Want to replace the "guts" of a G.E. load center in small box

No problem. You would never have a situation where every circuit in the panel was loaded to its max. The panel size itself limits the number of breakers, and total number of circuits. The 150 A breaker protects the box itself against too much load on the buses in the back that the breakers connect to. No worries about this.

If it was done by a licensed electrician it would be within code. The dependency is the load and the box rating. Obviously the current rating of the breaker is a concern as well as what is on it. If you have a low wattage circuit like on bedroom etc and split that with another one, it would be fine. But you should not put something like kitchen outlets on a split circuit.

Yes, but you should put in another half size breaker even if you don't use it so that you don't leave a hole in the front panel, unless you can find a half-size cover instead. I am puzzled about why the half-size breaker won't fit in the original spot. Maybe you are replacing a pair of full-size breakers that are linked together to provide 220V? If that is the case DO NOT replace these with half size breakers. Good luck.

only if your main wires (ie. line/feeder wires) are larger than a #2 awg wire size. #2 awg size wire is code and the right size wire for 100 amps. So, if you have larger wire coming into your service (eg. #1 THHN or larger) - then you can. Otherwise, you'll have to UP the wire size for the appropriate amperage. I hope this gives you some idea! Good Luck!

Here are links that show basic wiring inside a breaker box.

Please look at the images.
If you need more help, answer back and we'll go to the next step

http://waterheatertimer.org/See-inside-main-breaker-box.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/240-v-water-heater-circuit.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/Circuit-breakers.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/Color-codewire2.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/Figure-Volts-Amps-Watts-for-water-heater.html

Breaker size:
15 amp breaker connects to 14 gauge wire
20 amp breaker connects to 12 gauge wire
30 amp breaker connects to 10 gauge wire
Home Depot and Lowes have a breaker and wire size size chart next to wire cutting machine
These stores have guys who know the basic breaker size for your big appliances
Each appliance has a name plate showing wattage and voltage.
The wattage tells you what size wire.
The voltage tells you what size breaker and whether you need a 120V breaker or 240V breaker.

To lay out your home wiring:
The kitchen microwave needs a 20Amp 120V 'dedicated' line that goes just to the microwave.
The rest of the kitchen plugs are served by another 20 amp 120V breaker
When laying out rest of house, figure how much wattage might be used in an area.
For example the den might have a big 500Watt TV, and 2 ceiling fans and 4 lights.
Add up the wattage and decide how many plugs and switches you want on each breaker.
Now let's say you have a 20Amp breaker which can carry 1920 Watts for the den.
Inside the breaker box you have a 12 gauge wire for the 20 Amp breaker.
The 12 gauge wire has a black, white and bare ground.
The black connects to breaker. The white and ground connect to Neutral busbar.
The 12 gauge wire leaves the breaker box and goes to the first box in the den.
This box is your junction box.
The junction box can be a switch box or a ceiling light box.
You cannot have any junction boxes that are covered by drywall.
Junction boxes must be accessible. All boxes must be accessible.
For example, you choose a ceiling box for your junction box.
The junction box is also the same box your ceiling light connect to.
From your junction box, you branch off a wire that goes to next box.
And then a wire branches off next box and goes to next box. And so on.

If you need more help, answer back and we can help.

Wow, all due respect, but someone would really be negligent to offer you a solution to this problem. An electrical panel isn't something to mess with, especially if you're asking these type of questions. Contact a professional electrician in your area or run the risk of electrocuting (that's DEAD by electricity) yourself. Good luck, and please be safe.

Hi,
You can install anything, up to a 125 amp. Just do not go any higher amperage then that. Anything lower will work just fine but will limit the current to the amount of the size of the breaker.

heatman101

Hello,
You always want to size for 20% greater than the load, so for this case I would use a 100 Amp Breaker.

Heatman101

Is the motor new or old? Is this a recent problem or has it always been that way? What is the motor used for? Does the motor start and stop a lot, or does it run continuous? Is it constantly under load? Is this residential or commercial use? Approx.how long is the circuit? What size wire and breaker are being used? Does it kick out when it starts or while it's running?
The FLA (Full Load Amps) for that motor is 22 x 1.25 = 28 amps. In GENERAL, a motor like that usually requires a minimum #10 (THHN or THWN) wire on a 30 amp breaker. However, NEC does permit up to a 70 amp breaker (250% of the FLA) if the 30 amp breaker is not sufficient for starting.
Remember that it's the built-in motor overloads that protect the wire. Best practice is to use the lowest size breaker possible for ground fault protection that will still allow the motor to start. A 40 amp breaker would be permissible.
On the other hand, if the circuit is very long, you need to increase the wire size to #8 or larger.
If this is an old motor that didn't have this problem before with your current setup, then you may need a new motor, and increasing the breaker size is not usually the solution, at least not without a qualified electrician actually seeing and evaluating the situation first.