View Full Version : Installed 240v Dryer, used 10 gauge wire, 20 amp breaker-breakers flicking off
87vertgt
10-16-2009, 08:02 AM
What did we do wrong? also the breaker gets warm too...
thanx gents :)
87vertgt
10-16-2009, 09:26 AM
correction used a 30 amp double breaker
Speedy Petey
10-16-2009, 10:15 AM
Well, saying the breaker "keeps flicking off" is not much of a description.
How long before it trips?
Is the dryer new or old?
Did you wire it right?
You say it gets warm. Like hot? Or warm that you can keep your hand on it?
jadnashua
10-16-2009, 12:03 PM
If the run to the dryer is excessively long, you might want to upsize the wire, too. Probably not an issue. If you have a multimeter, you could check the voltage at the panel, then again at the dryer with it running. Don't do this if you aren't comfortable and knowledgable about working on power. If there is a significant voltage drop, then you have a bad connection somewhere or the wire is undersized (shouldn't be, though). Could be in the plug, or cord, or maybe even at the panel. Does the breaker get warm, too? Could have a bus bar problem or a bad breaker.
87vertgt
10-16-2009, 12:16 PM
thanx for the response gents
when I say "flicking off" i mean the breaker is turning off.
The dryer is new.
I didnt wire it. I electrian did.
The breaker gets warm, not hot.
The cord is new. The wire is new. I am gonna replace the new breaker with another new one.
Whats a Bus bar?
Ian Gills
10-16-2009, 02:02 PM
Call the electrician back.
I hope the electrician wired the receptacle properly. If the neutral and one of the hots is reversed, you could be running 240 volts to parts that are 120 volt rated.
As an aside, I also hope he remembered to remove the grounding jumper in the dryer if this is a new four-wire set up.
Call the electrician back.
If he made both of these mistakes, fire him.
IF he connected a hot lead to the neutral terminal, AND did not remove the jumper, the customer will probably FRY before the electician is FYRed (sic).
Ian Gills
10-16-2009, 02:35 PM
Or with a four wire set up, it would trip the breaker.
Absolutely anything could be wrong with it. Call the electrician back.
Only the English should play with 240 volts.
While inventors in many countries contributed to electric power technology, the U.S. was way out front in putting that technology to practical use. In the early days, lower voltages were the most practical for electric lights-- higher voltages burned out the bulbs. So the hundreds of power plants built in the U.S. prior to 1900 adopted 110 volts (or 115 or 120 volts) as their de facto standard.
Trouble was, power transmission at higher voltages was more efficient-- and you didn't have to use so much copper in the wires. By the time most European countries got around to making big time investments in electricity, the engineers had figured out how to make 220-volt bulbs that wouldn't burn out so fast. So, starting in Germany around the turn of the century, they adopted the 220-volt (or 230- or 240-volt) standard. But the U.S. stayed with 110 volts (today it's officially 120 volts) because it had such a big installed base of 110-volt equipment.
Speedy Petey
10-16-2009, 04:15 PM
Call the electrician back.
The ONLY answer.
frenchie
10-16-2009, 07:50 PM
Only the English should play with 240 volts.
What about the Italians & Germans & French & all those other folks?
What is the brand of the main pannel?
It doesn't happen to be Federal Pacific does it?
Call the electrician back...
Scuba_Dave
10-17-2009, 07:29 AM
Only the English should play with 240 volts.
You shall not disconnect my hot tub from 240v !! :p
Nor my HW heater, dryer, stove, AC, radiant floor heat.........
quote; Trouble was, power transmission at higher voltages was more efficient-- and you didn't have to use so much copper in the wires.
You did not mention that at the higher voltages electromagnetic forces on the center of large conductors becomes a detriment, so "hollow" wires are more efficient.