Any Electricains on the Board?
 

I am planning for my new in wall tank in the basement and went to see how much space I had in my panel. Low and behold it is full minus one 15Amp slot. The main breaker is 100Amp.

I would like to put in a small sub panel in the fishroom with say 2 - 20Amp circuits and a couple 15Amp circuits.

Can this be done with the main service that I have today?

I will be getting an electrician in to do the work but wanted to know some options before getting an estimate.

Thanks

Dave

One thing to note is that I think for a 20A cct you have to have a special plug, you cant use std house plugs.

Not a sparkey but I think I am correct on this one

What you have to do first is determine your total load in the house at any given point. For example, if you are a power hog and on average use 50 or 60 amps (not likely) then you are limited to how much more you can draw from the 100amp. If you are an average user of electricity, adding a sub panel is not a problem at all.

What would happen is something like this...

The 2 spaces you have left would be filled with say a 50amp (example)dual pole breaker. A line (correct gauge for load) would run to another box close to your tank. A small sub panel with a couple breakers in it is wired to the appropriate duplex plugs.

If you are going to go this route, may i suggest finding out what on your system can run on 220v and wire it accordingly. It will save precious amps resulting in a smaller breaker(s) wire, and ultimately cost. (Cost to install, not power usage, its the same)

To answer the question about the 20amp duplex's, by code, you need to install those plugs to differentiate between the two. Using a heavy duty 15amp duplex will do the same thing, just cheaper.

Thanks for the reply Powerboy, I had an electrician come over and I will be putting in a 60A sub panel to feed the fishy room.

Dave

what are you running that you need 60 amps? and is that a 60 amp 110 breaker or a 60 amp 220?

Steve

Hi Steve, the sub panel will be fed from a 60A 220breaker in the main panel. It will be supplying a couple of circuits for my rec-room and the rest for my fish room.

Does this look right to you?

Thanks
Dave

Dave,
I have an electrical code book here as well. Do you still want to test the lights this weekend?

Al

You are confusing the issue needlessly. What Dave said is correct. Any real Electrician reading this would realise that it is uneconomical to attempt to get a sub panel less than 60 amps. You can go to any Rona or similar store, and pick up all the needed material, and have at it. There was a time when you could pick up a 30 amp panel easily, but I have not seen one lately. :razz: BTW nomimal voltage is 240V :biggrin:

I am quite aware of that Bob, I was merialy trying to find out why you want to run so much power to a fish room. if I am not wrong will not a 240 :rolleyes: 60 amp breaker alow you to run 8, 15 amp 120 breakers? just seams like an awful lot.. as for the pannel yes it may be cheeper to get a 60 amp pannel but that doesent meen you have to feed it with a 60 amp breaker.. I would use a 20 amp 2 pole myself if it was just for a tank.. save about 65% on the cost of the breaker.

Oh wanna see a night mare come help with what I have to do so I can set up my hot tub :rolleyes: I have to replace my 125 amp pannel with a 200 amp pannel and have BC hydro upgrade my service to 200 amp.. then I have to get a 100 amp breaker to feed my 100 amp subpannel.. going to be a busy day :mrgreen:

Steve

Here is what Dave said;.
Steve, the sub panel will be fed from a 60A 220breaker in the main panel. It will be supplying a couple of circuits for my rec-room and the rest for my fish room.

So you can see the extra circuits will be utilised. :biggrin: