DIYbanter - View Single Post - Load capacity of 200-amp panel

Ralph Mowery

In article ,
says...

On Sunday, January 29, 2017 at 11:04:01 AM UTC-5, wrote:
On Sunday, January 29, 2017 at 10:58:34 AM UTC-5, wrote:
All the amp draws are being taken directly from the breaker in the breaker box as the bed is running.

For example I have a ladder that says MAXIMUM weight capacity is 275lbs. I weigh 300lb and can stand on it without it breaking. So wasnt sure if the 200 amp load capacity was similar in the fact that they recommend not going over but if you did a little wouldnt be end of world.

There are curves that show how long it takes for a given breaker to trip
versus the excess current going through it. A large overload, eg a direct
short, a typical breaker trips in milliseconds. If you only overload it
by 10% it will take much longer, probably many minutes, but it still
will trip. In short, when it comes to this, you really can't put more
than 5 gallons of crap in a 5 gallon bucket, at least not continuously.

Safety factors work both ways. If a ladder is designed to have a
working load of 275, it probably will hold a lot more with out breaking.
That is the safety factor. It sort of factors in that all materials may
not hold up the same load. If the ladder is made of wood, the wood can
vary in strength by many factors, so you rate the load for the minimum
usual strength.

The breakers and wiring are rated in reverse. The wires can handle lots
more current,but to be safe they are rated at a lower capacity.
Breakers so not trip at execrtally the marked value as pointed out. The
200 amp breaker may carry 201 amps for many hours and never trip, or it
may trip at 295 amps after a week. Teh temperature in the box will play
a small part in the trip point. It is usually better to have the
electrical devices trip at a slight underload than a slight overload.

You should not push the limits of the breakers to the max. If you are
drawing over 180-200 amps all the time (or for even 10 to 20 minutes at
a time) you should be using a 250 amp serviee or more.

The tanning benches were mentioned, but are any other usages going on in
the same place such as lights, computers,ect ?