Tweakers' Asylum

RE: I dont have the Cary's anymore

70.56.4.35

This Post Has Been Edited by the Author

In Reply to: RE: I dont have the Cary's anymore posted by DC STEVE on June 27, 2007 at 20:31:57

my lines travel along the outside wall of my condo, they don't travel near any appliances. the outlets are installed inside the drywall, using some type of metal box i'm assuming, with oyaide R1 outlets and nylon face plates. there are two circuits in one ganged box and the third on alone by itself. the two that are together are on different legs.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

When the electrician first came out to look at the job did you tell him you wanted three dedicated circuits? Very important you used the word "dedicated"...... and not the word "separate".......
Dedicated means a branch circuit with it's own dedicated hot conductor, neutral conductor, and equipment grounding conductor.
A separate circuit means its own hot conductor, but not necessary its own neutral or equipment grounding conductors.
As you have described, two circuits share the same 2 gang cut-in box. The two circuits are not fed from the same Line in the panel. One is fed from L1, the other L2.
My guess is the electrician install a 3 wire + grd multi-wire branch circuit.
Two hot conductors,
One neutral conductor,
One equipment grounding conductor.
With this type of multi-wire branch circuit the 2 hot conductors share the same neutral conductor. The two separate circuits are required to be fed from the two separate Lines of the panel, L1 and L2. Not good for audio.

On a 3 wire multi-wire branch circuit only the unbalanced load will return on the neutral. Example, if circuit #1 has a load of 5 amps, and circuit #2 has a load of 5 amps, then the unbalanced load of the 2 circuits is 0. That means no current will return on the neutral conductor to the source. It also means that both 5 amp loads are in series with one another.

Example 2. If one connected load is 5 amps and the other connected load is 3 amps, then the unbalanced load that will return on the neutral will be 2 amps. 3 amps of the load will still be in series of the two connected loads.

You can check if you have dedicated or separate circuits at the 2 gang installation. Turn off all three circuits. All three circuits? We do not know if the third circuit travels through this same 2 gang box.
* Pull the cover plate.
* Pull the two duplex forward from the box. Note if the wire is solid it will be stiff to say the least. If stranded it will pull out fairly easy.
* Look for the white conductors that attach to each duplex outlet. Do they joint, splice, to a common white coloured wire? If so this is a multi-wire branch circuit. If on the other hand if each white wire that connects to each duplex does not joint with a common white wire and instead enters from a raceway that enters, connects, to the box then the circuits are dedicated.

Just and added note. A 3 wire multi-wire branch circuit will also have a shared equipment grounding conductor, You will see the green wired jointed in the same manner as the white neutral conductor.

Even if you indeed do have dedicated branch circuits unless the electrician insulated one of the duplex recepts supporting traps, from the metal 2 gang box, the two supporting straps are bonded together because of the metal 2 gang box. this is perfectly legal.
--------------

So if you told the electrician you wanted dedicated branch circuits and he gave you 2 separate circuits in the 2 gang box then he should on his own time correct his error.

Follow Ups: