tandem breaker

[gserve]

In a mobile home the other day I saw a tandem breaker (20A/30A)where the 20A outside Breakers that are connected by a handle tie were feeding 2 separate 120V circuits(not multiwire).I removed the handle tie so that if 1 circuit trips the other won't. Did I do the right thing? These breakers are designed for 2 separate 240V loads.

 

[tonyi]

Re: tandem breaker

Its OK to trip more breakers than strictly necessary.

 

[curt swartz]

Re: tandem breaker

Both of these 2-pole breakers are probably common trip so removing the handle tie would not prevent both poles from tripping. The handle tie is only provided for manual operation. The only way to prevent this would be to install a quad breaker that has a 2-pole breaker in the center and 2 single pole breakers on the outside.

 

[bill addiss]

Re: tandem breaker

This is from a Siemens Catalog showing 2 different types of Quad breakers.

Note that they both have 2 sets of Tie-Handles, but the outside pair is only common trip on one:

Bill

[ November 23, 2003, 01:24 PM: Message edited by: bill addiss ]