Tandem Breakers for I-T-E Imperial Circuit Panel


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Old 05-29-16, 07:41 AM
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Exclamation Tandem Breakers for I-T-E Imperial Circuit Panel

Panel Board: AV719711
Catalog NO: EQ20MBB
120/240 volts AC1 Phase
3 wire 200 Amps
20 slots

This is a 45 year old circuit panel. I would like to add an extra dryer(3 wire) to my circuit panel, and the circuit panel is full. Can I add a tandem breaker to my panel? Are tandem breakers allowed for this old circuit panel? If not, what would be the best route to go to add this extra dryer to an already full circuit panel?

Thank you
 
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Old 05-29-16, 08:06 AM
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I would like to add an extra dryer(3 wire) to my circuit panel, and the circuit panel is full. Can I add a tandem breaker to my panel?
If this is an electric dryer most electric dryers are 4-wire unless they are 240v only instead of the usual 120/240. 3-wire hasn't been code compliant for a 120/240 dryer in many years. Any new circuit must be code compliant.
the circuit panel is full. Can I add a tandem breaker to my panel?
Tandem breakers are for 120 volt circuits. The Catalog number indicates it is rated for 20 circuits only. If it was rated for tandems the number would be four digits such as EQ2030MBB not just "20". With the 30 in my example indicating it could use a a mix of tandem and full size breakers for up to 30 circuits. (20 means twenty full size breakers.)

Best solution short of replacing the panel is to add a subpanel.
 
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Old 03-02-17, 02:59 PM
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old thread, but in case someone else is searching like me ... the label in the EQ 20MBB panel shows that tandems can be used in all of the breaker positions, with an additional caveat that "the sum of the EQ-T breaker ratings not to exceed 110A per branch circuit bus stab"

for completeness, the top row of breakers uses the left stab, the next row down the right stab, etc.

since my panel is all 20A or greater breakers, I can have four 20A tandems as long as I put two on each stab. If I want to drop a couple existing circuits down to 15A, then I can additionally replace two 20A singles with 15A tandems for a total of six tandems in the panel.

apparently the convention of sticking the tandem capacity info in the part number wasn't around/used by ITE when the panel was made.
 
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Old 03-02-17, 08:58 PM
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I think that you are a bit confused on the bus stab limitation. It is not for the entire panel but for each row. The bus goes from top to bottom and at each full space is a stab. So your 20 space panel has 10 stabs. The idea of limit to 110 amps per stab is that you can't put a tandem 20 across from anything more than a 70 amp. A tandem 15 can go opposite a max of 80.
 
 

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