Circuit breaker does not deliver 240 volt

[power_within666]

i have a problem with the my circuit breaker it does not deliver 240 volts that i need instead only delivers 120 volts. Need urgent answer!

[Al Moran]

Install a circuit breaker booster.

[Doug Miller]

First question I have is: do you have a 240V breaker? (I.e. a double-pole breaker)

[Dr. Hardcrab]

and how are you "testing" it to know it's only 120 volts???

[Joseph Meehan]

Scary question. If you don't know why a single breaker would only supply 120V and do not understand about dual breakers using both legs, you should not be that close to the breaker box.

At least find a good book on the subject and get an basic understanding of how it all works before you do anything other than to rest a breaker (and only do that once, it if needs it more often than that, it needs to be fixed).

If on the other hand you do understand and you only forgot to note that you were measuring voltage from a double breaker then I suggest that one half of the breaker has tipped or the is a fault in the box.

[tinacci336]

Thats because ithe circuit was wired for and is a 110volt circuit. It is a single phase circuit. To get 220 volts you must have a circuit wired to two phases of 110 volts each. Unles, and it doesn't seem so, You know what you are doing, get a quailfied electrician to do the wireing, as you could electrocute yourself. Or burn your house down. ELECTRICITY is an unforgiving force!!!!!!

[RBM]

Is it a double pole breaker that was giving you 240volt and then stopped, or a newly installed breaker that should deliver 240 volt. If it is a new installation , be sure you are using a double pole breaker, which is one that connects to two different busses of your panel, as opposed to a split breaker, which connects to one buss of the panel and has places for two wires to attach to it

[SQLit]

Intended as a clarification only Check this there are twins out there that the uninformed might think that are 2 pole breakers. I am not so sure that the OP really knows what he is trying to say.

[Toller]

A split breaker gives 0v, hot-hot.

If I wanted to make a wild guess, the OP is probably measuring 120v H-G for both hots, which is quite correct. OP, you have to measure H-H.

[Toller]

A transformer?

[Rich256]

Could also be that half the breaker is tripped.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

That is supposed to be what you get on each leg. If you don't understand it, get professional help before you get into trouble.

You don't give enough information for anything more than that as an answer. New breaker? Old breaker that you tested in the past? Are you checking at the breaker or at a down-line portion of the circuit?

[unknown]

Make sure it's actually a double-pole breaker. That takes 2 slots in your panel. Then measure hot to hot, not hot to neutral or ground.

[Toller]

No, it would then be an open circuit and measure zero.

[Rich256]

You could measure 110 from one leg to return. I really don't understand what he was saying. Is he getting 110 from hot to hot or from one hot to return?

I have seen a breaker half tripped. Had to turn it all the way off and back on again to set both sides.

[hallerb]

if it was a upgrade he might not have the breaker straddling the 2 120 legs. this would give him 2 seperate 120s but no 220

[Dave]

Visit your local library and read a book on home wiring before you electrocute yourself.

[Rich256]

Thinking about it a bit more. If half of a breaker pair is tripped and if there is any kind of a load, like a lamp or motor, between that line and return he could measure 110 volts between the two hot lines.

For example in a dryer there are 110 volt timers and motors. Only the heater is between the two hot lines.

[NeedleNose]

I had the same problem (but maybe different cause). In my case: there are two underground wires coming into the house which together provide

240. One was compromised/cut by a fence installer. The remaining one only provided 120 to the house including 240 volt appliances. So oven etc did not work.