minimum would be a 100 A panel with 8/16 circuits with a 40 A 2 pole feeder. I am assuming 8 circuits max because I dont see it using more than that. An upgrade without much difference in material cont would be the same panel with #6 wires on a 60A 2 pole brkr.