Power and the RA82

[Doc Shipley]

Paul Koning wrote:

>>>>>>"William" == William Donzelli <aw288 at osfn.org> writes:
> 
> 
>  >> NO! NO! NO!  BAD ADVICE!
>  >> 
>  >> One should never replace a breaker with a higher rated one unless
>  >> they are sure the wiring can accomodate the increased amperage.  A
>  >> 15A breaker requires 14 guage wire.  A 20A breaker requires 12
>  >> guage wire.  Putting a 20A breaker on 14 guage wire is flirting
>  >> with disaster.
> 
>  William> I would not call it "flirting with disaster", but it is not
>  William> a good idea. The chances of a fire breaking out under this
>  William> circumstance is damn small, but it is there.
> 
>  William> On the flip side, many homes are wired with 12 anyway, so
>  William> the replacement breakers are OK.
> 
> So I've heard.  I've seen it rarely if ever.
> 
> Note that 20 amp requires 12 gauge copper.  In homes of the right
> (wrong?) age, you may find 12 gauge aluminum -- that's legal only for
> 15 amps.  If you want aluminum and 20 amps, you'll need 10 gauge --
> plus components rated for aluminum wire, which are generally somewhere
> between rare and nonexistent, and often very expensive.

   And this is a huge problem, potentially much more dangerous than 
undergauge wire (as in more likely to cause problems; maybe not likely 
to cause more problems).

   I lived in a duplex with clad aluminum wiring and copper-rated 
breakers, fixtures, and wire nuts.  I discovered this when replacing my 
porch light fixture.  I touched the earth ground lead, and got the 
poopie shocked out of me.  I thought I must have brushed a "hot" wire, 
and got more poopie shocked out of me.  The house was carrying 55V on 
the earth ground.


	Doc