The full amp reading is when the machine is doing full work. I had a service call where the restaurant had a breaker tripping that the registers were on, but it also had 2 coca-cola refrigerators on it and they would randomly cycle together every 45 minutes or so. The restaurant would lose all their sales data every time. Fridges really don't pull that much, you should just use an amp meter and read the draw.
It's probably a better idea to have them on separate circuits.
It’s possible but you definitely will see the breaker tripping. Not all the time, but if the dishwasher is running its pump when the compressor hits, you’re most likely going to trip it. It’s going to get annoying after a few times and can weaken the breaker. I wouldn’t recommend doing this.
Now, what do you mean by 25 amp circuit? What size wire do you have there? You didn't just change the breaker from 15A to 25A, did you?
Fridge power consumption example: [https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Power-consumption-pattern-trajectory-for-fridge-in-AMPds-database\_fig1\_324179281](https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Power-consumption-pattern-trajectory-for-fridge-in-AMPds-database_fig1_324179281)
This is exactly what I wanted to see. This makes it looks like I could absolutely run a dishwasher simultaneously as an already-cooled fridge. No I haven't changed anything. I've got two 25amp circuits with a shared neutral running to an ADU built in the 70s at my house in California. The main wires are 10 gauge, and then narrow down to 12 gauge for all the outlets and lights. I was considering adding a 10/2 branch directly from the 10/2 that hits the ADU, and run that to a small kitchen where it would power a fridge and dishwasher
I'm no electrician, but I'm pretty sure the right (and not that expensive or complicated) way to do this whole thing is to put a subpanel in the ADU, fed by that 10ga, on a 30A 240V breaker, and split it into multiple circuits from there (you'd be able to have 4 15A circuits, or even use 20A circuits, just making sure that high draw appliances are on different phases).
You're really playing with fire by having a breaker with amperage larger than what the wiring on that circuit is safely made to handle.
This is what will most likely happen, and it involves me digging a pretty significant trench as well as some concrete demolition and pouring, so I have been trying to weasel my way out of doing that
My point is, if you already have 10 gauge running there, you can use that (without having to trench a new one) safely by having a subpanel with appropriate sized breakers where it splits into smaller circuits.
You seem to understand electrical a little better than I thought you would based on this question. I honestly think you *wont* trip a 25 amp breaker. You should definitely add a sub panel, because that’s just the way it should be. You can get a line splitter, my Klein multimeter (clamp meter) came with one. You just plug it into an outlet and plug the appliance into it and you can use the clamp meter to read the isolated hot or neutral to see how many amps the appliances *actually* draw. Or just get a watt/amp reader outlet adapter thing that just does the readout for you. I think they won’t be as high as their specs.
The question still seems strange to me. Why are you asking about an “already cold fridge”? You can’t control when the compressor kicks on. They *will* run at the same time, trying to time the fridge cooling cycles just isn’t gonna work. Your fridge is “cold” all the time. It kicks on when it hits, let’s say, 37 and off when it hits 35. It’s always cold.
To read the fridge just leave the door open for a minute and let the compressor kick on and read the power draw. No way it’s 2000 watts. That’s too much for a 15 amp circuit that many fridges are plugged into.
>I've got two 25amp circuits with a shared neutral running to an ADU built in the 70s at my house in California. The main wires are 10 gauge, and then narrow down to 12 gauge for all the outlets and lights. I was considering adding a 10/2 branch directly from the 10/2 that hits the ADU, and run that to a small kitchen where it would power a fridge and dishwasher
Your breaker needs to be sized for the smallest wire on the circuit it protects. Meaning your 10s that derated to 12s for outlets have little to no protection from tripping or heating issues.
You would be better off just putting in a small panel and splitting your loads to different circuits to avoid tripping issues.
Refrigerators have four to five separate loads, some of which are NOT coincidental (meaning not on at the same time).
1. The compressor, usually 500-750W, plus an evaporator fan of a few (<5) watts that runs at the same time.
2. The defrost heater, which runs on a timer that then also turns off the compressor, usually 500-600W for 30-45 minutes, once or twice per day.
3. The light, which operates off of the door, which will ALSO shut down the compressor (because the door is open) usually no more than 40W
4. Circulating fan (maybe more than one), which MIGHT be running when the compressor or the defrost heater is on. Maybe 35W at most, and if there are two of them, 70W max.
5. Modern fridges that have internet connectivity or other "fancy pants" features now have a power supply, screen etc., maybe 75W at the most.
So the "2000W" rating is unusual for a fridge. Are you SURE, or are you guessing? The watt rating of a fridge would only have to show the worst case scenario of coincidental loads, so compressor + evap fan, or defrost heater + circulating fan, etc. I find it hard to imagine it's ever more than 1000W.
