WORST MISTAKE Homeowners make upgrading a 15AMP to 20AMP Circuit Breaker
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
- Everyone asks if you can upgrade a 15amp circuit breaker to 20amps circuit in their house. Can you just swap the breaker is there anything to worry about? Here I answer the most common video request I have received.
This video is for information purposes only, electrical work should always been done by a licensed electrician
Wire Reference Guide: www.cerrowire.com/products/re...
Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of Silver Cymbal, I cannot guarantee against improper use or unauthorized modifications of this information. Silver Cymbal assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. Use this information at your own risk. Silver Cymbal recommends safe practices when working on machines and or with tools seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of Silver Cymbal, no information contained in this video shall create any expressed or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or from the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Silver Cymbal. 
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Thanks for watching - please LIKE & SUBSCRIBE - My new favorite screwdriver: amzn.to/3qyRA5k and no its not the LTT one
Thanks my guy.
Could you do a comparison on why you like this better than LTT? Thank you.
Wow..never knew this
Can’t argue with that .
So just I thought. I'm screwed. I can either run my AC or play a game on my computer. I can't do both.
I'm an electrician 28 years in the business, this was an excellent and educational video about breaker upgrades. Very well done
I appreciate that
I have a 20A AFCI/CHAF breakers in my house. Those breakers keep tripping when I use my 11A carper cleaner, or 10A treadmill. But using my GFCI bathroom plugs or the outside GFCI plugs, it works fine. What can I do? Thanks
@@dvuemedia unfortunately I've run into a lot of problems when homeowners call me and tell me their afci Breakers are tripping due to heavier house appliances. On a normal GFCI breaker it doesn't trip as much but for some reason the afci technology that's monitoring the sine wave of the current passing through it gets distorted when heavier equipment is in use. Best bet is to make sure no other appliances are on that circuit when you're running your vacuum or try to have it plugged in a different location
@@dvuemedia or you can swap out that outlet for a new one
@@obertosiciliano1243, I tried using different outlets, same issue , I have to use GFCI outlets. I probably need some kind of "slow blow" fuse, if one exists.
You had me worried there in the beginning. I was like WHAT? !!! But you handled that well.
Perfect! Breakers protect the wires in the wall, not the equipment or appliance it runs.
Totally. Most people don’t realize that over current protective devices on branch circuits must comply with UL489 and are sized to only protect conductors. Motor circuits are an exception. Devices and appliances can be protected locally with supplemental protection per UL 1077.
Yeah, and of the runs are long enough you might have to use 10 AWG instead of 12 AWG but that just does not happen in residential settings.
With the amount of misinformation on RUclips, I seriously thought this was going to be a dangerous video. I've been an electrician for 16 years and thought I was going to have to put a comment to correct the video. I'm glad to see that you put so much thought and information into this video, thank you for not spreading dangerous claims.
"How To Home" has decent information too.
One of the reasons I always just use the same 20A rated wires even on 15A circuits. Sure it costs a bit more, but a few times have had the need to repurpose the runs. So comes in helpful.
Yeah, but it can also cause confusion for some people yet I have some HUGE wires on my house in some places in a few 15A lines. They are round and not flat about 3/4" round. No idea why?
I think it's important to point out the consequences of undersized wires - if you overload a wire buried within your wall, they WILL overheat and can cause fire INSIDE your wall! Think about where the wires run through the studs all throughout your house. It's often catastrophic, and even if it's fit your your purpose for a transient load, it's just a matter of time before someone hooks a long-term overload to the circuit.
Is there anyway to determine whether a smaller gauge wire is some where in your house?
@@butchtaylor5086 For an exact answer, you can measure the circuit resistance (with the right test equipment), but you would still need to know the length of the wire to determine if the heat dissipated over the surface area exceeds the wire insulation rating. But a much simpler test that would identify egregious problems would be to place a brief known high-current load onto the circuit, then measure the voltage with a meter before and after turning on the load. I can't give you voltage drop figures off the top of my head but there is probably information on the internet that can guide you
like many viewers "surely he's not, no he can't be suggesting....please, no, god, no....". Well played and nicely done!
