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[Brew12]

I was thinking the Same thing but was kinda confused when I saw BRSTV for the electrical on the BRS160 and he talked about voltage load and he felt let a large aquarium like the 160 with lighting power heads, refugium lights return pump skimmer pump dosing pumps and apex would be pushing the voltage load of a 20amp circuit that was my main reason to run a dedicated circuit because the circuit it would be on has my entertainment system plus the lighting ceiling fan and my 55 gallon aquarium on it already so I didn’t want to plug in a vacuum and blow the circuit

If a single 20A circuit isn't enough then you would need to run a 2nd 20A circuit to be code compliant.

I can tell you that my 187G system runs around 11 amps at peak.

 

[Whiskeyboy84]

Awesome I will run a 20amp circuit and add a second if I have to

 

[Paul B]

#10 wire isn't big enough for fifty amps and you may have a little trouble connecting #6 wire to that receptacle.

 

[Whiskeyboy84]

#10 wire isn't big enough for fifty amps and you may have a little trouble connecting #6 wire to that receptacle.

Paul I run my 100 amp welders on 10-3 with a 50amp double pole breaker and haven’t melted the pvc yet . The load carrying capacity and voltage drop all depends on the length of the run. You dryer and Stove if Electric will be ran on a 10 gauge solid core wire lol.

 

[Brew12]

Paul I run my 100 amp welders on 10-3 with a 50amp double pole breaker and haven’t melted the pvc yet . The load carrying capacity and voltage drop all depends on the length of the run. You dryer and Stove if Electric will be ran on a 10 gauge solid core wire lol.

I would point out that your 100A welder should pull less than 20A from the wall even using a 120V outlet. If you are feeding it with 240V by using a double pole breaker odds are it is pulling less than 10A.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

I suppose that all depends on the nameplate rating. If the output is 100A, the input is not necessarily 100A. But if the nameplate rating for input says 100A, that's for a reason IMO. It's probably not going to draw 100A all the time (or even 80% of that) because it's not a constant load, but when it it running, if the draw is over the wire rating, it's going to heat up more than it should, but cool down inbetween uses. Still, the NEC tables are written that way for a reason.

 

[Whiskeyboy84]

I would point out that your 100A welder should pull less than 20A from the wall even using a 120V outlet. If you are feeding it with 240V by using a double pole breaker odds are it is pulling less than 10A.

Brew12 you’re absolutely correct in thinking the only time you have a high Amp draw is when striking the Arc or starting the weld so it’s a short spike. All my welders are 220’s lol I am looking at a 110 unit for purely sheet metal fabrication but I really don’t do enough of it to justify the expense especially since I am a Miller Brand ***** ! I was merely trying to point out to Paul that the 10 gauge wire will handle the typical currents put on a household 50amp circuit.

 

[Whiskeyboy84]

My Welders are Both 100amp draw I consulted a licensed electricians before adding the circuits for both of them and they said as long as the run was under 50ft 10-3 would be suitable and what they would run. They also recommended the 50amp double pole breakers. As the wiring is exposed in my unfinished shop I have welded for hours and out of curiosity walked over and grabbed them and they were still cool. However it’s a mute point since I have already decided and agreed to just run a dedicated 20amp circuit for my tank and if power demands require I will run a second.

 

[mdd1986]

There are some special exceptions for welders when it comes to wire size and over current protection. You can size the breaker to be up to 200% of the maximum current draw of the welder. NEC article 630 talks about this in greater detail.

I wouldn't really use that as a great example for the standards of wire size vs breaker size.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Ah, thank you - I forgot about that...

 

[Brew12]

My Welders are Both 100amp draw I consulted a licensed electricians before adding the circuits for both of them and they said as long as the run was under 50ft 10-3 would be suitable and what they would run. They also recommended the 50amp double pole breakers.

If your welders are actually 100A draw than they gave you bad advice. a 50A double pole breaker will trip at 50 amps. Since current flows in one pole and out the other it isn't additive. The only reason to use a double pole breaker is to get the 220V.

I know.. I'm an electrical nerd.. I can't help it.

 

[Paul B]

Paul I run my 100 amp welders on 10-3 with a 50amp double pole breaker and haven’t melted the pvc yet . The load carrying capacity and voltage drop all depends on the length of the run. You dryer and Stove if Electric will be ran on a 10 gauge solid core wire lol.

