Electrician says....

[jodil]

An electrician says this "double tapped" 15 amp Siemens breaker is designed to hold two wires..am I missing something?

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[Richard Moore]

Square-D and Cutler-Hammer make the only residential breakers listed for 2 conductors. It's been that way for quite some time. Your photo shows those labeled for 14-10 AWG. If it 2 were allowed, it would also be on the breaker, presumably in the same place.

The electrician is wrong.

NEC 110.14(A) Terminals: .... Terminals for more than one conductor and terminals used to connect aluminum shall be so identified.

If Sparky gives you any more crap ask him to pull the breaker and show you exactly where it is identified for more than one!

[qhinspect]

Originally posted by Richard Moore

Square-D and Cutler-Hammer make the only residential breakers listed for 2 conductors. It's been that way for quite some time. Your photo shows those labeled for 14-10 AWG. If it 2 were allowed, it would also be on the breaker, presumably in the same place.

The electrician is wrong.

NEC 110.14(A) Terminals: .... Terminals for more than one conductor and terminals used to connect aluminum shall be so identified.

If Sparky gives you any more crap ask him to pull the breaker and show you exactly where it is identified for more than one!

Yep, what he wrote.[:-graduat

But wait! These breakers are not new so they are grandfathered![:-bigeyes

[AHI in AR]

I don't recall seeing any of the Cutler Hammer type, but I have seen a slew of Square D breakers designed for two conductors. The whole issue is proper contact between the wires and the flat plate which the screw tightens against the wire. The square D type have a concave, full length groove at the ends of the plate designed to "cradle" the wires, ensuring full contact. Once you see one, you'll know why it's that way. Presumably, the CH breaker uses a similar method.

Look closely at the bottom breaker. The wire closest to the screw will almost assuredly be clamped more tightly than the other one due to the leverage placed on the plate as that screw is tightened. The screw can't place equal pressure on both with that configuration.

Tell sparky you ain't buying it. Better yet, write down the breaker model # and go to Siemens' website. Try to dig up the info in their technical specs section.

[sepefrio]

Originally posted by qhinspect

But wait! These breakers are not new so they are grandfathered![:-bigeyes

Thanks, that laugh did me good.

[Richard Moore]

...Better yet, write down the breaker model # and go to Siemens' website. Try to dig up the info in their technical specs section.

Been there. Done that. Trust me...It ain't there!

[Bain]

Originally posted by AHI in AR

Better yet, write down the breaker model # and go to Siemens' website. Try to dig up the info in their technical specs section.

Kevin, you're much nicer than I am. No way would I spend unpaid time researching the web to refute an electrician on a no-brainer like this. I'd tell my client the electrician is either incompetent or a numbskull, and that the--very inexpensive--modification to Jodi's panel should absolutely occur.

An alternative, if there's an unbreachable impasse between the buyer and seller, is to tell the electrician to put his opinion in writing beneath his company letterhead, and to include his license number when he signs it. He'll typically back off at that point--but, of course, never admit he was wrong--and tell the seller something like, "Well, it's not really screwy, but I can fix it for a few bucks."