Me neither. Never even stayed at a Holiday Inn.
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Me neither. Never even stayed at a Holiday Inn.
My dad was a state electrical inspector, it rubbed off on me...
a 40 amp draw on a 60 amp circuit is fine, if a short develops it will still pop the breaker before the wire over heats. You cannot go the opposite direction.
Swapping a breaker is easy. Turn it off, remove the 2 hot wires(240 volt breaker) being careful not to touch any other exposed breaker connections. Unsnap or tilt out the breaker(depends on brand), put new one in making sure it is turned OFF, connect 2 wires and turn it on. Done. If you are afraid of electricity you can turn off the main... then the only hot wires will be the ones entering the main breaker.
I've done it before, long ago. All I had to do this time was put my Big Boy pants on, stop thinking, and do it. Instead, I called my wife's nephew today, an electrician. I took pics of the panel and sent them to him. He'll be here tomorrow.
You need to check local code. Only electrician allowed to change breakers. Probably need the elec guy check all the breakers (temp gauge) and panel. FP had some bad panels that started fires. It's there to protect wiring, not end item. Breakers do get old and the thermal cutoff in them sometimes gets overheated/fails.
Whatever!
Glad I don't live where you do. Just sayin'.Originally Posted by popper
Not that way around here. Still need to know what you're doin'.
Federal Pacific panels are still out there. Circuit breakers were the problem. Not the panel itself.
Yes, I am an electrician. Not residential wiring licensed which is why I emphasize caution. The stuff I deal with is 1250 volts and 2500 amps. Rolls around on wheels up to 75mph.
Last edited by Hannibal; 12-14-2023 at 03:18 PM.
I’m a licensed master electrician. You don’t need to change the breaker
Interesting. How do you know that since a 60 Amp service for a stove is being discussed? No one knows the gauge of the wire ......
Assumption is the Mother of all misfortunes.
The op mentioned a 60a circuit and not a 60a service. Because it had a 60a breaker on it, I’d have to assume that the wire is rated for 60a. The op didn’t mention the wire size or length of the circuit. Or even voltage. Only the existing over current protective device for that one circuit.
It’s easy to infer that the current homeowner wouldn’t swap out a smaller breaker for the 60a breaker since he/she/they/whatever is unwilling to swap out the 60 for a 40.
Now we're arguing semantics. Is is really necessary to say that it's a 60 amp circuit? And assumptions.
I'm out. Ya'll have fun.
It's 220 volt outlet. How would I know the wire size or length of the circuit (whatever that is)? Should the average homeowner know these things? Possibly.
It's not that he/she/they/whatever isn't willing to swap out the breaker, he/she/they/whatever is just asking if it's necessary.
I've spoken with three licensed master electricians, and two said swap it out, one said it's not necessary.
Lordy, Lordy, what's a he/she/they/whatever supposed to do?
I'm just funnin'. I appreciate all the replies. As I said, I'm having an electrician do the swap tomorrow, and he can evaluate the situation.
How many phycologists does it take to change a lightbulb?
One, but the bulb has to want to change.
The wire size/gauge determines its safe current carrying capacity. If the wiring you have has safely carried 60 amperes, there's zero reason to change the breaker for your new appliance!
Re the 3-wire- vs 4-wire plug, codes do vary by state. In my state currently, for BRAND NEW CONSTRUCTION the four-wire socker/plug is mandated. However, if one purchases a 220V clothes dryer electric range, or similar appliance, -- these appliances all are sold without the hook-up cord and the purchaser may elect to buy whichever. I do strongly suggest a new cord for your range -- as a matter of interest, many brands (e.g., LG) have dedicated unique hook-ups to their appliances which
makes this a necessity.
For kicks & giggles I checked out Low's -- and her's the link for both 3-wire as well as 4-wire cordsets: https://www.lowes.com/pl/Oven--Appli...t=711973858141
geo
The delivery guys will bring a 3 and a 4 prong cord and attach the correct one (for $24).
Even if the breaker is fine, it's still close to 30 years old. The electrician will have a correct new one, which is more convenient than pulling the old one out and trying to find the right one.
For anyone that believes the circuit breaker needs to be changed. You need to change a bunch of them. A 60W light bulb only requires a 1/2 A, so get rid of the those 15A and 20A breakers that are protecting those circuits and replace them with 1/2A breakers...
You really want to have fun, check the NEC code for arc welder circuits (wiring & breakers). Something about duty cycle involved.
45_Colt
Working in electricity for a good many years (and still alive to talk about it) we explained (or tried to) to customers that a circuit breaker is like a mouse-trap, with a wire which gets hot enough -- with marked current -- to release -- like the sear from a trigger -- and open the circuit. Once this wire (actually a bi-metallic strip) cools, it returns to its pre-heated shape and this mouse-trap (circuit breaker) may again be set. A glass fuse, instead, simply has a wire current passes through which gets warmer in sync with the amount of amperage passing through it. Once the rated amount is attained -- this wire simply melts -- thus breaking the circuit. Sadly, once this happens you're simply out of luck to only replace it with another glass fuse. (In "my day" they purveyed screw-in inserts with smaller diameters to present homeowners from replacing burnt fuses with those of larger ampacity. This is moot for stoves, water heaters, and clothes dryers, though, as they employed cartridge fuses in a holder).
