Wow, I just took a real look at that box, that shit is wild man, too many wires under those breakers. You have 3 circuits, I think you suspect you have 4 with the double pole, yet you have 7 or 8 wires total coming into the box. Wire each device together on each circuit and bring one wire into the box, go buy 2 20amp breakers, then you got 4 20 amp circuits. One hot wire under the breaker screw, one neutral to the busbar, one ground to the same busbar for each circuit. If you got 4 circuits, there should be only 4 separate runs of cable coming into that box. I know it probably works, but I dont think you should do that.
40 amp breaker poping with only 25/30 amps of current??
- Thread starter DIGITALHIPPY
- Start date
Don't put DeOx on the busbar. (What you are calling power bar.) You only need it where an aluminum wire terminates into a connection.
As far as your power needs go, wasn't it Bill Gates who once said that 640 Kb of RAM was all a PC would ever need? When your house was built, no one dreamed that the electrical demand of the future would exceed 100 amps. That panel of yours is good for another 50-100 years at least, if used as designed. But, when you significantly increase the load, you also need to upgrade your infrastructure.
PC
As far as your power needs go, wasn't it Bill Gates who once said that 640 Kb of RAM was all a PC would ever need? When your house was built, no one dreamed that the electrical demand of the future would exceed 100 amps. That panel of yours is good for another 50-100 years at least, if used as designed. But, when you significantly increase the load, you also need to upgrade your infrastructure.
PC
it looks like im going to rip out the whole main at years end. thanks for the help, the box is a disaster.PharmaCan said:
luciano28 said:
Good point! The easiest way to fix that, instead of taking all the receptacle boxes apart. would be to run the wires into a junction box then to the panel. One JB (which is just a box like the receptacle is in with a blank cover on it) per circuit, just to keep the confusion factor down. Just an FYI for ya', in a sub-panel, the grounds are isolated from the neutrals and require that the neutral bus be isolated from the box and the ground bus bonded to the box, just like he's got it, sans all the twisting.
PC
PharmaCan said:
I was just about to post that and I think if he pulls the double pole out and replaces it with 2 single pole 20's( make 2 separate circuits out of your mega circuit on the double-pole) we will have solved his popping breaker, or is the breaker back at the main that is popping(the main for the whole sub-panel)? So make your circuits, tie them together in a J-box, then go into the subpanel with one cable.
Pharma-Can thanks for reminding me on that about subpanels, they arent bonded at the sub, like I said I work in a mill and Im a bit rusty on the residential. Thank you for correcting me.
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i have one question for you, one last one, promise 
the wire on the 80a breaker in your main is not the same wire you showed a pic of in yer subpanel.
by looking at it , it cant be the same.
now, do you have it spliced somewhere perhaps? or like a plug setup?
trying to figure this out.
if that 80a breaker is feeding yer sub off the wire that you showed a pic of in your main, than you still have no neutral.
that 3 wire (black/red/white/ground) in yer sub is not the same wire in your main (black/white taped black/ground)
the wire on the 80a breaker in your main is not the same wire you showed a pic of in yer subpanel.
by looking at it , it cant be the same.
now, do you have it spliced somewhere perhaps? or like a plug setup?
trying to figure this out.
if that 80a breaker is feeding yer sub off the wire that you showed a pic of in your main, than you still have no neutral.
that 3 wire (black/red/white/ground) in yer sub is not the same wire in your main (black/white taped black/ground)
that pic is an old one, before i added a new curcuit, im going to 'play electrician' and do some "cleaning up" in the abortion. then ill take some new pics, i appreciate your help, im trying not to be confusing, apperently i am. so ill clarify things with new pics, i want to get that mlc-8 installed, cap says to use 8/3 with a 40doublepole right inline with what you guys are saying, so ill post pics of all the work.cocktail frank said:i have one question for you, one last one, promise
the wire on the 80a breaker in your main is not the same wire you showed a pic of in yer subpanel.
by looking at it , it cant be the same.
now, do you have it spliced somewhere perhaps? or like a plug setup?
trying to figure this out.
if that 80a breaker is feeding yer sub off the wire that you showed a pic of in your main, than you still have no neutral.
that 3 wire (black/red/white/ground) in yer sub is not the same wire in your main (black/white taped black/ground)
that double 80 with the silver bridge is the existing central a/c. rarely use it, and never while 'growing is on'[lights] ahaha...
"abortion" as its been called in another thread aswell....wait that was you.PharmaCan said:Don't be so hard on yourself - abortion or clusterfuck are adequate descriptive terms.
PC
PharmaCan said:
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problem solved.#8 double40 breaker(from other room), double triggers, new photosensor for my hood fan, and a hlc-3 thermo shutdown w/temp adjustment and 15min delay for restart 
nice pieces of gear. the CAP's are worth the cash. finaly i can sleep at night.
nice pieces of gear. the CAP's are worth the cash. finaly i can sleep at night.
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