I am adding a shower to an exisiting half bath. Part of the project is
to add a combination heater/ventilator/light near the shower. The
heater portion of the combi unit draws 1500 watts. The present circuit
is #12 TW, about a 10 foot run from the breaker, which is 15 amps. It
presently feeds the light over the bathroom sink, two in-ceiling lights
and a porch light (all of which are now the screw-in fluorescent
"bulbs"). My questions a

1. Should I provide a separate breaker for the combi unit? (The reason
that I haven't just DONE IT rather than composing and posting this long
question is that the panel is maxxed out - all breaker positions taken -
and is so old that I'm not sure I can get a half-width breaker to
substitute for one of the full width ones. The brand is Federal, from
the 60's. Also, while the wiring run is just the 10 feet noted, it goes
around several corners and thru at least one box (the one with the light
over the sink) before it gets to the location where the switches for the
combi unit will be.)

2. Or, should I just go the easy way and replace the existing breaker
with a 20?

3. Last question. I want to put a wind-up time switch on the wire
feeding the 1500 watt heater. Will an Intermatic FD/FF series time
switch (rated for 20 A) last a long time, or will the heavy load eat the
contacts?

Thanks,

Henry

You need a dedicated 20 amp 12 gauge circuit for the combi heater, and if
the unit is to be located over the shower or tub it will have to be listed
for that application and protected by GFCI



"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...
I am adding a shower to an exisiting half bath. Part of the project is to
add a combination heater/ventilator/light near the shower. The heater
portion of the combi unit draws 1500 watts. The present circuit is #12 TW,
about a 10 foot run from the breaker, which is 15 amps. It presently
feeds the light over the bathroom sink, two in-ceiling lights and a porch
light (all of which are now the screw-in fluorescent "bulbs"). My
questions a

1. Should I provide a separate breaker for the combi unit? (The reason
that I haven't just DONE IT rather than composing and posting this long
question is that the panel is maxxed out - all breaker positions taken -
and is so old that I'm not sure I can get a half-width breaker to
substitute for one of the full width ones. The brand is Federal, from the
60's. Also, while the wiring run is just the 10 feet noted, it goes
around several corners and thru at least one box (the one with the light
over the sink) before it gets to the location where the switches for the
combi unit will be.)

2. Or, should I just go the easy way and replace the existing breaker
with a 20?

3. Last question. I want to put a wind-up time switch on the wire
feeding the 1500 watt heater. Will an Intermatic FD/FF series time switch
(rated for 20 A) last a long time, or will the heavy load eat the
contacts?

Thanks,

Henry

Thanks for the advice. I will pull in another circuit.

There's no tub, and the combi unit will be about 2 feet laterally away
from shower.

Henry

RBM wrote:

You need a dedicated 20 amp 12 gauge circuit for the combi heater, and if
the unit is to be located over the shower or tub it will have to be listed
for that application and protected by GFCI



"Jim" wrote in message
link.net...


I am adding a shower to an exisiting half bath. Part of the project is to
add a combination heater/ventilator/light near the shower. The heater
portion of the combi unit draws 1500 watts. The present circuit is #12 TW,
about a 10 foot run from the breaker, which is 15 amps. It presently
feeds the light over the bathroom sink, two in-ceiling lights and a porch
light (all of which are now the screw-in fluorescent "bulbs"). My
questions a

1. Should I provide a separate breaker for the combi unit? (The reason
that I haven't just DONE IT rather than composing and posting this long
question is that the panel is maxxed out - all breaker positions taken -
and is so old that I'm not sure I can get a half-width breaker to
substitute for one of the full width ones. The brand is Federal, from the
60's. Also, while the wiring run is just the 10 feet noted, it goes
around several corners and thru at least one box (the one with the light
over the sink) before it gets to the location where the switches for the
combi unit will be.)

2. Or, should I just go the easy way and replace the existing breaker
with a 20?

3. Last question. I want to put a wind-up time switch on the wire
feeding the 1500 watt heater. Will an Intermatic FD/FF series time switch
(rated for 20 A) last a long time, or will the heavy load eat the
contacts?

Thanks,

Henry

According to Jim :
Thanks for the advice. I will pull in another circuit.

There's no tub, and the combi unit will be about 2 feet laterally away
from shower.

Electrical code has various things to say about electrical
devices near a shower or bathtub.

Eg: you can't have switches/outlets within 4 feet of a shower or
bathtub according to our code. You can have heaters within that
much if and only if they don't have any controls on them (separate
thermostat).

There seems to be considerable variation in this from locale to locale,
so you should ask your local inspector. My comments above are
based on Canadian Code. US Code is similar but not the same.