Its funny, I keep seeing lots of downvotes and then 1 minutes later they take them back 😀
@@SilverCymbal I should never have doubted for even a second, being familiar with your quality work! Thanks! Dave J
I would never attempt to work on any electrical in my house after this video. Thank god my neighbor is an electrician. This was very helpful you explained yourself well. 👍
At first I was scared, but after watching the video I feel relieved. Best advice, have electrical circuits installed by professionals. DIY electrical is nothing to mess with. Serious and life threatening problems can still occur years down the line.
Some projects are OK if you feel comfortable and many of my videos are to help people understand what a job entails. This one is such a common request but just too complicated for an upgrade anyway
I have ran wire but only to add in additional sockets. One easy project was adding boxes to supply LED lights for the attic. Just ran a line from the garage opener junction box to a switch and then from there to three more junction boxes. I have a second switch to like above the garage. Since it is rambler access it all in the open. Running wire down into a cabinet to power wine cooler was a much smaller but slower project. In general, one you get to wiring you better know all the rules. I have a 30A line I want installed for a generator. I might hire someone for that. I need to determine the location first. Something even worse would be running underground lines for a shed. You have to trench, I would lay conduit even though not required where I live since 18" in the minimal depth.
Thanks. So helpful. Electricity is seriously dangerous. I am an investor and bought a house with a 200 amp service. The metal panel was off and lug protector off. The two exposed lugs could have so easily electrocuted me. I've asked several electricians and they've all told me the same thing, I wouldn't have lived. I had a handy person shut main breaker off, but when I went to turn it back on, I pulled very hard, it needed strength and my two fingers were a few centimeters from that lug! So that exposed panel that didn't have a cover over it. On top of the fact that the lugs didn't have a protector was lethal. I did have a home inspection and the inspector mentioned it was dangerous to have the lid off but didn't elaborate how dangerous. I also had an electrician that was on drugs put an HVAC connector to a wire that could not handle load and there was a fire in the box. Be VERY careful finding good licensed electricians and I recommend no DIY with electricity.
Exactly. Thank you for pointing this out to folks who may not be aware.
NGL should of added a warning on the first minute cause I bet there's gonna be someone out there doing it step by step and get fried lol
💥⚡ *_Oh BoY! ThAt TiCkLeS!!!!1!~_*⚡💥
@@youdontknowme5969 😂😂
If the video was over 10 minutes long I'd agree, but if anyone goes to do electrical work without finishing a 3 minute video about it I'd call that good ol' natural selection
Love the new editing. Huge fan of your channel, keep it up!
Should’ve watched this video 2 weeks ago I was having problems with my breakers!
Much appreciated
Nice video on mcb sizing.
Many are not aware of the consequences of mismatch between the mcb and wire ampacity.
They don't want nuisance tripping!
You are like a mind reader. Every-time I ask myself a question, you make a video answering that question. Crazy!
Glad to help!
@@SilverCymbal and after watching the entire video, probably prevented a bad situation. You rock!!
Very much the same for automotive wiring. Installing a larger-than-rated fuse causes all sorts of problems, up to and including fire. An automatiç circuit breaker, (i. e. certain power accessories) can be even more dangerous.
Do yourselves a favor: don't go above the fuse rated for the circuit.
Agree i made a mistake I put 25 amp on a 15 amp wiring and now a mowers won't start.
@@WilliamHollinger2019 Something popped that fuse. Could be old age (yes, they do weaken after multiple duty cycles), could be corrosion, or it could be drawing too many amps/mechanical wear. Check your wiring, make sure you haven't burned anything. Check for corrosion on the battery terminals and any connections in the circuit. Ensure you have no missed or bad connections. REMEMBER: simple and stupid first, THEN dig deeper.
This short video is the best one I’ve seen that clearly describes why you shouldn’t just install a higher amp breaker on existing lines. Your advice is spot on, as is your recommendation. Trust someone else’s (potential) mess & you could regret it. Very well done. A licensed electrician will also make sure to install the brand & type of breaker that your panel was designed for (e.g does your panel require GE?; Square D?; Eaton?; Alstom?; ITE?; Siemens breakers?). Very well done and presented.
Great video. I was going to try this myself but after watching decided to call a licensed electrician. Thanks!
Excellent man, you may save lives by this important information, at the least may save homes from burning down.
👍😁👍
Thanks for the Very informative video I was just about to do some work on my circuit breaker. So this was perfect timing.
