Baseboard heater question.
#1
12-07-06, 08:37 PM
Baseboard heater question.
I have just purchased a new home...new to me. Having some trouble with an area of the house blowing fuses. Currently have 20A fuses on circut and there are 4 heaters on that circut. 7ft, 4ft, 3ft, and a 2ft heaters. I have calculated 250W/ft and came up with 4000W which has the total load at about 17A. This means that the circut is at 85% of the load. I'm not sure what the problem is to why the fuse keeps blowing now. Thinking that one of the heaters are defective or there are simply too many heaters on that circut. Is it safe to go to a 25A fuse instead of the 20A? Any advice would be appreciated. Do I have the correct calculations?
#2
12-07-06, 08:49 PM
You say 17A but pops a 20A. Id amp it out and see what it does draw. Or try another 20A in there. Could be the breaker is just old and pops at a lower Amp
#3
12-08-06, 07:41 AM
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I would look at the name plate ratings. The amps will vary with voltage. What is the name plate voltage? 208, 220, 230, 240? What is your actual line voltage? What is the name plate amps? For any calculations to be accurate, you need correct information.
Alternatively, you could measure the actual amps, as Ed suggested. Loading a breaker beyond 80% will shorten its life. Perhaps this is what happened here.
You should not increase the breaker size unless you can absolutely determine there are no defects with any of the heaters AND your wiring is sized correctly AND the new breaker is sized correctly for the load.
Alternatively, you could measure the actual amps, as Ed suggested. Loading a breaker beyond 80% will shorten its life. Perhaps this is what happened here.
You should not increase the breaker size unless you can absolutely determine there are no defects with any of the heaters AND your wiring is sized correctly AND the new breaker is sized correctly for the load.
Last edited by jim-connor; 12-08-06 at 07:53 AM.
