I was helping a friend modify the wiring in his basement yesterday. I saw that one of his hot feeds to the box was a 3-wire cable. I could not figure it out. Eventually I figured out that the black and the red wires in this 12/3 were connected to different breakers, and the white was going back to the panel. This is a MWBC, right? This house is only about 6 years old. I guess this installed did this to save money? This red wire passes through this switch box to feed his washing machine outlet. I guess this is to code, since it is on a separate breaker (though the white is shared with another circuit).
In any case, At some point, I do not remember when, this red wire gave me a tingling feeling. It wasn't a full 120v shock, just enough to let me know it was there. I tested it, and to ground it had something like 28 volts. What would lead to this wire having such small voltage?
Unrelated question...he has 12/2 wiring in his house. Some of his ground wires are a bit short and tough to wire together. Can I pigtail to 14 AWG copper for the grounds on a 20 Amp circuit, or do I have to use 12? This is just for the ground, all the current-carrying wires will be 12.
Thanks!
In any case, At some point, I do not remember when, this red wire gave me a tingling feeling. It wasn't a full 120v shock, just enough to let me know it was there. I tested it, and to ground it had something like 28 volts. What would lead to this wire having such small voltage?
Unrelated question...he has 12/2 wiring in his house. Some of his ground wires are a bit short and tough to wire together. Can I pigtail to 14 AWG copper for the grounds on a 20 Amp circuit, or do I have to use 12? This is just for the ground, all the current-carrying wires will be 12.
Thanks!