Wiring up my 250ex

[dgarnier]

one more thing to check out on the mini 50 breaker you have there now. Are both poles tied together so it one trips the other one is tripped as well? If not and 1 side grounds out and trips the other side will stay hot. On the big 50amp breakers see how the switches the two poles are switched together..that way if 1 side trips they both get tripped.

[DiabolicZ]

one more thing to check out on the mini 50 breaker you have there now. Are both poles tied together so it one trips the other one is tripped as well? If not and 1 side grounds out and trips the other side will stay hot. On the big 50amp breakers see how the switches the two poles are switched together..that way if 1 side trips they both get tripped.

Yes, I was concerned about this when I first saw it, but they are tied together internally. I mentioned this problem of one side tripping and not the other earlier in the thread with my water heater. Took me a while to figure out what the hell happened because the breaker did not look like it had tripped. That metal sleeve over the switch allowed one side of the breaker to trip, but not flip all the way open.

Either way, if one tripped and the other stayed on, my machine would still shut down, similar to the problem I was just having with the breaker being mounted on one pole and not two. I would only be seeing 110/120v on one side, and my machine would not operate. At least I think right?

Oh well, yes they are tied together with an internal bar of sorts. You can sort of see it in the picture running through the switch levers.

[performance]

That configuration is a fire hazard. I would not rest easy with that in place. For one, each leg is 50 amps here and the breaker will not trip properly. Its not a total of 50 amps, its a total of 100.
Plus it is undersized and small. The piggy back breakers are expensive to start with, and are a way to cheat a panel box. A regular 220 Breaker is much cheaper.

[Rivets]

That configuration is a fire hazard. I would not rest easy with that in place. For one, each leg is 50 amps here and the breaker will not trip properly. Its not a total of 50 amps, its a total of 100. (snip)

Mark,

That is incorrect.

This configuration is electrically identical to a full size (physically) 50 amp double breaker.

If you draw a circuit diagram, you will notice that the two breakers are actually in SERIES with each other and the load, (one on each side), so the total ampacity is still 50 amps.

Cheers,
rivets

[DiabolicZ]

I would also like to point out that I have an old General Pacific breaker box. They do not make them anymore. Because of this I am VERY limited on the breakers I can use. Normal breakers at Home Depot go for under $10. The breaker I need is $70 at Home Depot. When searching on the internet, I could not even find a breaker that was the full size for my box for 50 amps.

[DiabolicZ]

So my daughters were watching a movie last night. I went out to weld in the garage. My oldest comes out after I made a tack weld. "Daddy! Something is happening!"

I go inside and she tells me that the TV picture was going crazy and there was a loud buzzing sound coming from the stereo speakers.

I have this machine on its own dedicated breaker.

[performance]

You don't have your HF bolt grounded...or you are using a neutral for a ground wire.

[Robert s]

So my daughters were watching a movie last night. I went out to weld in the garage. My oldest comes out after I made a tack weld. "Daddy! Something is happening!"

I go inside and she tells me that the TV picture was going crazy and there was a loud buzzing sound coming from the stereo speakers.

I have this machine on its own dedicated breaker.

Yes I also think if you ground the HF bolt it will stop all the buzzzzzing. My PP50 buzzed the TV in the office till I grounded it.

P.S. it drove my wife crazier in the office doing bills and talking to customers on the cordless phone.

[kenwhite]

Mark,

That is incorrect.

This configuration is electrically identical to a full size (physically) 50 amp double breaker.

If you draw a circuit diagram, you will notice that the two breakers are actually in SERIES with each other and the load, (one on each side), so the total ampacity is still 50 amps.

Cheers,
rivets

Yep, I agree....