Renovater
After wiring my cct brkr for 240v I had to have a repairman come in to see why my fireplace did not produce heat. He found that with the 4 wire connection, recommended, I was getting 117v from red to white and 117v from black to white. The problem being is that I also only read 117 from black to red, where it was expected to read 230-240v. Checked the wiring for my dryer which is also 240v, 4 wire and it did read 240v from black to red. Why do I only get 117 when I should be getting 240v?
Thanks everyone. I have already checked all connections. Cct breaker was pretty straightforward. I have the red and black on the single throw, double pole cct brkr. White goes to the neutral bar, bare to the ground bar. Checked at cct breaker, 117 at each from cct brkr from black to white and red to white and both read 117v. Between the red and black it read 0v. I double checked the dryer cct brkr and it read over on my 200v scale leading me to believe it was reading 240v.
It all seems very straight forward but I am not getting the expected values. Connections have been secured. Cct brkr is new and should not pose a problem because it gives me my 117 from each pole. Why would I get 0v when the dryer reads 240v? Is that the only difference between the cct brkrs is the dpst switch? What can I look for next?
Answer
Justwondering and Duncan are right. If you are getting 117V to ground on both legs and 0V difference between them, both breakers are on the same side of the electric service. In a residential single phase service, there are two wires that come out of the transformer from the electric company plus a common ground. Each of those two wires come out of the transformer 180 degrees from the other on the sine curve that alternating current can be represented with. Inside of your electric panel, you'll see a metallic buss bar that the circuit breakers are clipped or bolted to. If you look closely (don't EVER touch this with your body or anything that conducts electricity), you'll see that there are in fact two buss bars. One of them is connected to incoming line 1 by a lug connected to the bar and the other is connected to incoming line 2. The problem that you're having is that both the black wire and the red wire from your fireplace are connected to the same incoming line. This is a common do-it-yourselfer mistake and is easily fixed.
First... are there any open spaces for breakers in your electric panel? If there are, all you have to do is buy a 2 pole circuit breaker of the same type as the original breakers that came with the house. Circuit breaker types are indicated by 2 or 3 letters marked on the circuit breaker. If this is a fairly new house, it will probably be a MP-T, QP, QO, or HOM type breaker. A 2 pole circuit breaker is completely different from a tandem circuit breaker. While they both have two separate handles, tandem circuit breakers are usually not connected at the handle and usually feed both circuits from the same incoming line on the electric meter. 2 pole circuit breakers, on the other hand, are connected so that they both get turned on and off at the same time. They also connect each individual handle to a different incoming line on the electric meter. Unless your electric panel is at least 40 years old and one of a few rare types, a 2 pole circuit breaker should be twice as wide as a regular single pole circuit breaker.
Now... if you don't have any open spaces for breakers in your electric panel, you'll have to put in some tandem breakers. Look at the two circuit breakers directly above the one that you installed for your fireplace. Hopefully, they're single pole circuit breakers that say 15 or 20 on them. Go to the store and buy either a 15/15, 15/20, or 20/20 tandem circuit breaker of the correct type. Connect the two circuits that you looked at earlier to the tandem breaker next to the appropriate rating. Install the tandem breaker into the space occupied by the top breaker of the two that you're working on and remove the bottom breaker that is now not connected to anything. BE VERY CAREFUL WHILE YOU ARE INSTALLING BREAKERS TO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING METAL WITH ANY PART OF YOUR BODY. Keep your fingers only on the plastic part of the circuit breaker and don't let your fingers or any rings or jewelry touch any metal part of the electric panel. You will now have an available open space and can proceed as described above. As always, do not attempt anything that you feel you are not qualified to safely do. An electrician or qualified handyman shouldn't cost more than about $150 to fix this problem for you, so call one if you're not sure.
Justwondering and Duncan are right. If you are getting 117V to ground on both legs and 0V difference between them, both breakers are on the same side of the electric service. In a residential single phase service, there are two wires that come out of the transformer from the electric company plus a common ground. Each of those two wires come out of the transformer 180 degrees from the other on the sine curve that alternating current can be represented with. Inside of your electric panel, you'll see a metallic buss bar that the circuit breakers are clipped or bolted to. If you look closely (don't EVER touch this with your body or anything that conducts electricity), you'll see that there are in fact two buss bars. One of them is connected to incoming line 1 by a lug connected to the bar and the other is connected to incoming line 2. The problem that you're having is that both the black wire and the red wire from your fireplace are connected to the same incoming line. This is a common do-it-yourselfer mistake and is easily fixed.
First... are there any open spaces for breakers in your electric panel? If there are, all you have to do is buy a 2 pole circuit breaker of the same type as the original breakers that came with the house. Circuit breaker types are indicated by 2 or 3 letters marked on the circuit breaker. If this is a fairly new house, it will probably be a MP-T, QP, QO, or HOM type breaker. A 2 pole circuit breaker is completely different from a tandem circuit breaker. While they both have two separate handles, tandem circuit breakers are usually not connected at the handle and usually feed both circuits from the same incoming line on the electric meter. 2 pole circuit breakers, on the other hand, are connected so that they both get turned on and off at the same time. They also connect each individual handle to a different incoming line on the electric meter. Unless your electric panel is at least 40 years old and one of a few rare types, a 2 pole circuit breaker should be twice as wide as a regular single pole circuit breaker.
Now... if you don't have any open spaces for breakers in your electric panel, you'll have to put in some tandem breakers. Look at the two circuit breakers directly above the one that you installed for your fireplace. Hopefully, they're single pole circuit breakers that say 15 or 20 on them. Go to the store and buy either a 15/15, 15/20, or 20/20 tandem circuit breaker of the correct type. Connect the two circuits that you looked at earlier to the tandem breaker next to the appropriate rating. Install the tandem breaker into the space occupied by the top breaker of the two that you're working on and remove the bottom breaker that is now not connected to anything. BE VERY CAREFUL WHILE YOU ARE INSTALLING BREAKERS TO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING METAL WITH ANY PART OF YOUR BODY. Keep your fingers only on the plastic part of the circuit breaker and don't let your fingers or any rings or jewelry touch any metal part of the electric panel. You will now have an available open space and can proceed as described above. As always, do not attempt anything that you feel you are not qualified to safely do. An electrician or qualified handyman shouldn't cost more than about $150 to fix this problem for you, so call one if you're not sure.
Is a electric fireplace system better than using gas?
Amanda B
Answer
electric fireplaces are cleaner and for the most part safer than any fuel burning type. The "flames and logs" look pretty much the same. I just purchased an electric fireplace complete with a mahogany mantel. Its gorgeous!! and if you really just want the effect without all the hassles of installing gas lines and enlisting the services of plumbers and heating technicians, electric is a simpler choice.
electric fireplaces are cleaner and for the most part safer than any fuel burning type. The "flames and logs" look pretty much the same. I just purchased an electric fireplace complete with a mahogany mantel. Its gorgeous!! and if you really just want the effect without all the hassles of installing gas lines and enlisting the services of plumbers and heating technicians, electric is a simpler choice.
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Title Post: Wiring an electric Fireplace for 240v.?
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Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thank FOr Coming TO My Blog
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