I’m sort of embarrassed to ask this, but it never occured to me until someone asked me just now… Are 2 pole breakers rated in A per pole or total? That is to say, is a 2 pole breaker that’s marked “30” on the handle actually for a 60 amp circuit?
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It is amps per pole.
"That is to say, is a 2 pole breaker that's marked "30" on the handle actually for a 60 amp circuit?"
No, it is a 30amp, 240v (or TWO 30amp 120v) circuit. VS, a single pole breaker would be ONE 30 amp 120v circuit.
Thanks Bill, that's what I though even if I was expressing it imprecisely. In other words if there is a device with a total draw of 60 amps @220, the breaker would be a 30 amp 2 pole... right?
The device and the breaker are rated the same.
A device requiring 60 amps at 220 volts will need a two pole breaker rated at least 60 amps.
No, a 30 amp, 2 pole breaker allows for 30 amps to flow in one hot leg through one pole and back out the other hot leg on the other pole.For a net 30 amps at 240 volts or 7200 watts.A 60 amp 240v load would have 60 amps in each leg and require a 60 amp breaker.
I always think of the two-pole 240v breakers as two single-pole 120v breakers with the same rating and ONE handle. Once in a while I see two singles used with a metal clip that gangs the handles together.