Double Lugging Circuit Breakers

You can see what this looks like in the picture above.

Double lugging circuit breakers.

Double lugging is when two wires are placed under the same screw on a circuit breaker or on the neutral bus in an electrical panel. Double lugging is when two wires are placed under the same screw on a circuit breaker or on the neutral bus in an electrical panel. Double lugging some say double tapping although this is not an entirely accurate description is when more than one wire is terminated under a screw or connector on a circuit breaker or fuse block. Double tapping is normally done by a homeowner or a handyman who knows just the basics of electrical work but is not familiar with codes or other safety requirements.

A double tapped breaker is basically two wires under one circuit breaker that is designed for one wire. If there are more problems going on besides just a double tap the repair. 2010 double lug double lugging double tap double tapped double tapped circuit double tapped circuit breaker double tapping how. Double tapped circuit breakers are one of the most common electrical defects that i find while doing home inspections in minneapolis and saint paul and they re usually one of the easiest defects to correct.

Only certain manufacturers of circuit breakers such as square d and cutler hammer produce circuit breakers that can accommodate two wires. The issue with double tapping is you could technically have a loose connection or an overloaded breaker since the breaker is not designed for two wires. Double tapping is normally done by a homeowner or a handyman who knows just the basics of electrical work but is not familiar with codes or other safety requirements. Circuit breakers come in several styles including the standard single pole breakers that serve 120 volt household circuits and double pole breakers that take up two slots in a breaker box and serve 240 volt appliances a special kind of circuit breaker is the tandem breaker which is designed to allow two 120 volt circuits to be fit into a single slot in the circuit breaker box.

If this is the case your circuit breaker will note this clearly and the circuit breaker s terminal will be designed to accommodate both wires. Different circuit breaker another simple repair would be to replace the circuit breaker with a type that is designed for two conductors as long as the panel is designed for it this would be more involved than the pigtail repair and i don t know why anyone would want to do this but it would certainly be acceptable.