if i were to remove 2 single pole breakers from my load center and replace it with 2 tandems... i would have 4 breakers for the price of 2 and i could connect all wires from those 2 breakers and fit them to the 2 tandems... beacuse if this is the case... i'll gladly do so... in no time!

thanks again!

Well I don't know the prices of the different breakers but I suspect that tandems are a little more than a single breaker, but might be a little less than a 2 pole.

But you need the tie bar. Doubt if you will find that at a Lowes or HD. Probably need to go to an electrical supply house.

And the panel has ben able to accept tandems in that particular slots. Some panels won't accept them at all and others only in certain slots.

Hi again Bill,

It is only today that I can finally plug everything in order to make my central vac work.

I have bought a 15A breaker. Now since I have added the breaker in my LC, I checked the other 240v breakers (range oven, dryer)... and they have 3 wires... red - black - white (and gound).

The I have bought heatex cable (red envelope black and red wire plus ground).

In order to connect the central vac, don't I need a 3 wire cable like the oven and dryer? If not, which color wire goes to which pole on the breaker?

Thanks for all your info and PATIENCE!

;)

I had never heard of this.

But found it.

http://www.nexans.ca/egy/equip/ProdPamphlets/housewireCSA_E.htm

It appears to be NM (sheathed electrical cable) with with with a different color scheme.

In the US the common practice is to use regular NM and remark the white wire with tape or marked.

The stove and dryer are 240/120 volt devices. They use both voltages and require a neutral.

The vacum (and like heaters and AC units) only use 240.

Thus the red and black connect to the two breaker terminals and to the 2 hot (brass) terminals on the receptacle.

The bare or green to the ground bus.

guess what Billhart...

YOU'RE THE MAN!

you've guided me through all this and THANKS TO YOU... IT ALL WORKS!

many MANY thanks!

I believe I'm caught up in the same question as you had a few years ago -- I need to put in some 240v outlets and was looking at the QOT1515 breaker as a means to run the circuit -- the confusing part was because Square D listed it as a 120/240 voltage rating (which, really, does that make sense?) -- anyway - I think the only answer is to consider buying a while load of QOT1515 to save some space and then put in some QO215's where I need 240v circuits...

Any further advise you can share from your experience is very much appreciated though...

Yes, a normal 240 circuit breaker has to be a double one, taking up 2 slots in the box. (That's how it connects to 2 sides to get 240V.)

If your box is full, this may indeed require replacing some current single breakers with the tandem ones, to free up enough space for the double 240V breaker.

It's safe to bet the panel only has enough room for a certain amount of phased breakers. You could use them all to give 100 amp sub-panels. You shouldn't be experiencing any tripping. Freeing up enough space for that new square d circuit breaker you bought is tedious but worth it in the long run.