Replacing Electric Furnace 240v / 25A to 15A
#1
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Replacing Electric Furnace 240v / 25A to 15A
I have a furnace that is 50 yrs old and I noticed that the new furnaces are made for 15a. My old furnace has FPE (Stablock) circuit breakers that are 240v / 25a and a thick gauge wire that goes to the furnace. My question is can I downgrade to a 240v / 15a furnace without hiring an electrician to run new wire to the furnace? Can I use the existing wire and how? If not could I install a small load center near the furnace that drops the line down to what the furnace needs? Thank you for taking the time to read this!
#2
Welcome to the forums.
You had a small electric furnace and now you're downsizing. Will that new unit supply enough heat ?
It's not a problem using the wire with a smaller load. Normally you would change the breaker from a 2P25A to a 2P15A breaker. Since Federal StabLok panels have had so many problems..... the breakers are going to be hard to find. Most of those panels have been replaced.
You could put on a small sub panel with a 2P15A breaker between the large cable and the furnace.
You had a small electric furnace and now you're downsizing. Will that new unit supply enough heat ?
It's not a problem using the wire with a smaller load. Normally you would change the breaker from a 2P25A to a 2P15A breaker. Since Federal StabLok panels have had so many problems..... the breakers are going to be hard to find. Most of those panels have been replaced.
You could put on a small sub panel with a 2P15A breaker between the large cable and the furnace.