question about electrical circuit - what's going on?

[CNYCacher]

Hmmm, not so sure about that myself. Isn't current, current, regardless which leg is being used in the panel? If the neutral is 14 gauge and you have two circuits using it pulling at their max of 15 amps how can the #14 wire be acceptable?

Because, as you stated, current is current.

15 amps goes out leg A, 15 comes back on leg B.

In other words, when opposite-legged circuits share a neutral, the neutral only needs to carry the difference between the two loads.


If someone didn't know what they were doing, and tried to share neutral with two circuits that had their hots on the same leg, then you would be in trouble. The neutral would try to carry 30 amps, or, the summation of the two loads.

Post number five:

Hmmm. 

[280plus]

"Nope."


And the reason for that would be..........?

cause electricity is crazy stuff and it just does weird things all on its own?   

I have seen some of these weird things. Some up close.

[Ron]

Because, as you stated, current is current.

15 amps goes out leg A, 15 comes back on leg B.

In other words, when opposite-legged circuits share a neutral, the neutral only needs to carry the difference between the two loads.


If someone didn't know what they were doing, and tried to share neutral with two circuits that had their hots on the same leg, then you would be in trouble. The neutral would try to carry 30 amps, or, the summation of the two loads.

Makes sense. Being more familiar with three phase equipment than home wiring I should have extrapolated that over to the two phases and neutral in a home. My electrical experience is limited to troubleshooting commercial HVAC, rare that any of that was anything other than three phase, often higher voltages.

When I separated out circuits in my kitchen and rewired the den every circuit got its own neutral. They were all in separate conduit except for a couple circuits in the den. I wanted the home theater equipment to have its own circuit so I wouldn't have shared the neutral with the lighting circuit anyway.