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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Cape Cod, Massachusetts
    Posts
    614

    Default Single wire on 2-pole breaker

    Ok, so we see this all the time and we always write it up as a safety issue
    but I started thinking about it (that's always dangerous) and I'm wondering if it is really a safety hazard. Wouldn't both breakers trip if only one of the leads had a load greater than 20A.? They are after all linked together. If that is the case - what's the problem?

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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Cape Cod, Massachusetts
    Posts
    614

    Default Re: Single wire on 2-pole breaker

    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Meier
    From an NEC perspective this is not a problem
    Bob,

    That's interesting - Hmm! (My brain is asking me more questions)

    So from an NEC perspective - no problem. Let me take it a step further.
    What if we had 2 separate 120 volt circuits on this linked breaker. I know it could be a nusiance problem but would it be a code problem?

    Ken Amelin
    Cape Cod's Best Inspection Services
    www.midcapehomeinspection.com

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Southern Vancouver Island
    Posts
    4,607

    Default Re: Single wire on 2-pole breaker

    I don't write up a single wire on a two-pole breaker.
    BTW, even if the handle can't move the breaker can trip internally.

    Something else to remember with those style breakers - the red and the blue on the left are on one bus and the blue and red on the right are on the other bus.

    I have seen wires crossed up so that the circuit is still getting 240 volts, but the handles ties were not tying the correct handles.

    John Kogel, RHI, BC HI Lic #47455
    www.allsafehome.ca

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