Thank you for explaining that in simple terms
Love the fact you mentioned there is the possibility of 14 gauge wiring spliced in somewhere, thus the weakest link determines the overall circuit rating. Another possibility is sometimes 12 or even 10 gauge is used for 15 amp circuits, where there is a long run from the panel, typically over 100 feet or so and the wire is oversized, to keep voltage drop at the far end under control, this sometimes happens in very large homes, or when there's an addition. However, if there are more than a couple of circuits involved it will often be more cost effective in material and labor to install a subpanel near the remote location, than to oversize all of the circuits.
I have actually see in done. It was in a garage while I had it inspected. It failed on a lot of issues. They spliced in 14 AWG on a 20A circuit breaker. Very obvious since that was was not even covered.
we do this a lot in hospitals and commercial buildings, use 10 AWG for home runs on 20 amp circuits.
Thank you. I appreciate you telling me this information. Off to put a whole new line in. Cheers
This is exactly what I needed. Why are you so awesome?
Wow! Very interesting. I've done some work on my panel and never even considered this. Thanks for another great video.
Only work I have done was add a power monitor. Still a big scary when adding power to run it. Year ago, no way would I have but I finally know enough to do that.
Thanks for the information. AS a keen Observer, of history, here is an analysis of ' infrastructure '. All types. Over the last 100 years, infrastructure was designed, constructed according to the needs / inventions of people, and their hamlets, towns, cities, Large cities. Today, 3 generations or so later, ALL INFRASTRUCTURE IS TOO SMALL, FOR todays' needs : transportation especially, and also POWER. Roads, bridges, railway crossings, etc . ALL not designed, for todays' modern vehicles. Same goes for todays' NEED FOR POWER. Advice = anyone constructing a modern house, should wire it with 12 GAUGE wire, (better insulation,on it too) throughout. And, use 20 amp breakers, THROUGHOUT, BOTH house and garage , etc.
....anyway, good luck, all.
Good video, I am not an electrician but self taught out of neccesity. Right now I am installing new outlets, floor outlets, already prewired internally. The issue, they have 20 amp plugs, the internal wiring is 14 AWG... I rewired with the proper 12 AWG. Watch what you are installing folks. And yes, I am dropping new 12/2 romex with the appropriate 20 amp breakers. This is for an AV setup in my little corner. What a difference in sound and picture quality all of this is making! Well worth the time and effort!
How it is that an outlet is prewired? I don't live in USA and I haven't seen something like that.
@@wolfvash22 They were flip up floor mounted outlets that closed and opened for say the cleaning crew to come through and buff or mop the floors. They were already prewired to accommodate the motion involved when the actual outlet pops up from the floor for access. Then you went in through the box mounted in the floor and made your connections to two terminals and the grounds. There is flexible stranded wire to the outlets and the connections where you attach the romex, or hard copper wire. They had 14 awg wiring there to 20 amp outlets. I had to change those flexible wires out with 12 awg stranded. I am sure you have these same outlets available where you live.
@@michaelwright1602 Thanks for answering, I guess I would have to look out for them, but at least I have a better idea now.
Great video. Straight to the point, very educational
Loved the title lol I have anxiety just flipping a tripped switch in that box! I need this done immediately but I ain’t gonna do it. My box is a hot mess
I bought a new house in 2018. The builder was kind enough to build a separate 3 car garage & he wired
the garage with 5 20A outlets per wall. I checked, YES, he used the yellow 12ga romex & each wall has
its own 20A breaker. I can run the single AC on my motorhome off 20A. Sweet.
!
I'm starting to get the feeling that the 50A breaker I put in when I pulled out that 15A breaker isn't to code......
OMG! Don't laugh people do crazy stuff out there.
@@SilverCymbal I could imagine. Great content as usual.
That is similar to removing a 5A fuse and replacing it with a 30A "no blow" :-)
The first 45 seconds I was like “what the fu*k? No.”
Cringelectricalworthy
Me too
😅
Electric stove to gas stove conversion would be a great video. Not sure how possible it is for you! Thanks for the great content!
That is a big job and would require a licensed plumber. If the gas line is not already at the location you want it then it would need to be run. In addition, similarly to electrical, the main feed into your home may only be sized for the homes current needs. We had a home this way and it was going to cost a fortune to upgrade. We decided to go with an induction range. It was the best decision ever. Cooks much like gas but is way more efficient. Our current home has a gas range but I really miss our induction. And no, induction doesn't require any "special" cookware. As long as it is magnetic it will work on induction. Most of your quality cookware works perfect.
