Was this ever legal
- Thread starter MJW
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
The tap may be legal but I am almost certain that 2 wires under one lug, as shown, was never compliant
Rewire
Senior Member
- Location
- Lake of the Ozarks
I dont know for certain but I remember being told way back when that if the lug openiing were round you could not double tap and if it were oblong you could.
Fulthrotl
~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
- Occupation
- E
breaker on house panel sized appropriately for the reduced gauge wire?
in 1960 the 6' feeder and tap rule woulda been what they'd a gone by, i think......
old guys used to say that with stranded wire, you could put more than
one conductor into a lug, as it was just more stranding, where solid
conductors, you would have something that could wiggle.... and that made
sense to me, as long as you had all the stranding fully thru the lug, etc.
normally tho, you'd use a double lug, or two lugs, facing back to back on
the binding post.... if there was room....
tyha
Senior Member
- Location
- central nc
I dont know about the tap but if the lug is rated for two wires it can hold two, legally.
GUNNING
Senior Member
- Location
- Gainesville, Florida
still working ... eh?
still working ... eh?
I think they gave the electrician the cutesy to calculate and use the circular area of the connector and total circular mils of the wire used. Yes they acknowledged electricians could do math. As long as the circular mils of the wire did not exceed the area of the connector it was OK. If it didn't fit it wasn't.
Evidently it still is working satisfactorily.:dunce:
still working ... eh?
I think they gave the electrician the cutesy to calculate and use the circular area of the connector and total circular mils of the wire used. Yes they acknowledged electricians could do math. As long as the circular mils of the wire did not exceed the area of the connector it was OK. If it didn't fit it wasn't.
Evidently it still is working satisfactorily.:dunce:
jxofaltrds
Inspector Mike®
- Location
- Mike P. Columbus Ohio
- Occupation
- ESI, PI, RBO
ptonsparky
Tom
- Occupation
- EC - retired
I always tried to at least put the smaller wire behind the larger, theory being the larger wire would handle torquing to two clicks of the wrist better than the small. Things we did back then...early 70s for me. Many of the justifications have already been mentioned.
Lighting Retro
Member
- Location
- Texas
Can you expand on that comment? Is that a "You are better off not talking about something you don't understand" type of comment? Or just based upon so many areas so outdated on code/no code that a better method is to explain industry best practice and the reason behind it? Thanks for clarification.
jxofaltrds
Inspector Mike®
- Location
- Mike P. Columbus Ohio
- Occupation
- ESI, PI, RBO
It was meant to keep one from using 'legal'. And yes I think that you expained it well. Latter part.
- Status