On Oct 22, 4:10*pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article , wrote:

Aside from the 80% rule,

Which doesn't apply...

you can't get 400 amps out of a 200amp
service.

Of course you can; it just depends on which circuits are in use. If you're
using only 120V circuits, you can get 200A on *each* leg.
200A @ 240V is the
same power as 400A @120V.

Yes but physically, a current of 200 amps is all that is actually
flowing. Put a meter on it and you will measure 200 amps, not 400.
It's a simple matter of Kirchoffs law.

What you are arguing is like saying a resistor that has 1 amp flowing
in it is actually carrying 2 amps, because 1 amp goes in and one amp
goes out.




*The service consists of two hots, and a neutral. * That
means with a 200 amp service you can get 200 amps at 240V flowing
between the two hots. * Or you could get say 150 amps at 240V plus 50
amps at 120V. */In the latter case you have 200 amps flowing on one
hot, 150 on the other hot, and 50 on the neutral.

Ummm....no. You could have up to 150A at 240V plus *100A* at 120V -- and if
the loads are distributed evenly across the two legs, the current in the
neutral is zero.

That is not true. If you have 150A running at 240V then you have
150A coming in on one hot, 150A going out on the other hot during each
half cycle and zero flowing through the neutral. The next half
cycle, it reverses. If you now add another 50 amps between one hot
and neutral, you now have 200A running through one hot, `150 amps
through the other hot, and 50 amps through the neutral. There is
nowhere for your extra 50 amps to come from to give you 250amps The
max current flowing is still limited to 200 amps.