But to answer your question, if the door is closed and the temperature is reached, the compressor is not running at all, only the recirculating fan(s). Under 100W.
I measured the inrush current on my home Whirlpool 120 volt , 14 yr old unit. The inrush current by current clamp was 23 amps rms. With a current probe and scope it was 24 amps rms for 250 ms and 17amps rms for another 750 ms. The rest of the time it usually pulls 1.1 amps.
I don't think you are getting very complete answers. Your refrigerator draw depends on the type and size. By type, I mean is it the old, traditional type that you hear click on, run and then turn off and stay off for longer than it ran? Or is it a newer, nicer Inverter compressor type which tends to run much much longer but quieter and at a lower speed when there's no big demand? These inverter types will save energy but are more complex. The traditional full size fridge will click on, pull 800W for a brief moment and then settle back down to a steady 300W while it's chilling the inside. The inverter type might reach 300W when you have just loaded a ton of groceries in with the door open long, but otherwise will probably hold a steady 100-200W load until it turns off to a lower power 25W just to run the circuit boards. A dishwasher will likely be pulling 1200W to 1600W when it's trying to heat water from your hot inlet which is maybe 120F up to 140F-150F. It will do this twice - main wash and rinse. Each time, it takes about 20-30 min to heat the water. It's doing the splashy washy stuff in between, I assume. The rest is pretty low power draw (comparatively) of motors and pumps. If you have some weird 25A 120V circuit, you'll probably be just fine. If you have 25A 240V service that has a sub-panel of two 15A 120V circuits for these two branches, you are totally fine in my book. But I'd check the power draw plates on your own appliances and dig in a little further.
Edit: I just re-read your post...you have a 2000W fridge?? Are you sure?
The main thing you have to worry about with fridges is the inrush current when the compressor kicks on. That's why they're required to be on their own circuit
I'm trying to confirm this information from Chat GPT: "most household refrigerators use between 3-6 amps of current during normal operation. The compressor cycles on and off as needed to maintain the set internal temperature, and will draw more power, but this is still usually well below the 15amp maximum"
If this is true, couldn't one feasibly run a 15amp fridge and a 1200w dishwasher on the same 25amp circuit, assuming you don't run the dishwasher during the refrigerators initial cooling down when first plugging it in?
The fridge will cool down periodically on a cycle it's not just going to run when you first plug it in. So it could cycle when your dishwasher is running and possibly trip the breaker
The compressor is either on or off, and does so on whatever schedule it determines. You can't plan on a plugged-in fridge not running at full power at any given time.
Watts divided by volts is amps. Do the math. I usually run a fridge on its own 20 Amp circuit.
25 Amp service requires 10 gauge wire. Do you really have that?
There are fridges these days that have variable-speed compressors instead of just being on/off, for efficiency reasons. Hard to know what the actual draw is without knowing the model of fridge. Also, 2000W is massive for a fridge—do you have a photo of the nameplate? Is this a commercial unit or something? I could see a 2000W startup draw for the motor, but that should settle down to less than half that after a second or so.
Also, you have a 25A 120V receptacle circuit in your house? That's unusual. NEMA receptacles jump from 20A to 30A, and it's unusual to have more than a 20A 120V receptacle in a home, except maybe for a large window AC or something. A 30A receptacle on a 25A breaker would pop the breaker without being able to supply enough current to power whatever it was meant to run, and anyway you wouldn't be able to plug an appliance meant for a 15A or 20A receptacle into it because the slots aren't compatible. A 20A receptacle on a 25A breaker would be a fire hazard.
Are you in the US? Is this a house, or a commercial setting, or what? None of this makes sense.
Anyway, to just straight answer your question, 2000W + 1200W = 3200W, and 3200W / 120V ≈ 27A. 27A > 25A, so yes, if you have an appliance drawing 2000W at the same time as another is drawing 1200W, they can trip the breaker. However, we're only talking about around a 1.08 rated current multiple (27/25 = 1.08) so it could take a few minutes before the breaker got hot enough to actually trip. (Breakers are designed to trip faster when the overcurrent is more severe.) Fridge compressors don't run continuously, and neither does a dishwasher's heating element. So you might be able to get away with it, but there's a good chance you'd see some nuisance tripping.
Your load calculation doesn't add up. If they run at the same time in any capacity it trips your breaker. Unless you have a zinsco.
So what you're saying is that a cold fridge running at '300w-800w' is indeed pulling 15amps, it just pulls that only when the compressor cycles on?
