Add 120v breaker to a spa panel?

I have a clone of jkarp's Countertop Brutus. This system uses about 16.5 amps of 120V, so I need a 20A receptacle. But there are no 20A circuits in the basement of my "new" house. The breaker panel is a Sylvania/Zinsco panel, and new breakers are not available for this panel.

So my plan is to use the existing 3-wire dryer outlet, and a spa panel. My question is, can I add a 120v 20A breaker in the Home Depot spa panel?

Yes there appear to be 2 open spaces above the gfi breaker. You should do a little research on Zinsco electrical panels. They like to randomly catch fire if you overload a circuit. I have even seen someone use a regular 15 amp breaker to weld on the panel itself without the breaker tripping. I would strongly suggest that you call a local electrician and get a quote for a panel upgrade. I'm not trying to be a safety nazi and the panel has worked fine for the last 40 years and will probably continue to do so for some time but they are more prone to problems if you do any work on them and they have been proven to be a fire hazard.

HearthstoneBrewery said:

I have a clone of jkarp's Countertop Brutus. This system uses about 16.5 amps of 120V, so I need a 20A receptacle. But there are no 20A circuits in the basement of my "new" house. The breaker panel is a Sylvania/Zinsco panel, and new breakers are not available for this panel.

So my plan is to use the existing 3-wire dryer outlet, and a spa panel. My question is, can I add a 120v 20A breaker in the Home Depot spa panel?

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Sure. You've got 2 open positions in that panel. Code requirement for a 20-amp circuit is 12-gauge wiring.

yjfun said:

You should do a little research on Zinsco electrical panels.

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Thanks. I'm fully aware of the issues with the Zinsco panel. Mine shows no signs of arcing or scorching. I plan to replace it in a year or so.

I'm glad you're already aware of the issues with those panels. I've changed out quite a few over the years and some did still work with no problems and others were absolutely horrid.

Yes you can add a 120V 20A breaker to the Spa Panel. Please keep in mind that the added breaker is not fed from the 50A GFCI breaker. With that said, if you install a standard breaker in the panel, it will not be GFCI protected. If you need that circuit to have GFCI protection, the 120V 20A breaker must be GFCI.

Just trying to give you a heads up.

Thanks P-J. I did know that the 120v breaker would need to be GFCI.

Actually, I'm considering a cheaper solution, since I don't need 240v. I'm thinking of using a small sub panel with a 20A 120v GFCI breaker, and connecting a dryer cord to that to feed it, then installing a 120v duplex receptacle to feed my system.