I am installing a 120v water heater. The panel is 120v/208v rather than the
120v/240v I am used to. It looks pretty much the same; do I do anything
differently?

Ted wrote:

I am installing a 120v water heater. The panel is 120v/208v rather than the
120v/240v I am used to. It looks pretty much the same; do I do anything
differently?


Hi,
No.

"Ted" wrote in message
...
I am installing a 120v water heater. The panel is 120v/208v rather than
the 120v/240v I am used to. It looks pretty much the same; do I do
anything differently?
No, you connect to any one of the three hot legs and the neutral. If it
were a 240 volt heater, you'd loose some BTU's connecting to 208

Tony Hwang wrote:
Ted wrote:

I am installing a 120v water heater. The panel is 120v/208v rather
than the 120v/240v I am used to. It looks pretty much the same; do
I do anything differently?


Hi,
No.

You are so right. :-)
--
Moe Jones
http://www.MoeJones.info

On Sun, 8 Jun 2008 20:44:13 -0400, "Ted" wrote:

I am installing a 120v water heater. The panel is 120v/208v rather than the
120v/240v I am used to. It looks pretty much the same; do I do anything
differently?

I get the feeling you are doing this on a commercial installation.

That is a scary question coming from a commercial electrician.

"metspitzer" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 8 Jun 2008 20:44:13 -0400, "Ted" wrote:

I am installing a 120v water heater. The panel is 120v/208v rather than
the
120v/240v I am used to. It looks pretty much the same; do I do anything
differently?

I get the feeling you are doing this on a commercial installation.

That is a scary question coming from a commercial electrician.

They have 3phase to power some very large pumps. I wouldn't touch any of
that. This is just a simple 120v water heater; as long as it is the same as
1phase I am fine.

In article ,
(Ted) says...
I am installing a 120v water heater. The panel is 120v/208v rather than the
120v/240v I am used to. It looks pretty much the same; do I do anything
differently?

Check the leg with a volt meter before making the connection. To
balance the vectors in 3-phase, one leg has a higher voltage. If you
already have a 120 volt panel, the installer will have taken care of
this for you.

--
For email, replace firstnamelastinitial
with my first name and last initial.

Larry Caldwell wrote:

In article ,
(Ted) says...
I am installing a 120v water heater. The panel is 120v/208v rather than the
120v/240v I am used to. It looks pretty much the same; do I do anything
differently?

Check the leg with a volt meter before making the connection. To
balance the vectors in 3-phase, one leg has a higher voltage.

Not if it's the 120/208V Y three phase that is found in nearly all light
commercial buildings. Delta configurations which may have the high leg
are typically found in industrial buildings.

On Jun 8, 11:10 pm, metspitzer wrote:
On Sun, 8 Jun 2008 20:44:13 -0400, "Ted" wrote:
I am installing a 120v water heater. The panel is 120v/208v rather than the
120v/240v I am used to. It looks pretty much the same; do I do anything
differently?

I get the feeling you are doing this on a commercial installation.

That is a scary question coming from a commercial electrician.

I get the feeling this is a DIYer or a non-electrician handyman, most
likely in an apartment building, though I'm told there are rare cases
of single family houses near commercial areas which are supplied with
3-ph.

120V water heaters use more amps than the more common 240V ones, so
I'd recommend the OP double-check the ampacity of his cables and
breaker.

Chip C
Toronto

On Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:55:49 -0700, Larry Caldwell
wrote:

In article ,
(Ted) says...
I am installing a 120v water heater. The panel is 120v/208v rather than the
120v/240v I am used to. It looks pretty much the same; do I do anything
differently?

Check the leg with a volt meter before making the connection. To
balance the vectors in 3-phase, one leg has a higher voltage. If you
already have a 120 volt panel, the installer will have taken care of
this for you.

High legs are sometimes found in 240V Delta connected transformers.
120/208 are Y connected.

The only time I ever worked in a building where there was a high leg,
there was one panel for 3 phase only and a separate panel for single
phase. The single phase panel only had the two phases that gave 120V
to neutral so there was no way to end up with 190 to neutral.

Larry Caldwell wrote:
In article ,
(Ted) says...
I am installing a 120v water heater. The panel is 120v/208v rather than the
120v/240v I am used to. It looks pretty much the same; do I do anything
differently?

Check the leg with a volt meter before making the connection. To
balance the vectors in 3-phase, one leg has a higher voltage. If you
already have a 120 volt panel, the installer will have taken care of
this for you.


Larry
The kind of power arrangement you are talking about is rare and
absolutely forbidden inside a dwelling unit in most places. The only
time he would have one leg with a higher voltage to ground would be on a
delta connected transformer secondary supply. Since the OP specifically
said it was Wye connected I don't see were you get the idea that there
is a high or "stinger" leg involved.
--
Tom Horne

"This alternating current stuff is just a fad. It is much too dangerous
for general use." Thomas Alva Edison

In article Giz3k.8064$lE3.7721@trnddc05, (Tom
Horne) says...

The kind of power arrangement you are talking about is rare and
absolutely forbidden inside a dwelling unit in most places. The only
time he would have one leg with a higher voltage to ground would be on a
delta connected transformer secondary supply. Since the OP specifically
said it was Wye connected I don't see were you get the idea that there
is a high or "stinger" leg involved.

The OP did not say it was a wye configuration. He also did not say it
was a residential installation. He did say they were running some large
pumps. If they are after a rotating magnetic field, a delta
configuration is likely. In any case, it won't hurt a thing for him to
stick a voltmeter on the lug to see what voltage he really has.

--
For email, replace firstnamelastinitial
with my first name and last initial.

Larry Caldwell wrote:

In article Giz3k.8064$lE3.7721@trnddc05, (Tom
Horne) says...

The kind of power arrangement you are talking about is rare and
absolutely forbidden inside a dwelling unit in most places. The only
time he would have one leg with a higher voltage to ground would be on a
delta connected transformer secondary supply. Since the OP specifically
said it was Wye connected I don't see were you get the idea that there
is a high or "stinger" leg involved.

The OP did not say it was a wye configuration.

He said it was "The panel is 120v/208v" which automatically tells us
that it is a wye configuration, since there is no such thing as a
120/208V delta configuration.

Tom Horne wrote:


Larry
The kind of power arrangement you are talking about is rare and
absolutely forbidden inside a dwelling unit in most places.

My house in Dallas, Texas has Wye 3 phase power.
-- Doug