On Monday, May 28, 2018 at 6:31:50 PM UTC-5, Wade Garrett wrote:
On 5/28/18 7:11 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Monday, May 28, 2018 at 5:44:44 PM UTC-5, Wade Garrett wrote:
On 5/28/18 1:12 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Monday, May 28, 2018 at 9:20:46 AM UTC-5, condo owner wrote:
I turned off ALL circuit breakers in the panel.

I then pulled out the duplex receptacle from the electrical box in my garage and removed the wires.

I then attached the black, white and ground wires to a new duplex receptacle with two USB ports.

I was shocked by another white electrical wire in the box. Why wasn't that circuit controlled by a circuit breaker in the panel? Should the white wire have power?

Sometimes two different energized circuits wind up sharing a neutral and that could be the reason you got a shock off the white neutral wire. o_O

[8~{} Uncle Zapped Monster

Always wondered- what exactly is a "neutral" wire in an AC circuit?
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There is a lot of material about the subject on the Internet. Think of it as the return to the generator completing the circuit. The ground is attached to a ground rod which is in the ground, not the same thing. ^_^

http://qa.answers.com/Q/What_does_th...ical_cir cuit

https://www.enotes.com/homework-help...circuit-194475

https://community.smartthings.com/t/...angeable/27849

[8~{} Uncle Electrical Monster

Interesting, those are good explanations. Thanks.

But I understood that in AC, the current reverses back and forth through
the circuit 50-60 cycles per second.

If the neutral is a "return" wire, how does the "alternating" part fit in?
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Electrons move real fast which in terms of human perception is instantaneous even though the speed can be measured with the right instruments. If you look at a sine wave you will see where the electron flow crosses zero. You might think of that as the neutral if you had an electrical connection there as in a center tapped transformer but it's not that simple. If you're familiar with house wiring in North America, you know that you have two hot wires and a neutral which is the center tap of the transformer feeding the house. ^_^

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVamt9IdQd8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n8CiU_6KqE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMzevUC4sao

[8~{} Uncle Neutral Monster