On Mon, 30 Jan 2017 12:43:06 -0800, Charles Bishop
wrote:

Howdy,

Sis had me look at an electrical problem she had - it turned out to be a
loose wire. However, when I was poking around, I discovered a couple of
odd things and need to know what to tell her what to do.

There are two circuits I discovered that appear to have 120V outlets and
switches on a 30A breaker. I didn't know enough to tell her whether this
was allowed or not - I really suspect not but wanted to ask here first.
My first thought was if there was a problem with, say a drill motor on
this circuit, any problem with it wouldn't be enough to trip the breaker.

This most likely resulted from the previous owner hiring incompetent
workers and they did poor work, just to get electrical power to the
shed. I found a power cord used as electrical cable so they didn't have
to break into the wall - it ran from an (E) outlet (connected by
stripping the wires and connected to the screws on the outlet) along the
wall to a multiplug on its end so that power could be had at the other
side of the shed. I removed this of course. So, poor work in other
places wouldn't surprise me.

Then, what should she do? I thought getting the circuits tracked down
and then replacing the 30A breaker with two 15's or 20s, depending on
the wiring and what's on them. I'd like her to have some idea before she
has an electrician come out.

Also, for me - I used a voltage tester when looking around - it was the
kind that chirps and lights up when it's near wiring that has power. It
also chirps and lights up if you stick one end into an outlet.

However I found that there could also be transient chirps if I moved it
quickly past a piece of metal and when I was close to wiring rather than
very close to it. In one case, this made it difficult to tell which
outlet or switch had the power. Was I using it correctly?

Charles

Having any standard outlets on a 30A breaker is both dangerous and a
code violation. There should be two 15A or 20A (single) breakers. Wire
gauge determines if it should be 15A or 20A.
#12 wire is 20A
#14 wire is 15A

(15A breakers can be used on *either* wire gauge)

From what you said, I agree you need to have an electrician check out
that wiring. It sounds like there are other violations and dangers, and
they should be taken care of soon.

I like to advocate DIY repairs, but unless you're experienced with
wiring, call an expert. It's a lot cheaper to hire an electrician than
to replace a house and it's contents after a fire. (not to mention
possibly loss of life).