dedicated power for boiler

[Aggie1998]

I have a boiler that is to be installed and the drawings calls for a dedicated circuit, conduit,etc. on a 20 amp breaker. The boiler is only pulling 5 amps. Why can't I put anything else in the conduit and on this circuit?

 

[gr2vessels]

Aggie,
you should consult your local regulations for the electrical installations. The 20 Amp breaker on a dedicated line loaded with 5 Amp sounds to me a bit overboard, but not incorrect. It is also the responsibility of a qualified and certified "sparky" to assess the suitability / sizing of the cabling and circuit breaker for your boiler circuit(remember that the cabling can cary the rated current all day long, but the circuit breaker can cary only 80% or so of the rated current in continuous service). However, subject of conformance to your local regulation and checking the continuous rating of your breaker, you should be able to load other equipment up to a total of 16 Amps, risking to trip the breaker at the smallest of incidental overload. Any time an internal switch opens or closes, your breaker will trip, sending you to the breaker panel for reset.
cheers,
gr2vessels

 

[Aggie1998]

Thanks for the info. I have a certified electrician installing the power for the boiler. I was just wondering the why. The boiler manufacturer installation guide clearly states that is has to be a dedicated conduit, circuit, neutral, etc.

 

[rmw]

The reason the boiler mfg wants a dedicated circuit is that they don't want other "junk" on their circuit that would trip the circuit breaker for something unrelated to the boiler and cause the boiler to shut down. Picture having some other piece of equipment sharing that circuit that had a fault and which had nothing to do with the boiler bringing the boiler off line.

rmw

 

[roca]

is this for your home or for an industrial complex?

If for a complex you shouldn't even question the requirement as it appears to me to a done deal as the requirements are clearly stated.

If its for your home then of course you can take the risk for the installation.....

 

[Aggie1998]

I work with the Army Corps of Engineers and this is a Battalion Headquarters building. The electrical contractor was arguing with me that adding a few receptacles to the circuit would not hurt anything. The manufacturers recommendation was enough to make him do it the right way but I wanted to know more of the way. Thanks for all the info.