I have just purchased a new house and the breaker box has almost all 15 amp breakers half of the basement, entry way and 1 bedroom are all wired on the same breaker when I plug a vacuum in and some of the lights are on it trips the breaker is it ok to replace this 15 amp with a 20 or 25 without running into any problems??
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Chances are, the 15-amp breakers are wired with size 14 wire. A heavier-duty breaker would be UNSAFE because the wire could burn before the breaker trips.
If it is wired with #12 wire, you could go to a 20-amp breaker, but no bigger.
If it is wired with #12 wire, you could go to a 20-amp breaker, but no bigger.
From my experience (as a homeowner; I'm not an electrician), I would doubt that the circuit would've been wired with #12 if a 15 amp breaker was installed.
I would ABSOLUTELY NOT put in a bigger breaker, unless there's some way to be SURE that (as rpxlpx says) #12 wiring makes up that entire circuit. (Not easy to determine.) #14 wire is pretty thin stuff--you don't want to take chances.
Better to, if possible, run a new circuit to help alleviate the problem.
[This message has been edited by k2 (edited January 22, 2004).]