Thank you. I've been looking to answer this question.
Glad I watched this video. I was researching on how I can upgrade the circuit myself for a microwave. After seeing this, no thanks. I will hire a pro. Thanks for the clear education.
Good idea.
This is exactly what I needed. Thanks
I ended up having to downsize a breaker from 20 amp to 15 amp once because I discovered a place where a previous resident ran a new receptacle using 14awg. Thankfully that particular circuit runs exclusively in the unfinished part of my basement and garage, so I was able to visually track down every single bit of wire on it. I could have just re-run this one particular run and stuck with the 20 amp, and maybe one day I will, but for now I'm glad I caught that.
The other fun in my house is that all of the 15 amp circuits were run with copper-clad aluminum and the NM is old enough that the markings have faded. So to know what ampacity is ok for any given run of wire, I have to pop open a box, remove wire nuts, and inspect the wire. It's... great.
Thanks for the video, this confirmed my assumptions. Would love to upgrade my garage to 20amp, but I can wait to pay for it to be done right.
MC cable, run on the wall. Thats quite easy and not too expensive. Then metal boxes and conduit around your garage. Not that hard. That's what I'd recommend if you wanna try it yourself.
Omg, watching the beginning of the video I was freaking out (before the ❌)! Yea that’s not right! But great video on explaining this.
You had me worried at first when you said pop it in and your done
I figured all of that out before you explained, because of the education I have been giving myself. The sad thing is here in Utah you have to get a job in order to get an apprentice electrician license, but nobody will hire me, because I don't have a license, so I can't figure out how to become an electrician.
I want to think that I found Silver Cymbal years and but dont remember . His grass series keep me motivated, i do have to admit that SC and the deal guy look like they could be somewhat brothers
My gut started wrenching when I saw what you were doing until I saw the red X.
😆 phew...thanks for this!!
It terrifies me how many people will just swap a breaker, the worst accident waiting to happen!
Thank you. This video helped me a lot.
I thought I was going to have a heart attack the first 30 seconds of the video! You got me.😅
Great explanation!!
I feel bad for the guy who turns off the video at 37 seconds and changes his breaker out 😂
"I knew I was right honey. The RUclips man just said so" 😂
Those were my thoughts as well.
Natural selection🤙
I am currently looking to upgrade my breaker to support a welder in my garage. Luckily the panel is right in the garage so I was going to create a new circuit to upgrade from a 15 amp to either a 20 or a 30 amp. This video answered all my questions so I greatly appreciate you sharing.
Garages are THE most common location. Speaking of garages GFCI is now required in them unlike decades ago. I have upgraded mine to GFCI but if you add a receptacle in a garage use GFCI or you could hire a pro to upgrade the circuit breaker to GFCI as well.
I heard some electrical sounds after flipping a light switch a year or two ago, a bit after I moved into my new older house. So, I turned off the power and opened up the switch faceplate. Sure enough, the grounding wire was not connected to the switch and the hot and neutral wires were connected loosely enough. The switch itself was rather old. So, I went to the store to pick one up. Installed it, turned the power back on and it's been lighting up the room ever since with no electrical sounds. Another switch didn't even have a grounding wire. Whether it was the previous DIY homeowner or an incompetent and/or lazy electrician, I know to make damn sure I know what I'm doing, unless I want to die from a fire in my house while I'm sleeping. Thanks, but no thanks to the aforementioned people. I'm starting to think I should move to electrical work. Any businesses looking for a newbie willing to learn from a qualified and experienced electrician?
Solid video and advice.👍🏾
I switched 20 amp breakers to 15 in a OLDER home that would trip due to lack of circuits. This kept the old wires from getting close to max. Then add a few new circuits to spread the load. Greatly reducing overheating potential.
Ugh. I’m glad you shared the comprehensive necessary info here to do this safely, though I’m also disappointed at what it’s going to take.. 😂💩 Bummer! Thank you, though. 🙏
You got a click from me solely because I had to make sure you weren't just slapping a 20 amp breaker in. Fair play.. fair play..
my brother who was an electrician before going into the army noticed my basement subpanel was full of 20 amp breakers on 14 ga wire, something my home inspector missed. I quickly swapped it all out to 15 amp breakers.
My house was full of 20amp circuit breakers and 14 gage wire when I moved in.