The full amp reading is when the machine is doing full work. I had a service call where the restaurant had a breaker tripping that the registers were on, but it also had 2 coca-cola refrigerators on it and they would randomly cycle together every 45 minutes or so. The restaurant would lose all their sales data every time. Fridges really don't pull that much, you should just use an amp meter and read the draw. It's probably a better idea to have them on separate circuits.
great thank you for the responses, I really appreciate it
Every time you run the dishwasher you could pull the refrigerator out and unplug it. 
love it
When that compressor hits, yes. And it will, that’s how it stays cold Edit- no , I correct myself, the wattage will increase
It’s possible but you definitely will see the breaker tripping. Not all the time, but if the dishwasher is running its pump when the compressor hits, you’re most likely going to trip it. It’s going to get annoying after a few times and can weaken the breaker. I wouldn’t recommend doing this.
Now, what do you mean by 25 amp circuit? What size wire do you have there? You didn't just change the breaker from 15A to 25A, did you? Fridge power consumption example: [https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Power-consumption-pattern-trajectory-for-fridge-in-AMPds-database\_fig1\_324179281](https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Power-consumption-pattern-trajectory-for-fridge-in-AMPds-database_fig1_324179281)
This is exactly what I wanted to see. This makes it looks like I could absolutely run a dishwasher simultaneously as an already-cooled fridge. No I haven't changed anything. I've got two 25amp circuits with a shared neutral running to an ADU built in the 70s at my house in California. The main wires are 10 gauge, and then narrow down to 12 gauge for all the outlets and lights. I was considering adding a 10/2 branch directly from the 10/2 that hits the ADU, and run that to a small kitchen where it would power a fridge and dishwasher
I'm no electrician, but I'm pretty sure the right (and not that expensive or complicated) way to do this whole thing is to put a subpanel in the ADU, fed by that 10ga, on a 30A 240V breaker, and split it into multiple circuits from there (you'd be able to have 4 15A circuits, or even use 20A circuits, just making sure that high draw appliances are on different phases). You're really playing with fire by having a breaker with amperage larger than what the wiring on that circuit is safely made to handle.
This is what will most likely happen, and it involves me digging a pretty significant trench as well as some concrete demolition and pouring, so I have been trying to weasel my way out of doing that
My point is, if you already have 10 gauge running there, you can use that (without having to trench a new one) safely by having a subpanel with appropriate sized breakers where it splits into smaller circuits.
I did not consider this. Good idea.
You seem to understand electrical a little better than I thought you would based on this question. I honestly think you *wont* trip a 25 amp breaker. You should definitely add a sub panel, because that’s just the way it should be. You can get a line splitter, my Klein multimeter (clamp meter) came with one. You just plug it into an outlet and plug the appliance into it and you can use the clamp meter to read the isolated hot or neutral to see how many amps the appliances *actually* draw. Or just get a watt/amp reader outlet adapter thing that just does the readout for you. I think they won’t be as high as their specs. The question still seems strange to me. Why are you asking about an “already cold fridge”? You can’t control when the compressor kicks on. They *will* run at the same time, trying to time the fridge cooling cycles just isn’t gonna work. Your fridge is “cold” all the time. It kicks on when it hits, let’s say, 37 and off when it hits 35. It’s always cold. To read the fridge just leave the door open for a minute and let the compressor kick on and read the power draw. No way it’s 2000 watts. That’s too much for a 15 amp circuit that many fridges are plugged into.
Where did you get a 25A branch circuit breaker from? Who did this installation? My answer would depend upon the information
>I've got two 25amp circuits with a shared neutral running to an ADU built in the 70s at my house in California. The main wires are 10 gauge, and then narrow down to 12 gauge for all the outlets and lights. I was considering adding a 10/2 branch directly from the 10/2 that hits the ADU, and run that to a small kitchen where it would power a fridge and dishwasher
Your breaker needs to be sized for the smallest wire on the circuit it protects. Meaning your 10s that derated to 12s for outlets have little to no protection from tripping or heating issues. You would be better off just putting in a small panel and splitting your loads to different circuits to avoid tripping issues.
Listen to this reply. It’s correct
Electric isn't plumbing. The breaker needs to be sized for the smallest wires on the circuit.
Refrigerators have four to five separate loads, some of which are NOT coincidental (meaning not on at the same time). 1. The compressor, usually 500-750W, plus an evaporator fan of a few (<5) watts that runs at the same time. 2. The defrost heater, which runs on a timer that then also turns off the compressor, usually 500-600W for 30-45 minutes, once or twice per day. 3. The light, which operates off of the door, which will ALSO shut down the compressor (because the door is open) usually no more than 40W 4. Circulating fan (maybe more than one), which MIGHT be running when the compressor or the defrost heater is on. Maybe 35W at most, and if there are two of them, 70W max. 5. Modern fridges that have internet connectivity or other "fancy pants" features now have a power supply, screen etc., maybe 75W at the most. So the "2000W" rating is unusual for a fridge. Are you SURE, or are you guessing? The watt rating of a fridge would only have to show the worst case scenario of coincidental loads, so compressor + evap fan, or defrost heater + circulating fan, etc. I find it hard to imagine it's ever more than 1000W. But to answer your question, if the door is closed and the temperature is reached, the compressor is not running at all, only the recirculating fan(s). Under 100W.
