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I have 4 light poles with 70 wattage bulbs in it. What size breaker do i need to run all four of my light poles. I have a 20 breaker on it, but the breaker keeps on tripping. Please help me.

BMitch
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Rachel
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  • by "light poles" do you mean outdoor lights on poles? If so, how far apart are the poles (how ling is the wire between the poles), how far are the poles from the house (how long is the wire from the breaker to the first pole)? Is the circuit GFCI protected? Is the wire between poles in conduit, or a cable? – Tester101 Sep 15 '15 at 15:53
  • Also going to point out that a 20 amp breaker on a lighting circuit is slightly unusual, they are usually 15 amp. See http://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/28251/should-i-convert-a-single-light-switch-to-a-receptacle-switch-combo/28264#28264 – mikeytown2 Sep 15 '15 at 19:03
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    @mikeytown2, this is not true at all. Many electricians wire homes' general use circuits, receptacles and lighting, on all 20A circuits. This is not even slightly unusual. I don't agree with this philosophy, but it is not unusual. In commercial is it typical to have circuits no smaller than 20A. – Speedy Petey Sep 15 '15 at 20:26

2 Answers2

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A tripping breaker is either faulty, undersized for the load, or trying to save your life.

  • If it's faulty, then you can replace it with a new one and the problem will go away. If you're unfamiliar working inside of a breaker panel, then I recommend getting a professional for this.

  • If it's undersized, you need to move some load onto a different (possibly new) circuit. The breaker is sized the the wires in the wall, so you can't upgrade the breaker without replacing the wiring. With only 4 70 watt bulbs, that's under 3 amps, well within capacity of a 20 amp breaker, so unlikely to be your problem.

  • And if it's trying to save your life, there's a fault in the circuit and you should stop resetting the breaker. The fix is to correct the fault. From the sounds of it, you could have a short in the circuit, perhaps water getting into the lines or a bad junction. Either way, electricity in that situation is dangerous and needs to be corrected.

ratchet freak
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BMitch
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  • Can you please explain what you mean by "The breaker is sized the the wires in the wall, so you can't upgrade the breaker without replacing the wiring. " – Abhijit Sep 16 '15 at 03:30
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    @Abhijit Imagine you had a 20 amp breaker, this means a certain amount of electricity can pass though it at a time, before it trips (cuts out). The wires in the walls are also rates at 20 amps this means they a can carry that much electricity before they become unsafe (eg become hot risking fire). When try to draw more (with many lamps), the wires would let you becoming unsafe, but the breaker stops that by tripping.

    If you upgrade the breaker without upgrading the wires, then you will have say a 25Amp breaker, but the wires still become unsafe at 20Amps as they are not thick enough etc.

     – Frames Catherine White Sep 16 '15 at 04:10
  • @Oxinabox: ohh I understand now, you mean the wire ampere rating. – Abhijit Sep 16 '15 at 04:46
  • yes indeed, the current rating. Sometimes (for a variety of reasons), the rating of the wire may actually already be beyond that for the breaker. I wouldn't personally expect that in a house, but I am not a practical electrician. – Frames Catherine White Sep 16 '15 at 04:55
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First off, on branch circuits, the breakers trip rating is determined by wire size not total load. My first guess would be since these are pole lights, there is a short to ground somewhere in the pole or the underground wiring between the breaker and the end of the circuit.
I would disconnect the ballasts and separate the wiring beginning at the closest pole and use a continuity tester to check if there is continuity to ground between the line wire(hot) and ground. If so that is where your short is. Either locate and insulate the short or replace the conductor.
Good luck!

Chris Barth
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