The beauty of the circuit breaker was/is that if the current increases to point of being such that the wire starts to heat up --it will trip. I have NEVER ever heard of a breaker being out-dated, and in my own home and shop the breakers are more than fifty years of age!
You are being cautious/smart -- which is good -- HOWEVER, I do not believe a breaker change is necessary. Further -- perhaps my OWN bias -- where this past summer I did some electrical work I noted the made-in China breakers from the Home Depot weigh a fraction of the same rated 50-year old ones... Don't know, but *I* trust the old ones more! (Just me)
Good luck with your project!
geo
I am not a licensed electrician, although years ago I held a class A city contractors license in PA for Harrisburg and Lancaster, (allowed me to pull wire but not set the meter or panels, I don't know if this is still the same in PA as I left there in 1981). I would ask the installer to take a close look at the wire size that is being fed by that 60 amp breaker from end to end. I am suspicious of this as it would be very tough to physically get #4 wire into any common range receptacle I have ever dealt with. The risk is that the wire run was over fused at some point, possibly to avoid going to the supply house for the proper breaker. Back in the day we typically pulled 6 wire for the range and fused it at 50 amps. 4 gauge wire would have been unusual, very difficult to deal with and more expensive. If it is #6 wire it really should be fused at 50 amps or less. And if it is the early cloth type 6 gauge, (which was the most common range wire prior to the '60s), it would make me really nervous fused at 60 amps.
geo, I'd agree with you with the obvious exception of Federal Pacific breakers and panels. They are definitely out-dated, and dangerous. Many jurisdictions require them to be replaced in any commercial dwelling before you can pass the Fire Marshall's inspection.
Glad you are having an Electrician check this out.
recently, I found out a lot of stuff has changed with residential code in recent years... At least in liberal Minnesota.
I have some electrical knowledge. But like Hannibal, I have never been licensed for residential, but I sure have twisted a lot of wires in factories...big and small wires...industrial control panels.
.
Anyway, 6 years ago, during street and utility reconstruction in my neighborhood, The power company ran a new upgraded service. I asked them to run new wires to my garage...they did. I was to do the rest, but found I needed a Electrician connect these garage wires to the old meter boxes on the house (the house is a duplex). That started three different electrical projects that took 2.5 years, thanks to the State Inspector.
.
I'm not gonna write a book here, but the gist of what the inspector said, "if you are gonna do this(garage wires), you need to do that, the other, and something else too." About 3 grand later, I got a new meter box, and three new power distribution centers, but I did get rid of 6 different fuse boxes (yes fuse boxes, some round fuses, some long ones)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001
For those of you who wonder EXACTLY why the replacement of circuit breaker *may* be necessary refer to post #35. It would be UNUSUAL, not impossible but unusual if the wire installed during construction of the home was large enough to justify the installation of a 60 amp breaker to begin with. It's anybody's guess why that might have happened but now is a good time to correct it *if* an error was made for whatever reason.
If you still find this confusing, frankly you do not understand enough about electrical wiring and proper protection of that wiring. So please refrain from making assumptions and speaking about what you *think* is right.
This is beginning to resemble an Abbot and Costello routine.
The OP has made arrangements for a qualified relative to inspect the situation which is a wise decision. Meanwhile let's leave the scene of the equine carcass.
I wasnt an "Electrician" but I was an HVAC Contractor and worked around electricity all the time. They used to let us pull the electrical permits but when the realized they could get double permit fees they made us start having electricians pull the permit, lol. But I was 30 years in the trade and Your new old stove will be better off if you leave the 60 amp breaker in place and just plug in your stove and use it. The breaker protects the wiring. The wiring is sized to handle 60 amps. 60 amps is more protection than 40 amps. Has the existing 60 amp breaker been working ok? You better leave it in place because if you put in a "new 40 amp breaker" who's to say if you wouldn't start experiencing tripped breaker syndrome from it having a weak leg?
It happens all the time. If you want to buy a new breaker as a spare for that, I'd buy another 60 amp breaker.
This is what a licensed electrician told me yesterday (not the one who is coming to change the breaker): if the stove manufacturer says 40 amps, go with the 40 amp breaker because, if there is a problem (whatever that might be) your stove's warranty could be voided, and, you could have a problem with your homeowner's insurance, if you don't follow what the manufacturer says. Worst case scenario, I know, and the electrician was trying to sell me his services, or, was he right? Also, are induction stoves different than a 30 year old electric stove as far as the way, and amount, of power they use? If there is a problem with the breaker tripping, then I'd go to a 50 amp breaker, or back to 60 amp breaker.
Believe me, I'd like nothing better than to just plug in the new one and be on my way.
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