Electrical wiring help

[akthor]

If you could explain more I would love to fix it. The old guy that owned this place was an electrical engineer and has done several jury rigged things to the house that require us to redo them. Some are really like WTF?!?

Your neutral bars on that panel could use some help, I see several double tapped neutrals, you can double tap two grounds of the same gauge (14 an 12 wires only) but not two neutrals. I spent several hours reworking my panel for the same reason.

 

[akthor]

No worries. This is our lake house. We have a holding tank with no leach field first thing we did was remove the washer and dryer. I will also be sure when brewing no running the AC or the stove. As I said this is our 2nd home so I will schedule brew days when nothing is happening here but brewing. Old house, old wiring, plus we are leery of the previous owners "fixes". Eventually we will rewire and replump the whole house. In the meantime I will try not to push any limits on the wiring.

 

[matt2778]

If you could explain more I would love to fix it. The old guy that owned this place was an electrical engineer and has done several jury rigged things to the house that require us to redo them. Some are really like WTF?!?

Neutral / ground bar in several places has two neutral (white wires) going into one lug. Code only allows one neutral per lug, you can however double ground wires providing they are the same gauge and (12 or 14 only) and if the panel allows it (there should be a sticker in there somewhere. You made need to purchase larger neutral bars to accommodate things, they are cheap though. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it but if you're going to get in there and add circuits you may want to correct past sins while you're at it.

 

[itsnotrequired]

although a code violation to have two neutrals under one screw, it isn't a danger until someone loosens that screw with two neutrals (to work on a circuit or something like that). you may have turned off the breaker for one of the circuits with the neutral but not the other. removing the screw could loosen up both neutrals and that other circuit is now an open neutral, basically a live wire.