[rick]

I do some powder coating at home but am limited in size to what will fit in my toaster oven. I'd like to purchase a used wall oven to increase the size of what I can do. My question is, what size breaker and wire will I need?

In general the single wall ovens I have seen run approximately 3500 watts. Divide 3500w by 240v and thats approximately 15 Amps. Can I get away with a 20 amp circuit breaker?

I already bought 10/3 cable for the circuit and that is good up to 30Amps. Will this work? Seems like all the references I've seen call for 50 amps but I think that would be for a stove with oven & top burners. Thanks for the time.

 

[Jerry Briggs]

Each oven has its own requirements, look at the plate attached to the back and it will tell what amp and voltage will be needed. Most wall units that I have delt with require 30 amp breaker. Jb

 

[blumont]

Rick, what temperature do you have to bake the powder coated parts at and for how long??

 

[PaPa Johns 77]

Guys, my Wife is a moderately intellegent woman but sometimes she just amazes me. I waited to reply to this post until after I drove her to work. I was reading this when she walked into the room. She was reading over my shoulder (which I hate, but she was rubbing my shoulders so what the hey, right?) when she asked what the post meant. I expained what Rick was asking about. She turned to leave and stopped in the doorway, looked back and asked "wouldn't it be a lot easier and faster if he just used the microwave?"

 

[rick]

Each oven has its own requirements, look at the plate attached to the back and it will tell what amp and voltage will be needed. Most wall units that I have delt with require 30 amp breaker. Jb

Thanx, I will look for a data plate on anything that I am considering. Seems like you are saying that I'm generally correct in my mis-calculations.

Guys, my Wife is a moderately intellegent woman but sometimes she just amazes me. I waited to reply to this post until after I drove her to work. I was reading this when she walked into the room. She was reading over my shoulder (which I hate, but she was rubbing my shoulders so what the hey, right?) when she asked what the post meant. I expained what Rick was asking about. She turned to leave and stopped in the doorway, looked back and asked "wouldn't it be a lot easier and faster if he just used the microwave?"

:hurray: Cut her a break I've had guys ask why not bake in the kitchen oven.

Rick, what temperature do you have to bake the powder coated parts at and for how long??

It will vary but generally 300-350 for 8 - 20 minutes. Different powders have differing bake times.

 

[Bills72]

I have al electric home and my wifes electric range has a 40 amp breaker but if I remember correctly the range came with a 30 amp plug. Hope that helps.
Iwas going to do the same thing but I have 50 amp service in the garage for the welder and air compressor.

 

[69-CHVL]

15 amps x 125% = 18.75, so a 20amp breaker will work.

But that does seem kinda light for an oven. My space heater in the garage that runs on 240 is 4000 watts.

 

[71stroker]

Rick, you already have it figured out :thumbsup: Your method of calculation is exactly correct.....basic ohms law......(P/E = I ) watts divided by source voltage equals amps !!
As already stated in the other post EVERY appliance is different doesn't matter if its a microwave , oven , air cond., stove,air comp.....or what ever all electric appliances have a "nameplate" kinda like a cowl tag it will tell the KW rating.... KW is kilo watts.

For example if your oven says 3.6 KW/240V ......this means it will only work at 240 volts and the load is ..... 3.6 X 1000 = 3600
3600 / 240 = 15
15 amps is your load, 14-3 with ground wire and a 15amp 2-pole breaker , however if you were to use this in a KITCHEN the national electric code says all kitchen appliances must be a min. of 20 amps. Therefore you would use a 12-3 with ground and a 20 amp breaker.

You said you already bought 10-3 wire so that will work great so long as YOUR load doesn't exceed 30 amps. remember to match your breaker to the load when oversizing the wire.....would still be a 15 amp breaker for the example above.

Hope this helps, pm me if I can help more...glad to do it. It's nice to be able to give advice on here once in a while seem as though I'm always looking for it ....lotta smart fellers on here !!!!

 

[71stroker]

wanted to add 69 chvl is on the right track with the 125 percent increase 0f the load........... but this is ONLY required when the load is considered a "continuous duty", defined by the MAXIMUM load expected to run MORE than three hours. Still always a good idea to plan for the worst.

I powder coat alot of parts myself and only bake for 15 minutes at 400 deg.

 

[69-CHVL]

Hey...what if he bakes a turkey in there, that takes 4 hours!

 

[Johnny O]

Hey...what if he bakes a turkey in there, that takes 4 hours!

Then the parts that are in there with the turkey would be very overdone And I'll bet the turkey would taste a little funny too.

 

[71stroker]

I have al electric home and my wifes electric range has a 40 amp breaker but if I remember correctly the range came with a 30 amp plug. Hope that helps.
Iwas going to do the same thing but I have 50 amp service in the garage for the welder and air compressor.

sooo don't weld , da your car , and bake car parts all at the same time

 

[rick]

Hey...what if he bakes a turkey in there, that takes 4 hours!

The Turkey I'm thinking of baking will need a whole lot more than 4 hours!


Doug, Just to be certain, IF a 20 Amp breaker will do the job, I SHOULD NOT use a 30 amp just because I can.

Thanx again for all of your input.

 

[71stroker]

Rick , thats correct ... think of it as a matched system and this is a case where more is NOT better.
It's ok to use the #10 gage wire you got because it's rated at 30 amps BUT the wiring in the whip of an appliance with a maximum rating of 15 amps will most likely be rated for not more than 20 amps. This means if you use a 30 fuse or breaker to protect it ....well u get it... the wire on the appliance will melt long before that 30 amp breaker will do its job in the event of a problem.

 

[justkyle]

All ovens whether wall mount or not are a 220v appliance. You will need to run at least 10 awg/ 3 wire cable. The breaker will be a dual throw 40/60 amp breaker. ( at least 20 amps for each side) Im not an electrician but I have been plugging into range outlets for almost 20 yrs on a daily basis when I sand floors.

 

[jfkheat]

By code, you can use 80% of a breakers load. You can put 16 amps on a 20 amp breaker, 24 amps on a 30 amp breaker and so on.
James

 

[Dean]

All ovens whether wall mount or not are a 220v appliance. You will need to run at least 10 awg/ 3 wire cable. The breaker will be a dual throw 40/60 amp breaker. ( at least 20 amps for each side) Im not an electrician but I have been plugging into range outlets for almost 20 yrs on a daily basis when I sand floors.

Never heard of a "dual throw 40/60 amp breaker"
Double pole 15, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60

 

[justkyle]

I meant it was either going to be a 40 amp ( 20 amps on each pole) or a 60 amp ( 30 amps on each pole). I was trying to type that as I was dealing with my kids at the same time. sorry.

 

[502ci]

By code, you can use 80% of a breakers load. You can put 16 amps on a 20 amp breaker, 24 amps on a 30 amp breaker and so on.
James

Very scary what I'm hearing here...the quote above is dead on though...:thumbsup:

This was a legit question also...Each oven has its own requirements, look at the plate attached to the back and it will tell what amp and voltage will be needed. Most wall units that I have delt with require 30 amp breaker. Jb

But you never said what you found...

I've been a union Electrician since 1989 and will help you with your requirements but you have to answer that above question from Jb.

Bill