On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:38:20 -0500, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote:

On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:54:30 -0500, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Wes wrote:

Bruce,

The Brits use a scheme when a branch circuit starts and ends in a breaker panel. In other
words, you feed a branch loop from both ends. This has the effect of doubling the wiring
feeding a device.

I've wired my recepts with 12ga which sucks compared to 14ga. I asked my brother that is
in the trade why 14 is popular and he told me it is because it is way easier to terminate.
I belive him. My last garage improvement project wtih 52 year old fingers didn't like
working with 12 ga.

Somewhere I read that loop wiring is illegal. Do you know where that reference is in the
NEC? If I ever run another branch string, I'd be willing to run 14 out and back if it is
legal.


It's not legal in the US. If you get a loose connection somewhere in
the ring it isn't obvious until something catches fire.

Gets even better - Since we use 120V here, you might be tempted to
connect 120/240V 3-wire as a ring circuit - and now you have some Real
Nasty failure modes. The neutral goes open, the circuit goes into
voltage imbalance, and everything connected on the side that goes high
starts blowing up...

Then once it all goes open on A Phase, the imbalance swings the other
way and the gear on the B Phase starts blowing up...

Another difference is that 'ring circuits' are like small bus bars
and everything that gets plugged in is fused at the plug because the
ring is 30A @ 240 VAC. The British keep bragging about the concept on
some of the electronics groups.

Besides, we don't have any fusible receptacles available, you'd have
to kludge something up at each receptacle.

The Arson Investigators don't like seeing kludges, and worse word
gets back to the homeowners insurance company and you don't have
coverage anymore.


The only thing I've ever seen that was even close to a ring circuit
that was legal in the US were old commercial fire alarms with a 10 amp
current loop. It looped back to the alarm cabinet for the adjustable
EOL resistor, and monitoring. In some modes, it was a ring, but the
normal operation was just a loop to the EOL resistor, inside the large
metal cabinet to dissipate the waste heat. A man i worked for right
after high school serviced Edwards and Standard Electric alarms and
school clocks.


Crom but I remember those with distain and contempt. Schools ran them
longer than real people.

Add some window foil at 5 amps...blink blink..you could watch the ice
and snow melt where the foil on the windows was.

Gunner, ran an alarm company for 18 yrs, then managed a Cincinnati Time
3 office company


Whenever a Liberal utters the term "Common Sense approach"....grab your
wallet, your ass, and your guns because the sombitch is about to do
something damned nasty to all three of them.