So I am looking at the code book right now. 14 ga copper wire can run 20a at 167 degrees. The more amps the hotter the wire. Most breakers are rated at 167 degrees. The national electric code derates 14,12,and 10ga wire for use in residential work. It's hard for me to say it's unsafe at 20A, the code book list it as safe. but it nice to have the safety margin when your sleeping at night.
Once while on the job, for a quick temporary light it an attic, I ran #12 100 feet on a 80A breaker. When a tech screw shorted the wire it took all of 2 seconds to burn off all the insulation and the wire to melt in two. It smoked up a courthouse that was in session . My lesson learned was to always protect the wire even if it's just for a few minutes of use. I have sen 30a put on a 14ga wire to run an a/c.in a mobil home . I was called in because of a fire in the reicptical box. How hot do you want to run the wires in your house?
When you think to upgrade your breaker to a higher amperage the very important action is to make sure all the components of the circuit (starting with new breaker, continuing with the wiring, and ending with the switch/outlet and the device your are going to plug in) supports the new amperage. If any of the components are not designed for a higher amperage - it should be changed in the same time the breaker is upgraded or the upgrade project should be abandoned. Period.
*Thank you.*
Great video!
Thank you!!!!
GREAT TIPS !!!!!!!!
Also need to verify the connections in the circuit. I had a circuit in my shop that was 12ga all the way through, easy to see because it was all exposed. But it was daisy chained through 15a receptacles. Pig tailed the receptacles and then I switched the breaker
Thanks
Good advice
Thank u sir!
You need 12 ga Romex for 20 amps
good stuff!
Understand. Thanks. How do I put in a new circuit?
Excellent
That's the same reason fuses are so bad nowadays people assume "well I keep blowing this 15 amp fuse so I'm just going to get a 20".
I had a tenant who "upgraded" a 15A breaker to a 20A breaker without even asking. I didn't find out until I happened to look at the panel after they moved out and saw a breaker of a different type. Upon inspection I noticed that the circuit had all 14 gauge wire, so not good. I understand why they did it. The kitchen didn't have enough power, and it probably tripped all the time when they turned on power hungry appliances. When I remodeled the kitchen I ran multiple new 20A circuits.
Sometimes a 15 amp breaker is replaced with a 20 amp (or higher, yikes) breaker to prevent an overloaded circuit from repeatedly tripping the breaker, often because it's an older property and there's not enough circuits to power a 21st century lifestyle. But this dangerous band aid repair is far more likely to occur with a fuse panel, since it's obviously easier to unscrew a 15 amp fuse and screw in a 20. Another danger specific to fuse panels, it's possible to have power with blown fuses, by placing aluminum foil or a penny in the fuse sockets. Cartridge fuses can be bypassed by driving a nail through the fuse, wrapping in aluminum foil, or by using a piece of metal conduit or a copper pipe. Insurance companies are very nervous about fuse panels and might refuse to issue homeowners insurance until the panel is replaced. That's why it's very unusual for a home to have an old fuse panel still in service.
Best advice - don’t. I’d like to add, when you are standing in front of a live panel, wear safety glasses and set a good example. Once your hands are in the box main should be off, and verified, or you should be wearing at minimum ASTM Class 0 gloves with protective leather.
I was hoping you were about to bring up some neat gadget that could tone or test the wire to make sure it's 12 guage. Like those super expensive ethernet testers. Oh well.
The jackweeds that wired my house wired the whole ass house on one 15amp breaker. 😂
I have a brand new Sauna that says it uses a 15Amp without GFCI. I can turn on the inside lights, radio and outside lights but as soon as I power on the sauna to heat it immediately trips the breaker at the fuse box. The outlet does not say GFCI on it. I am not sure if all my breakers have GFCI or not, they do that the test button on them at the fuse box. Any ideas what I should do. Town home less than a year old built in 2023. Thanks
If all goes good and you have 12g wire from breaker to outlet.. Don't forget to upgrade your 15amp outlet to 20amp
As an electrician, the first minute of this video was painful to watch, even though I knew you were going to make the correct point, it was painful to listen to the wrong thinking!
I thought the current code prevented changing the wire mid circuit, meaning that a circuit that uses both 12 and 14 gauge wouldn't be compliant. Of course, even if I'm right, that's no guarantee that your house was actually wired that way so you need to verify.
