My 15 year old house has a dedicated 20 amp kitchen circuit for the refrigerator and the "microwave bay" (not a built-in, but a mini-counter designed specifically for a countertop microwave.) I recently (last weekend) upgraded some appliances and unwittingly created a problem. My new refrigerator has a 6 amp peak load (compressor startup, presumably) and my new microwave is rated at 14 amps. See the problem? We discovered it the hard way when my son was microwaving some popcorn last night and the shiny new fridge compressor kicked on in the middle of it, killing the circuit.
My first instinct is to swap out the current breaker with something that can take a bit more load. Probably a 25A, to minimize the potential additional load while still allowing the two appliances to operate. I just want to make sure that I'm not creating a potentially hazardous situation.
Assuming copper wire and a 30 foot run between the panel and the outlets, what is the smallest wire that can safely handle a 25 amp or 30 amp load? Other than wire gauge, is there anything else I need to check before replacing the breaker?
Submitted September 21, 2016 at 07:54AM by codefyre http://ift.tt/2d77YTK electricians
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