2 220v breakers working as one

[2low]

ok heres the deal in the one side of my box i have this

110v
220v 15a
220v 15a
220v 30a
110v 110v

what im haveing problems with is the 220v 15a are runing together for some reason it just started this only the one plug will work and both breakers have to be on any ideas????

 

[Junkman]

You need two breakers, one under the other to make up a 220 volt circuit. The 220 breakers are the same, but with only one tab that flips, whereas if you use two breakers, they should be tied together with a pin holding the two tabs together. I am not certain I understand your question. Is one leg of the 220 tripping?

 

[2low]

my 220v breakers are double spot heres some background info on what i have

there are 3 220v plugs in a row they run to we will call them 220v 15a (a) 220v 15a (b) 220v 30a (c)

none of the 15 amp plugs will work unless both a and b are on i hope this make more sense

 

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Breakers need to be on different buses to make a 220 circuit. If the two 15 amp are on the same breaker you really only have two 110v 15 amp circuits.

Maybe this will help. You have two power leads coming into your main panel. Red and black. These alternate on the bus bar. Sown one side is red, black, red, black and so on. Onthe other side it's black, red, black, red ,,,, You need a red and a black to make a 220 circuit.

Hope this helps. Or am I not understanding your problem correctly?

 

[2low]

they are on different buses my breakers were fine intill yesterday

 

[Junkman]

my 220v breakers are double spot heres some background info on what i have

there are 3 220v plugs in a row they run to we will call them 220v 15a (a) 220v 15a (b) 220v 30a (c)

none of the 15 amp plugs will work unless both a and b are on i hope this make more sense

If I understand you correctly, there are 3 220 volt circuits, one under the other. All 3 are 220 volt breakers. Since the last one (C) is a 30 amp circuit, lets take that one out of the discussion, since it is working the way that it should. Now, if I understand you, you have to turn both 220 volt breakers to the on position for one of the 220 plus to work? This would indicate that that plug has one leg wired to breaker A and the other leg wired to breaker B. If this is the case, then you need to figure out the two legs to that plug, and put both legs on breaker A. Find the two legs of the other 15 amp circuit, and put both legs of that circuit on breaker B. It is easy to figure out which two wires are for circuit A..... Just look for the red and black wires that come out of the same Romex jacket. If it is wired using conduit, then it might not be as easy. If I have explained the problem correctly, and you still need help to figure out which wire is which, I have another trick, but will hold off until you need that help. Junk.........

 

[Junkman]

they are on different buses my breakers were fine intill yesterday

Something has had to change. Is it possible that you thought that everything was correct, and only after one breaker went off, you noticed the problem? These type of symptoms don't arise mysteriously. If it truly was OK yesterday, and not today, then I am at a complete loss as to what has happened.

 

[Lu47Dan]

2low , If I understand what you are trying to say is ; the 2 - 220V 15amp circuits in your breaker box will not be energized if you turn ONE of the TWO 220V 15amp breakers OFF , neither circuit will work . CORRECT????
Before proceeding IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WORKING IN THE BREAKER PANEL HIRE AN ELECTRICIAN !!!
If that is correct than you have bigger problems in the box !! Now before you do anything in the box shut the Main breaker for the box off , remember the main power coming into the box will STILL be HOT (live current) . It sounds as if you have some wires crossed in the box . Making for a very dangerous situation as with one breaker feeding one leg of the 220 circuit and the other breaker feeding the other leg of the circuit , you could still have power on one leg of each circuit when you had thought the power was turned off .
Once the Main Breaker is off trace the wires feeding the circuits from the breaker out through the side of the panel , see if both wires from the one of the breakers go to the same circuit , if one goes to one circuit and the other goes to the other circuit you have just found the problem . You can fix this problem by changing the offending wire over to the correct breaker for that circuit . Remember to retrace the wires and make sure they are running to the correct breakers before turning the power back on .
Disclaimer , this advice was freely given and is worth what you paid for it , as I am NOT an electrician , I accept no responsibility for anything that could possibly happen from the use of said advice .
Be careful and read and heed all warnings before proceeding . Dan

 

[2low]

2low , If I understand what you are trying to say is ; the 2 - 220V 15amp circuits in your breaker box will not be energized if you turn ONE of the TWO 220V 15amp breakers OFF , neither circuit will work . CORRECT????
Before proceeding IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WORKING IN THE BREAKER PANEL HIRE AN ELECTRICIAN !!!
If that is correct than you have bigger problems in the box !! Now before you do anything in the box shut the Main breaker for the box off , remember the main power coming into the box will STILL be HOT (live current) . It sounds as if you have some wires crossed in the box . Making for a very dangerous situation as with one breaker feeding one leg of the 220 circuit and the other breaker feeding the other leg of the circuit , you could still have power on one leg of each circuit when you had thought the power was turned off .
Once the Main Breaker is off trace the wires feeding the circuits from the breaker out through the side of the panel , see if both wires from the one of the breakers go to the same circuit , if one goes to one circuit and the other goes to the other circuit you have just found the problem . You can fix this problem by changing the offending wire over to the correct breaker for that circuit . Remember to retrace the wires and make sure they are running to the correct breakers before turning the power back on .
Disclaimer , this advice was freely given and is worth what you paid for it , as I am NOT an electrician , I accept no responsibility for anything that could possibly happen from the use of said advice .
Be careful and read and heed all warnings before proceeding . Dan

thats the problem sorry english is my second language what i dont get is i havent touched the wireing this just started doing this yesterday im thinking the breakers are dead

 

[2low]

Something has had to change. Is it possible that you thought that everything was correct, and only after one breaker went off, you noticed the problem? These type of symptoms don't arise mysteriously. If it truly was OK yesterday, and not today, then I am at a complete loss as to what has happened.

yes it was ok yesterday i turn my compressor off last night at the breaker like i do every night went to turn it on this am and this happend

 

[Bib Overalls]

I sounds like one side of the 220 double breaker has failed. Have you been using the breakers as switches? Unless a breaker is rated for switching you should not use them for this purpose.

I would replace the defective unit. As noted above, a 220 breaker should have one lever or two levers joind with a pin. This ensures that if one leg trips the other will also open. If one leg of a 220 circuit breaker trips and the other leg remains on (closed) that leg will have power. Not good when you are poking around looking trouble shooting your problem.