Yes but exactly what you said, sometimes it will just happen anyway especially if the person expected to only see the minimum wire size for the circuit.
You're assuming each homeowner followed code, which we know doesn't happen. LOL
Could it be possible that an older house already had been upgraded from 10 to 15 amps without upgrading the wires - if so, that would be a huge danger for now replacing the 15 amp with the 20 amp. So, is it best to confirm wiring capacity prior to replacing circuit breakers? Just a thought.
Thank you!
For older homes you always want to have a pro check your wire sizes and breakers to be sure. Sometimes older homes are too bad because they may have much fewer connection points, outlets, etc to check so it can be verified with less effort. I lived in a house that still had knob and tube wiring so I know that older homes can be different for sure.
Quality video! okay , well lets say my search was to learn how to know what's needed to be able to update the circuit (if needed) , does anyone have that information. I totally get the cautionary note that it's best to get an electrician ,that is of course if i'm somewhere where there is an electrician, However I'm not.
and obviously an electrician learns this from information that he or she has been able to read , hear or watch in the first place.
Good video and I’m gonna subscribe But I would like to throw in a little caveat -Those particular breakers are the some of worst ones we come across as far as burning up. I’ve been doing electrical work since 1984, right now in my phone I’ve got a bunch of pictures of those same breakers, Westinghouse/Bryant/challenger style breakers that burned right off the aluminum busbar. Of course, a lot of them have copper clad. Also, we used to use 10-2 copper clad wire on 20 amp circuit because it would break, or 12-2 wire on 15 amp circuits. People also should be aware that during that era they had a lot of copper clad wire used in a lot of inferior aluminum busbars, we had a lot of bad Challenger and even some ITE panels that are bad about burning up. I’ve had about four this year so far one of them also being a contractors house. So educating people about how to identify copper clad wire in houses during the era could also be helpful. We often encounter upsized wires that are copper clad all the time in this part of the country because of the wire being prone to damage.
I use nothing but solid 100% copper.
@@toriless of course, when you do new construction.But you can’t rip out EVERY existing system when doing panel change outs in older homes, so in some remodels you have to deal with copper clad wire, unless
1) you refuse to contract ANY house that has this wire installed
OR
2) you get the homeowner to contract you to remove and strip ALL the wire from the entire house (which is not always possible)
My example was from those times you’re dealing with pre existing wire that was installed mostly in the 1970’s
When I said “we used to use copper clad wire” I was referring to the INDUSTRY PRACTICE AT THE TIME when the practice was done, explaining what you may encounter . I’ve done this work since 1984 so i came after this point
There is something I don't get (and I am probably misunderstanding), cooper clad wire were widely used because it was prone to damage?
Were the aluminum bus bars the ones that used to break?
@@wolfvash22 during that time frame with copper clad wire with being used we also had poorly designed electrical panels, such as Zinsco /Sylvania, when combined with poorly designed wire, these defective panels would create more problems. they used it in the 70s and 80s because it was cheaper. It was a cheap invention. I started electrical work in 1984 but that time they had quit using it and they figured out it was a horrible thing so we had to figure out ways to work with it, or make it safe, we have special wire nuts for it, sometimes it would just change panels also and we still do this to this day.many houses we try to get rid of as much as possible
what size breaker do I need for non-electrical wiring in my house?
May I replace a 15 amp receptacle with a 20 amp receptacle since the wiring for this receptacle is connected to a 20 amp circuit breaker? My 1500W space heater keeps tripping the circuit breaker when I connect it to this 15 amp receptacle.
Adding a new circuit breaker and new wires at the same time can be a hassle depending how far away the circuit breaker is away from whatever you're trying to do, but like you said it is the safest way to do it.
12 gauge is a LOT harder to bend. Usually the outer sheath is yellow.
It's not hard tho. I mean I'm assuming you're using pliers to bend it and not your hand
❤thank you
@SilverCymbal I have a question -
I honestly want to re-route all the wire in my house it is a mess but in doing so I want to upgrade the circuit from a 10amp to a 20amp circuit... In doing so I know I need to upgrade all electrical outlets and wire so appropriately I would need a 20amp breaker, 12 gauge wire etc. I also want to use electrical conduit I know this is pricy as heck but if you see my house it is a freaking mess in the attic from who ever did the install or routes for the house its like a web of what the hell happened ( some outlets are on the same circuit ex: Kitchen is connected to the master bedroom someone screwed that up). But does this effect what ever I plug into that circuit say a lamp or a space heater does this cause long term damage to my equipment? (this has been a concern for me and I cannot find good solid answers... Lets just say that I have successfully upgraded all I needed to from 10 amp to 20amp does 20 amps hurt what I am plugging into that circuit?
