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Subject - circuit breaker
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C
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Hello everyone, I have just been informed by a home inspector of the fact that multiple wires are connected to a single lug on the circuit breaker. Can anyone give me an idea how long it should take an electrician to repair this problem. Is it a major or minor problem? Is it a code violation? Thanks for the info it is greatly appreciated.
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JimmyDee
| I thought I could jump right to the answer to this one and I couldn't. I know the code says that the termination device, the clamping or set screw has to be designed for more than one wire to be able to terminate more than one wire to it. I've been informed that the stacking of multiple wires in the neutral or ground bar is not acceptable. Some of the new breakers will allow two wires to be terminated (one on each side of the screw) but the legality of it, don't know. I would say we need to know the reason there are many wires on a termination. If the panel needs to be up graded then you could be talking some major money. If the electrician has just chosen, for example, to put the two feeds that feed the outside plugs, one in the front and one in the back on the same breaker, then no it is not a problem and I don't think a code violation either. If there are 4 general usage circuits going to the same breaker, I would consider this a problem and it was probably done because they ran out of breakers. Don't know if this helps or muddies the waters but I hope it helps. Jim
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David Hyatt
| I do alot of home inspection repairs and they always make you change the multiple taps on breakers. All I do is pigtail a new wire to the breaker and this satisfies the inspector. They probably ran out of room in the breaker box thats why they did it. But if the circuit was overloaded it would not be working properly so that probably is not the case. This would take all of ten minutes but I usually charge on an idemized estimate $30.00 dollars to do this.
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Electricman
| How many circuits are in the panel? Code allows for 42. If the panel is UL listed for tandem breakers you could use them.
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Scott Vickrey
| An electrician should be able to fix this in less than 1 hour. When you call them tell them what the problem is and the manufacturer of the panel. This is probably a minor problem. It is a code violation.
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C
| Thanks to everyone for the advice regarding the circuit breaker. My house was built in 2000, there is plenty of room left in the box. Not sure why it was wired the way it was. Or why county approved of it. I do have an electrician coming over to look at it. Having an idea of how much time the repair should take helps me immensely in deciding if he should be the one to hire. I appreciate it! C
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David Hyatt
| Most electricians will charge a min service call fee no matter if it takes five mins. to fix. In my area service calls average between 50 and 65 dollars.
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