# 1-pole vs 2-pole 60 amp breaker



## Skipdigler (Jun 29, 2009)

Can someone educated me as to why a single pole breaker vs a double pole breaker would be used....

Thanks in advance.

Skip :wallbash:


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## jerryh3 (Dec 10, 2007)

When you only need 120V to a device.


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## 220/221 (Oct 9, 2007)

Your system has !20 volts *to ground* per leg, 240 volts between them.

Lights/receps use one leg/one pole. Power goes out on the black, back to the neutral bus on the whire.

On 240 loads like a water heater or AC, only two hot legs are used, no neutral. Power goes out on one leg and back on the other, then reverses itself 60 times a second.

On 120/240 loads like your dryer or range, there is a combination of 120 and 240 components. Example: Dryer motor is 120, heating element is 240.


AND, like I said, in 30 plus years, I have not seen a single pole 60


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## Speedy Petey (Feb 1, 2004)

I cannot think of one instance where someone would need a 60a SP breaker. 
And no, a 120v 60a sub-panel does not count. :shutup:


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## Speedy Petey (Feb 1, 2004)

I have a 120v-50a receptacle on the shelf. (seriously)
Anyone wanna buy it? :laughing:


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## Skipdigler (Jun 29, 2009)

Well guys..

I am here to tell you.

They installed a siemens single pole 60 amp breaker into a single slot 

My main panel is a siemens 200 amp breaker panel

Skip


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## 300zx (May 24, 2009)

Sounds like a bunch of hacks.Tell them you want a Licensed Electrician:no:


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## Skipdigler (Jun 29, 2009)

I will certainly tell them I want a licensed electrician.

It has to be inspected by the county inspector either way.


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## wirenut1110 (Apr 26, 2008)

Skipdigler said:


> It has to be inspected by the county inspector either way.


In some localities, that's not saying much either.:wink:


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## junkcollector (Nov 25, 2007)

Speedy Petey said:


> I have a 120v-50a receptacle on the shelf. (seriously)
> Anyone wanna buy it? :laughing:


Sure, I'll give you 10 cents.


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## 220/221 (Oct 9, 2007)

Thats nuts.

They could accomplish the same thing with a 30 amp 240 circuit.

I can almost gaurantee that the method they used to terminate in the kitchen sub panel is not legal.

I would also bet that they didn't use the proper cable.

PICS!!!:thumbup:


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## InPhase277 (Feb 9, 2008)

I needed a 60 A single pole once to re-feed a remote subpanel, 120 V, in a service upgrade I did. I ended up drilling the rivets out of a double pole 60, and using half. 

My local mom and pop hardware store has 40, 50, and 60 A single pole breakers on the shelf, which is quite scary if you knew some of the jacklegs around here. "Oh that 15 A circuit is tripping? I'll just stick a 60 A in there..."


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Skipdigler said:


> I will certainly tell them I want a licensed electrician.
> 
> It has to be inspected by the county inspector either way.


Was it used to power a sub-panel?


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## jerryh3 (Dec 10, 2007)

InPhase277 said:


> I needed a 60 A single pole once to re-feed a remote subpanel, 120 V, in a service upgrade I did. I ended up drilling the rivets out of a double pole 60, and using half.
> 
> My local mom and pop hardware store has 40, 50, and 60 A single pole breakers on the shelf, which is quite scary if you knew some of the jacklegs around here. "Oh that 15 A circuit is tripping? I'll just stick a 60 A in there..."


I was in HD the other day and this guy was looking all over the breaker aisle for something. I asked him what he was looking for. "A 50A single pole." Ok, I bite. Me: "What do you need a 50A single pole for?" Him: "An air conditioner. A double won't fit in the panel." Me: "Good luck with that. Have a great day." There's some times you just need to walk away.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Yeah, any 50a will do
I saw the other thread on the sub-panel connection
Not the way most people would power a sub-panel


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## 220/221 (Oct 9, 2007)

> It has to be inspected by the county inspector either way.


This means absolutely nothing either. :jester:

Buyer beware.


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## micromind (Mar 9, 2008)

This isn't exactly DIY, but the last dozen or so traffic light control cabinets I've set have 60 amp single pole breakers as a main. 

Occasionally (rarely), i've installed 50 amp 120 volt receptacles for food service equipment. (Again, not quite DIY). 

Some of the generator winding heaters (to keep the moisture out when they're not running) at the power plants I've worked on have 40 or 50 amp single pole breakers. (A long way from DIY!). 

The largest single pole breaker I've ever installed at a house was a 30, for a 30 amp travel trailer receptacle. (Certainly DIY). 

Rob.


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## argrithmag (Sep 8, 2009)

*60 amp single pole*

I could use a 50 or 60 amp circuit breaker for my christmas lights. I figure when a 50 amp, I could run about 850 7 watt C9 lights on my house. 


Yeah, some day my house will be up to the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation level. :jester:


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## frenchelectrican (Apr 12, 2006)

I run into 60 A single pole once a while but not very often the last one I ran into was used for commercal parking lot luminaires { that wired for 120 volts :huh: } 

But 30 amp single pole yeah pretty common to find it but the 40 and 50 single pole it is little more odd items to use the last 50 amp single pole was used for copy machine in the office building { now that is pretty much done for it so got three phase verison to slove voltage issue }

But for commercal / industrail use I do see them from time to time but I look up one manufacter catalog book IIRC they did have 100 amp single pole :huh: C'est Grand ?? 

Merci,Marc


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

argrithmag said:


> I could use a 50 or 60 amp circuit breaker for my christmas lights. I figure when a 50 amp, I could run about 850 7 watt C9 lights on my house.
> 
> 
> Yeah, some day my house will be up to the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation level. :jester:


Better off with multiple 20a runs
Trust me...I KNOW...much more is out then what can be seen in these 2 pics











From 2006 before I went to LED


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## argrithmag (Sep 8, 2009)

:thumbsup: Nice. I'll have to look into doing that instead.

I eventually, want to set my lights up with dmx dimmer packs, and some light control software to run to music. Our Church runs a "Living Christmas Tree" with about 110,000 lights on it, 7 colors, 13 levels, each color on each level, individually dimmable. We can get some cool effects on it, and plan on eventually building a matrix system.


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