Thank you for posting this video!
My significant other just got a "half sized" tanning bed. I say "half" because it's not one you lay in and is rated for 110V. We had it running yesterday after we installed it and within a few minutes the breaker tripped. I reset the breaker and it did so again a few mins later. I have a commercial grade surge protector and so far that seems to be preventing the breaker from tripping. My first thought was to have an electrician just upgrade the breaker to one that has more amps, but your video made me have a change in thought. Our panel is 100A I believe, or whatever the code is for new homes built in North Carolina, so it's not an old home with ancient wiring etc. What is a safe upgrade to prevent this from repeating itself?
Call some LOCAL professionals and ask them. They are there for these sorts of questions and SHOULDN"T make you believe you gotta buy their services either. A GOOD professional isn't gonna be "worried" about selling you solutions but rather propose what avenues and options you might have. Even if that means "not getting business out of it". Because they know you'll trust them and call them again for when you REALLY need a service upgrade just as an example.
@@rickytorres9089 Thank you. It turned out using a commercial grade surge protector has since worked. I have a 200A panel box btw...not 100 as I thought. Appreciate your response Ricky.
@@rollinreaper Awww you are always so much welcome my dear. Glad that not only work but a panel that is pretty sizeable already. :)
Is there anyway to determine whether the “hidden” wiring changes to smaller gauge before going to the receptacle?
Nice gloves doctor
Car audio really helped me out for diy electrical work but every now and again I look up what others do. I want to put a 20 amp breaker for one outlet on the outside of my house so nothing will be reused. It's a 5ft run from the box to where I want. Does it matter if I put the outlet horizontal?
The National Electrical Code (NEC) doesn't require a certain direction
I just found out that I can no longer find circuit breakers for my antique Federal Pacific stab-lock breaker panel -- gonna have to replace the whole box next week.
That's difficult when that happens. My two favorites are the Square D Q0 line amzn.to/3Bd7Deb for a little more money and their Home Line is unbeatable.amzn.to/3U423Dt
That's a big job, but it is worth it to get rid of those Federal Pacific breakers - unsafe at any amperage! 😄
@@Sylvan_dB Agreed -- the design looks a bit iffy.
@@SilverCymbal Thanks!
You could try eBay.
That's why i wired most of my house with 12 AWG, even some breakers are 15 amp. Of course, there are some 10 awg for 30 amp.
can i ask why the wires connetced to the electric breaker look so thin but some house items have cables that are SO thick that plug into the wall that's what gets me worried about opening up my Breaker you should also make a short video about that
The unit the ypu may be plugging into wall has to be flexible and rated for constant flexing and much more abuse than a solid copper wire in a wall that's stapled so it never moves. Most cords to appliances are stranded wire that's flexible which is larger also than solid copper to care dame load. Appliances also have to be UL tested and that makes them go to a level that wiring in your home doesn't need to meet because its completely different application. Hence the over built cable on plug in devices. It's WAY more than it should need to be but because its a moving and handled constantly, electric cable, that's what it should be especially for insurance. And that's a good thing.
is that why my surge protector melts when I run my space heater on it?
GOOD LUCK.... you will 🔥 your 🏠 down!!!!
Be sure to watch more than 30 seconds or you miss the easter egg
When the original wire is put in the house, why not use all 12g wire(for the 15amp and 20amp)? So, a 15amp to 20amp could be upgraded easily on any breaker?
Clever way to start the video. Give everyone a heart attack. 😂
This video had the information that I was looking for on this topic, although it is annoying to me that my house is wired up with 15 amp breakers except in a few spots. You might be surprised at how easy it is to trip a 15 amp breaker. My window AC can do it, as well as my gaming pc setup.
If you have a sub hooked up to your gaming pc or a lot of wattage running across the board heck yeah it can trip 15A. Its the bare minimum for code to save money and time across the board
Just run a new 20 amp breaker for your AC
@@usa5439 naturally. Cheaper and easier to run new breaker, line and outlet....unless you have no more room in the box