I also run my 100 amp welder something like that but I am an electrician so I can get away with it,. But it is not legal, safe, politically correct, coherent, or right. But I wouldn't tell on you.

You can connect #16 wire to a 50 amp breaker if you are just running a flashlight. I am just glad I am not living next door.

(Master Electrician 50 years, retired thankfully)

 

[Whiskeyboy84]

Roger that I already understood that a double pole 50amp was just that a 50amp breaker and not 100amp. I also understand that yes my welders are one a Miller Mig Transformer type Ac/DC Syncrowave TIG Stick 200hd and the other is the Millermatic transformer type 180hd Mig. I never run them at full capacity because I build race cars and restore classic cars so they are overkill for what I need mostly. I know I am not an electrician and never claimed to be one but I know how to wire a circuit in series or parallel the old man that gave me the advice has been out of the industry now for 10-15yrs and I trusted his word because I grew up working with him off and on under my grandfather. I am sure he also took into consideration that I wasn’t pulling heavy or canstant load on the circuit and said well this is what I would do. Probably likely why he had me put in a 50amp breaker on a circuit with welders that have a capacity of drawing 100amps he also knows as do I That I don’t plan on selling and now that I know the code compliance issue I will go ahead and drop it to a 40amp breaker if I can find one lol. I appreciate all the help and will definitely be using a NEC Guide to double check and electrical advice Tom gives me now lol!

 

[siggy]

Chiming in , that electrician or you my have had #10 on hand and dident want the greater expense, and was told "just do it"

 

[Whiskeyboy84]

Chiming in , that electrician or you my have had #10 on hand and dident want the greater expense, and was told "just do it"

No I had to go buy everything and asked what I needed lol. He may have thought that telling me to run it this way was cheaper and safe enough for him but no worries lol I actually swapped the 50amp breaker out this afternoon just to be up to code don’t need to burn the place down and lose 100k in tools and twice that in cars lol. Like I said before though I have grabbed the conduit after welding for a bit right after I had ran the circuit and it was cool to the touch. But better safe than sorry for darn sure.

 

[Brew12]

No I had to go buy everything and asked what I needed lol. He may have thought that telling me to run it this way was cheaper and safe enough for him but no worries lol I actually swapped the 50amp breaker out this afternoon just to be up to code don’t need to burn the place down and lose 100k in tools and twice that in cars lol. Like I said before though I have grabbed the conduit after welding for a bit right after I had ran the circuit and it was cool to the touch. But better safe than sorry for darn sure.

I think this is a smart move. And I did some double checking to make sure you wouldn't have any problems with the lower current breaker. At 230V the Tig/Stick 200HD draws a maximum of 20.8 amps so you won't have any issues at all with the new breaker.

The 200A MIG setting uses 17.5A @230V. The highest usage is actually the stick welding at 150A. That is where it can get up to 20.8 amps.

You are good to go!

 

[Whiskeyboy84]

Awesome yeah I only Tig with it so it is perfect thank you guys see asked about running a circuit for my aquarium and fixed a nightmare waiting to happen lol. Merry Christmas guys

 

[mch1984]

I am in the process of setting up a 90 gallon. It came with a 4 bulb T5 fixture. I plan to use the fixture for a little while and then upgrade later. Until I upgrade would these work for a improv timer solution? They say a 10A maximum load, I'm sure it depends on the fixture but do you think the fixture will put out too much? The fixture is split into two cords with two bulbs each, I plan on putting each cord on it's own timer to help with a ramp up and ramp down type of effect. I know I wont get the slow ramp up but I figured two bulbs suddenly turning on and the adding the other two is better than all 4.

https://www.amazon.com/iDOBBi-Wirel...778801&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=plug+timer&psc=1

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

a 48" T5HO is 54W, two would be 108W, so 108W / 120V = less than 1 amp. So you're good there. But the real question is, does the fixture have 2 ballasts so you can split them up like you want?

 

[mch1984]

a 48" T5HO is 54W, two would be 108W, so 108W / 120V = less than 1 amp. So you're good there. But the real question is, does the fixture have 2 ballasts so you can split them up like you want?

Yes it does, it already had two cords and two switches to separate the 4 bulbs. I failed to mention It has 4 moon light led's on a third plug. I plan on putting them on one of these as well. It's an old JBJ trinity fixture, I think it will be ok for a little while, until I'm ready to spend big money on better lights.