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Do you have to pin breakers together when sharing the neutral on branch circuits?
Pinning breakers is becoming a thing of the past. This is due to the manufacturing of two pole breakers with one common trip reset handle. The electrical code states that on a 240 volt breaker if one leg trips the other leg must be disconnected from the supply also. This is a safety factor so that if they weren't tied together and one leg tripped the other half of the breaker would remain "hot". Any one working on that circuit in the tripped position could get a nasty shock from the un-tripped leg. Pinning the breakers on 240 volts was done because it was convenient to use single pole breakers in the distribution panel. To abide by the code the two single pole breakers were common tied together.
When the branch circuits share a neutral to a common box they have to be common tied for the same reason above. This type of circuit is found on kitchen counter receptacles. Two separate circuits that share a neutral and go to separate junction boxes do not need the breakers tied.
What else can I help you with?
Any problems with shared neutral for for 4 15 amp breakers each on dedicated circuits?
Yes. If it a residential home then you can only have two breakers per neutral and they need to be on opposite legs of your panel. If it is a commercial 3phase panel then you can only put 3 breakers on a shared neutral. Here's why. In your panel assuming its residential you have two power wires and one neutral and these power wires are called legs. If you attach two breakers on the same leg that is across from each other on opposite sides of the panel or skipping a space between breakers on the same side at 15A apiece you return on the neutral will not be balanced and you will have the possibility of 30A coming back to your panel on the neutral which will fry a 14 Awg or even 12 Awg for that matter and cause a fire. Now if the breakers are in tandem that is they have the breaker tie that connects two breakers together they will be on separate legs and then only will your breakers/circuits be balanced and it will be safe to share a neutral on. If two tandem breakers are connected to a single neutral and they are all 15A breakers your return would be 30A again because although your tandem breakers are balanced now you have two tandem breakers returning a potential 15A per two breakers and that adds up to 30A. The next problem you have is when you share a neutral as per the National Electric Code if one breaker trips the other breaker also sharing that neutral must trip so that when the power is off any current that could possibly return through the neutral wire will be cut off. So now this creates another problem with 4 breakers sharing the same neutral is now there is no way to get all four to trip at the same time if there was a ground fault (a short) or an overload. and someone could get nailed by any current coming back on the shared neutral. All the same applies for 3phase except there are 3 power wires and you can use 3 breakers with a 3 breaker tie instead of just two. You either need to run one neutral per tandem breaker or four neutrals for four circuits/breakers. Tandem breakers controlling two separate circuits are a pain because when one breaker trips they trip the other circuit also. Tandems are mostly used for two circuits going to the same appliance so that no power on either leg reaches the appliance when it needs to be off.
Can a 240 circuit with red black white and bare ground be changed into two separate 120 volt circuits using the same neutral white wire for both 120 volt circuits?
Yes but it is not compliant with the NEC you can use a 240 volt circuit, (Ground, Hot, Hot) you would use a (either) hot wire with a ground wire and that will be a 120 volt circuit. I strongly advise you not to do this though because a ground wire is not trully meant to carry current and it will not be approved by any inspector.
What happens when you share 2 20 amp breakers with 1 neutral wire?
if it is (1) a-phase and (1) b-phase then this is the common and preferred wiring method (balanced). if you have two circuits of the same phase sharing the neutral then it is wired wrong (imbalanced). gfci and afci breakers need there own neutrals too. as far as what happens two examples: A: (balanced system) a-phase carrying 10 amps, b-phase carrying 10 amps, neutral carries 0 amps. B: (imbalanced system) a-phase carrying 10 amps, a-phase carrying 10 amps. neutral carries 20 amps. hope this helps. good luck This is not strictly true. Most residential power is supplied in a single-phase 120/240 volt format and has nothing to do with multiple phases. A single phase transformer secondary winding is center-tapped to provide two segments, each of which is 120 volts to the center tap point, which is grounded. There are then 240 volts between the outside ends of the full secondary winding. If both breakers are fed from the same ungrounded end of the winding, all of the current would pass through only one half of the secondary winding, and hence, through the neutral as well. If two breakers were installed such that they were fed from remote ungrounded ends of the secondary winding, then the only current through the grounded center-tap neutral would be the imbalanced current of the two circuits.
Can 12 2 w gnd wire be used for two different 20 amp circuits safely meaning I would have two separate circuits on two separate 20 amp breakers There would only be 1 white wire returning?
