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I'm trying to add a 240V circuit to my breaker box. It looks as though there are enough "slots" on my breaker (2), but the metal doesn't extend all the way down. Do I have the space to do this?

EDIT: Adding additional pictures as requested.enter image description here Breaker Box

EDIT 2: Picture of the whole breaker box Breaker3

user264087
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2 Answers2

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Read my answer here that talks at length about what "spaces" are and how duplex breakers work.

It appears that you have one space left. Any 2-pole (240V) breaker needs to sit in 2 spaces so something special will have to be done. The article I linked should give you plenty of ideas, e.g. using a duplex breaker for two 120V circuits to free up a space.

If you expect to add any more circuits in the future, you may be better off just adding a sub-panel.

Lastly while you're in the panel you might look at a few minor problems. First, some of the white wires going into breakers are not neutrals. They should be taped or marked at both ends to indicate they are not actually neutrals. Second, it looks like too much bare wire is exposed on most of the wires going into the breakers, probably too much insulation was stripped (there's a "how much to strip" guide printed or embossed on the breaker.) It can be easily trimmed back.

Harper - Reinstate Monica
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You only have a single space left, but you need two adjacent spaces to get 240V.

What you can do is replace two of the single-pole 15A breaker with a tandem 2-pole 15A breaker

enter image description here

This fits in a single space, but is two separate circuits.

  1. Replace the bottom two 15A breakers on the left side with a 15A tandem
  2. Move the 30A 240V at the bottom left up one space
  3. Install a new 240V circuit in the bottom two spaces

enter image description here

gregmac
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