![]() To resist corrosion, the connection terminals of aluminum wiring require an antioxidant coating. You’ll need a #2 gauge wire for both aluminum and copper-clad aluminum wire. Many licensed electricians use #2 copper-clad or aluminum wire size. Because aluminum wiring has a lower conductivity than copper, it requires a larger diameter wire. The following table reflects wiring size, length, and voltage drop: Service or Feeder Rating Copper Wire Aluminum orĬopper-Clad Aluminum Wire Minimum Conduit Size 100 Amps #4 AWG #2 AWG 1.25 inch 110 Amps #3 AWG #1 AWG 1.25 inch 125 Amps #2 AWG #1/0 AWG 1.25 inch 150 Amps #1 AWG #2/0 AWG 1.25 inch 175 Amps #1/0 AWG #3/0 AWG 1.5 inch 200 Amps #2/0 AWG #4/0 AWG 1.5 inch 225 Amps #3/0 AWG 250 kcmil 1.5 inch 250 Amps #4/0 AWG 300 kcmil 2 inch 300 Amps 250 kcmil 350 kcmil 2.5 inch 350 Amps 350 kcmil 500 kcmil 3 inch 400 Amps 400 kcmil 600 kcmil 3 inch Source: National Electrical Code Which wire used is determined by the voltage drop and length of the wiring. Ordinary circuit breakers have relatively slow tripping times that may not catch arcs.AWG, American Wire Gauge, is the US standard for sizing electrical wiring.Ī 100 amp breaker panel requires either #4 copper wiring or #2 aluminum or copper-clad wiring. AFCIs detect in-line arcing and arcing between phases and between phase in neutral. They're now required for circuits in bedrooms and other critical areas in new houses, and as of 2008, they will be required throughout new homes. Ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) trip on an unbalance between line and neutral. Ordinary circuit breakers trip on gross faults. GFCI circuits for the kitchen and bath and wet locations with AFCI for the bedrooms. What was perfectly fine back in 1960 is unacceptable in 2013. And speaking of code you may be required to bring other parts of your wiring up to date also to pass an inspection. They don't take kindly to modifications not up to code. ![]() Insurance companys will drop you like a lead weight. You are of course going to get a permit from the town etc and an inspection when your completed, RIGHT? If not you open a huge can of problems if there is ever a fire or injury from your work. There are 3 breakers protecting the kitchen panel. Any one of them will shut down that panel. There are 5 breakers protecting that panel in the shed. Redundancy is a good thing when playing with electricity. All of my panels have their own main disconnect breakers as well as the breakers feeding them. What I did was ensure that I had a secondary panel close to the kitchen which is the most circuit heavy room in the house, and fed that panel from a 100 amp breaker in the main panel.Īlso in the secondary panel is a 60 amp breaker for the shed in the back yard with its own 100 amp panel. You should end up with at least 2-15 amp breakers and 2-100 amp breakers in the pony panel. Then from that pony panel, run to the the panel that you want to add with the correct size of wire. Use the proper size wire to hook up the pony panel and rerun the 2 circuits that you disconnected from there. Select 2 breakers from your full panel and replace them with the correct size for a 100 amp pony panel. What you are proposing runs a high risk of someone catching a severe case of dead! You need a disconnect and circuit protection at the source.
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