Question ????

[Charley L. Bottger]

Should I or would you be concerned about a 10 degree temp differential between the two legs on a 240 volt double pole breaker Yes or no please

[Linas Dapkus]

Yes.

[Charley L. Bottger]

Originally Posted by ldapkus1

Yes.

Ok I am gathering yes and no's lets see who wins

[George P. Wells, CMI]

Originally Posted by cbottger

Should I or would you be concerned about a 10 degree temp differential between the two legs on a 240 volt double pole breaker Yes or no please

No. I wouldn't be too concerned because 240V loads are not always perfectly balanced and 10 degrees F isn't very much of a difference. You might first want to look at what type of load it is. You could also put a clamp-on Ammeter on each leg to see if there is much of a difference between the two legs. Also look for loose connections. If the load is a 240V heating element or something similar, the legs would have exactly the same current flowing. One being hotter than the other would suggest a loose connection. One the other hand, some appliances have both 120V and 240V loads. At any given time, one leg could be carrying more or less current than the other so one leg could be hotter than the other.

[Linas Dapkus]

Originally Posted by gwells

No. I wouldn't be too concerned because 240V loads are not always perfectly balanced and 10 degrees F isn't very much of a difference. You might first want to look at what type of load it is. You could also put a clamp-on Ammeter on each leg to see if there is much of a difference between the two legs. Also look for loose connections. If the load is a 240V heating element or something similar, the legs would have exactly the same current flowing. One being hotter than the other would suggest a loose connection. One the other hand, some appliances have both 120V and 240V loads. At any given time, one leg could be carrying more or less current than the other so one leg could be hotter than the other.

A loose connection would be localized to the connection, no?
Any way you look at it, it's a possible deficiency that warrants investigation.

[Charley L. Bottger]

Originally Posted by gwells

No. I wouldn't be too concerned because 240V loads are not always perfectly balanced and 10 degrees F isn't very much of a difference. You might first want to look at what type of load it is. You could also put a clamp-on Ammeter on each leg to see if there is much of a difference between the two legs. Also look for loose connections. If the load is a 240V heating element or something similar, the legs would have exactly the same current flowing. One being hotter than the other would suggest a loose connection. One the other hand, some appliances have both 120V and 240V loads. At any given time, one leg could be carrying more or less current than the other so one leg could be hotter than the other.

Ok one yes and one no

The appliances that have 120 volt circuits are mostly for clocks and timers that virtually have no amp draw not enough to effect the infrared temp

[Charley L. Bottger]

Originally Posted by ldapkus1

A loose connection would be localized to the connection, no?
Any way you look at it, it's a possible deficiency that warrants investigation.

Are you sure think about what you are saying. Just asking

[Linas Dapkus]

I would need to be there to make the call.

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

No big deal I agree with George .
I think you will find this is very common . Roy

[Charley L. Bottger]

Originally Posted by rcooke

No big deal I agree with George .
I think you will find this is very common . Roy

Are you absolutely sure this is very common I take that for a no

one yes and two no's

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

yes If we are talking about a feed to a sub panel

[Charley L. Bottger]

Originally Posted by rcooke

yes If we are talking about a feed to a sub panel

I did not say what the breaker was feeding but it was not feeding a sub panel I will give more specifics after I collect a few more yes or no's

[Jim Port]

Originally Posted by cbottger

The appliances that have 120 volt circuits are mostly for clocks and timers that virtually have no amp draw not enough to effect the infrared temp

The motor on a dryer is 120.

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Originally Posted by cbottger

I did not say what the breaker was feeding but it was not feeding a sub panel I will give more specifics after I collect a few more yes or no's

If it is feeding a balanced load then I would expect they should both be very close to same temp.

[Chuck Evans]

Originally Posted by cbottger

Ok one yes and one no

The appliances that have 120 volt circuits are mostly for clocks and timers that virtually have no amp draw not enough to effect the infrared temp

I have to respectfully disagree with that one Charlie. I've recorded my highest temps at 900+F and 600+F on 120v circuits.

BTW: Is that a split buss I see? What kind of load is on each leg? Tell me more about that hot spot on the buss.