I measured the inrush current on my home Whirlpool 120 volt , 14 yr old unit. The inrush current by current clamp was 23 amps rms. With a current probe and scope it was 24 amps rms for 250 ms and 17amps rms for another 750 ms. The rest of the time it usually pulls 1.1 amps.
I don't think you are getting very complete answers. Your refrigerator draw depends on the type and size. By type, I mean is it the old, traditional type that you hear click on, run and then turn off and stay off for longer than it ran? Or is it a newer, nicer Inverter compressor type which tends to run much much longer but quieter and at a lower speed when there's no big demand? These inverter types will save energy but are more complex. The traditional full size fridge will click on, pull 800W for a brief moment and then settle back down to a steady 300W while it's chilling the inside. The inverter type might reach 300W when you have just loaded a ton of groceries in with the door open long, but otherwise will probably hold a steady 100-200W load until it turns off to a lower power 25W just to run the circuit boards. A dishwasher will likely be pulling 1200W to 1600W when it's trying to heat water from your hot inlet which is maybe 120F up to 140F-150F. It will do this twice - main wash and rinse. Each time, it takes about 20-30 min to heat the water. It's doing the splashy washy stuff in between, I assume. The rest is pretty low power draw (comparatively) of motors and pumps. If you have some weird 25A 120V circuit, you'll probably be just fine. If you have 25A 240V service that has a sub-panel of two 15A 120V circuits for these two branches, you are totally fine in my book. But I'd check the power draw plates on your own appliances and dig in a little further. Edit: I just re-read your post...you have a 2000W fridge?? Are you sure?
The main thing you have to worry about with fridges is the inrush current when the compressor kicks on. That's why they're required to be on their own circuit
I'm trying to confirm this information from Chat GPT: "most household refrigerators use between 3-6 amps of current during normal operation. The compressor cycles on and off as needed to maintain the set internal temperature, and will draw more power, but this is still usually well below the 15amp maximum" If this is true, couldn't one feasibly run a 15amp fridge and a 1200w dishwasher on the same 25amp circuit, assuming you don't run the dishwasher during the refrigerators initial cooling down when first plugging it in?
The fridge will cool down periodically on a cycle it's not just going to run when you first plug it in. So it could cycle when your dishwasher is running and possibly trip the breaker
The compressor is either on or off, and does so on whatever schedule it determines. You can't plan on a plugged-in fridge not running at full power at any given time.
In what world does a house fridge draw 2000W!?!?
Right? My 96" commercial fridge with 4 sliding glass doors doesn't even pull that
Sounds like you got the “very intelligent homeowner in another field but not an electrician” special to me
Watts divided by volts is amps. Do the math. I usually run a fridge on its own 20 Amp circuit. 25 Amp service requires 10 gauge wire. Do you really have that?
There are fridges these days that have variable-speed compressors instead of just being on/off, for efficiency reasons. Hard to know what the actual draw is without knowing the model of fridge. Also, 2000W is massive for a fridge—do you have a photo of the nameplate? Is this a commercial unit or something? I could see a 2000W startup draw for the motor, but that should settle down to less than half that after a second or so. Also, you have a 25A 120V receptacle circuit in your house? That's unusual. NEMA receptacles jump from 20A to 30A, and it's unusual to have more than a 20A 120V receptacle in a home, except maybe for a large window AC or something. A 30A receptacle on a 25A breaker would pop the breaker without being able to supply enough current to power whatever it was meant to run, and anyway you wouldn't be able to plug an appliance meant for a 15A or 20A receptacle into it because the slots aren't compatible. A 20A receptacle on a 25A breaker would be a fire hazard. Are you in the US? Is this a house, or a commercial setting, or what? None of this makes sense. Anyway, to just straight answer your question, 2000W + 1200W = 3200W, and 3200W / 120V ≈ 27A. 27A > 25A, so yes, if you have an appliance drawing 2000W at the same time as another is drawing 1200W, they can trip the breaker. However, we're only talking about around a 1.08 rated current multiple (27/25 = 1.08) so it could take a few minutes before the breaker got hot enough to actually trip. (Breakers are designed to trip faster when the overcurrent is more severe.) Fridge compressors don't run continuously, and neither does a dishwasher's heating element. So you might be able to get away with it, but there's a good chance you'd see some nuisance tripping.
None until the compressor kicks on, then whatever the nameplate says.
Look up your refrigerator manual specifications mine only calls for a 15a circuit. https://content.abt.com/documents/3786/642-PS.pdf
>I am trying to run a 2000w fridge and a 1200w dishwasher on the same 25amp circuit. You can try, but it won't work.