Allen Brandley breakers for control panel use?

[ekjohns]

Similar to another thread I found 4 one pole DIN rail breakers at the junk yard. they are all Allen Bradley 1492-CB1. One is a 2A, two are 6A, and one is 10A. Picture of the side is below. I am starting to build a control panel for a simple 1 PID, 1 5500W element, and one pump electric system. Could I use any of these to protect my march pump, PID, switches or any other parts?

 

[stlbeer]

I use a single pole 15A breaker to power all of my 120v components - pumps (2), aux power outlet (usually for my mill), PID's (3), buzzers, and lighted switches. Should be fine for that. For the element you'll need at least a 25A double pole breaker.

 

[SweetSounds]

Yep - They are great for pumps and power supplies and the like.

 

[ekjohns]

would it be okay to hook up the PID pump and SSR together on the same breaker? If so which should I use 2A, 6A, 10A? If it it better to hook them seperately what would be the best combination. I know the march pump pulls 1.4A and that is likely the highest of the amp ratings. Is it okay to protect it with a 6A breaker or is that to high? I guess the question is how much over should your breaker/fuse be to adequately protect.

 

[stlbeer]

would it be okay to hook up the PID pump and SSR together on the same breaker? If so which should I use 2A, 6A, 10A? If it it better to hook them seperately what would be the best combination. I know the march pump pulls 1.4A and that is likely the highest of the amp ratings. Is it okay to protect it with a 6A breaker or is that to high? I guess the question is how much over should your breaker/fuse be to adequately protect.

Your 5500W element is going to draw @23A, therefore, a 2A, 6A, or 10A breaker is not suitable to be used with that element. You need a 25A breaker for that element. Unless you're not going to be running at 240v?

Protecting the pump circuit with a 6A breaker is fine. Just make sure you use the proper wire sizing.

There's an ongoing debate in this forum regarding the amount of circuit loading and protection needed. I built mine so that the load is 80% of the circuit capacity. Some folks say you can run them up to the limit. You get to decide. Your safety is your responsibility.

Make sure you've read the electric primer sticky article in this forum. It is very valuable and will answer many of your questions. However, continue to ask for advice here. There are many electricians (I'm not one of them) and they have years of experience.

 

[SweetSounds]

Also remember, your breakers are single pole, and therefore only good for 120 volt circuits. Even if you had a 25 amp single pole breaker, you can't use it on a 240 volt element...

 

[ekjohns]

I was not planning to use one for the element. Just the Pump PID and SSR. My concern was if the pump runs at 1.4A and is protected by a 6A breaker, will a surge at 5A fry the motor without tripping the breaker.

 

[SweetSounds]

I was not planning to use one for the element. Just the Pump PID and SSR. My concern was if the pump runs at 1.4A and is protected by a 6A breaker, will a surge at 5A fry the motor without tripping the breaker.

Then yes, they will be fine (I read SSR and immediately thought you were talking about the element )

Circuit breakers protect the wiring and the house from the appliance, not the appliance from the power company. So no, a breaker will not protect anything from a surge.

A simple way of thinking about it is Voltage is given - Amperage is drawn.
You can't force-feed amperage to something. It must draw it from the circuit.
A circuit breaker doesn't care about the voltage going through it (Well, it can, but not for the purpose of this description) It simply disconnects the load when it surpasses a rated current draw, preventing wires from melting in the event of a short or other failure.
But, if a 120 volt device is connected to a 240 volt breaker, it'll fry. And the breaker won't disconnect it (Until it draws more than the breaker's rated current)

 

[stlbeer]

I was not planning to use one for the element. Just the Pump PID and SSR. My concern was if the pump runs at 1.4A and is protected by a 6A breaker, will a surge at 5A fry the motor without tripping the breaker.

Regarding the SSR part of this discussion - the SSR is a relay. It has 2 sides to it - the control side and the load side. The control side is typically 3-32v DC that comes from the PID. The load side is what is being controlled. This should be the load or HOT side of a 120v circuit. That's why I said what did about the SSR and your element. The SSR is controlled by the PID and would not be directly connected to your PID breaker.

Edit: Unless you are meaning PID/SSR as a single device in which case I've misunderstood you.

Second edit: Just caught that you said you weren't planning on using a breaker for the element. I think for your own safety you should reconsider this. New Double Pole 240v/25a breakers are about $17 from Automation Direct. Here's the part number: WMZS2B25.
The reason being that the total capacity entering your control panel, box, etc could exceed the wiring from your control panel to the element. Without a breaker you risk a fire on that line if there's a short to ground. i.e. the wire size is smaller than the amount of power it will draw and it could draw power up to the capacity of the breaker in your main panel. $17 is a mighty small price to pay to prevent a fire.

 

[ekjohns]

That makes sense. thanks for the help