Yes, you can do this, but there are a few rules to follow. The white wire(neutral) should be solidly made at all device boxes in other words do not use the receptacle terminals, make all the joints solid and pigtail to the receptacle. The breakers need to be adjacent to each other in the panel, side by side on opposite buss bars. If you put them on the same buss you will overload the neutral. Use a handle tie on the breakers.I am sorry. It was the wrong question. The question really should have been: Can you wire two separate 20 amp circuits using one single romex 12-3 w/ground. Each circuit would have it's own 20 amp breaker. The Red wire would be landed on one breaker. The Black wire would be landed on another breaker. Only one #12 white wire would be available for neutral. My theory is: If you were to load both circuits to say 19 amps each, you would have 38 amps being used. The problem lies in the single white neutral's ability to handle 38 amps on it's own. Wouldn't this be a problem? Would this configuration pass in spection? You can do this with 12/3, you still have to make up your neutrals at device boxes. the neutral would not have to handle 38 amps as long as you use opposite 110volt buss. the current on the neutral if both breakers were drawing 16 amps each would be "0". The neutral only has to carry the imbalance of the two circuits. If one breaker draws 16 amps and the other 8 the current on the neutral would be 8 amps. Breakers have to be on opposite buss! for this to work. Yes, it should pass inspection.
Do you need arc fault breakers if you put in a new panel in a old house?
If your jurisdiction is using a version of the NEC that requires arc fault breakers, then yes. Call your local building and planning department to see what revision of the code they are using. The exception to this is that you cannot use arc fault breakers if the circuits in question are wired as multiwire circuits (two or more individual circuits sharing a common neutral) because the arc fault breaker won't work in that arrangement. You're not required to replace the entire electrical system just to change a load center, so in this circumstance you wouldn't need them. If you're using the 2005 NEC, you only need arc fault breakers in the bedrooms. If you're using the 2008 NEC, you'll need them just about everywhere that isn't covered by ground fault breakers.
Any problems with shared neutral for for 4 15 amp breakers each on dedicated circuits?
Yes. If it a residential home then you can only have two breakers per neutral and they need to be on opposite legs of your panel. If it is a commercial 3phase panel then you can only put 3 breakers on a shared neutral. Here's why. In your panel assuming its residential you have two power wires and one neutral and these power wires are called legs. If you attach two breakers on the same leg that is across from each other on opposite sides of the panel or skipping a space between breakers on the same side at 15A apiece you return on the neutral will not be balanced and you will have the possibility of 30A coming back to your panel on the neutral which will fry a 14 Awg or even 12 Awg for that matter and cause a fire. Now if the breakers are in tandem that is they have the breaker tie that connects two breakers together they will be on separate legs and then only will your breakers/circuits be balanced and it will be safe to share a neutral on. If two tandem breakers are connected to a single neutral and they are all 15A breakers your return would be 30A again because although your tandem breakers are balanced now you have two tandem breakers returning a potential 15A per two breakers and that adds up to 30A. The next problem you have is when you share a neutral as per the National Electric Code if one breaker trips the other breaker also sharing that neutral must trip so that when the power is off any current that could possibly return through the neutral wire will be cut off. So now this creates another problem with 4 breakers sharing the same neutral is now there is no way to get all four to trip at the same time if there was a ground fault (a short) or an overload. and someone could get nailed by any current coming back on the shared neutral. All the same applies for 3phase except there are 3 power wires and you can use 3 breakers with a 3 breaker tie instead of just two. You either need to run one neutral per tandem breaker or four neutrals for four circuits/breakers. Tandem breakers controlling two separate circuits are a pain because when one breaker trips they trip the other circuit also. Tandems are mostly used for two circuits going to the same appliance so that no power on either leg reaches the appliance when it needs to be off.
Can you use a GFCI on an unswitched circuit line red that uses the same neutral white for a switched circuit coming from the other phase line black in a 240v breaker panel?
Yes. You are allowed to use a neutral for one circuit from each phase of your service. For example, in a residential service, you can use the same neutral for circuits 1 and 3. In a commercial (3 phase) service, you can use a neutral for circuits 1, 3, and 5. You will experience problems if you use a neutral for two 'black' circuits or two 'red' circuits, if the circuits originate from the same phase bus bar. Also, AFCI's are sensitive to sharing neutrals, but GFCI's are not.
Can a 240 circuit with red black white and bare ground be changed into two separate 120 volt circuits using the same neutral white wire for both 120 volt circuits?
Yes but it is not compliant with the NEC you can use a 240 volt circuit, (Ground, Hot, Hot) you would use a (either) hot wire with a ground wire and that will be a 120 volt circuit. I strongly advise you not to do this though because a ground wire is not trully meant to carry current and it will not be approved by any inspector.
