In ,
John Grabowski typed:
Hey Guys, I have a double 20 amp breaker that is connected to each
other. I have one side running the kitchen and one side running the
washing machine in the garage. I was told this is a standard
practice, however, I have a portable hot tub that I use in my garage
that I only use when not using the washing machine. The hot tub is
plugged into a GFCI outlet located about 5 feet down the wall off
the washer receptical that was installed before I moved in.

Here is the big problem, I have just noticed a piece of conduit that
comes off the furnace that was buzzing, getting hot and it stopped
after turning off the hot tub, the other day I was running items from
the kitchen and the conduit got so hot it was burning paint off the
wall. I shut off the double 20 amp breaker and it cooled down. It now
gets hot with that breaker off and running a space heater upstairs
that is on another breaker. I have the breaker off on the furnace and
am stumped to what is going on or how this my be wired. The conduit
going to the furnace goes to a junction box on the wall that has some
sort of relay on the top of it. Any help would be great. Thanks


*This is something I would need to see to figure out what is going on.
Obviously there is a problem or perhaps multiple problems. My first
thought is that perhaps the neutral conductor is being overloaded by
having two circuits on the same phase sharing it. I'm thinking that
the two circuits are connected to a twin breaker and not a double
pole.

If it's a ganged breaker set approved for the panel, then it can only
connect to both sides of the line, resulting in 220 between the two output
screws. Two next to each other breakers in almost every panel made will give
the same results.


That relay might be a transformer for the low voltage control for the
furnace.

You would need to start at one end or the other and identify each
conductor and determine what it is being used for. I would probably
start at the circuit breaker panel. An electrician could do this
faster than you and identify everything that is not safe and code
compliant.
Do you know if the previous homeowner did his own wiring?

With a conduit getting hot you prescribe troubleshooting? Nuh, uh! He needs
a pro and quickly. Else they could be searching thru basement rubble for
keepsakes rather soon.

Twayne
--
We've already reached
tomorrow's yesterday
but we're still far away from
yesterday's tomorrow.