20 AMPS a bad idea?

[saltysteven]

I making a outlet center and installing a new breaker just for the fish equipment. Is installing a 20 AMP Breaker a bad idea? Or is the 15 AMP breaker enough?

Im running 2 little giant motors, 2 175 watt mh, 160 watt vho, 250 watt heaters- thats the big stuff.

BTW bits a GFCI breaker

[fatrip]

15 amp will be enought but if you have got the right romex for a 20 amp curciut it could never hurt to go bigger. just incase you decide to upgrade things...

[jgiannini]

Well...A 20 amp circuit safely gives you 16 Amps usable (80% of circuit value). So 16 amps time 120 volts gives you 1920 watts of usable power. I don't know what the little giant motors draw, but it looks like your consuming 760 watts total for the lights and 1 heater. You may want to consider adding another 100 watts for the inefficiencies in your ballasts, etc. With a 15 amp breaker (safely 12 usable), you have 1440 watts available, so either way you should have enough overhead for what you're running, but always make sure with a real electrician.

[MalHavoc]

As fatrip mentioned, make *sure* you run heavier gauge wire if you run a 20A circuit. Don't just take a 15A circuit and put in a 20A breaker.

[AZDesertRat]

Agreed, a 20A circuit is more than just a larger breaker. The wire is normally #12 instead of #14 and the outlets are even heavier duty with a different plug pattern.

[saltysteven]

yes i would run 20A approved breaker wire and outlets but i wasnt sure if this was more dangerous or not?
Im guessing the 20a allows more power to pass through-

and it would be 2 250 watt heaters plus someother low power items, im probably looking at 1300+ watts
so would the 20a be the way to go? i really just concerned with the power danger

[Mavrk]

If you can go 20A, then that is great. It is not more dangerous. In fact I think many people would recommend it. Just be sure to use GFCI outlets for your tank. You are dealing with water after all.

[AZDesertRat]

I ran a 20A dedicated circuit for my system. It terminates into a 4 gang GFCI outlet behind the tank. I also run a few pieces of equipment off of a nearby 15A GFCI circuit for redundancy since I have experienced a few nuisance trips and don't want to lose all circulation (a bad experience taught me this!) .

[fatrip]

im not sure if you would really need to use the gfi outlets if you are using a GFCI breaker. i would look on the web through some electrical sites to see if that is necessary. it is alot of extra cost if it isnt necessary.

[AZDesertRat]

You don't need GFCI outlets if you use a GFCI breaker, but you should use 20A heavy duty outlets.

[saltysteven]

AZDesertRat- right thats what im going to put in a 20a GFCI breaker going into a switched diy box containing 3 or 4 outlets. all wiring and oulets will be 20a.

so there wont be a larger danger using a 20a with water as long as it gfci?

[saltysteven]

also i just got a watt meter by P3 international. on the back on the package it states max current 15 amps. so if i ploug this unit into a 20 amp it will blown the unit, correct?

[fatrip]

i believe but not 100% sure that it means if you are measureing something that is pulling more than 15amps it will blow. but if you are measuring voltage on a 20 amp curuit it should be find. because the 20 amp cuircut is not drawing 20amps but can with stand 20 amps being drawn from it. and no there is no mroe danger weather it be 15 or 20 amps. just the 20 amp's has more voltage avalible but if you are shorting it you will get the same amount of electric shock...lol...maybe burn you alittle more....just dont grab onto it...but you have nothing to fear with the gcfi..

[jgiannini]

The label only means it will handle up to 15 amps going through it...Also, the watt meter by itself will consume enough wattage to show the LCD display, it won't draw 15 amps by itself with nothing else plugged in.

[saltysteven]

fatrip- that makes sense, thanx

[stagger19]

It comes down to line and load. The line (wire) will be #12 romex and can carry up to 20amps. U can install 15W standard receptacles as long as the LOAD coming thru the recepticles does not exceed 15amp on that one particular outlet.

to calculate the amps going thru the outlet, use Ohm's law

Volts X Amps = watts or Watts / Volts = amps

[reefergeorge]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11144219#post11144219 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stagger19
It comes down to line and load. The line (wire) will be #12 romex and can carry up to 20amps. U can install 15W standard receptacles as long as the LOAD coming thru the recepticles does not exceed 15amp on that one particular outlet.


Only if you use a fifteen amp breaker. If you use a twenty you have to use twenty amp recepticals and twelve gauge wire. Bigger is better. If you have access in the walls I would run the twelve.

[AZDesertRat]

15A outlets will not meet code.

[J-Burns]

If you run 12 gauge wire, you can use a 20amp breaker. You do not need 20 amp recepticals. The only reason I can think of using a 20 amp recepticle is if you will have a dedicated circuit to one heavy load item- such as a big window air conditioner or the like. You will want to contact a local electrician. You can also call one and ask ( I would since there are several answers here). I am not an electrician however I have been a lineman for 29 years. Also some local cities have requirements above the code book. Not trying to offend anyone- I would call a local electrician or go to an electricial store and ask to see the code book.

[AZDesertRat]

The National Electrical Code says 20A outlets on a 20A circuit its that simple. If you want to maintain your homes insurance policy you need to stick with code installations pure and simple.

[J-Burns]

Article and secition of NEC please

[AZDesertRat]

Don't happen to have a copy at home but can look it up at work.

[poppin_fresh]

You cannot make the outlet the "weak link" because there would be nothing to stop a potential fire. If you have a 20 amp circuit with a 15 amp rated outlet, there is nothing stopping you from pulling more power than the outlet is desgined to handle...hello possible fire hazard (against code).

You can go the other way though. A 20 amp receptacle is fine to use on a 15 amp circuit because the receptacle is not the weak link, but rather circuit breaker is. That is the circuit breaker's (or fuse's) job.

[J-Burns]

I don't have a code book handy however I did find this... Can a 15A receptacle be installed on a 20A branch circuit?


A: Yes, per the 2005 NEC Article 210.21, a 15A receptacle can be installed on a 20A branch circuit so long as it is not the only receptacle on that circuit. A single receptacle on a 20A branch circuit must be 20A rated.

[J-Burns]

Salty seven, I am sorry, I think we kind of got off your queston. If you are not tripping your 15 amp breaker leave it alone. If you do trip your breaker call an electrician to run you another circuit.

[poppin_fresh]

Yes, if its a dedicated outlet it needs to be 20amp rated.

The only problem I see with one circuit is that if it trips for some reason, you will kill all your pumps and heating. If you can swing two, you can put 1/2 the system on one, 1/2 on the other for some redundancy.

FWIW you a circuit breaker will never trip while you are there to do something about it. Blame that Murphy guy and his "laws".

[saltysteven]

well so you guys know i will be using 20a everything - i dont want to break any codes. ill be installing he breaker and doing the wiring myself. ive done some before - im going to read up on the exact codes and get it done right

[Mavrk]

May I suggest posting your question on this thread (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1079295&highlight=electrician)? O Agios is very helpful and knows a lot about electricity.