What happens when you share 2 20 amp breakers with 1 neutral wire?
if it is (1) a-phase and (1) b-phase then this is the common and preferred wiring method (balanced). if you have two circuits of the same phase sharing the neutral then it is wired wrong (imbalanced). gfci and afci breakers need there own neutrals too. as far as what happens two examples: A: (balanced system) a-phase carrying 10 amps, b-phase carrying 10 amps, neutral carries 0 amps. B: (imbalanced system) a-phase carrying 10 amps, a-phase carrying 10 amps. neutral carries 20 amps. hope this helps. good luck This is not strictly true. Most residential power is supplied in a single-phase 120/240 volt format and has nothing to do with multiple phases. A single phase transformer secondary winding is center-tapped to provide two segments, each of which is 120 volts to the center tap point, which is grounded. There are then 240 volts between the outside ends of the full secondary winding. If both breakers are fed from the same ungrounded end of the winding, all of the current would pass through only one half of the secondary winding, and hence, through the neutral as well. If two breakers were installed such that they were fed from remote ungrounded ends of the secondary winding, then the only current through the grounded center-tap neutral would be the imbalanced current of the two circuits.
Can 12 2 w gnd wire be used for two different 20 amp circuits safely meaning I would have two separate circuits on two separate 20 amp breakers There would only be 1 white wire returning?
Yes, you can do this, but there are a few rules to follow. The white wire(neutral) should be solidly made at all device boxes in other words do not use the receptacle terminals, make all the joints solid and pigtail to the receptacle. The breakers need to be adjacent to each other in the panel, side by side on opposite buss bars. If you put them on the same buss you will overload the neutral. Use a handle tie on the breakers.I am sorry. It was the wrong question. The question really should have been: Can you wire two separate 20 amp circuits using one single romex 12-3 w/ground. Each circuit would have it's own 20 amp breaker. The Red wire would be landed on one breaker. The Black wire would be landed on another breaker. Only one #12 white wire would be available for neutral. My theory is: If you were to load both circuits to say 19 amps each, you would have 38 amps being used. The problem lies in the single white neutral's ability to handle 38 amps on it's own. Wouldn't this be a problem? Would this configuration pass in spection? You can do this with 12/3, you still have to make up your neutrals at device boxes. the neutral would not have to handle 38 amps as long as you use opposite 110volt buss. the current on the neutral if both breakers were drawing 16 amps each would be "0". The neutral only has to carry the imbalance of the two circuits. If one breaker draws 16 amps and the other 8 the current on the neutral would be 8 amps. Breakers have to be on opposite buss! for this to work. Yes, it should pass inspection.
What are neutral particles formed as a result of electron sharing called?
Neutral particles formed as a result of electron sharing are called molecules. Molecules are made up of atoms that are held together by covalent bonds, where electrons are shared between the atoms. This sharing of electrons allows the atoms to achieve stable electron configurations.
Do you need arc fault breakers if you put in a new panel in a old house?
If your jurisdiction is using a version of the NEC that requires arc fault breakers, then yes. Call your local building and planning department to see what revision of the code they are using. The exception to this is that you cannot use arc fault breakers if the circuits in question are wired as multiwire circuits (two or more individual circuits sharing a common neutral) because the arc fault breaker won't work in that arrangement. You're not required to replace the entire electrical system just to change a load center, so in this circumstance you wouldn't need them. If you're using the 2005 NEC, you only need arc fault breakers in the bedrooms. If you're using the 2008 NEC, you'll need them just about everywhere that isn't covered by ground fault breakers.
Is it possible to convert 220 v wiring to two 110 v wiring?
You will need a 220 volt primary isolation transformer with a split, center taped, secondary 220 volt winding.-------------------Answer for USAIf you live in the United States and your 220v circuit is a 2-pole circuit, you replace the 2-pole breaker with 2 individual 110v breakers and **PRESTO** you are now ready to run 2 individual 110v circuits.If you wish to use existing wiring, and you have 3 wires plus ground, you have all you need. These 2 circuits can share the same neutral without any electrical danger.Before you do any work yourselfon circuits, equipment or appliances,ensure the circuit is, in fact, OFF.IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOBSAFELY AND COMPETENTLYREFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
What songs have the word share in them Sharing the night together by Dr Hook?
Sharing the night together
Are neutral particles formed as a result of sharing electrons?
Perhaps, neutral particles arise when there are the same number of protons and electrons.
Need to move 2 breakers to a sharing breaker to add a 50 amp breaker need info on how to do this?
by doing your mum
What is a neutral group of atoms held together by a covalent bond?
A neutral group of atoms held together by a covalent bond is called a molecule. In a covalent bond, atoms share electrons to achieve a stable configuration. This sharing of electrons creates a strong bond between the atoms in the molecule.
