What is the difference between a 100 AMP electric panel and a 200 AMP electric panel?
While the other answers accurately answer the question, I'm guessing that you are asking because you have probably seen something like "New 200 Amp panel" in a real estate listing.As Kelly Kinkade says, a 200 amp panel is usually physically larger than a 100 amp panel, allowing you to add more branch circuits. And it will handle a larger combined load (200 amps as opposed to 100 amps).However all of this is predicated on what kind of service you have. In electrical parlance, the service is what connection you have from your house to the electrical grid. This will either be undergroundor through a service entrance like this:In all cases, the size of your service will determine the maximum current you will draw. Houses built in the '40s and '50s will typically have smaller services, 60 Amp is not uncommon. In the '60s and '70s, 100 Amp was common. And since the '80s, 200 Amp is standard.Just as an aside, the main consumers of high amperage will be high-powered electric heaters. An electric stove will consume up to 50 amps, a dryer up to 40 amps, and an electric hot water heater 30 amps. So you can see that if you are having a pool party, it's not unreasonable that your load right there is 120 amps -- which is why a 200 amp service becomes necessary. If you have electric heat, you can see even higher. A few years ago when I was house-hunting I saw a house with a 400 Amp service, and my grandfather (an electrician) once put in a 600 Amp service for a big fancy estate in New Hampshire.
Can I power a 240 volt (15 amp) stove on a 208 volt supply?
Good Lord...I'm not even going to say anything... Standard appliance ratings allow for a 10% +/- on voltage. This means, something that is rated to run on 240 volts can run on 10%, or 24 volts in this case, more or less. 240 - 24 is 216, obviously not within the 208 volts you say you have. 208 volts does come from a three phase system. However, just because that is the building supply doesn't mean you have three phase in your apartment. Oft times, three phase power is brought in in order to run mass quantities of motors more efficiently. You still only have 2 phases in your apartment which may give you 208-215 volts. Will the oven run on it? Yes. Will it slightly reduce the output of the burners? Only a little. Will you notice it? No. Hope this helps.
Is a dryer and electric stove cord the same?
There are 3 wire dryer cords (old style) Then there is the new style 4 wire These are both rated at 30 amps. There are three wire range plugs (old style) Then there are 4 wire range plugs. These are rated at 50 amps. Yes they are different and they should not interchange. If the house is newer then 2000 It may be it has 4 wire receptacles for dryer and range, if the house is oldler then that chances are it has 3 wire receptacles. The code changed in 1999 most counties do not adopt right away though. If in doubt call a professional or some one who does know what is going on.
Can I plug an electric stove/range to a dryer receptacle?
No. If it is indeed a 50 amp circuit and you use a 30 amp cord and plug you risk a fire at that location. If it is a 30 amp circuit you will surely trip the breaker any time you use more than 2 burners/a burner and the oven. Most inconvenient if you have company waiting for dinner! I have to wonder how that came to be. Most Dryers use a 30 amp circuit and most Ranges use a 50 amp circuit. But as you say the outlet in question is in the kitchen I think maybe some one just installed the wrong one. Pull the receptacle out and look for #'s on the wire. If you see 10 it is not rated 50 amps. If you see 6 or 4 then it is. And you can safely change it to the correct 3 or 4 wire socket. Then check the size of the breaker. If it is 30 amps you will need to change it also. If you do I would suggest turning off the Main Breaker just to be safe. Swapping breakers should only take a few minutes. In a Residential panel they just snap in/out starting on the Bus Bar side. DO install the same brand as the panel. Any other brand an you may have troubles getting it to make contact and it won't meet UL (Underwriter Labs) certification for the panel. Not the end of the world mind you, but it isn't that hard/expensive to get it right.
Can i run a 220 line to my stove and dryer?
if you know what your doing
A home inspector said the 50 amp breaker for my dryer needs to be 30 amps. Is that true?
Thank you all for your answers. I understand how breakers are rated so they trip before the wires overheat. But the dryer is not part of the house. Everywhere else, breakers are sized to the wiring, not whatever happens to be plugged in. Otherwise, by that logic one could say I need a 1/2 amp breaker on a line that currently only has a 60w lamp plugged in. Or that I need to change the breaker if I buy a different dryer. So I guess the question is really, is 30 amps a magic number for dryer circuits, or should the breaker be sized to the capacity of the wiring? If the latter, I should check to make sure the wiring can handle 50 amps.
Can I use a 40amp Range Oven on a 60a Breaker?
It is not OK, the wire in the wall is too small. The two 30's tied together is not a 60, it is a 240v 30 amp. The standard wire size on a thirty amp breaker is #10. (the smaller the number the larger the wire). A 40 amp appliance needs #8 wire. The 40 amp cord is a bit of an anomaly, the GE WX9X35 is a cord that is specified as a 40 amp cord, it has a 50 amp prong configuration, with 40 amp wire. NEMA (the National Electrical Manufacturers Association) does not recognize a 40 amp receptacle configuration so they need to use the next configuration larger. More information could be possibly be determined if the model of you range have. Replacing the two pole 30 amp breaker with a two pole 40 is NOT an acceptable option because the #10 wire is only rated at 30 amps, a 50 amp receptacle with a 50 amp breaker requires #6 wire, a 50 amp receptacle with 40 amp breaker requires #8, the dryer only has #10. It should seem obvious that if the range cord has #8 then the range needs #8, the wire on the 30 amp breaker will only be #10, and using a breaker sized larger than the melting range of the #10 wire is dangerous.