I have a square d box – no room for additional breakers – bathroom blow dryer causes breaker to pop. I’ve heard from changing the breaker from 15 to 20 amp will fix the problem. You can’t change due to the wire is 15 amp wire. I’ve been told to add a sub panel with a 50 amp breaker on the main box to 3 – 20 amp breakers in the sub panel. Home was built in 1977. I realize you can see the wire, but can you give me some advise. I don’t want my house to burn down with a higher amp breaker. Breaker 3 gives me the problem.
Adam
Tom’s Answer:
Tom: Well, you’ve got two wire sizes we’ll start with. You have a 14 and a 12. The 14 is for a 15 amp, 12 is for a 20 amp, although a number 12 wire will also handle a 15 amp because it’s sized a little bit bigger and it’s perfectly fine. Today, most homes don’t even use a 14 gauge wire anymore, it’s all 12.
But you still, even with a sub handle which is a good solution to put another 20 amp in there, you still have to run a wire to where your blow dryer is, and that means running a number 12 wire. So whether you do it to the subpanel or you do it to your original panel and just switch it out to a 20 amp breaker, either way the wire has to run to the point of use.
Charlie: Yeah, I didn’t see how that was going to solve the problem with the wire.
Tom: Right. No, you can do the subpanels to add more breakers because a lot of people want to add some stuff, and that’s fine, but it’s not going to solve the problem of running the wire.
Charlie: So putting in the extra breakers will still mean he’s going to have to run lines from those new breakers into that bathroom.
Tom: Yeah. You’ve got to have the right size wire with the right size breaker.
Charlie: I’m curious. Is it possible that the breaker is old, and if he tried replacing that breaker it might, it could be the breaker going bad?
Tom: You know, Charlie, it is possible, but a Square D is a pretty good box, and they have pretty good breakers. If you wanted to switch the breaker out just to see you still have to go with a 15 amp breaker, but maybe that will help. But quite frankly what’s happening with blow dryers and microwaves, they just for older homes you have to upsize the size of the amperage because you’re talking about a heating element, and that takes a lot.
Charlie: We’re energy pigs, is what we are.
Tom: What you might want to do, now here’s another thing, how about changing your blow dryer and finding one that uses less wattage?
Charlie: How about just [inaudible 00:01:40].
Tom: How about sticking your head out the window.
Charlie: Go with that more natural look.
Tom: I’m not much of a blow dryer, so I don’t really understand …
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