They may not care about a ceiling heater outside a shower. Because
you can't reach it. But it's worth asking.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Jim wrote:
I am adding a shower to an exisiting half bath. Part of the project is
to add a combination heater/ventilator/light near the shower. The
heater portion of the combi unit draws 1500 watts. The present circuit
is #12 TW, about a 10 foot run from the breaker, which is 15 amps. It
presently feeds the light over the bathroom sink, two in-ceiling lights
and a porch light (all of which are now the screw-in fluorescent
"bulbs"). My questions a

1. Should I provide a separate breaker for the combi unit? (The reason
that I haven't just DONE IT rather than composing and posting this long
question is that the panel is maxxed out - all breaker positions taken -
and is so old that I'm not sure I can get a half-width breaker to
substitute for one of the full width ones. The brand is Federal, from
the 60's. Also, while the wiring run is just the 10 feet noted, it goes
around several corners and thru at least one box (the one with the light
over the sink) before it gets to the location where the switches for the
combi unit will be.)

2. Or, should I just go the easy way and replace the existing breaker
with a 20?

3. Last question. I want to put a wind-up time switch on the wire
feeding the 1500 watt heater. Will an Intermatic FD/FF series time
switch (rated for 20 A) last a long time, or will the heavy load eat the
contacts?

Thanks,

Henry
the first thing i reccomend is getting rid of that panel first. yup
federal arc alot panels went out of buisness for a reason their panels
are junk and cause fires.

sym wrote:

Jim wrote:


I am adding a shower to an exisiting half bath. Part of the project is
to add a combination heater/ventilator/light near the shower. The
heater portion of the combi unit draws 1500 watts. The present circuit
is #12 TW, about a 10 foot run from the breaker, which is 15 amps. It
presently feeds the light over the bathroom sink, two in-ceiling lights
and a porch light (all of which are now the screw-in fluorescent
"bulbs"). My questions a

1. Should I provide a separate breaker for the combi unit? (The reason
that I haven't just DONE IT rather than composing and posting this long
question is that the panel is maxxed out - all breaker positions taken -
and is so old that I'm not sure I can get a half-width breaker to
substitute for one of the full width ones. The brand is Federal, from
the 60's. Also, while the wiring run is just the 10 feet noted, it goes
around several corners and thru at least one box (the one with the light
over the sink) before it gets to the location where the switches for the
combi unit will be.)

2. Or, should I just go the easy way and replace the existing breaker
with a 20?

3. Last question. I want to put a wind-up time switch on the wire
feeding the 1500 watt heater. Will an Intermatic FD/FF series time
switch (rated for 20 A) last a long time, or will the heavy load eat the
contacts?

Thanks,

Henry


the first thing i reccomend is getting rid of that panel first. yup
federal arc alot panels went out of buisness for a reason their panels
are junk and cause fires.



I saw the website devoted to problems with Federal breakers but it
seemed to focus on double (220 volt circuit) breakers - and in
accordance with that I am eliminating a double breaker in our Federal
panel, by moving the load over to a breaker in the newer main panel
(General Electric). Have there been problems with single Federal breakers?

Regards,

Henry

According to Jim :

I saw the website devoted to problems with Federal breakers but it
seemed to focus on double (220 volt circuit) breakers - and in
accordance with that I am eliminating a double breaker in our Federal
panel, by moving the load over to a breaker in the newer main panel
(General Electric). Have there been problems with single Federal breakers?

There was a Canadian recall on single 15A federal breakers made by
Schneider Canada (the company now owning rights to the Federal units)
for breakers made in the late 90s. It's mentioned on the website you
were on.

It's not clear whether these were ever sold in the US - the website
doesn't seem to think they were.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Jim wrote:
sym wrote:

Jim wrote:


I am adding a shower to an exisiting half bath. Part of the project is
to add a combination heater/ventilator/light near the shower. The
heater portion of the combi unit draws 1500 watts. The present circuit
is #12 TW, about a 10 foot run from the breaker, which is 15 amps. It
presently feeds the light over the bathroom sink, two in-ceiling lights
and a porch light (all of which are now the screw-in fluorescent
"bulbs"). My questions a

1. Should I provide a separate breaker for the combi unit? (The reason
that I haven't just DONE IT rather than composing and posting this long
question is that the panel is maxxed out - all breaker positions taken -
and is so old that I'm not sure I can get a half-width breaker to
substitute for one of the full width ones. The brand is Federal, from
the 60's. Also, while the wiring run is just the 10 feet noted, it goes
around several corners and thru at least one box (the one with the light
over the sink) before it gets to the location where the switches for the
combi unit will be.)

2. Or, should I just go the easy way and replace the existing breaker
with a 20?

3. Last question. I want to put a wind-up time switch on the wire
feeding the 1500 watt heater. Will an Intermatic FD/FF series time
switch (rated for 20 A) last a long time, or will the heavy load eat the
contacts?

Thanks,

Henry


the first thing i reccomend is getting rid of that panel first. yup
federal arc alot panels went out of buisness for a reason their panels
are junk and cause fires.



I saw the website devoted to problems with Federal breakers but it
seemed to focus on double (220 volt circuit) breakers - and in
accordance with that I am eliminating a double breaker in our Federal
panel, by moving the load over to a breaker in the newer main panel
(General Electric). Have there been problems with single Federal breakers?

Regards,

Henry
i also say it cuz ive dealt with them for the last 15 years and know
that alot of them do not work